When people come to my clinic to see me for their health issues, one of the questions I ask is what their support structure looks like within their family to support them on their health journey. I then ask if the family is prepared to make any changes necessary to the way they eat in order to better everyone's health, and I include the children.
A lot of the time the response I get is “how would I ever get my kids to stop eating the sugar and the processed food? It tastes too good!”
This is a very valid question, and one that not many people have a great response to. Children have always seemed to be invincible when it comes to dietary and health decisions, and there hasn't been a need to try and get children to understand what food can do to support, or break down the body.
That is until recently.
Chronic Disease Among Children
The chronic illness rates in children have skyrocketed in the last decade. We are now seeing more diseases manifesting in children that we typically only see in adults. And now there is a reality upon us:
This generation of children is expected to live sicker and die younger than their parents.
In this episode of Combating Chronic Illness in Children, I brought on functional medicine practitioner and holistic doctor, Dr. Madiha Saeed to discuss ways to reverse chronic illness in children, and to set up this generation of kids for success in health. She has a unique approach to her own 4 kids that has worked very well in her household, and part of that is to have open communication for how the body works!
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Shownotes
7:20 – What drove Madiha to want to pursue functional medicine
9:20 – How one case at the start of her profession completely opened her mind to the power of holistic wellness
10:55 – How simple lifestyle tips make a huge difference in healthcare
13:15 – How to bring about health in a cost effective way to make it accessible to everyone
16:15 – Nutrition was not taught in med school at all
18:45 – Madiha wants to make this information available to everyone, regardless of financial status
19:30 – Your body can be completely broken, but provided with the right solution it can fix itself
21:21 – The medical system is broken
22:30 – The documentary Escape Fire talks about the medical system and how doctors make more money by coding their patients higher
23:30 – How does Madiha's family of physicians feel about her working holistically
26:30 – Do you find more physicians wish they could practice the way you practice
30:25 – This is the first generation the parents will outlive the children
31:10 – We never think twice about adults coming down with chronic diseases. But once kids start to come down with the same diseases, then it wakes us up
32:40 – What can we do for children so they don't become the above statistic?
35:25 – One of the areas of focus is on gratitude so the children are grateful for what they have
37:45 – Managing stress is another big focus for kids
44:00 – Madiha's kids know that processed foods are full of chemicals, and they understand why it is important to avoid these chemicals to keep their gut bacteria healthy
48:30 – Not many parents teach their kids about how their body works
55:20 – Does your oldest son ever feel left out from his friends when he eats only healthy foods
61:30 – The kids need to understand exactly what the food is that is going into their body
63:45 – How can parents teach their kids about how their body works, when they don't even understand how their own body works
64:30 – My Healing Day is a children's book to teach kids about their own body
67:20 – The Holistic Rx can be found here on Amazon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvD3-zkrmvQ
Learn More About Madiha Saeed MD
Website: Holistic Mom MD , Documenting Hope
Social: Facebook , Book- The Holistic Rx
