naturopathic medicine
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Children's health
Every child deserves a chance at good health. As a parent you have the important role of being able to help your child reach their full potential, physically, mentally and emotionally. By establishing a strong foundation of health in early years, parents can help set up an illness-free path for their child into adulthood.
For your infant to thrive, their health needs to be supported with a balanced nutritional diet, and any signs of illness treated early with natural medicines. Recent research indicates that failure to provide infants with the correct nutritional requirements early in life is likely to increase their susceptibility to immune dysfunction resulting in allergies and infections, and behavioural disorders like anxiety, insomnia and ADD/ADHD.
As children develop they are predisposed to certain illnesses at given ages. Children and infants have special health requirements and nutritional needs throughout these ‘growing' years which are different to adults. Their maturing brain, nervous systems, digestion and immune function require specific nutrients and herbal support.
Children and infants are exposed to many factors that can lead to illness, such as poor diet, lack of breast feeding, stress, antibiotics, chemicals, allergies, infections, poor bowel flora and vaccinations. All these factors can result in lowered immune, digestive and nervous system function, and need to be supported and enhanced with herbal, homoeopathic and nutritional medicines. These safe and effective natural medicines are palatable and non-toxic. They strengthen the immune system, reducing conditions such as fevers, coughs, colds, tonsillitis, and otitis media. Breaking those common vicious cycles of recurring childhood illnesses, reducing the need for antibiotics.
Childhood illnesses treated effectively by naturopathic medicines:
Digestive problems, colic, diarrhoea, constipation, reflux, vomiting
Allergies, asthma, eczema, sinusitis, hayfever
Infections, colds, otitis media, worms, tonsillitis, glandular fever, mumps and measles
ADD/ADHD, bedwetting, slow learning, memory defects
Eczema, psoriasis, rashes, warts
Teething, sleeping problems, vaccine related problems.
Parents role in the fight against childhood obesity
Childhood obesity is widely recognized as one of the most significant threats to our children’s health. Researchers have found that almost a quarter of Australian children aged between 5 to 16 years old are overweight or obese. Equally concerning is that diseases such as type-2 diabetes once only seen in adults are now being seen in growing numbers in children. Australian children are getting bigger and unhealthier in light of their growing reliance on energy-dense foods including soft drinks, fast foods and snacks, which are high in saturated fats and sugars and low in fibre.
It is while we’re young that we are most susceptible to acquiring and learning attitudes towards food, diet and nutrition. Parents play a principal role helping their children develop positive attitudes towards food and healthy eating habits early on in their lives. There is evidence that establishing healthy eating patterns as a child will increase the likelihood of these patterns continuing throughout their lives.
