In this episode, I am breaking down important minerals to prioritize for children and answering questions I got from this community on specific scenarios like what to do when a child is dairy free, important considerations for eczema, and so much more! If you’d like access to the bonus episode that shares more resources and specifics on hair testing and kids, you can join me on patreon.com/hormonehealingrd.
As always, everything shared in this episode is for informational purposes only. I encourage you to do your own research and talk with your healthcare provider to figure out what’s best for you.
This episode covers:
Links/Resources:
Patreon
Master Your Minerals Course
My Favorite Paleovalley Products
Free Resources:
Free Healthy Period Starter Guide
Mineral Imbalance Quiz
Mineral Training
Thyroid Mineral Training
Feminine Periodical (monthly newsletter)
References:
Listen Now
Transcript:
Amanda Montalvo [00:00:01]:
Welcome to the Are you Menstrual? Podcast, where we dive deep into all things women’s health to support you on your healing journey. I’m Amanda Montalbo, functional and integrative dietitian, also known as the Hormone Healing RD. If you enjoyed this podcast and you want to keep learning, check out the podcast Patreon, where I share a bonus episode with additional downloadable resources. Each week you can go to patreon.com forward Slash Healing RV or check out the link in the show notes. All right, in this episode, I am digging into minerals and children, and that’s going to cover. I’m going to talk about babies mostly like six months plus toddlers and then slightly older kids as well. The goal is to just break down how we can start to prioritize these with our kids. And I got a ton of questions.
Amanda Montalvo [00:00:52]:
I posted a question box on Instagram and man, the mom’s delivered. Okay, so I’m going to try to touch on the major. There was a lot of major repetitive questions and themes. So basically I’m going to get into mineral nutrition for babies, toddlers, kids, give you guys some tips there. And obviously, I don’t really think kids should eat that differently from us. It’s just more like varying amounts. But there were some really good questions on how much beef liver and stuff like that. So we’ll get into that.
Amanda Montalvo [00:01:23]:
Then we’re going to go into minerals and gut health in kids because this is like a whole thing. And I got a lot of questions around eczema. I think I’m going to do a whole separate episode because this is something that I have been going through with my daughter. Unfortunately, it has improved so much. But it’s like eczema. It’s similar with adults but with kids. And we have questions around testing and stuff. I’ll talk about at the end.
Amanda Montalvo [00:01:48]:
Kids in stool testing is just challenging, especially like toddlers and babies, because their microbiome is shifting so much. And honestly, like adults too. But I’ll talk about that a bit. But I’m probably going to do a whole separate episode on eczema because it’s just a big topic. AnD then I’ll talk a little bit about supplements in kids and then testing. I had a lot of questions around testing with babies, toddlers, older kids, et cetera. So I’ll get into all of those topics. And then I got questions around a lot of hair testing questions in kids.
Amanda Montalvo [00:02:26]:
I’m going to make that the bonus episode or this will be like a very long one. I’m going to go through hair tests that I have for a toddler in the bonus episode and break it down and hopefully make it understandable. But hair testing is absolutely different in children. Very exciting. So that’s the episode. If you want access to the bonus episode where I go through hair testing, the hair test for the toddler, then you can definitely join me on Patreon.com hormonehealingrd. And as always, everything I share is for informational purposes only. I hope that it encourages you to do your own research and talk with your healthcare provider to figure out what makes the most sense for you and your family.
Amanda Montalvo [00:03:09]:
So let’s dig into the mineral rich nutrition for babies, toddlers, and kids. One of the big topics that I got questions about was what foods are there for babies and toddlers that promote good mineral balance? It is really not different from what is helpful for adults. And I did a whole series on this on Instagram that I am going to link in the show notes. Yeah, I’ll just make that note because I put the recipes in there, but I’ll put the other posts in there too, because honestly, I think they’re applicable. Kids can still have stress because yes, we want to support. I’ll go through foods and everything, but I think that people don’t realize when we see imbalances in kids, of course we want to think about how was Mom’s health when she was pregnant? How has the child’s gut health been as they’ve aged? But also, how is their stress? I don’t know why? I just don’t often hear that topic discussed enough when it comes to kids. Kids have stress too, and that stress will absolutely impact their mineral status. When I go through the hair test in the bonus episOde, you’ll see a pretty stress pattern in that child.
Amanda Montalvo [00:04:23]:
And so that’s something where I’m like, this is very real. Kids have stress. So I think we should definitely try to take that into consideration rather than just trying to throw more minerals in. It’s like, well, how can we look at their environment? What are they stressed about? Obviously, how much you can discuss with a child is going to vary depending on their age, but just trying to keep that in mind. I mean, it’s like, I think about my husband’s deployed and I know that that is putting additional stress on my daughter. And so it’s like, what can I do to support her minerals more during this time? It’s just like us, like probably using up more magnesium, more sodium and potassium digestion could potentially be compromised. What is her environment like, what other stressors? What’s like the rhythm of our day? So I really look at this very similarly as I do with adults in looking at what is that child’s day like, how are they living? And sometimes I feel like we just negate that kids can have stress and they absolutely can. So what does that look like? Especially, like, when we have behavioral issues and stuff present that’s very stressful for a child as well.
Amanda Montalvo [00:05:33]:
So just keeping that in mind, it’s not always just what can we add in? Like, yes, we want to do that, we want to be mindful of food, but how is your child’s daily life? And is there any way that you can reduce a little bit of stress, maybe add some more, either relaxing or just, I just think of fun activities in for them? And do you know what maybe is adding to their stress? Is there a way to minimize it? Things like that. We can’t ignore that piece either. So for foods, a mix of animal foods and plant foods I think is still incredibly important. Mussel meats are going to be great. Any like beef, chicken, pork, eggs, dairy, seafood. Sardines are such a great one. And oysters, if your children will eat them. I find that when you introduce those early kids usually like sardines.
Amanda Montalvo [00:06:23]:
So that’s something that I think can be really helpful. And it’s an easy food if you get the canned ones in a high quality oil. Same thing with oysters. So those are things same as adults, right? Those are things that you would ideally be prioritizing for you, same as kids. Those animal foods are going to provide an abundance of minerals, from zinc to copper, to selenium to iodine to vitamin A, which is not a mineral, but it works with minerals and it’s very important. And iron and so definitely wanting to get animal foods in and protein because the other piece is like, just like with adults. How are they balancing their blood sugar? What’s contributing to their stress? Yes, children are definitely more resilient, I would say, in many cases. And so if they have some blood sugar swings, I don’t necessarily think it’s going to have as big of an impact.
Amanda Montalvo [00:07:13]:
But if that’s like an everyday thing over and over, that’s compounding eventually it could definitely impact them. So trying to get a variety of animal proteins in will be important, including those in their main meals, especially so that they can balance their blood sugar and have good attention and focus. I have family visiting, just why I’m able to. This is the second podcast I’m recording today. It’s why I’m able to do that. My mom is here and it’s so funny because it’s like, man, talking about how my daughter focuses so well. She has such a good attention span. And to me, I feel like it’s normal because I spent all my time with her and I’m used to seeing her like that.
Amanda Montalvo [00:07:50]:
And I’m like, I mean, she’s pretty balanced. She eats well, she’s a toddler, so not always, but I’m very intentional, but I’m not obsessive. And if she doesn’t eat well, I just don’t stress about it because I’m actually better the next meal. There’s nothing you can really do. You can’t force a kid to eat. And I don’t want to make meals stressful for her because then it’s like, that’s not a good environment for her digestion or for an association with food. So learning to let things go has been important. But I think that maybe kids are just more dysregulated, stressed out blood sugar imbalances that make it harder for those attention spans, and then nutrient deficiencies on top of that can absolutely play a role.
Amanda Montalvo [00:08:34]:
Like, zinc is a big one. For things like ADHD and behavioral issues in kids, there’s often a zinc deficiency present. And she loves red meat, and she does like a good amount of seafood, so she’s getting a decent chunk of zinc just from her diet. So I do think that that can definitely, like, blood sugar can play a role in many ways. I don’t want to just be like, oh, what mineral rich food are you going to put in? It’s not just the food, it’s how we’re eating it. It’s how you’re planning it into their meals. And considering blood sugar balance and all that stuff as well. Organ meats, obviously, great things like beef liver, heart, kidney, whatever you have available to you.
Amanda Montalvo [00:09:16]:
I feel like beef liver is the easiest one for most people to get their hands on. Beef heart is also a really good one. It’s, like, easy to introduce. I feel like she’s always eaten liver since she was little, so she likes it. But I find it’s funny how a lot of kids like beef liver. I don’t. I guess I was very surprised by it. We had friends over and stuff, and their kids hadn’t had it before, and I didn’t think they were going to want to eat it.
Amanda Montalvo [00:09:42]:
I mean, I don’t like liver. I did not grow up eating it. And so I’m like, these kids are not going to want to eat this. They ate it, and they were like, this is so good, mom, can you make this? And she was, like, in shock, one of my friends, and I’m like, listen, I have no idea, but that’s amazing. And it was just like a pate that they had with. I think they had it with, like, carrots and crackers or something and, like, cheese. So it was like, nothing crazy. I’ve just fried up beef liver steaks for my daughter, and she’ll eat them.
Amanda Montalvo [00:10:11]:
I can’t eat it like that because it doesn’t taste good. But I think if you can introduce the stuff to kids, young beef liver was actually her first food, then that can be extremely helpful. But capsules are fine. I get a lot of questions about, could I do the beef liver capsules? Obviously with smaller babies and toddlers, you have to open them up. Older kids, if they can swallow a capsule, that’s fine. But they’re easy to mix into things. And I have a recipe for how I make liver easy to add to meals. I just basically fry it and then puree it and make it like a ground liver so I can mix it into different dishes and hide it because I don’t love it.
Amanda Montalvo [00:10:54]:
My daughter probably just eat it, but me and my husband don’t love it. So we have to mix it into things. That is one where if you don’t have the capacity to do that right now, maybe you can’t find good liver or it’s just something you’re trying to focus on for your kid and you don’t want to make a ton. Although I do show you how I freeze it in the video, you could do the capsules. They’re really easy, like when we’re traveling or when we moved recently, I didn’t have liver on hand, and so I would just open up a capsule for her and mix it into taco meat or something like that. So the capsules absolutely work. The amount that you give your child is going to depend on their weight, how much they really need. I did the hair test for my daughter, so I knew that she definitely needed more copper, but that may not be the case for every child, so that’s something you definitely want to consider.
Amanda Montalvo [00:11:43]:
And then I had a question, because this is a good time to talk about it. How much beef liver should kids have daily? I just think it really depends. They don’t have to have it every day. Think about it. One to two times a week is plenty for most adults. So it’s like, why would we give it to a child every day if they’re going to be eating it. I would say when they’re babies, like a teaspoon, one to two times a week is the general recommendation. And then as they get older, they could definitely eat more.
Amanda Montalvo [00:12:15]:
But I would also see, when does your child want it if you can introduce it when they’re young and teach them about it. I recorded a podcast, the one that came out before this one with my colleague and friend Amy, and we talked a lot about trying to introduce the stuff to your kids young and also creating a culture in your home that’s supporting all this stuff and educating your kids on, like, this is why we prioritize this food, or this is what this food does in your body. And sometimes we’re like, oh, do they really understand? But it’s like they pick up so much more than we know. And I think that’s another thing where it’s like, if you can teach your kids at a young age of, like, beef liver has a ton of really important nutrients in it. Food is like medicine type thing. That’s why we make sure that we eat it, because it makes us really healthy and strong. Then that’s something that you can teach a child. And then you can ask them, do you want some beef liver? And they’ll know what it’s for.
Amanda Montalvo [00:13:10]:
And I just think giving kids choice is so important. And I know sometimes it can be frustrating because they say no, but it’s like they’re their own people, and you have to model and do the best that you can and hope that you’re creating a supportive environment where they want to incorporate it. Older kids, I would say it just depends. The weight is really important. For an older toddler, I wouldn’t do more than like a capsule a day, but again, they don’t really need beef liver every day, depending on the child and their deficiencies and stuff like that. But I think treating it like an adult, but a smaller portion. And then, of course, as they get much older and they’re into like 13 years, they can prioritize more liver. But even a small amount one time a week or a couple of times a week, I would say, is going to give that child a lot of nutrients.
Amanda Montalvo [00:14:02]:
So that is like the liver piece organ meats. But I was saying beef heart is a great one because you can hide it easily, but with very little effort. You can cook beef heart and stew, and it comes out good. It’s easy to eat, and it’s not like gamey or anything, or at least I don’t think it is. So that’s something that you could deFinitely, I feel like that would be a great organ meat to incorporate. And again, trying not to always hide the food, teaching your kid, giving them an opportunity to learn about why we eat these foods in our home, and sometimes it requires the parents to get educated and to prioritize it for yourself. I feel like we’re always like, what can I do for my kids? But what are you doing for your health? Because we model everything for our children and they pick up on everything. So if they see, oh, mom eats her organ meats because she knows that they give her energy or they help support her health, they make sure she’s healthy and strong.
Amanda Montalvo [00:15:01]:
They make her feel good when she eats them, I’m going to want to do that, too. So that’s like something to consider. Muscle, lots of animal proteins. Organ meats are great. Trying to get more whole food carbs in root vegetables, fruit. They’re going to have a lot more minerals than something like a grain product. But beans and legumes are also great, and I feel like a lot of kids like them. It’s like an easier food to incorporate.
Amanda Montalvo [00:15:29]:
And a lot of beans have a ton of potassium and calcium. And I did get a question about calcium and a lot of dairy free kids. I would really recommend, like, cooked greens and beans. Trying to incorporate those as much as you can, because that’s something. And sardines, stuff like that is going to be helpful. Have a lot more calcium in it. If you can get a variety like that, it’s going to give you not only good minerals, but, like, healthy fibers, other important vitamins that are going to support their immune system and their overall health. So those are really good ones.
Amanda Montalvo [00:16:02]:
Fermented foods are great, especially for babies and toddlers because they’re softer, so they’re a lot easier to chew. So that’s something. I did those for a little with my daughter, but she had the eczema flare, histamine issues, and for a while they were making her itchy. So we stopped the fermented foods. But it’s like, if you can introduce them sooner, I think it’s great. They’re again, easier for them to chew. Like, I think of like, carrots. It’s like, carrots are a hard one for a lot of kids until they get a little bit older.
Amanda Montalvo [00:16:33]:
But if you can either ferment them yourself or find them fermented, then that’s like a very easy food. It was hard because my daughter loved them. She loves pickles anything fermented she loves. And I was like, you can’t have these for a little while because it’s like she would immediately start to get really itchy. And it was clear, and I know from my work that a lot of times for people that have histamine issues, they can be an issue. So don’t force it. If you feel like your kid’s having a reaction, listen to that intuition. And then definitely check out the episode, the previous one that I did with my friend Amy.
Amanda Montalvo [00:17:11]:
It’s about building resiliency in motherhood. But a lot of what we talked about is like creating a culture in your home, educating your whole family on why we make these decisions. And a lot of know that helps make your life simpler. You’re not fighting and arguing with people, trying to convince them of things. It’s just the way that you guys live. And I think that helps make a very cohesive and happy home. So definitely check out that episode as well. But that’s kind of like my summary.
Amanda Montalvo [00:17:37]:
And I’m going to link to some really simple recipes that I did an Instagram post with of like, here’s simple ways to get mineral rich foods in and balancing those meals. They’re not like anything fancy, right? So you can adjust them as fits your kind of like taste buds. But there’s something where food doesn’t have to be fancy, right? I think healthy food should be simple and easy and sustainable. So I’ll link those and then I’m also going to put, I have a mineral chili recipe that’s like a really great way to get your kids to eat beef liver if they’re not used to it. And then I have a how to make beans reel. So if you are worried about digestion, if your child does have some struggle with digestion, then you can prepare them, you can soak them, but most important, presSure, cook them. And that makes them a lot easier to break down. So I’ll link those in the show notes.
Amanda Montalvo [00:18:28]:
Okay, another question that I got extremely picky eater. Getting any food in is a challenge, let alone nutritionally dense ones. Like tips for that. The things that I think of, I would say zinc comes to mind first for minerals, because zinc is linked with our smell and our taste. And so part of me wonders, is there a possible zinc deficiency present? It’s very prevalent in children, so trying to increase their zinc rich foods. Beef is such an easy one. So if you can get your child to eat more red meat, then I would say that’s a huge win. Oysters are another good one.
Amanda Montalvo [00:19:09]:
Most seafood is going to have some, but if you’re like, they’re not going to eat that. Beef, pork, chickpeas are a good source. Cooked chickpeas, I would pressure cook them. If you can soak them, that’s going to make them not only easier to digest, but make it so that you absorb more minerals from them. And when I make beans, I just prep a ton and then I freeze them. I’ll use some. Like, I made chili this week and so I use some of the beans and then I froze the rest of the black beans and then I’ll have those for the next time I need them. But to me, it’s like soaking and pressure cooking.
Amanda Montalvo [00:19:45]:
I’m like, this is kind of a lot of work, so I want to make sure I make a bunch and then I’ll usually do like two bags of dried beans and then I’ll freeze the rest. And then you’ll still have all the nutrition benefits. You do also get zinc from turkey and chicken. There’s some in eggs, cooked lentils, but the highest sources, like the most bang for your buck is going to be beef for sure. Oysters. Crab is a good one. Pork, chickpeas, those would be some really good ones. But you’re going to get smaller amounts in, like dairy, stuff like that.
Amanda Montalvo [00:20:15]:
So it does add up. If you’re eating animal foods, you’re probably going to get a decent amount of zinc. But the thing I think about is if there’s a deficiency present, they probably need more. So I would say, if they don’t eat red meat, can you encourage it? If they have meat protein aversions, I’d be very curious how their digestion is. And zinc deficiency can make digestion worse. So I’d be focusing on trying to get relaxed meal times, and I’ll talk more about this in the gut health section, trying to get enough sodium potassium in their diet, that’s important for making digestive juices. But zinc is a big one. The other thing I think of is when they’re picky eaters, do they have good digestive juice production? Like if they are not making enough digestive juices, they’re not going to break down their food well and it’s going to slow down their motility, everything, and have a big impact on their appetite.
Amanda Montalvo [00:21:14]:
The other thing I think about is, like, food exposure. And I know this, having an 18 month old, I get it. One day she likes the food, one day she doesn’t. One day she’s adventurous with food, one day she’s like, no, I don’t want any of that. I want the foods that I’m used to and that I like. And it’s something where I always remind myself. I remember when I was in dietetic school, we were looking, I don’t know, the study and I couldn’t find it. But we were looking at this study in one of my research classes and it was talking about kids and how they need, like, I think it was at least 14 exposures to a food in order to know if they’re to accept it, basically.
Amanda Montalvo [00:21:57]:
And I’m like, that is a lot. That is a lot of exposures to a food. So I always kind of keep that in the back of my mind. And that’s especially if kids are sensitive to bitter foods based on their genetics. Some people, children, they are much more sensitive to the bitter taste in foods and so they may be more averse to bitter foods. And then there’s some people that are not and so they may not need as many exposures. But trying to keep that in the back of your mind when you’re getting frustrated is like, okay. And this is the other reason why I think it’s important to keep meals very simple.
Amanda Montalvo [00:22:33]:
So that if they don’t want something, it’s like, okay, what could I take this out and replace this with and not have to make a whole nother meal? That’s like, what I’ve kind of moved to is like, how can I simplify these meals so that if she doesn’t want something I can just quickly replace it with something else and it’s not a huge deal. Keep food simple. But remember that 14 exposures, that’s a lot. And then trying to get them involved in cooking and choosing the food, I think this is really important. I don’t give them too many options to choose from because that could be overwhelming and then they may not want to participate. So if you can encourage them to cook with you, I think that can be really fun, depending on their age. My daughter really didn’t get interested in that until she was like 1617 months old. But now she’s very interested and wants to be in her little toddler tower and helping me cook, which is great because then I’ll ask her, which vegetable do you want? And I hold up two veggies and then she picks the veggie for that meal.
Amanda Montalvo [00:23:31]:
She is not chopping a ton up yet. There’s attempts, but it’s like she’s there right with me as I’m cutting it. She’s helping me mix the butter or the avocado oil in it. She puts some of the seasonings on, and she is much more likely to eat that food because she’s involved in the process. So I think if you can involve them, then that’s huge. Amy also talks about that a lot in the episode especially. She has older children and how she gets them involved. So I would definitely listen to that episode, the previous episode as well, and then continuing to offer a variety of foods.
Amanda Montalvo [00:24:06]:
Again, I know it can be hard when they’re not eating it, but it’s like when we’re constantly giving kids the same foods, they’re much less likely one, they’re more likely to get sick of a lot of those foods or build extremely strong preferences. So it’s like, how can we try to get variety in without overwhelming them? And I think a lot of that is involving them in that process. And then, like I already said, keeping meals simple. And then the other last thing I really think about with this is you are their role model. So how are you eating? What is your relationship like with food? What is your attitude around food? How do you speak about food around them? Because they’re going to pick up on that. We can want the best things for our children, but if we are not modeling that, we’re probably not going to see that emulated from them. Okay, how when to introduce solid foods in a nutritionally protective way. I’m going to go through this somewhat quickly, but one of my colleagues, she has a course.
Amanda Montalvo [00:25:13]:
It’s like holistic baby led weaning. I got to get the name. Let me make a note for myself. I have compiled all of my favorite and I think best to get started with mineral resources in one place. And that is my minerals 101 guide. This is a free guide that I will share my screen for those that are watching the video version of this podcast and go through with you quickly now. So I basically wanted a place where if someone’s new to my podcast, my Instagram, and you’re like, wow, she mentions minerals a lot, and I can go off on tangents and talk about how they’re so important for different things. I wanted a place where you could just download this quick guide and get right into, okay, what are minerals? How do they affect our hormones? How do they get depleted in the first place? How can we test them? And then I have additional learning and resources depending on the topics that you want to get into.
Amanda Montalvo [00:26:09]:
But I think this is definitely the best way to get started with all my content that I share, especially if you’re brand new here. And you’re like, I don’t even know where to get started with minerals. Start here and I promise you won’t be confused and you’ll know what are the next steps to take. And if you have specific health concerns, you’ll see at the very end of the guide here I go through. Okay, so if you want to take our mineral quiz, if you have thyroid health concerns, if you have period concerns, if you just want to hear from me on a regular basis, here’s my newsletter. So I tried to put everything in one place. I also have mineral Deep dive podcast episodes that I link to if you want to get into specific minerals as well. But I highly recommend downloading the guide.
Amanda Montalvo [00:26:51]:
I put a lot of work into it and I think it’s a perfect place to get started. So you can go to the link in the show notes, the Minerals 101 guide, and get started now. I’ll put it in the show notes because I can’t think of off top of my head, but I went through that. I’ve, I’ve gone through quite a few baby led weaning courses, but she has a holistic perspective that I really appreciate. And there’s signs that you want to look for when your baby is ready to eat. I think people try to rush food. I mean, I remember I had some family members that were like, oh, she’s not really eating yet. And I’m like, she’s not showing all the signs for eating.
Amanda Montalvo [00:27:25]:
So, no, I’m not feeding her yet. Everyone’s got their opinions around when you should give your kids food, but you really want them to be ready, so you want them to be sitting independently, you want them to have good head control. You want them to be interested and want to participate in it. And then the other thing is they need to be able to reach and grab. That’s a skill they should have. And then having some sort of readiness to chew the food. So even if it’s purees, so if you’re not seeing these signs, then I would say it’s probably not time yet. And I think there’s definitely pressure of like, okay, by four to six months, they should be eating this food.
Amanda Montalvo [00:28:09]:
I mean, my daughter really wasn’t ready until closer to seven months. And we did introduce beef liver pate. I think it was like six and a half months. And she date, like a decent amount. She was definitely interested in it, but it was like so slow, the introduction of food. And it’s funny. And I’m like, I just had this intuition that this is what she needs. I mean, she’s still nursing constantly.
Amanda Montalvo [00:28:32]:
She’s still so little. Do I want her to get more nutrients and get exposure? Absolutely. But even sometimes I wonder if I introduce certain things Too early because she end up having an egg allergy. So I’m definitely not a baby led weaning expert. That’s why I’m going to link to that course. But I think just having the signs of readiness and understanding those is really important and definitely nutritionally protective. Because if the baby is not ready, then I think there’s much more of a chance to have a reaction and not tolerate certain foods. And then while I’m saying don’t rush things, I still think it’s important for them to have exposure to food.
Amanda Montalvo [00:29:13]:
Their nutrient requirements are increasing around this time. It helps with their development, especially their motor development, taste preferences. It’s going to help really lay a foundation for that. It’s going to help their feeding skills. I just remember being amazed by all the things my daughter could do when she was so little. Feeding herself with a spoon. I’m like, you are like nine months. It was just wild.
Amanda Montalvo [00:29:39]:
So all those things are important. Sensory. I mean, think about how much a mess they make when they’re little and they have so much fun. It’s such good sensory play for them as well. So there’s so many benefits to it. But I just think a lot of people feel like, oh, my gosh, they’re six months. I got to feed them. I got to get all these foods in, I got to make all these fancy meals.
Amanda Montalvo [00:29:57]:
Keep it simple, introduce things one at a time, space it out. I didn’t even feed her something every day. At first we did, like, every other day. Sometimes weekends we did nothing. So sometimes she only ate like two or three times a week. And that is totally normal. I think people just, okay, I’m going to give them purees. You’re going to have all this food.
Amanda Montalvo [00:30:17]:
The pressure is not there, especially in the beginning. It’s just getting the exposure, being mindful, giving them space between exposures so that you can see if they’re having any sort of reaction to it. And it’s not like too much for their immune system. And then just not rushing kids if they aren’t eating a lot. At first, I remember being so stressed out. She’S like 910 months. I’m like, she’s really not eating that much. She’s not showing a ton of interest outside of one meal a day.
Amanda Montalvo [00:30:42]:
And then it’s like I’m talking to one of my friends that does baby lead weaning stuff, and she’s like, that’s normal. Don’t worry about it. And then now she’s a great eater, but first time mom, it’s hard because you just don’t have that experience. So don’t rush them. Take the pressure off yourself and your child. Make it fun. Prioritize nutrient dense foods. I would say do your research.
Amanda Montalvo [00:31:09]:
I’m going to link to this course that I took, but also a podcast that you can listen to and learn more about the. I think baby life. Beaning is like a great way to go. Okay. How to get enough potassium in kids if they don’t like coconut water? Oh, man, there’s so many other foods. Also, sometimes I wish my daughter didn’t like coconut water as much because it’s so expensive, but I just think of, like, I definitely try to prioritize food first. Right. Potatoes, winter squash, fruit.
Amanda Montalvo [00:31:44]:
Kids love fruit. That’s like a great way. But, like, sweet potatoes, winter squash, regular potatoes. Tomatoes are super high in potassium. Beets, if they’ll eat them again. That’s another one that my daughter likes. But we introduced pretty early cooked greens, if they like those, but, like, mango is really high. Animal foods have it like beef, chicken, pork.
Amanda Montalvo [00:32:07]:
Salmon has a ton of potassium, so that’s like a great one. If they’ll eat seafood and then dairy, like, if they’re eating dairy, they’re going to get it from. I would say the majority of the foods that they’re eating are going to have some amount of potassium. But I feel like it’s the carb sources and the more processed snacky foods that if you have a lot of grains, which I’m not against grains, but if you have a lot of grains, it’s the carbs, then that could be an issue. Although beans are great, so those are going to have a good amount of potassium. But then can they eat dairy? If not, it’s not the end of the world, it’s not the highest thing. But then fruits, stuff like that, which I feel like most kids will eat. So it’s like, how can you prioritize those kind of carbs into their meals and snacks and make sure that they’re not getting too many processed foods that are taking the place of those foods.
Amanda Montalvo [00:33:03]:
Okay. My six year old eats ice often. Is this a sign of mineral deficiency? It could possibly be a sign of iron deficiency, but you have to test. You never want to guess. And just supplement is my opinion. I would also consider investigating if they have reflux, because a lot of kids struggle with that, and they could be trying to cool that down if they have, like, a burning sensation. So I would wonder if that’s, like, something. I think my daughter was dealing with that a bit before the eczema kicked off, and she just loves ice, and she says it with her little list.
Amanda Montalvo [00:33:41]:
It’s so cute. But I’m like, are you having some digestive distress? And then I started supporting her digestion a little bit, and we pulled out a couple of foods, and I was like, okay, now she doesn’t want ice anymore. So I would definitely consider, is it a reflux thing? Do they have constipation, digestive issues, those kinds of things? They can definitely be, like, secondary to reflux, but just asking. I mean, they’re sick. Do you have a burning sensation or anything? Or do you have sore throat? Common sore throats, coughs, stuff like that, raspy voice, all those things can be signs of reflux. So I wouldn’t just assume a deficiency. I just see so many kids with gut issues. I would investigate that, too.
Amanda Montalvo [00:34:27]:
When does this episode come out? I think the next episode that comes out after this one is the reflux one that I’m doing with my friend Michelle. That is really good. So definitely listen to that one if you’re thinking it could possibly be reflux. Okay. Minerals and gut health and children. I think that I just see so many kids with digestive issue now. My daughter has eczema. Obviously, digestion plays a huge role in that.
Amanda Montalvo [00:34:58]:
And it’s just like us. It’s like, what’s their environment like? So many kids are eating while distracted, which I know can be a challenging one. And it doesn’t always have to be perfect. Just like I always tell us, how do we. For adults, it’s like you don’t have to eat perfectly every single meal and be completely calm or eating every single meal outside or something like that. It doesn’t have to be that way. That’s not realistic. But I would really look at, if you’re concerned, if maybe your child’s struggling with behavioral stuff, constipations, any tummy issues, digestive issues.
Amanda Montalvo [00:35:40]:
If you assume that they have deficiencies or you know that they do, and you’re thinking maybe it’s possibly from digestion, skin stuff, then think about how important digestion is. And I’m going to put that episode in the notes, too. Obviously, that one is for adults. But that way I walk through how digestion occurs, which if you don’t understand that, I don’t want to do it now, because this one will be too long. But I walk through how digestion occurs in the body. And once you understand that, then you can understand, okay, this is why stress would have a very big impact on that. If we are in that stressed state, then that gets prioritized. Responding to the stressor, keeping us alive, keeping us safe is the priority.
Amanda Montalvo [00:36:22]:
Relaxing and being in the parasympathetic rest and digest state to break down and absorb our food is not. And it is the same for kids. So how can we support digestion in kids? A lot of it is very similar. How can you create a calming eating environment? I think avoiding pressure around food and letting them decide how much they eat is really important. Again, I know that it can be very challenging. I have two close friends whose children have behavioral issues. One has autism. It is not easy.
Amanda Montalvo [00:36:58]:
Meal times are generally. I think everyone is stressed. One of my friend’s kids is like, she’s like, my daughter’s stressed out because she knows that it’s like a hard time because her brother doesn’t really want to eat or throws a fit or something like that. So I know that it can be really challenging. This doesn’t have to be perfect, but I would really be thinking about, like, if you’re worried about digestive issues in your kids or you want to avoid them or support their digestion, what does that eating environment look like? How do you feel in that environment? Are there distractions around? Some people have lots of routines with food and, like, screens. I’d really try to minimize that as much as you can. And I know a lot of times people will use screens to get their kids to eat more, but that means that they’re not tapping into their own intuition and listening to their bodies and letting their bodies tell them if they’re eating more while distracted watching something, then you just have to think about the long term ramifications for them and their ability to connect with their hunger and fullness cues and just knowing that it’s not going to be perfect with kids. My daughter does not eat perfectly.
Amanda Montalvo [00:38:12]:
She doesn’t eat everything at every single meal. She hates breakfast, which is, like, comical because it’s my favorite meal of the day, my biggest meal of the day. And it’s just like, you can’t force it. You have to do the best that you can with what you have. Adjust to your child, but listen to them. And I think for me, removing the pressure reduced my stress and also, I think, reduced her stress. So not worrying about like, okay, is she going to eat all her protein? At this meal or she hasn’t really eaten a lot of protein lately. What’s that mean for her digestion and stuff? It’s very easy to overthink things, but I think kids are constantly changing and developing new habits and going through different learning stages.
Amanda Montalvo [00:38:58]:
Just trying to let that go, I think is so important. And then looking at how are you eating at the meals? Are you on your phone? Are you distracted? Are you engaged in conversation with them? If you’re distracted, they’re going to want to be distracted or they may have behavioral issues during that time. So I think that’s important to think about. I like to think about meals as treating it like a little date with my daughter. We chat. It’s like a fun thing. And my daughter takes us such a long time to eat most meals, I would say. And it used to really frustrate me, but I’m like, this is our time.
Amanda Montalvo [00:39:36]:
This is like our chill time. During the day, I get to sit and we get to just enjoy the food. That’s usually when we’ll chat about the food. What are we going to do after lunch? That sort of thing. But mostly just relax and also not talk and just eat and be together. And I think that can be like a hard thing to do, especially if you feel like you are running on stress hormones. If you have other kids around that maybe they have a harder time at meals. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it’s like if you are super stressed, where kids are probably going to be super stressed.
Amanda Montalvo [00:40:11]:
So it’s like, how can you let it go? I know cleaning used to be stressful for me around meal times, how messy everything would get, all that kind of stuff. So it’s like, what does this look like? How can you prioritize meals and give enough time in your day to them? And sometimes you’re not going to have as much time and that’s okay. Other times you can really enjoy that. So it’s tricky. But I do think environment is important. How you’re eating is important. What are you modeling for them? I think we often forget about that. Are you chewing your food? Literally? My husband, he barely chews his food.
Amanda Montalvo [00:40:45]:
And I’m like, you have to stop doing that because if you’re listening to this, honey, you’ve gotten better. But we still need to work on it. Barely choose food. And I’m like, she is learning how to eat like you. She ate a whole apple. And I was like, that she definitely got from you. And so it’s like, they will pick up on all those things, and it can be hard to kind of slow down and think about how am I doing something? But I think it’s one of the most important things that you can do. And then I’m trying to think of the big ones.
Amanda Montalvo [00:41:20]:
I do think you could use some things, like I talked about in the episode for the General digestion. One of, like, you can use apple cider vinegar prior to meals if your child needs some digestive support. They do make apple cider vinegar gummies. I’m going to share a reel the week that this episode comes out with a recipe for the ones that I make for my daughter. Some days she eats them and some days she doesn’t, and that’s okay. I think the common objection I get is like, my kid’s not going to eat that. It’s like, well, have you introduced it to them? Have you tried? Have you given them an option? Have you asked if they want to make them with you? She makes the gummies with me, and she likes it because she gets to mix the pot and everything. So that’s something where I think you can definitely involve them in a simpler recipe like that, if possible.
Amanda Montalvo [00:42:12]:
And then again explaining, I’m like, these are going to help your tummy. These are going to make it so your skin is not as itchy, that sort of thing. You can also buy ACV companies. I have no brands that I have tried and trusted. I looked at so many, so if someone has them and they’re a good brand, please reach out to me. I don’t mind making them. And there’s probably more health benefits than the homemade ones. But tell you what, it would be nice to have a good brand that you could purchase, especially for travel and stuff.
Amanda Montalvo [00:42:44]:
So don’t have one because I know people will ask. Paleo Valley does make an apple cider vinegar complex in a capsule that you can open. And I will use that with her sometimes, and I’ll just mix it into the food. Like when she eats yogurt, I just mix it in, and she doesn’t even know that it’s in there. She sees me put it in and I’m like, this is for your tummy. And try to tell her that this is going to help you make your yogurt extra delicious. It’s going to help you break down the food, blah, blah, blah. And so that’s something that you could definitely consider.
Amanda Montalvo [00:43:17]:
If you have an older child and they can swallow them, then I would think the capsules would be great. From Paleo Valley. And they’re not sponsoring this episode, but I do have a link where you can get a diScount. And it’s paleovalley.com slash hormonehealingrd. And then including things like zinc rich foods, sodium and potassium. So not being afraid of salt with kids, there’s a lot of question around, like, babies. I think that Lily Nichols, she’s a dietitian that has a lot of great material around this. I’m actually going to link to her babies and sodium blog because it’s more than I can even go through in here.
Amanda Montalvo [00:43:56]:
I can believe we already have 42 minutes. Like, how so? I’ll link to that because there’s some controversy with sodium in kids. By the time they’re six months to a year, their kidneys are much more developed. So they should be able to handle. It’s like we don’t need to avoid salt, we don’t want to overdo it. But it’s like when you’re making their food and they’re not eating processed foods, they need some salt, they need sodium. And sodiums are very important for stomach acid production. Same thing with potassium.
Amanda Montalvo [00:44:23]:
So it’s like, can we get the high quality sea salt in potassium rich foods, zinc rich foods that can be very helpful. I’ll talk about supplementation. I just think it’s hit or miss with kids and adults, honestly. But those are the things that I would think about for digestive support. And then I’ll also link to that previous podcast I did. But primarily it’s like, what is that environment like? Can you make it fun? I think eating outside has been great for us when the weather permits. So that’s something you can have. I have this chair with a tray that slides onto it that I got at Walmart.
Amanda Montalvo [00:45:01]:
Best purchase ever. Because if you have a toddler, obviously they’re going to want to get up and walk around and stuff. Probably. So if that stresses you out, then consider like, how could I get them seated? Bring. I have friends that just bring the high chair outside, whatever you want to do. If you have older kids, do you have a place where they can sit and eat outside? Potentially. I feel like it’d probably be a lot easier with older kids, but it’s also nice with little ones because then they make the mess outside and not in the kitchen. But that’s something where it’s like, kids usually love being outside, just like adults.
Amanda Montalvo [00:45:33]:
And it can be very calming and grounding. Okay. Dairy intolerant kids tips for them, minerals to focus on things like that. So I would say number one is digestion because typically the question is, why can they not digest that dairy properly? Why is it leading to an inflammatory reaction in the body? It’s typically because they’re not breaking it down well. So all the things I just talked about was supporting digestion. What is going on in the gut that’s creating inflammation? How was your gut health when you were pregnant? Did you breastfeed? Obviously, if not, that’s not like we can’t have the perfect scenario. I’ve had so many friends with kids that did not have everything optimal, but their kid had an issue and they were still able to resolve it. So it’s something where it’s like, don’t feel like if you had a C section, your kids had antibiotics.
Amanda Montalvo [00:46:30]:
Maybe you had antibiotics when you were pregnant and then you couldn’t breastfeed fully. It doesn’t have to Be perfect. So those things can AbsoLutely help, but they don’t guarantee it. I mean, I had a home birth, vaginal birth. My daughter was completely breastfed. Never been on antibiotic in her Life, and she still got eczEma. So it’S lIke, there’s no perfect scenario. Let the perfectionism go.
Amanda Montalvo [00:46:53]:
If that’s popping up for you right now, you just want to think about, did they have a lot of that in their history? If so, they probably need some support for their good gut bacteria and probably digestion. So looking at the eating environment, have you tried any apple cider vinegar gummies? If they can tolerate them, maybe the ACV capsules, whatever kind of works for you, and then are you getting enough, like, sodium in their diet, potassium rich foods? Do they have any deficiencies like zinc? Typically, when inflammation is present, zinc is lower because we’re using that to respond to the inflammation and the immune reaction in the body. So that’s why I’m always like, red meat is very important for everyone, but especially people that have zinc deficiencies, including kids. Can they tolerate fermented foods? BecAUse that could be a great one to support good bactEria, you could potentially do a probiotic depending on the child’s needs. Probiotics are so, I mean, they’re tricky. I would say, like, for everyone adults, I think sport based probiotics can be great. The research is, as far as I know, and this is something I have dug into quite a bit because of my daughter’s issues, is spore based probiotics in kids? There’s not a ton out there. Megaspore does make a chewable probiotic for kids.
Amanda Montalvo [00:48:14]:
I would say probably just open up the capsule of a regular megaspore and use that so that they’re getting more benefit because the gummy version is, I don’t know how potent it would be, but it’s better than nothing. But again, that might not be a good fit for every child. So I don’t have a general probiotic recommendation. MY DaugHter probably wouldn’t do well WitH that. Certain babies, it’s like, what bacteria do they probably need more of? It’s really hard to know. So I would say, like, foods first would be great. Ideally, if you are breastfeeding, there’s research that shows that kissing your baby on the mouth and everything, you can get exposed to whatever bacteria they have going on and that can help change the breakdown of your milk and benefit their immune system more. So that can be really helpful.
Amanda Montalvo [00:49:10]:
And then minerals that I’d want to focus on. If my child was dairy intolerant, definitely zinc, sodium, potassium, I’d want to make sure they’re getting enough vitamin A because that’s going to be hugely important for the immune system for sure. And so I’d definitely, probably consider some beef liver and then my main focus would be digestion for sure. But Other foods that can be Helpful, like the gUmmies, they have gElatin. That could be a VerY nourishing food. If they can tolerate bone broth, they’re not getting any histamine reactions, any gut issues. That’s another really great food. There are certain bacteria that if they are overgrown, the Proteus species, that if you have a lot of collagen bone broth, it has a lot of proline in it.
Amanda Montalvo [00:49:54]:
It’s an amino acid. It can make that overgrowth worse. So I don’t overdo that with my daughter because she did a stool test, she has a lot of that specific bacteria. And while it may go away on its own, ideally, I don’t want to make it worse. So I only do gummies. I don’t do like a ton of bone broth or anything. So again, we don’t have to overdo foods. Maybe they don’t even have bone broth every day.
Amanda Montalvo [00:50:21]:
Maybe they have a gummy one day, bone broth another day. If they don’t like bone broth, then don’t force it. But those are the things that I would definitely consider if there is like a dairy intolerance issue. And then I did get a question about fermented foods and if that’s a better option for probiotics and stuff. And I feel like I kind of answered that one already, but I would say fermented foods be my number one, because if your kid can tolerate them, because if you try to do a specific probiotic and they don’t have a good reaction, one, that can be stressful for them and you. And then two, it’s like they’re going to get the prebiotics in the food, too. They’re easy to eat. It’s great for their palate.
Amanda Montalvo [00:51:04]:
You can get a lot of different types of fermented foods, but I would just be careful in case your kid doesn’t react well. It’s like sometimes we’ll go, maybe it was this, but it could definitely be that fermentation process. If they’re having a hard time, they have a little histamine intolerance and then the minerals and eczema. I put this under the gut health section because it’s absolutely gut related for sure. I am going to do a full episode on it next season. I just don’t think I would have to talk about this for a long time. But number one, support digestion. Number two, see if there’s any food allergies present.
Amanda Montalvo [00:51:39]:
That’s a big one. Typically they say like gluten, eggs and dairy are the biggest ones in relation to eczema. Do one at a time for two weeks and see how your child responds. Within two weeks, you should see some improvement in the skin. And so that way you’re not removing a ton of foods and making your life extremely stressful for no reason. So my daughter already didn’t eat eggs and we removed gluten and we saw a huge improvement in her skin, even though she wasn’t even eating that much. So we did not remove dairy. So that’s something that you want to experiment with.
Amanda Montalvo [00:52:16]:
Some people have to remove dairy for a short period while they’re supporting digestion and rebalancing the gut, improving that gut health. But typically there’s some sort of imbalance in the gut. It’s often an inflammatory pattern that you’re going to see on a stool test with them. They’re not able to detox well and get toxins out other ways, so it’s coming out on their skin. Stress is a huge trigger as well. And again, I feel like people don’t recognize that enough in kids. It’s like think back about when their eczema started, what was happening in their environment and their life in your life during that time. Because if you may have experienced a big stressor, it will 100% impact them as well.
Amanda Montalvo [00:52:58]:
And then things like asthma and allergies, the trifecta, asthma allergies and then eczema, they often go together. They’re all inflammatory, and it’s like, really? Eczema is like that allergy reaction on the skin. And I did an episode with my friend Krista that I will link as well. I mean, obviously it’s for adults, but it’s still very helpful. Okay, so then supplements. I talked about probiotics. Already fermented foods. I would definitely opt for the foods first.
Amanda Montalvo [00:53:31]:
Probiotics. You really want to make sure it’s appropriate for your child. Someone asked, what’s the best magnesium for kids? I really like topical, especially like babies toddlers, if they take baths, then using it in the bath, like some sort of epsom salt or magnesium. Salt can be great. Or if they’re getting a little older and you want more magnesium for them, then trace minerals makes, like, a liquid concentrate that doesn’t really taste like much that you could add. And I like liquid for everyone, but especially kids, because you can titrate it very slowly. So I would say, like, either a liquid oral one that you can just add to some sort of drink that they’re having, or topical, like putting up some salt or something in their bath. If beef liver is not loved.
Amanda Montalvo [00:54:24]:
Oh, yeah. Okay. Child does not like beef liver. Can I do capsules? Yeah, you could definitely do capsules. Again, I feel like sometimes we get a little crazy with supplements, and we’re like, oh, they got to take them every day. But remember, beef liver is very nutrient dense, and if the child’s very young, they don’t need it every day, I think even if they’re older, honestly. So just trying to work it in, like, maybe one or two times a week if you’re doing the capsules, if it’s a very small child, then I would not do it more than, like, once a week to start. And then they definitely don’t need a full serving.
Amanda Montalvo [00:54:57]:
Again, the less they weigh, the less that they’re going to need. And then I would say as they get older, ideally, it’s like, hopefully they’re eating it at that point, and it’s like, how often are you including it in your meal planning? Once a week, a couple of times a month. That’s usually plenty for most people, unless you have a specific imbalance you’re trying to fix. And then the last one I wanted to mention, because people were kind of like, what supplements do you think are important for kids? I mean, I think food and lifestyle is the most important for kids. And working on their palate and teaching them about food and how it affects their health. I just think that it’s underrated versus focusing on supplements. Really. One of the only things I prioritize for my daughter at this time is this humic mineral liquid blend.
Amanda Montalvo [00:55:49]:
I actually linked it in my newsletter, but I’ll put the link in here, too. And that’s mainly because it does like a million things at once. But it’s really great for gut health. It’s helpful for inflammation in the gut, it’s great for gut lining. It’s helpful. It’s got enzymes in it, so it can help support digestion, and it’s great for supporting detoxification. So that was one that really helped her skin and her eczema, especially when we saw the inflammatory patterns and stuff on her stool test. And I’m like, how can I gently support her and have something that she’s actually going to take? And again, it’s liquid, so it’s so nice because you can give them only a teeny tiny amount.
Amanda Montalvo [00:56:28]:
I did not want to have any bad reactions with her. I didn’t want to make anything worse, so I went super slow with it. But it’s like a 1oz serving for adults. I only do like a teaspoon for her. So it doesn’t have to be a lot. It can be very small. But I think I love this one for clients as well. If they have constipation, other eczema, if they also have eczema, those types of issues, gut health concerns.
Amanda Montalvo [00:56:57]:
It’s a great one for adults, too, but I think it’s great for kids as well. Ideally, your child doesn’t need a supplement every day. If you have a deficiency that you’re trying to fix, is there a whole food version that you can incorporate? If there is a deficiency present, I would always think about digestion. Are you supporting digestion? Are they eating in a relaxed environment? Do they have signs of digestive issues? Like, are they having a good bowel movement every day? What’s their bowel movement look like? Do you notice that they don’t want to eat meat a lot? That could be definitely a hint of maybe they’re not digesting it well, things like that. Because, yes, I have had clients where we’re also working with their children, and we are trying to fix the deficiency, but it’s very few and far between that we’re using an isolated mineral because it will impact their levels of other minerals. And so often when we see a child that has maybe like a zinc deficiency, their iron is also low. So it’s like, if you supplement with zinc, it’s going to make their iron lower. So that’s why it’s always great if you can prioritize food or whole food supplements for those thinGs.
Amanda Montalvo [00:58:11]:
And ideally, knowing how long are they going to take this, when are we going to retest their levels to know if they still need this? And then how can I get this into their diet on a regular basis? That’s not through a supplement. I think it’s so important. Okay, last big area is testing. I got a lot of questions around testing for babies, toddlers and kids especially. I would say toddlers is probably number one, but babies, too. You can do hair testing, technically, and stool testing in babies and toddlers, and obviously older children as well. I just think it’s one of those in babies, like someone under one. I’m just like, what are you going to do differently? Will be my question.
Amanda Montalvo [00:58:55]:
There is a company called Tiny Health where you can do stool testing on babies. I did one for Eliana when she was young because she had the egg allergy, and I wanted to see what was going on with her was. It was somewhat helpful. But honestly, I recently did a stool test with her and that was way more helpful because their gut microbiome is constantly changing and developing. So you have to really understand, sometimes you’ll see really high levels of bacteria, and it’s like, oh, my gosh, do we have to eradicate that? But then you learn, oh, that’s actually really normal, especially if that baby is breastfed, because that bacteria helps to break down breast milk. So you have to understand all the nuances of the test. You would not treat it like an adult test at all. Tiny health, they interpret it for you.
Amanda Montalvo [00:59:47]:
But I just found most of the recommendations were pretty standard. And now that I know way more, looking at a GI map stool test for my daughter, I go back to her other tests and I’m like, okay, there were red flags that I just wasn’t educated on for this. So getting help from someone that works with kids, if you do a stool test, is so important because their patterns are so different. Seeing a big variety of bacteria can be normal. So keep that in mind. I would definitely make sure you’re working with someone that works with kidS, and then with hair testing, it does have different patterns. Their ratio levels are different, and typically every person is born is a fast metabolic type. So that’s something you would want to be looking out for as well.
Amanda Montalvo [01:00:36]:
If they’re slow, why are they slow? Are they chronically stressed? Where is it coming from? But I’m going to go through a hair test that I did for a toddler in the bonus episode. So you guys can see that there. And then that’s just Patreon.com hormonehealingrd. And then people were asking, what tests you think are the most helpful for babies, toddlers, and kids? I would say hair testing and GI map usually. I mean, it depends on what their issue is. But I think about friends in my life, clients that I’ve had. What are the most common concerns with children? I feel like digestion is always one, skin is a very common one, behavioral issues are a really common one. And I would definitely combine hair testing with stool testing when possible for kids.
Amanda Montalvo [01:01:26]:
I would not do it in babies, like under one because it’s like, how are you going to adjust their food to support that? They’re really not eating a ton of food yet. So that’s why I didn’t do my daughter’s hair test until she was a little older, because I’m like, what am I even going to do based off those results? I don’t want to do a test if I’m not going to make a change from it. And so it wasn’t until then she got the eczema, and I’m like, all right, we’re going to do a hair test and a stool test and figure out where this is coming from, how we can support your body, and what kind of actions that we can take. So I hope this episode was helpful. I know it was a lot of information, but I got so many good questions. I was like, I really want to make sure that I cover a lot of these topics. I’m linking so many resources in the show notes. So anything I mentioned, the different recipes, how to prepare stuff, the baby led weaning course, the podcast that I like for baby led weaning, that episode on Eczema and everything I mentioned, I will link it in the show notes.
Amanda Montalvo [01:02:24]:
I made notes throughout so that you guys can go do more because there’s only so much I can cover in an hour. But I hope this was helpful. Tag me on Instagram share. Let me know if you enjoyed this one and what you would want to have more topics on in the future. I was just talking with a colleague, and I want to have her come back on the podcast to talk about Gut health in kids and different perspective on it because I’ve definitely taken a very different perspective with my daughter. So more on that, if you guys are interested, just let me know. But thank you as always for being here, and I will see you in the next episode. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Are you Menstrual? Podcast.
Amanda Montalvo [01:03:05]:
If you want to support my work, please leave a review and let me know how you like the episode. This lets me know what you guys want more of less of. I read every single one and I appreciate them more than you know. If you want to keep learning, you can get access to the bonus episode and additional resources on Patreon.com hormonehealingrd. I’d love to have you in there. Thanks again and I will see you in the next episode.
