Pediatric Nutrients, Insomnia and Constipation

The last article looked at the therapeutic importance of vitamin A and cod liver oil. This month, I would like to address other vitamins, minerals, and dietary issues that are especially important for children.

Insomnia and Constipation

From infants to toddlers and older children, sleep disorders and slowed-down bowel are quite common. Causes are biological, and certainly, these problems are aggravated by milk-based and soy-based formulas. We suggest whey-based formulas or goat milk formulas, as they cause fewer incidents of ear infections, mucous formation, colds, and constipation. Remember cow’s milk protein, casein, and lactalbumin, is four and a half times longer than human mother’s milk protein, and is meant for baby cows. It causes inflammation in the intestines, which causes a leaky gut and lets large proteins enter the bloodstream and overwhelm the liver and eventually the adrenal gland. If your child has purple, puffy areas under the eyes (allergic shiners) or a blue color to the whites of the eyes (liver wind in Chinese medicine), consider allergic reactions to foods, especially milk, sugar, and wheat.

If a child is not having several bowel movements per day, one of the very best supplements is liquid calcium and magnesium. Magnesium, of course, is in the milk of magnesia and Epsom salts; it is a laxative and calmative. It kills two birds with one stone. Before bedtime, give one tsp to toddlers and two tbsp to older children, for an effective correction to both insomnia and constipation. The liquid we use is a pleasant, mint-flavored liquid that is generally well-accepted by children. It is also great if the kids get some sugary treats at home or school, and then become hyperactive and irritable; it frequently calms them down in a few minutes. If magnesium supplementation causes diarrhea, simply back down the dose and adjust to the child’s needs. It’s impossible to get enough magnesium from a standard American diet (SAD) without supplementation.

Vitamin C is also great for kids. We give from 250 mg to 1 gram or more per day to children, to help with constipation and treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. We use vitamin C drink, which is a good-tasting, lemon, citrus drink, and Honeyvite; it has all the major vitamins and minerals and can be taken in water or fruit juice. Especially when sending kids into the toxic wasteland of schools with other sick kids, toxic cleaning materials, plastics, formaldehyde in the rugs, and many other toxins in the child’s learning environment.

Remember, a goat that weighs 150 lbs. makes 13,000 mg of vitamin C every day in its liver. How much vitamin C does a 150 lb human make? NONE. Only primates, guinea pigs, fruit bats, and man make no vitamin C. All the other millions of species make their vitamin C. We all need to supplement vitamin C. We are all suffering from mild scurvy, including our children. Vitamin C is a universal detoxifier and also acts as an antihistamine and laxative. The highest concentration of vitamin C in the human body is in the adrenal gland (stress gland) and secondarily in the brain.

References:

1. Briggs D.Sc., Ph.D., Michael. Vitamins in Human Biology and Medicine. CRC Press, Inc. Boca Raton, Florida 1981.
2. Bralley, Ph.D., C.C.N., J.A. and Lord Ph.D, Richard. Laboratory Evaluations in Molecular Medicine. The Institute for Advances in Molecular Medicine 2001.