ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at those essential building blocks of healthy development that are often overlooked in busy day-to-day lives – diet, sleep and rhythmic daily routines. Deficits in any of these areas can serve as hidden triggers that can significantly contribute to behavioral dysregulation. The chapter opens with a focus on diet, nutrition and digestive health, providing detailed guidelines for preparing foods to foster proper sleep, digestion and elimination – the primary and essential building blocks of self-regulation. The importance of warm and cooked versus raw or processed foods is reviewed. Subsequent sections focus on food allergies and notes regarding toxins, how they enter the body and what to look out for. Finally, the importance of daily rhythms and routines is addressed, focusing on how to create and maintain them.
