kids health — Blog — ICO Healthy Living

Here I go again

Staring at this blank page. Trying to capture my feelings on paper. But every time I try to connect my heart with my head the tears start running. Its never easy, and to be dead honest (do you get something like it), I didn’t expect it to happen again. It feels just like yesterday when Marcus was diagnosed with Vitiligo, and here I am again. I feel totally lost, but I also feel totally powerful. Powered with knowledge of what to do, what to try, what tests to ask for etc. Im ready to turn myself yet again in this major health detective, but just for now I want to be a mom. A mom crawling up in a small bundle and let the tears run down. I want the tears to flow, till there is no more left.

What's the deal with Vitamin D?

Every health fanatic is talking about Vitamin D, magazines all have an article on it. But what's the big deal?

If you asked someone about Vitamin D, most will know it comes from the sun and its important to prevent rickets in kids. But did you know there is so much more Vitamin D is doing for us?Yet most people are deficient in Vitamin D and don't know it. Even in sunny South Africa and the middle East (where I live) where the sun is shining most days, people are deficient in Vitamin D. How?

Malnourished in an overeating world

Im walking the corridors of my boys school and see everywhere kids with signs and symptoms of having nutrient deficiencies.

For me its easy to spot, as I know the signs and symptoms. How does it happen when we live in a world with so much food around us, and yet our own and our kids bodies are malnourished??

The signs and symptoms our bodies show, is not a cry for more food (more calories), but rather a cry for better high nutrient dense food. Food that will serve our bodies our daily need for vital vitamins and minerals. These vitamins and minerals are vital for optimal health, for growing and development but also to fight off disease.

Glorious greens for kids

Every new mom is vowing that her child will eat plenty of glorious green vegetables. Soon enough toddler phase arrives and the first thing to go is green veggies. How is it that most kids dislike green veggies? As if they were born with an instinct to dislike it. But why do we have to try harder to get them to have green vegetables?

The health benefits of a variety of green vegetables are endless, here are just a few reasons why I include green veggies daily into our diet:

Constipation in kids

Are you unhappy with your child's poop? Do they abstain for a few days and then grunt and sweat when in the toilet? This is a sensitive subject for many and mostly being push under the carpet. But lets get that bowel works out in the open today.

Constipation can cause a variety of uncomfortable symptoms that can last throughout the whole day — including bloating, gas, low back pain, and even anxiety or fatigue.

We see it all to often, most kids eating a white diet. A diet filled with white pasta, white rice, sugar, chicken nuggets, shop juices and little to no vegetables and fiber. Your child is most probably low in fiber. Fiber is needed to help smooth bowl movements, to remove the unwanted stuff out of the body.Vegetables and fruits are loaded with fiber. We need fiber with plenty of water to keep our bowls moving and to remove waste and toxins out of our bodies. For good health our bowls need to work 1-2 times per day.

Autoimmnune Disease - You are not alone

In the past few weeks many tears have rolled down our cheeks. Still if I think about it all and our road ahead I get tears in my eyes. Doubt and questions fill my head. How was it possible that for a second time in 2 short years my eldest son was diagnosed again with an autoimmune disease. With a background in health and nutrition you might think we have been eating and living healthy. But what is healthy eating and living! And why hasn't it been enough for his small body to fight off disease.