In Ayurveda, childhood is the kapha phase of life. The elements of Kapha dosha are water and earth. The qualities or gunas are heavy, stable, oily, slow, dull, cool. This dosha is associated with strong and stable digestion when it is in balance. Therefore, children typically have strong digestion.
My digestion started to weaken during my childhood years due to my diet, habits, and “holding it” out of embarrassment. I didnt want to use the bathroom at school. I would hold it until I got home. I went to sleep away camp for 1 month. I barely used the bathroom. My digestive health issues slowly escalated as my body accumulated toxins from poor diet and holding back natural urges.
Childhood is a critical time to protect your child’s digestion. This will support their development by building strong blood. When blood is strong, digestion is strong. Strong, healthy blood also nourishes the other tissues which include:
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Fat tissue
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Muscle tissue
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Bone tissue
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Bone marrow
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Reproductive tissue
When digestion is strong and kids have a solid digestive foundation their overall health is better supported both in the short and long term. Ensuring digestion is strong in childhood will also help them as they age with preventing digestion based diseases.
Some tips for protecting your child’s digestion include:
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Make sure they are going daily. Ask them. If they are not, get to the root cause. Are they embarrassed? Is nothing coming? Are they constipated? Is a diet change needed?
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Strive to feed them 3 meals a day. Skipping meals weakens the digestive fire. It also doesn’t allow their tissues to be fully nourished We need a significant amount of nutrients to thrive. During the growing years that need for nutrients is even higher. Providing 3 solids meals a day increases nutrient intake. It also strengthen blood and creates an ongoing cycle of optimal health.
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Feed them a variety of food and incorporate healthy, living foods. I know kids are more interested in pizza and grilled cheese. That’s fine. My kids eat plenty of what we call “fun foods” as well. But we can build a healthy foundation and serve veggies and healthy plant based foods often. This builds their pallet.
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Despite mainstream advise about constant ongoing small meals and snacks…Ayurveda favors solid meals and little snacking. Digestion requires a tremendous amount of energy which is better served with solid meals 3 times a day. Also, when we constantly have food in the digestive tract, it is more difficult for food to be fully digested. This leaves remnants of undigested food, clogs the intestines with toxins from undigested food and leads to weaker digestion as a result.
These are just a few tips of many to protect your child’s digestion. Help them to maintain the digestive strength they were born to have.
We can empower our children with knowledge that can last a lifetime in terms of achieving great health.
What are some tips and tricks you use to empower your children with their digestion and overall health? Is your child struggling with their digestion? Lets work together to improve their digestion now and for years to come.
