I get asked this question a lot, and rightly so. As a father of two young children, I want to know with a high level of certainty that anything they put into their mouths will be good for them and at the very least, not harm them in any way. That is one of the reasons I like to use amino acid therapy and/or nutritional approaches with children as opposed to mediations or even herbal preparations – used as directed, they are completely safe for long term use.
The reason for this is simple; we are giving the body the building blocks it needs to restore optimal function. The amino acids and nutrients we recommend are the same as those found in food, only in different ratios and/or amounts. The body can then use those amino acids and nutrients to make the necessary brain chemicals to correct improper function.
It would be great if we could just get all the nutrients we needed from food. The unfortunate reality is that even though fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains, healthy meats, fish and legumes are good for us, none of them contain the exact right balance of nutrients each of us needs for optimal neurotransmitter function if an imbalance is present. Luckily, there are supplemental forms of these amino acids, vitamins and minerals available that we can use, along with functional testing, to determine the exact right combination for each person, no matter their age.
We have worked with children as young as 6 months old using amino acid therapy and we routinely see kids aged 6-15 years old. While age and weight are often not good predictors of the final formula needed, we do start at lower doses with children and use functional testing to help guide us to the exact right combination for these kids. In this way, we can insure that they are getting only what they need and can take as few supplements as possible.
