From January through March , the winter brings a seemingly endless stretch of bleak skies, unpredictable weather and plenty of cold and flu. Here at Macaroni Kid, we know that every family manages their winter illnesses differently and we like to share the many different approaches to managing your kids’ health and wellness.
Holistic pediatrician Diana Lopusny, M.D., F.A.A.P, of Preferred Pediatrics, has been helping parents navigate cold and flu seasons for years. The mother to two boys, Lopusny knows a thing or two about preventing and treating nasty bugs like the flu. Here is what Lopusny suggests for keeping your family health and happy all winter long.
Over the years I have learned that being healthy takes effort and daily commitment to eating well, taking supplements, sleeping well, getting outside and being supported and loved. Here are the most important things for maintain your children’s health:
1. Above all for me FOOD IS MEDICINE.
This is one of my passions: finding foods to heal illnesses and ways to keep my family and patients healthy on a daily basis. Healthy foods nourish our cells and if our cells are happy our immune system is in top shape! Sticking to a whole foods diet is where the success lies. Making sure to get enough fruits and vegetables and cooking at home as much as possible is vital to supporting your health. When illness strikes I recommend staying away from foods that cause inflammation such as sugar, dairy, gluten, soy and corn and focus on fruits, vegetables and healing broths. Healing broths can be bone broth or a veggie based broth that has leeks, onions, radishes, and garlic. There are so many recipes out there to choose from. Garlic drops are one of my favorite things to use for ear infections....this coupled with honey (I love manuka honey for wet cough- after age 1) and onions (put on the chest as a poultice) and voila, you have some of the best healing agents right in your kitchen! You have to be creative and learn about the different aspects of foods and what properties they carry for healing. Check out Life Changing Foods by Anthony William- this is one of my favorite books...Anthony will give you a boost into this learning and thinking process. YOU are your child's protector and with so many foods at your disposal, you will be able to feel confident when they are sick or for prevention. Once you start learning you will be so proud of yourself and the things you can use and pass along. As always choose Organic/Non-GMO if possible...memorize your dirty dozen foods and the clean fifteen foods that the EWG (Environment working group) has provided for us.
2. Hydration, hydration, hydration!
We are made up of food, air and water and drinking enough of the purest water is so important to get our heart pumping and keep our body in an alkaline state. My recommendation for water is that you have a good filter at home- we have a Berkey filter or getting your water from a fresh stream- there are a few streams in CT where you can go fill your water jugs yourself....this is an amazing experience for the kids or you can buy bottled water. FIJI water is the highest grade quality water out there in my opinion. Make an effort to educate yourself and find what you feel comfortable with but make a commitment to upgrade if you are buying bottled water (get rid of that plastic!) from the local grocery store.
3. Sleep
It is one of those subjects that goes hand in hand with food and water- it is the time for restoration, the time for your mind and body to rejuvenate. Finding warmth and comfort at night in bed gives your body the opportunity to get ready for the next day. I feel that having your children in bed on time is critical in teaching them how important this part of their day is. Ask your pediatrician how long your child should be sleeping at night. The organs heal at night. The gut heals at night. When you don't get enough sleep, your immune system is not able to properly protect your body from infection. I encourage parents to stay on a consistent sleeping schedule and get to bed early yourself. We love a salt lamp in the room at night for protection from EMF's and for respiratory support and please, please, please shut your router off at night (use a timer to shut it off at 11pm and back on at 8am)!
4. Supplements
The soil our food grows in is not like it used to be. It is void of minerals and thus our food can't give us quite everything we need. Supplements are one of the other key factors to maintaining a healthy immune system. The following is a list of some basic daily/weekly supplements: Vitamin D3 (by mouth in the winter, via sun in the summer), Zinc, Fish oil, Probiotics, Elderberry, Vitamin A. Preventative medicine means taking your supplements daily! Encourage your children to get into their routine themselves and know what is important for them. My boys just get their supplements on their own at night! Each child is different however and while this list is basic, some may need more or less. During the winter and at the time of an acute illness reach for that Elderberry and that Vitamin C (liposomal if you can). When you can, shop local at a Farmers Market or better yet, make your own Elderberry syrup! Elderberry is full of Vitamin C and when taken at the first sign of an illness, it can shorten its duration. When I feel that tickle or sore throat coming on I reach in my cabinet and make a shot of all my favorites and am good to go! In addition to supplements, I love herbs and homeopathy to treat and prevent illnesses. Before I leave this topic let's not forget about Essential oils as another great preventive and acute modality. When I am seeing patients I am known to smell like Thieves or On Guard which are two oils that are used to help prevent illness when worn on the skin. Take a chance and see if you like them! Diffusing oils is great for helping deflect and treat illness as well.
5. Nature!
Even in the winter, go for a hike, visit the beach or get them to the park. Being in Nature calms the nerves and grounds you (I find this to be most helpful to me as a Mom when I am having an overwhelming day). Vitamin D is one of the most important supplements to take daily. In the winter you can take it orally but in the summer it is free! So get outside and get those rays! If anyone knows me they know I am not a fan of electronics. My preference is to read a book, do a craft, put some music on and dance....do anything you can to get your kids engaged. Limit screen time to no more than 1.5 hours per day if possible. Don't forget those salt lamps at home to protect from EMF exposure. I also love Orgonite stones to help protect from EMF's.
6. Chiropractic Care
Chiropractors use gentle adjustments to restore joint function and support the nervous system. The word “chiropractic” means to be done by hand. I use Chiropractors for Ear infections, Constipation, ADHD, Reflux, Concussion and one of my favorites is fevers! An adjustment is known to break a fever almost immediately! (Moms chiropractic is great for you too!) If you feel uncomfortable with the idea of an adjustment there are alternatives....seeing an Osteopath can be helpful or getting a session of Cranial Sacral Therapy is so wonderful and relaxing. Both of these can help align the body and bring it back to a state of health.
So what do you do when your child gets sick? This is of course such a broad topic depending on the actual symptoms but here are my basics:
1. Get that elderberry going at the first sign of a cold (use after 6 months and must be without honey till 1 year).
2. Pull out your Vitamin D and your Vitamin C. These must be part of your first line of defense against an illness.
3. Get to the chiropractor.
4. Start epson salt baths.
5. Let a fever burn. Fevers are a positive sign that the immune system is working and if you feel comfortable let it do it's job to kill the virus.
6. Add in essential oils or learn about homeopathy and herbs to help you along the way.
