LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

kids

KIDS NOT EATING ENOUGH VEGGIES?

by

I’m not really sure how to take this study. Certainly the health benefits of eating more vegetables in our children are extensive and a good thing. But the mechanism the authors used in this study…

Basically, pureed vegetables were mixed into the entrees of 3-5 yr old children. The end result was that the children’s vegetable intake quadrupled while the kids did not notice any difference in the foods. This also did not keep the children from eating the vegetables that were included as a side dish.

Ok…so where’s the problem? Certainly the short term benefits of increased vegetable intake are indisputable, And what parent wouldn’t like to sneak an extra serving or two of veggies into every meal?

But what happens when that child gets older? Does this behavior translate into lifelong increased fruit and vegetable intake? Likely not. It does not teach children to go out of their way to eat more fruits and vegetables, but rather tricks the child into having more veggies. This is not a behavioral change, although the body likely won’t know the difference.

It is also not going to affect the parent’s behaviors, which is where the true lifestyle habits of the children are created. Why not start with healthier entrees in the first place so we don’t need to dress them up with additional vegetables? I hear parents say all too often that their children are picky eaters. This is usually a perception problem.

As a parent, do you try to offer your child new foods knowing that they will like the food? Or, deep in the back of their minds do they really think there is no way the child will eat that broccoli?

Read more…

ARE ANTIBIOTICS NEEDED WITH ASTHMA?

by

There is a perceived fear that someone with asthma, especially a child, will develop a secondary infection that will turn into pneumonia.  Because of this, the parental expectation and physician actions lead to a massive overprescribing of antibiotics for children with asthma.  The long term devastation to our childrens’ health as a result of this behavior is significant.

Sort of ironic that antibiotics and the destruction of normal flora in the gut are associated with the development of asthma in the first place.  Asthma is a Th2 dominated immune state.  I call it overdevelopment of the “guard dogs” of our immune system.  The presence of healthy normal flora in the gut strengthens the Th1 systems, which I refer to as the immune system’s “attack dogs.”  Destruction of the bacteria that are supposed to be there weakens Th1.  So, weakening of the attack dogs (antibiotics, poor quality diets, no breastfeeding, C-section) coupled with overdevelopment of the guard dogs (vaccinations) leads to conditions like asthma.

The bottom line is that the greatest concern with antibiotics is NOT the development of antibiotic resistant superbugs (although that is a little scary), but rather the complete disruption of immune function that occurs when our healthy bacteria are destroyed.  Any use of antibiotics when they are not absolutely essential is a bad thing.  The best we can do if we do overuse is make sure we replace the destroyed flora with probiotics.

Also, in regards to the asthmatic kids, try getting them off of hydrogenated oils, refined carbs and artificial colors / sweeteners.  You may be surprised at how well they do.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/6/1022.abstract

TRAMPOLINE DANGERS FOR KIDS

by

We were all having a blast at a local trampoline “fun place” as Keegan (who is 5) calls it.  We’ve been to this type of place numerous times and always had fun and some good exercise.  However, this time I bounced a little too close to Keegan.  As the springs were unloading from my weight, he was coming down. 

You never want to hear your child crying in pain, especially not when the character is distinctive enough to ring that inner clinician warning bell.  A trip to urgent care for some plain films was in order.  I was hopeful it was just a serious sprain, but I think I knew better.  Being in the X-ray room when the technician brings the images up and seeing the glaring fracture over the proximal tibia was heart wrenching.  My little boy’s shinbone was broken, and although an accident, my role in the injury was prominent.

I ran the plain films by the local DACBR (Diplomate American Board of Chiropractic Radiology) and he confirmed the presence of what is known as a “trampoline fracture.”  He also reassured me that the outcomes were very good with simple casting.  Little risk to the growth plate and no need for surgery.

The next trip to the pediatric ortho left Keegan in a cast just short of his hip for 5 weeks.  Knowing how healthy he is and adding some extra C and D to the mix and his healing should be faster than normal.  But I can’t help feeling awful for him.  Playing rough is normal behavior for him, but this wasn’t a situation where he was about to jump off a structure high enough to have low oxygen tension–my role in his injury was critically.

I’m familiar with the risks of trampoline use.  I’ve always been careful there, but I was unaware how common this injury can be.  Hopefully this lesson can save another little 5 yr old some time in a cast.

MONKEY EAT, MONKEY DO?

by

It has become very clear that our children’s collective health is deteriorating.  Obesity, diabetes, liver problems and medication use are at levels that shock me.  I personally cannot understand the use of cholesterol lowering meds given to children by a pediatrician.  How do you give a drug to a population at incredibly low risk of a heart attack (the process of destroying our vascular health is a decades-long endeavor and medications that are taken 20 or 30 years before an “event” will never have the benefits outweigh the risks) in lieu of lifestyle changes?

But those changes HAVE to begin with the parents.  These kids pick up their bad behaviors from their parents.  Keegan, who is now 5, eats wild caught salmon, artichokes, olives, hummus and squash because he loves to steal them from my plate.  It’s all he’s seen and he thoroughly enjoys these foods.  The first time I heard him order a 1/2 water, 1/2 lemonade (which was our concession to allowing him something different to drink when we go out) I was pleasantly floored.  I had been quietly ordering this for months, but he had picked up on my queues.

Here we have yet another study that supports the fact that parents are not choosing the right lifestyles for themselves.  I know that parenthood can be challenging.  But that is NEVER an excuse to pull through the fast food drive thru instead of spending a little more time getting healthier fare for your children.  Our society is paying the prices for these choices.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/5/881