In this podcast episode, I am thrilled to be joined by Dr. Elisa Song to discuss children's mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, and the huge role of the gut microbiome when it comes to supporting our children's mental health. Dr. Elisa Song, MD is a Stanford-, NYU-, UCSF-trained integrative pediatrician, pediatric functional medicine expert, and mum to two children. In her integrative pediatric practice, Whole Family Wellness, Dr. Song's approach is to get to the root cause of pediatric health concerns and empower parents to help their children thrive by integrating conventional pediatrics with functional medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and essential oils. Dr Song and I had so much to discuss on this topic, so we have split this topic into two parts. In Part One you will learn: The alarming mental health statistics for children through to adolescence;The consequences that the pandemic had on mental health outcomes for youth;We chatted about the conventional treatment for anxiety and depression and why it's not working;Dr. Song shares her insights on the root cause or functional medicine approach to managing mental health in youth;The importance of the gut microbiome and the factors that are disrupting our kid's gut microbiome;Incredible information about the gut's nervous system and how 80-90% of the gut-brain connection stems from the gut, not the brain;We delve into the modern-day factors that are disrupting the gut microbiome, which Dr. Song refers to as the "microbiome mischief makers";How medications such as antacids, and antibiotics can disrupt the gut microbiome and the impact this has on mental health outcomes.Episode Links: Check out Dr. Elisa Song's website here. Follow Dr. Elisa Song on Instagram here.