Bacteria and viruses run amok in daycares, schools, buses, and playgrounds.  When children go back to school, they are exposed to so many more germs from all their fellow classmates.  And let’s face it, nothing is worse than waking up in the middle of the night to your child who is sick.

There are preventative measures you can take to avoid your child missing school because they are sick and to avoid calling off work.

Let’s go over a few:

First and foremost, washing hands is the number one way to prevent the spreading of germs.  Teach your children to always wash their hands after the bathroom and before they eat.  You can also purchase travel size anti-bacterial foam that they can keep in their backpack, locker, or cubby (as long as the school permits so).

Have your child drink from their own water bottle at school and do their best to avoid drinking from the water fountain where children put their mouths on it.

Have you child take a good quality multi-vitamin.  The vitamin should be free of artificial colors, artificial flavoring, and artificial sweeteners like sucralose. These ingredients are listed under the “other ingredient” section of the label.  I like the Garden of Life: MyKind Kids Multiple, or Carlson Kids Chewables Vitamin and Minerals.  (I am not affiliated with either company, I just know from personal experience).

Vitamin D is very important to support the immune system.  Even from infancy!  An infant Vitamin D liquid should be free from the ingredients that I mentioned above.  Be sure to ready the label!  I have seen pediatricians give patients liquid Vitamin D that had caramel coloring in it!  Infants can take 400 IU/day.  School age children can take up to 1000 IU/day.  You get also have your child get their Vitamin D tested through the blood to be sure they are optimal.

Lauricidin is another very important and powerful supplement that is an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral that your child should take.  This supplement is all natural and is derived from the coconut plant.  The actual supplement looks like sunflower seeds but it is white.  Your child can take 1/2 scoop a day.  This can be increased to 1 scoop a day during flu season or if they get sick.  You can mix it with applesauce or peanut butter.  But don’t put it in the blender.

Vitamin C should be taken on a daily basis.  Your child can take 500 mg-1000mg on a daily basis.  If they take too much, it can cause diarrhea.  If this occurs, just reduce it or spread it out more.

The suggestions I have made are general guidelines.  Of course, each child is different and may need to be seen by a doctor right away.  These preventative measures will hopefully get you through the school year with minimal sickness and days off.  Save those days off for fun!

The information in this post has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to treat, cure or prevent any disease.

The post Immune System Support For The School Year appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

Vitamin D deficiency continues to go unrecognized by a majority of healthcare professionals.  In fact, I would guestimate that close to 80-90% of individuals that get tested at our office are somewhat deficient in Vitamin D and never knew it!  Many people believe that getting enough sunlight will help their Vitamin D status.  Although this is partially true, vitamin D synthesis has to undergo two different chemical processes for body activation.  The liver and the kidneys are responsible for these reactions.   Also, you cannot get enough vitamin D through the diet alone.  The best way to determine your vitamin D status is to test it in the blood.

Vitamin D is crucial for:

• Hormonal balance
• Cognitive function
• Immune system
• Pregnancy and nursing:  Did you know that very little vitamin D is passed through mother’s breastmilk?  A 2015 study showed that mothers of exclusively breastfed babies with 6400 IU vitamin D per day is a safe and effective alternative to directly supplementing babies with 400 IU vitamin D per day.¹ 
• Osteoporosis
• Skeletal growth and prevention of rickets: a condition that causes soft/weak bones
• Calcium absorption
• Inflammation
• Mood disorders

Adults can safely take 5,000 IU of Vitamin D daily.  Children can safely take 400 IU daily.

Try this! For infants, try just putting a drop of the liquid form on your finger or your nipples, if you are still breastfeeding, and have the baby suck it off.

Be careful of liquid and chewable forms of any supplement.  You ALWAYS want to read the label and check the “other ingredient” section.  Make sure there are no artificial colors, dyes, or sweeteners.  Stevia as a sweetener is OK.

References

1. Hollis et. al Pediatrics. 2015 Oct.136(4)625-34.

The post Vitamin D appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

Weight loss.  One of the most talked about topics when it comes to women’s health.  Let’s face it, in today’s media driven society, we are putting ourselves on display more than ever and are even comparing ourselves to other women our ages all the time.  The weight may have creeped up over the years and now you feel stuck. From fasting, to yo-yo dieting and detoxing, many of the weight loss programs out there now are too hard and too fast for the body to handle and, without proper guidance from a professional, you could end up causing more harm than good or even end up in the hospital!  Crash dieting has been known to cause heart palpitations, a drop in blood pressure, and even increase your risk for heart attacks.¹

The word diet should be used when describing your lifestyle habits.  When people say they are “going on a diet” does this mean that they weren’t on one before?  Case in point…They were on “diet” before but their diet probably consisted of pro-inflammatory foods, fast food, sugar, and dairy.  And, portion control can be quite time consuming and dictates unrealistic rules which set most people up for failure. In addition, when most people start counting their calories and following a low calorie diet, it slows their metabolism and in addition their protein intake drops too low which increases their susceptibility to infections, joint, bone and muscle disorders.

There are many factors that influence one’s ability to lose weight.  Ask yourself, why have you gained weight?  Have you ruled out factors that only a health professional can discover such as altered Thyroid function, imbalanced hormones, poor digestion, or even the medications you are taking.

So where should you start?

1. Get a physical. You want to be sure that before you start any exercise program, you are cleared to do so.  This is especially important for those that are not currently exercising.  This can be done by your chiropractor, family practitioner, or ob/gyn.
2. Get your blood tested thoroughly. This will tell you exactly what your body is lacking or what toxicities you may have.  You may have to take supplements to fix the deficiencies found.  By getting your blood tested, you won’t have to guess at what supplements you may need.  This can be done by your chiropractor, family practitioner, ob/gyn.  For specialty cases, such as autoimmune diseases, you may be referred to your endocrinologist.
3. Drink 2-3 quarts of clean filtered water daily. Be sure you measure it so you know how much you are drinking.  TIP: Try filling up a 32 oz water bottle in the morning and drink it by lunch time.  Then fill it up again and drink another 32 oz before dinner.
4. Read your labels. Try to avoid all soy, artificial sweeteners, colors, dyes, and whey.
5. Cut down on the sugar. This includes fruit juice and soda, breads, pasta, crackers, cookies, chips, potatoes, and sweets.
6. Reduce dairy. Did you know that 60% of adults are unable to digest milk?  This is mainly because lactase, the enzyme responsible for digestion of milk, is stopped produced when we are 2-5 years old.² Consumption of dairy can increase gas, bloating, diarrhea, and nausea.
7. Increase proteins and healthy fats in the diet. Chicken, fish, nuts, seeds, quinoa, beans, eggs, and even some red meat are all good sources of proteins.  (TIP: Be sure to know what your Serum Iron and Ferritin levels are in the blood before consuming a lot of red meat.  It would be contraindicated to do so if your Ferritin is high.)  Healthy fats to include more of in the diet would be avocados, fish, nuts and nut butters, olive oil, and coconut oil.
8. Try to eat vegetables with every meal. Fresh or frozen is best.
9. Give it time. Changing up your “lifestyle habits” is not going to be easy, especially when you are busy raising children. But remember, if you are not taking care of yourself, you may not be healthy enough one day to take care of your family.  It may even take months.  But if you make just 1-5% progress every month, think about where you will be at the end of the year!

These guidelines are general.  Every individual is different and will need a different approach towards their goal.  There is not one “cure all” factor.  Lose weight in a healthy way by making the necessary lifestyle changes in order to have long term success with weight loss. Or, your typical workout routines just aren’t enough anymore.  Women sometimes go to great lengths to try and discover the perfect weight loss product or program on the market.  And let’s be honest, there are way too many to choose from.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I would appreciate any comments or questions you may have.  Feel free to comment below.

1. https://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/20/crash.diets.harm.health/
2. Weise, Elizabeth. Sixty percent of adults can’t digest milk.  USA today.  9/15/2009.

The post Weight loss appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

Hello everyone!  My name is Natalie Woodring and I am excited to be joining the blogging team for Dayton Parent Magazine.  I am a Bellbrook native and now reside in Springboro with my husband, Mark, and two sons, Jameson and Liam.  I hope to bring the readers and members of Dayton Parent a fresh insight from a professional, working mother’s prospective.  My undergrad studies were done at the University of Dayton and after that I advanced my degree at Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, Missouri to obtain my doctorate in Chiropractic.  I am an associate doctor at Take 2 Healthcare where we specialize in nutrition, thermography, and acupuncture.  At the clinic I use my maiden name and patients know me as Dr. Natalie Yahle.

It wasn’t until I had children of my own that I really dove deep into the massive amount of information out there regarding pregnancy, infancy, breastfeeding, and all aspects of raising children in general.  Sure, there were courses I took in grad school about pediatrics but nothing prepares you more than experiencing it all for yourself.  And what a wonderful experience it is!

Having children of my own (18 months apart) has opened my eyes to a whole new world.  There is now a much bigger balancing act I have to pull off with work, the kids, the dogs, exercise, grocery shopping, and oh…let’s not forget, showering.  I get it now and I have to admit that before I had children, I only thought I got it.

I hope that this blog will be helpful “notes” and advice that all parents can implement in their lives.  I am here to share information on nutrition and simple health related matters.  Can’t wait to hear from you!

The post Dr. Natalie appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.