Autoimmune Disease affects over 50 million Americans.  It is one of the top ten causes of death among women over 65, and is the second highest cause of chronic illness in the US.  Autoimmune Disease is on the rise, not only in the US but worldwide.

There are over 100 different autoimmune diseases currently.  Autoimmune diseases are chronic and are often life threatening. They can affect any system in the body, and symptoms can vary, making them difficult to diagnose. 

The current medical system offers little in treatment other than medications. Often only prescribing them once damage has been not, and not offering options for prevention. Autoimmune disease has an underlying cause, a trigger, that cause the body to overreact and attack itself. The goal of TCM and Functional Medicine is to find and treat the underlying cause to reverse and prevent damage.

SIBO stands for Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth. 20% of patients with IBS-like symptoms actually have SIBO. 

SIBO is a condition in which bacteria, that are normally found in the large intestine, are able to colonize in the small intestine. These bacteria produce toxin compounds that cause digestive inflammation and disease symptomology. Untreated, SIBO can cause long term damage and becomes more difficult to treat. 

In many of my other posts, I have addressed the importance of fats in the diet...especially when it comes to children. If you want to learn more about Kid's and Fats, please read my Lunchbox Post (Click Here for Article)

For today on want to focus on Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). A really cool chemical found in the fat of dairy...it has to be full fat, none of this lowfat, 2%, skim nonsense. If you make one change today for the health of your children, switch them to full fat dairy! For more on Full Fat Dairy, and why it is better, read my Lunchbox Post (Click Here for Article)

Because the point of this series is to give you information that will set your child up for success in school, with a hearty breakfast, I want to focus my nutritional topics to just this. If you would like more information on general child nutrition, please take a look at my Lunchbox Series.

Today, I want to start the talk of balancing meals. In the next couple of days, I am going to work through Macronutrients. They are all important to the mental and physical health of our children, but knowing how to balance them has become a lost art.

We eat A LOT of eggs! In fact, we now have chickens, 13 to be exact, and we were so afraid we would be overrun with eggs. It is actually just the right amount for our family of 4 and our egg usage. Eggs are one of my foundation breakfast items...I typically eat one every morning. 

Many of you grew up thinking that only the whites were good for you and that you should limit your yolk quantity (based on horribly performed research....long story). Please eat the yolks, that is where the nutrition is, and the egg supplies almost everything you need nutritionally, except for the minerals found in the shell. 

I have a passion for healthy eating, especially when it comes not only my children, but all children. It is us, as the parents, who will determine our children's eating habits. The habits that will teach our children and the foods we offer them should be a balance of foods that expose them to nutritionally dense options, set them up nutritionally to succeed, and offer an element of fun (because eating should be enjoyed)

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! It is the beginning meal that sets the foundation for the rest of the day. If the first meal of the day is nutritionally balances, the rest of the day can be a yo-yo of ups and downs that affect the overall health and performance of our children.

In the following series, I will show you some tips and ideas for healthy, balanced, easy to prepare breakfast ideas that give your children the foundation they need to excel in their physical and mental activities of the day. Each day we will discuss a nutrition topic that pertains to your child's physical and mental wellbeing.

First off, I want to thank you for following along on this series. I have been really excited for this one. I am sure there are parts that I missed, or questions that have arisen. Please feel free to email me, or comment below. I love discussion.

To top of this series, I want to simplify it a bit. I want to list my FAVORITE foods for preparing for labor and delivery. Some of these may seem different from what you've been told during pregnancy. That's okay, we are trying to deliver a baby at this point, and some of the nutritional needs change slightly. If you have a medical condition (such as diabetes) than some of these foods (like bananas) may not be an option.