What you feed your kids can limit them by 50%!

Today we saw our little ladies to their first day of school. After praying for them, we entrusted them into a system that is preparing them for a future that can be as diverse as the people who will come into it. On the drive to work, I started questioning if I was truly doing all I could do to insure they are positioned for a successful and fruitful year. Uniform and shoes-CHECK. Back pack with school supplies-CHECK. Healthful breakfast and lunch-CHECK. Eight or more hours of sleep-CHECK. Most would think my duty as a responsible parent would end there. Fortunately, we know better. Amelia and Gianna would not be TheFITBODYrx kids if they did not first take their “suppies”(as our girls call supplements) before heading to school. “Suppies” to become strong, smart, big girls-CHECK!!! So here is what our ladies take before school every morning. 1-Cold Water Fish Oils containing DHA. From the beginning, our philosophy regarding supplementation has been the same. “God got it right the first time.” Anytime we try to improve nature, we end up making a mess of things and supplements aren't an exception. Almost always, if you can take something in its natural form, the body will work better with it. Because of contamination scares, most fish oil supplements being sold are over-processed and lose valuable “natural traits” contained in nature. When this happens, nutrients are then spiked back in to meet and exceed label claims. The end product is usually not in its original omega 3 fatty acid ratios as it's found in the fish. We use a product that sources fish from non contaminated areas, minimally processed to ensure purity, but that also discloses the species of the fish used. Why is it important to know the species? Well not all fish oils naturally contain the ratios of omega 3's that our girls need at this age. The omega 3's are essential which means Amelia and Gianna's bodies cannot make them on their own; they must be synthesized. These are ALA, EPA, and DHA. ALA is found in plant sources such as flax seed oil and can be converted to some degree into EPA and later DHA, albeit in a very inefficient way. EPA and DHA are found in fish oils naturally but it's DHA that Gianna and Amelia need the most at this stage in their lives. There are too many studies to reference here but one that really stands out is a study which was conducted in 2005 on five to twelve year old children with developmental coordination disorders. In this study, researchers confirmed that children who received DHA supplementation demonstrated improved learning, behavior and psychosocial adaptation. You can find the study here: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/115/5/1360.full

DHA is a vital nutrient needed for an infant's neurodevelopment and ironically is found in a healthy mom's breastmilk. Our ladies are a wee bit too old for that and frankly, there would be a serious conflict of interest in our household if they tried to supplement their DHA that way(OK... TMI). So God created cold water fish which are naturally higher in DHA than EPA. As a matter of choice and convenience, we use a Tuna fish oil. Tuna has a naturally occurring ratio of 300mg of DHA to 60mg of EPA. This is why it is important to know what species of fish oil you are supplementing with. Just to be clear, EPA is beneficial too as it has anti inflammatory and heart friendly attributes. In this case, we are looking more so for neuro support that DHA provides as we want Amelia and Gianna to optimize their learning opportunities in school. 2- Vitamin C from a Whole Food Source. Kids can only learn if they are present and to be present and optimize learning, kids must have strong immune systems that keeps them at their desks and off their beds, sneezing and coughing. Vitamin C has long been known to enhance immune function but sources that come from nature work best and do not create an imbalance with other co-factors not found in it's synthetic counter parts. READ the label! If you can't identify a food source on the label then you are making your kids swallow something made in a lab. “Pharmaceutical Quality” means just that- made purely in a lab, but certainly not in nature. The government identifies Vitamin C as Ascorbic Acid but ironically nowhere in nature do you find Ascorbic Acid alone. The point is that Ascorbic Acid alone does not help support the immune system, it's Ascorbic Acid as well as all the different co-factors in the Vitamin C complex that supports immune function. This is only found in food and we can't make it on our own. Just like DHA, Amelia and Gianna cannot make Vitamin C in their bodies and so they must intake this Vitamin to help support the immune system. As a side note, it is believed that sugar consumption as low as 75 grams, can reduce cell mediated immunity fifty percent for 120 minutes. In plain English... once you feed your kids POP TARTS and some cold cereal with Skim milk your kids immune system will be limited 50% for 2 hours to fight off a bug. There is much speculation to why this happens. It is believed by many experts that sugar limits the transport and utilization of Vitamin C. 3- Calcium. Many years ago, a close friend of mine who also happens to be a self proclaimed “diet guru” took his babies to the pediatrician because of high fevers. He contacted me on the way and since I was in the area I decided to stop by. As most parents, they were concerned about getting the fever under control. I quickly recommended CALCIUM. He looked at me with a confused stare wondering what I was talking about. After a brief explanation I could tell I wasn't getting anywhere and so I promised to send him research supporting my recommendations. After checking with the pediatrician, he confirmed that this was a concept neither of them had ever heard of. At this point, I excused myself and wondered why we tend to be so closed minded about simple things. Imagine if new parents knew how to control fevers naturally. Many of the first urgent visits to the doctor or hospitals involve high fevers that parents have no idea how to control. What the pediatrician and my friend ignored is the fact that calcium is needed to activate and proliferate immune cells. In doing this, it is a determining nutrient that supports Phagocytosis(engulfing invaders) and Chemotaxis(movement of white blood cells to the area being invaded). Basicly, calcium gets the immune response started. This isn't limited to a cold or flu challenge but also to repairing any damaged tissue. In a study reported in Current Biology, researchers were able to confirm the role calcium plays in the initial immune response. You can find the study here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130214111608.htm

So there you have it. Gianna and Amelia's secret supplement protocol. Vitamin C, Calcium and Fish oils. Oh... and no pop tarts for these ladies... eggs, oatmeal or protein smoothies.

#kids #nutrition #supplements #kidsnutrition #backtoschool