In this week’s episode of IMPACT, we had a conversation with the inspirational Dr. Elisa Song. Dr. Song is an integrative pediatrician and a pediatric functional medicine expert. She has been doing this for over two decades now and it’s safe to assume that she is a powerful force in the integrative pediatric community. Today, she is here to talk to us about how to raise our children to grow up to live healthy and meaningful lives.
Dr. Song discusses how she became involved with integrative pediatric care, how Swanson’s TV dinners changed the way we view food, the rising sugar epidemic, and more. Dr. Song also speaks about everything we need to know about the gut microbiome, what vitamins most kids are deficient in, and suggests vital elements to maintain immune health.
As we start to pick up the pieces after a long pandemic and the catastrophe it has left in its wake, we must begin to think about the psychological toll it has had on our children. And continuing to feed them foods with artificial colors and ingredients will only worsen things. Make sure to make time for cooking healthy home-cooked meals and monitor what your kids’ minds are consuming as well.
Tune in, take notes, and begin taking charge of your family’s well-being!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[4:39] Dr. Song’s introduction to integrative pediatric care
[8:09] Proper education for physicians in school regarding nutrition
[11:14] In 1953 Swanson invented the TV dinner that changed the way we view food
[13:57] Addressing the issue of rising global sugar intake
[22:46] Everything to know about the microbiome
[33:37] Vitamin and nutrient deficiencies in kids
[44:26] Key elements of immune health
[52:51] Entrepreneurs are born and made
HOW TO CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST
MEMORABLE QUOTES
“There are so many pharmaceutical, industrial, and agricultural forces that are making it so challenging to change how we eat and how we think about food.”
– Dr. Elisa Song, MD
“From the 1950s on, there was a huge rise in diabetes, heart disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome, chronic disease in adults and kids. Well what happened in 1953? That was when Swanson invented the TV dinner. That changed history.”
– Dr. Elisa Song, MD
“The #1 thing that can make a huge difference for kids and parents is if everybody knew how to read a food label. If everybody knew how to read a food label from a child-friendly, gut-microbiome-brain standpoint. Not just calories and fat.”
– Dr. Elisa Song, MD
“If we train our taste buds to go back to understanding what real food is and also understanding the huge rise in the sugar intake… Now, the average human eats about 17 teaspoons of sugar a day.”
– Dr. Elisa Song, MD
“90% of all of our neurotransmitters are made by our gut microbiome. Serotonin makes us feel happy, calm, and relaxed. Dopamine. How many of us parents have kids who can’t sit still?... Don’t just look at their behavioral issues, look at their gut.”
– Dr. Elisa Song, MD
“Even in Indigenous cultures where we’re losing a lot of native crops and wisdom, the four crops that feed most of us are corn, rice, wheat, and sugar cane. That’s the majority of plants that most people in the world are eating.”
– Dr. Elisa Song, MD
“One of the most common deficiencies is going to be Vitamin D… A lot of us are indoors, not getting enough outdoor time so almost all kids, I do believe, need a Vitamin D supplement to maintain optimal immune resilience.”
– Dr. Elisa Song, MD
“Many kids actually benefit from a high-quality multivitamin. In fact, a study with kids with ADD found that the use of a very high quality multi-vitamin, across the board, had major benefits for their behaviors and their tension.”
– Dr. Elisa Song, MD