The Gut-Brain Link: The Missing Connection to Our Kids’ and Teens’ Mental Health Issues with Dr. Song, MD (Ep. 411)

(Listen To the Full Episode Here.)

In this episode of The Essential Oil Revolution, we focus on the current and critical emotional and wellness needs of our children and teens.

This is such a vital topic for the future of our world.

As you probably are aware, our kids are NOT alright.

According to Dr. Song’s up-coming book, Healthy Kids, Happy Kids (which I was blessed to receive a pre-release copy of):

“The statistics are staggering.”

• 1 in 5 kids has eczema.
• 1 in 36 kids have autism.
• Autoimmunity is increasing in the highest rates among teenagers.
• 1-10 kids suffer from asthma.
• 1-10 kids suffer from ADHD, behavioral problems, and anxiety (with the number climbing to 1 in 3 affected by anxiety by 13 to 18 years old).
• 1 in 3 teenage girls have seriously thought of suicide and over 1 in 8 have followed through with trying it.

For the first time in history, our children are predicted to have a shorter lifespan than us. (NEJM, 2005.)

– Ref: Healthy Kids, Happy Kids

A Hope for a Better Future

To get a comprehensive understanding of this crucial subject, I asked Dr. Elisa Song to return to our show. She joined us previously for an amazing discussion on using essential oils safely in children and she is the go-to-expert for holistic pediatric care. In fact, Dr. Song is an internationally acclaimed Stanford-, NYU-, UCSF-trained integrative pediatrician, a brilliant pediatric functional medicine expert, formulator, lecturer, educator, children’s health advocate, and author.

In this interview, Dr. Song explores the overlooked factor that is contributing to the rising rates of children’s mental health problems, the microbiome. She also provides us with practical solutions to intervene and remedy this accelerating and concerning trajectory of the rise of chronic diseases and psychiatric disorders in our youth.

If you care about our kids, and our future, you will want to listen to the whole episode.

When you’re done listening, you will also want to pick up her latest book. I think everyone, parents, practitioners, and anyone who shares space with kids and teens, should have a copy.

Here’s What You’ll Learn During the Show:

• The current, concerning statistics of our kid’s state of health (1 min)
• Dr. Song’s bio (2 min)
• An overview of Dr. Song’s new book (6 min)
• How the gut-brain link and microbiome are related to children’s mental health issues (7 min)
• What are psychobiotics and how they relate to the gut-brain link (9.50 min)
• What is the difference between microbiota and the microbiome (11.30 min)
• Why the microbiome is the hub for better mental health and solving chronic health problems (16 min)
• How antibiotics can have a long-term impact on kids’ health due to microbial disruption (17 min)
• What is the single, most immediate microbial mischief maker and why (19 min)
• Symptoms that are outside of the gut that really are gut-centric (22 min)
• Some common, daily microbiome disruptors in our world (23 min)
• How reading food labels can be a powerful tool to help our kids physical and mental health (26 min)
• The most significant disruptor to our kids’ microbiomes (29.30 min)
• The vicious cycle of mental health issues and stress with the gut-brain link (30 min)
• The important question to ask your doctor to determine if your child needs an antibiotic (32 min)
• How to restore your child’s microbiome if an antibiotic is needed (36 min)
• Should you take probiotics with antibiotics? (37 min)
• Why managing the stress response is the “best medicine” for a healthy gut-brain link and microbiome (41 min)
• Why we need to do “Vagus Nerve Work” (43 min)
• Some essential oils for supporting the vagus nerve and a healthy microbiome (47.30 min)
• A deep breathing exercise that is convenient and can engage the vagus nerve (50 min)
• A DIY hack on how kids can use essential oils in school (52 min)
• How essential oils support the microbiome and overall health (53 min)
• What essential oil eradicated pathogens, enhanced microbiome diversity, and healed leaky gut in an animal study (54 min)
• How supporting the gut-brain may help with anxiety and other emotional issues (55 min)
• The three other “microbiome magic” ingredients for kids and adults (59 min)
• Closing thoughts (1.03 min)

Click here to listen to the full show.

Click here for more detailed show notes, a video clip, and additional resources.

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