Complementary Health Approaches For Kids

Everywhere we look these days, dietary supplements, home remedies, or mind and body practices claim to be the next best thing to cure ailments and improve wellness.

- Liz Rothaus Bertrand

According to the 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the number of adults and kids using at least some complementary health approach is on the rise. Between 2012 and 2017, the percentage of children practicing yoga more than doubled, and the rate of children practicing meditation increased from 0.6 percent to 5.4 percent.

From bone broths to yoga, here’s a look at a variety of complementary health approaches with expert advice on their safety and effectiveness.

Defining Complementary Health

More people are using complementary health approaches, but what are they, exactly?

“Complementary health approaches are using the body’s immune system and strengthening the body’s own resources to fight illness rather than (using) medication,” says Dr. Maria-Ana Temple of Integrative Health Carolinas. As a pediatrician trained in both conventional and functional medicine, she focuses on nutrition and lifestyle with an emphasis on prevention. “We begin with a complementary approach from birth.”

Integrative medicine uses the best of both worlds, explains Dr. Sheila Kilbane of Infinite Health. After finishing her medical residency, she grew frustrated as she repeatedly prescribed antacids for 3-month-old babies, steroids for eczema, or saw patients with recurrent bouts of colic, sinus infections, and constipation. “I knew I was just putting a Band-Aid on this stuff and I knew that I had to look deeper,” she says.