9: Foods that Keep Children Healthy
By Drs. Ralph & Lahni DeAmicis MH's ND's
Children aren’t cows and unless you want your kids to grow up and have big bodies and little heads like cows, don’t give them too many dairy products. Goat’s milk and cheese, as well as sheep’s cheese are better for kids. They are both low in casein, the glue that makes cow’s milk so sticky and sweet. For another substitute give them rice or almond milk (Avoid soy). The flavored is best. Rice is a very mild grain.
The only cow dairy that’s halfway digestible for kids are natural yogurts. The acidophilus culture consumes much of the gluey casein. For babies, goat’s milk is a much healthier substitute for mother’s milk than formula. It is higher in nutrition; better for the tummy and less inclined to trigger an allergy. It also makes less stinky diapers. Also, colic can be solved very quickly just by taking the child off cow’s milk or formula and putting them on goat’s milk. That’s an old solution. Goat’s milk is available in powdered form. Mixing it half and half with carrot juice makes a delicious, incredibly nutritious baby formula. Of the various juices you can give young children, carrot juice is one of the best. These days it is readily available in the refrigerator sections of many stores.
Breads, muffins, bagels and pasta made from wheat flour are high in the ‘glue’ called ‘gluten’. It sticks to the walls of the bowels and causes all kinds of problems including yeast. In the freezer section of the natural foods market you’ll find 100% sprouted breads. One of the best brands is Food For Life. They make Ezekiel bread, a traditional and very tasty bread perfectly suitable for sandwiches, French toast, bread crumbs or anything else you use bread for. It contains almost no gluten and it’s packed with easy to assimilate nutrition. Keep it in the freezer and pop it in the toaster, as you need it. They make great raisin bread too!
White sugar is America’s favorite poison and the damage it does is bizarre. There is an excellent, nutritious natural sweetener called Stevia. The high quality Stevia from NSP has no aftertaste and can be used any place that you might use sugar, for example to sweeten goat’s milk. Avoid artificial sweeteners. Diet products like aspartame are even more toxic than sugar and if they are really so effective then why is obesity growing at such a frightening rate?
For a tasty, healthy snack read Chapter #26 Ralph's Favorite Herbal Snack Recipe.
The powdered Coral Calcium can be added to all kinds of food to increase their mineral levels. Any kind of salad, tuna, chicken, egg, etc. will conceal the finely ground coral powder. The hardest thing to get into kids is vegetables and one of the main benefits of vegetables is their high mineral content. As a result most kids are low in minerals and coral powder overcomes that.
Liquid chlorophyll is a mild green drink with a mint flavor that’s added to water. Kids like it and it helps with digestion and overall health. It is a huge help in skin issues as well as nervous conditions.
Many children are overexposed to antibiotics as babies, due to endless ear infections, usually caused by gluey, sweet cow’s milk clogging up their ear canals. The drugs reduce the population of the intestinal flora in their bowels, that was first introduced to their bodies with their mother’s milk. Many children benefit from daily supplementation with flora. For kids we suggest the l-Reuteri, since it’s chewable, has a lemon flavor and doesn’t require refrigeration. One in the evening before bed is a nice, healthy treat.
Children who weren’t breast-fed could benefit from taking Colostrum daily. This is the material that precedes the mother’s milk as the baby’s first food and it is essential for the strength of the immune system. Children are around pollution as much as adults and antioxidants help protect them from those environmental stresses. NSP’s Antioxidants with Grapine is a chewable that kids can have whenever there’s a lot of stress in the day, whether due to being in school during the cold and flu season, or because they’re at the beach with too much sun, surf and watermelon.
When a baby or young child is having a tummy ache, the liquid Catnip and Fennel is a good tasting, safe solution that calms them down and relieves gas pains. A few drops in the mouth or rubbed on the belly are usually enough.
Nut butters are great for kids, but the most popular is also the worst: peanut butter. It’s widely marketed because it’s cheap to produce. Instead use almond butter. Almonds are the only alkaline nut and are relatively low in fat. Mix some Coral Calcium powder into almond butter to boost its mineral levels and the kids will never notice the difference.
Kids have very sensitive skin, especially while they’re sleeping. That’s why smart parents wash their clothes and sheets in very gentle, liquid, non-phosphate soaps. We find that many allergies and other health problems can be greatly relieved just by washing your kid’s clothes and sheets in natural detergents, which are widely available. You’ll probably notice the difference too!
Reference the Chapters #23, Essential Oils & 24 Living with Electronics relating to Environmental Health.
Sleeping kids are also very sensitive to electromagnetic fields. Keep all electronics, including clock radios, fans and even electrical plugs as far away from their beds as possible, especially the head of the bed. This may mean moving the side of the bed away from the wall, but it’s worth it. These fields suppress the immune system and disrupt growth and sleep patterns. This is another thing that’s important for adults too if you want to get a good night’s sleep.
Copyright © 2004 by Ralph & Lahni DeAmicis. This information is intended for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or prescribe and is not a substitute for qualified health care. If you have a health challenge we suggest that you consult a qualified health care professional to guide you.
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