How to Keep Kids Healthy Naturally

Did you know that more than 40% of kids in the United States have at least one chronic illness? (CDC) That information comes directly from the CDC, so that number could be even higher than we realize. The rates of chronic illness are on the rise, and what exactly is the CDC or the medical community doing about it? Not much- they recently approved surgery and more medications as a “solution” for childhood obesity and there is still no actual information on how to help kids be healthy without severe pharma intervention.

As a parent of a young child who also works with kids with chronic health issues, I have to say- whatever advice the mainstream is spewing, it is NOT enough nor is it appropriate for kids.

There is still no conversation allowed about nutrition, herbal remedies and toxins, or how the lack of connection between kids and parents influences health.

Since 2020, we’ve seen a huge increase in kids as clients in our HTMA programs. Many of them are dealing with severe gut issues, food intolerances, insomnia, inability to concentrate, weight issues, mental health issues, and more. Kids deserve better than this, and it’s up to us as parents to do the right thing (because the “healthcare” industry puts profit over common sense).

The biggest issue I hear from parents is that it is too difficult to convince their kids to eat healthy or to take healing items. I am going to do my best to make these suggestions as simple as I can. Ultimately, it’s about doing better- there is no such thing as perfect.

These are basic tips for anyone that wants to help improve their child’s health- for long term chronic health issues you may need more support.  If you are looking for personalized guidance, I highly recommend our HTMA program so we can pick the best remedies possible for your child depending on what is going on.

The Main Foundation: Healing the Gut for Kids

If there is only ONE thing you do for your kids’ health, heal their gut. This influences literally every other part of the body: brain, nervous system, liver, immune system, everything. If the gut is compromised, your child cannot digest food, utilize nutrients, keep their immune system strong, and more.

Leaky gut is becoming extremely common, even in children these days. The last few generations have been building up many deficiencies, toxicities, and imbalances which can be passed on to children unfortunately. So, many kids need just as much help with healing the gut as adults do. For the most part, they can do most of what adults can. But let’s outline the basics of gut healing for kids. You can check out my post on healing leaky gut for adults here! I also have a more specific gut healing post for kids here.

Easy Gut Healing Tips for Kids:

These are definitely ordered in the way that I would approach things. Work on diet changes first, then add in digestive support, and then once your child is healing you can work on healing the microbiome more directly.

1. Eliminate toxic foods: artificial colors and flavors, MSG, high fructose corn syrup, GMOs, reduce sugar intake
2. Focus on REAL foods. I don’t personally every recommend absolutes when it comes to eliminating things like gluten or dairy. This is entirely individual and many people do not need to avoid these things. It all comes back to how strong the gut is. Living 24/7/365 on an elimination diet can be even more stressful to the body.
3. Support better digestion: Earthley’s Digest Support (bitter herbs); Bioray’s Tummy; George’s Aloe Vera; Bone broth
4. Rebalance the Microbiome: Earthley’s Gut Health Oil; Fermented Foods ( Kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut, organic grass-fed yogurt, kefir, Gut Shots from Farmhouse Culture, Bubbie’s brand pickles or kraut, Inner Eco You Gut This water kefir, or make your own at home. You do not need large amounts of fermented veggies each day- a few tablespoons is a good goal.)

Detox Support for Kids

Many of the gut healing items mentioned above will help with supporting a healthy detox system, and eliminating toxic foods can help to reduce the amount of toxins your child is consuming.

For the ultimate detox support, I love Bioray for kids.

The best BioRay tinctures for liver and gut healing are CALM, TUMMY, and FOCUS.

Bioray CALM: This helps with opening up liver pathways, supports overall detox, supports the adrenals, and can calm down the stress response that can happen with detoxing. This is best to start first to help open detox pathways, but Tummy can be started first or used on its own if gut healing is your main concern. Get CALM here.

Bioray TUMMY: helps with nutrient absorption, gut lining healing, inflammation support, focus/mood/attitude, and microbiome support healing. Get TUMMY here!

Bioray FOCUS– This is for heavy metal detox and is best to add in last. I would focus on Calm and Tummy first for at least 1-2 months before adding this one is. As time goes on, the internal stress will calm down and then it’ll be a bit easier to work on detoxing metals. Get FOCUS here.

Bioray also has HAPPY, which is for pathogen detox, however I would really recommend the other 3 first as this can be one of the strongest items for detoxing. If you suspect pathogen issues though, this is incredible.

Kids can even use the popular BioRay Liver Life, just in smaller doses (as instructed on the bottle!). The kids formulas are just flavored, which helps a bit more with compliance from picky kids.

Now you can find their AMAZING BioRay Kids line on Perfect Supplements, and save 10% with my code SASSY at checkout.

Specific Supports for Kids

One of the biggest complaints we hear from parents lately is about ADHD/ADD in kids. The inability to focus, regulate mood, stimming- all of these are symptoms of a larger whole-body issue. Nutritional deficiencies, toxins from food and environment, mold illness, chonic underlying infections, lack of connection with family, too much stress from school- all of these can contribute to these symptoms in kids.

We also have to realize that many kids are being diagnosed with these issues because of school. They think that all kids should be able to sit for hours on end and be still and this is NOT healthy or normal for kids. They naturally have a lot of energy and our school systems are more focused on test scores and funding than the are on kids. So please be sure to do your own research if your kid’s school is trying to say they need medication for “behavior issues”, especially without addressing any other possible causes.

Here are some other helpful supports and remedies for kids for specific health issues.

1. Nutrient Dense Support (to increase nutrient intake): Earthley’s Superfood Powder; Earthley’s Nourish Her or Him Naturally tinctures (Her is great for kids ages 1+. Him is best for boys 9+; Herbal infusions (nettles or oatstraw are the main ones I recommend for kids, even just 1 cup a day can make a big difference); Smoothie Additions; Mineral Baths
2. Nervous System Healing (great for ADD/ADHD/Autism/Mold illness/Anxiety): H&A’s Kids Calmpound is always my #1 choice (although they’ve been out for a bit- you can sign up for the wait list if it’s out of stock); Earthley’s CBD; Earthley’s Sleepy Time; Chamomile Tea or tincture; Oatstraw Herbal Infusions OR Oat seed as a tincture; Herb Pharm Captain Concentrate
3. Immune System Support: Earthley’s Elderberry Elixir and Feel Better Fast; Perfect Supplements Acerola Cherry for vitamin C; cod liver oil for vitamins A and D; bone broth and soups; the gut healing suggestions can help the most if your child is catching every cold they come in contact with.
4. For all kids: More time outside in nature, less screen time, more family time. I’m not anti-screen time personally as it isn’t always bad- you really have to evaluate your own child and see if it’s influencing their mood. Sunshine, fresh air, grounding- these are all crucial for overall health and wellness though, even if it’s just 10 minutes a day. I recently read a statistic that said the average parent in America spends less than 30 minutes a day with their kids. This is unfortunately a design of the system- kids are busy with school and activities, parents are busy with work and exhausted, and there is not enough connection in the family. It’s been normalized (to an extent) to just never see your own kids, and this is something that we all can work on. This is not to place blame on parents because it really isn’t your fault- it’s part of the generational curses that we’re all working on fixing, just like these health issues.

I hope these suggestions can help to add some more healing into you and your kids’ lives!

Kristin

Welcome to Sassy Holistics! My name is Kristin, and I'm a Holistic Health Coach. I've been on the path to help people achieve better health using whole food nutrition, mineral balancing, and holistic healing principles for almost 7 years now.

The body is a whole and we must treat it as such! I have my Bachelor of Science in Natural Health Sciences, certificates in Herbal Studies from Herbal Academy, and I am constantly learning more about health to help my clients and followers.

My goal is to help you unleash your own inner healer! You already hold the power to heal inside you. My role is as a guide to help you realize this potential.