TORONTO FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FOR KIDS: SNEAKY HEALTH SABOTEURS FOR KIDS - Toronto Functional Medicine

As parents, we always want to keep our kids safe from illness, especially now. We do our best to keep our kids health to keep them healthy, yet somehow there’s a gap in wellness and where to turn to because parents are left asking themselves if there’s anything they are missing.

WHAT ELSE CAN WE BE DOING
FOR OUR KIDS HEALTH?

From eating organic wholesome meals to keeping physically active, we have seen parents inspired to raise the next generation with wellness as a core value. But have you ever scratched your head and wondered, what ELSE can I be doing? Even if they don’t have a cough, cold, or fever (physical symptoms), there are sneaky habits that can affect important processes like digestion, sleep, mood and immunity.

5 SNEAK THINGS THAT IMPACT YOUR KIDS HEALTH

Here are 5 sneaky things that can interfere with your children’s health that we sometimes overlook:

MOUTH BREATHING

Does your child always eat food with their mouth open, slurp or chew loudly, or even snore/drool when they sleep? These are signs that they are a mouth breather. Nasal breathing is actually the natural way we should be breathing, and encouraging mouth breathing can change how a child’s jaw, teeth and even face shape develop.

SCREEN TIME

“Can I watch one more show, pleeeeease?” …. Sound familiar? Our screens emit blue light which can interfere with our quality of sleep, a factor that is extremely important when it comes to immunity. A good tip is to have “OFF” hours for electronic devices a couple hours before bed and make this part of their evening routine. TMB TIP: At the very least you can change their phone settings to night-time mode 24/7!

SNACKING

If you usually offer your kids snacks constantly throughout the day, although not often emphasized, emptying of the stomach between meals (i.e. 3 hours) is an important part of keeping the gut and digestion optimized. Snacking so many times/day especially on sweets most times will reduce your appetite at meal time for nutrient dense things that are crucial for health, like proteins, fats and fibre. This could be why they ask for easier to digest foods, like carbs and sugars when it DOES come to mealtime.

Note: We know (and celebrate!) that every child is different, this is why we recommend testing/seeking the advice of an expert if your child DOES have trouble around meal times/what they’ll eat/refuse to eat. Could be something in the gut going on!

TOXIC BURDEN

Hidden toxins can be found in many items that your kids use everyday, including plastics, which can overburden their liver. When packing lunch for your kids, try to avoid plastics. Equally, if you’re preparing hot food at home, only heat in glass to avoid BPA and phthalates from leeching into the food. Our other suggestions are to use bio bags (instead of plastic sandwich bags) and non-plastic cutlery. This not only helps the environment, but also lowers exposure to chemicals. Feed your kids organic foods as much as possible – For helpful tips on organic produce & pesticides, check out EWG’s Clean 15/Dirty Dozen list.

LACK OF FRESH AIR

As the weather shifts and it starts getting colder outside, kids are more likely to stay indoors. Encourage them to continue their outdoor activities! Exercising outdoors in nature has been shown to help lower inflammation in the body, boost immunity and support overall health. Just make sure they’re dressed appropriately for the weather!

TMB’S RAISING ROOTS PROGRAM CAN HELP

These are some of the exact types of areas we help optimize when we work with your child in our NEWEST FUNC MED program: Raising Roots. Raising Roots is a functional medicine program to help kids thrive. Our goal is to help set children up for a future filled with vitality and vibrant wellness. Bring your kiddo in for a visit today!

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This article is excerpted from our weekly TMB Magazine — an exclusive subscriber only publication that is packed with all sorts of in-depth latest study breakdowns, functional medicine insights and wisdom from Dr. Bhat and her team.