I love helping children. Children respond incredibly well to natural help. For many of the families I work with the outcome is often life changing.
Having a child with health issues (be it physically, emotionally or mentally) is very stressful for all those concerned.
Being in a position to help is truly rewarding so I wanted to share some of my success stories with you, starting with this one as it may well help you and your family.
Case Study: 8-year-old boy
In the summer of last year, a Mum brought her 8-year-old boy to see me. He was having issues at school with behaviour and was on the verge of exclusion. As you can imagine this situation was incredibly stressful for both the Mum and the child (and probably the teaching staff).
Other symptoms included inability to wind down and get to sleep until very late, concentration issues, angry out bursts, feeling anxious, aggravated by noise and constipation.
Many of these symptoms are those used to diagnose ADHD and this child was being referred for assessment.
After taking a full case history I arranged for a hair test to be done so I could see exactly what his nutrients levels were and if key minerals were in balance.
I also asked the Mum to write a week’s food diary.
The hair test results were incredibly interesting and backed up my first thoughts about what was going on.
Key findings from the test were as follows:
• Excess sodium with low potassium (key nutrients for the adrenals – stress response)
• Very low levels of magnesium (the nutrient needed for calm and relaxation)
• Sugar metabolising issues
So, to simplify these results, this child was running off his stress response (it’s hard to sleep when you’re stressed!), was reactive to sugar and did not have the nutrient you need to relax!
[Unfortunately, this is a common picture I see among children coming to see me, however there is a lot of light at the end of the tunnel!]
And you guessed, when I looked at the food diary it was high in sugars (and I don’t necessarily mean pure sugar like sweets but high in carbohydrates generally). Children’s diets are often very high in carbohydrates and sugars!
This boy couldn’t process the sugar and actually needed a diet higher in protein and fat.
The alliance for natural health have produced the following diagram as an example of what a child’s healthy diet should look like. Have a look at the carbs section!!! Small eh!?
The most common time for the angry outbursts were in the afternoon at school. When I looked at the food he’d eaten on these days I could instantly see the cause of the problem.
At home for breakfast he would usually have an egg with some bread – great, but then at school during the morning break the snack would be a biscuit or raisins (sugar) and then school dinner would be a high carb meal (always simple, white carbs i.e. pasta, potato, rice) followed by a sugary dessert.
I had to take him off school dinners!
The treatment plan focused on the following:
• Increasing foods high in protein/fats. And in order to reduce sugar a packed lunch was taken in to school instead of school dinners.
• Gut support/balance because the centre of your emotions are in your gut!
• A sleep routine to aid calming down at night. All white/blue light avoided 2 hours before bed.
• Supplements to increase magnesium [I specifically used the BetterYou lotion to aid absorption – this products gets straight in to the system] as well as other important nutrients.
• Lifestyle recommendations i.e. activities to help with focus and calm.
What Happened?
By the autumn this child was considered a ‘normal’ (whatever that means) child at school. No more outbursts and concentration levels were good. He was more relaxed and able to switch off and sleep better.
He continues to have packed lunches at school focusing on a high protein/fat diet. After school snacks would also be protein based. He is on a maintenance supplement plan and the whole family have benefited from the calming activities.
Imagine having a child that’s gone from angry outbursts, assessment for ADHD, exclusion for class, sleep issues to being classed as a ‘normal’ child in just a few months!
I am so happy for this family. I know it’s made a huge difference to their day to day life.
I am grateful that they came to see me, trusted my methods and I was able to help.
They are one of many which is why I love to help children.
If any of this resonates with you, why not get in touch and have a chat with me about how I can help your family. Just click HERE.