Vitamin D is critical to health

Winter season is an important time to think about your (and your child's) vitamin D levels because vitamin D deficiency is especially prevalent during this time of the year. 

Vitamin D is a crucial nutrient for your health at every age.  In fact, the illnesses associated with vitamin D deficiency are numerous.  Consider the following recent studies:

• Vitamin D deficiency is associated with greater cancer risk.
• Vitamin D has been shown to be an effective treatment for psoriasis.
• Vitamin D supplementation reduces incidence of autoimmune diseases, specifically multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes (when taken during infancy).
• Vitamin D deficiency  is associated with increased incidence and severity of asthma and wheezing disorders.
• Vitamin D enhances the immune response and provides protection against upper respiratory infections, influenza, and middle ear infections.
• Vitamin D deficiency affects the cardiovascular system. Deficiency of vitamin D increases the risk for heart attack, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease, and heart failure.

Vitamin D deficiency is very common 

Given the importance of Vitamin D to the function of so many different bodily systems, we need to ensure that our levels are within a healthy range.  The recommended blood level for vitamin D is 30 to 80, but rarely do we find a patient in the healthy range. 

Here are 3 ways to optimize your vitamin D level:

Outdoor Time: First of all, vitamin D is a misnomer.  It’s not a vitamin, but actually a hormone that is produced in your own body.  Vitamin D production requires sunlight.  So inadequate exposure to the sun, which occurs frequently in our indoor-prone, sedentary society, is a big factor in vitamin D deficiency.  The best way to improve your vitamin D level is to make it yourself. 

Just ten to fifteen minutes of sunlight exposure can generate 10,000 to 20,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D. (People with darker skin may require five to ten times that length of time for the same resulting levels.) Make sure that you avoid excessive sun intensity resulting in sunburn.

Breast Cancer Prevention Starts in Childhood

According to a recent interview with Dr. Graham Colditz published by Medscape in December 2014, at least 1/2 of breast cancer cases can be prevented, largely by promoting a healthy lifestyle in girls at a young age.  In fact, Dr. Colditz has challenged us to start prevention by age 2 years old!  I recently wrote about this topic in an October 2014 article,  Breast Cancer Prevention Begins in Childhood?, but it’s worth revisiting based on the sheer magnitude of impact that a few simple preventive strategies can yield.

“Cancer risk is accumulating from before the time a girl hits menarche,” says Dr. Colditz.  Menarche is the onset of menstrual periods, which occurs at an average age of 12 years old in the US.  Therefore, clearly the emphasis on early detection and screening for breast cancer is incomplete.  Instead, our focus should be on educating parents and young women about the steps that they can take to eliminate their controllable risk factors. 

Lifestyle Factors Play a Role in Cancer

“Literally, the average child now spends more time watching TV than attending school.  This kind of electronic engagement has had a profound effect on kids’ behavior and the development of their brains.” Dr. Scott Shannon

The above quote by Dr. Shannon highlights the growing problem of children spending too much time with media.  On average, children and teens are spending 7 hours per day with media.  With Christmas just around the corner, people are lining up to purchase the latest media devices.  Popular gift ideas include tablets, smart phones, video game consoles and laptops.  But I’d like to recommend caution regarding the trend to make these the top gifted items for children. 

Here are 3 reasons to reign in the media exposure for our children:

• Media contributes to overweight children.

  Media consumption is mostly a sedentary activity, and therefore a strong contributor to weight gain.  In a recent study, it was found that children who consume media for more than 2 hours daily and who have less daily physical activity than recommended were 3 to 4 times more likely to be overweight. Media has another powerful way of helping put on the pounds, and that’s through advertising.  Several very intriguing studies have looked at the food advertising during prime time, and during Saturday morning kids’ programming.  The vast majority of food promoted on television contains low quality grains (i.e. mostly refined, low-fiber grains), a deficiency of many important minerals and vitamins such as calcium, magnesium and vitamin E, and high amounts of sugar and fat, promoting weight gain.

Childhood Illnesses: Colds…Chicken Pox…Heart Disease?!

Starting three years ago, it became routine to test all 9 to 11 year olds for cholesterol level.  According to a December 2011 Pediatric News article, “…heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems in adulthood are often the end result of cardiovascular risk factors that went unrecognized throughout childhood…”¹

I’m glad to see that we, as pediatricians, are acknowledging the fact that heart disease, like many other diseases, really starts in childhood.  And while I fully support the screening process, I’m much more interested in prevention.  What should we do during that first decade of our children’s lives to make the screening unnecessary?  It’s all about diet and lifestyle. 

Trending Toward Disease

For the past thirty years, child health has been going in the wrong direction. Childhood overweight and obesity has skyrocketed during the past 3 decades.  And that trend is directly linked to the increased incidence of a variety of heart related disorders in children, most notably high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and high cholesterol levels.  This is a very serious problem, given that epidemiologists are proposing that life expectancy for this rising generation of children could be shortened by as much as eight years.  So, what are the primary factors leading to these disturbing trends?

One in three American children are overweight or obese

It’s now common knowledge that childhood obesity has become an epidemic in our country. One in every three children is overweight or obese.  While this issue has been getting less media attention recently, we don’t want to underestimate the looming health crisis that will result from such large numbers of children being overweight.   We have already been seeing a staggering increase in common childhood illnesses, such as asthma and allergies, because of the increasing toxicity of our environment.  Overweight and obesity add yet another burden to our children’s stressed systems. 

Overweight and obesity may put your child at risk for the following diseases:

Type 2 Diabetes: Obesity is the most significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes.   A serious illness, diabetes is the leading cause of many serious medical problems later in life, such as kidney disease, blindness, heart disease, and circulation problems leading to amputation.

High blood lipid levels: By lipids, we are referring to cholesterol, triglycerides, low and high density lipoproteins to name the most common ones.  Obese children often have lipid disorders, specifically: high cholesterol, high triglyceride levels, high LDL levels, low HDL levels.  These abnormal lipid levels lead to increased cardiovascular risk.

High blood pressure: High blood pressure also increases with overweight and obesity in childhood.  Just like other health problems, it continues into adulthood which sets these children up for cardiovascular disease later in life.   

Is there such a thing as an ADHD Diet?

The answer is yes…and no. 

What this mean is this: a child’s diet is a critical piece in the treatment of ADHD.  However, the right diet doesn’t treat just ADHD symptoms, but it makes the brain work better in general.  So, an ADHD diet is actually a brain healthy diet.

What happens in ADHD? 

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) are brain disorder diagnoses usually made by a pediatrician or psychologist. It is characterized by inability to concentrate, restlessness, and impulsiveness, but may be difficult to diagnose. It is often first reported by teachers or parents. There is no single cause of ADHD. Rather, scientific research suggests the effects of many underlying causes, which taken together are expressed through each individual's genetic make up as a group of symptoms qualifying for a diagnosis of ADHD.

One of the most important decisions you have to make as a parent is the choice of pediatrician.  Whether you are expecting a baby, or have just moved into a new area, or are simply no longer satisfied with your current pediatrician, you have the task of choosing the right doctor among the numerous pediatric services in your area. Many prospective parents call the office as they are searching for a pediatrician, wanting to determine if a holistic pediatrician can meet their needs.  While different parents all have their own unique concerns, there are a few commonalities among parents in the search for a pediatrician who will partner with them in the best interest of their children.

Common Concerns for Choosing a Holistic Pediatrician or Traditional Pediatrician:

1. You want to raise your baby in the most natural way possible. When your child develops an earache, a stuffy nose or constipation, what should you do?  You want to know safe and effective options that are drug-free if possible.  You want to know herbal or homeopathic options for your young child.  While many conventional pediatricians aren’t familiar with many of these interventions, a holistic pediatrician will be.

2. You want accurate information about vaccines and the choice of vaccination to be yours.  After studying mountains of vaccine information on both sides of the issue, one thing is clear: there is a lot of misleading information pro and con.  A holistic pediatrician  believes it’s his or her responsibility to know both sides of the issue, and objectively discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination with you, the parent, so that you can make an educated, informed decision for your family based on facts instead of fear.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

We often direct the awareness message to women, recommending steps they can take to detect breast cancer early or to reduce their risk of cancer.  

But breast cancer prevention actually begins in childhood.  Several recent studies show the relationship of childhood diet to breast cancer risk.

Childhood Diet and Cancer Risk

It’s long been known that early puberty is a risk factor for breast cancer, likely because of the increased length of time the body is exposed to higher levels of estrogen.  Interestingly enough, onset of puberty is significantly impacted by certain dietary factors. 

A study published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2012 showed that increased meat and dairy intake is associated with an earlier age of puberty onset.  On the other hand, a diet higher in vegetable protein intake was correlated to a later onset of puberty.  This study specifically looked at the diet when the children were only 3 to 6 years old. 

In a previous blog, Seven Ways that Exercise Helps Maintain a Healthy Brain,  we outlined the importance of exercise for brain health.

Now on the flip side of that is the importance of sleep for brain health.  Lack of sleep is so significant to brain function that 24 hours without sleep or a week of sleeping four or five hours a night induces an impairment equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.1%.  That is higher than the legally drunk blood alcohol level of 0.08%!

Problems Associated with Sleep Deprivation

• causes impairment of performance, concentration, vigilance and memory 

• can have permanent effects on memory and brain cell connectivity

• impairs reaction time and cognition

Is your child getting enough sleep? 

Studies show that 30 – 40% of children do not get enough sleep each night. More and more children are having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Given how important sleep is to brain health, try these strategies to encourage good sleep hygiene.

5 Strategies for Helping your Child Sleep Well

We all know that feeling of waking up with a stuffy nose and scratchy throat. That feeling of dread that “I’m coming down with something.” 

It’s that time of year when we’re are about to be bombarded with the winter viruses, bringing their familiar illnesses such as the common cold, bronchitis and influenza. How many times have you been caught unprepared for the illness? 

In keeping with a natural and holistic pediatric approach, I’m going to suggest that you winterize your home now by stocking your home medicine cabinet (and kitchen pantry) with natural and effective tools you’ll need to fight back against the illnesses that are surely coming your way. 

Here are 7 things that you should have around to be ready for the winter:

1)      Zinc is great for the immune system, and studies have shown that it can shorten the duration and the severity of a cold. When the scratchy throat starts, have some zinc lozenges in the house.

2)      Vitamin C: As soon as that runny nose or cough hits, you want to load your body with vitamin C.  Make sure you keep vitamin C rich foods, like bell peppers, broccoli and strawberries, on hand all through the fall and winter.  And also, have a vitamin C supplement on hand.  The last thing you want to do when you’re sick is drag yourself to the market.

3)      Garlic is a natural antibiotic with both antiviral and antibacterial properties.  Crushing fresh garlic releases its immune-boosting properties.

4)      Ginger is both antiviral and anti-inflammatory.  And it also settles an upset stomach.  So if the stomach flu hits your home, you’ll definitely want this on hand for relief.