Winter Children’s Health With Ayurveda

So many children fall ill during the winter, and so many parents desperately try anything they can to keep them healthy. But most children get at least several colds or belly troubles a year. Let’s be real, sick children most likely mean time off from school, daycare, and work for their parents. Bundling them up and loading them with gummy vitamins, just doesn’t seem to work.

Winter Children’s Health With Ayurveda

We need to look deeper to find the reason our precious children spend a good part of the winter home sick. And my friends…. most of the time, it starts in the colon.

Your Child’s Tongue: An Indicator Of Health

Spend some time looking at your child’s tongue. It will tell you a story about your child’s current state of health. Their tongues should be pink, round, soft, with a slight whitish coating. If that is not the case, you have houseguests. And they are being hosted by your young one’s intestines. If the tongue is coated with a white, slimy, mucous coating, the chance is there is a storm brewing. This coating is called ama. It is a build up of toxins and indigestible food. Like a Petri dish, it provides a lush foundation for wreaking havoc on the delicate system of a child.

Supplements

“But, wait….my child takes vitamins, and I make sure they don’t leave the table until they have eaten everything….” All vitamins are not created equal. Often there are additives, fillers and dyes that can be problematic to little people. This is where you come in as a super sleuth. Read the labels carefully. Try to buy one that is from plant based formulas, with bioflavonoids. The body will recognize and assimilate them much easier because they are natural.

Diet

When it comes to eating, be sure that your child is getting more vegetables, whole grains and fruit. Organic if possible. Step away from processed food, as they contain many additives that are not digestible, and downright toxic fillers. Most kids love their mac’n cheese, but over time the heavy and sweet quality of the preferred meal is going to start to build a wall of digestive sludge. Notice as well, their bowel habits. Are they regular? Not at all? If a child is constipated, adding more is just going to gum things up even more.

Children are smart left to their own devices. And the child that is not interested in eating, may well internally know that their digestion is clogged up. Often this overload results in the child’s body trying to expel the excess through vomiting. Think about this. When the plumbing in an old house is clogged up and you try to put more through the system, it overflows……. everywhere. Same thing with your child.

The excess moves out into the tissue and systems of their body, and the result is a sick child.

Prevention Is Key

Preventative maintenance is the best way to keep the system running. Avoid dyes, additives, and overly processed foods. There is no nutritional value there. Serve them bright, colorful fruits and veggies and whole grains. Watch excess sugar and dairy. If you can’t pronounce it, don’t feed it to your child.

Be sure, even in winter they are hydrated, that they get ample sleep, a solid eight in the sack! Keep them warm, but not overheated. Check their tongues for clues to how they are feeling, and spend lots of fun and healthy out of doors time, and you will be on your way to possibly less time at the pediatrician.

 

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