Aiden Gets his Iron Up…

I have a 19th month old son named Aiden who has been under Dr. Eric’s care since he was 3 days old.  While we’ve never given him medication or vaccinations, we still take him to his well check appointments.  At our 15 month well check, they tested his blood and found that his hemoglobin level was low.  The pediatrician suggested an iron supplement and wrote a prescription for it because she thought his hemoglobin level was too low to simply add iron-rich foods to his diet.   Although they gave me a list of iron-rich foods, Aiden’s diet already consisted of foods largely from that list, such as green vegetables, grass fed beef, etc.

Immediately, I knew that the iron supplement would not be our first mode of attack.  We left the pediatrician’s office and went to Healthsprout to get adjusted and talk to Dr. Eric.   Because of Aiden’s diet, we decided his low hemoglobin was most likely caused by his body was not absorbing iron efficiently.  We began giving him Juice Plus and probiotics mixed with applesauce each morning.

At his 18 month appointment, the pediatrician tested his blood again.  She was hoping for a small increase in his hemoglobin level.  Instead of having a small increase, Aiden’s hemoglobin level had risen to normal.  At that moment, I was more thankful than ever for the education about health and nutrition that I’ve gotten at Healthsprout.  Whenever a “medical issue” arises, I know to ask questions about the causes of the issue instead of just accepting treatment for the symptoms.  Aiden is healthier because he didn’t take an iron supplement that has potential digestive side effects, as well as others.  Rather, his body is absorbing iron from his food … the way it was meant to!

Dr. Eric – what is funny, is that Juice Plus has no Iron in it.  So the medical docs would always treat a low X by giving X, a high Y by giving something that reduces Y.  But if we consider Aiden’s diet, it was not at all deficient in iron.  He has eaten a “Paleo” diet since birth.  So increasing what was already prevalent in his diet was not necessary.

The answer was in getting his iron processing up.  And in most children his age with his diet, it would have been, but for some reason, he needs a little more active enzyme function in his body to absorb everything.  Juice Plus provided that.  In some cases, we can adjust someone and see these improvements.  There is always a cause, and it is not always the same, but the cure is.

Pursue health in ALL ways.

Aiden used to cry like crazy the moment he saw me…. “oh no, that guy is going to start pushing on my back again”… now he loves being adjusted, and I love adjusting him.  Be well, be blessed, get your family’s health up as high as possible.  It truly is the most valuable thing you can control on this planet.  – Dr. E