Why are caroteinoids important? They are an indicator of the strength of your anti-oxidant network and overall health. Low levels of carotenoids mean your body is less capable of fighting off free radicals and repairing oxidative stress. High carotenoids mean your body has a higher ability to maintain health and fight free radicals. In essence this scanner can tell you how healthy you are on the inside…and how well (or not well) your supplement works.

Just because a supplement is expensive does not mean that your body can utilize it properly. With this biophotonic scanner, we can see just how well your multi-vitamin is working and being absorbed in your body. I also have a multi-vitamin and a juice that I can guarantee will bring up your score.

Scans are $10 each, and it takes about 10 minutes total. Really, the scan just takes a minute itself. Let me know if you are interested, I’m happy to schedule an appointment. I also want my therapy and counseling clients to be scanned. It’s so important for kids to get proper nutrition, and many do not. I hate to say it, but the flintstones vitamins you are giving your kids might not really be absorbed in the way your child needs. Lets check it out!

http://shop.bodyecology.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BE015

They are called Mint Chew Bursts – and guess what? They taste like mint! not fish!

I also love them because Mint Chew Bursts are: (as taken from the body ecology website)

1. Molecularly distilled
2. A pharmaceutical grade formula
3. ISO 9001 International Quality
4. Certified kosher
5. Exceed all international standards for purity
6. Heavy metals, PCB, dioxin, and pesticide free
7. All natural
8. Third party tested for purity and tested and approved by kids and Pediatric Doctors
9. Not made with corn, soy, yeast, wheat, gluten, milk or egg products
10. Free from sugar, sodium, artificial color or preservative

Fish oil has been shown to regulate mood and is highly beneficial for kiddos who are bright, active, moody, and tough to manage.

I have now found a new source for fish oil as well, called Omega-3 Mint Chews from Body Ecology. They come in little capsules and taste like mint. You can either swallow them whole (they are pretty small) or bite into them. I like them because I find the mint to be calming to the tummy, and it is simply nice to have an alternate option. Occasionally this company has been back ordered on the fish oil, so I order several bottles at a time. $19.95 for a bottle of 90 chewables.

Below is a link to Dr Mercola’s webite, which I read pretty frequently. I think he has good information and seems to do his research, though sometimes I wish he wasn’t marketing a product in every article. In any case, the link below is his take on fish oil and ADHD, and I think he does a good job of summing up the story.

http://www.mercola.com/2002/jul/20/adhd.htm 

Although there are always people who do not find a supplement or treatment beneficial, useful, or helpful – and I’m sure someone will read this and come back saying fish oil did not make any difference with their child – I will say that I have seen positive changes in kids in my practice who took fish oil supplements.

As one parent said, “he seems to have the edge taken off” when referring to her 6 year old son who had a tendency to be aggressive and hyperactive.  It’s not going to take a kid who’s at a 10 down to a 1, but if it brings them down to a 5 or a 6, I think that’s great progress! For most kids I’ve seen, it’s taken them down a few notchs in reactivity and impulsivity and aggression/anger, so that they were then able to use tools we worked on in therapy of how to think through a problem, see the consequences, etc.

Just FYI, I like coromega fish oil supplements. They taste like orange creamsicle, have a pudding consistency and come in a small pouch you can just squeeze into your mouth or give to your kiddo. They also have a new version specific for kids called coromega child brain and body that is supposed to taste like lemon-lime, but I haven’t tried it yet. My experience is that you can buy fish oil capsules cheap at costco, but after a few fish burps and yucky tastes, you won’t be able to get your kiddo to take them any more, and you won’t want to either.

yay fish oil!!

A few frightening statistics I learned:
• Approximately 70% of disease is directly related to what we eat and drink.
• 1 out of 2 children will develop heart disease.
• Cancer kills more children than any other disease. Gale encyclopedia of Children & adolescents, 1998
• 1 in 3 children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes
• Children at the age of 3 have fatty deposits in their arteries. Bogalusa Heart Study
• By age 12, 70% of all American children have developed beginning stages of hardening of the arteries. Bogalusa Heart Study
• Less than 7% of children and adolescents consume the recommended 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables per day. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine 1996.

A recent study conducted in Britain and published in The Lancet, a British Medical Journal, (and written up in the New York Times) found that “a mix of additives commonly found in children’s food increases the mean level of hyperactivity.”

The double blind, 6 week trial was conducted with several hundred 3-year-olds and 8 and 9-year-olds using a variety of food colorings and sodium benzoate – a preservative commonly used in food. The children were evaluated by teachers, parents, and a computer test for inattention and hyperactivity. “Researchers discovered that children in both age groups were significantly more hyperactive and that they had shorter attention spans if they consumed the drink containing the additives.” (Rosenthal, The New York Times, Sept 6, 2007).

The article in the NY Times can be found here

If you are interested in learning more about food allergies and how children may react to foods and additives, or want to know how to do a diet to find out how your child reacts to specific foods, I highly recommend Doris Rapp’s book “Is this your child? Discovering and Treating Unrecognized Allergies in Children and Adults.”

It’s a thick book and filled with information on how to test and treat allergies (without medication). I found it truly eye-opening, especially drawings included in the book of children who cannot control their crayon after having certain foods (pizza, ice cream, and soda in one example) and then draw beautifully and within the lines just two days later after being on a food elimination diet and the suspect foods have left the system.