Last week Paul and I had an exceptionally busy week. While everyone was slumbering on Sunday night before Labor Day, we were driving 14 hours to the Midwest so we could be there to spend time with our little 15-month-old granddaughter while her mommy went to the hospital to deliver a baby sister. We got there with very little time to spare. Although the baby was due on Saturday, she came early Tuesday morning. Mommy and baby are doing great and big sister has a little adjusting to do but will likely work through it fine.
If you have never been a grandparent, I strongly urge you to give it a try! After nearly 30 years since we had babies, we were touched to the core when this little bundle wrapped in a blanket was placed in our arms. Tears that neither of us ever knew we had began to spill down our faces. Those tiny fingers, that little grunt, those deep, dark eyes…there truly are no words to express how we felt when we saw the flesh of our flesh in our arms.
Since we live so far away, it is a challenge to get to see them as they grow. The 15 month old seemed to have grown overnight and each time we would get to see her, there were major milestones that we missed and she now looks like a little toddler who has a lot of teeth, is eating real food and telling us how she really feels about life! Not that we fully understand her, but we get the message loud and clear.
The world has certainly changed since we brought our babies into it. Within less than a week of the newborn’s birth, there is news that something called an enterovirus has begun to spread throughout 12 states; many of them are in the Midwest. As innocuous as this may sound, it really isn’t! Apparently, the virus that may give you a cold is really a respiratory virus that is landing many young and older children into the hospital—even in the ICU. These are not just the summer colds that “hang on.” These are viruses that have been causing major health problems for our newest generation.
Could these be stronger, more virulent viruses? Are they more dangerous than the ones of years before? Or, is it possible that as Pottenger’s Cats suggests, each generation has become weaker and their immune systems are no longer created with inherent antibodies to fight these viruses like babies and younger children in years past?
To quickly summarize the theory, Francis Pottenger, Jr, MD, between the years of 1932 and 1942, conducted a feeding experiment to determine the effects of heat-processed food on 900 cats. The results clearly and unequivocally indicated that if the cats were fed a diet of raw meat, raw milk and cod liver oil, they lived a long, healthy life with no disease, no genetic issues, and were able to bear healthy offspring many times.
There was another group of cats that were fed cooked meat, raw milk, and cod liver oil. The difference between the health and reproduction of these two groups was alarming and startling. The parent cats developed heart disease, had varied bone strength and thyroid issues to name just a few of the many problems that developed. The offspring of these cats had such varied skeletal, dental and facial structures that it became easily apparent they each had numerous nutritional deficiencies.
One of the experiment's more startling discoveries is that once a female cat is subjected to a deficient diet for a period of 12 to 18 months, her reproductive efficiency is so reduced that she is never again able to give birth to normal kittens.
Even after three or four years of eating an optimum diet, her kittens still show signs of deficiency in skeletal and dental development. When her kittens are maintained on an optimum diet, a gradual reversal and regeneration takes place. It can take four generations and there will still be obvious signs of deficiency.
As our country begins to produce children who are products of the Standard American Diet with mom adding just a daily pre-natal vitamin, add to that, the excessive vaccinations that begin on the day of birth and don’t ever seem to end, is it any wonder that the virus that is supposed to be the cause of the common cold, can wreak such havoc on our babies and young children?
The long-term solution is to get a woman on a highly nutrient dense diet before conception (preferably 6 months) and continue this throughout the pregnancy. The nutrients will create a healthy, immune-enhanced baby who is continuing to receive antibodies and nutrition through breast milk (ideally). As the baby is weaned, nutrient dense foods and careful supplementation can more easily set the child up to be able to weather the storms of germs, bacteria, and viruses.
There are certain supplements that I keep handy and would give to my small children to help enhance their immune system as they become exposed to various viruses and bacteria.
Michael Donaldson, PhD Biochemist, who has 14 children of his own, suggests that liposomal vitamin C in small doses (one gram= one teaspoon) is a good amount for young children. The vitamin C can be repeated throughout the day, up to several times as needed. This is a liquid vitamin C, which he can attest to being much easier to give than breaking open a capsule. However, when he has had to break open a capsule he has found mixing it with a little applesauce can be quite useful.
Another supplement he has found beneficial for little ones is Silver Biotics. It is a safe form of silver that has years of proven results—even on children! This is a powerful immune enhancer and needs only ½ tsp. twice a day. And, it tastes just like water! Another way to use it is to get it in a spray form and spray into the child’s mouth.
Children who have been reacting to this virus the most negatively may also have asthma, food allergies, food sensitivities, and quite possibly thyroid issues. Nascent iodine may be an option for those who chronically get sick. It would be advisable to work with an alternative health practitioner while introducing the nascent iodine.
Hospitals are quite helpful when the baby is born. But, they can be quite frightening when a small child has to go there and experience the IV’s, the tubes and the strange surroundings. Our hope is that we can help parents learn the importance of clean eating for long-term protection, but in a pinch it is nice to know that there are some effective things you can do to reinforce your child’s immune system to deal with an acute infection.
