Raising Healthy Kids- Part 1: Healthy Eating

This is the first of a two-part series on raising healthy children in our modern-day world. In this episode we focus on healthy eating. In part two we will explore many other aspects of Raising Healthy Children.

Our guests, Lindsay Mathews and Rachel Norgan are both Registered Nurses, and Lindsay is also an IIN certified Health Coach. Together they bring to us their wisdom from many years of professional experience in treating, counseling, and coaching children and families. They are both also in the trenches of being active, thoughtful, and engaged moms of some pretty amazing young children. They underscore the significance of teaching children how to navigate life's challenges on their own, rather than simply providing them with solutions. Lindsay and Rachel emphasize the importance of kids understanding the "why" behind healthy choices, rather than just focusing solely on rules and regulations. They also highlight the value of modeling healthy behaviors for our children and fostering an understanding of stewardship towards their bodies and health.

 We hope that you enjoy the show.

Chapters

• 0:03 Raising Healthy Kids in Modern Times
• 8:46 Raising Health-Conscious Kids
• 23:43 Fostering Family Mealtime Gratitude
• 28:04 Involving Kids in Food Preparation
• 32:31 Teaching Healthy Eating Habits to Kids

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to the Wellness Connection MD podcast. I'm Dr Jim McVin, and thank you so much for joining us today. Are you a parent struggling with how to raise your kids? In this modern world that we live in, things are much different than when I grew up. Today, it seems like parents are constantly faced with new challenges from many different directions when it comes to raising healthy, well-adjusted kids. Well, we have some answers for you on the show today, we're going to pick the brains of two of my favorite people in the whole wide world, who happen to be experts when it comes to raising healthy, well-adjusted kids. Both of our guests are registered nurses with many years of experience dealing with children and families, and they are both right in the thick of parenting young children themselves. As you can imagine, there's a lot of ground to cover here, so we're going to split this into two podcasts. In part one, we'll discuss healthy eating, and in part two, we'll cover all the other important issues. So buckle up and enjoy the show.

Speaker 2: 0:52

Welcome to the Wellness Connection MD Podcast with Dr McMinn and Coach Lindsay, where we bring you the latest up-to-date, evidence-based information on a wide variety of health and wellness topics, along with practical take-home solutions. Thank you. To see a list of all of our podcasts, visit mcmdcom and to stay up to date on the latest topics, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast player so that you'll be notified when future episodes come out. The discussions contained in this podcast are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease. Please do not apply any of this information without approval from your personal doctor. And now on to the show with Dr McMinn and Coach Lindsey.

Speaker 1: 1:49

Hello and welcome to Wellness Connection MD, the evidence-based podcast on all things wellness. We thank you so much for joining us today. As always, we come to you to bring you honest, commercial-free, unbiased, up-to-date, evidence-based, outcomes-oriented information, along with practical solutions in order to empower you to overcome your healthcare challenges, to optimize your wellness and mind-body-spirit, and to become a great captain of your ship when it comes to your health and wellness. Before we get going, let me just remind you that our podcast remains commercial-free so that we can stay completely unbiased. We're not here to sell you anything and we're not going to waste your time with annoying commercials. However, it does cost us money to produce these podcasts and we put many hours of work into each podcast. So think of us like public radio and consider making a contribution to help us keep it coming to you. There are a couple of ways that you can contribute to the show. First, if you buy nutritional supplements, then consider purchasing physician-grade supplements from our Fullscript dispensary at a 10% discount. You can see the link to Fullscript below in the show notes. Or go to mcmindmdcom and the link will be there at the bottom of the homepage under helpful links. It's quite simple Just click on the link and they'll guide you through the process. It's a classic win-win you get high quality supplements at a discount and we get you support for the show, for which we are very grateful. If you have any trouble with this, just reach out to me at drmcminn at yahoocom. You can also safely make a contribution to the show directly via credit card or PayPal at the support the show link which you'll find in the show notes. And please don't forget to subscribe to the show and tell your friends and family about us, so that we can bring this valuable information to even more people. So thank you so much, and now on to the show.

Speaker 1: 3:32

I'm really excited about today's show. I've been thinking about it for a long time and have been looking forward to it. My wife, dr Cheryl, and I have experienced the joys and challenges of parenting firsthand, and I'm happy to say that we've come to it on the other side with two wonderful, amazing daughters. But I got to tell you it was not always easy, especially with both of us working full time. Also, I have a confession to make If I had to do it over again, I'm sure there's some things I would do a little bit better. It seems to me like just yesterday that we were changing diapers. But oh my gosh, times seem to change so fast these days. It seems like it's getting even more and more challenging in our modern world to raise healthy, well-adjusted kids who will go on to be well-rounded adults.

Speaker 1: 4:10

When I was a kid, oh my gosh, life was so much simpler. We didn't have social media and, for that matter, we didn't have computers, so we had very little screen time. I'm sure that things like drugs and sexual identity issues existed at that time, but they were swept under the rug for the most part. As Bob Dylan once said, the times they are a-changin', and now kids and parents are faced with so many challenges. Our kids are surrounded by junk food, academic pressure, very little time in nature and not enough free play time, as well as increased rates of sexual violence, bullying and add on top of that, a pandemic. These days, the average kid is exposed to way too much screen time, where he or she is exposed to all sorts of insidious negative influences, and all of these things are taking their toll on our young folk.

Speaker 1: 4:52

Let's start with our young girls. Studies show that teen girls in the United States are experiencing a significant mental health crisis, with alarming increases in sadness, depression and suicidal thoughts. In the US, over half of our teen girls reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2021, which was a sharp increase. About 30% of our teen girls seriously considered attempting suicide. That's up 60% from the previous decade. Some of the major reported causes of stress for these girls are social media pressures and online interactions, academic stress and uncertainty about the future, objectification of girls' bodies, exposure to distressing events like school shootings and things like worrying about climate change and sexual identity issues. And boys don't have it much better. They experience alarming rates of anxiety, depression, loneliness and, as a result, they are much more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors and display aggressive or violent behavior when struggling with mental health issues. When it comes to physical health, we also see alarming rates of increase in childhood obesity and an increased prevalence of many childhood diseases like diabetes and gut-related disorders like inflammatory bowel disease. So these trends are truly alarming.

Speaker 1: 6:05

So, as a parent, what to do? Well, we're going to break it down for you today and hopefully we can leave you with some helpful tips for steering your little ones towards better physical and emotional health. I'm really excited to have two wonderful guests on the show with us today to share their personal experiences and their thoughts on the matter with you. Both of our guests are registered nurses with many years of experience dealing with children and families. They come to us both from the traditional medical background and from a functional integrative medical background and, most importantly, they are both right in the thick of parenting young children themselves. I know them both well and I witnessed them in action, and I can tell you without a doubt that they are both amazing moms who have put a lot of thought and energy into the issue of raising healthy kids, and every day they practice what they preach.

Speaker 1: 6:51

Our first guest is our beloved Coach Lindsay. She is usually the co-host of the show, but today she's going to take off her co-host hat and put on a guest hat so that we can pick her brain on her parenting philosophy. For those of you who don't know Coach Lindsay, she's a registered nurse with many years of experience and she's a certified IIN health coach. She also happens to be one of the nicest people in the whole wide world.

Speaker 1: 7:13

Our next guest is Nurse Rachel Norgan. From the moment Rachel got pregnant with her first little angel, she became interested in all aspects of wellness, both for herself and for her kids. She is particularly interested in the intersection of emotional and physical wellness. She has come to realize that modern medicine falls somewhat short in addressing that intersection for our children. Over the years Rachel has put a lot of thought into how she, as a responsible parent, can help her kids navigate our challenging world and become healthy, curious, resilient and kind human beings.

Speaker 1: 7:44

I've got a bio and picture of Rachel for you at mcmindmdcom under the tab guest biographies if you want to check her out. And also you can find out more about Coach Lindsay at mcmindmdcom on the home page. One more thing before we bring in our guests, I want to be clear that there's no absolute right and wrong when it comes to being a parent, and nobody gave any of us a parenting manual after delivery. So we are coming at this topic from a totally non-judgmental point of view. We're just sharing our own thoughts and experiences with you so that it might help you in your efforts to be the best parent that you can be. So, without further ado, rachel and Lindsay, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3: 8:22

Thank you. Thank you very much for having me.

Speaker 1: 8:24

I've already talked about your bios, and so everybody's familiar with you already, but before we get going with some questions, I just want to thank both of you so much for taking time to do this, because I know you're both incredibly busy. Working moms and, of course, working moms have always been my heroes but this is just a super important topic and I've been looking forward to it a long time, so I'm really thrilled to have your enormous brains to pick on this issue today. Again, the title of the show is basically how to raise children in this modern world that we live in, and so let's just start with you, lindsay. Let's just kind of try to set the stages in terms of what you consider to be a healthy child.

Speaker 4: 8:58

You know, I think first we got to acknowledge that we are emotional, spiritual and physical beings. So health encompasses all of those aspects and it's about maintaining a balanced state in those areas rather than like achieving a certain level. You know, like check the box, I'm done kind of thing when I think about being healthy. That means that we can kind of modulate and buffer and respond well in changing environments and different challenges. It's about just those constant minor adjustments that our bodies or that we mentally do or spiritually do, so that we can live and adapt within our relationships and environments, so that we can live and adapt within our relationships and environments.

Speaker 4: 9:50

So I, you know, almost like thinking about it's the difference between driving to a specific destination versus knowing how to drive and get anywhere. So I kind of think of health as this balancing act. So my goal when I'm raising my kiddos is to educate them and strengthen them so they can navigate and live as the landscape around them changes. So emotionally they can handle and experience all emotions well. Then physically they can do hard things, but they can also heal and recover from illness well. They've built up immunity well, and then spiritually they have a sense of purpose, they have peace in life and that transfers regardless of life events that happen to them. So it's almost like to me, health is resilience in maybe a different word.

Speaker 1: 10:39

What do you say are some of the most important healthy habits to instill in our children? Any other comments besides what you just mentioned?

Speaker 4: 10:45

I think that's a great question. So first I would say what's the foundation? You know, before we even put habits on something, the foundation has got to be the why. Why be healthy? And just to motivate my kids with why. That's important because we could do all of these beautiful evidence-based things in our home. But if they don't really care and it's not on a heart level, that's not serving them for the rest of their life.

Speaker 4: 11:14

And I also want to model that and live it for them too. So teaching them that is an important value, that's the foundation and then from there, you know, I think some habits that have helped us specifically like some big bricks nutritionally something that's just like simple but has been powerful is just emphasizing protein and protein first in our meals has been really helpful for us, because a lot of times when we load up on the sweets and the carbs first, then we don't want the other things, so we just kind of like that's a natural progression at our home is you start with a protein, let's fill up on that, well, and then we move on to the next thing, not as a reward, it's just like this starts first and this comes next, and then we go from there. And then, you know, I think another vital habit is just outdoor activity and movement. That habit, I think, cannot be underestimated for adults, but also especially kids. They need movements.

Speaker 1: 12:16

Absolutely Wonderful. So, rachel, turning to you now, what would you say are some of the biggest challenges that parents face today when trying to raise healthy children?

Speaker 3: 12:25

There's really a lot happening and it's complicated and I think one of the biggest things is just the amount of pressure there is on parents to do everything right and so many stressors, the absence of a village for parents to operate in. And you know, I think parents really are trying to do the best they can. I really think that and sometimes it's not going well. You know, I think parents really are trying to do the best they can. I really think that and sometimes it's not going well, you know, and, like Lindsay was saying, you know trying to find ways to regroup and be flexible, but I also think you know the standard American diet, anxiety and stress that kids are facing, just how big tech has gotten in our kids' lives. I think that's a huge challenge.

Speaker 1: 13:07

Yeah, I love that saying. It takes a village and, as you pointed out, Rachel, oftentimes we have these disjointed societies and we just don't have villages anymore. So it's really, I think, difficult for a lot of folks. But yeah, so let's kind of focus a little bit on healthy eating. You know, when I go out and about, say, in the local grocery store or drugstore, you cannot check out without going through a gauntlet of candy bars and junk food. And you see these kids, you know tugging at mama, you know just pitching a fit to get something. And also, of course, when they go over to a friend's house, I mean, you all may do fine in your house, but they're always going to go over to their neighbor's house. And so all these temptations that kids are always exposed to these days, do you have any strategies that folks can use to help keep them on the right track and teach children about nutrition so they can make informed food choices?

Speaker 3: 13:58

Yeah, I think, like Lindsay said, you know, it's not about one individual bite of broccoli, like it's about creating the mindset around healthy foods, around our language, around food. And so that's a big challenge there is, you know, creating that language that's nonjudgmental for the kids, so they aren't automatically developing judgment. For example, instead of saying this food is good or bad, we might say this food makes me feel full of energy, or it makes me feel healthy, or it makes me feel strong. Instead of using words like it's a special food, this is a treat. We're creating that language that makes these foods more desirable. So in my house we say that's a sometimes food and we sometimes eat it. And when we pass by the candy bars, that's a sometimes food, we sometimes eat it, but we're not going to today, just like you said, understanding that those unhealthy foods, they're going to happen. Letting them experience control, letting them listen to their own bodies around those foods. How do I feel when I eat an entire slice of cake at this birthday party? Let's try it and see. And when we can, you know how can we minimize some of those things when possible.

Speaker 3: 15:20

And, like Lindsay said, maybe you know, before they go to that birthday party, making sure they're full. You know, like my kindergartner, she comes home, she, from school. Why don't I have a granola bar like everyone else? Why can't I have crackers? And so that's an opportunity for us to talk about how people have different values.

Speaker 3: 15:38

And one of those things is how people approach a balanced diet. But it does become complicated. We don't want our kids to feel alienated from other people because of their eating choices. We don't want other parents to feel judged because we eat differently. You know how we connect around food it's social connection as well. So it does get complicated.

Speaker 3: 16:02

Those conversations help to start by listening to our kids. You know when they have a concern. What are they really feeling concerned about? What do they think the solution is? Because that can tell you a lot about what is their perspective. What do they think would help. It doesn't mean we need to do what they're saying, but you know, starting with them feeling heard, I think is really valuable and doing those things like Lindsay mentioned, the protein beforehand, maybe thinking about extra fruits and veggies at the meal before we go to somewhere that there's not going to be a lot of nutritious food available, bringing your own fillable water bottle so you don't get into that juice box trap. That can happen when you're at a party or something like that. And also just thinking about you know a 90 to 10, 80, 20 rule of you know we do the best, we can make our best choice 90% of the time and you know 10% of the time there can be some compromise there. Come and prepared with options, you know bring in something that could be a little healthier.

Speaker 1: 17:11

Yeah, I had some sometime food the other day. It was the Fourth of July party, all kind of wonderful desserts that I don't usually keep around the house and, oh my gosh, I just can't resist it. You know it's there, we just don't keep it here because I can't resist it. But after that I could hardly keep my eyes open. It was just you're talking about how foods make you feel. They give me energy. You know, these high carb things they just zap my energy these days. I just I'm not used to them, but anyway, so yeah, they can definitely change the way you feel. To add to that, you know, in terms of how parents can manage the issue of treats and snacks without creating unhealthy associations with food.

Speaker 4: 17:45

You know, I really liked, rachel, how you emphasize like conversation, like having this open dialogue with your children about food, and that's been an evolving process for me. And like labeling the food has also been a learning curve. You know, I remember the first time with Mary Ellen when we were out at a social gathering and she was like that's not healthy, that's bad, you know, and she's saying that really loudly to someone else there at the party and I realized, oh, my goodness, that's what she's hearing from me and that's the languaging I'm using and that's not serving her well socially and emotionally and it's certainly not helping those around her. So I had to kind of make a shift with doing a lot of prep conversations before we go to a social gathering, and I think that also helps emotionally too to anticipate what might be going on. So, for example, we're going to go to small group for church and I know that there's going to be other things there and so I'll just in the car on the way there I'll be like hey, mary Ellen, we're going to go here and you can expect that there's going to be some cupcakes and some brownies, and it's okay if we don't have this.

Speaker 4: 19:10

And I think every family makes a decision on if that's going to be a sometimes situation or if you've brought your alternative there, and most of the time a small group understands our lifestyle and has accepted us bringing our alternative options. But there are situations where we make it a sometimes situation. But we'll go ahead and kind of have that prep conversation and then I'll say and it's okay. It's okay that we eat differently than other people, that's okay, that's important in our family, but other families choose differently, and that's okay, that's important in our family, but other families choose differently and that's okay.

Speaker 4: 19:49

So I had to really shift my languaging around that because I realized how judgmental that was and it just wasn't serving her well, or me for that matter. So that's just a specific kind of example. But I think we as a culture can supercharge food emotionally when we use it like as a reward. I think about when I was growing up in our house. M&ms were power pills. When I was studying for a test, I needed some power pills and to this day I have this little internal guttural reaction, not with power pills or M&Ms, but like with a little. I'm doing some really hard work here. I need some ice cream, you know, and it's just so easy for that mindset to be so ingrained.

Speaker 4: 20:43

And what a gift. I just think about it as what a gift it would be if I can give my children the gift of not having that emotional eating thing happening for them. I think of it as like a gift that I can give them. So anyway, just trying to think about you know what kind of other rewards or other ways that I can not emotionally charge food.

Speaker 1: 21:10

You know, rachel, I love your conversation about conversation and I've witnessed you in your conversation and correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you talk to your children in a way that appreciates them as intelligent beings. You know, sometimes we talk to our kids like they're always two years old, but you reason with them and you actually, in a kind of almost Socratic way, you ask them well, how do you think that's going to make you feel? And you sort of get them to think about the answer, rather than just telling them. I think it's so beautiful the way you communicate with your kids. I really have admired you over the years as I've gotten to know you. But, lindsay, so what about picky eaters? I mean, there's some kids who just put up a fight and just refuse to eat or whatever. How do you work?

Speaker 4: 21:57

your way through that. I just want to extend so much grace to the parents out there who are working with us. It is hard and you know it's like we want to encourage autonomy and independence and choice. You know, for our kids, we want them to be good choosers, but then, like, when it comes down to it, we also want them to choose the right thing. So I just want to acknowledge that we might have listeners on every end of the spectrum listening to this out there and I just want them to hear encouragement.

Speaker 4: 22:29

But so first I would say that there's hope and that taste buds are teachable. But then I think you know rachel, you really mentioned this just watching our languaging around food, keeping our wording neutral as much as possible and keeping our languaging around trying new foods as very positive, avoiding terms like that's good food, that's bad food, not putting too much pressure on trying new foods and letting that whole situation become like this power emotional, power play situation. But just thank you for trying that, that's enough. You don't have to like make this huge, like ah, you win the gold medal for trying something new. It's just like trying new is part of life and thanks for doing it. And now onto the new thing you know when possible. I think if you can give some level of autonomy to the kids. Like you can have X or Y, which one would you like? You know you can have broccoli or asparagus, which would you like to try tonight?

Speaker 1: 23:34

That way there is some level of autonomy. But I've seen some kids throw hissy fits and let me let me just say that in my intro I made a very clear statement. This podcast is completely nonjudgmental. We're just going to share in with you our thoughts. But for the grace of God, go any of us to have one of those picky eaters or whatever. But what about you, rachel? Any thoughts about these whole kind of power struggles that we can have with kids?

Speaker 3: 23:59

Like Lindsay was saying, the power struggles around new foods. So we started a rule one bite, no, thank you. You could try one bite. Say no thank you After that it might come back later because our taste buds change over time and when it comes back later we say well, sometimes we change over time and you might, if you have a really picky eater, just to kind of take the heat off of trying new foods, maybe even think about letting them spit it out if they really feel they can't swallow it, because we just want to. We want them to try and we want to get into the power struggle about it. You know your own kid best whether or not they're going to take advantage of spitting it out. But yeah, like Lindsay said, just kind of reflecting that again, that the power of choice, you know, don't make choices that don't exist, though we don't say do we want to eat a vegetable, you know, because that's not the choice. The choice is do we want this or this? And being okay with whatever they choose in that choice.

Speaker 1: 24:56

But I don't like green eggs and ham, sam, I am. That's a great book, isn't it? I remember it after all these years. But you know, we went out to dinner the other night and there was this table with family sitting around it. I think it was like a parent and three kids and everybody was on their device. You know, mom and dad were on their cell phones, the kids were on some kind of gaming device. Sometimes at home, you know, the TV's blaring or whatever. So I think that sit-down family time is really special. So any thoughts from you guys as far as how can we promote a really high-quality family?

Speaker 4: 25:30

meal time.

Speaker 4: 25:31

I love that question. I think that's a beautiful question. I think it would be. This is not a strategy.

Speaker 4: 25:38

You bringing this question up makes me think.

Speaker 4: 25:40

You know we really probably should have put-away phones at the table, which I think generally we do, but I think that would be a great strategy. We, we have a time of prayer before the meal and we like engage all the kids on that and then, you know, during the meal a lot of times, if not during the meal or sometime later on in the night, we'll do like a gratitude practice where everyone gets to go around and say something they're grateful for about the day, and I think that just is a sacred family time to eat together and that is a form of nourishment because we are spiritually, spiritual, emotional, physical beings that togetherness partaking together is a nourishment for our kids and for us you know, when my kids were little, every night when we had dinner, we would sing this little song all together and I'm not going to sing it for you or we'd lose all our listeners but it went like this Thank you for this food, this food, this wonderful, wonderful food, and the animals and the minerals and the vegetables that made it possible.

Speaker 1: 26:44

Isn't it nice? But the point of the song was to engage in what I call active gratitude for where the food comes from and that for what made it possible, including the farm workers and the people truck drivers, and I think that that's really important to kind of connect food with gratitude. In this world we live in, there's so many people who live in food deserts or in poverty and in famine and other parts of the world, and we're just so blessed in our country and to where we have to have the food we have, but we seem to take it for granted. What about y'all? Do either of you guys teach your children active gratitude for the food that we have?

Speaker 3: 27:28

You know food is a great way to think about gratitude and I think talking about the resources that go into making food items, or the animal that gave its life and why it's not important to waste food, because of everything that went to getting the food onto our table, helps them to be more connected to you know how does this all happen. It's not magic that it appears here and you know talking about working pays for food and you know kind of it makes it real. It makes it real and tangible and a great way to approach gratitude, for sure.

Speaker 1: 28:04

Do either of y'all involve the kids in food preparation?

Speaker 4: 28:08

Whenever it's possible, I like to. It definitely takes more energy to do that, yes for sure. So right now I have a two-year-old and a five-year-old and most of the level of their ability is we can pull out plates, we can put napkins on the table, we can set it with tossing them in the olive oil or whatever it is, but a lot of times they'll have to observe me preparing the raw meat or you know things like that. But when we do involve them in food preparation, it helps them have a more vested interest in trying something new. You know we were talking about those picky eaters earlier and I think that definitely can help that process.

Speaker 4: 29:12

And you know, as they get older, I anticipate things that they could help me with would be hey, let's pick out some recipes, what are we going to eat this week? You know? Ok, what does that mean? What groceries do we need to buy? And then letting them be at the grocery store and go grab the apples, you know, look at them and pick some, and just involving them can grow as they grow. You know, those responsibilities increase.

Speaker 4: 29:39

I think also, wherever we can apply a little bit of joy and happiness and even silliness when it comes to food can also just help help this whole aspect of trying new things and enjoying food and being just like expand our health ideas around food and so, like some of those tools could be like cutting your fruit into silly shapes or making a smiley face on the plate for the kiddos, or let's see if we can make this look like a caterpillar the banana, you know like. Cut the little pieces and shape it. Pillar the banana, you know like. Cut the little pieces and shape it and just fun things like that can bring joy as well and just imagination and creativity to the whole process and excitement around preparing food. So, yeah, I think it's very important that we are connected with our food and not just consuming.

Speaker 1: 30:34

Anyway, what about gardening? I know, lindsay, you live out in the country, do you have a garden? Do you help the kids, help you in the garden? They see the stuff growing and that way they want to eat it more.

Speaker 4: 30:44

Yes, this year we did, because of extenuating circumstances we have not had a garden, but in years past we have, and that's been very exciting, you know, and we've just honestly allowed our kids free range to go out and if they want to eat something in the garden they can whenever they want, and I think that's exciting for them. And you know, also, just kind of learning, oh, that's not ready, that is ready. Just there's so much to be learned from just hands in the earth and experiential education that words don't communicate, you know. There's just something about them doing it.

Speaker 1: 31:26

So what are your thoughts on using food as a reward? So, for instance, if you'll be a good boy today, you can have a cookie. Yeah, I think anytime we use food as a reward. So, for instance, if you'll be a good boy today, you can have a cookie.

Speaker 3: 31:34

Yeah, I think anytime we use food as a reward or an expression of our affection, anytime we're using food outside of nourishment to our bodies, we're getting into some kind of tricky territory there and it's challenging because this idea is around us. Everywhere you get a lollipop for going to the dentist and it can be hard to work against that food as a reward narrative because it's so pervasive in our culture. And you know, sometimes when they come home with these lollipops, I might offer to trade them for something else and if they don't take the trade, they really want that thing. It's important that they're not coerced into trading, because sometimes they get it and they wanted it and they didn't enjoy it as much as they were expecting. I want to let them still experience the control of that situation and just again, that language of this instead of this is a treat. This is special. I just want to stay with something more neutral. Just this is sometimes food.

Speaker 1: 32:31

And Coach Lindsay, you know how bullish I am on the microbiome issue, and so do you have any strategies, food-wise, to help your kids maintain a good, healthy, gut microbiome?

Speaker 4: 32:40

I think one interesting one is thinking about our snacking and how frequently we're snacking. Now, I think this is also an age-appropriate thing. You know, some younger children require more snacking than others.

Speaker 4: 32:54

But you know, when we went and saw our bio dentist, one of the observations that he mentioned to us was that in his practice he has and they're grazing, they have no time to just eat all the time and there's no oral microbiome rest and also no rest in the gut to like completely digest and be done, and so it provides this opportunity for those opportunistic bacteria to kind of multiply more and kind of create that unbalanced microbiome. So I think there is something to be said about eating at the appropriate times, age appropriate for your kiddo. I'm not saying snacks are evil, but I do think it's important to just weigh out what's age appropriate for the child and then truly keeping snacks at snack time and not snacking all day. For that reason Also, you know, just not super heavy carb loading all the time, but balancing it with that protein so that we don't yet again provide that further invitation for those opportunistic bacteria to grow. You know also I think there's studies out there on the microbiome that it's really set pretty well within the first five years of life. Not to say that there's not hope for those of us who have six-year-olds, but just saying that those first five years of life are really critical when we are cultivating the microbiome.

Speaker 4: 34:34

There was a study that came out of microorganisms. It's a journal in 2023 that showed that exposures that your gut has to diversity in microorganisms Actually that study is quoted during the first 3.5 years of life imprint the gut microbiota for adulthood. So I think if we as parents can have the mindset of, hey, these first five years are really critical to introduce a lot of diversity to our kiddos as far as you know, diverse foods, lots of colors. Also, you know, yeah, let's introduce those cultured foods to them too. I think that's important for that microbiota. And then you know, whenever possible, avoiding those antibiotics during that timeframe too. You know antibiotics can be really necessary and life-saving in some situations, but let's not jump to an antibiotic every time we get sick, especially for our young kids. I think that's really worth fighting for.

Speaker 1: 35:40

Absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 4: 35:41

And you know, conversely, how do we build their immunity alternatively and not just wait for them to get sick?

Speaker 4: 35:48

So, I think it's critical to think about, like how can we think in this way so that we are, you know, avoiding putting ourselves in situations where we have to use the antibiotic in the first place? But but of course again please hear me listeners use it if it is in a, in an appropriate time and per your doctor's instruction. But then I would also say, you know, supplement wise, what we do for our kiddos. We do give them inulin, which is a prebiotic, and then we also like to give them a lot of good cultured foods. I make my own yogurt at home and it's really easy. I'd be happy to give to put that recipe out for listeners. But anyway, that's just one simple, two little simple things that we do microbiome-wise for our kids.

Speaker 1: 36:33

Yeah, lindsay, you are correct and those first years are super important. However, I think, even as adults, the use of things like culture-informed foods, the taking of probiotics it won't permanently change your microbiome, but it can change things like gut inflammation or your gut-brain axis and have permanent beneficial effects. So, all right, well, we're going to close out on food in just a little bit and move on to some other things. Food's so important, but let's just get specific here. I would love to find out what might be happening in the typical Norgon and Matthews household on a typical day breakfast, lunch and supper. What are some things you'll have?

Speaker 3: 37:10

Yeah, we kind of have a formula, like you do about the protein. I always say you know breakfast has a protein, a fruit and your milk, and so what do you want for your protein and what do you want for your fruit? And I'll, you know they can have the choices there. And sometimes we're not even eating breakfast food, right, we're eating, you know, a handful of cashews as our protein. So it's just about giving them the formula of what does a breakfast need to include and you choose from there. Similarly, you know, to lunch and dinner. You know we need to have a vegetable, we need to have a fruit, we need to have a protein. You know the carbohydrates always kind of tend to come in anyhow. So I don't make that a requirement, but letting them have those choices of what that looks like.

Speaker 1: 37:57

Well, that's great. Yeah, you know there's so much discussion and debate about diet, but it seems to me like it boils down to whole food and if you kind of stick with that and your emphasis, I agree with you, Lindsay. Especially for young people and for older people, getting enough protein is huge. So, Lindsay, you mentioned a book the other day is called French Kids Eat Everything. What's that all about? To give us a little summary of that?

Speaker 4: 38:21

You know it was a book that I picked up when I found out I was pregnant with Mary Ellen, because I just had all this anxiety about what am I going to feed her, how will she not be a picky eater and how will I teach her how to eat healthy? And that was the title that popped up and I read it and I loved that book. The premise was it was this woman, karen, who had moved to France with her family and her kiddos were fully Americanized on the SAD diet, that standard American diet, and then when they moved over there, it was a little bit of a culture shock because the French kind of approach raising their children and food, and in such a beautifully different way. And so she kind of summarized it throughout the book in 10 like rules that she found that the French used, and one of them the number one rule, was that parents, you are in charge of your child's food education.

Speaker 4: 39:15

I think this idea is it's just captured me and I just agree with it on such a fundamental level. One of the quotes was that French parents think about healthy eating habits the way that we think about toilet training or potty training or reading If your child had trouble learning to read or use the potty, would you just give up? The same should go for eating a variety of healthy foods and so kind of allowing parents to think about helping teach our kids how to eat and when to eat being a basic life skill that we get to give them as parents. I just I love that concept and I agree with it.

Speaker 1: 40:01

Well, great, I'll put the name of the book under the resources section on the website. And one follow up question on that. Lindsay, so many kids these days, especially low income kids, get breakfast and lunch at school. So do schools play any role in terms of trying to set a positive culture for healthy food?

Speaker 4: 40:21

I think that they could and should. And you know, just think about it. We as human beings eat potentially three times a day or more, from the time that we're born until the time that we die. And so food and eating food and preparing food and talking about food and knowing what food to eat and why to eat it and when to eat it is truly life skill, and yet we don't standardly teach our kids anything about that in school. I think.

Speaker 4: 40:52

I would be pretty surprised if any of my nieces or nephews came up to me and said hey, we talked about food in school today and they showed us how to cook X, y or Z. A school garden is something that is happening more to help kids learn about that food connection. We talked about gardening earlier, but it's definitely not the norm. What if we looked up and we're driving by a school and it was like right now we know it's a school because we see a playground, but what if we also knew it was a school because there was a garden in the playground? What if that was just the norm?

Speaker 1: 41:30

Yeah, wouldn't it be nice, Like what if that was just?

Speaker 4: 41:31

the norm. Yeah, wouldn't it be nice? I think it could be and should be, and why not? But I do think gardening could be something like. I think it's just an easy way for kids to learn and really a wonderful way for kids to learn when they get that experiential learning going on Well that's great, a wonderful idea, part of it.

Speaker 1: 41:50

Well, thank you for sharing that. And so, gosh, you guys have had such great ideas on food and healthy eating. Thank you so much for sharing those with us. And, coach Lindsay, we just did a couple of podcasts on supplements. Are there any particular supplements you think might be helpful for kids?

Speaker 4: 42:05

We have just a simple couple in our house, and one is DHA fish oil. We've given to our kids since they were infants and so we do. Dha for brain and neuro development and reducing inflammation. So DHA fish oil. We always try to incorporate olive oil every day in some form in their diet and that's for those omega-9. And that's also part of that anti-inflammatory idea. And then I mentioned inulin earlier in the podcast. We do that as a prebiotic. And then the fourth one we do is Megaspore, and that's just like a spore-based probiotic. We started them on like partial amounts of capsules and increased it. So those four things are what's important in our house.

Speaker 1: 42:54

If y'all have any particular resources, you can just send me an email or a text or whatever, and I'll put them on the website for everybody, and so that will about do it for this episode of the Wellness Connection MD podcast. And Rachel and Lizzie, thank you so much for sharing your expertise and your passion on this important subject with us today. It was really fun to talk to you and to you, the listener. Thank you very much for joining us today and I hope we were able to share something with you that was helpful for you.

Speaker 4: 43:18

Don't forget to check us out at mcminnndcom, where you can find lots of great resources and the Wellness MD blog as well. Also, please help us grow the podcast by telling your friends and family about us.

Speaker 1: 43:32

And please take a moment to rate us on iTunes. These reviews really do help us out. We've had some feedback from some folks that it can be difficult to actually do these reviews, so we have a dedicated page on the website to explain to you exactly how to do this on your iPhone, step by step. You can find this at mcmindycom forward slash reviews. If you want to reach out to me by email, you can do so at drmcminn, at yahoocom. You can also find me at facebookcom, slash mcminnmd or instagramcom, slash mcminnmd. I'll have all of our links for you at the bottom of the homepage on mcminnmdcom. And now, coach Lindsey, can you leave us with a final Coach Lindsey, pearl of wisdom. Thanks.

Speaker 4: 44:11

Lindsay, can you leave us with a final Coach, lindsay, pearl of wisdom. Thanks, dr Mack. You know I just want to leave our listeners with a message of hope. Kids are super resilient and you know, I think there's a scripture in the Bible that says it best of all, love covers a multitude of sins. So you know, we can make a lot of mistakes as parents, but at the end of the day, if you put that love and intention and your kids know that they are loved, that will cover a whole lot of things. And then here's another quick one of hope, and this comes from a study that was done by the University of Colorado at Boulder, and it found that just one week of camping was able to balance out circadian rhythms within one week. Oh, that's pretty cool, isn't that amazing?

Speaker 4: 45:02

Yeah so you know, I just think that just goes to say that we're resilient and the body can do so many things. So I just, I just want again listeners have have a message of hope from all of this that your kiddos can can really thrive and do well in this world with love, and then just a little bit of intention, like if there's things that are off course that you've listened to today and heard and you want to change, have hope that that things can change in your house.

Speaker 1: 45:29

That's right. You know when, when my kids were a little bitty, I read this interesting article about things that kind of bind families together and keep them together, and one of the top ones was camping, and so I went out with the girls, we bought a little pop-top camper trailer and the entire time they were growing up we went camping together like a whole bunch, usually down at the beach, and we had so much fun, such great memories, and to this day they're both kind of outdoorsy, kind of girls, I think, because of that. One other thing you know, one of y'all earlier used this wonderful term unconditional love. That's such a powerful term. So I think that as much as we can sort of keep coming back to that and use that as sort of the foundation of the relationship, then that's all good. So that should wrap it up. Thank you again so much for listening to us. We really appreciate it. This is Dr McMinn and this is Coach Lindsay. Take care and be well, thank you.