Healthy Kids, Happy Moms
PRAISE FOR
“Dr. Kilbane provides a clear, methodical approach to understanding the profound impact nutrition has on the health of our children. She offers a practical guide to changing your child’s diet in order to improve overall health and to stop the cycle of recurrent illnesses. I recommend this book as a must-read for parents.”
—ANDREW WEIL, MD
Founder and Director, Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona
“It was my privilege to get to know Dr. Kilbane when she came through the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, where I served as fellowship director. She has emerged as a leader in this field and is one of the few board-certified pediatricians speaking up about the profound impact food has on children’s mental and physical health. In this world of information overload, Dr. Kilbane has created a step-by-step program to help you navigate your child’s health. I strongly encourage you to read this book and go through her program with your whole family. You will see how practical and fun eating well and feeling good can be.”
—TIERAONA LOW DOG, MD, ABOIM
Director, Medicine Lodge Ranch Clinic and School of Natural Medicine; Chair, USP Dietary Supplement Admissions, Evaluation, and Labeling Expert Committee; Founding Member, American Board of Integrative Medicine; Author, National Geographic’s Life Is Your Best Medicine, Healthy at Home, Fortify Your Life, and Guide to Medicinal Herbs
“I know Dr. Kilbane well. She possesses a unique blend of smarts, heart, and passion that together give substance to her life’s work: improving the lives of children and their families, with a laser focus on nutrition. Readers of Healthy Kids, Happy Moms will access a clear guide for raising healthy children, one supported by research and experience, providing important information only rarely touched upon during a traditional time-constrained doctor’s visit. Dr. Kilbane’s program is credible and actionable and can help set the stage for children to become optimally well. That makes for a happy kid as well as a happy mom (and dad).”
—RUSSELL H. GREENFIELD, MD
Graduate of the first class at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine; Clinician and Consultant attending to individual, community, and employee health and healing
“When I met Dr. Kilbane and learned about her work, the first words out of my mouth were: ‘Where were you when my boys were young?’ They struggled with many of the issues this book helps improve or, in some cases, resolve altogether. She has become a leader in the field of pediatric health and nutrition. Her program is proactive toward your child’s health. She doesn’t take the all-too-common ‘wait and see’ approach that I grew so frustrated with when my boys were little. If you’re ready to stop the cycle of recurrent illnesses or get on track to a healthier diet and lifestyle with your child and family, this book is for you!”
—JJ VIRGIN
Four-time New York Times Bestselling Author, Celebrity Nutritionist, and Fitness Expert
“I have known Dr. Kilbane for years. We both completed our integrative medical training with Andrew Weil, MD. On behalf of children, she has forged a new path in the field of integrative pediatric health. I have relied on her expertise and care for my own child, with outstanding results. There is usually not one ‘magic bullet’ to heal a child. That’s why Dr. Kilbane’s comprehensive program is so powerful. It offers the step-by-step approach she uses in her clinic. To have this information at your fingertips could be a game-changer for your child and family, if you’re willing to take the time and make some not always easy—but very doable—changes. I highly recommend this book, both personally and professionally, for all parents and pediatric healthcare practitioners seeking to understand how to stop the cycle of recurrent illnesses in children.”
—JEFF GLADD, MD
National Speaker and Leader on patient empowerment, lifestyle-based healthcare, and technology integration into private practice; Medical Director, GladdMD; Chief Medical Officer, Fullscript
“I’m so grateful for Dr. Kilbane and her work to restore the health of our children! I am one of the fortunate parents who has been able to have Dr. Kilbane as an advisor to support my son, and she offers one-of-a-kind solutions that really work! No more trying things that only waste your time and money, and leave your poor baby still sick. I am super excited that these same solutions are now available to parents all over the world. This book is practical, is research-based, and provides a clear strategy to resolve common childhood ailments and to help children thrive the way they are meant to. She has taken into account the physiology and biochemistry of a child’s system and, with her years of clinical experience, has created a new paradigm for children’s healthcare. This book can help you gain peace of mind about your child’s health and allow you to take a break from being Dr. Mom and spending many late nights on Dr. Google, so you can enjoy the precious time you have together.”
—IZABELLA WENTZ, PHARMD
Mama, Pharmacist, and New York Times Bestselling Author of Hashimoto’s Protocol
“Dr. Sheila’s approach to nutrition for our children is refreshing and doable, but most importantly it’s healing and wholesome.”
—JEN HANSARD
Bestselling Author of Simple Green Smoothies & Simple Green Meals
HEALTHY KIDS, HAPPY MOMS
Copyright © 2021 by Sheila Kilbane, MD
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published by Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.
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This book contains advice and information relating to healthcare. It should be used to supplement rather than replace the advice of your doctor or another trained health professional. If you know or suspect that you or your child has a health problem, it is recommended that you seek your physician’s advice before embarking on any medical program or treatment. All efforts have been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained in this book as of the date of publication. The publisher and the author disclaim liability for any medical outcomes that may occur as a result of applying the methods suggested in this book. The author has changed names and identifying details to preserve the privacy of patients and other individuals.
ISBN 978-0-7852-4107-2 (eBook)
ISBN 978-0-7852-4106-5 (HC)
Epub Edition July 2021 9780785241072
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021936762
Printed in Canada
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To Susan and Kit
My two dear friends here in Charlotte passed away during the writing of this book.
My hope for the words on these pages is that they allow you, the reader, to feel seen, heard, and understood—the way Susan and Kit made me feel.
Feeling heard is where true healing begins.
contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Foreword by David Katz, MD
INTRODUCTION: How I Stumbled Upon the Power of Nutrition
SECTION I: healthy cell, healthy gut, healthy child CHAPTER 1: An Integrative Approach to Pediatric Medicine
CHAPTER 2: To Understand Illness, First Understand Inflammation
CHAPTER 3: Leaky Gut vs. Healthy Gut
CHAPTER 4: Five Ways Food Triggers Inflammation in Our Bodies
CHAPTER 5: Overfed and Undernourished
CHAPTER 6: Focus Foods: Fats, Fiber, and Protein
CHAPTER 7: Rethinking Dairy: Science vs. Marketing
CHAPTER 8: Strategic Supplements to Support Digestion
CHAPTER 9: Curing vs. Healing
CHAPTER 10: Preparing Your Mind and Kitchen for the Program
SECTION II: the 7 step healthy kids, happy moms program
SECTION III: the recipes Smoothies and Cashew Milk BEGINNER SMOOTHIE: banana berry heaven
INTERMEDIATE SMOOTHIE: pina colada
INTERMEDIATE SMOOTHIE: cilantro-mango detox green
jolly green smoothie
rockin’ cacao smoothie
cashew milk
Breakfasts baked eggs in a muffin tin
quinoa breakfast cereal
apple chia seed pudding
easy paleo pancakes
scrambled eggs and smashed potatoes
magnesium muffins
magnesium muffins—egg-free
Five Lunches or Dinners gluten-free chicken fingers
potato soup
turkey chili
quinoa fried rice
kid-approved zucchini, squash, and snap pea stir fry
Five Dinners and Five Side Dishes chicken vegetable soup and sweet potato fries
turkey kale soup
lentil tacos
teriyaki salmon
turmeric rice
baked kale
baked beets
baked broccoli and cauliflower
crispy chickpeas
Desserts almond meal cookies
no-bake energy balls
chocolate sunflower butter protein balls
strawberry, banana, and peanut butter popsicles
chocolate banana pudding
Dr. Kilbane’s Approved Packaged Foods
Appendix
Acknowledgments
Notes
Further Reading
Index
About the Author
foreword
HEALTHY KIDS, HAPPY MOMS promises to help millions of children in need. Written by a board-certified pediatrician who is also trained in nutrition and integrative medicine, Dr. Kilbane’s accurate nutrition information, along with clear, step-by-step guidance, makes this book an important asset for parents and healthcare practitioners.
Diet of poor quality is the single leading cause of chronic disease and premature death in the modern world. That harm begins early in life, and early in life is the best time to turn things around. Dr. Kilbane is right to focus on “fixing” broken diets in childhood and at the level of family.
Getting diet right is not about satisfying someone else’s standard or ticking off a box. Food plays a significant role in our inflammatory responses. Excess, chronic inflammation doesn’t allow the immune system or, for that matter, any organ-system of the body, to work optimally. The most vulnerable among us suffer the gravest consequences from poor food quality. High levels of added sugar, refined carbohydrates, and ultraprocessed foods are the least expensive and most readily available to our children. These foods are aggressively marketed as well, essentially propagating profit at the expense of our children’s health. Dr. Kilbane and I agree emphatically: This has to stop!
Empowered with the information here, you can be part of that overdue remedy. Healthy Kids, Happy Moms is practical, actionable, and easy to understand. Dr. Kilbane blends the science of food and physiology with simple explanations and clarifying graphics. Clear, expert guidance here can help drown out the distracting din of marketing messages that sell our children and families the synthetic food that makes so many of us sick.
Diet and exercise habits learned while young will stick throughout life, and vitality is among the greatest of gifts we parents can bestow—a gift that keeps on giving.
Dr. Kilbane’s book offers every reader the opportunity to work with a compassionate, integrative pediatrician, right in your own home. This book details the recipe for moving your child from a place of recurrent illness and excess inflammation to one of health. With that health comes joy because, in general, healthy, vital people—kids and adults alike—feel better and have more fun.
At times, we can forget that health isn’t the ultimate prize. Health makes living the way we want to live more possible—and that, of course, is the prize.
We cannot control everything our children are exposed to, but we can feed and nurture them in ways that promote health instead of illness and enthusiasm rather than resistance. All children deserve the opportunity to eat healthy, clean, real food. With this book in all the right hands, many more will have it!
—DAVID L. KATZ, MD, MPH
Past President, American College of Lifestyle Medicine Founding Director, Prevention Research Center, Yale University President, True Health Initiative
INTRODUCTION
how i stumbled upon the power of nutrition
IN 2006, WHEN I was about a year out of residency, I prided myself on the fact that I could manage my pediatric patients’ symptoms, whatever they were, with drugs. Laxatives, antihistamines, antacids, steroids (topical, inhaled, oral, or even sprayed into the nose), and antibiotics . . . two, three, and yes, sometimes even four medications. All the while I convinced the parents (and myself) that this was perfectly safe. I prescribed laxatives for years on end and wrote antacid prescriptions for three-month-old babies.
However, when I began medical school, I never imagined my day-to-day life would entail running from room to room, stressed and anxious. I even found myself getting defensive toward parents who continued to ask questions.
The bubble inside my head said, “By the way, this visit is scheduled in a ten-minute slot, and I have been in here for twenty-five minutes, so please—no more questions that I don’t have answers for!”
I can’t believe I’m admitting this, as those were not some of my finer moments as a pediatrician, whose purpose is to help children. But these challenges catalyzed my desire to seek better ways to help my patients. Either that, or I would have to find a new profession.
The question that came over and over from these moms was, “Isn’t there another way?”
I had no idea at that time that nutrition played such a significant role in chronic and recurrent childhood illnesses. I also had no idea that the medications I was prescribing, along with the inflammatory foods the kids were eating, were holding my patients in a sick cycle. The antibiotics, in addition to killing the harmful bacteria in the ears, lungs, or sinus cavities, were also killing the healthy bacteria in their guts. The antacids were preventing them from properly absorbing proteins and other nutrients such as vitamin B12, and the laxatives were a Band-Aid for their constipation. Kids don’t have laxative deficiencies, so why do so many kids need to take a daily laxative to have a bowel movement? All of these medications treated the symptoms (and are absolutely needed at times), but this way of practicing didn’t force me to dig deeper and understand what was driving these illnesses.
The kids I saw repeatedly were the ones who were struggling with one or more of the many common childhood illnesses. I got to know these fam
ilies well because they were in the office almost once a month. These conditions tend to flare up regularly, and unless we identify and treat the underlying triggers, they continue to recur:
Colic
Reflux
Eczema
Keratosis pilaris (bumps on the back of the arms, cheeks, or thighs)
Recurrent ear and sinus infections
Chronic runny nose
Allergies
Asthma
Stomach aches
Constipation or loose stools
I remember my aha moment about food and children’s health like it was yesterday . . .
CASE STUDY
JOHNNY
SYMPTOMS: ECZEMA AND RECURRENT EAR INFECTIONS
Johnny was a sweet baby boy I’d been seeing since he was born. He was a precious child with blue eyes, short brown hair, and pink cheeks that were more itchy than rosy. Eczema, which had started shortly after birth, covered his body. Recurrent ear infections, which started around five months of age, caused fussiness. He’d already required several rounds of antibiotics for ear infections, as well as steroid cream to control the eczema. His mother was always wondering if we could be doing something else to help him.
At his nine-month wellness visit, Johnny’s mother told me, “I took dairy out of Johnny’s diet since our last visit, and his eczema is almost completely gone.” Since mom was breastfeeding, she also removed dairy from her diet, so her breast milk wouldn’t expose him to the cow milk protein casein.
“I don’t know if it has anything to do with you both being off dairy, but go ahead and stay off it, and I’ll figure out how we’re going to get calcium, fat, and vitamin D into both of you,” I said.
Though the eczema was much improved, it hadn’t fully resolved. Furthermore, at Johnny’s ten- and eleven-month visits, he still had fluid behind both of his eardrums. Persistent residual fluid is a well-known complication of ear infections and, if left untreated, can lead to hearing impairment. I referred Johnny to an ear, nose, and throat doctor to be evaluated for ear tubes, and his surgery was scheduled.