Good Decisions for the Teen Years

With the teen years come greater independence and physical and mental maturation. It is rewarding to see children transforming into adulthood. The teen years also bring, however, raging hormones, mood swings, indecision, and, sometimes, rebellion.

The teen years are also a time when young people are introduced to a multitude of social and environmental elements that can be hazardous to their health. With the right mentors, young people can be guided away from harmful influences and encouraged to embrace a healthy lifestyle. After all, making the right choices as an adolescent can set in motion healthy adult years.

We worry, with good reason, about the choices and decisions of teenagers, and how these choices and decisions will affect their overall health. Parents work hard to set rules and boundaries for their teens and at the same time, provide them with opportunities that will enlighten them and that will foster in them responsible and moral conduct. It is also crucial that we promote the importance of keeping the body strong and healthy.

So, what can a parent do to promote the health of their adolescent? Here are some good practices that will help to build a foundation for a healthy life.

First, help your child to avoid as much junk food, white flour, and processed sugar as you can because they offer no benefit to one’s health. It is important that adolescents understand what they are eating and what are good and bad diets for the body. When teens learn about the benefits of lean protein, fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and low-fat dairy and are educated on the bad effects of bad food, then the probability of a teen choosing to eat the good stuff rises.

Teens should also limit the amount of caffeine they are ingesting through coffee, soda and energy drinks. Although caffeine does keep one alert, which can be beneficial during certain activities, it can also induce anxiety and interfere with one’s sleep.

Getting the right amount of sleep each night is essential to growth and health in all aspects of life. Growing teens should get a minimum of nine hours of sleep per night. It can be difficult for a parent to ensure that this happens, especially with all the electronics found in children’s bedrooms and because puberty can have an effect on the body’s normal sleep/wake rhythm, but proper sleep is an essential building block to long-term health.

We recommend that teens (as well as everyone) take a probiotic – which is a form of good bacteria that helps digestion, provides protection from harmful bacteria and strengthens the immune system.

Acne is among the list of physical conditions that are most prevalent with teens and one that causes embarrassment, anxiety and stress. In the teen years, hormone levels rise, which causes sebaceous glands that are attached to hair follicles to produce the oily substance called sebum. When a hair follicle gets plugged with sebum and dead cells it results in an outbreak on the surface of one’s skin. It seems that certain foods may, for some people, aggravate the condition and there has been some discussion particularly around dairy and its relationship to acne. To prevent outbreaks, teens should wash their face with a facial cleanser every day and avoid touching one’s face to prevent dirt and oils found on the hands from clogging the pores.

With their increasing size and mental ability, it can be easy to think a teen will find the right path and make the right choices. But science tells us that the teen brain is still not fully formed and thus their decision-making is weaker than adults.

Teens also have not accumulated the wisdom that an adult has. This can be evidenced in a quote often attributed to Mark Twain: “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

Steve Bernardi is a registered compounding pharmacist and co-owner of Johnson Compounding & Wellness in Waltham (www.naturalcompounder.com). Readers with questions about natural or homeopathic medicine, compounded medications, or health in general can email steve@naturalcompounder.com or call 781-893-3870.