Kavi Raj - Ayurveda for children

Ten Secrets of Ayurvedic Medicine All Parents Should Know

St. Petersburg 2007
Ayurveda for children Kavi Raj

One of the principles of Ayurveda sounds like this: every child is unique, inimitable and has its own specific constitution, which explains the peculiarities of his health, behavior and emotional appearance.
In this book, we will discuss when, how and what to feed our children, how much water (not soda) they should drink, the hidden toxic levels of chemicals in our home, and other factors that are directly related to children's health and well-being.
You will learn about what and at what time of the year makes babies more susceptible to illness, and what to do about it.

Content

Introduction 5
Chapter 1 "Knowledge": The Best Medicine for Parents 7
Ten secrets to help keep your child healthy
Chapter 2
What do you know about your child? 22
Chapter 3 49
Chapter 4
Colds start in the digestive system 70
Chapter 5 Secret Four: Fountain of Youth 104
Chapter 6
Mood and balanced weight 132
Chapter 7
There is a reason for every season 157
Chapter 8
Chemicals and allergens in your home 199
Chapter 9 219
Chapter 10. Secret Nine: "Lazy Susan" 248
Chapter 11
Health is the ability to breathe properly 279
Chapter 12 Perfect Mental Health 309

Author's thanks

Fate rewarded me with a wonderful family - a beautiful and loving wife and six children. Without them, I would not have been able to write this book. Thank you to all my patients and students who continually guide me and my family on the path to perfect health.

"Introduction"
Before antibiotics were introduced in 1940, nature provided us with medicines. Healthy foods were part of the normal daily diet. For traditional medicine, the seasonal collection of fruits and herbs has always been important. At all times, people have harvested, observing the rhythms and cycles of the earth, remaining in harmony with nature. In this book, which I have entitled "Ayurveda for Children", I would like to re-introduce you to the forgotten wisdom that has kept children healthy in the past, and can do this and now.
By concentrating all our efforts on finding remedies for the treatment of diseases, we gradually forgot what good health means. Ayurveda, translated from Sanskrit as "the science of life", focuses on the constant preservation of health and calls for "treating a person, not a disease."
One of the principles of Ayurveda, which I have explained in this book, is that every child is unique and unrepeatable. Each of them has its own constitution, which explains the peculiarities of their health, behavior and emotional makeup. We'll discuss when, how and what to feed your kids, how much water (not sodas) they should drink, the hidden toxic levels of chemicals in your home, and other factors that have a direct bearing on your kids' health and well-being. You will learn about what makes your babies more susceptible to illness and what to do about it at what times of the year. I will introduce you to my "lazy Susan" and then I will give you a list of natural medicines from which you can choose the ones that your children need. The book "Ayurveda for Children" would be incomplete if I did not address the topic of emotional health and personal potential of children. I will present to your attention effective ways to approach children and support their emotional health. We will also discuss the importance of "play" for both parents and children.
Initially, Ayurvedic medicine was intended to prepare a person for the full disclosure of their inner capabilities. Helping children to stay in good physical, mental and emotional shape, you will create excellent conditions for them to achieve success in later life. The book "Ayurveda for Children" contains complete information on how to maintain the health of a child, how to grow a harmoniously developed - physically, emotionally and spiritually - personality. This knowledge will change the lives of parents and protect the lives of children, as it happened to me, for which I still thank fate.

Since many of the aspects discussed in Ayurveda for Children are also useful for adults, I strongly recommend that parents read Dr. Deepak Chopra's Perfect Health. This comprehensive Ayurvedic guide has been written to point the way to optimal adult health.

CHAPTER 1

"Knowledge": The best medicine for parents
Over the past 70 years, the health care system made an astonishing leap forward. In a relatively short period of time, the practice of modern medicine has advanced significantly, starting with the breeding and distribution of the "magic" bacteria, life-saving penicillin, and other antibiotics in the 40s of the last century, and reaching the present day, when patients, thanks to the use of potent drugs, may leave the hospital immediately after surgery. Medicine has reached unprecedented heights.
However, along with the latest achievements of science, the practice of modern medicine is increasingly using the experience and knowledge of alternative healing systems. Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, which has existed for 5000 years, studies life, not disease.
In this book, I will present many simple, effective and logical concepts that tell us about maintaining health based on Ayurveda. I am by no means suggesting that you change your lifestyle beyond recognition. Rather, my goal is to make life easier for parents while improving the health of children (and the whole family).
I am adapting these concepts to modern lifestyles, combining elements of popular culture and Ayurvedic health traditions.
The 51% rule.
I don't expect parents to immediately experience the effects of the advice in this book for themselves and their families. Please accept what I call the fifty-one percent rule. If you use these rules four days a week (i.e. 51% of your life), you and your children will soon feel healthier. Positive results will lead to the fact that you will streamline your life, and this decision will belong to you, and not to the influence of some book.

The decision to apply the information in this book may not come to you immediately. Maybe; it will be years before you feel ready for change: It is likely that today we will only sow seeds that will germinate in many years.

culture
Before discussing the topic of how to raise healthy children, let's consider the cultural traditions of the society in which we live. According to data released in the United States by the Children's Hospital Administration, on average, American schoolchildren get colds six to ten times a year, and American pediatricians prescribe more than $500 million worth of antibiotics annually. According to data released at a recent congressional hearing, more than 60% of these antibiotics were prescribed incorrectly and therefore did not bring the desired effect. Despite this, the amount of antibiotics prescribed to young children has increased by 51% over the past fifteen years. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommends that doctors use antibiotics only when absolutely necessary. Campaigns on this issue have had some effect. A 2003 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that since the 1990s, doctors have reduced the amount of antibiotics they prescribe.
These studies may look encouraging, but the same article points out that most antibiotics prescribed in the US are strong, broad-spectrum drugs, which therefore cost much more and lead to more side effects. What's more, they're designed to kill dangerous bacteria, not "hothouse respiratory infections" that can be dealt with in a doctor's office. Studies show that in 1999, 40% of antibiotics prescribed to children were broad-spectrum. Until now, they are mistakenly prescribed for colds and other viral infections. In fact, 14% of children who were prescribed such drugs had a common cold or were infected with a virus. The prescriptions written for the common cold were obviously wrong. Thus, antibiotics aimed at treating this disease did not cause the desired effect and therefore were taken in vain.
One of the most difficult aspects of the ambiguity in the use of antibiotics is that at the moment there is no alternative solution to the problem that everyone would accept.
There are many disadvantages in such a situation, and parents understand this. The children's illness progresses, the bacteria become stronger, and the effectiveness of the medicine gradually disappears.
By "cold" I mean a severe, debilitating, long-term illness with fever, chills, and drug bills. It's hard to believe, but a mild cold that lasts two to three days strengthens the immune system and, in fact, helps to kid. Responsibility for the severity of the course of a cold and other illnesses of a child lies with the parents, and not with the doctors.

Lucas and his endless cold.
My patients bring their children to me with a story all too familiar to all of us. Here is a recent example of an eight-year-old boy, Lucas, who was brought to me complaining of a chronic cold.
Four months before my office visit, Lucas came down with earaches, a fever, and a cold. The parents took him to the doctor, who prescribed the boy antibiotics, which seemed to have the desired effect. After a week or so, he recovered and went to school. However, two or three weeks later, the ear pain returned, with a runny nose and cough. Once again, Lucas was taken to the doctor, who this time gave him stronger antibiotics. And the same story repeated again: at first the child felt better, but soon the disease took over again.
It became clear that antibiotics were saving him from an acute crisis of infection, but did not cure the disease itself. After another course of pills, that is, four months after the onset of the disease, Lucas's mother heard a radio program on how to protect a child from a cold, where I spoke, and brought him to my office.
"The