Autisms' bigger picture, who benefits?

When you are scanning ingredients to feed your ASD family safe and nutritious GFCFSF allergen-free, low oxalate, Failsafe, SCD, or GAPS meals, when you are injecting your child with his nightly MB12, and when you are traveling to and paying out of pocket for yet another "specialist" to consider more out of the ordinary treatment options to recover your sweet child, you don't give it a second thought.  This is second nature now, this is what our children need, so we do it for them.  We are going to recover our kids, period!

Unfortunately, not every ASD family is making these changes for their family. 

I don't even think we consider, for one minute, the sheer magnitude of our actions.  Think of throwing a rock in a lake, that ripple effect is much like recovering our ASD children.  I hear many families talk about the massive changes autism has encouraged their family to take on, changes regardless of how hard, they are incredibly grateful for, ironically.  Changes that may have even saved another family member's life!  I know that I am even more grateful than words can express, for the knowledge we have gained as a family, but it doesn't stop there.  The learning carries on when we influence other families in our large network.  We hold on tight to our ASD community families and we would do anything to help other families heal their children.  Of course, we want to see all of these children recover, that is certainly where my heart is, but each individual family makes up the bigger picture. 

But what if we DON'T carry this movement forward enough to grab a hold of the reigns on this frightening epidemic, what then?  Have you thought of that?  It won't be JUST the ASD families who are effected by the ever-growing rate of autism.

No one says it better than a fellow ASD mom, Florence Iwegbue, who is on a quest to change this movement.

"I come from a 3rd world country--Nigeria with MANY economical and social issues and like the NJ Senator mentioned during the hearing, a Nigerian Govt. official approached him about the rapid rise of Autism. Why? because, it is now a Global National Security issue; Possibly the worst epidemic in modern day medicine. At these rates, this country will not have men to go to war, marry, reproduce or support the economy of this nation. For all of us that are made to feel guilty when we use the word recovery, these are the problems we're worried about. For those who criticize, they have no idea the magnitude of the problem. When an official (probably even corrupt) from a 3rd world country like mine, with: waring tribes, abject poverty, astronomical rates of crime, perpetual recession and zero economic growth becomes worried about an Epidemic like Autism and flags down a U.S official to question him, be VERY FREAKING WORRIED and ya better be living and breathing RECOVERY & CURE. 
 
I come from a very proud and hard working tribe and my people are on the edges of their seats because they send their children to the West to make something of themselves and help out their fellow villagers back home by way of sending money to help educate the younger generation. When we stop sending money, because it is being spent on Whole Foods, ABA Programs, Supplements and Health care bills, more families back home get hungry, sick and kids are left on the streets without education. This is the consequence of my son's Autism. It is no longer just a disease that he has, it is a disease that many family members have inherited. So whenever anyone chastises you for seeking recovery for your child, send them my way so I can explain to them why it is a Global epidemic that needs to end NOW!"

Florence is a warrior mother.  She is fighting for the world and when she looks into her sweet boy's eyes, she knows that all of world is depending on his recovery.  His recovery matters to the world as much as it matter to her family.  The ripple effect.

Florence's family is so driven to help the world, in fact, that her husband has also developed an iPhone application to help parents help each other.  What's more impressive is that they are providing this app for free.  What could be more beneficial to the big picture?  

In their LiveWello social health app for iPhone (and iPad coming soon!), families are able to create a little village around the person they are caring for.  You can invite and label people with important roles, share medical records, videos, pictures, etc.   It's the ASD medical recovery ripple-effect in the making.  

Watch the ABC interview here. 

Let's embrace the fact that our children are going to change the world one way or another, do you want to be a part of that?  I sure do!!

Parasites. The root of ALL evil?

Bold statement, eh?  I know, I know...I've been gone for months at a time and now I come back and throw this at you.  I've spent these months researching and experimenting and I am here to tell you that yes, I believe the subject heading is one area to consider.  Perhaps one of the biggest ones, especially, if you are dealing with chronic anything.

So how did I come to this conclusion?  My children were a mixed bag of fluctuating concerns and the confirmation that their yeast and bacteria seemed to be under control, but so many other things were not, had me looking for more.  But then again, I am ALWAYS looking for more.  =)  There were two things, specifically, that really sent me on the hunt for what I was missing.  Grayson's PANDAS flare was getting worse rather than better and Gavin's mood swings, anger and violence appeared to be untouched.  Why parasites though?  I mean, I have treated for them bi-annually with Humaworm and heck, we even all used Alinia for over a month for Gavin's Dientamoeba Fragilis, right?  How could it STILL be parasites?


Let me just put it out there in black and white.  If you have a compromised immune system in any way, shape or form, you DO have a parasite issue.  I promise you!

Parasites are masters at survival, their SOLE purpose in life is to survive, that's it!  They complete their life cycle by changing the neurology of their hosts just enough to ensure survival, but usually they are also smart enough to not kill it, usually.  If they can adapt to their environment, which they can (give them access to a child with a faulty immune system due to heavy metal toxicity and reduced gut flora), they root themselves deeply in your system and continue their life cycle by making you crave the foods that feed them, creating the itchies where it counts for spreading eggs under the nails, they can even force you to be attracted to certain people and yes, this is documented!  In fact, MUCH of what I have found out about parasites is widely known by certain professionals, but don't ask why treatments aren't effective.  I don't even want to go there.  You are free to dig deeper, if you wish.  I'm satisfied with dealing with the details I can control from my own home base....treatment!

A few doctors to research, who have made waves in the medical community by successfully treating illnesses that result from parasitic infections, are:  Dr. Klinghardt, Dr. Simon Yu and Dr. Fry.  These men are pioneers in this field.  Dr. Klinghardt focuses on Lyme Disease, PANDAS and Autism, Dr. Yu has recovered people from major diseases like cancer, CFS and pancreatitis among others and Dr. Fry is a researcher who has even discovered a new malaria-like parasite that is responsible for diseases like MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis and perhaps Autism, among others.  Google any of these doctors and you will get more information than you know what to do with!!  Literally!  It can be overwhelming, because there are really so many directions you can go with treatment, but the one constant I am seeing here is that a periodic cleanse here and there just doesn't cut it for someone who is chronically infected.  Treatment NEEDS to be from 6 months to a year, STRAIGHT!  Seems harsh, but parasites are much smarter than we give them credit for, in fact, they may even be smarter than us.  They have certainly been around longer.

This blurb is from an article written by Dr. Simon Yu:
"In this modern age, do you think parasite problems are limited to third world countries and don’t exist in the United States, Canada or Europe? Think again! Who does the cooking and cleaning of dishes at restaurants? Food from all over the world comes with no strict regulations for pesticides, herbicides and potential parasite eggs embedded in the food.

I have seen patients from Germany, Canada, Australia and most of the United States. People from all over have parasite problems. I’ve written numerous articles on parasites and parasite related unusual medical symptoms. Some of the conditions responding to parasite medications include allergies, eczema, asthma, migraine headache, nightmare, bedwetting, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthralgia, multiple sclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, seizure, mental illness and even cancer.
The idea of de-worming everybody seems a de-lovely concept and does not seem appealing but it is not a far out concept even in the United States. Americans are suffering from a silent epidemic of parasite related medical conditions. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends massive de-worming of populations especially in schools whenever over 20 percent of the population is suspected of parasite infestation."

Dr. Simon Yu has written a fascinating book called Accidental Cure.

From Dr. Klinghardt...I love this info, because I have always been intrigued by what drives us, what creates our "personality".  I've come to this conclusion myself recently, and Dr. Klinghardt has just confirmed it for me!

• We are all a composite of many personalities. Our consciousness is a composite of 90% microbes and 10% us. Our thinking, feeling, creativity, and expression are 90% from the microbes within us. Patients often think, crave, and behave as if they are the parasite. Our thinking is shaded by the microbes thinking through us. The food choices, behavioral choices, and who we like is the thinking of the microbes within us expressing themselves.
• Patients will reject all treatments that affect the issue that requires treating. Patients will not guide themselves to health when the microbes have taken over.
• Parasites induce changes in our system to make us a comfortable host.
• Mimosa pudica (Sensitive plant) powder is an Ayurvedic herb that is 30 times stronger than the best medical drug. Start with 1/2 teaspoon twice a day two days a week and work up to 1 teaspoon daily for 3 months.
• The endothelium is the largest organ in the body and is “bug heaven”.

Since Mimosa Pudica is so hard to find, here is a link for you to purchase it.  I have nothing to do with this company, I am just passing this on, because the search for a reputable product was very hard and I would like to make it easier on you!

An incredible overview of a conference called "A Deep Look Beyond Lyme" includes data from each of these famous doctors!  I HIGHLY recommend taking the time to read this one.  Lyme is not the only focus here.  Dr. Klninghardt even mentions PANDAS.

This is an interview with Dr. Fry about the parasite he discovered, it is phenomenal information about a marlia-like protozoa called Protomyxoa, which is Greek for “slime forming protozoan”.  In this interview he also discusses the diseases it's heavily linked to, biofilm, the herxheimer effect, how it is transmitted (tick bite is one of the vectors, and to think we aren't testing for this infection when we tell people they are clear of Lyme Disease), etc.  Remember, we can only find things we are effectively testing for. Dr. Fry also has a lab where various testing can be ordered.


The oxymoron between biomedicine and parasites
Here is where it gets interesting.  So we think we are doing the right thing by our kids, supplementing their nutritional deficiencies with hoards of vitamins and such.  But did we ever stop to think about WHY those deficiencies are there to begin with?  Ok so yes, heavy metals play a role and limited diets too, but why are ALL kids on the spectrum low in B vitamins, particularly B12 and why are ALL kids on the spectrum deficient in minerals like zinc and magnesium and why oh why is their benefitial gut flora so depeleted....the common denominator I have uncovered is that parasites THRIVE on this stuff.  Yup, every time you put another supplement down your child's throat, consider the possibility that you are FEEDING a parasite, possibly even big fat and very happy worms.  A thought you can't fathom....well you better get ready, because when you pick yourself back up off the floor after witnessing one of these fellas coming from your own child (or yourself), you have some major accepting to do, lol.  Use that fear to drive you forward.  So, if we are feeding these fookers with our children's cravings, the supplements we use and we certainly aren't using anything strong enough to kill them, what are you left with in the end, continued nutritional deficiencies in your kids (because they don't get much of the nutrients) and a fat case of parasites, resulting in symptoms you can't seem to gain control of.  Geez, it's a wonder we can't seem to get past chronic cases of pathogenic overgrowth!!

Oh, and one last note on yet another common thread here is that it has been documented that the Ascaris worm can and DOES cause gluten-intolerance.  Things that make you go hmmmmm.

PANDAS and PARASITES?
BIG connection here.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised, if it was ultimately determined that the helminth is at the root of every chronic case.  So let's explore why doesn't PANDAS go away.  Well, the immune system is definitely definitely THE root of this problem, but because of the immune system, the parasites are a massive problem.  The helminth is a worm, not microscopic, a visible worm that can be visibly seen when you are successful at evacuating them.  A helminth houses (provides shelter) for the smaller guys like bacteria (strep), yeast and viruses.  Biofilm protects all of these guys from your immune system.  You can't kill off a bacteria that has a nice comfy home in your body.  When a worm dies, it releases all of the house guests inside and initiates a flare.  Worms don't die easily unless they have reached their life expectancy and that can be years for many of them, about 2-6 years on average, or you do something to kill them off, hence the die off.  One of the big players is the Ascaris Lumbricoides.  Through my extensive network of connections, I have personally seen what other autistic, ADHD, and PANDAS kids harbor and this is just one of the more common ones!  Symptoms that have been historically documented by professionals as being associated with this particular parasite are: asthma, eczema, bronchitis, rashes, dilated pupils, hyperactivity among others that effect the GI tract, as well.  The Ascaris releases amphetamines, hence the hyperactivity and dilated eyes, and perhaps very much related to the ADHD symptoms we are seeing so frequently.

How can you learn what infections you may be harboring...well, like Lyme, it's VERY hard to successfully test for parasites. Just because you have tested and either found none or perhaps a few, that does not mean it's accurate.  Find yourself a GOOD infectious disease doctor who knows about parasites, or you can go see one of the doctors listed above.  Surprisingly, the most accurate form of testing to date, appears to be energy testing!!  And of course, visual identification under a microscope, but remember, this will ONLY be effective if you are passing the parasites/eggs in your stool.  90% of parasites remain OUTSIDE of the GI tract most of the time, only returning during full and/or new moon phases to procreate.  If you are going to experiment with treatment options, this is the time to do it.  The first 15 days after a full moon is when a portion of the parasites will generally be in the GI tract.

Our personal story
When we finally bit the bullet and went strong on the parasites with multiple methods of treatment at once, we began to unveil the children under these infections.  Hindsight is a beautiful thing, but unfortunately it also means we can't piece together our current story until we navigate past the event.  We have always seen glimmers of what it could be like to have our children without all their "extras", but we have never had that for any length of time, some dark veil has always stolen those moments from us.  When PANDAS hit our house hard this past year, I was thrown for an incredible loop.  We were doing EVERYTHING right, we never strayed, we never cheated on diets, never slipped on our chosen treatments, yet we had these crazy inconsistencies that fit no rhyme or reason.  And Gavin, poor Gavin...he was living in an inconsistent world of pain and confusion.  He wasn't "classic" in any way, he didn't fit autism or PANDAS, but he wasn't right, he was a loose canon!  He did however fit every symptom in the book for Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD). I often felt like, if we weren't doing biomed with him practically from birth, he would have been much worse off.  But we still weren't getting to the root of the problem by treating him like a mirror image of Grayson.  Something was different.  I wasn't satisfied with the recommended, "maybe it's just his personality".  No, I was not willing to accept that a person could be born "normal" and be SO angry.  Something was wrong.

When I pondered our successes from the past, it seems as though treatments that overlapped with parasites have given us that glimmer of hope, just long enough to steal it away again.  Why?  Because parasites are masters at survival!!  And our treatments were never long or strong enough.  The icing on the cake was when I read that Dr. Klinghardt considers the helminth to be at the root of PANDAS.  Low and behold....we found our new angle!

What I am excited to tell you, confirms Dr. Klinghardt's statement about PANDAS and helminth parasites, Grayson's PANDAS symptoms have responded slow and steady to treatment and now that the symptoms are mainly under control (with only 3 months of treatment so far) we have witnessed a direct correlation between his PANDAS symptoms (tics, OCD and rages) and the passing of worms.  He has an instant increase in symptoms as his body is trying to filter out the toxins from killing off worms.  I have photos of these guys too, there is no denying what they are!!  One picture was taken in a glass jar with alcohol in it and you can see the entire intestinal tract of the worm.  It was 8 inches long.  If you think that's bad, consider the fact that we also got one that was 21 inches long from our 36 inch tall child!

We've seen glimmers of a reduction in oxalate issues.  This is HUGE for us, because prior to treatment, Gavin was increasingly dumping oxalates in enormous amounts through his urine.  Tablespoons of crystals at a time.  It had grown to become a weekly event.  He was having regular potty accidents, his urine was cloudy and thick with crystals.  It immediately came to a screeching halt!!  And how has Gavin been doing?  After going through a world of hurt with initial die off....I am AMAZED, truly and incredibly AMAZED by him.  I am falling deeply in love, all over again, with my baby boy.  I didn't even realize how the violence had driven an imaginary wedge between he and I, until it was gone.  The exhaustion of parenting such an explosive child is crippling.  Now, he is even more sweet, humorous and charming than I could have ever imagined!!  We've replaced the violence with hugs, kisses and frequent unprompted "I love you"s, we have replaced screaming confusion with sharp-as-a-tack cognitive function, we have replaced tantrums and meltdowns with rational cooperation....and there has been weight gain.  He was failure to thrive for so long, 27-30 pounds for years, literally.  He had lost the weight he gained with the camel milk when we stopped using it.  He has already gained 3 pounds back since reducing the parasite burden.  Grayson has done the same.  And if you are wondering whether I am lucky enough to share this infection with them, yes I do.  Parasites are incredibly contagious among family members and it's likely that I have had parasites all through my pregnancies, passing them on to my poor innocent children in utero.  There are too many connections I have learned in hindsight to list here.  It would take an entire book (hmmmm, there's that book idea again), but let me just say that I had NO idea these things were related.  So never say never!!

If you are doing everything possible and just feel like you aren't seeing the progress you think you should be seeing, I would encourage you to dig deeper, much deeper.  Parasites may be why.

UPDATE - if you are connecting with this blog entry from years ago, please also see my newer blog where I also address this topic, from a different perspective and with years more experience.

Does it ever end? Toxins, that is.

When we make the decision to clean up our environment, we think of the obvious....products we use on our skin, in our mouths and anything that might compromise the air we breath.  But what about all those little "touches" all day long?  For instance you don't think twice when you turn on your stove,  flick a switch to turn on a light, open and close the fridge, push down the tub drain in order to run a bath for your kiddo, open a file cabinet or a drawer...then close it.  We don't count how many times our hands touch something throughout the day that might be toxic.  You might think, geez, it's just a brief moment, do you really care about that?  Add it up!  Every day!  All day!  Now think about the materials everything around you is made of.  You will probably say, well, plastic, metal, whatever!

I plan to clear that up for you right now.  Thanks to a friend who gave me a list of XRF (x-ray fluorescence) testing results that were created by friends of hers in a mom's group, who rented an XRF gun, I have real solid evidence that will prove to you that it's not just "plastic" and "metal".  Instead, think along the lines of arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead among many other toxins.  And guess what?  It's just these things that we touch here and there every day that are made of the most toxic stuff! 

Of course, we aren't going to start wearing gloves around the house all day, heck, they are probably just as toxic, lol, but this certainly has me thinking more about what I buy and what I plan to use it for.  In fact, those handy little "safe" stainless steel cups you think are saving your kids from BPA, what about, if you knew you could be replacing the BPA with high levels of cadmium and sometimes even lead!!  Yikes!!  In particular, CVS brand stainless steel water bottles which were in the red for lead!

Some of THE most toxic things in our homes are: crock pots, knobs, drawer pulls and door handles, tile, mirrors, stainless steel anything, trampolines (so glad I decided against that one), luggage,  lamps and one of the most disturbing for me...all the parts of a faucet including the piece inside the tub where your child sits and soaks - MERCURY, LEAD, ARSENIC and CADMIUM, in the red!  Delta seems to be at the top of that list.  Another disturbing mercury source is your child's Nintendo 64.  IKEA seems to be on this list a lot too.

Why is illness on the rise...do we really wonder why?  Look around you!!  Better yet, look at some of these fabulous lists I'm honored to be able to share with you!  I wish I could add them all, but I know it's very hard to read anyway.  I chose many of the more telling pages.  Thank you Angela!  =)

Is it enough to eat "healthy"?

What does eating healthy mean to you?  For most, it means avoiding too many sugars and refined foods, eating more home cooked meals, but does that always equate to healthier options?  We trust our grocery stores to provide us with high quality foods, but what is really lurking in your grocery isles will surprise you.  Check out this gruesome article from the Rodale Institute.

The 9 Nastiest Things in Your Supermarket Think pink slime is gross? Wait 'til you see what other unappetizing secrets lurk within your grocery store.

And while we are on the topic of eating healthy, I would love to share a fabulously simple and direct excerpt from Kerri Rivera's upcoming book, "Healing an Epidemic".  If you know anyone with a child even remotely on the spectrum (even ADHD), please share this with them.  It is probably one of the simplest, yet most thorough explanations of the GFCFSF diet I've seen. Kerri Rivera is a fabulous autism mom who is also the co-founder/director of a not-for-profit autism clinic in Mexico known as AutismO2. I can't speak highly enough of Kerri's knowledge and go-get-em attitude.  She dedicates all of her waking hours to healing kids on the spectrum. 

If I could choose the one part of my protocol that would be the single most important piece of the autism recovery puzzle it would be The diet. By The diet I am referring to the dietary plan that I recommend to all of the families that I work with. It is a combination of the classic Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free, with the elimination of sugar, corn syrup, coloring, preservatives and other “harmful foods.” The diet is the basis to the rest of my protocol, similar to laying the foundation of a house that the rest of the structure will rest on. It is critical to the effectiveness of the rest of the protocol. When a family with a child recently diagnosed with autism comes to see me, the first thing they want to know is: What can I do to fix this? I always, always start with The diet. In fact, I send them away after that first meeting with hope that they will be able to recover their child, but only if they have the dedication to commit to the diet 100%. I explain to my families that they must think about food how their great grandparents thought about food. In generations past food was derived from the Earth, with little processing. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and meats were dietary staples for our great grandparents and they will be for our children as well. We must think whole foods, not processed foods. It is of little help to go from junk food to gluten free, casein free junk food.

After my first meeting with a family they leave with the list of permitted foods and I tell them to email me when they have a week straight with zero exceptions or “errors” on The diet. That is where the parents who are truly hungry for recovery are separated from those who are interested in having someone else recover their child for them.

One of two things generally happen during that first week. First scenario: I get an email from an ecstatic Mother or Father…”I can barely believe it, Johnny slept through the night for the first time in months, or Johnny had a normal bowel movement, or Johnny said 2 new words yesterday! “ That’s what I hope for, the second scenario is I never hear from the family again, there may have been tantrums, or an adjustment period related to the diet that proved too much for them, and they decide to pursue another avenue. That’s not to say that everyone sees a miracle, or there’s no middle ground, as some of the results are less obvious, such as more eye contact or less redness in face, but generally speaking, we see positive changes. But in reality, any change is a good sign. The diet is only the first piece of the puzzle. It is the welcome mat to autism recovery. We must continue from there. We don´t just do the diet. We do the diet and then keep adding and subtracting till we get the desired, end result.

That said, your child’s Dr may have not heard of the diet, of may be misinformed on it’s benefits. We will include a list of links to various studies and articles published on the benefits of The diet for children and adults on the Autism Spectrum. It is important to only consult with people who are familiar with autism and the recovery of autism. If your current physician is unfamiliar with autism recovery, it is important for the health of your child that you find someone who is. Surrounding ourselves with people who are immersed in biomed and healing children is of the utmost importance.

For starters, a researcher at the New Jersey Medical School’s Autism Center found that children with autism were more likely to have abnormal immune responses to milk, soy and wheat than typically-developing children, according to Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012. Also, there is growing interest in the link between autism and gastrointestinal (GI) ailments. A study by the University of California Davis Health System found that children with autism born in the 1990s were more likely to have gastrointestinal problems, including constipation, diarrhea and vomiting, than children with autism who were born in the early 1980s.

Simply because your Dr is uninformed or tells you there is no evidence to prove that The diet will help your child, do the research for yourself, as only you are in charge of your child’s diet. Heck, do The diet. It doesn´t cost you any money and it just might save your child. Whether he eats Cheesey puffs or fruits and vegetables will ultimately come down to you. The only way to know for sure if your child is going to be one of the cases who recovers with diet, is to try. It can take gluten 6 months or more to be removed from the micro villi or “shag carpeting” of the small intestine. As I mentioned previously some children have monumental changes in 2-3 days, but even if your child’s evolution is taking a little longer than most, DO NOT GIVE UP! At the writing of this book I have worked with over 2,500 families of children with autism, and all of the recovered children as well as the children about to come through the door have used varied protocols depending on their symptoms. What is the one thing that they all unequivocally have in common? The diet.

In my opinion, it makes little difference what other interventions you apply to your child if you can’t manage The diet 24/7/365. Hyperbarics, chelation, music therapy, ABA, etc simply cannot have the desired effects if we are still feeding drugs to our children. Why drugs? Because that is what gluten and casein become in the bodies of our children on the spectrum. More specifically, gluteomorphin and casomorphin. Yes, similar to morphine. These substances are produced in the gut due to improper digestion of peptides (as we will explain more in detail later) and the existence of leaky gut syndrome allows them to cross the blood brain barrier where they act exactly like morphine or heroin. Would you purposely give your child heroin, or any other illicit drugs? NO! So now that you have read these words, and understand the severity of this issue, do not give your child another piece of pizza, Cheesy puffs, bread or flour tortillas. Tell your family and your child’s school that they can no longer give your child these items, and if they do it’s like giving them a dose of morphine. If it sounds drastic, that’s because it is. Researchers have found an abnormal amount of these undigested peptides in the urine of children with autism, therefore proving their existence in the body. Dr. Reichelt in Norway, Dr. Cade at the University of Florida, and others found that urine samples from people with autism, PDD, celiac disease, and schizophrenia contained high amounts of the casomorphin peptide in the urine, similarly Gliadorphin (gluteomorphin) has been verified by mass spectrometry techniques to be present in unusual quantities in urine samples of children with autism, (excerpted from gfcfdiet.com)

Do the diet! There are still plenty of food options that are permitted, I promise you your child won’t starve. There are some recipes that will be included later in the chapter to get you started. I truly mean when I say that The diet is absolutely the most important piece of the puzzle. If we can’t remove what is directly linked to brain and gut inflammation as well as immune allergic reactions to offending foods, it is nearly impossible to heal a child on the spectrum. I have personally never seen a family recover a child without dietary intervention, that’s not to say it hasn’t happened, but I can’t say I’ve seen it nor heard of it.

In the case of my own son, his acidic diarrhea and sleepless nights stopped the week we started The diet. From that moment I was hooked, not only on The diet but on Biomedical treatments for curing Autism, and I have never looked back. I strongly encourage you to experience the diet for your child and even as a family it is a good thing.

Some other tips include:

Keep a journal. What foods have you taken out? Are you adding something in? Reactions: rash, more/less hyper, more/less stimmy, sleep patterns, bowel movements: how many, consistency, tantrums, acceptance of new foods, eye contact, language, etc. Write it all down, then you know what’s going on, and when something is working for you, and when it’s not. Doing the ATEC at www.autism.com is an excellent way to see how you are doing. Everytime that you begin a new intervention it is a good idea to do and ATEC and then repeat every month or so and see how your child is evolving. Sometimes our children are recovering right before our very eyes and we don’t even know it.

Using the ATEC helps a great deal to measure improvements. Many of us are tired or burned out and don’t have as good as a memory as we would like to, so a formal questionnaire can help us to discern when an intervention is working or not.

Always read labels. Read the label on the back. Not just the one on the front that says “gluten free”. Many times they have sugar, yeast or other items that are not allowed. We must know what we are putting into our children’s bodies. If you can’t pronounce it, you don’t really want to put it into your child. Be careful of hidden offenders like malta, natural flavors, artificial flavors, whey, numbers (red 40), etc.

Have a support system. It doesn’t matter whether it is a friend, family member, rescue angel or neighbor. Have a shoulder to lean on, autism recovery is a marathon not a sprint, and no one should have to go it alone.

Take it one day at a time. Defeatist thinking will only harm your resolve to help your child. “I Can’t do this for the rest of Johnny’s life” or “How will I get through this year” are defeatist thoughts. Go hour by hour or minute by minute if you have to, and know there are victories every day in the world of autism, and we must draw strength from those victories, even when they aren’t our own. My website has a section called Milagros, which are real emails that I receive from parents describing the advances of their children on my protocol. Take some time to read them, and know that children are recovering every day and believe your child can be next.

So here it is…The Diet

Permitted Foods List

Proteins:

Beef
Pork
Chicken
Turkey
Fish: small not large
Eggs
Organic is better, but not required
No processed meats or cold cuts (hot dogs, bologna, etc)
No shellfish (full of toxins)

Fruit:

All fruit is acceptable
Homemade juice and fruit waters are acceptable
Frozen fruit without cream or sugar is acceptable
NO canned fruit
Be careful of dried fruit, as it may contain sugar

Note: Fruit should not be consumed after a meal as a dessert. Due to it’s rapid digestion, if it is eater after other slower foods (meat, grains, etc) it will ferment in the stomach, causing bloating, gas, or discomfort. Fruit is best eaten before a meal, or separate from meals.

Vegetables:

All Vegetables!!!
This includes french fries…however, not frozen fries nor fries from fast food chains, these are often coated in flour.

Nuts:

Cashews
Walnuts
Almond
Hazelnut
Coconut
All of them!

Grains:

Corn
Rice
Amaranth
Quinoa
Millet
Tapioca
Xanthan Gum
Sorghum
Buckwheat

Beans:

All beans – EXCEPT Soy
Garbanzo
Lentils
Navy
Peanuts
Cacao

Sweetners:

Xylitol
Stevia
Honey
Agave syrup
Maple syrup (without sugar added)
NO Piloncillo
NO Sugar


Prohibited Foods:

Corn Syrup
Sodas – Cokes, etc.
V8 Splash
Chocolate milk
Natural Flavoring
MSG
ADES
Soy sauce
Microwave popcorn
Pasta
Candies
Oatmeal
Sugar
Splenda
Cow’s milk in any form, even lactose free
Noodle soup
Ketchup
Mayonaise
Knorr suiza (boullion cubes)
Corn flakes
Soy milk
Processed meats (hotdogs, ham, sausage, cold cuts)
Play-doh (contains gluten)
Bread
Flour Tortillas
Coloring
Jell-o or gelatin
Preservatives
Margarine
Yeast
Carrageenan
Numbers (E260)
Preservatives
Coloring
Cane
Malt
Artificial flavoring


NO Cow’s Milk

NOT CASEIN FREE
NOT LACTOSE FREE
NOT ORGANIC
NOT EVAPORATED
NO NO NO COW’S MILK
ALL COW’S MILK, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS REMOVED FROM IT, CAUSES MUCOUS AND INFLAMMATION. (which are responsible for maintaining pathogens)

Common Error:

The food allergy panel says he’s not allergic to gluten or casein…so my child can continue to eat those ingredients.

It doesn’t matter…if your child has autism or is on the spectrum he must avoid gluten, casein and soy. The network formerly known as DAN! Also says to observe your child carefully after adding a new food or a food he hasn’t eaten in a while. In one particular case, even though the child didn’t test positive for an orange allergy, he produces symptoms of an allergic reaction whenever he eats one. We must remember that the body is changing constantly and that any test is only good for a couple of months, if at all.

Some sample recipes:

Almond Milk

1.5 cups of almonds
3 cups of water
Honey to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender for 2-5 minutes and strain. Serve cold or warm. Almonds should soaked in hot water and then peeled beforehand. A Vitamix works best, but is not necessary.


Coconut Milk

The flesh of one coconut
Enough water to cover the coconut in the blender.
Honey to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender for 2-5 minutes and strain. Serve cold or warm.


Cookies

300 grams rice flour
300 grams corn flour
One egg yolk
200 grams agave syrup
250 grams coconut oil
Bake 20 minutes at approx 325 degrees

FAQ’s

Until we have this section organized, there is a very complete list of FAQ’s about the diet at

www.gfcfdiet.com

Nature vs nurture, focusing on epigenetics

I have a constant need for information, I guess you could say that is the gemini-nature in me.  In my incessant quest for information about how we can change the future of our health, I seem to keep bouncing back to something called epigenetics.  My family has had a never-ending dispute over nature vs. nurture.  What dictates our hair color, our tendency to suck our fingers as babies, and what illnesses we are predisposed to?  Well yes, it's our genes of course, but what about the possibility that you can CHANGE the way your DNA is expressed?

Science is now showing us that it is nature AND nurture that determines our future.  And knowing that you can use your diet, thoughts and environment to change the course of your health puts the ball right where it should be, in YOUR hands!!  I have always said that I believe our health is our responsibility.  We are the only ones who can control how we feel, we are the only ones who can change the course of our path.  In fact, my life as a biomed mother is just that, a quest to change nature.  I'm not willing to accept things as they are, I know there is a way to reverse the hand we were dealt.  Three and a half years ago I set out determined to find that path, and I am proud to say that we are on the right path.

My gut told me the way we are born isn't just IT....that we can change IT.  So yes, we have learned recently that our boys have the MTHFR gene mutations and that makes them predisposed to illnesses like autism, ADHD, Alzheimer's, cancer and early heart disease, among others.  MTHFR stands for methelenetetrahydrofolate reductase, it's an enzyme responsible for converting folate to it's bioactive form.  This causes our boys (and probably us parents too) to have a break in their methylation pathways, limiting their ability to detox.  I now KNOW they don't detox well and I now KNOW they are deficient in folate, as well as B12 due to this gene mutation, but I also now KNOW that I can bypass this gene mutation by supplying them with methylfolate (5-MTHF) and MB12 injections.  We can kick-start their methylation and begin to work around the mutation.  And how did this mutation come to be in the first place?  I certainly don't know that, but what I do know is that somewhere in the line of our families, a gene was mutated by it's environment, diet and/or thoughts....epigenetics.  If we can change them in the first place, common sense would reason that we can also reverse them!!

A friend, who is equally as interested in health, sent me Dr. Mercola's newsletter today and I just love the simple explanation given on epigentics.

Your Emotions Regulate Your Genetic Expression

As if genes changing expression in response to environmental factors such as nutrients wasn't enough, other researchers have demonstrated that this "environment" that your genes respond to also includes your conscious thoughts, emotions, and unconscious beliefs. Cellular biologist Bruce Lipton, PhD., is one of the leading authorities on how emotions can regulate genetic expression, which are explained in-depth in his excellent books The Biology of Belief, and Spontaneous Evolution.

Science has indeed taken us far beyond Newtonian physics, which says you live in a mechanical universe. According to this belief, your body is just a biological machine, so by modifying the parts of the machine, you can modify your health. Also, as a biological machine, your body is thought to respond to physical "things" like the active chemicals in drugs, and by adjusting the drugs that modify your machinery, doctors can modify and control health. However, with the advent of quantum physics, scientists have realized the flaws in Newtonian physics, as quantum physics shows us that the invisible, immaterial realm is actually far more important than the material realm. In fact, your thoughts may shape your environment far more than physical matter!

According to Dr. Lipton, the true secret to life does not lie within your DNA, but rather within the mechanisms of your cell membrane.

Each cell membrane has receptors that pick up various environmental signals, and this mechanism controls the "reading" of the genes inside your cells. Your cells can choose to read or not read the genetic blueprint depending on the signals being received from the environment. So having a "cancer program" in your DNA does not automatically mean you're destined to get cancer. Far from it. This genetic information does not ever have to be expressed...

What this all means is that you are not controlled by your genetic makeup. Instead, your genetic readout (which genes are turned "on" and which are turned "off") is primarily determined by your thoughts, attitudes, and perceptions!

The major problem with believing the myth that your genes control your life is that you become a victim of your heredity. Since you can't change your genes, it essentially means that your life is predetermined, and therefore you have very little control over your health. With any luck, modern medicine will find the gene responsible and be able to alter it, or devise some other form of drug to modify your body's chemistry, but aside from that, you're out of luck… The new science, however, reveals that your perceptions control your biology, and this places you in the driver's seat, because if you can change your perceptions, you can shape and direct your own genetic readout.

This new science also reveals that you are in fact an extension of your environment, which includes everything from your thoughts and belief systems, to toxic exposures and exposure to sunlight, exercise, and, of course, everything you choose to put onto and into your body. As Dr. Lipton is fond of saying, the new biology moves you out of victimhood and into Mastery—mastery over your own health.

It is a supreme confirmation of my favorite saying, "You Can Take Control of Your Health."

A Healthy Lifestyle Supports Healthy Genetic Expression

So the good news is that you are in control of your genes … You can alter them on a regular basis, depending on the foods you eat, the air you breathe, and the thoughts you think. It's your environment and lifestyle that dictates your tendency to express disease, and this new realization is set to make major waves in the future of disease prevention -- including one day educating people on how to fight disease at the epigenetic level. When a disease occurs, the solution, according to epigenetic therapy, is simply to "remind" your affected cells (change its environmental instructions) of its healthy function, so they can go back to being normal cells instead of diseased cells.

You can begin to do this on your own, long before you manifest a disease. By leading a healthy lifestyle, with high quality nutrition, exercise, limited exposure to toxins, and a positive mental attitude, you encourage your genes to express positive, disease-fighting behaviors.

This is what preventive medicine is all about. It's not about taking any one particular nutrient as a supplement to fix one specific "part" of your biological machinery... The more people become willing to embrace this simple truth, the healthier everyone will get.
It's also worth pointing out that epigenetic effects begin before birth.

Epigenetic research from 2009 showed that rat fetuses receiving poor nutrition in the womb become genetically primed for a nutrition-poor environment. As a result of this genetic adaptation, the rats tended to be smaller. They were also at higher risk for a host of health problems throughout their lives, such as diabetes, growth retardation, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and neurodevelopmental delays. Again, while some are tempted to blame such "predispositions" on bad genes, the KEY factor is nutrition, i.e. the cellular environment.

If you're ready to address your dietary choices, read through my comprehensive nutrition plan, which will give you tips and tools for eating healthy, dealing with stress, and living a lifestyle that will support your epigenetic health.

You can also turn your genes off and on with your emotions too. Many, if not most people carry emotional scars; traumas that can adversely affect health. Using techniques like energy psychology, you can go in and correct the trauma and help regulate your genetic expression. My favorite technique for this is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), but there are many others. Choose whichever one appeals to you, and if you don't sense any benefits, try another, until you find what works best for you.

Please, remember that 'You CAN Take Control of Your Health.'

You can find the rest of this article here.

I think what is important to take away from this lesson is that while we now know we can change our genes to our benefit, we can also change them detrimentally, and that is how we pass on the predisposition to diseases like autism, which is an epidemic of gargantuan proportion at 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys.  Our environment, the American diet and our thoughts have turned "on" these awful genes, let's please work on reversing this so that our children can pass on healthier genes to the next generation.

I wasn't very far off.....after all, "you are what you eat"!

And the results are in....drumroll please?!

After just under one and a half months on the Body Biotics soil-based organism probiotics, see for yourself!

I know the new test is a little more difficult to read.  The orange bar in the center is the median range, but the actual range is much larger than that, and spans the entire distance to the black lines on either side of the orange bar.  If his results were considered high or low for a category, there would be a red H or L in the number column and the diamond would be outside of the normal range with a red diamond.

Those tests say more than anything I can write here!  HPHPA from 413 to 26?!?!  Yeast at normal levels?!?! Clostridia was a ***ch to fight, antibiotics never worked, natural antimicrobials kept things almost at bay, but we couldn't remove them without a significant backslide, and who wants their child on high doses of antimicrobials three times a day, indefinitely?   I can say, with certainty, that these probiotics are our saving grace.  They do everything they say they do!

We have Gavin's results too, but since it was our first OAT for him, we have nothing to compare to.  His 3-oxoglutaric was just slightly elevated, which means he had a little bit of a yeast overgrowth, but nothing else showed markers of dysbiosis and no bacteria issues, although his numbers were slightly higher than Grayson's.  I'm sure the results directly related to the dose of the probiotics, because Grayson was worked up to 6 capsules and Gavin was only at 3.  A friend's daughter who is the same age as Gavin, was also at 6 capsules and her numbers look almost exactly like Grayson's.  She had confirmed Clostridia with a level of 393 in December, plus a confirmed case of Candida Krusei.  Her results are clean for Candida Krusei and her HPHPA (clostridia) marker came down to 22!  Also in just under one and a half months!  We have also had two mainstream stool tests done on Gavin and both the bacteria and yeast testing came back completely clean, they were done more recently.  I don't normally put a lot of weight in these tests, but our friend's yeast testing resulted in two forms of yeast at one point, so I know they can pick things up, if they are there.  Regardless, the OAT and the stool testing are my confirmation that things are under control, with NO ANTIMICROBIALS OR ANTIBIOTICS!  What a breath of fresh air to say that!

If you want to know more about these probiotics, click here.

With the good news comes the bad...isn't that always the way?  When we ran our battery of tests on the boys, we have finally confirmed PANDAS (among other things, including a compound heterozygous gene mutation) for Grayson.  I have always suspected it, but never had the titers to prove it, well now I do.  He was in a flare and sure enough both titers came out over 400. My motto is and has always been....one day at a time.  My research continues!

Now we are focusing on the PANDAS, and hoping that the complimentary combination of the probiotics and homeoapthy will do the trick.  Stay tuned!

Another toothpaste recipe

I know, I have another toothpaste recipe in my blog, but if you are a biomed parent, you understand how your child's sensitivities can change like the wind!  It's very hard to find a preservative-free, GFCFSF, mint-free, flavor-free, low-salicylate, toothpaste that is also free of excitotoxins.  That is a mouthful, isn't it?  Literally, tehehe.

 I haven't had time to write about our latest dietary adventures, but I can tell you that my new toothpaste recipe is in direct relation to some things, ok a lot of things, we are trying to avoid.  I will refer to the original toothpaste post for all the reasons to avoid commercial toothpastes, toxins at their best, and YES they do get into your bloodstream via the blood vessels in you mouth.  You can read more about that here.  In the meantime, as a home-schooling, multi-chef-hat-wearing, uber-researching, no-time-for-me mommy, I am going to get on with this post.  =)

Ingredients
-1/2 C. water
-1/2 C. xylitol (birch sourced only)
-1/4 C. baking soda
-1/8 C. Redmond's sea salt (independently tested as being the lowest in heavy metals)
-1/4 tsp food grade hydrogen peroxide (optional)

I have to warn you that this recipe is very salty, so if you have an aversion to salt flavor, you could reduce the salt in the recipe, but it's very good for cleaning, mineralizing and offering a safe abrasion for scrubbing the surface of the teeth so I wouldn't remove it completely.  You could add flavorings, if you tolerate them, in the form of essential oils, but be aware that they are very high salicylate.

Heat all of the ingredients, except the hydrogen peroxide, just to the boiling point, then reduce to low.  Let this simmer until the liquid is all gone, stirring frequently.  It will take a while, so do something else rather than watching the pot, lol.  When it's fairly thick, like a paste, turn off the heat and let it cool.  If you are adding the hydrogen peroxide, add it here and then blend in a blender or the Magic Bullet which is just the right size for small recipes like this.  Your toothpaste will be less of a paste and more of a thin gel.

I like to keep ours in a glass dropper bottle.  After we use up a supplement, I clean it out with boiling water, take the dropper out and cut an X in the tip of the squeezy part of the dropper cap.  Shake well, turn it over and squeeze the dropper cap to dispense!  It works like a charm!  You could also use a nice little hand pump lid for the texture of this toothpaste.  A little goes a long way.

My teeth feel super smooth and clean after using this toothpaste, I have even grown to like the saltiness (I didn't at first), it makes my mouth feel clean! 

Autism File - the magazine

My first issue of the Autism File arrived and was sitting on the counter calling my name for a few days before I really dug in.  You know how it can be....me time?  That is a very rare commodity around here these days.  So it patiently waited until I decided to take some time for me one night when I retired early to be with my magazine.  That doesn't mean I didn't steal a few peeks in the meantime here and there, but I wanted uninterrupted time to take it all in.

At first glance, the cover is bold and informative without being too busy for our overburdened and cluttered minds.  Starring back at me is the beautiful and famous Holly Robinson Peete holding her handsome autistic son, RJ, in a familiar loving vice-grip, screaming pride and protection at the same time.  Of course, I want to know her story, is it like mine?  What page is that story on....oh wait, there is an article on toxicity, oh and folate deficiency, and ohmygoodness, there is the camel milk article by Christina....one page at a time.

The topics?

All of interest, with one common denominator, how we CAN overcome and understand autism!  Ironically, I would happen to receive the very first Autism File with an article from a dear internet friend, Christina Adams, who is a member of our camel milk facebook group and has written about camel milk for healing!!  In the same magazine, a wonderful article about yeast overgrowth, from my very favorite Nutritionist, and another new internet friend, Julie Matthews.  I feel honored to be reading these fabulous articles from such knowledgeable women.  I am even more ecstatic to witness this information taking the floor in a powerful message connecting autism with repairable, treatable medical conditions, finally!  We, personally, started our journey with biomedicine and it's been good to us, we have a responder.  I have always wanted to scream our treatment successes from mountaintops for the whole world to hear.  This magazine is doing exactly that!  Kudos to you Autism File!  It is successful at being both the ears and the voice of many ASD families.

Getting off track here, let's get back to the topics.  As I sit here scanning through the magazine (which I thoroughly read already, from cover to cover, stretching late into the night), I see a wide variety of topics ranging from ways to nurture an autism family marriage and keeping dreams within reach of your child to the most effective ways to consider handling your ASD child's health issues, healing them from the inside out, thereby potentially dissolving their symptoms one at a time.   This magazine offers encouragement, hope, and most importantly answers...real answers, for and by real people!!  This is what we need, we need answers.  Doctors notoriously turn autism families away, suggesting that this is the best your child can be, "learn to live with it" - I have one word for those doctors - WRONG!  I may have a few other choice words too, but I will keep this clean.  =) 

Do you want to know what toxins can contribute to autism?  You will find it here.  Do you want to know what supplements are recommended for those on the spectrum?  You will find that here too.  Do you want to know what all the hubub is about the latest discovery on folate receptor antibodies?  Yup, you got it, that is here too.  You will even find the the reason camel milk is the latest topic on the tongues (no pun intended) of ASD parents.  Intertwined with all of these fabulous articles, will also find the latest and greatest on: recipes, foods for our severely restricted diets, information for the most cutting-edge labs to use for testing, the latest research, how to plan for your ASDer's future, ways to improve learning, and even the latest political challenges we face and/or overcome in the ASD community.  This is a very well-rounded magazine, chock full of information, capturing just about every facet of life impacted by autism. 

If you or someone you know has a child on the spectrum, or even ADHD, this resource is an absolute must-have!  All the latest and greatest is captured in this invaluable subscription and, if you are like me, it will serve as a jumping off point, spurring hours of research to find more....more to open those windows of opportunity into healing and helping our children.  My child is recovering, join me! 

No one says it better than Editor-in-Chief, Polly Tommey herself,

"The Autism File team is passionate about finding answers to the many critical questions surrounding the autism epidemic.  Why the dramatic rise in autism and Asperger's diagnoses over the past two decades? Why are so many ASD children and adults unable to get basic support? Why do so many students with autism fail to get the education that they need? Why are a great many people with autism living in pain, often with underlying medical conditions that go either undiagnosed or ignored?  The list goes on, and we will continue to work hard at getting the answers.  There are many brilliant doctors, scientists, researchers and autism groups working around the clock to achieve this.  The Autism File will continue to report on the very latest and bring it to your door."

Thank you Autism File, for getting the word out.

The low down....and dirty

Get your mind out of the gutter!!  Dirty, hmm.  The only dirt I am referring to here is the soil, because the latest and greatest on us involves the soil!  Well, sort of. 

**SEE UPDATE FROM SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 BELOW!

Mud pies and probiotics 

I believe there is a reason kids make (and eat) mud pies!  lol  Their body instinctively knows more than us germ-a-phobic parents!  Soil contains the very organisms that used to enter our body on a daily basis.  I know you are thinking, "but what about the parasites??"  Well, if you are ingesting certain microbes along side the parasites, those parasites have no chance of survival!  And chances are, if the soil is loaded with these beneficial bacteria, the bad guys are probably non-existent anyway.  Ahhh, mother nature....Now, I am not suggesting you run out back and make yourself a mud-pie for lunch, because today you can get those same bacteria in a capsule.  They are targeted to certain microbes and yes, they are parasite-free, haha.

Remember your grandmother talking to you about growing up on the farm?  I know mine did.  She raised animals, played in the dirt, rode horses, and ate foods grown in that very soil.  They didn't use anything but water to rinse those veggies too!  Today it's so eloquently referred to as "farm to table" and it's highly under-rated.  Before we tarnished our soils with pesticides, fertilizes and chemicals (be it natural or not), we had soil full of micro-organisms very beneficial to just about every aspect of our body chemistry and while they aren't natural residents of our intestines, they SHOULD be regular visitors!

These micro-organisms prevented the growth of anything harmful in the soil and ironically, they can do the same in our bodies!  The data is overwhelming and I will share a few links below, in case you want to read more, but before we get to that.  Let me share the results of our last five weeks using SBOs (soil-based organisms). 

We started them on very low doses on a Friday so that we could spend the weekend observing.  We didn't need to observe much though, because their uncontrolled yells, fighting and screeches could be heard from anywhere in the house.  We are no stranger to die-off and anything that results in die-off usually tells me that we are on the right track, but holy cow!!  But just like any other successful intervention, we also saw TONS of improvement.

Why the new probiotic? 

Just prior to starting the SBOs, Grayson had been going downhill, symptoms resembling his dark Clostridia-riddled days.  It was slow, but it was mounting.  He had begun to wake grumpy and irritable and this was quickly appearing to be the new norm, the OCD was trickling in and he had a new snort-tic, which we were trying to determine, if it had been related to the mold exposure he had at school (yeah, nice right?  A topic for another day, we are now homeschooling).  The symptoms were picking up speed and intensity.  Gavin on the other hand, had become a handful long before this.  Things had been going SO well, then suddenly we felt like we were hit by the pathogenic school bus from hell again.  I was increasing their three-times-daily natural anti-microbials without success.  Vague memories of Clostridia creeping back in, giving me nightmares!!  So we started the biofilm program back up and included Lumbrokinase this time.  It was going fairly well, but we were creeping back up the hill to better.  It wasn't fast enough for me.  I like to run when there is a hill on my horizon! 

In my usual nightly research mode, I came across a probiotic that was similar to some mentioned in our FB groups here and there.  I was intrigued, to say the least, because intertwined in the overgrowth madness, I felt like all I was doing was killing (the microbes, not the children).  This seemed to spur massive oxalate dumps.  Was it the chicken or the egg.  Were the pathogens causing the oxalates to build up or was the oxalate dumping causing the PH shift enabling the overgrowth.  Regardless, I needed to find out how to encourage the growth of the good guys.  Maybe in this way, we could salvage the few oxalabactor formigenes (the specific bacteria solely responsible for degrading oxalates from the diet) we have left.  Feed them, let them grow!!  If we can't buy them and put them back into our intestinal terrain, we needed something to protect the ones we have left.  I had personally begun to have oxalate dumps in this time period too, which had me seriously reconsidering the role of killing off microbes daily, even with the natural stuff, because this didn't start for me until I began the same regimen my kids were on.  I never had problems with chocolate, nuts, or carrots before.  But it wasn't long before I too was following in their footsteps.  Anytime we are killing off massive amounts of anything, we should question what else could be impaired in the process.  I knew it was the lesser of two evils at the time, but now I can say that I know differently.  But how would we do this successfully with such overgrowth challenges in the picture?

Jagged path to the finish line

As with anything else that sets our body straight, we experienced a healing crisis in the first weeks on the SBOs, plus to muddy the waters, we decided that giving the anti-microbials was counterproductive and would kill off these essential bacteria, so we stopped everything other than their supplements, camel milk, Lauricidin and nightly probiotics.  While ramping-up the SBOs we had incredible challenges.  There were days I was running toward the kitchen cabinet that holds our natural anti-microbials....running.  My husband had to stop me!  Thank goodness he had done as much research as I had done on the SBOs and believed in the science behind them.  He was much stronger than I in the moments of question.  As we foraged through the "symptoms" it began looking more like we were seeing a healing crisis, as defined here.  Here is a description of healing crisis from Shirley's Wellness Cafe -

"Healing Crisis: As with all true natural cure, the road to better health may begin with a healing crisis. As you move toward better health with natural healing programs and better nutrition, healing begins to occur. As part of the healing process the body will begin to discard toxic residues which have built up in your body over the years. The healing process usually does not occur without repercussions. During the initial phase of healing, as your body begins to clean house, (detoxify) and your vital energy begins to repair and rebuild internal organs, you may experience headache, uneasiness, flu like symptoms and fatigue. This is called a healing crisis. You may feel worse before you feel better. As you continue to improve, you may begin a process called retracing. For example, if you used to get skin rashes, the rashes may reappear or get worse for a period of time as your body eliminates toxins through the skin. You may also experience an initial increase in urination, or you may feel more nervous. In actuality, you are not getting worse, you are actually getting better. Eventually you will reach a plateau of better health. During the healing crisis, it is important to not suppress these temporary symptoms with drugs or the healing process may become interrupted."

and this

"One crisis is not always enough for a complete cure. The person in a chronic "locked" disease state will often have to go through cycles of healing crises, with each one improving the condition some. It has taken time to develop a chronically diseased state, and time is required to let go of the "locked" energy, piece by piece. It's like peeling the layers off an onion.

Often the crisis will come after one feels their very best and most energized, setting the stage for the elimination. The whole body gets into action. Most people feel an energy boost at the beginning until the toxins start dumping into the blood stream for elimination. Go as slowly as your body needs so your elimination is gradual and comfortable.

With a more serious condition, there may be many small crisis to go through before the system can become healthily balanced. Everything must be considered and given its proper place in the build-up to a healing crisis. One should expect it and work with the body, not resentfully against it."


What did our healing crisis look like?  In this order...

• Better connections with both kids, but more-so with Gavin, including significant eye contact
• Spontaneous singing from Grayson (who is normally extremely shy when it comes to performing in any way)
• More affection
• Grayson's snorting and Gavin's defiance significantly increased in frequency and intensity
• Sensory defensiveness increased then fluctuated off and on for a few weeks
• Anger and irritability
• Both became clumsy, knocking things over, bumping into things and hurting themselves
• Disproportionate reactions to anything frustrating
• Yeast symptoms including: hyperactivity, mood swings, emotional liability, anxiety, sensory seeking and defensiveness
• Many bowel changes (I won't gross you out with the details)
• Repeated hiccup episodes, from both boys
• Familial awareness in Gavin that never existed before (ie - one night he wouldn't let me in the kitchen while he surprised me with cleaning off the entire kitchen table from dinner, he's only 3)
• Longer periods of the boys playing together
• Gavin lost two chunks of hair from the scalp which is smooth where the hair was
• Lack of focus
• Explosive behaviors
• Pain in ears for both (severe, like ear infections) which only lasted a day for each
• Lethargy
• Incredibly fidgety
• Grayson began exhibiting tics we haven't seen in a while like head-tilting, jaw stretching and ear and head swatting
• More irrational anger and hyperactivity
• Gavin randomly experimenting with unknown foods and eating veggies
• OCD in Grayson
• Increased cooperation with both boys listening to me without argument
• Increased hitting from Gavin
• Bedtime routine more streamlined, less frantic
• Sporadic sleep disturbances (not able to fall asleep, waking in the night, early waking)
• Moods becoming more consistently happy with less of the above intermittently
• Physical symptoms coming and going in Gavin: significant bloating, increased keratosis on arms, red spot like an inflammation under one eye, very dark circles under the eyes, broken blood vessels in one eye which increased when dose was increased, and eye pains for about a week
• Grayson's tummy remaining flatter than ever
• Increase in die-off symptoms appearing 45 minutes after dose, this increased to an hour and then it went away completely
• Still seeing disproportionate irritability in Gavin and randomly with Grayson
• Unsolicited report from school about Gavin having a "great day" and he's never really had a bad day
• Grayson's snorting decreasing after going through a clear runny nose that burned his nose and lips for days
• Increased cooperative play between the two boys
• Grayson's mood consistently improving, only appropriately proportionate moments of frustration which diffuse easily
• Gavin's BMs still changing, but many great ones in between
• Gavin responding well to our requests
• Intermittent yeasty signs coming and going, but since adding in Allimax (liquid garlic) this has tapered off quite a bit
• Sensory defensiveness in both is gone
• Intermittent bloating as doses are increased for Gavin
• Old scar on Grayson's face fading, not as pink as before
• Still seeing some random die-off symptoms, but less frequently and shorter in duration
• Gavin expressing himself more vocally and clearly
• My requests are met with a simple, "ok"
• Consistent happiness all day, in both
• Appropriate irritation for age of boys and tied to specific events
• Gavin's keratosis is slowly clearing up 

So what does this mean exactly?  Well first I must say that we have gotten past many of the above symptoms.  Considering we've spent over a month with our children off of anti-microbials completely and we've seen incredible improvements says a lot more than my words can ever spell out here.

** UPDATE - To see our OAT results after a month and a half on these probiotics (with NO antimicrobials or antibiotics), click here.
  
Now I would like to share some links with you about SBOs.


Soil-based organisms and immune function


22 Ways soil-based organisms build dynamic health


Collective writings of SBO probiotics by Dr. Rosthschild


I've chosen a particular brand (Body Biotics), because of it's pure ingredients.  There are only a handful out there to begin with, but many are made with maltodextrin (made from corn and I would guess probably GMO), and contain traces of soy and dairy.  Some contain ingredients like chlorella and spirulina which are unsafe for mercury toxic people.  Body Biotics is the brand that Jordan Rubin used to heal himself from death's door, when Crohn's Disease had taken the best of him.  He went on to create his own product, but Body Biotics remains to be the purest formula my research has found.  

My husband and I have also been using this product with great success.  In fact, it's recommended that all members of the family at least use a maintenance dose since pathogens are shared and will just pass back and forth, reinfecting each other.  I am also off all of my anti-microbials!! =)

**UPDATE September 14, 2018 - I have since found a probiotic that we like even better than the Body Biotics. You are free to try whichever brand resonates with you, of course, but if you have a child with potential histamine issues, Body Biotics will aggravate things, even though they bring healing, as well. We have been using flourish by Entegro which is never frozen, freeze dried or powdered.  This probiotic is also a consortium like Body Biotics and it contains soil based organisms, but the kicker with this one is that it doesn't contain any histamine.  When I contacted the developer, Jarod Work, to ask about histamine, he informed me that they had third party lab testing done to confirm that there are no detectible histamines in this probiotic! This was quite evident to us when for the first time, we were able to give a probiotic without ANY negative effects.  We went slow with the introduction, because historically, my kids have always reacted to probiotics (as many kids on the spectrum do) and I have since learned that this may be related to histamine. They don't tolerate fermented foods well either. My husband and I began to notice subtle changes that were happening pretty early on. We saw this immediate calm come over both boys, their edge was gone!! They weren't fighting and bickering constantly like they had in the past. Their hyperactivity calmed significantly and even more impressive was the focus and maturity that we witnessed as we began to increase the dose to the recommended dose. I was so impressed with this probiotic that I have decided to become a consultant for the company (it's free to sign up as a consultant, btw!).  You can find these amazing probiotics here.  You can click on this link to join my Facebook group to learn more, as well as hearing about special promotions that they run frequently.

**UPDATE January 2019 - Since having conducted a handful of UBiome tests on myself, I have discovered that the only probiotics to sway health from an overall perspective, is flourish!  My testing spanned the timeframe from June 2017 to January 2019 (so far, as I have another in the pipeline, pun intended!).  In that time, I methodically changed things to see how the testing would respond.  Three tests were conducted while taking various probiotics and my test in May of 2018 even had me taking 4-5 SBO capsules, Seeking Health histamine blocker probiotics AND a prescription strength Oxalabacter Formigenes probiotic!  The only testing that shows improvements in my bowel disease ratios and bacterial diversity are the tests post-flourish and it began within just months of taking flourish.

This test is from three months before starting flourish.  You can see that my gut condition was souring into the red zone!  This meant my microbiome was prone to bowel disease and at the time, I was having some abdominal pain randomly, especially after eating.  My stools were inconsistent too. 

This test was conducted less than 2 months after starting flourish and you can see the incredible improvements already documented!  I had dropped all the other probiotics I was taking and had started dosing flourish slowly so for the first month I wasn't even at a full dose!

And here we have GREEN!  Two of the markers are in the green!  Under 5 months on flourish.  

June of 2017 levels of Akkermansia 

January 2019 levels of Akkermansia!

We can all use a little GABA.  My mood has been incredibly consistent since starting flourish.  I can be a better parent now that I don't explode over every little thing!

Did you know that probiotics produce nutrients that are absorbed in the colon which effects systemic vitamin levels, as opposed to supplemental vitamins which are absorbed in the proximal part of our small intestine? It has been proven that probiotics produce a huge number of vitamins, such as:

• Vitamin A

• Vitamin K

• Vitamins B1-B3, B5-B7, B9, B12

• Essential Fatty Acids

So perhaps the need for B-vitamin supplementation is really a call for proper probiotic colonization. The importance of B-vitamins in our health can’t be overstated – they activate our genetic pathways, produce energy, enhance detoxification and allow our cells to survive.

Additionally, probiotics also increase the digestibility, bioavailability and processing of a large number of nutrients, including:

• copper

• calcium

• magnesium

• iron

• manganese

• potassium

• zinc

• proteins

• fats

• carbohydrates

• sugars

• milk

• phytonutrients

• cholesterol

A tablespoon a day can keep the doctor away (wink)


My probiotic levels only reached "moderate" after starting flourish!

To read more about flourish - https://jessica.entegrohealth.com

To join my Facebook group where I post a lot of studies and members share their experiences - https://www.facebook.com/groups/letsflourishjessica/