Balance Your Way To Health!Written by Lena Sanchez
Balance Your Way To Health! © By Lena SanchezSome very wise people once made statement, "We are a nation of impending BIG BELLIES." Those very same wise people also stated that; "It is bad news to learn from our leading authorities that 99 percent of American people are deficient in minerals, and that a marked deficiency in any one of more important minerals actually results in DISEASE. Any upset of balance, any considerable lack of one or another element, however microscopic body requirement may be, and we sicken, suffer, shorten our lives". They go on to say "… each mineral element playing a definite role in nutrition. A characteristic set of symptoms, just as specific as any vitamin deficiency disease, follows a deficiency in any one of them. It is alarming, therefore, to face fact that we are starving for these precious health-giving substances." "Our soils which are seriously deficient in trace minerals, cannot produce plant life competent to maintain our needs, and with continuous cropping and shipping away of those trace minerals and concentrates, condition becomes worse. We are a nation of impending fat bellies!" These statements were made in 1936 by United States Congress, following a study of our food nutrient values, and reported in Readers Digest that year. Those facts have only worsened with years of land abuses, chemicals and pesticides introduced into our foods by farmers and fat bellies are now bouncing on every street in this world. When my four children were born in late 50's and early 60's pediatrician recommended giving them vitamins but not once did he tell me that mineral were required in order to absorb vitamins. In years I worked in doctor's offices I did not once hear a doctor tell a patient how important it was to have sufficient minerals in order to absorb those vitamins. Not until I read Senate report eight years ago did I know that minerals are catalyst to a healthy body and without them disease and obesity will rule. Then as I studied more into that premise I found that a requirement for ALL minerals is equally important. I see minerals sold all over place with 24 or 36 minerals but not whole 84 minerals and trace minerals our body was created with and need to stay healthy and balanced.
| | Children Get Constipated, TooWritten by Dr. Loretta Lanphier, ND, CCN, HHP
Children Get Constipated, Too! Dr. Loretta Lanphier, ND, CCN, HHPDo you notice your child putting off going to bathroom because he/she is busy doing more important things? Do you notice avoidance of bathroom for fear of a painful bowel movement? Is your child not experiencing daily bowel movements? These actions may be signals of constipation. Parents often hope their worries about their children's bathroom habits will end with final diaper. But successful toilet training doesn't prevent occasional troubles with bowel movements. Constipation is among most common but should never be considered normal. Unfortunately most of medical literature defines childhood constipation as not frequency of bowel movements but hardness of stool. According to Physicians’ Manual for Patients, “Daily bowel movements are not essential to health.” Parents are told that as long as child is having three bowel movements a week AND they are soft that this is totally normal. Not so! Just as we eat three meals per day, a child should be experiencing between 1 to 3 bowel movements per day. Food should never be sitting in digestive track longer than 24 hours. Ideally, everyone should have comfortable, unforced bowel movements 20-30 minutes after every meal. Because discussion of bowel movements between child and parent usually brings out total dread in parents, it is often ignored and assumed that child is experiencing bowel movements each day. Many of us remember cringing when a grandparent asked us “Have you had a bowel movement today?” The cringe was not necessarily because of question but because it was usually asked very loudly at dinner table! You see, in their generation this was considered a very important function for good health. Somewhere along line we have stopped looking at this as an important clue in overall health. Digestive track health is considered by many to be most important function in keeping body healthy. Causes Of Childhood Constipation Diet & Nutrition - Not eating enough foods with fiber; Dehydration; Consuming a lot of sugar and desserts; Milk and dairy products; Food Allergies; Acid forming foods (meat). Lack of Exercise – With popularity of computer games and TV many children are leading a very sedentary lifestyle. Emotion Upsets & Anxiety – Fear, grief, worry and frustration have all been known to affect digestive tract. Holding stools – This means child has feeling of needing to have a bowel movement, but ignores urge. Reasons such as not wanting to take time to go to bathroom, unfamiliar bathrooms or pain in passing a stool are very common. Prescription Drugs - Antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine (Temaril or Benadryl), found in nonprescription cold medications; Antidiarrheal medications; Antispasmodics, such as atropine and scopolamine; Narcotics, such as codeine and hydrocodone; Chemotherapy; Anticonvulsants, such as carbamazepine and valproic acid; Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline hydrochloride or doxepin hydrochloride; Iron supplements. Other less common causes of constipation are depression, attention deficit disorders, and sexual abuse. Constipation Symptoms Less than 1 bowel movement per day. Stools that are hard and difficult to pass. Headaches, fatigue and/or depression. Encopresis, or accidental fecal soiling. Often if a hard stool is present in rectum, liquid feces can leak around hard stool and pass out anus without child’s control. This can happen many times during day. The child cannot do anything to prevent or withhold it. Abdominal pain near or around navel. Bed-wetting. Decreased appetite and nausea.
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