Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 37

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Upcoming Podcast and Current Book Review.

For all parents who love the content of this newsletter, I have a book for you to enjoy. It is a comprehensive look at parenting a child in modern times through the struggles of food, technology, stress and life in general.

My good friend Elisa Song is a Stanford, NYU and UCSF trained pediatrician and lover of children. In her recently published book, Healthy Kids, Happy Kids, she offers a comprehensive and integrative approach to pediatric health that will resonate deeply with today’s parents who seek to navigate the complexities of modern healthcare and modern life. Dr. Song’s dual expertise as a pediatrician and a mother is evident in her compassionate and practical guidance. Much like the work of our mentor Sandy Newmark, her book is relatable but more importantly scientifically grounded.

At the heart of Dr. Song’s philosophy is the idea that optimal health for children is not just the absence of disease but a state of overall well-being or optimal health, including: physical, emotional, and mental states. She emphasizes the importance of nutrition, advocating for whole, unprocessed foods while addressing the impacts of common allergens/intolerances, sugar, and artificial additives on children’s health. Her dietary recommendations are backed by a solid understanding of how nutrition influences immunity, inflammation, behavior, long-term development and ultimately chronic disease.

Plus, a discussion on cancer, autoimmunity in children post Covid…

Enjoy,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 36

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Section I

Literature Review

1) Long Covid in children – the symptoms are getting more clarity in who has what . From JAMA: 898 school-age children (751 with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and 147 without) and 4469 adolescents (3109 infected and 1360 uninfected) were included in the analysis. The time between infection and symptom analysis was 1.5 years. In models adjusted for sex and race and ethnicity, 14 symptoms in both school-age children and adolescents were more common in those with SARS-CoV-2 infection history compared with those without infection history, with 4 additional symptoms in school-age children only and 3 in adolescents only. These symptoms affected almost every organ system. The cumulative data shows us that neurocognitive (Headache, attention concerns, sleep dysregulation), pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms in school-age children were common, but changed to loss of smell and/or taste, body aches and pain, focus struggles and fatigue related symptoms in adolescents. (Gross et. al. 2024) Age has a huge effect on these outcomes as the older population has more frequent and problematical disease findings. Mood disorder is highly associated with worsened findings. I suspect from the historical data set over the last four years that children with chronic mental stress, poor quality diets, sleep issues, and poor activity levels at baseline have worsened acute and long term prognosis.

Plus a section on a book review for Change Your Genes, Change Your Life.

Enjoy,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 35

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Children are and always will be a marker of a society’s quality and focus on their health. When we look at the landscape of childhood health trajectories, we see a declination in quality and an inclination toward diseases of immune dysregulation and underlying chronic unchecked inflammation. What is the genesis point, or where is ground zero?

For me, that answer is the newly understood ecosystem called the intestinal infantile microbiome.

What is the Intestinal Microbiome?

The intestinal microbiome is a complex and dynamic community of microorganisms that plays a crucial role in all mammalian health, particularly in the early stages of life. The development of the human infant intestinal microbiome has profound implications for the child’s immune system, tolerance to the outside world, metabolism, and health trajectory.

Understanding the factors that influence the establishment and evolution of this microbiome can help in devising strategies to promote optimal health from infancy through adulthood. This article dives deep into the key aspects of the development of the infant intestinal microbiome, highlighting the critical stages, influencing factors, and long-term health implications.

How Do Infants Establish Their Gut Microbiome?…..

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast David Katz, MD – Childhood Obesity Part II Repost

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David L. Katz, MD, MPH is a specialist in Preventive Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, with particular expertise in nutrition.
He earned his BA at Dartmouth College (1984); his MD at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1988); and his MPH from the Yale University School of Public Health (1993). He completed sequential residency training and board certification in Internal Medicine (1991) and Preventive Medicine/Public Health (1993). Katz is the founder and former director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (1998-2019); Past President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; President and Founder of the non-profit True Health Initiative; and Founder and CEO of Diet ID, Inc. The recipient of numerous awards for teaching, writing, and contributions to public health, Katz was a 2019 James Beard Foundation Award nominee in health journalism, has been a widely supported nominee for the position of U.S. Surgeon General, and has received three honorary doctorates. Katz has served as a nutrition columnist for O, the Oprah Magazine; an on-air contributor for ABC News/Good Morning America, and with appearances on most major news programs and contributions to most major magazines and leading newspapers, including OpEds in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
His most recent book, How to Eat, co-authored with Mark Bittman, is a 2021 IACP Awards finalist and is worth your time. I have had the pleasure of hearing him speak many times over the years and he is an amazing orator and I am blessed to have this hour with him. Today, we dive into the science of childhood obesity and what are the public health pain points that can be pressed on to change the negative trajectory.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 34

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Literature Review

1) Does oral health affect your life if you are sick and in intensive care? According to a new study in JAMA, the answer is yes. From the study: 10,742 patients – “toothbrushing was associated with significantly lower risk for Hospital Acquired Pneumonia and ICU mortality. Reduction in pneumonia incidence was significant for patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation but not for patients who were not receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. Toothbrushing for patients in the ICU was associated with fewer days of mechanical ventilation and a shorter ICU length of stay. Brushing twice a day vs more frequent intervals was associated with similar effect estimates….Non-ICU hospital length of stay and use of antibiotics were not associated with toothbrushing.” (Ehrenzeller et. al. 2024)

Why does this matter? In effect, what this study shows is that patients with oral hygiene needs that are not met will have increased bacterial burdens leading to infectious disease risk via systemic inflammation and possibly bacterial translocation. At the end of the day, oral hygiene is very important to lower the total burden of inflammation in everyone, but especially in the most ill patient. It is super important for everyone to brush 2-3 x daily and floss daily at night…..

Plus a discussion on Back to School.

Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #78 – Elisa Song MD – Healthy Kids Happy Kids

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This week I sit down with Dr. Elisa Song to discuss her new book, Healthy Kids, Happy Kids. Dr. Song is a graduate of Stanford University with a degree in political Science. She then attended New York University for her medical degree and finally a stop at the University of California San Francisco for pediatric residency training. In her own words, Dr. Song is a holistic pediatrician. She founded Whole Family Wellness, an integrative pediatric practice in Belmont, CA – one of the first and most highly regarded holistic pediatric practices in the country. She created Healthy Kids Happy Kids – dedicated to empowering parents to take charge of their kids’ health … naturally! She lectures around the world for the Center for Education and Development in Clinical Homeopathy (CEDH), Academy for Pain Research, Institute for Functional Medicine, and Holistic Pediatric Association, A4M among others. In this interview we look at health through a prevention first lens with a deep look at the intestinal microbiome and nutrition. Dr. Song’s immense fund of knowledge is on full display in her book and this interview.

Please enjoy my conversation with Dr. Elisa Song,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 33

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Sleep Part IV

Continuing the sleep education from a few weeks ago.

Sleep is a most special event that we all need to continue to focus heavily on in order to live a healthy and long life. It may be the single most important event that we do daily.

Here are a few more quick hits on sleep from the Matthew Walker’s Book and other publications.

1) Aim for a minimum of 7 hours nightly to maintain adequate memory consolidation, immune health and emotional regulation. Young children and teens need 8-14 hours depending on age.

2) Do not eat close to bedtime. Stop eating three hours before you plan to go to sleep. Avoid rapidly digesting refined carbohydrates as they turn into energy quickly raising core temperature which makes it harder to fall asleep as we need our body temperature to drop 3 to 4 degrees F at night to fall asleep. Heavy protein meals at night are not a great idea. Eat the heavier proteins early (before 6 pm) if at all in the evening….plus a section on summer Covid surge.

Enjoy,

Dr. M

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