BENEFITS OF A STRONG IMMUNE SYSTEM

Guest blogger Dr. Joel “Gator” Warsh pens about his work as an Integrative Pediatrician. He is based in Los Angeles, California and has been featured in multiple TV Shows, podcasts, articles, and films. He founded Integrative Pediatrics and Medicine and integrativepediatrics.com.

Our kids are in serious trouble. 

Your best defense for your children against global health threats is a strong immune system. You’re likely pretty aware of the skyrocketing rates of chronic disease and illness in people all over the world (especially the US). BUT – what’s even more alarming is what is happening to children. 

Even if you personally don’t have kids of your own – maybe you have a nephew or niece, friends with kids, or your little ones have grown up – this is becoming a matter of urgent concern for the future of life on Earth. The CDC estimates over 25% of kids now have a chronic disease and many experts believe this number is actually much closer to 50%! 

The junk food industry, and our dependence on harsh pharmaceutical approaches for conditions which might be addressed through diet and lifestyle changes...is leading our population quite literally to the cliff’s edge. So much work is being done nowadays to try to help adults cope with the symptoms of decades of poor lifestyle choices. But what if we could work to avoid chronic disease before it starts and strengthen our immune systems to help prevent disease? It can be tough to navigate all the advice, especially when so many modalities of health are conflicting or seem to vilify the others!

This is where Integrative Medicine comes in.

An integrative approach is holistic in the sense that it looks at  ALL modalities and helps you identify which philosophy or strategy is best for  your specific child at that specific time. I decided to become part of the new wave of physicians who seek to bridge the philosophies of conventional and alternative health information so that patients get the most value possible from their healthcare provider. I have made it my mission to focus on prevention and the things that we do have some control over.  We must focus our attention on the foundations or SEEDS (Sleep, Environment, Exercise, Diet and Sleep) of health. The stronger our foundations, the stronger our immunes system will be.

I was speaking to a mother in my practice, let’s call her Jamie. Jamie has 5 children. Now...by the time she’d had her 5th child, Jamie was an expert Mama...but her youngest - her baby boy - always seemed to have health issues that never bothered her other kids.

 For example, when he got sick, he always seemed to develop an ear infection.

• He cried all day and night.
• He was congested.
• His appetite dwindled down to nothing - which freaked Mama out.
• He was just miserable.

And Jamie felt chained to her house every time her son was ill. Life was perfectly awful for a couple of weeks until the symptoms resolved. Unfortunately, Jamie had no idea that she could have tried some natural ear drops or massage to give him a bit of relief and help him sleep.

And you know what??

This little bit of advice is something that lots of parents of infants just don’t know. If they did, it could save them hours of lost sleep and irritation. It could potentially prevent the use of unnecessary antibiotics and harmful side effects of medications. Most importantly, it could help them make their children more comfortable while they go through the normal, early development process. Sounds like a win-win to me. What about you?

With everything going on in the world, a spotlight is now shining on our health.  You have the power to change the future health of your family.  Are you ready to join the future of medicine and think more holistically?