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Dr. Shannon introduces himself and explains how you can provide proper nutrition to ensure your child’s mental health.
Dr. Shannon:
Hi, I am Scott Shannon. I am an integrative child and adolescence psychiatrist and I am currently Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado, Department of Psychiatry Children’s Hospital, Denver, Colorado.
Well what moms need to know is that all children need a broad mix of nutrients in their diet.
But some are particularly deficient in our current diet – things like omega-3 essential fatty acids, magnesium, zinc, B6 – these are vitamins that most children are not going to have adequate amounts and in spite of good diet we need to look towards supplementation as a way to ensure that kids are getting the nutrients they need.
I really believe that soda should have no role in a child’s diet. So the first thing I do when I am working with parents and mothers is tell them, eliminate the soda; it’s going to save you money and it may save their brain.
The next thing is make sure they are not getting caffeine from any source and these are energy drinks, power drinks, supplements, because these will tend to promote problems with attention, problems with anxiety and even irritability and explosive temper.
The next thing I like to get rid of is sugar, in terms of very processed foods, sweets, and try to really reduce and eliminate the excess sugar in a child’s diet.
And then finally, I try to eliminate the dyes and preservatives in a child’s diet by moving away from processed foods and towards whole foods, fresh foods as much as possible.
About Dr. Scott Shannon, M.D.:
Dr. Scott Shannon, M.D., graduated from the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Following a psychiatric internship he worked for four years in rural Arizona as a general practitioner. Dr. Shannon then completed a psychiatric residency at a Columbia program in New York. After his child psychiatry fellowship at the University of New Mexico he moved to Colorado. His practice includes a wide variety of approaches including herbs, supplements, medications, nutrition, and acupuncture. Dr. Shannon served as the Principle Investigator on a recent research grant exploring the value of acupuncture in the nausea of chemotherapy.
Visit Dr. Shannon at his Web site