Forty or fifty years ago for example, many of the learning disabilities so commonplace today were virtually non-existent. Why is that? The current argument among alternative health experts in the field is that increasingly poor (or synthetic/chemical) nutrition may be a primary cause of today's modern epidemic health problems among children. One look at a popular children's cereal, for example, confirms this fact. Included in the ingredients are the following processed or man-made ingredients: refined sugar, corn flour, wheat flour, gluten and oat flour; partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, yeast, salt; red #40; blue #2; zinc oxide; yellow #6; turmeric color; blue #1; annatto color; and BHT (preservative). Even something as seemingly "healthy" and popular as chicken nuggets, that many fast food restaurants now offer, contain synthetic chemicals far too many to list in this short newsletter.

Did you know children over one year of age should be on nutritional supplementation with a proper and complete combination of vitamins and minerals? But, there is an overwhelming selection of choices when it comes to children's nutrition. How does one go about choosing the right supplement amongst all the hype? The first thing to remember is that the cheapest product is not always the best. Quality products may demand higher prices. Begin to research the company by reading the available material on the web site and/or contact the company and ask for information. Look on the label and see if potency is guaranteed. Check the sugar and additive content. The proper balance of nutrients must be offered since they work synergistically -certain vitamins and minerals work cooperatively in different metabolic pathways in our cells and tissues. Correcting a deficiency of only one vitamin may cause a deficiency in other areas. The right nutritional supplements may help children build stronger bones, support the immune system, prevent and shorten colds and flu, allergies and sensitivities and improve their overall health and well being.

Most nutritional patterns are forged in the first few years of life and pave the way for continued eating habits into adulthood. For developing humans, this is a vital time in their lives; when good solid nutrition is absolutely essential. We already know that children have a greater need for proper and more complete nutrition than adults for a variety of reasons; their bodies are in the developmental stages, so excellent nutrition is vital for the proper development of their organ systems, immunity and their 5 special senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell).

As important as nutrition is for the child population in general, children with special needs require even greater attention to whole and complete natural nutrition. Studies have shown that poor eating practices and nutrition have pronounced effects on mental and physical development.

Studies have also shown that children with cognitive disorders can be helped through high quality supplemental nutrition. One such study has shown the value of supplementation with flax oil and vitamin C. In fact, there was significant improvement in the symptoms of ADHD reflected by reduction in total hyperactivity scores of ADHD children derived from ADHD rating scales [with supplementation of flax oil and vitamin C]." Children with neurobehavioral disorders have also shown improvement when supplementing with magnesium-vitamin B6. But unfortunately, poor dietary habits in children are the norm in recent years, not the exception.

But, not only are the types of foods children eat important, but the amount of food consumed should be managed as well. Depending on the source, reports indicate on average, 10% to 25% of today's children are overweight or obese. That's a significant increase over the national average 25 years ago of only 6%.

In addition to the increase in adolescent diabetes, studies have shown that overweight children are also prone to AD/HD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder).

Autism and hyperactivity have shown improvements when nutritional changes are made. In one study, 15 autistic children were divided into 3 groups: parents of patients in group one received counseling regarding casein free diets (casein is a white, tasteless, odorless protein precipitated from milk by rennin. It is the basis of cheese and is used to make plastics, adhesives, paints, and foods). Those in group II received counseling regarding gluten free diets; and those in group III received counseling regarding gluten and casein free diets. Dietary exclusion of casein resulted in reduced hyperactivity in 3 children, reduced anxiety in one child and improved digestion in 3 children. Gluten exclusion resulted in improved attention in 2 children, reduced hyperactivity in one child and improved digestion in one child. All behavior scores (except for socialization) improved in patients in group III.

More studies are being conducted which may indicate that many juvenile disorders can be helped or even prevented by reversing the poor eating patterns that we and our children have been educated to follow. Childhood is a time when young ones need to be protected from the overwhelming bombardment of poor nutritional advice and advertising that is so ever-present today in a world of self-proclaimed experts.

In addition to the lack of proper nutritional education, food advertising claims can be exaggerated or may be completely false. Although many regulations have been set to try and protect consumers, many food manufacturer ads are still misleading to the public. Two common examples are cereal and fruit juice advertisements. For example, in some cereal ads we may see a bowl of children's cereal (which is comprised mostly of sugar, starch, toxic synthetic chemical nutrients and preservatives) in the midst of a whole grain, fruit and fruit juice morning meal, and we may be led to believe that the cereal is "part of this nutritious breakfast". What we may not be told is that it's the worst part! Additionally, fruit juices may claim they are "natural" or contain "100% real fruit juice." However, current regulations allow manufacturers to make that claim even if there's only a thimble-full of real juice in their product.

Children today may also be facing more obstacles in the way of their health than just poor nutrition. Not only are they suffering from eating the wrong foods, they may be eating good foods that are actually very low in nutrition and may contain harmful additives and toxic synthetic chemical nutrients. Moreover, when our children do become ill, rather than helping them with more natural remedies, we tend to use all prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medications, which may contain known and unknown short and long term side-effects, contraindications, dependencies, etc.

Today's children may be exposed to much more toxicity and pollution than those of one or two generations prior. Free radical damage and oxidative stress is a daily occurrence, and likely in higher amounts. Air pollution, water pollution, pesticides, preservatives, radiation, smoke, fatty foods, and various levels of stress are factors that raise free radical levels. These free radicals may increase risks of degenerative diseases since they cause cellular and tissue damage within the body. There is a great need for diets rich in carbon based (organically bound) vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to combat free radical damage. Children receiving the right amount and combination of minerals and vitamins may be better able to counter the effects of extra toxins they are continually subjected to.

Amazingly, despite the increase in childhood illnesses, reports from the medical community claim that our current food supply is completely adequate for nutrients. Yet, for the most part, much of the medical community does not have a thorough enough nutritional education to make such a statement. In a recent Survey of Nutrition Education in U.S. Medical Schools: An Instructor-Based Analysis, the following excerpt is taken, "Nutrition plays a critical role in numerous pathophysiological conditions, including such prevalent diseases as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Despite the recognition that physicians are often called upon to provide guidance in nutritional aspects of disease and disease prevention, nutrition has not been consistently emphasized in medical school curricula. Indeed, numerous reports suggest that nutrition education of physicians remains inadequate."

So, where do we get accurate nutritional advice? Start by asking those who do have a good nutritional background and education. Most alternative health care providers (HCPs) have this kind of experience and education, and also tend to have a handle on current nutritional issues. Ask your HCP what his or her nutrition background is. And, do some research yourself. Thanks to the Internet, a wealth of information is available right at our fingertips. By doing adequate searches and comparisons, you can make informed decisions using a collection of research that was unavailable as little as 10 years ago.

Using the expertise and knowledge available to us, children can start benefiting from proper nutrition before they're even born! The nutrition that parents receive themselves will ultimately affect the development of the growing fetus. If the mother is making and following wise nutritional choices, the fetus may have a much better chance of developing into a strong and healthy newborn.

The next step is feeding our children the best possible nutrients from birth until they can make proper nutritional choices themselves. This includes the mother eating properly while nursing to give her baby excellent nutrition through her own milk, then educating her children to limit or avoid improper nutrition (e.g. excessive sugars and complex carbs) and make healthy choices in both foods and supplementation. This can be accomplished by parental education, responsibility and examples and by showing them the difference between good and bad foods when they shop, eat at restaurants or eat home-prepared meals.

However, as important as avoiding the wrong foods, and eating the right foods is, it's simply not enough. A point that must be emphasized continuously is that today's foods, even naturally grown foods, are lacking in vital minerals and vitamins. Dr. Richard Drucker states, "minerals are not found in the same abundance today as they used to be, due to the agricultural procedures practiced over the past several decades. Thus, just eating a well-balanced diet no longer adequately supplies life-sustaining minerals. Your health and wellness are at risk unless you replace the minerals that have been diminished in our foods." You must ingest the appropriate amount and quality of both trace and macro minerals or you will be vulnerable to illness and disease. People are not getting the proper organically complexed (carbon bound) trace minerals and nutrients to provide homeostasis (body balance) as nature intended. According to recent research, the body is imbalanced when it is deficient in organically bound trace minerals. This may causes disease, which can then manifest in the body with disastrous results. Additionally Dr. Drucker writes, "...the steady addition of toxic chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, etc., has triggered long-term soil imbalances, leading to an inability to neutralize the toxic chemicals and re-create new organic complexes and other critical minerals and nutrients. Thus, our foods have become interlaced with inorganic, toxic chemicals in place of naturally occurring, organically complexed minerals and nutrients. Again, who suffers? We all do."

In short, today's children, especially those with special needs, must avoid the unhealthy consumption of synthetic, chemically-produced foods (and nutrients) and replace them with proper nutrients. The body simply works better when it is receiving a regular supply of healthy, organic, carbon-bound nutrition.

Once again, I thank you for reading.

May you have a glorious holiday.

Yours in health,

Dr. Mike