Strategies for Protecting Your Child's Immune System

Tools for Parents and Parents-To-Be

Strategies for Protecting Your Child's Immune System is the first book to focus on prevention of environmental damage to the immune system of embryos, babies and older children. It provides expecting and existing parents, their families and physicians with science-based information to protect and proactively manage their child's immune system. Environmental exposures (pollutants, allergens, drugs, diet, physical factors) in the home, school and community can damage the developing immune system and increase the risk of lifelong chronic diseases such as allergies, asthma, type 1 diabetes, celiac disease and neurological problems. This book imparts specific tools to parents and their physicians to help keep the early-life immune system out of harm's way and minimize environmental health risk.

Contents:

• The Basic Science:

  • Toxicology 101
  • What's the Risk
  • The Risk Exercises
  • Introduction to the Immune System
  • How the Immune System Develops
  • The Special Conditions of Pregnancy and the Immune System
  • The Healthy Immune System at Work
  • The Dysfunctional Immune System and Its Features
  • Avenues for Immune Exposure
  • Diseases Stemming From Prenatal and Early Life Toxic Exposures
  • The Disease Progression Matrix
  • Categories of Environmental, Physical and Psychological Factors

• Specific Strategies:

  • Prenatal Strategies for Preventing Immune System Damage
  • Strategies to Use During the First Few Years of Life
  • Undoing the Damage of the Past in Adulthood

• Specific Factors:

  • Top 25 Risks
  • Other Risk Factors
  • Postnatal Triggers of Disease — Infections
  • Postnatal Triggers of Disease — Vaccinations
  • Dietary Factors That Affect the Immune System
  • Hygiene and Pets

• Safety Testing:

  • Developmental Immunotoxicity Testing — Past, Present and Future

Readership: Parents, family members, pediatricians, obstetricians and gynecologists, nutritionists, family doctors, complementary health providers, teachers, college and medical students, and general readers.
Key Features:

• Learn why babies are at specific risk for allergies, asthma and infections
• Learn why pregnancy and the first two years of a baby's life are critical times to protect you child's immune system
• Learn the do's and don'ts of the home, workplace and school environment for your child's immune wellbeing