WEBVTT - Dr Leila Masson: Our children are chronically stressed 0:00:05.721 --> 0:00:09.401 You're listening to the Weekend Collective podcast from News Talks 0:00:09.441 --> 0:00:09.841 It by. 0:00:24.921 --> 0:00:29.041 And does Her on the floor, Love is the Bathroom 0:00:29.161 --> 0:00:31.041 and outside. 0:00:30.561 --> 0:00:35.401 The Door, Mad Nights and a mirror this girl. 0:00:36.441 --> 0:00:41.801 And that's another reason why at all I think my 0:00:42.001 --> 0:00:48.161 wicked dreams. Are you from Tennessee. O Santa Monica, You've 0:00:48.201 --> 0:00:51.881 been too good to me. I'll make my mama bron 0:00:52.401 --> 0:00:56.321 It's gonna cause a scene. She sees her baby girl, 0:00:56.841 --> 0:00:58.361 I know she's gonna sky. 0:00:59.361 --> 0:01:02.081 Yes. Welcome back to the show. This is the Weekend Collective. 0:01:02.081 --> 0:01:04.201 If you've just joined us on Tim Beverage a fascinating 0:01:04.241 --> 0:01:07.481 conversation with those well from our new guest from on 0:01:07.521 --> 0:01:09.601 the Property hour on the One Roof Radio show. If 0:01:09.641 --> 0:01:11.721 you've missed any of the previous hours, do go and 0:01:11.841 --> 0:01:14.841 check out our podcast or for the Weekend Collective wherever 0:01:14.881 --> 0:01:17.721 you get your podcasts, or on iHeartRadio or simple I 0:01:17.881 --> 0:01:20.841 used to go to the News Talks b website. And 0:01:20.881 --> 0:01:23.241 now we actually have another guest, a new guest joining 0:01:23.321 --> 0:01:26.681 us for the Parents Squad, and we're going to be 0:01:26.721 --> 0:01:29.361 having a chat about well, actually I'll introduce this straight 0:01:29.441 --> 0:01:31.601 up actually, because she's a new guest on the show. 0:01:31.801 --> 0:01:36.001 She's a pediatrician and author of Children's Health A to 0:01:36.201 --> 0:01:39.521 Z and she's joining us actually from Australia over the zoom. 0:01:39.761 --> 0:01:42.881 And her name is doctor Layla Mason get a chef 0:01:43.001 --> 0:01:44.641 suddenly having a panic that I might have used the 0:01:44.681 --> 0:01:45.121 wrong name. 0:01:45.321 --> 0:01:45.641 Layla. 0:01:45.721 --> 0:01:48.841 Hello, Hi, nice speaking with you. 0:01:49.441 --> 0:01:52.161 So tell us a little bit about yourself and how 0:01:52.241 --> 0:01:54.441 you got into what made you write a book for 0:01:54.841 --> 0:01:55.281 this thing? 0:01:56.681 --> 0:02:00.081 Well, I am a pediatrician, so I worked with children 0:02:00.281 --> 0:02:03.561 and I used to do that in Auckland for fifteen years. 0:02:04.081 --> 0:02:10.281 And just listen, you have moved to Australia. Well, actually 0:02:10.361 --> 0:02:12.721 I have moved eight years ago, a little bit longer 0:02:12.961 --> 0:02:16.641 when my kids moved over here for university, so I 0:02:16.681 --> 0:02:19.961 just wanted to be close to them. But I wrote 0:02:19.961 --> 0:02:23.241 this book as for my patients, first of all, because 0:02:23.281 --> 0:02:26.121 I always got lots of questions about what my child 0:02:26.161 --> 0:02:27.921 as a fever, what do I do my child has 0:02:28.561 --> 0:02:31.841 examine my child has an ear infection, you know, So 0:02:32.041 --> 0:02:34.721 I thought, if I give my book, I don't have 0:02:34.761 --> 0:02:39.601 to answer all those emails anymore. And then it's become 0:02:39.681 --> 0:02:42.521 quite popular for of course, people who are not my patients. 0:02:43.001 --> 0:02:46.081 And what I'm trying to do is really give parents 0:02:46.441 --> 0:02:50.641 practical information how to treat common childhood illnesses in an 0:02:50.641 --> 0:02:54.881 effective but also very natural way. And I want them 0:02:54.921 --> 0:02:58.121 to become their child's own health detective and kind of 0:02:58.161 --> 0:03:00.961 figure out what can they do to prevent their children 0:03:00.961 --> 0:03:03.201 from getting sick, what can they do so the children 0:03:03.241 --> 0:03:06.961 don't get one virus after there or you know, I 0:03:07.001 --> 0:03:08.961 know we're going to talk maybe also about some mental 0:03:09.001 --> 0:03:09.721 health issues. 0:03:09.921 --> 0:03:12.561 What are the biggest I don't know how long you've 0:03:12.601 --> 0:03:15.121 been practicing as a pediatrician. How many years is it 0:03:15.161 --> 0:03:16.921 that since you've started medicine. 0:03:16.681 --> 0:03:17.801 Been thirty years? 0:03:17.881 --> 0:03:18.681 Thirty years? 0:03:19.681 --> 0:03:25.561 So how much has children's health changed, not in terms 0:03:25.561 --> 0:03:27.921 of the remedies available, but in terms of what you 0:03:28.001 --> 0:03:32.361 see coming through the door of your surgery. 0:03:32.521 --> 0:03:37.401 Well, I think you know, the common childhood most common 0:03:37.441 --> 0:03:41.161 things are still infections, allergies, those kind of things, and 0:03:41.401 --> 0:03:44.641 that's what parents have to deal with mostly, you know, 0:03:45.361 --> 0:03:48.241 but pediatricians don't see that so much. As pediatricians were 0:03:48.321 --> 0:03:55.801 seeing more and more mental health issues given with anxiety, ADHD, autism, depression, 0:03:56.041 --> 0:03:56.961 those kind of things. 0:03:57.321 --> 0:04:01.721 Is that also because is it because we have more 0:04:01.761 --> 0:04:04.321 cases of it? Or is because we are diagnosing it 0:04:04.361 --> 0:04:06.761 more as well. How's the balance for how would you 0:04:06.801 --> 0:04:10.241 describe that sort of trend with autism and ADHD et cetera. 0:04:11.721 --> 0:04:15.481 Well, I think it's a combination of both. I also 0:04:15.601 --> 0:04:20.601 think that there is a true increase because of our lifestyle. 0:04:21.281 --> 0:04:25.081 So for example, let's take anxiety. One in fourteen children 0:04:25.161 --> 0:04:28.601 now have a diagnosis of anxiety, and you know, many 0:04:28.601 --> 0:04:31.641 many children haven't gotten their diagnosis because I haven't been 0:04:31.681 --> 0:04:35.961 able to find a doctor to diagnose them. So it's 0:04:36.001 --> 0:04:38.721 become a huge thing, especially since COVID, and I think 0:04:38.761 --> 0:04:42.201 our lifestyle has changed quite a bit, so you know, 0:04:42.281 --> 0:04:44.281 I mean when I was a child, we were outside 0:04:44.721 --> 0:04:49.361 running around, there were no screens. There weren't as many 0:04:49.401 --> 0:04:55.881 packaged foods available there. So nowadays, you know, kids, there 0:04:55.881 --> 0:04:59.521 are so many studies out on that if children don't 0:04:59.721 --> 0:05:02.361 move and spend a lot of time on screens, it 0:05:02.441 --> 0:05:06.441 increases their risk of anxiety depression ADHD. All of those 0:05:06.481 --> 0:05:09.121 things that is happening. 0:05:09.241 --> 0:05:12.521 One is ADHD something that you can develop, because my 0:05:12.841 --> 0:05:16.641 lay person's understanding is that you would have it sort 0:05:16.681 --> 0:05:19.281 of as a result of just the way you're, you know, 0:05:19.521 --> 0:05:21.521 just the way you are, rather than can are you 0:05:21.561 --> 0:05:24.881 saying ADHD can be a result of your environment. 0:05:25.961 --> 0:05:29.841 So ADHD is a totally subjective diagnosis. You go through 0:05:29.921 --> 0:05:35.001 a checklist of twenty questions and those you know, if 0:05:35.001 --> 0:05:38.201 a child that doesn't pay attention as hyperactive, that could 0:05:38.241 --> 0:05:42.081 be due to so many different reasons. For example, if 0:05:42.081 --> 0:05:44.921 a child is iron deficient, they're not going to sleep well. 0:05:45.361 --> 0:05:47.161 If they're not sleeping well, they're not going to be 0:05:47.241 --> 0:05:50.601 able to focus and pay attention. If they have low iron, 0:05:50.641 --> 0:05:52.681 they're going to be hyperactive, They're not going to be 0:05:52.681 --> 0:05:56.201 able to have a good memory. So there are there 0:05:56.281 --> 0:06:00.841 are genetic pedispositions for ADHD. It certainly runs on families, 0:06:00.921 --> 0:06:01.681 but it's not. 0:06:03.081 --> 0:06:05.681 Given because there is I think that's probably one of 0:06:05.681 --> 0:06:07.881 the things that one of the problems is that well given, 0:06:07.921 --> 0:06:11.241 because we all have access to the Internet and social media, 0:06:11.401 --> 0:06:15.681 people use words like aspergers and ADHD and autism interchangeably, 0:06:15.761 --> 0:06:17.721 don't they, and which is wrong? 0:06:18.001 --> 0:06:18.321 Correct? 0:06:18.601 --> 0:06:21.721 It's wrong? Yeah, I mean Aspridges doesn't actually exist anymore 0:06:21.761 --> 0:06:25.001 as a diagnosis because recently it's become clear that he 0:06:25.121 --> 0:06:27.761 was a Nazi, so his name is kind of canceled. 0:06:28.441 --> 0:06:31.441 So now we have high functioning autism for the kids 0:06:31.441 --> 0:06:34.401 who used to be diagnosed with aspridges and then we 0:06:34.481 --> 0:06:39.281 have other levels of autism that's very, very different from ADHD. 0:06:39.521 --> 0:06:42.921 You know, autism is more of a social you know, interaction. 0:06:43.761 --> 0:06:45.961 How do you interact as people? Do you make eye contact, 0:06:46.001 --> 0:06:48.881 do you read facial expressions? Do you have sensory issues? 0:06:48.921 --> 0:06:51.281 You know, do you get overwhelmed by too much sound 0:06:51.361 --> 0:06:56.561 and light? And do you have repetitive behaviors and obsessions 0:06:56.561 --> 0:06:59.201 with certain things like you know, wanting to know everything 0:06:59.241 --> 0:07:06.081 about trains and ADHD is really about focused concentration and behavior. 0:07:06.321 --> 0:07:10.201 Yeah, So let's talk about the anxiety thing, because that's 0:07:10.401 --> 0:07:13.241 I mean, I think every parent is worried about their 0:07:13.321 --> 0:07:16.001 children and anxiety and how they're coping with the environment. 0:07:16.201 --> 0:07:18.681 I've had a chat with obviously through the course of 0:07:18.721 --> 0:07:22.241 the show, with people and counselors and people who deal 0:07:22.281 --> 0:07:26.641 in the world of psychology, and how much of the 0:07:26.681 --> 0:07:31.881 increase in anxiety is down to just kids with their 0:07:31.921 --> 0:07:35.241 heads and their phone pinning their self esteem to how 0:07:35.241 --> 0:07:38.281 many likes they got of their last post and Instagram. 0:07:37.721 --> 0:07:38.161 And all that. 0:07:38.961 --> 0:07:41.721 It seems so easy to blame devices, but it also 0:07:41.761 --> 0:07:45.561 seems like they are possibly massive culprits in that and 0:07:45.881 --> 0:07:46.601 that side of things. 0:07:47.401 --> 0:07:50.641 I think they are. I think social media and screen 0:07:50.681 --> 0:07:55.841 time in itself are a huge contributor to anxiety. And also, 0:07:56.281 --> 0:07:59.641 you know, because they'd stop you from moving. So when 0:07:59.641 --> 0:08:02.521 you think about how we are involved as humans, we're 0:08:02.561 --> 0:08:05.801 above as hunter gatherers. So we were talking all day, 0:08:05.801 --> 0:08:09.241 we were moving, and when we had a stressful event, 0:08:09.401 --> 0:08:13.121 like if a light approached, we would get a surge 0:08:13.121 --> 0:08:16.841 of cortisol and adrenaline, and that was to get all 0:08:16.881 --> 0:08:19.041 our blood to our muscles so we could run away 0:08:19.081 --> 0:08:22.121 from the danger. And then when you run, your muscles 0:08:22.121 --> 0:08:25.561 actually break down the stress hormones, the adrenaline and the cortico. 0:08:26.081 --> 0:08:30.761 But nowadays kids get stressed, you know, whether it is 0:08:30.881 --> 0:08:33.601 because of what's going on in the family, or bullying 0:08:34.001 --> 0:08:38.321 or difficulty at school, or as you say, the you know, 0:08:38.401 --> 0:08:41.561 self esteem on social media, comparing yourself to someone who's 0:08:41.601 --> 0:08:47.041 totally unrealistic, and they get that those stress hormones, but 0:08:47.121 --> 0:08:50.841 they don't run, so the muscles can actually not break 0:08:50.881 --> 0:08:54.201 down the stress hormones, and then the stress becomes chronic 0:08:54.961 --> 0:08:58.121 and then you get that severe anxiety or you know, 0:08:58.321 --> 0:09:01.601 just stress. So I think that's a huge thing. And 0:09:01.641 --> 0:09:08.401 then also, on average, children lack about thirty seven minutes 0:09:08.441 --> 0:09:11.441 of sleep every single night, and that you accumulate the 0:09:11.561 --> 0:09:14.281 sleep deficit over time. It's like a bank account where 0:09:14.321 --> 0:09:17.801 every day you go thirty to seven minutes further down 0:09:17.841 --> 0:09:20.121 and down and down, and you can't really make up 0:09:20.161 --> 0:09:23.481 for that unless you sleep more. And that lack of 0:09:23.601 --> 0:09:27.161 sleep affects the brain because only if you go have 0:09:27.401 --> 0:09:30.241 enough sleep, you will go into the deep sleep where 0:09:30.241 --> 0:09:33.961 your brain goes through something like a washing cycle where 0:09:34.001 --> 0:09:36.321 it cleans itself of all the debris from the day, 0:09:36.401 --> 0:09:39.401 from all the thinking and stress and so on. And 0:09:39.441 --> 0:09:41.521 if you don't do that, your brain is not going 0:09:41.601 --> 0:09:44.321 to function, but it's going to become inflamed. And an 0:09:44.401 --> 0:09:47.601 unflamed brain again can be anxious depressed, you know, depending 0:09:47.601 --> 0:09:51.961 on where the inflammation is, it can cause mental health issues. 0:09:53.401 --> 0:09:56.321 Wow, there's so many questions that are coming to my 0:09:56.401 --> 0:09:58.441 mind about dealing with anxiety. 0:09:58.521 --> 0:10:00.161 Does that make I mean, when it comes to the 0:10:00.201 --> 0:10:01.841 lack of sleep, let's just look at that one. 0:10:02.441 --> 0:10:05.521 Is that what's the cause of kids get a lack 0:10:05.561 --> 0:10:08.481 of sleep and you will view and experience. 0:10:08.121 --> 0:10:12.441 Well, I think once again, the screens are a big thing. 0:10:12.681 --> 0:10:15.801 You know, kids want to take their screens into their 0:10:15.841 --> 0:10:18.681 bedroom and that they stay up because one thing is 0:10:18.681 --> 0:10:21.921 the blue light from the screen actually hits their retina, 0:10:22.081 --> 0:10:25.881 the back of their eye, and stops them from producing melatonin, 0:10:26.121 --> 0:10:29.801 the hormone that makes us sleepy. So the recommendation is 0:10:29.841 --> 0:10:33.201 to come off all screens two hours before bedtime. But 0:10:33.441 --> 0:10:35.521 which teenager is going to do that, you know, unless 0:10:35.521 --> 0:10:40.161 they're really reasonable. So my recommendation is always to as 0:10:40.201 --> 0:10:43.241 a family, from dinner time onwards, you put all the 0:10:43.281 --> 0:10:47.441 devices away. Some family even get a timed lock box 0:10:47.481 --> 0:10:50.641 where you put all your phones and whatever you want 0:10:50.681 --> 0:10:53.521 to not get into into the lock box and you 0:10:53.561 --> 0:10:55.721 put a time on and you cannot open that lock 0:10:55.761 --> 0:10:58.681 box for whatever, ten hours, twelve hours, however long you 0:10:59.441 --> 0:11:02.401 time it. And that makes a huge difference because then 0:11:02.441 --> 0:11:06.041 suddenly you just rediscovered that their board game, that they're books, 0:11:06.081 --> 0:11:08.721 that you could just sit together as a family and talk, 0:11:09.321 --> 0:11:11.441 you can write a journal, you know, all of these 0:11:11.481 --> 0:11:13.321 things help to reduce anxiety. 0:11:14.241 --> 0:11:16.641 Would you treat TV as the same sort of thing 0:11:16.721 --> 0:11:18.841 or is that different? So for instance, tonight, we're going 0:11:19.001 --> 0:11:19.841 I'm going home. 0:11:19.681 --> 0:11:21.401 And it's my daughter's bed and she wants to watch 0:11:21.401 --> 0:11:24.921 a movie together and have pizza. That is that different 0:11:25.001 --> 0:11:27.121 to being stuck on your phone. 0:11:28.321 --> 0:11:30.561 It's different if you're going to do it as a family. 0:11:31.281 --> 0:11:33.401 You know, it's a social time, you're going to discuss 0:11:33.441 --> 0:11:36.561 the movie. It's it's that's very different. But it's still 0:11:36.641 --> 0:11:39.041 that blue light. You still have that. So I wouldn't 0:11:39.081 --> 0:11:45.121 say that it's okay every night to watch commissionercasionally. Yeah, 0:11:45.161 --> 0:11:48.161 And I mean I think it's like going to a 0:11:48.201 --> 0:11:50.441 movie once in a while or watching a movie together 0:11:50.481 --> 0:11:53.881 as a family on TV. That's that's different from that 0:11:54.121 --> 0:11:56.521 constant you know, having your phone in your pocket and 0:11:56.601 --> 0:12:00.201 the minute you have time you live it out and 0:12:00.201 --> 0:12:02.681 and and check what's happened on social media? What have 0:12:02.761 --> 0:12:03.241 you missed? 0:12:03.841 --> 0:12:04.321 So what now? 0:12:04.521 --> 0:12:06.761 And that's refer Sorry, there's so much to talk about. 0:12:06.801 --> 0:12:08.681 But by the way, if you're listening, we'd love to 0:12:08.681 --> 0:12:11.001 hear from you. If you've got any questions about your 0:12:11.081 --> 0:12:14.161 child's health or something you you know you want to 0:12:14.201 --> 0:12:17.201 head off at the past. And for every parent out there, 0:12:17.481 --> 0:12:20.841 everyone wants their kids to be free from anxiety or 0:12:20.881 --> 0:12:22.721 at least have the resilience to be able to deal 0:12:22.761 --> 0:12:26.521 with it. My guest is Lala Mason. She is a 0:12:26.521 --> 0:12:30.921 pediatrician and also author of the book Children's Health. Aight 0:12:31.161 --> 0:12:34.161 z I think it's It's for sale right around the 0:12:34.161 --> 0:12:35.201 country in New Zealand, isn't it. 0:12:35.201 --> 0:12:36.681 Leila, Yes, it is. 0:12:36.881 --> 0:12:38.561 It's just come out excellent. 0:12:38.881 --> 0:12:41.721 Look we we will take a break now, but if 0:12:41.761 --> 0:12:43.121 we'd love to hear from you, if you've got any 0:12:43.201 --> 0:12:48.121 questions around your child's health and question marks you've got, 0:12:48.241 --> 0:12:50.041 or if you simply want a bit of advice on 0:12:50.201 --> 0:12:52.481 trying to hit some of these problems off before they 0:12:52.521 --> 0:12:54.601 become something you really have to worry about, we'd love 0:12:54.641 --> 0:12:56.201 to hear from you. You can give us a call 0:12:56.241 --> 0:12:58.561 on eight hundred and eighty ten eighty. You can text 0:12:58.601 --> 0:13:01.401 on nine two nine two, and we'll back in just 0:13:01.441 --> 0:13:01.841 a moment. 0:13:02.361 --> 0:13:07.521 You jack my love too much, loved of a man sing, 0:13:08.401 --> 0:13:13.361 you broke my wheel. This is racious ball. 0:13:17.561 --> 0:13:26.361 You came along and I've changed my mind. Religious let's 0:13:26.361 --> 0:13:28.601 welcome back to the weekend collective of this is the 0:13:28.641 --> 0:13:31.161 Parents Squad. My guest is doctor Laila Mason. She's the 0:13:31.201 --> 0:13:34.161 author of Children's Health as that she's also a pediatrician 0:13:34.201 --> 0:13:37.321 with many years experience, now living in Australia but formerly 0:13:37.321 --> 0:13:40.001 in New Zealand. By the way, Layla, this is the 0:13:40.041 --> 0:13:41.961 second Is this the second edition of your book? 0:13:42.081 --> 0:13:45.121 Or where we are when? That's when was it first released? 0:13:45.641 --> 0:13:49.281 That's right, it came out eight years ago and I 0:13:49.401 --> 0:13:53.521 have now reworked it and added a whole staction on 0:13:53.601 --> 0:13:56.961 mental health because it has become so much more common 0:13:57.001 --> 0:13:57.761 and important. 0:13:58.161 --> 0:14:01.081 I've got you said, yeah, I've got a question from 0:14:01.481 --> 0:14:04.001 one of the texts says, what's your opinion on diet 0:14:04.081 --> 0:14:05.521 and mental health with children? 0:14:06.801 --> 0:14:11.161 A great question. I think it's super important. So you know, 0:14:11.361 --> 0:14:15.241 diet affects a lot of things in your body. Of course, 0:14:15.281 --> 0:14:20.401 how many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants you take in how inflammatory 0:14:20.721 --> 0:14:24.561 the diet is, so that affects your microbiome, the gut. 0:14:24.641 --> 0:14:27.121 Bacteria that live in your gut and are really really 0:14:27.121 --> 0:14:31.601 important because they can send messages to your brain. So 0:14:32.521 --> 0:14:35.801 the best diet, and all the research studies is kind 0:14:35.801 --> 0:14:41.081 of an anti inflammatory Mediditerranean style diet, So lots of 0:14:41.121 --> 0:14:45.281 fruits and vegetables and fresh salads and nuts and seeds 0:14:45.361 --> 0:14:48.361 and not a lot of processed foods. And that is 0:14:48.401 --> 0:14:52.361 because that you know, reduces inflammation and the brain and 0:14:52.601 --> 0:14:56.561 in the gut, which then improves mental health and also 0:14:56.761 --> 0:15:01.761 very importantly magnesium that only the majority of New Zealanders 0:15:01.801 --> 0:15:04.161 are low and magnesium because they just don't eat enough 0:15:04.361 --> 0:15:07.281 nuts and seeds and vegetables. You're supposed to eat five 0:15:07.321 --> 0:15:09.721 handfuls of vegetables a day, and if you do that, 0:15:09.801 --> 0:15:13.881 you get your magnesium, which is very calming, reduces anxieties. 0:15:13.881 --> 0:15:17.281 Like the most common mineral for anxiety is magnesium, and 0:15:17.361 --> 0:15:20.041 you can get it from your diet if you eat it. 0:15:20.081 --> 0:15:23.361 Does do you get enough magnesium if you you know 0:15:23.401 --> 0:15:25.041 it would take a multi vitamin or is that a 0:15:25.081 --> 0:15:25.721 waste of time? 0:15:27.121 --> 0:15:31.401 Magnesium there isn't enough in multivitamins, because I mean multivitamins, 0:15:31.601 --> 0:15:33.641 the good ones are very good. I think they're not 0:15:33.721 --> 0:15:35.721 a bad idea, especially if you have a charge with 0:15:35.761 --> 0:15:38.361 a picky eater and maybe not be getting enough sink 0:15:38.601 --> 0:15:42.441 or selenium things like that. Then a children's multivitamin or 0:15:42.481 --> 0:15:48.441 for adults the adult version is like a safety insurance. 0:15:48.521 --> 0:15:51.521 They're bad. Magnesium takes up a lot of space, so 0:15:51.561 --> 0:15:54.321 they're not going to put a lot in a multivitamin 0:15:54.441 --> 0:15:57.041 because it's you need actually your whole cups of just 0:15:57.121 --> 0:16:00.161 magnesium to get fifty minigrams. 0:16:00.201 --> 0:16:02.121 The reason I asked that is because often when people 0:16:02.401 --> 0:16:04.401 here that we need more magnesium, some people want to 0:16:04.441 --> 0:16:06.721 go and get a applement and your ants, I don't 0:16:06.721 --> 0:16:08.121 know what your aunts would be to that, because it's 0:16:08.161 --> 0:16:09.361 better to have it than not have it. 0:16:09.601 --> 0:16:12.081 But ideally you should just be eating plenty of fresh 0:16:12.081 --> 0:16:13.841 fruit and vegetables. 0:16:13.961 --> 0:16:17.361 And nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin seeds. But you can 0:16:17.441 --> 0:16:20.441 also get magnesium through your skin. That's actually very easily 0:16:20.441 --> 0:16:22.401 absorbed through your skin. So you can either put some 0:16:22.441 --> 0:16:24.961 epps and salts in your bath water, or you can 0:16:24.961 --> 0:16:27.321 get a magnesium cream and rub it into your feet 0:16:27.441 --> 0:16:29.961 or legs. But a lot of people get muscle cramps 0:16:29.961 --> 0:16:33.041 when they lower magnesium and then rubbing that cream and 0:16:33.281 --> 0:16:36.441 is almost as good as is eating it. But you know, 0:16:36.481 --> 0:16:39.241 eating a handful of nuts and seeds is definitely a 0:16:39.281 --> 0:16:40.161 good idea. 0:16:40.281 --> 0:16:41.721 What sort of muscle cramps do you get when you 0:16:41.721 --> 0:16:44.041 get long magnesium nesium? Is it sort of just a 0:16:44.041 --> 0:16:45.841 little bit of cramp in your hamstringth or something? 0:16:45.881 --> 0:16:48.161 What does it look like, Well, it's usually the calves, 0:16:48.201 --> 0:16:50.601 but it could be anywhere, so like a runner, you know, 0:16:50.841 --> 0:16:53.361 athletes know that when they train a lot they actually 0:16:53.361 --> 0:16:57.321 take extra magnesium because they're their muscles use up a 0:16:57.361 --> 0:17:00.081 lot of magnesium, so they get lower notch, and then 0:17:00.121 --> 0:17:02.561 they do use those creams. So you know, if your 0:17:02.681 --> 0:17:06.401 children complain of growing pains or you know, if they 0:17:06.441 --> 0:17:08.521 have pain in the evening, it's often said that they 0:17:08.521 --> 0:17:11.841 have growing pains, but growing doesn't usually hurt. It is 0:17:11.961 --> 0:17:14.121 usually low magnesium. So if they're in bed in the 0:17:14.121 --> 0:17:16.481 evening said, oh my legs are sore, I can't fall 0:17:16.561 --> 0:17:19.761 asleep by some magnesium cream or put a cup of 0:17:19.761 --> 0:17:21.881 Ebsen Saults in their bath water and see over a 0:17:21.921 --> 0:17:24.441 couple of weeks the cramps will go away and they'll 0:17:24.481 --> 0:17:26.281 be much happier and sleep better. 0:17:26.721 --> 0:17:30.561 Okay, how many, I mean, how common would magnesium deficiency 0:17:30.601 --> 0:17:34.761 be as as a general observation, So. 0:17:34.921 --> 0:17:37.561 There is you know, the idea of deficiency where you're 0:17:37.641 --> 0:17:41.841 really really really low insufficiency. So I would say sixty 0:17:41.921 --> 0:17:46.081 percent the set. Sixty percent in general of New Zealanders 0:17:46.281 --> 0:17:49.841 don't have enough magnesium in their diet. So that's the majority. 0:17:50.401 --> 0:17:53.881 Okay, and whatever it would taking us an oral supplement 0:17:53.961 --> 0:17:57.481 either be an answer for kids or not, it can 0:17:57.561 --> 0:17:58.481 help absolutely. 0:17:58.561 --> 0:18:01.801 I mean, you there are lots of different magnesium powders 0:18:01.841 --> 0:18:04.161 and shoe bows and it can help. It depends a 0:18:04.201 --> 0:18:06.161 bit on what kind of makes magnesium you choose. So 0:18:06.601 --> 0:18:10.241 magnesium oxide, which is the cheapest type of magnesium to buy, 0:18:10.841 --> 0:18:13.841 is great if you're constipated, because it's not very well 0:18:13.881 --> 0:18:18.521 absorbed into the body. So magnesium also helps those constipation, 0:18:18.601 --> 0:18:21.721 which of course is a common issue in children and 0:18:22.081 --> 0:18:26.001 affects their sleep, affects their mental health and causes pain, 0:18:26.161 --> 0:18:29.801 all of those things. So everything is interconnected. But a 0:18:29.841 --> 0:18:34.401 magnesium glycinate or magnesium citrate would probably be better, and 0:18:34.441 --> 0:18:37.481 you can get those as powders that you know. Sometimes 0:18:37.521 --> 0:18:41.601 they even have a few extra herbs like passion, flower, lemon, 0:18:41.641 --> 0:18:44.201 balm and them, just to help you come get ready 0:18:44.201 --> 0:18:48.241 for sleep. I do recommend them sometimes. 0:18:47.761 --> 0:18:50.761 Because you mentioned that you move to Australia with to 0:18:50.841 --> 0:18:54.121 follow your children. Did do your kids grow up in 0:18:54.161 --> 0:18:56.241 the age of where there are any devices to worry about? 0:18:57.921 --> 0:19:01.161 Well? Luckily so they are twenty eight and twenty three, 0:19:01.241 --> 0:19:03.881 so when they were little there weren't any devices. But 0:19:04.601 --> 0:19:07.001 what they do come in, they did come in during 0:19:07.041 --> 0:19:10.041 their childhood. So as the older one kind of as 0:19:10.081 --> 0:19:12.561 a teenager and the younger one built his own computer 0:19:12.601 --> 0:19:14.721 when he was twelve because we wouldn't buy them one, 0:19:15.801 --> 0:19:18.281 so he saved up for the parts and then built it. 0:19:18.321 --> 0:19:22.241 And he's now a software engineer. So it did work. 0:19:22.801 --> 0:19:25.841 But we were quite strict. We didn't have TV in 0:19:25.881 --> 0:19:29.561 our house actually, so wow, I thought that wasn't a 0:19:29.561 --> 0:19:32.401 good idea. And because you know, we hadn't we had 0:19:32.401 --> 0:19:34.561 a TV and we had a VCR, so we would 0:19:34.561 --> 0:19:37.601 play videos, but we would choose them, so it was 0:19:37.681 --> 0:19:39.721 kind of curated. You know. On a Friday night, we 0:19:39.721 --> 0:19:42.721 would go together to the to the DVD store which 0:19:42.721 --> 0:19:46.001 doesn't exist anymore, and choose as a family movie we 0:19:46.041 --> 0:19:48.241 wanted to watch. And I think that's quite different from 0:19:48.281 --> 0:19:50.081 having a TV running all the time. 0:19:50.681 --> 0:19:55.721 So, as a pediatrician with anxiety, what's your role in 0:19:56.921 --> 0:20:00.601 dealing with children who have got anxiety? Because there's there'd 0:20:00.601 --> 0:20:03.281 be a point where there'd be a psychiatric component to it. 0:20:03.401 --> 0:20:06.121 How does your role interact with kids with anxiety? 0:20:07.361 --> 0:20:10.561 So I see my role as looking at what are 0:20:10.561 --> 0:20:14.441 the underlying contributors in this in this specific child. You know, 0:20:14.481 --> 0:20:16.521 if a child comes in and they're anglers, I go 0:20:16.641 --> 0:20:19.561 through all the things we've talked about do they sleep enough? 0:20:19.681 --> 0:20:21.961 Do they sleep well? You know, do they snore at 0:20:22.041 --> 0:20:24.641 night and have obstructive sleep ap near in which case 0:20:24.681 --> 0:20:26.721 you don't get enough oxygen at night in your brain, 0:20:26.801 --> 0:20:30.081 which can cause anxiety. Or do they breathe well? If 0:20:30.121 --> 0:20:32.321 they have breathing issues, I send them to an E 0:20:32.481 --> 0:20:37.081 and T or to someone who teaches them to breathe properly. 0:20:37.321 --> 0:20:39.641 Then I go through their diet. Are they eating? Are 0:20:39.641 --> 0:20:42.161 they drinking coca cola all day long? And you know 0:20:42.241 --> 0:20:45.481 that of course is another way of increasing your stress formonts. 0:20:46.841 --> 0:20:50.201 Do they you know, eat their five handfuls of vegetables? 0:20:50.241 --> 0:20:52.241 Do they eat fruits? And do they eat nuts and 0:20:52.281 --> 0:20:56.321 all of those things? Do they move? I recommend at 0:20:56.401 --> 0:20:59.881 least one hour of physical activity per day for a child, 0:20:59.881 --> 0:21:02.281 which isn't actually that much one hour, you know, but 0:21:02.321 --> 0:21:05.721 a lot of kids don't even get that. Ideally one 0:21:05.761 --> 0:21:09.921 to two hours a day of ideally in nature. Nature 0:21:09.961 --> 0:21:12.361 has a very calming effect on the brain. There's a 0:21:12.481 --> 0:21:17.241 huge amount of research on the positive effects of nature 0:21:17.401 --> 0:21:20.841 on the brain. So kids who spend an hour in 0:21:20.841 --> 0:21:23.601 the forest or in a park or on the beach, 0:21:24.121 --> 0:21:26.961 their brain actually calms down, they become calmer, they can 0:21:27.041 --> 0:21:30.881 focus better, they become more creative in their problem solving, 0:21:30.961 --> 0:21:34.121 so it has lots of positive effects. Now then I 0:21:34.241 --> 0:21:37.001 also look at nutrients, you know, I do check do 0:21:37.081 --> 0:21:39.401 they have enough zinc? If you zinc deficient, you're more 0:21:39.441 --> 0:21:42.921 likely to become anxious. And one of is zinc deficiency 0:21:43.041 --> 0:21:50.641