Keep Your Kids Healthy with Two Nutrients and One Knockout Herb
My kids understand that I don’t give out medication easily. The use of any drug -prescription or otherwise - can mean unpleasant side effects, needless expense, and even life-threatening injury. So, to avoid all that, I prefer to protect my kids by giving them two nutritional supplements that have proven to be safe and effective at warding off illness, especially in the winter.
• Vitamin C. I’m not talking about synthetic, Franken-chemical vitamin C supplements. Synthetic versions of this vitamin are usually inferior, because the body doesn’t assimilate them well. Nor do they confer the myriad of benefits that natural Vitamin C can provide. Stick with the natural kind, loaded with ascorbic acid and an array of synergizing bioflavonoid molecules. The best natural sources are fresh grapefruits, oranges and rose hips (grind and add to water with a squeeze of lemon and the natural sweetener stevia).
• Cod liver oil. Taking 100 percent natural cod liver oil is a morning ritual in my house. Most companies distill their cod liver oil and then add back pharmaceutical-grade vitamins D, E, and A. But not the company I use - Nordic Naturals.
Both of these nutrients have proven to be non-toxic. You can feel comfortable giving them to your kids (and taking them yourself) to boost immunity. Unfortunately, this plan isn’t 100%. Kids can still get sick.
To make sure they get over their illness as quickly as possible, they need to get plenty of sleep. Of course, a hacking cough or stuff nose can prevent your children from getting that much-needed shut eye.
To solve the problem, you might consider valerian root. (This is what I give my kids.) This single plant carries a mouthful of non-addictive, sedative compounds that helps kids sleep soundly without the interruption of aches and pains.
Posted in Moms In Thongs
February 5th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Shane,
This is great info you are bringing out here! No one else seems to be pointing out the difference between natural vitamin C, and the synthetic version created from corn starch in a lab.
Everyone, including the late Linus Pauling’s website, seems to be claiming that “vitamin C, is vitamin C”, it’s all the same, and that we should be taking tons of it. I know from my research however, that the difference between natural and synthetic is like that of night and day.
The synthetic version (ascorbic acid imported mostly from Chinese pharmaceutical companies like Weisheng)tricks the body’s cells into thinking the entire vitamin C complex with bioflavonoids like hesperidin is present. The cell damage resulting from this trickery has not yet been fully determined by science because no one will pay for the long-term studies needed. So far though, it doesn’t look good.
Eighty percent of ascorbic acid used in the world is produced by China according to the following article in the Washingtom Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/19/AR2007051901273.html
The rest is made by one Western pharmaceutical company, the Dutch based DSM company.
You have also been the first one (to my knowledge)to point out that the vast majority of the cod liver oils on the market have synthetic vitamins A and D added back into the oils after distillation. Everyone is saying take cod liver oil because it’s loaded with vitamins A and D. What they don’t say, is that it’s the synthetic versions that are in the oils.
You have also correctly pointed out that Nordic Naturals is practically the only company that leaves the natural vitamin A and D in the oils, without adding any synthetics to it. They use a different, more expensive purification process that leaves the vitamins in.
We should be taking cod liver oil mainly for the Omega 3 content, and secondarily for the vitamin content. Nordic naturals claims their cod liver oil has 650-1500 IU of vitamin A, and a scant 1-20 IU of vitamin D (per serving). These ranges are far below the fixed amounts claimed by other companies who are adding synthetic vitamins back into the oils. If you see a fixed amount of vitamins, they’re synthetic. With Nordic, you get the “real things”.
Lastly, your recommendation for Valerian can also be a life saver for many as a stress reliever/anti-anxiety solution.
I was talking to the U.S. Army Suicide Prevention Division today about the correlation between the use of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs, with the record number of military personnel suicides in 2008. They still don’t seem to be getting it though. They are giving drugs like Xanax to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to relieve anxiety during their extended battle tours.
The troops take Xanax to knock the edge off, then Paxil to elevate their mood by “trapping serotonin” in the brain. The result is that the drugs rewire their brains, causing them to lose their larger perspective on life. Things like battle stress, failed marriages, and poor job performance are causing them to commit suicide. If they took natural herbs like valerian (as you recommend) to treat battle stresses and post-traumatic stress syndrome, many of these young people would still be alive today. They’re also taking Ambien in record numbers to try to sleep through the four to six hours they’re alloted. (But this is another story).
It gives me a good feeling to know that there’s at least one chemist out there who is drilling down deep into these issues and giving it straight to the American people. There’s hope.
Chuck