 Hey, everybody. Good afternoon. It is so wonderful to see you all here, virtually, of course. Before I introduce my guest today, who I am super excited about, I want to just do a little bit of housekeeping. You can find all the podcasts. If you've missed any, we now have over 80 episodes at iTunes, Stitcher, wherever you listen to podcasts. I also have a YouTube channel just under Jill Carnahan, and you can watch the actual live videos anytime you want or share them if you find the content helpful. And please do subscribe there, because that way you'll get notified when there's new episodes. Usually you'll notice there's about one or two per week that go up live. So that's the background. If you want to find my blogs and free information, there's loads of things you can find on my website, just JillCarnahan.com. And my retail site just has products that you find anything helpful or need to find a binder or an acetylcysteine, which is something that's hard to find nowadays. You can find all of that at Dr. JillHealth.com. Okay, so let's get to the exciting thing, which is my guest, Dr. Medea Said. And she is also known as a holistic mom. We've been in the same circles for years, and I was just telling her as we started, one of my favorite things about her is the beautiful hugs and the energy she brings. Like, when I first met her, I remember you running up to me and say, Hey, Dr. Jill, it's so great to meet you. And you gave me a beautiful big hug. And I'm like, Who is this amazing woman? I love her. And of course, we've become, you know, knowing each other in circles and friends. And I just admire the work that you do, especially as we're going to dive into parenting and healthy brains and bodies of our children. How does that all intermix? And we'll dive deep into that today. But I think it's so powerful. What you've done is taking the stance on not only as a physician and a mom, but this bringing this together, because so often, like you said, you can kind of so we can silo these worlds and think, Okay, I'm a mom in this year in these hours. And then I'm a physician. But how do we bring it together? And how do we really change the lives of children? Now, what's interesting about me, I helped to raise three stepchildren. They're just like my own. I love them dearly. They're all grown now, and I actually have a daughter who has two babies. So I'm actually a grandmother. Most people don't know. And it's always funny when I say that, because of course, I got married young and my stepchildren, all the mix of it ends up being that I'm a very young grandma. So it sounds really good. And you're like, what's your aging secret? You know, because I'm a grandma. So that's always fun to talk about too. But I actually want to formally introduce you. She is on social media. She's known as holistic mom MD and practicing board certified family physician. I'm in the United States. That's the same as my training. So very similar. She's a health influencer, speaker and author of holistic RX, your guide to healing chronic inflammation and disease, and the Children's Functional Medicine book series, Adam's Healing Adventure, and other international books empowering the world to help your living. And your platforms reach so many people. It's just so exciting to have you here. There is a lot more I will be sure to share your website and all of your books and all the links wherever you listen to this. But welcome, welcome, welcome. It is so good to have you here today. Oh my gosh, I'm so incredibly honored. Like this is like literally one of my dream comes true. So I so thank you so much for being so inspirational to so many, including myself. So I can't thank you enough. I'm so honored. Thank you. Thank you. And I just look at you too and see the great good you're doing the great, great. And again, you just bring a lot of times I'm an energetic empath, right? And so I can read people's energy. And like I said, you bring this most lovely, loving, vibrant energy. I see I really mean that truly like the first time I met you, I was like, Who is that woman? I like her. So I really truly want to honor you publicly like for the work you do for the energy you bring. Because I know, I mean, we get tired. Life is crazy. And we've just been through a pandemic. And it's hard to continually bring that joy and that energy. But people resonate with that. And they want to know more when you have that, you know, positive attitude. And it's not fake. It's who you are. Like, Oh, that's literally, it is, it is. So tell us about your story, because I wanted people to get to know you. And first of all, like how did you get into medicine? And then from there, how did you get into functional medicine and into these topics? Oh my gosh, you're getting deep. Okay, let's do this. I love it. So, you know, I grew up in Naperville, Illinois. I've been here in the Chicago land area almost all my life. And I had all the same bad habits that have led most adults and children down the road to chronic health conditions. My mom, even though she was a fantastic cook, where she was, you know, she was a boy raised in Pakistan, she came here for her food was love. So we wanted, you know, strudels and, you know, chocolate chip cookies and Coca Cola to school. She's like, Oh, we were out here. Yes. Oh, right. So I grew up on that. I lost all my hair. I started gaining a lot of weight and acne, eczema, severe digestive issues. But again, new normal, right? Yeah. Keep on going on that. And was that like in your teen years or when I was in like junior high school, that was right then. And I've always wanted to be a physician. My grandfather was a physician. And actually, he was a homeopath. And he was a healer. And so I've always wanted to aspire to that and be like him. I never met him, but the stories that I felt like I could be closer to him that way. And I mean, I'm a family physician. My brother's an interventional cardiologist. My sister's a pediatric ICU physician. Really, they have almost every special. Wow, a family of amazing physicians. We literally have a family of amazing physicians. A little bit more, I think, than nobody really knows of that I'll share with you. So this is for your audience. Because we're born raised here, my parents, my dad's like, you want to make this happen, I'll make this happen. We didn't want to be stuck. He was a CPA. And he didn't want us to end up with loans or interest or any of that. So my dad quit his job. He was actually the American Trans Air CEO. I mean, it's the CFO at American Trans Air. And so we had like great tickets. Every weekend we would go out because you get those free tickets. But amazing job. He had been here for 40 years. And he's like, you want to go, we'll go to Pakistan. So I actually went to medical school in Pakistan. Only because of the fact that my dad, all of us wanted to be physicians, and he didn't want us to get stuck on that hamster wheel of loans. Yes, yes. So actually, that's where we went to Pakistan for medical school. I was studying the US Emily, all those things that I knew, because I knew we were going to come back. I can't live in the world. I did bring home a souvenir my husband. So I literally became a doctor. I got married the exact same day. Like seriously, this is how we had it all like, and then my dad actually, we were married, but we weren't able to live together. Right? My dad's like, no, because if you start living together, you're just going to get her pregnant. So therefore I waste, I sacrificed way too much. So we were married even. And so my dad's like, you go stay there in Chicago, and she's gonna stay here in Aprilville until she gives her steps because I sacrifice way too much for her, just get pregnant at home. My husband really did wait. And I was really cute. So, but my dad, my parents sacrificed so much, like literally dropped everything here, went there, we're separated for years, we put us all through medical school, and we really jumped back into the system because we were studying the US Emily's, we knew that that was our purpose. And but in that process, when I came back, residency, you know, and the ADR, me and my husband were both working ADR work weeks. So that was one chronic condition after another chronic condition, I was literally so had such digestive issues, I was literally popping steroids, suppositories up there. And I'm like, there must be a different way because I'm like, and then the conventional medicine couldn't help me, but I get a continued on the hamster well, just trying to keep my head above water with this newborn and trying to be a new wife and new resident and new mama at the same time. But then came the Hashimoto's diagnosis, then came lupus diagnosis, then came shingles. So do you see how it's like one thing after another after another. And I'm like, this is ridiculous, but I continued on the hamster wheel because that's what we were taught. And but until that one day that my hamster will came to an abrupt stop. Yeah, my husband afternoon conference, he says, I have a gut, I have, I really have a bad feeling. Can you go check up on our 10 month old and daycare? Yeah. And I went to the daycare because thankfully it was attached to the hospital. And I walked into every mother's worst nightmare. And the day, the lights were dim, the daycare provider was rocking back and forth back and forth in her chair. I walk in there, the eerie silence is broken by my child in the back. When I went back there, I found that my 10 month old was straddled down in a bouncer seat. Arms and legs are tied down at the receiving blanket pacifiers in his mouth. His Winnie the Pooh blanket was wrapped so tightly around his face that he couldn't breathe. Eyes, blood, shot, face swollen. I immediately picked him up and ran out. And that day I'm like, God, you saved my child. I promise, no, like seriously, because there would have been no way that I would have gone and then I didn't even have the gut inclination. It was like my husband, you think mother's instinct? No, I was just chit chatting. But no, I'm like, God, you saved my blessing. You saved this child. I promise today that I will take care of these kids the best that I know how. But then I'm like, wait, wait, hold back. I'm a family physician and I'm falling apart. So then I want it because I knew one of these diseases could eventually kill me. We've seen lupus patients and it's miserable. And I started researching and searching and I was very thankful that one of the doctors that I worked with an OBGYN, he, Dr. Uthman Kovalo, he sort of introduced me to the idea of integrative functional holistic medicine even in my residency. So I graduated runs in 2010. He brought me on board. And he taught me it was basically this practice had me and OBGYN and internist and exercise physiologist, nutritious counseling, chiropractor, moustache therapy, all under one roof. And here as a resident to be brought into this. Right. And so, and then I did what I didn't tell you, I also became a homey homey app that I went certified in homey apathy in my residency, which is your grandfather. So I like went full circle. And but I didn't, but that's when I saw I'm like, because I did that in residency and I started applying it to some of my patients in residency. And I'm like, wait, this is so cool. This is working on people with like 50 years of psoriasis working here. What can what else in medicine not to say, right? Exactly. So that's rarely really so I made this mission and my passion. And that's when I started holistic mom MD. And I started researching and trying to educate myself and, you know, listening to experts like yourself. And that's we're literally like why you guys are heroes to me, because I really feel that that just continued to add fuel to my flame that it was already going on. And then trying to figure out how I can with everything that I've learned, how can then I integrate that with my children, despite living, you know, crazy lives. And I mean, I feed a family of eight on a daily basis. And then on the weekend, it's like 20. And I this is the way I feed the way I eat is where I feed them. But and to really start doing this with the children. So I had been studying parenting because I made this promise, you know, that I promise I'm going to take care of these kids. So I was studying parenting, because that's what you would do, right? But then when I found an integrated holistic functional medicine, when you combine both those worlds, it blew my mind. And that's when I'm like, So 13 years of the making is this book, and to combine all the research that I've learned into one easy source. So that is my story. Unconditional love got me here. And that's where that's why I'm just wanting to spread this message to the world and show people. Oh, you keep making me want to cry. I just love it's no wonder I love your energy and love what you do because truly love is at the root. And that kind of design calling that time when you had said many in my life too, where it's like, God uses some circumstances horrendous and so brutal. And thank goodness, like I survived cancer, your 10 month old survive this situation. And all of these things are just massive catalysts for our passion. It's probably why when we run and say, Hello, we have this energy because there's a reason and a purpose behind our mission isn't there like a much deeper, much deeper. So much the same as you because it goes so much deeper. And you know, you mentioned the most important thing is unconditional love, like that, the core of all healing that we do in any way, shape or form. In fact, I believe with all my heart, I'm sure you do too. No healing can take place without the setting of some sort of a love foundation like. Oh, absolutely. And unfortunately, that's the one piece of the puzzle and conventional medicine. I mean, there's multiple, but that's one of the pieces that is totally right, right. We weren't allowed to get attached to the yes, patients, you know, and that's where it didn't make sense to me. I was like, no, but I love my patients. I was known as the hug doctor. Like I would hug. That's how I connected. And I really feel you're right. Absolutely right. That healing does come from there. Yeah. And then nowadays at the pandemic, of course, I mean, we're still masking public areas and all that. But I always ask patients, you know, can I touch you? Can I hug you? Could I, you know, but now I ask, but it's so interesting because I naturally just want to give a hug. So wow, what a story and how powerful because you're in it's so clear with what you do, how you speak, how you show up in the world that there's something greater behind it. So I'm not surprised at all because I can feel that from you. So then you've taken it and obviously written this book. So let's talk a little bit about first of all, how is it to be, you know, a full-time physician? You've got not just a physician, but you're an entrepreneur like me, right? We run well. And then your family and your children, how do you find balance and find what have you incorporated in your life personally? Because this is the thing that continues to day to day we learn, don't we? Oh, absolutely. You know, I'm not perfect. Me neither. Yeah, exactly. And we do our best we can. And I don't think long term. I'm like, okay, I mean, you know, I really look what can I do today to be the healthiest I can possibly be. And some days are good better than others, but you do the best you can. And you know, I do, I've, you know, because I have this mission, I have this drive, I have this passion, a divine calling, right? I really feel that God just opens up some of that time for you. And I'm very blessed. I'm very, very blessed that because I've been experimenting on four lab animals, and I was trying to use everything that I've learned for integrative holistic functional medicine, because their brains are working, and you can talk to them like real human beings. That decreases a lot of stress for, for a mom or working woman, when the people around them are there, are their bodies are able to function appropriately. There's less temper tantrums, there's no fighting, they're able to coordinate with you, you can just talk to them like real human being. So that's one key piece that I've noticed. But the other thing is older, tell us real quickly. Oh, yes. What your babies are. 13. Oh, so I just turned 14, a couple days ago, 14, 10, 8, and 6. Wow. So I have four boys. Yeah. And they, they actually help me in my mission, which is really cool. They call the children's book, and I think there's a story there. So there is, there's a children's books they help me with, they actually started a podcast called the Holistic Kids Show podcast, which we can't wait to have you on. Wow. And, and then they helped me, they understand, but really, where does that all come from is self care. Yeah. Right. Yeah. We have to, as moms, push away the side that you, you know, the thoughts that no, we there's, we have to first take care of everybody else besides for, no, they can learn. And once you prioritize that, I get my exercise, I get my meditation, I get my prayer, and I'm able to take my absence all bats or whatever, you know, things like that, that can really our self care for me, nature that I need. And, but the thing is I sometimes nature and stuff, I drag them along with me. But when we can all, when you are able to fill that cup, right, and only give what is out of the saucer, which I love that quote. That's it really does make a big difference. And that's how I'm able to do it. I'm very honored now. It didn't wasn't always like this, but because I will, I've been feeding everybody the way that I should. And my in-laws actually live with me and they're from a totally different world or from Pakistan. We even started a Facebook page Holistic Urdu MD, which literally grew, like, we've got millions of views over the course of the last couple months, because no, you know, so then they're helping me. So the kids are working now. And then I'm only feeding everybody in the house, but I would feed myself. So that's really, so it's the self care and trying to get everybody on board. The best thing we can, right? But the self care is really where it's at. And the gratitude. So I live, I do live a life of gratitude. We started our mornings with gratitude. We end our days with gratitude. I'm grateful as I walk the air that I breathe mindfulness and every I'm just very, very thankful. So trying to keep our subconscious instead of thinking negative all the time to thinking positive is my biggest secret. And modeling it obviously for your children. That's so huge because it's so easy to be negative or think about the worst or, you know, and just to model that for your children fast. I just love that. I didn't ask you about what birth order were you with your siblings? Were you middle oldest oldest? Of course, right? I thought so. Totally get it. And thank you for sharing your story. I just love, first of all, amazing parents. I mean, I just want to honor them. That is unbelievable what they have done for you and your siblings. Absolutely. So that's why I'm able to do some of this work that I'm doing. I have no debt. You know, my, my siblings have no debt. My husband has no debt. Wow. Therefore, we're able to sort of get out of that hamster wheel and really think outside the box. And so because I really feel they really because of the unconditional love all the sacrifices I'm able to really then spread this message to help others. So I believe in your right, a lot of even our patients and listeners or whatever they may not know, most physicians are ages in these decades have massive hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. Fortunately, kind of like you, I had some scholarships and opportunities and different things that I was able to graduate debt three to and it's exact same thing. It's such a, and I continue, I just thank God for that because I know what it's doing. But it's such an unbelievable thing because it really does. There's so many of our colleagues that make decisions based on Oh, gotta work for this hospital week because I'll get a certain salary or paycheck and they're miserable and they're not happy, but they've got this debt load that really enslaves them really to a thing that maybe they don't, you know, so thank goodness you and I do have a little bit of freedom there. So let's talk about children growing up, brains, inflammation, what we're seeing. My experience is that and again, you've reflected this, I want to hear your opinion. So many of our children are suffering like more and more that I don't have the statistics, but the numbers of children even under five that are diagnosed with things like depression bipolar, which how do you even decide a four year old has that? I mean, that just is bizarre to me. But what it is, the basis is diet, environmental, influence toxicity, infections that are contributing to inflammation of the brain and it can present with like you said, behavioral or so let's talk a little bit about children's brains. What do they need? What have you seen? Let's dive into that. Absolutely. Well, unfortunately, we as a humanity are getting sicker. Our world is getting sicker, right? The United Nations says we have 60 high risks left of soil that can be used because we're like destroyed it, right? And but what's really also concerning is that chronic disease has really quadrupled among children since 1960s. In 1994, one in eight children had a chronic health condition. Currently, the statistic is 54%. So one in every, you know, one or two American children. And they say if we continue with the current trajectory, 80% of American children will have a diagnosed chronic health condition by 2025. Wow. Just think about that. That's craziness. And now with this pandemic, it's actually things can be even accelerating CNN came out the report saying that in this pandemic alone, diabetes in children has doubled. Wow. Diabetes and children has doubled. Now, how crazy is that? Yeah. One in six American children have at least one neurodevelopmental disorder like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, specific learning disorders, communication, sensory processing disorders, ADHD has increased 167%. Wow. Wow. 167%. Just in this last year alone, they said that there's been a 20% increase rise in suicide and 40% increase rise in behavioral issues. So I'm like, oh, hey, why are these what's going on? Right? Why are our children sick, right? We're functional medicine physicians. We got to ask the why, what is the root cause here, right? And it's this imbalanced lifestyles because our children are living in balanced lifestyles, we're living in imbalanced lifestyles. And when it comes to, you know, what our child wants to wear and what they choose to eat, the decisions that they make, how they feel, is all dictated by their brain. So if the child is constantly making the wrong decisions, it makes our parenting a lot harder and destroys the world and their health. But if a child is constantly making the right decision, it makes our life and the planet and their health a lot easier and healthier. So, you know, that's parenting books. I mean, there's so many parenting books that have been written in the past, but they're not taking into account the sicker children that we have today because we are, I mean, the UNI when we were growing up, we don't have an, I don't know if anybody my age that really has autism. Yeah, you're right. Yeah, in my school class, there was no one, you know, there was nobody. So there's, there's a problem here. And so our brains are, you know, messed up. Our kids brains are really getting sicker and sicker. And specifically, if we were trying to get this, this generation healthier, we got to improve their lifestyles. And that is, we got to improve their brain function because there's an entire science called neuroeconomics, which is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to explain human decision making. And there's two main pieces, the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. The prefrontal cortex is the more developed part of the brain. It's responsible for rational decision-making skills, pros versus cons, and then able to look at the entire picture and, you know, make a rational decision. While the amygdala is a reactive part of the brain, right? And primitive fight and flight. And you actually need both of those pieces to work appropriately if you want your brain to work properly and to make a, to use a full brain to make a logical decision. But what's going on today? Our children's lifestyles are completely out of balance despite warnings of unhealthy diet, obesity. We're eating more fast food than ever before with increased, you know, junk food, limited diet variety that's really impacting and got microbiome, lack of sleep, lack of nature, lack of exercise and play, negative social environment, increased exposure to toxins inside and outside the home, all contributing to this imbalanced child and even inflammation, right? And so chronic inflammation really hijacks your child's brains. Our kids' brains have been hijacked, no, not by aliens, by their imbalanced lifestyles. Studies have actually shown that inflammation was found to decrease the strength between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, leading to a child that's unable to reuse the entire brain to make a logical decision. They're more angry, they're more violent, poorer social relationships, along with an us versus you mentality. And we know that science has actually proven that, you know, inflammation and behavior are so intimately connected. Yes. Yes. Researchers actually at Harvard and Columbia, they looked at a group of 4,000 children. And researchers found that those children at the age of eight that had emotional and behavioral problems, they checked their blood at the age of 10 and they had higher levels of two proteins, the CRP, the C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6, which is a pro-inflammatory cytokine, right? And so they actually showed that these children were inflammatory, like they had inflammation that was associated then with inflammation in adulthood, showing a potential childhood origin of adult inflammatory risk. Wow. So just behavioral issues and even prenatal inflammation led to behavioral problems. Researchers found that brain networks in babies can reflect the degree of inflammation their mothers were experiencing, even in pregnancy. That those mothers that had higher interleukin-6 levels during pregnancies, when they were assessed, when the child was assessed for working memory at the age of two, they actually scored less. Wow. And those are fine, but it's so important that people know this because and I always love the moms that want to, maybe they have one child or they are just getting ready to get pregnant in that pre-conception counseling because there's this window where if a mother wants to do some things for her health, they can make a massive difference on the lives of her children. So that's fascinating. Do you do pre-conception counseling? Do you talk to- Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Because there's so much that you can do at that stage. Even those people that are dealing with infertility, they just want to get pregnant. They just want to get pregnant. Not recognizing that, yes, you can get pregnant, maybe with the IVF and all these things, but your chances of having a sicker baby are a little bit higher because you're inflamed or have insulin resistance. So therefore, the child can have problems also. So it's really important to start getting them, even when they're just thinking about getting pregnant, working on their own selves first, and that they're unable to recognize that as, you know, this is time for me to work on myself because once I'm healthier, then I'll have you have a healthier baby. Absolutely. So what would you talk to? So say a mother's coming in just in the next six to 12 months, I want to have a baby. What are some of the things that we could do as physicians that our listeners might want to know about that would be helpful pre-conception? Well, the same thing. I think just to- we talk about all-infunctional medicine, right? Your digestive health, detoxification, the porous stress sleep, social and spiritual health, because if you can start to work on all of these pieces first on your own, it will be a lot easier once a child comes into the picture. Yeah. And you're able to, even when they come into the picture, it won't be too frustrating. Oh my gosh, where am I going to start? So if you can start with these, obviously we know food is medicine, right? And then detoxification. So working on your own health overall. You're back to that self-care, right? Yes, back to the self-care. Absolutely. So go with just a little bit more slowly. These are four S's. I like that a lot. Just briefly talk about each one because I think listeners would love to hear that, the social, the before the image, the sleep. Yes, stress, sleep, social and spiritual health. Right now, we are living- our children, all of us are living in a world of chronic stress, lack of nature, lack of exercise, constant negativity with minds constantly going, inability to sleep, negative social relationships that's all destroying the gut microbiome. And most importantly, the chronic stress kills the brain cells and the prefrontal cortex and makes them grow in the amygdala. So if we can start to incorporate those stress management techniques into our daily routine, that's going to help tremendously. And it's really important because, especially with that gratitude piece, I mean, we know nature heals, you know, we know mindfulness, meditation, but gratitude is super important. Oh, I couldn't agree more. Absolutely. So every one of my patients where I start with them is gratitude. Wow. Because science has proven over and over and over that gratitude and optimism strengthen the connection between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex, improving overall health and well-being. So in this world of negativity, it's even more important and critical to train our subconscious to be more positive. So practical on how I do that is immediately when you wake up in the morning, say 10 things that you're thankful for. Perhaps you'll really change your subconscious from instead of thinking negative to thinking positive. And that's what I've done with the kids also. I love it. You can't really do that on your own. Like what you were talking about preconception, if they're thinking about having children and you can still some of these things into your life because your child will follow into your footsteps. If this is part of your routine, it's easier to get this child then involved in your routine. Plus studies have also shown the benefit of stress and decreasing the inflammatory markers and turning genes on and off and the heart rate variability. I mean, there's so much there because when you live a life of frustration, your heart rate variability is all over the place. But when you live a life of appreciation, it's a nice sine wave. So gratitude and then incorporating, make sure you keep people around you that are going to lift you up, not drag you down. Making sure you optimize your sleep, your stress management with the meditation, mindfulness, yoga, going out in nature, and then obviously your food and detoxification. So simple things like that. Yeah. And so real quick, a question as you're talking about that, one thing I think about that is affecting our children is devices and social media. And there's a place for those. I'm not like against everything, but what we know to be true from the science is it does affect dopamine. It does affect amygdala. And it kind of trains us to have the next hit of dopamine, which is checking our every app on there that's successful has a built-in mechanism to get the dopamine hit, which is like an alert, which is why I turn off all the alerts on my phone, except messages or phone calls. And even then a lot of times I put it on silence. That has been in the last two, three, maybe five years, one of the best things ever, because I don't get dings. I don't get, and what happens when we get that ding to check, you know, Instagram or social media or even messages, we are trained. It's a training like Pavlov of respond. And there's a dopamine hit. Oh, there's a message from so-and-so. And so we get in this loop and we get used to being hit by that. I think poor children are 10 times worse with the amount of times they are on devices and phones. What do you do with your family and children to like allow them to be in the world and not totally outside of it and yet to not have that any tips or tricks for children with devices and these kinds of dopamine? Yes, absolutely. You know, we know that when we're dealing with stresses, right, we are trying to get those dopamine hits. And unfortunately, kids and teenagers, brains have more dopamine receptors. So they're more easily addicted to these more pleasurable responses. And what I do in my own house is just like what I do with everything else is really try to role model this type of behavior. Yeah. And it's, you know, role modeling this, talking to them about it, because what I sort of coined in this book is all about holistic parenting. Love it. And holistic parenting is all about, you know, because we're mind body soul, our children are mind body soul. So holistic parenting can help nurture a child's mind body soul from the inside out with the skills that they need for emotional intelligence, enduring deep friendships and making correct decisions, managing stress and being able to be resilient all throughout life, no matter what life throws at you, including with these social devices. So if you can raise a child like with what I try to do is mindful children. So mindfulness really allows us to see our internal and external words world clearly showing us how best to respond and be fully aware of money, money, multiple different levels of perception all at once. So it's really all about educating and empowering our children to be more mindful of their bodies and their minds and their emotions and their social lives and their environment. So that that's really does come into play when we're talking about devices. Because are we trying to hit this device because we're stressed and now we just kind of get these dopamine hits. So if I can really incorporate a stress management technique into my child's daily routine and have them understand what their bodies feel like when it's in balance and to recognize when it's starting to go off balance and correct it completely on their own without you bribing them. Yes. Yes. It is so powerful. Like for example, my 10, 10 year old, I'll walk in. I walked in one day and he was actually meditating on his own. And I was like, when I asked him, I'm like, Oh, I saw you meditating. That's awesome. Like, what was going on? And he goes, Oh, mama, I just, I just felt a little agitated and stressed because I have like a test and things and I have a lot of going on. I wanted to balance my nervous system. I'm like, what? Right. So when you have children and my seven year old, same thing with my seven year old, I walked down and he was eating a bowl of sauerkraut. And I was like, what are, oh, why are you eating a bowl of sauerkraut? It was mama, I woke up this morning and my tummy and I felt a little agitated. And I think it was from the organic sugar that I had at Nana's house yesterday. And that didn't go, I don't feel good after that. So I came and I wanted to keep my good, my bugs in my belly happy. So therefore I'm eating the sauerkraut. So because of my bugs and my, my friends can, they call them their friends, my friends feel better, I'll feel better. And I was like, wow. And that's how I first, when I started learning and because they're seeing me put my body in back into balance, so same then with social media. You want them social media, you want them to create a healthy balance. Because you can give the child all the autonomy in the world. But the thing is, if their brains are unable to make those correct decisions, because their prefrontal cortex and the amygdala are disconnected, then they're going to be, then they're going to be addicted. They're not going to be able to recognize when things are too much or too less and how it's making them feel. So really starting there. And I've, because I've been doing this for a while. And now my kids understand what it feels to be off balance. And then we sit down and really discuss, okay, I mean, my, he's 14 years old, he that we have no, right now they don't have any iPhones or iPads. They do have television that they can watch. We have a set time for that, whatever they want to watch together. Right. And, but if they do, if, you know, my oldest is now he's trying to make YouTube channels and doing the holistic kitchen and creating videos on food and lifestyle. So yes, they're a little bit more fast to help me write books. But you really want to have this conversation, an open, honest conversation with the children on, you know, what the limits are and then have real life consequences. And just keep it really transparent when I'm on my device. I'm able to, you know, tell them that, oh, this is what I'm doing on here. So I'm transparent. They're transparent because they know that sleep is important. All these things are important. They're able to prioritize that. So they have a set time that they're on their devices only or the television. And they're so funny when this last pandemic, every one of them had like a blue light glasses on. I love it. Even now they do that. Because what you're saying is like, you give them a lot of autonomy, but you still have structure because I think there's, there's a couple views of this. You can have all the autonomy of the world do whatever you want and no rules and structure, but children actually feel more safe when they have some boundaries and it doesn't have to be restrictive. But then at the same time, you're modeling and you're teaching and you're allowing them like your stories about your seven and 10 year old. I love that because they have owned and it's the same way with patients, isn't it? When they come and they're overwhelmed and they don't know how food is making them feel. I always feel like one of the first things I can do is help them connect back with their food and understand what food makes them feel good and what food makes them feel bad. And when they own that, you don't have to tell them what to eat, right? You don't decide and they might decide to eat something like gluten or dairy or sugar that makes them feel poorly. But then they decide, is it worth it? But it's their decision, not ours. And the more just like your children that we can connect them to the social media or the television or the nature for a good fit, how those things make them feel, then they can decide. And that's where the mindfulness comes in. Absolutely. That's where the mindfulness comes in. Like, what do I want to do? And I mean, there is an entire world called discipline, right? And discipline actually means to teach in Latin. And it's just this range of ways a parent can interact and teach their child to understand what is expected of them. So then the child is then able to make a good thought out decision. And so discipline is like a set of tools and guidelines that help to set up a child up to allow their prefrontal cortex. Because remember, their brains are not fully developed. So kids need that structure. So yes, I'm so glad you brought that up. But then, you know, we come up with those rules together. So I want to rule modeling these types of behaviors. I love that. You basically are talking to them as an adult. Getting to say, what would make sense to you if we have this consequence? Yes. Yes. Love it. I'm like an adult. I don't think we give kids enough credit. They can, I mean, we don't think they can figure out what's, because my kids know exactly what, when they take a bite of food, what happens to their gut? What happens to the insulin levels? How it makes them feel they're able to engage it and then read ingredients. They're able to look at the ingredients and see. Wow. And they know exactly what happens when. And so really, we got to give them enough credit, treat them like adults. They can do video games and all these other complex things they can figure out. Right. Right. I love that. And I love it because I know some adults and colleagues and people that maybe as children had zero structure and it's traumatic. So there's this happy medium because that structure gives the feeling of safety and protection. And it doesn't have to be, I mean, it's just like you said, like talking to them about what would make sense in the consequences, engaging them. And actually really at the core, you're showing them respect like, Hey, you might be a younger version of an adult, but you are still someone that I respect. And I want to hear what you have to say and what you think about this. That's beautiful. And then when it's, when they start, like, let's say there's a problem. Instead of looking at it as, Oh my God, this is terrible. We have to fight this. This is, you know, just like what we do with chronic health conditions. We don't want to ever fight anything. Right. We're going to look to see where your child is out of balance. You know, are they lonely? Attention, housing, nutrition, their stress, their sleep, their gratitude, you know, all of those things that can really empower a person and not just feel like they're totally out of control. And they have to leave everything up to chance that there's so much that we can do as parents because a child is born into this world with millions of different cells, but very limited connections. And every touch, every hug, every conversation, you know, every food, the food that you put on your body, the stressors, their sleep, their social, their spiritual health has the power to mold our children's brains and bodies for the better. Yeah. So it's important that your family's daily routine and talking to them like adults and respecting them, just like what we do with anybody else, really can do wonders. And it really puts a lot of power back in their hands, saying that if I feel like this, this is what I can do to help. I'm back in charge of my own health. Well, you're right. Because you empower them because all of a sudden they know, oh, I feel badly. Many children are like, I feel badly. I don't know what to do or they don't even know how to put that into words. But when you're talking to them, not only can they identify what they're feeling, but then they have choices of what they get. And they may choose one time something that helps and another time something that doesn't. But each time they learn, this worked last time or this didn't work last time. Absolutely. And it's a learning curve. We're all learning. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to get back on. And if you continue to have these conversations, just like adults, just like we would do with our patients, with our children, they'll pick it up. They'll pick it up. And now it's so cute. They have, I'm literally, they're doing on their podcast, the Holistic Kids Show podcast. They're interviewing like Dr. Terry Walls. Can you imagine like having a conversation with Dr. Terry Walls? This is like when I first started, she was like, I would love to do that. And so they were having an intellectual conversation. Even my 12, at that time, he was 12. 12 year old is pulling out studies. And he's like, I'm like, wait, wait, that wasn't in the notes that we talked about. They pick it up. They pick it up subconsciously. That is unbelievable. I can't wait to start watching. Well, where can people find you? Tell us more about your book because I'll include all of the links. But I want to very much make sure people can find you and your information if they want healthy families. So yes, there we go. Tell us all about this. This is the Holistic Our Expert Kids, Parenting Healthy Brains and Bodies in a Changing World that really dives into the science and the practicality because I live this lifestyle. So it's all my 13 years of experience all into one medical and personal. And so it first dives into why our children, what's going on with our children today and how what we can do with holistic parenting to optimize your child at any age with those tools that they need to live a healthy lifestyle. And then I even talk about Holistic Mom MDs, Functional Integrative Holistic Medicine approach to your child's chronic health condition. And then recipes that work at my house along with, you know, wild child checks. You know how you remember a wild child checks to remember. We would give this paper. We had no idea how to raise kids. You just need this paper. But I actually put together, even in residency, I actually put this together on how to optimize a child's brain and body, emotional, physical, psychological, spiritual at each stage of development. Because at that stage of development, especially the first three years is really important. And so that's from ages two months to three years, I have those wild child check sheets in here, along with resources and recipes and so much more. So this is yes, and I'm endorsed by all these amazing human beings. So and then then I have the Children's Book series. And the first one is called the first one that I did was Adam's Healing Adventures, the power that this is from sickness to health. And that goes through like these digestive health detoxification, the stress sleep, social, spiritual health. But then I'm like the next one needs to be of all the foods the kids can eat. Oh, love, love, love. Yes. Yes. So it's literally, it's for ages six to 11, because that's an age that I wanted to them really give. So it's not like a book just like, Oh, color red. I wanted to give them information so they can really use that and empower them that each stage of, you know, all of these different colors of the of our foods, like we have our reds. I love it. And the oranges and the yellows and the greens. And really Adam's talking about all the different types of foods, different colors of the rainbow. Oh, amazing. And the benefits. And then my next one's going to be on gratitude. Oh, good. Oh, I love that timing. And it sounds like your children have helped you with the book. Oh, they actually sat down and my seven year old, mind you, sat in my lap and wrote this entire book out. Wow. Oh, my God. And then I failed in the blanks. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, he's seven years old. But the outline, Mama, he was eating too much sugar. Adam was eating too much sugar. And then he was agitated and irritable. And now instead of sugar, his fans are going to do some to healthier, prettier, delicious, nutritious options for that are sweet and nutritious. Wow, I love it. They help me with it. And that's why we've turned my mission into our mission. That's the best thing about this is you've got your whole family involved. And where is your where can you find you? I'm sure your website, I'm sure that this is on Amazon, too. But what is your website? Let's be sure and let's take mom MD.com. Perfect. Awesome. Well, as I expected, this was absolutely delightful. And thank you for your time. I will be sure and share the links. And hopefully we can see each other in person at a conference one of these days soon. Yes, absolutely. Definitely. And then I got to invite you over. You're gonna have dinner in my house, lunch, brunch. Next time I'm in Chicago, I'm over. Yes, please. I love it. It's like literally my love language. I would be delighted to be your family. We'll have a great evening. Thank you so much for your time. Oh my God, my honor, my pleasure. Thank you for all the work that you do. You are.