Conscious parenting : the dilemmas facing 21st century parents.

Conscious parenting: the dilemmas facing 21st century parents.

Dr Dietrich Klinghardt is a recognised authority on environmental/nutritional approaches to many of the 21st century’s most alarming and baffling conditions such as autism, allergies and ME/CFS.

Homeopath Patty Hemingway reports on one of his talks.

What if someone told you that the worst breakfast you could give your child was a piece of toast? Well, if your child suffers from a gluten or wheat allergy you would probably agree, but Dr Klinghardt’s advice was intended for all children. In this short talk he covered nutrition from pregnancy onwards; the vaccine debate; the latest information on electro-magnetic pollution and health and why mercury fillings and chemical pollutants are bad for mothers, and can harm their children.

Nutrition – What Every Child Needs

The basic problem with our food is that, as a result of soil depletion arising from modern intensive agriculture, its nutrient content has been in decline since the middle of the last century. Most spinach, for example, now contains no iron at all, while other foods’ nutritional content has declined by as much as 75% over the past 60 years. Meanwhile the RDAs (Recommended Daily Allowance) applied to micronutrients is inadequate to make good nutrient deficiencies. As a result we are starving to death from lack of micronutrients, and our growing children are nutrient deficient.

These nutrients are essential if children are to develop and stay healthy:
* fish oil for its DHA/EPA content. This needs to be taken in pregnancy from the third trimester, and then given to the baby and growing child. Most early human settlements were on coastal areas, so we can assume that fish played a role in our development. Modern children (especially if they are vegetarian) could be missing this nutrient, which is vital for brain development. This advice comes with a reminder that the smaller the fish, the lower the mercury content, so it follows that sardines are less polluted than tuna.
* vitamin D, vitamin K, plus various minerals, are important for healthy bones, and teeth. Dr Klinghardt believes that even in families where crooked teeth are the norm, the right vitamin and mineral balance can override any genetic disadvantage.
*vitamin D has other uses especially as an immune system booster. It can be given in high doses when needed as a natural treatment for flu or childhood illnesses. Vitamin A will also strengthen immune system, allowing the child to make a full and speedy recovery.

What About Childhood Vaccinations ?

Dr Klinghardt would rather ‘let the childhood illness be the vaccine; this way you keep the child in a healthy state’. By not vaccinating, allowing the child to have the illness, and treating with safe natural remedies such as vitamin D & A, you ensure life-long acquired immunity for your child. I must add here that homeopathic remedies can also be safely used to treat childhood illnesses.

But what about rubella which can cause birth defects in babies born to mothers unlucky enough to catch the disease in early pregnancy ? Dr Klinghardt’s solution is to vaccinate selectively: young women considering pregnancy who know that they have not had the disease may want to be vaccinated before they become pregnant. If they are unvaccinated, pregnant and exposed to the disease, Dr Klinghardt recommends a high dose of vitamin D as an immune system booster.

Mercury and Chemical Toxicity

The level of pollution being detected in our environment is truly shocking. A mother can transfer any toxins in her body to her baby, via breast milk which, when analysed, has been found to contain mercury and flame-retardants such as those which ‘out-gas’ from laptops, cot mattresses or toys.
Dr Klinghardt uses chlorella to flush out chemicals and metals from tissues and organs; chlorella also contains minerals and trace elements, essential for health. Dioxin levels were reduced by 40% in breastfeeding mothers supplementing with chlorella and even better results can be achieved if chlorella is taken throughout pregnancy to reduce the amount of toxin passed onto the foetus. Moreover, Dr Klinghardt claims that ‘chlorella babies are taller, bigger and more intelligent’.

Possible Explanations of autism and its higher level in boys

It is known that boys’ development lags behind that of girls by about one year, possibly as a result of the interaction of testosterone with environmental toxins, which have also been associated with the development of autism.

Mercury, which is used in dental amalgam and some vaccines, binds to proteins, has an unpredictable half-life of at least 32 years, and is easily transferred from the mother. The coming together of testosterone and any neuro-toxin (mercury is a neuro-toxin) results in the death of neurons in the brain. Thus boys are therefore more likely to suffer neurological damage as a result of mercury toxicity than girls.

The ease with which mercury can escape from a mother’s dental fillings , was shown by a study which measured the mercury in the system of a sheep which had been given amalgam fillings. Within days, almost every organ was contaminated. If a child is also given antibiotics, the disruption of their gut flora may mean that they lose the ability to excrete the mercury resulting in a greater risk of autism due to retained mercury toxicity.

Where vaccines have been observed to be implicated in autism, the trigger could be thimersol, a form of mercury used as a preservative in vaccines. Although aluminium hydroxide, has replaced thimerosol in some vaccines, this metal compound has its own problems, and is a frequent cause of constipation in vaccinated children. This is not helpful in cases where the elimination of toxins is necessary.

Neurological illness in children has been linked to low sulphur levels. If children are exposed to high levels of pesticides, the body may use up all available sulphur nutrients in trying to eliminate the pesticide-toxin, leaving none available to nourish the developing brain.

Dr Klinghardt is also interested in the idea that autism could be triggered by an infection acquired while still in the womb. Infections can be killed off if the body throws a fever, but the foetus does not yet have a sufficiently developed immune system to do this. It is possible that herpes, yeasts, and Lyme disease may be involved.
When tested, six out of six autistic children tested positive for Borna Virus (implicated in bipolar disease and depression) while Dr Klinghardt believes that Lyme Disease is behind many chronic diseases such as ME and CFS. This theory has few supporters in the UK.

Electrosmog

Dr Klinghardt believs that electrosmog from mobile phones, cell-phone masts, WiFi, cordless DECT phones, baby monitors, wii games etc is ‘the biggest factor today in making our brains sick’. There is evidence that an effective treatment for autistic children involves creating an EMF-free environment for them to live in 24 hours a day, but especially at night ( Wireless Radiation in the Etiology and Treatment of Autism: Clinical Observations and Mechanisms, Tamara J Mariea1 and George L Carlo, J Aust. Coll. Nutr. & Env. Med. Vol. 26 No.2 (August 2007) pages 3-7.)

Evidence of the harm we are doing to ourselves and our children through the indiscriminate use of wireless technology is stacking up, and can no longer be ignored. For further references see the Foods Matter ES webpages, and links to other sites which deal with this topic in detail.

The mechanism for harm comes from the disruption to cell membrane receptors by pulsed frequencies from man-made, or non-ionising electromagnetic radiation, which then interrupts signalling pathways in the brain.
Dr Klinghardt recommends creating a ‘Sleeping Sanctuary’ at home, to allow the body full recovery, and ensure restorative sleep. This simply involves switching all electricity, including and especially all wireless devices, off at the mains at night. He estimates that, if it is allowed to rest overnight, it takes around four months for the body to recover from the shock of being overwhelmed by e-smog.

So, back to breakfast…

A surprising and recent study, found that longevity depended on eating no food that has been heated to more than the temperature of boiling water. So it is OK to boil grains (provided you are not allergic to them, of course) but not to bake them into bread? Eating grains has certainly been linked to aggressive behaviour, because, Dr Klinghardt suggests, gluten protein ‘messes up the brain’ even when you are not allergic to it.
So, what is the favourite breakfast in the Klinghardt household? His recipe for healthy children is sprouted buckwheat ground into a granola consistency, with various added ingredients such as berries, soaked nuts and yoghurt – according to what you can tolerate.

If liquid minerals, such as zinc, are added to the sprouting water, they are taken up by the sprouts providing an easy way to boost your children’s mineral status - provided you can get them to eat sprouts! It is important to rinse the sprouts to wash off any of the mineral that has not been taken up, before you eat them.
If yoghurt or berries, or heaven forbid the sprouts, are not popular with your kids you can simply add the sprouts to whatever it is your children do want to eat – and which parent hasn’t disguised ‘healthy foods’ in more popular dishes?

For more information about Dr Klinghardt: www.klinghardtacademy.com
Patty Hemingway is a family homeopath working in London: www.pattyhemingway.co.uk

First published August 2010