Being a parent of a child with allergies can be a difficult and challenging task at times and you feel so bad for your little one! Allergies are simply an overreaction of the immune system. The immune system overreacts when it has been “triggered” too many times, worn down and assaulted over time. Hippocrates, the Father of Modern Medicine told us, “All disease begins in the gut,” and this is especially true for allergies. 80% of the immune system resides in the gut, or digestive system and the gut is exactly what is responsible for childhood allergies.
If your child is experiencing allergies their digestive system is impaired. To naturally heal, reverse and prevent childhood allergies your first area of focus must be to cleanse, detox and heal their digestive system! There are many tips for helping childhood allergies like using honey, or supplements like Quentin, but none of those recommendations get at the root of childhood allergies. To really heal and prevent allergies you must first heal the root problem.
4 Steps to Preventing Childhood Allergies
1. Remove Processed Foods
Processed foods, food chemicals and additives all damage and impair the gut. Your first step should be to remove as much of the processed foods from your child’s diet as you can. Processed foods are any foods that come in a package, can, box, have a wrapper, a commercial or are a branded food product. This includes foods that say, “Natural” and now we are seeing food chemicals in processed foods that say, “Organic.” Removing these types of foods will get rid of most of the toxic chemicals in your child’s diet and also get rid of unhealthy types of foods that slow down and clog the digestive system. Sticky, mushy foods like breads, crackers, muffins and the likes are pasty and cause the digestive system to get clogged and contribute to the cycle of allergies.
2. Remove Food Offenders
This step goes along with removing processed foods. Most processed foods are made with known allergens including wheat, dairy and soy. It is not that these foods are bad in and of themselves but have become bad for the body because of how they are grown and produced coupled with the sheer quantity that most children consume. This causes severe problems in the gut, the immune system and causes allergies. Removing processed foods will remove most of these food offenders but steer clear of wheat, soy and dairy products while healing from allergies.
A special note on dairy: The human body is not designed to ingest or breakdown cow’s milk. Many human bodies find ways around it and do OK with the breakdown of milk proteins but many, especially sensitive smaller bodies, really struggle with the burden cow’s milk can place on their digestive system. Additionally cow’s milk creates excess mucus and inflammation in the human body. So when trying to heal and prevent allergies removing dairy is extremely important. If your children love milk, try Almond or Coconut Milk. Many people actually prefer the taste of these over dairy milk anyway and they are higher in protein and calcium.
3. Flood the Body With Healing Nutrients
Once you have removed all food offenders, processed foods and food chemicals you will want to flood the body with nutrients so it can heal and repair. The best way to do this is through fresh, organic foods. Make your meals at home from scratch and use fresh, organic plant based ingredients. For kids, daily fresh morning juicing and morning smoothies can help kids to get more nutrients. Most kids aren’t getting enough of the good stuff so focusing on getting more of the good stuff is really important! If your child has been dealing with allergies their body needs to heal and repair and will need more then the standard amount of needed nutrients. We recommend fresh daily juicing to fill in the gaps in nutrition. Juicing is also a great way to detox the digestive tissues and flood them with the nutrients needed to heal and repair.
4. Remove Health Harming Chemicals from Your Home
Once you have cleaned up your child’s diet and started giving them all the nutrients they need they are on the road to healing. The next step is to evaluate how many toxic chemicals you are bringing and using in your home. Cleaning products, lawn and garden products, body care and personal care products are all loaded with toxic chemicals that little bodies, especially those healing from allergies, are overly susceptible too. Chemicals found in these products have been linked to childhood allergies and health problems so removing as many as you can from your home is important. Start making the switch to cleaner, greener products as you run out. We like Seventh Generation product line, found in most all grocery stores, for home cleaning and care products. Research clean, green products and find ones you will love to use!
