Eat, Learn, Grow Healthy: Growing Strong – Our First Children’s Book

The Why Behind Writing A Children’s Book for All Our Children

My sister died when I was 8 years old. In retrospect, I realize that was a particularly severe adverse childhood experience that had a profound impact on my life and contributed to my health challenges later in life. My daughter Zeb was 8 when I got my wheelchair. That was the onset of her severe adverse childhood experience. Years of watching the person who was supposed to be invincible growing steadily more frail each year. A profound adverse childhood experience. This affects many of our children.

That is what our children are experiencing when they are watching us grow more frail due to our autoimmune disease. Fortunately, Zeb also got to watch the miracle that unfolded 5 years later
We had all let go of my future. We had learned to take each day as it unfolded. The people with my problem do not recover. Do not go strong.

Instead of my relentlessly growing weaker, something startling happens. Unbelievable really. I begin growing stronger. Then I begin walking. First with walking sticks. Then without walking sticks. We do not know what this means.

And then I wanted to get on my bike and try biking around the block. Zeb had grabbed the bike. Crying. Afraid that I’d fall, and ruin my progress. We had an emergency family meeting. Jackie told Zach to run alongside on the left. Zeb to run alongside on the right. She’d follow. And I biked around the block. Zach, that big 16-year-old boy, cried. Zeb, the 13-year-old girl, cried. Jackie cried. I cried. I still cry when I tell that story and relive that moment. When I first understood that a better future might be possible. When hope returned.

And everything changed. For me. For Zeb. Her adverse childhood experience was coming to an end. Finally. Her adverse childhood experience lasted 5 years. Longer if you count the 3 years of decline she had observed before I got into the wheelchair

I think about those years often now that I am more aware of how adverse childhood experiences increase the risk of later health problems, and how those years increased the risk of future health issues for both of my kids. For those of us with a chronic health condition, our children are also having an adverse childhood experience watching our health issues and our decline.

Fortunately, Zeb also lived the transformation of how I think about diet and the foods needed for good health. She experienced in me and herself, what a change in diet can do for mental and physical health. We often talk about what it meant growing up watching me decline and then recover. And about the epidemic of poor mental health and physical health in both children and their parents today.

A book for all of our children

And we decided to do something about that epidemic. I am very pleased to announce that Zeb wrote a beautiful children’s book about the power of food to improve our energy and our health. Growing Strong Healthy Eating for the Whole Family is a wonderful, beautifully illustrated children’s book.

This book is perfect to help families talk to their children about why food choices matter for their mental health and their energy. This book is a must-have for anyone with children or grandchildren. There is a growing epidemic of children with anxiety, depression, social anxiety, learning disability, rage, and suicidality. There is a growing epidemic of children with obesity, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, diabetes, and autoimmunity. There is a growing epidemic of children with parents with serious health problems. All these children need a book that talks to them about why food matters. How better food choices can lead to more energy and better moods. They need Growing Strong Healthy Eating for the Whole Family. Get your copy today.

Maximize your commitment

Creating new habits around food is hard for many people. One of the best ways to jump start your commitment is get involved in a diet study. I have seen this many times. If one parent joins a diet study, the whole family begins shifting to a healthier diet. The children eat less junk food. More vegetables. More fruit. More protein and less candy. Behaviors improve. Grades improve. Athletic performance improves. The spouse has fewer headaches. Better blood pressure. Better blood sugars. And the person in the study also often experiences better blood pressure, better blood sugars, and better cholesterol. It is a win for the whole family.

If you have relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and are between the ages of 18 and 70 consider being in the study, Efficacy of Diet on Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis (NCT05007483). People must be willing to be randomized into one of three diets: ketogenic, modified Paleolithic or usual diet (control). The two intervention arms receive education from the study Registered Dietitian on how to implement the assigned study diet. The people in the usual diet group receive a monthly email with tips on how to improve their diets. Complete the survey here to see if you are eligible to participate in the study. If you are eligible, a member of the team will reach out to you to discuss the study in more detail.

So many families have children and grandchildren who are struggling with a variety of health issues that can be improved with a better diet. Reading Growing Strong with your children and grandchildren is an excellent place to begin. Order your copy today!