Book Review: Perfect Health for Kids

“Perfect Health for Kids – 10 Ayurvedic Health Secrets Every Parent Must Know” is a book about health care, not sick care. I learned so many vital health information, not only for my children’s health but also for all of us in the family. I read the book again in order to prepare for the new school year, where good health and mental focus is essential for effective learning. It’s a great resource to boost your children’s immune system against the germs and viruses they share at school and help them improve their endurance and stamina during athletic practices. It includes a lot of remedies for illness symptoms but it’s mainly about preventative care.

“The best medicine for an earache, cold or flu” I told Luca’s mom, “is to prevent is from happening. Let’s learn how to treat Lucas when he is healthy and keep him that way.”

The book is written by Dr. John Douillard, who studied Ayurvedic medicine in India. He also has a book called “Body, Mind and Sport”. The book is very well organized and has a logical flow that makes it easy to read. The language is easy to understand.

The first chapter runs you through the dosha survey to determine the type of you your child(ren). Instead of traditional dosha names; “Vata, Pitta and Kapha”, Dr. Douillard uses “Summer, Spring and Winter” which makes it easier to follow the seasonal health and diet recommendations he listed in the rest of his book.

The next 10 chapters detail the 10 not-so-secret areas to pay attention to in our lives to stay healthy. These areas are mucus (lungs and respiratory system), digestive system, water intake, body clock and cycle, seasons and our diet, chemicals and allergens, natural health remedies, routine preventative inspections, importance of breathing and mental health.

I have to reiterate that the recommendations in this book applies to everyone, not only children. Here are few things that I’ve learned and applied to my own and my children’s life:

• Turmeric is my new favorite home remedy for runny nose and cough. The recipe in the book, which is one part turmeric+one part raw honey mixed is too intense for the kids. My adapted recipe is:

*1 teaspoon turmeric
*Loose linden tea
*1 tea spoon raw honey

 Brew turmeric and linden in one cup of hot water and mix with raw honey. It works miracles on my kids.

• Avoid ice-cold drinks and cold milk.

• Dr. Douillard states that especially homogenization and possibly pasteurization process of milk breaks down some enzymes that makes it easier for us (humans) to digest cow’s milk. Possibly the homogenization process causes the lactose intolerance. Milk should be served warm and children should not drink milk with meals. I purchase non-homogenized organic milk from grass-fed cows (costs about x2 times the regular milk) and always serve warm.

•  One should know their pertinent daily cycle (body clock) and plan their day (meals, activities etc) accordingly, which is impossible when universal work and school times are set to 8 am to 3 or 5 pm. I actually adjusted the weighted distribution of my meals from.

*Light breakfast – light lunch – full dinner to
*Full breakfast – Full lunch – light snack – light dinner (every 4 hours)

This cycle helps me keep my blood sugar leveled and prevents me from craving especially between afternoon and dinner. I wish I could do the same with my kids. They have good breakfast when they wake up timely. However their lunch break is both really early and very short. So they get very hungry as they get ouf school and go to camp. They eat light snacks instead of full 2nd lunch. Then, especially my son comes home very hungry, wanting to snack until dinner time.

•  We all know breathing is really important. Dr. Douillard states proper – nasal – breathing is very important as well. Children breathe properly through their noses and use lower lobes of their lungs. As they grow they lose this habit. Nasal and deep breathing helps with endurance, athletic performance and brain performance. He talks about this more in his other book “Body, Mind and Sport”.

The rest of the book details vegetables and fruits, tastes by season and by dosha, tastes by dosha, herbal remedies by ailment, dosha and season.

Perfect Health for Kids is one of the best health reference books to keep in your library within reach to raise healthy kids, who hopefully do not get sick easily.