Episode 8: Addressing the Root Cause of Your Child’s Chronic Illness

My guest this week is Dr. Sheila Kilbane, a board-certified pediatrician also trained in integrative medicine by Andrew Weil, MD. She uses the best of traditional and integrative medicine to help families find the root cause of their child’s illness by walking through her seven-step process to significantly improve or resolve, illnesses such as: colic, reflux, eczema, recurrent ear and sinus infections, asthma, allergies, ADHD, and stomach and GI issues like constipation, abdominal pain, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and sensory integration disorder. Sheila conducts an online course to help parents resolve chronic illness in their children by using her step-by-step approach and is the author “Healthy Kids Happy Moms - A Step-by-Step Guide to Improving Many Common Childhood Illnesses”. In this episode, Sheila and I discuss the difference between the conventional and integrative approach to medicine in pediatrics and how parents can take simple steps toward improving their child’s chronic illness. Sheila shares her seven-step approach to addressing illness and provides valuable resources on where and how parents can begin to incorporate simple changes that bare significant results. Learn more about Sheila here.     Surge of Chronic Illness in Children A few decades ago, approximately 1 in 7 children had a chronic health issue, today 1 in 2 children The food supply has drastically evolved Chemicals, herbicides, pesticides are all more commonly used in comparison to the past Roundup Roundup was originally patented as an antibiotic It is commonly used as a chemical sprayed on crops to help with a quick turnover in crop production It becomes absorbed by the part of the plants that we consume Consuming non-organic wheat, corn, and soy exposes children to an excess of chemicals and pesticides that can alter the good bacteria in their gut The personal care products we use on our bodies and cleaning products we use daily in our homes also play a role   The Difference Between Conventional Medicine vs. Functional Medicine in Pediatrics Example: Looking at a case of eczema Conventional Medicine Trained to find a steroid treatment to apply to the skin in order to resolve the issue Functional/Integrative Medicine Trained to take steps that look at all factors to find the root cause of the reaction Address the 5 triggers of inflammation: food, environmental allergies, environmental toxins, stress, and infections. By addressing inflammation in the body, you will also be addressing inflammation in the brain Decreasing the source of inflammation allows the body to return to working naturally   7 Steps to Confronting Chronic Illness Assessment - find a practitioner assessing the child’s medical history from an integrative standpoint Understanding that inflammation is illness Addressing the 5 triggers of Inflammation: Food, Environmental allergies, Environmental toxins, Stress, Infections Gut Health Food - Start with tackling breakfast (see below) Supplements Roadmap   Change Up the Food Routine - Tackle Breakfast First Remove cereal and milk - this immediately eliminates a lot of sugar Try eggs, organic bacon or sausage, a burger, a piece of salmon, leftover chicken Try a healthy fat or protein and something colorful A green smoothie is a great way to integrate color Integrating more organic whole foods automatically shifts away from sugar intake   The Environmental Working Group: The Clean 15 & The Dirty Dozen The Environmental Working Group has guidelines to help you shop for produce and reduce your chemical and pesticide intake The Clean 15 The Dirty Dozen You can download their app ‘EWG’s Healthy Living’ You can decrease your pesticide exposure by up to 92% by following their guidelines Children with higher percentages of pesticide exposure have higher rates of ADHD The EWG also has resources to point parents in the right direction for reducing toxicity levels in their personal care products   Where to learn more about Sheila Kilbane sheilakilbane.com Twitter: @SheilaKilbaneMD Instagram: @sheilakilbanemd Facebook Sheila's Book on Amazon  Connect with Dr. Nicole Beurkens on... Instagram Facebook drbeurkens.com Need help with improving your child’s behavior naturally? My book Life Will Get Better is available for purchase, click here to learn more. Looking for more? Check out my Blog and the Better Behavior Naturally Parent Program - a resource guide for parents who want to be more effective with improving their child’s behavior. Interested in becoming a patient? Contact us here.