“Shaping a healthy gut microbiome from birth is really the best way to support healthy and happy kids for their lifetime,” says Dr. Elisa Song, an integrative pediatrician and pediatric medical expert. Seventy percent of our immunity starts in our gut, and the diseases that start with an unhealthy gut go far beyond stomach issues. Autoimmune disorders, allergies, skin problems, and psychological issues are a result of an unhealthy gut microbiome. In fact, the brain and the gut are so connected that some cultures consider the gut “the first brain,” as the brain actually listens to it and can’t survive without it. The gut, with its own separate nervous system, can survive without the brain. When their communication breaks down, that’s when the problems start.
Setting up a healthy gut biome early in a child’s life is crucial, and there are ways to remedy an unhealthy one, including a regiment used by holistically minded pediatricians called “The Five Rs.” These include Replacing and Re-inoculating. Probiotics are crucial, (and conversely, antibiotics are a huge culprit) and should be found in the diet whenever possible. Reducing food preservatives, which are a huge contributing factor to an unhealthy gut, is also crucial.
Join the conversation to hear Dr. Elisa discuss the other three Rs, the difference between leaky gut, gut dysbiosis, and gut imbalance, and what to expect from her forthcoming book.
Quotes
• “A lot of times, the gut is at the root of so many things.” (8:48-8:53 | Sasha)
• “We have to think, ‘Who are we? Who are we nourishing? Who are we supporting? Who are we trying to help thrive?” (10:11-10:18 | Dr. Elisa)
• “Shaping a healthy gut microbiome from birth is really the best way to support healthy and happy kids for their lifetime.” (10:45-10:56 | Dr. Elisa)
• “The gut/brain connection is interesting because some would actually call the brain ‘the second brain, and the gut the first brain.’”(12:48-12:55 | Dr. Elisa)
• “For the most part, babies’ guts are an open slate, ready to be shaped.” (21:53-21:59 | Dr. Elisa)
• “Talk to kids, from the moment they’re little to the time they become teenagers, why the gut matters and make it matter for them. What matters to kids, teenagers? It’s their skin!...How do we get our gut clean?” (37:09-37:43 | Dr. Elisa)
• “Those food additives are one of the biggest factors in disrupting our gut microbiome in the modern world.” (1:04:10-1:04:15 | Dr. Elisa)
• “Most times if you have to look it up, it usually isn’t good for you.” (1:09:16-1:09:20 | Sasha)
• “All health starts in the gut. Hippcrates, the father of modern medicine, is credited with saying that.”(1:09:30-1:09:36 | Dr. Elisa)
Stats
• “The gut is home to 70% of the immune system.” (0:13-0:18 | Sasha)
• “It is believed that before the age of four or five, a child’s microbiome remains flexible. (0:18-0:25 | Sasha)
• “Inflammation can manifest itself in many different ways, through environmental allergies, food sensitivities, autoimmune diseases, constipation, eczema and more.” (0:45-0:56 | Sasha)
• “The gut microbiome is that collection of over 100 zillion organisms in our gut.” (9:32-9:40 | Dr. Elisa)
• “It’s an amalgam of bacteria, viruses, yeast, parasites, all living together (hopefully) in harmony with our human cells. We have more microbial cells in and on our body than we have human cells.” (9:51-10:10 | Dr. Elisa)
• “Our gut microbiome is responsible for the vast majority– 90 to 95 percent–of all of our brain chemicals, our neurotransmitters, like serotonin (11:15-11:31 | Dr. Elisa)
• “The balance of our gut microbiome has been linked to virtually every single chronic disease in children and adults. (11:38-11:47 | Dr. Elisa)
• “The gut has its own nervous system called the enteric nervous system which can actually live without the brain, but the brain can’t live without the gut’s nervous system.” (12:56-13:13 | Dr. Elisa)
• “The gut and the brain communicate via a two-way information superhighway called the vagus nerve.” (13:15-13:24 | Dr. Elisa)
• “80-90 percent of the communication in the vagus nerve happens from the gut to the brain. That means that only about 10-20 percent happens from the brain to the gut.”(14:09-14:24
Dr. Elisa)
• “A study no toddler’s gut microbiome found that the different mix of gut bacteria actually help shape our kids’ temperaments.” (14:37-14:48 | Dr. Elisa)
• “In that hollow tube, from our mouth, esophagus, stomach, large and small intestine, all the way to our anus are lined with tonsil-like patches called Peyer’s patches, and that makes up what’s known as the gut associative lymphoid tissue.” (16:27-16:48 | Dr. Elisa)
• “Babies who are given antibiotics or antacid medications in the first years of life, by the time they were four years of age have a significantly increased risk of every single allergic disease, including asthma, eczema, anaphylactic food allergies, hives, you name it.” (23:05-23:24 | Dr. Elisa)
• "Hashimoto’s and thyroid problems are an increasing problem among teenagers, and in fact there is an autoimmune marker called an ANA (Antinuclear antigen). It’s a red flag.” (33:43-34:05 | Dr. Elisa)
• “At a recent conference, there were discussion about the projection that by 2050, antibiotic resistance could be one of the leading causes of death.”(46:02-46:16 | Dr. Elisa)
• “Our body can’t distinguish between psychological or physical or infectious stress. Psychological stress yields the same amount of inflammation as physical stress.” (56:53-57:03 | Dr. Elisa)
• “The food additive industry was created to make food sweeter, saltier, look better, last longer, and be more addictive.” (1:03:36-1:03:48 | Dr. Elisa)
Notable links:
Connect with Dr. Elisa Song:
Website: www.healthykidshappykids.com
IG: @healthykids_happykids
FB: fb.com/drelisasongmd
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DISCLAIMER: The views provided in this episode and the show notes are for informational purposes only. No material is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this episode.
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