Back to School: Tips for Your Kid's Health

This year your kids may be headed back to school, or they’ve been asked to stay home and learn online, or you’ve chosen to keep them at home. It’s an unprecedented year!

Although kids tend to get fewer complications of COVID, they can get sick and can also pass germs to elderly relatives or immuno-compromised individuals. (1)

Whatever your situation, let’s review options for keeping your kids healthy!

Best Diet & Lifestyle for Kids

Sleep Recommendations

Kids need the same things as adults in regards to diet and lifestyle, just in different doses. 

Depending on her age, your child may need 10 hours of sleep, or 10 hours plus a nap, etc. (2)

Sleep is an important time for cellular repair, production of growth hormones, production of melatonin and overall immunity. 

“There are several explanations for greater susceptibility to infections after reduced sleep, such as impaired mitogenic proliferation of lymphocytes, decreased HLA-DR expression, the upregulation of CD14+, and variations in CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, which have been observed during partial sleep deprivation.” (3)

Melatonin is most known as a sleep hormone, but it’s also a powerful antioxidant for immunity. In fact it’s theorized that one reason kids and babies get less severe symptoms is their higher level of melatonin, especially compared to levels in the elderly. (4, 5)

A lack of sleep can lead to a cranky student, poor performance in school and poor food choices the next day. (6, 7)

So help your little student get a good sleep by:

• Removing screens 1-2 hours before bedtime

• Creating a relaxing bedtime routine

• Using things like sauna, epsom salt baths, powdered magnesium supplements and essential oils to aid in sleep

Exercise

Exercise, especially outdoor exercise, is good for the immune system. Exercise:

• Moves lymph

• Increases oxygen levels

• Circulates fresh blood to the brain, lungs and gut

• Improves mood

• Can increase vitamin D levels when outdoors

• Benefits intestinal microbiome (8)

With kids, getting energy out can also help them come back in and focus on school tasks. (9)

Diet

I recommend that kids follow a similar diet as adults, and the general guidelines I created are called MATH, which stands for:

Microbiome-friendly

Anti-inflammatory

Time-restricted

Hydrating

Microbiome-friendly

Your kids’ immune system will be stronger with a varied diet, full of fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, some whole grains as tolerated, nuts and seeds and clean protein. 

Anti-inflammatory

We all do better when we generally avoid inflammatory foods like gluten, processed foods, sugar and processed dairy products. In most cases, you don’t have to practice 100% avoidance, but you may if symptoms are severe and you are in a healing phase. 

Time-Restricted

Your kids may not need to practice intermittent fasting but I do encourage you to avoid giving them snacks or letting them graze out of the pantry. Kids can eat three meals a day, perhaps with one additional snack as needed. 

Eating too often can help them develop obesity, insulin-resistance and dysbiosis. Please note that if your kids currently are grazers, you don’t have to make a sudden change, just ease them into this goal, explaining it to them if they are old enough to understand.

Hydrating

Getting enough water is important for flushing toxins and for supporting cellular health. Fresh foods will supply fluids, but encourage kids to also have water handy and sip it all day. Other ideas are:

• Greens powders

• Green smoothies

• Reds powders

• Sugar-free electrolytes

• Fruit-infused waters

• Magnesium drinks

For more information, download my MATH diet guide below. 

“Case Study”

My son is almost 12 and has recently developed a little chronic rash around his nose. As the skin is a dumping ground of unprocessed toxins, it’s a good guess that an inflamed or leaky gut is contributing to skin issues.

Megasporebiotic serves as an all-spore probiotic that repairs and improves gut health, and provides relief for digestive distress.

I have asked my son to consume a ½ scoop of MegaPre (a prebiotic fiber) with 1 capsule of MegaSporeBiotic added inside the drink, plus to eat one fruit and one vegetable per day. I am also trying (and not entirely succeeding) in getting him to take his daily supplements everyday. 

While one fruit and one vegetable may not sound like much, it gives my son a manageable goal and awareness of his diet now that he’s old enough to do some things for himself. The fiber drink plus fruit and vegetable feeds his friendly bacteria and the MegaSporeBiotic encourages a variety of friendly species plus ‘starves’ unfriendly species.

Supplements for Kids

Do kids need supplements? Just like adults, my answer is yes! The rationale as for adults:

• Poor soil quality

• Increased nutrient need due to environmental toxins

• Increased nutrient need due to stress

• Declining nutritional value of food

• Exposure to processed foods

• Potential of incomplete diet

• Lack of sunlight/ northern latitude 

Kids can be picky eaters, or be born with weakened health thanks to toxins, and you may be wondering if your child is getting enough nutrients.

The basics I give my own son are the same as I recommend to my adult clients.

You can learn more below, and keep in mind that you can try any of these supplements for 10% off (applied automatically in the cart) now through Sept. 6, 2021!

1. Fish oil

2. Multivitamin

3. Magnesium

4. Vitamin D

5. Probiotics

6. Prebiotic fiber

Many of these supplements we carry in a powder or liquid form in our shop. We also carry additional liquid and powder options at our sister website. You can read my previous blog, Supplements for People Who Can’t Take Pills, here.

Beyond mixing supplements into water, you can add powders to applesauces, watered-down juices or smoothies.

Our Biocidin Throat Spray and ACS Silver Nasal Spray have become community favorites for their ease of use and efficacy.

Sprays and topicals are great for kids too! Our new Quick Immune Kit is great idea for kids.

Use as directed before school and after to prevent potential viral replication in the throat and nose.

Essential oils are awesome options for kids, but keep in mind that it’s best to dilute pure oils into carrier oils for kids. 

You can diffuse lavender or Serenity by doTERRA in kids’ rooms at night to promote sleep. You can use diluted On Guard by doTERRA or a similar blend on kids’ feet at night to promote immunity. And you can diffuse orange oil in the air for alertness during homework time.

Gut Health for Kids

Again, just like adults, gut health is important to kids! Due to:

• Declining food quality

• Increasing environmental toxicity

• C-section births

• Antibiotics in food and cleaning products

• Less time outdoors

• COVID isolation

• Chronic stress

• Internal infections

And more, kids can have unhealthy guts from a really young age nowadays. This can manifest as:

• Food intolerances

• Picky eating

• Behavioral issues

• Attention issues

• Depression or anxiety

• Chronic skin issues

• Dark under eye circles

• Insomnia/bedwetting/night terrors

• Constipation

• Bloating 

Ideas for Gut Health:

1. MegaSporeBiotic (1/4 capsule to 2 capsules depending on size of child) in smoothie, juice or in applesauce to add friendly bacteria

2. MegaPre (usually a ½ scoop in water) to feed friendly bacteria

3. MegaMucosa (usually a ½ scoop in water) to build immune mucosal layer--it’s great for food sensitivities and a sensitive stomach.

4. MegaGuard (1/4 capsule to 2 capsules depending on size of child) to promote bowel movement and stomach emypting

5. Fish oil (½ gm - 3 gm daily of liquid or chewable) to include a mix of DHA for brain health and EPA for gut health.

If your child is really struggling with gut issues, I suggest ordering a GI-MAP gut health test from us. This at-home test is suitable for kids, covers bacteria, parasites and more, and allows us to develop a targeted protocol.

Mold Toxicity in Kids

When there is mold in the home, everyone is exposed. However some members of the family will really react and some will not at all. I have been getting more child patients with mold, and while kids don’t usually require as intensive of treatment, it is important to address if they are displaying chronic symptoms.

The main symptoms in each family member can vary as well. A child, for example, may have hyperactivity and eczema, while her mom has depression and weight gain and dad has chronic diarrhea and low sex drive.

I have seen various symptoms in kids, but I want a few I’m hearing the most lately are:

1. ADHD

2. Digestive problems

3. Frequent urination

Whereas adults with mold toxicity tend to develop anxiety or depression, the signs of ADHD in kids tend to develop.

Our basic mold protocol is: 

• Sauna treatment (kids don’t need as long or hot!)

• Electrolytes (we are developing our formula own now)

• Binders

• Glutathione

We carry a spray oral glutathione called ACG glutathione that is perfect for kids. Our binder, GI Detox, is a capsule but you can empty one capsule into water for kids… or pick up a liquid bentonite clay at your local grocery store.

If you suspect mold toxicity is causing health issues in your child, our Mold/Toxins test kit is also taken at home and helps us know what we are dealing with to best help your child.

Conclusion

The same protection that adults use to reasonably boost immunity can also be used in kids. Model good habits for your kids with family exercise, getting off screens sooner and getting to bed, and eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

Beyond handwashing and good hygiene, you may feel more protected with adding some immune interventions for their gut health and respiratory symptoms. My top five immune picks for kids are:

1. Liquid vitamin D at about 2,000 IU day

2. MegaPre at ½ scoop in water

3. Megasporebiotic about 1 capsule a day

4. ACS Silver nasal spray 2 X day

5. Biocidin throat spray 2 X day

Ready to Try Some of These Ideas?

---

Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and HormoneDetoxShop.com.