Every now and then, I get an interesting health question from people who are new to the world of health and nutrition. It goes something like this: “What are you going to do if you end up getting sick, even after you’ve doled out nutrition advice all this time?” In other words, they’re asking, a). If good nutrition advice can stand the test of time, and b). How do you account for those times when you or your family get sick anyway?
Good questions!
The fact is, a lot of people in the nutrition (and medical) world seem to always be chasing the next hot trend. I’m the first to admit that, when new studies come out on nutrients or supplements, I’m extremely interested. It would be foolish to ignore the latest science, after all. But the problem is when nutritionists don’t have an underlying philosophy to which they adhere.
This especially happens with dietary advice. In the 80’s, it was all about avoiding fat. In the 90’s, it was a return to the Atkins Diet. In this decade, variations of the Atkins Diet, such as the Mediterranean Diet, seem to be in vogue. Last year, I predicted that we would soon see a return to the 80’s philosophy of “low fat, high carbohydrate” advice, and just last week, I saw an article clearly demonstrating that this advice will soon be making its way back to your evening news. To many people, nutrition advice seems ever-changing.
Again, most people don’t have an underlying nutrition philosophy, and they end up chasing their tail. But for myself, I do have an underlying philosophy – but I didn’t come up with it on my own! As you know, I am firmly Phase One-oriented, and I have Doug Kaufmann to thank for it. I read every article with “Phase One eyes.” This means that I’m not constantly going from one diet philosophy to another.
This is true of supplements, too. Even though I’m always looking for the greatest supplements available, I still have a Kaufmann philosophy to guide me. For example, I’ve seen at least a dozen new supplements emerge in the past year that I’ll never touch, even though they’re selling quite well. In every case, they include either a mushroom or “nutritional yeast” component, or they will most definitely feed any underlying yeast that a person may have. I simply don’t need to read any of their marketing after taking a cursory look at the ingredient label.
To demonstrate how this kind of philosophical consistency can help everyone in their choices, I’d like to return to an article I wrote in this newsletter a year ago. It was called, “Back to Basics for Back to School,” and it was a simple philosophy showing what I planned to do with my son’s health regimen as he returned to a school setting. In re-reading it today, it’s exactly what I plan to do this year. (At the end of the article, I’ll tell you how it worked for us last year.)
DIET
My advice last year was consistently Phase One. Throughout the entire school year, my son ate eggs for breakfast almost every day. I’d also try to give him some fresh juice that I was making for myself – with things like carrots, spinach, Swiss chard, and ginger.
Sometimes, we’d make a berry smoothie just for variety. It always had berries, and almond milk as a base. From there, I’d sneak in some whole food powders, such as wheat grass or spirulina. I’d even be able to add a cup or so of spinach leaves because the berries and protein just kill the bitterness of the greens.
The eggs, juice, and/or smoothies remain breakfast staples in our home and, so far, our five-year old hasn’t complained.
SUPPLEMENTS
I’ve always said that probiotics are a cornerstone for kids. While they’re young, it’s great to colonize healthy bacteria to help with digestion, and to help inch out yeast. Plus, the gut is the home of a large portion of the immune system, and keeping it healthy is paramount.
Last year, I also talked about NSC Immunition beta glucans, Nordic Naturals fish oil, as well as extra vitamin c, and colostrum. I wish I could tell you I had some updated advice this year, but the fact is, this is working extremely well.
One thing I mentioned in the Diet portion of this article is adding whole food powders to the smoothies. This should be repeated again. By adding just a single scoop of some of these “high octane” dry powders to a drink, I’m giving my son a day’s supply of antioxidants. In looking at the kinds of diets kids generally endure, I seriously doubt whether most kids get this level of antioxidant protection in an entire week, much less each day! And it’s so easy that there’s no reason to leave these wonderful powders out of the regimen.
REPORT CARD
A year ago, when I wrote my back-to-school article, I didn’t have much experience in dealing with the coughs and colds and immune challenges that most kids have dealt with early in their lives. We had been fortunate that, up to that point, he hadn’t had a single ear infection, for example, in his life.
I’m happy to report that at five years old, Carson is heading back to school this year with another clean record of health. Once, a couple of years ago, every single child in his Mother’s Day Out class had a nasty infection, and Carson came home one day feeling the effects of being exposed to that onslaught of illness. But otherwise, we thank God for his consistently good health and immune function.
I’m troubled by how often kids take antibiotics these days. I’m worried about what that will eventually cause in their growing bodies, as they strip away the beneficial bacteria in the tummies. I see the mountain of antibiotics being prescribed for every sort of sniffle, and I compare it with the growing incidence of ADD and ADHD, and my natural question is, “Is there a connection?” Experts, with more IQ points and degrees than I possess consistently say, No. But these are the same experts who said mercury fillings were safe, and now we’re finding they’re no longer recommending mercury. They’re the same people who find no connection between the avalanche of autism cases and the inclusion of mercury in vaccines. They’re the experts who told us to stay away from fat and eat more grains in the 80’s and, in my opinion, contributed to the obesity epidemic in this decade.
In the face of the experts comes Doug Kaufmann whose credentials aren’t marked by years of following the same philosophies as the so-called “authorities.” Instead, his credentials come from the front lines – actually helping real people gain real solutions to their health challenges. I’ve worked with Doug since 2005 and studied the science he shares in his books. Moreover, I’ve followed his philosophies in my own family first, before using it with my nutrition clients. I’m not going to praise something that doesn’t work for my own son, and I can tell you with confidence, Doug’s philosophy works.
SO, for yet another year I’m going to beat the same drum that Doug has been beating for 40 years. For my household, Phase One is the basis of all we do, and the results have been consistent and predictable.
For this back-to-school season, why not shift your family’s philosophy away from the failed philosophies and advice that continues to keep doctors' offices filled? Objectively, I think all of us would have to give that standard of care a failing grade. Instead, try Phase One for a change, and plan for a school year of Straight-A Health!