Why I started working with kids
Today 1 in every 68 children has an Autism Spectrum Disorder, 11% or 6.4 million children in the US were diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011 (growing at rate of 3% per year), 1 in every 6 children or 15% has one or more developmental disorder, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years, and now we’re seeing more adult onset diseases starting to develop in younger children. The numbers are staggering.
So why is this happening? An exact cause has not been determined, however, research has indicated that environmental toxins and lifestyle choices are key factors. Babies born today have a considerably higher risk of disease because they’re exposed to higher amounts of toxins in utero. Research from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) confirms that babies are born with an average of 287 toxins in their blood. And of the 287, 180 cause cancer, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system and 208 cause birth defects and abnormal development. Most of these toxins are chemicals found in our food, water, air, and household products. Children drink more water, eat more food, and breathe more air per body weight compared with adults (landrigan et al., 2004): “Children in the first 6 months of life drink seven times as much water, whereas children ages 1 through 5 years eat 3 to 4 times more food on a body-weight basis than the average adult. The air intake of a resting infant is twice that of an adult. The implication of these findings for health is that children will have substantially heavier exposures than adults to any environmental contaminants present in water, food, and air.”
Some things we can’t change, but there’s one important thing we can. Our food. By choosing high quality real food over processed, factory farmed and GMO foods we can significantly reduce our toxic load and prevent or decrease neurotoxic effects.
A personal story of recovery
This is Atticus. We adopted him when he was six days old. He was born premature, not breathing, hypoglycemic and had really low platelets. He was in the NICU for ten days. We were given little family history and learned he hadn’t had prenatal care. Despite all this, his first year was pretty awesome. He was happy, gaining weight and slowly but surely hitting most milestones. It was shortly after his first birthday that everything changed. He had an adverse reaction to the DTaP vaccine and afterwards suffered a major developmental regression. He stopped walking, stopped talking, wouldn’t answer to his name and would often isolate himself.
No one could explain what was happening. We saw neurologists, developmental pediatricians, geneticists, an allergist and an endocrinologist. He had random episodes of hypoglycemia and was admitted into the hospital for testing. He was tested for seizures. And during this time he also developed asthma.
After six months passed with no answers I decided to try a different approach. He already ate a high quality diet but up until now there had been no reason to restrict it. I decided to put him on a gluten free casein free (GFCF) diet first, as gluten and casein sensitivity are now known to be a contributing factor in neurologic and psychiatric manifestations. After only four days of changing his diet, he answered to his name. We then started toincorporate other therapies such as chiropractic adjustments and essential oils. Slowly but surely the walking and talking started to emerge again. It was truly amazing to watch the transformation, but I have to admit I wasn’t surprised. When followed through,therapeutic diets are powerful and healing.
If you’re considering a special diet for your child such as the Gluten Free Casein Free Diet (GFCF diet), Autism Diet, Hypoglycemic Diet or diet for ADHD click here.
There’s nothing more important than our health and well-being. And there’s no better time than now to take action. I can’t wait to start working with you and help you start living to your full potential.
I always want you to have the best. That’s why I continue to educate myself everyday with new research, trainings, seminars and workshops to bring you the most up-to-date information and well-rounded service.
Cheers to good health!
References:
Statistics provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Working Group and Endometriosis Foundation of America
“Neurologic and Psychiatric Manifestations of Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity”, Psychiatr Q. 2012 Mar; 83(1): 91–102. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3641836/