Have you been wondering, if the diet really works?

Ok, so maybe you have been an avid reader, and maybe you have a child who could benefit from something, you just don't know what yet, and maybe you have even considered going GFCF at minimum...but don't have enough evidence that it will work and just the thought of the intense changes in diet make you sick to your stomach.

Now, if I could just briefly hit on my biggest hot button in all of this?  A child does NOT have to be completely autistic to have these deficiencies, in fact, neither does an adult.  Dr. Kenneth Bock has made it VERY clear in his book Healing the New Childhood Epidemics that people with allergies, asthma, ADHD and even autoimmune diseases have their roots in the same soil as autism.  Autism is just one facet of this "illness" on the rise.  It takes the shape of many faces and does not have to go by any one label.  

Well, let me enlighten you!  It may not be enough for little old me to tell you the diet works (I have seen it, like night and day, especially during an infraction that changes my children practically overnight, turning them into a sensory snowball), but what if a well-known National autism nutritionist was able to tell you this, and what if she even had a double blind study to further prove it?  Would it be worth it then?

Feast your eyes on THIS!

One of the Most Comprehensive Studies on Nutrition for Autism

September 22, 2011 Categories: Autism News by Julie Matthews

One of the Most Comprehensive Studies on Nutrition for Autism
By Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant
As a nutritionist working with children with autism for ten years, I was particularly excited to read the most recent research findings. For those who continue to say, “There is no science behind diet and nutrition for autism” or “there is nothing you can do about autism,” you’re about to finally be convinced.

A study entitled, “Nutritional and Metabolic Status of Children with Autism vs Neurotypical Children and the Association with Autism Severity,” conducted by Jim Adams, was recently published in the journal of Nutrition and Metabolism in June 2011. It provides an excellent framework for consideration of dietary intervention and supplementation for children with autism.

This study validates what many clinicians have observed in their practices for years—that children with autism have biomedical imbalances that are strong factors in their autistic symptoms, and that diet and supplementation play a role in helping children to heal, even lose their autism diagnosis. In my clinical experience, I’ve witnessed hundreds of children improve through specialized attention to diet and nutrition.

A fairly large number of children (99) were included in the research that measured a wide range of nutritional and metabolic markers—i.e. scientific, quantitative indicators of children with autism’s unique biochemical status.  In the “Background and Significance” and “Discussion” sections of the published paper, Adams, et al. provides a straightforward interpretation of the results that were measured, and explains functional testing, interpretations, and makes comparisons to previous study results (both consistent and contrary).  I believe it’s an excellent analysis of the current biomedical understanding of autism and supports clinical findings reported worldwide. And, it presents fresh new data to guide the use of supplementation and diet.

The study compared 55 children with autism diagnoses with 44 controls (neurotypical children of similar ages ranging from 5-16 years old).  Neither group had taken nutritional supplementation for two months prior to the testing conducted in the study.

The research indicated that for the children with autism, their levels of vitamins, minerals, and most amino acids were within published reference ranges; however many of their biomarkers were significant different from the control group.  Biomarkers are a way of discovering the functional insufficiency of a nutrient by measuring markers in biochemical pathways that indicate a deficiency, and comparing that to the actual amount of the nutrient in the body (as measured in blood, etc).
This is an interesting finding—nutrient levels appear “normal” but functional testing shows that they are not normal in children with autism. Functional testing (that identifies these biomarkers) are not used in most traditional medical settings.  If the medical community is looking for nutrient deficiencies through standard testing of nutrient levels (as an underlying factor and course of treatment), they most likely will not find it – even though biochemical/nutritional insufficiencies are common and supplementation is necessary.

In this study, biomarkers for increased oxidative stress, decreased sulfation and detoxification, vitamin and glutathione insufficiency, and reduced energy transport were also found. And, several of the biomarker groups were significantly associated with the severity of autism.

Again, this parallels what autism clinicians routinely report —that children with autism have decreased detoxification, energy disregulation, and increased oxidative stress.

The authors conclude, “These nutritional and metabolic differences are generally in agreement with other published results and are likely amenable to nutritional supplementation.”
I absolutely concur.

Here are some of the specific areas measured and details of the study’s findings, and my discussion of the results.

Vitamins
Biotin was the only vitamin with a significant difference in the children – it was 20% lower in the children with autism.  B5, vitamin E and total carotenoids levels showed “possibly significant” lower levels in children with autism.

The functional need for certain vitamins (folate and niacin) was assessed using FIGLU and n-methyl-nicotinamide, and were somewhat higher and possibly significant in autism.  This suggests and an increased need for folate and niacin in children with autism.

Minerals
While most mineral levels tested within neurotypical reference ranges, the study found a statistical significance with lower levels of WB (whole blood) lithium, but higher levels of iron in the autism group. Twenty-five percent of the autism group was below the reference range for iodine and calcium.

Sulfation
Free and total sulfate in plasma (necessary for adequate sulfation) were very significantly lower in children with autism – 28% and 65%.

Sulfate is necessary for proper sulfation. Sulfation comprises varied processes that use sulfate (sulfur) in the body, such as in forming sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGS) in the gut for intestinal integrity, or detoxifying compounds in phase II liver detoxification. Sulfate is used in many biological processes, and adequate sulfur is required both from consumption of sulfur rich foods and recycling sulfate in the kidneys.  The results of this study are consistent with the findings of Dr. Rosemary Waring who found children with autism (and adults with autoimmune conditions) to have low sulfate levels.

Methylation
SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) was also significantly lower in children with autism – very much so. Uridine in plasma was very significantly higher in children with autism +93%. Uridine is believed to be a marker of methylation status, with high levels indicating poor methylation.  For SAM, SAH and SAM/SAH ratio 25-39% of the autism group had low levels.

SAM is the primary methyl donor in methylation reactions (more than forty in the body).  Methylation is important for the methylation of neurotransmitters, proteins, and DNA methylation (gene expression).  Methylation affects fatty acid metabolism, allergic responses, myelination, cellular energy, and more.  Proper methylation is also necessary for the body to produce adequate levels of glutathione.

ATP
ATP is the primary energy source for the brain and the body.  SAM is converted from methionine with methionine adenyosyl transferase, which requires ATP.  Methionine was at normal levels but ATP was very significantly lower in the autism group. The authors suggest, “low levels of ATP are at least part of the reason for decreased levels of SAM.”ATP is required by the kidney to resorb sulfate and “recycle” it. The authors believe that decreased ATP is a significant contributor to decreased sulfate levels in children with autism.

I believe that oxalates could be a factor.  When sulfate is insufficient, oxalate (instead of sulfate) can be shuttled into the cell on the sulfate transporter and “gum up” the works of the mitochondria, affecting ATP and energy metabolism.  Could there be a “vicious cycle” at work, where adequate sulfate is needed to produce ATP and ATP is needed for recycling sulfate?  Given the benefits I’ve observed with the low oxalate diet, I’d welcome more research and discussion of this possibility.

Oxidative Stress
Reduced plasma glutathione (GSH) was very significantly lower in children with autism. All three markers for oxidative stress were very significantly higher in children with autism; oxidized glutathione (GSSG), GSSG/GSH ratio, and plasma nitrotyrosine.  NADPH, a precursor to ATP, is needed to recycle GSSG to GSH.  NADPH was found to be substantially lower in the autism group.  These results were also consistent with the work of Dr. Jill James, who found low levels of glutathione in children with autism (as well as positive benefit of certain forms of folate).

Glutathione is imperative for preventing oxidative stress.  In addition to being an antioxidant, it supports proper detoxification, inflammation, pathogen fighting, and more.

Amino Acids in Plasma
Two amino acids used in building neurotransmitters were significantly different from controls. Tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin was significantly lower in the autism group, and glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, was significantly higher.  Low tryptophan can play a role in depression and poor sleep, and glutamate is a factor in hyperactivity. Other differences were possibly significant such as slightly decreased tyrosine and phenylalanine and slightly higher serine.

Dietary Intervention and Supplementation
This study supports the use dietary intervention for autism (individualized to the child). There is much valuable data we can gather from this study on how to apply and adjust diet and supplementation for autism.

Adequate protein intake is crucial for children with autism.  Decreased levels of amino acids such as tryptophan, phenylalanine, and taurine most likely indicate a need for increased protein intake or proper digestion of protein (possibly through the use of digestive enzymes).  Supplementation with individual amino acids, particularly those consistent with signs of deficiency, may be warranted.  For example, tryptophan or 5-HTP supplementation may be helpful with a low tryptophan level and depression.

This study highlights the need for foods rich in antioxidants and antioxidant supplementation for children with autism.  Foods rich in antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E, as well as zinc and selenium are important.  Berries, beans, spices like turmeric and rosemary, nuts, grass-fed beef and pastured poultry are good sources of antioxidants. Foods rich in glutathione and glutathione precursors to include in your child’s diet consist of: broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, garlic, kale, cumin and cinnamon, eggs, and avocado.

Supplementation with biotin, folate, vitamin B12, liposomal glutathione, SAM, lithium, sulfate, and many other nutrients are important (on an individual basis) for children with autism.
The Feingold and Failsafe diets remove salicylates, amines, and glutamates, substances that require proper sulfation (and methylation) for proper breakdown.  For the children with these biochemical insufficiencies, these diets can be very helpful.  I was glad to see further research that supports what I am finding clinically.

The low oxalate diet has been very helpful for many of my clients with autism. More discussion is needed about the role of oxalate in the oxidative stress and low ATP found in this study in children with autism.  For these children, the low oxalate diet may prove particularly helpful.

Benefit to Autism
I greatly appreciate scientists and researchers like Dr. Jim Adams, whose dedication has helped thousands of parents and clinicians to gain useful information about addressing autism.
I’ve spent more than 5 years compiling research and presenting the case for diet and supplement intervention in my book “Nourishing Hope for Autism,” which has nearly 200 scientific references regarding the biochemistry of autism and the use of food, nutrition, and supplementation to ameliorate symptoms. Dr. Adams’ earlier research was instrumental in guiding my query.

The current study by Adams, et al greatly advances our understanding of these factors and further solidifies the case for “Autism is treatable.” It solidifies a foundational understanding of how diet and nutrition intervention benefits autism and helps nutritionists like me address the diet naysayers who deny Hippocrates dictum “let food be they medicine” by asking “is there a double-blind study to support diet changes?”

Yes, there is!

Adams JB, Audhya T, McDonough-Means S, Rubin RA, Quig D, Geis E, Gehn E, Loresto M, Mitchell J, Atwood S, Barnhouse S, Lee W. Nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism vs. neurotypical children, and the association with autism severity. Nutrition & Metabolism 2011 Jun 8;8(1):34.

Here is the link for this article.

The big picture

I have been adding to my "Recommended reading" tab lately, because I think the big picture is more than just that ONE trigger, ONE reason we have sick kids, or are sick ourselves.  Just like we've been brainwashed to think one magic pill will cure our illnesses, we also think there must be one reason we have the "illness".  The truth is that our environment has become so polluted, we are living such toxic lives, that it's just a matter of time before each of us reaches our tipping point.  For our children who are the products of evolution involving over-toxic lifestyles, that is happening sooner and sooner.  I know, I have written about this before, but it's a big part of the big picture.

I see many parents who jump to the conclusion that because their child or children regressed after a particular vaccination, that this vaccination was THE cause....no it wasn't.  I don't believe that for a minute.  Was it the tipping point, it sure was!  But that doesn't mean it's the ONLY cause for the regression or downward spiral.  And what about the parents who throw their hands up, because their child was "born this way"?  We must view each of our lives as having a large bucket to maintain.  We are filling it too fast!  This bucket is overflowing for those of us with CFS, autoimmune diseases, autism, allergies, Fibromyalgia, frequent infections, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue....it starts the flow of events that unfold before us every new day, the events we chalk up to "old age".  So why are our children being born with them?  Our job is to figure out, for each of us, what we need to do to maintain that bucket, BEFORE it tips.  Removing toxins, controlling pathogens, eating healthy and organic, avoiding dangerous chemicals and ingredients, knowing what our bodies react to and avoiding those things, identifying and replenishing deficiencies....this is how we remove the sludge that builds up in the bottom of our buckets.  If you make this a lifestyle change rather than experimenting with spurts of attempts, you can imagine this bucket is the dehumidifier with a hose permanently attached to your sump pump, lol!!  It will drain regularly and maintain your bucket.   Once you realize the impact your actions have on the rest of the world and how in return, that effects your health, you will also take more interest in the big picture!

If we don't start maintaining our lifestyle before having children, it is inevitable that they will somehow reap the *rewards* of our choices.  And yes, this can and does appear even before birth, in utero.  Many things are passed onto our children before they are even born, like heavy metal toxicity which passes on for at least three generations, and pathogenic diseases like Lyme and Syphilis, overgrown microbes like bad bacteria and yeast (candida), nutritional deficiencies that often get worse in pregnant and lactating women, antibodies that we carry (good and bad), and then there is the passing of pathogens and toxins via breast milk and so on. 

The problem is that we don't realize this soon enough.  We usually figure out that we even have a "bucket", when it's already been tipped over.  Why is this?  Simply put, because doctors do NOT have this knowledge....not the kind of doctors we are told to see regularly.  They push medicine and if you are well, they don't see any need to help you.  We are indirectly learning to rely on pharmaceuticals rather than trusting our instincts and using common sense to prevent and treat our ailments.  When did we lose touch with prevention?  Ask your grandmother about castor oil, fish oil and using salts and natural foods to heal!  As soon as big Pharma came into the picture, our priorities did a 360, and we didn't even see it happening!  Unfortunately for my family, my children are the reason we have figured this out.

So now my life-long "calling" is to research and find the reasons this is happening to us as a nation, and educate myself and others about how to avoid and change it.  Many are willing to listen, in fact they want the information, but there are those who are just stuck, they are so stuck in their over flowing bucket that they are drowning in it, they don't even know which way is up.  Some people are beyond recovery emotionally and it's directly related to how far their health has declined that they believe in nothing, they are so wrapped up in their own sadness that they can't even see the hope anymore.  I am sad for them, because I would love more than anything to point them in the right direction, but I have to accept the fact that not everyone wants help.  I will not stop trying though!

Must watch videos on camel milk and how it heals

These videos deserve their own blog entry.  For anyone with an autoimmune disease, diabetes, autism, Chrone's disease, allergies, Hepatitis, tuberculosis, parasites, among many other diseases, this set of videos is a MUST WATCH!  This is mind-blowing.  We've seen incredible improvements with camel milk with both boys.

If you only have time for one video, choose #3.  The first video is the story from a woman whose son was healed of a devastating parasitic infection that was destroying his health.

Camel Milk for Health

Vaccines, mercury and aluminum

I belong to the Autism-Mercury yahoo group where there are tons of fabulous and experienced parents sharing their knowledge daily.  While scanning the threads, I noticed that Haven who is one of the well-versed mothers (love her name too) had responded to a poster who was questioning her DAN! doctor's direction on testing and chelation.  We see this all the time, people questioning their doctors, and with good reason!  I found her response to be riveting and thorough so I asked permission to share it here on my blog.  I am thrilled to be able to offer this additional perspective below, on the road we have chosen for our children.

Haven and I are some of the many many other parents dedicating our lives to their childrens' recoveries.  I have heard time and time again how this is so "rare" to be doing something like this....no, it's not, unfortunately.  I wish that were true, but there are over 9,000 members in the Autism-Mercury group, over 6,000 in the chelatingkids2 group, almost 15,000 on the GFCF kids group, over 5,500 in the MB12Valtrex group and over 3,500 in the Trying low oxalates group.  I am sure there is overlap of members, and I know there are other groups like these, but the numbers speak volumes for the biomedical community.  These groups represent the increase in autism, ADHD and allergies in children today.  And ALL of these parents are looking for safe, non-invasive and natural ways to heal their children, and it's working.

So I repeat, unfortunately, what I do for the health of my children is NOT as uncommon as you might think.  I would however, like to see more parents considering this route when their children are experiencing: learning delays, sensory symptoms, allergies, asthma, GI dysfunction, mood disorders, behavior problems and or anything that you find yourself struggling with repeatedly, with no answers from your pediatricians, your gastroenterologists and your therapists.

Please take a moment to read Haven's fabulous explanation of her own experiences with this path.  One thing you will notice is that parents like us are passionate about healing our children, and all children, because in order to go against the grain of mainstream medicine, we HAVE to be this way, it's what drives us to success! While reading, keep in mind that she is responding to another poster when she says "you".
_______________________________________________________________

Don't bother with a porphyrins test. Use the Doctor's Data Hair Elements
test, and apply the rules of counting per the Dr. Andy Cutler protocol, and
stop letting a DAN milk away your money, having you pay for meaningless tests
and frivolous supplements -- many of which don't work. (What I would give to
have all that money back).

My son in now eleven. I admit that we have been lucky. The very basic
things we did: diet (gf/cf/sf) and metabolic supports: vitamins, minerals,
amino acids along with therapeutic interventions helped our son quite a bit.
We were scared and not knowledgeable in the beginning and thought we had to
have a doctor on board to do AC chelation, and of course DAN! doctors steered
us away from that as they can't make enough money off it, so we were steered toward IV
chelation which caused regressions and serious respiratory reactions in our
son.

What you may wind up finding happens with a DAN! (and I am not saying this is
a definite) is that they try or have you try all these different things, and
then when none of it works, then they will tell you “maybe you ought to put
the child on psychotropics after all”. Well, for us, we were not going to
put our son on Prozac just, because he was stimming and had hyperactivity.

What was more important to us was WHY the stimming came back (probably due
to IV chelation) and why the hyperactivity came back (probably doing IV
again). Then I remembered how those close to the Andy Cutler protocol had helped
put us on the right track in the beginning, and I found myself wishing I had
listened to Dr. Cutler all those years ago, as anything he had told me to do
helped. But we didn't listen at that time about the proper way to chelate
heavy metals.

You need to do a hair test on your child and apply the rules of counting.

If your child has received any vaccines in the last thirty years, your child
has been injected with both mercury and aluminum - among many other toxic
chemicals like antifreeze and formaldehyde.

They did not take the mercury out. My son received 67.5mcg mercury via
vaccines on March 7, 2001, and IMMEDIATELY lost all speech and began a
downward spiral behaviorally, digestively, immunologically, and
neurologically. Even if they had actually taken it out and been truthful
with the public, the FDA NEVER recalled the thimerosal-containing vials
still on the shelves -- a supply which may well still be out there, but
minimally, would have lasted an additional seven years.

The flu, combo flu this year, tetanus, and rabies shots all still contain
the full complement of mercury. ALL non-live virus vaccine are still MADE
(manufactured) using thimerosal. They told the public they took it out, but
they supposedly take it out AFTER it is manufactured with it. They
supposedly extract it out after the manufacturing process. HA-HA.

Mercury hides. Mercury binds TIGHTLY to protein (and fat) and as any parent
who has ever tried to get it out of their child can attest, mercury is very
difficult to unbind. It does not reside in the blood for long. Any
exposure not excreted by the body will reside in the fatty tissues in the
body: the brain, the kidneys, the liver, the lining of the intestine. It is
really the only thing that can cause abnormal mineral transport in the
body so, look to see whether there is abnormal mineral transport in
the body.  It has the power to disrupt a myriad of biochemical reactions
in the body.

All vaccines are made with animal protein -- ah, something for the mercury
to bind tightly to.  And who polices the extraction of mercury from the
product? Well, our government allows the pharmaceutical industry to police
itself! Maybe because this industry contributes heavily to their
campaigns. You think?

In addition, the vaccines are still sold in multi-dose vials rather than
safer one dose vials (which would not require a preservative). Many factors
can play a roll in how much mercury an individual child receives. Sometimes
it can be that the nurse doesn't shake the bottle well enough, so one child
gets much more mercury than the next child.

In some vaccines, mercury and aluminum are in there together. The aluminum
acts as a catalyst and makes whatever mercury is in there even more toxic.
In vaccines where they "took the mercury out," they added aluminum as the
primary preservative. Aluminum- a substance known to cause neuronal cell
death and suspect in contributing to breast cancer and Alzheimer's. No
wonder autism has continued to rise, given the number of vaccines and the
amount of mercury and aluminum children are still getting via vaccines.

In all this, mercury is still the primary problem. They try to comfort the
public by saying that it is ethyl-mercury and not methyl. Big whoopee-do.
it is STILL the second most toxic substance on the face of the Earth. No
safety studies were ever done on infants using methyl mercury (unless you
count the massive human experimentation on our children over the last thirty
or forty years). They "guessed." They based its efficacy and safety on
several men who were dying of meningitis who they injected with thimerosal,
and when the men died, the cause of death was listed as meningitis and
thimerosal was pronounced safe.

Did your child receive the Hib shot? This is a type of flu shot.

You need to buy Andy Cutler's book "Amalgam Illness," Study it. Get your
DAN! to order a Doctor's Data Hair elements test and apply the rules of
counting to determine, if your child is mercury toxic. If so, then your
child is probably toxic in other heavy metals too, as mercury disrupts the
detoxification system in the body. If you get the mercury out, the other
metals will follow.

Our environment is filled with this stuff! Our children with depressed
detoxification systems are picking more of it up elsewhere, as well, and it
is cumulative in the body. it is in batteries, lights, electronics, the
air, the water, and in the food supply. It is "pervasive."

I suggest you use the AC protocol for chelation. It will take 100 to 300
rounds to get the mercury out, so you are looking at anywhere from a little over two
years to six years. But this is a very safe -- low and slow method of
chelation. DO NOT allow yourself to get talked into IV chelation, which I
now believe to be dangerous.

You can still use your DAN! to do certain tests when they are warranted such
as re-checking for yeast (which you can tell by behavior usually) and you
can test for neutrophil count and once in a while for kidney/liver function.

In case you have not done so yet, I hope you have done a copper check. Many
of these children can have abnormal levels of copper and disrupted
copper/zinc in the body due to the abnormal mineral transport. High levels
of copper over time can cause permanent brain damage, so I think all
children with this condition should be checked for high copper ASAP.  Zinc
chelates copper. My son's levels were so high after vaccine reaction that
they thought he had Wilson's disease (a genetic disorder), but of course it
wasn't Wilson's, but he has needed to be on extra zinc ever since to keep
his copper levels in check.

As I said, we were very lucky. Perhaps my son's own detoxification system
was not as damaged as other children, so doing the gf/cf/sf diet and adding
metabolic supports helped him tremendously and brought back functional
language. Later, he regained expressive speech and two years ago,
reciprocal speech emerged, and now he has all forms of speech, though about
five years delayed.

By age four, all stimming had ceased, his Sensory Processing Disorder and OCD were all but gone, but then at age six we got persuaded to do IV chelation, and the SPD, stimming,
and OCD returned.

His immune system was severely damaged by the reaction to vaccines. He
began getting sick all the time. From age fifteen months on, he would
develop an infection with fever roughly every two weeks like clock work.
these were usually respiratory. He has had pneumonia eight times, countless
bouts of bronchitis, and they told us he had asthma. He was sick so much we
finally put him on steroids, which made him gain a lot of weight and only
reduced his illnesses by half.

Then he developed an inability to fight off the bacteria that gets
introduced when an insect bites him, so every time he gets bitten, he will
develop radiating staph from each and every bite site. Fire ant bites cause
anaphylaxis, and allergy shots did nothing to reduce the allergic response.

Then after some events that occurred at our DAN! doctor’s office last summer, I took a step
back and reassessed and remembered that in the beginning, the A-M group had
helped us a great deal, so I came back, and from here I learned about the
Recovery From Autism Yahoo group, which has helped tremendously, and we began the AC Protocol a little over a month ago.

I learned that very often asthma symptoms can really be a sign/symptom of
adrenal fatigue (another lovely gift of mercury poisoning as mercury likes
to settle there, as well). A little over a month ago, I started giving my
son ACE (Adrenal Cortex Extract). My son is being chelated using ALA only
due to his being a very reactive kid. Since beginning this protocol, my son
has needed NO asthma medications. He has not needed his rescue inhaler even
once! He has not been sick.

This is the longest my son has gone without being sick in over nine years!
On rounds he is more focused and there is less stimming, SPD, and OCD. About
days 2 and 3 off rounds, the yeast flares up, and we are trying to fight
this with biotin and GSE, but yeast is a big problem for most of these
children. We will prevail.

I urge you to give the AC protocol consideration.

My son was moderate/severe in the beginning. He is high functioning now.
He is bright, funny, imaginative and very well behaved. We home school now,
and at the beginning of that I was worried we might get sick of being
together all the time, but this has been a wonderful experience, and I love
being with him. It gets hectic, but he is making up a lot of ground lost
due to society’s preconceived notions regarding autism. I firmly believe
that with continued AC chelation, my son will continue to improve and
healing is very possible. Three years from now, we will know for sure, but
we KNOW our son is mercury toxic, and getting the mercury out can only
help. I am just still walking on cloud nine that he has not been sick, has
not shown signs of asthma, and has not needed steroids in over a month.

I am not a doctor. I am just a mom who has studied, researched, and worked
her @$$ off to get her son back.

Hope this helps you.

Haven

Wonderful account of mercury toxcity

Via one of the many forums I frequent, I was directed to this link which is probably THE best account of living with mercury toxicity that I have ever read.  It's thorough and stunningly detailed.  I have shared it with members of my family and close friends.  Not only does it force the idea of looking at one's own health, but it explains what my children are going through in their little innocent lives.  If you or someone you know has been vaccinated, has amalgam fillings, GI issues, allergies, mood swings, or learning disabilities, this is a MUST read memoir!

There are many others sharing their similar stories.  Just Google Jeremy Pivens who developed mercury poisoning from eating sushi too frequently.  And Hillary Swank, suffered something similar while she was trying to bulk up for her role in Million Dollar Baby.  Her ailments lasted years, until she discovered the source.  Andy Cutler himself was heavily mercury poisoned and as a chemist, he discovered the road to healing using himself as his own first guinea pig.  The list is endless.  Do you want this to be your babies??

Noticing trends with BAX3000 treatment, the latest

We have been through 12 treatments with the BioVeda BAX3000 so far and I am beginning to see trends that follow our treatments. Last night Grayson was treated for yeast and he added in DMSA and ALA to help with chelation. We are SO excited to see how our next round goes. Anyway, about the trends...every time we have a treatment, the next day results in a FLAT tummy and a healthy independence that isn't there regularly. Today, Grayson actually went up to his room alone in the early part of the day. He has never done this, never! He is usually attached to me at the hip. He said he was going to have some quiet time, he politely asked for a drink of water to take and he and his Leapster 2 went upstairs!! He spent at least 30-45 minutes up there alone. Wow! Then he came down to play with Gavin and I in the playroom where he proceeded to play WITH Gavin nicely, no demands, no taking toys....interacting appropriately and so nicely! He is also responding to my requests really well, no arguing, no crying...this is big!!

We have also treated for corn and I can't wait to see how the reintroduction of corn goes. We currently don't have anything with corn in it to give him, but as soon as we do, we plan on trying it out. Dr. Herman advised us recently to go VERY slow, as in - just bites at a time, to watch for reaction. I guess we learned that the hard way when we offered a plate piled with eggs after his egg treatment, lol. We immediately saw the behavior changes that normally follow eating eggs. I thought the treatment wasn't working, as you can see from my blog that day, however, after 4 incorrectly large attempts, we saw the amazing changes, NO REACTION!! We have even given him 2-3 eggs at a time and twice in one day, still no reaction. His body officially recognizes eggs as safe!

We have also been treating our younger son who recently had a major case of eczema, all over his thighs that was spreading daily. It was red, puffy and inflamed every day, even with my attempts to use the "soak and seal" bath remedy, lotion with every diaper change, I even tried Lotrimin, thinking it might be a fungal rash. Oddly, it wasn't anywhere in his diaper area, just all around it, then it even started spreading up and around his belly, over the top of the diaper!! It seemed like there was something new every time I changed his diaper, but never IN the diaper area. When we went to a BAX treatment last week, I showed this to our doctor who added "homeopathic eczema" to the treatment, he also used the laser directly on his lesions. I kid you not, the eczema has literally begun to dry up since then!! The spots that were red and inflamed are now skin colored dry spots. They aren't all gone yet, but some of the smaller spots are and the larger areas are looking great for the first time in many weeks!! My sister even witnessed this, she saw him before, saw his treatment at the doctor's office and saw how it lightened immediately following treatment.

Getting started

Backing up a bit, I thought I would explain how to get started on a diet that is often greeted with hesitation and fear. When I opened the envelope from the lab and saw the list of 23 foods we needed to avoid (half of them were his favorite foods) I just about choked! When you take it one step at a time, it isn't as daunting as it appears from the overall perspective. So let's break it down:

Breath first
Big deep breaths!! It CAN be done and it WILL become habit.

Research
Go online and hit all the websites that detail recipes and alternative foods. Read, read, read!

Lists
Make lists of all the foods the child CAN have and there really are still a lot of foods available. Make lists of the foods the child cannot have, including and even more importantly the list of hidden foods/ingredients to avoid and keep those in a bag that is with you always, for the sake of shopping. You will need to refer back to these on many occasions. Make a copy of them to give to close relatives and care givers who interact with your child.

Recipes
Find recipes online, from friends, and in books that address special diets, make grocery lists from there initially, eventually you will just be replacing those items as you run out.  It becomes second nature to shop for these foods.  In the early days I found it helpful to keep a running list, as I ran out of a food, I would write it down.  Now, I have a generic list that I typed up and I just check off the foods I need as I run out, since so many are the same every time we shop =)

Talk with your child through it all.
I am amazed at how well a three year old can really comprehend what this is all about. He knows he cannot eat foods from the "red list" (the color of the reactive foods on the test, lol) and how they effect him. I believe that by feeling better on the good foods, he also gets a true life lesson about the foods he can and can't have. When he has an infraction, he feels the effect more than we do. His outward behaviors are just a sign of what is going on inside.

Journal
Keep a daily journal that not only details foods and supplements, but keep track of good and difficult behaviors, you will start noticing connections to certain things that can further be eliminated. This is also important when choosing to challenge a food. The other great thing about a journal is that you will be able to look back at the progress you are making with the diet. It is easy to forget the difficult behaviors until you are faced with them again. Something that helped me was to use color coding highlighters with one color for improved/good behaviors, one for difficult behaviors and another for the first three times foods were introduced during the diet, so I could watch for patterns. When you have umpteen pages to sift through, this will save your sanity!

Connect

Find a local or internet-based group you can share with and learn from. Yahoo and Google both have great groups you can search through. and Facebook now offers us endless reaches around the globe, instantly.  There is nothing better than having a resource like this. When a question pops up, you can gain knowledge from those who are directly effected by the very same issues you are faced with. It's a two way road, you will learn from others who are more experienced than you and eventually you will help others who are newer at it than you. I find this method of learning to be priceless and rewarding in many ways.

And last - make the switch - go shopping
We went cold turkey, but for some, a gradual approach works best. Either way, just go for it and don't look back. When you offer your child a new food, it becomes the ONLY option. The good thing about children is that they tend to have narrow food interests, so once you find a food to replace a favorite, maintaining the diet is actually pretty easy! Imagine that? Comfort and ease come with repetition. We had resistance, and still do, with two favorites - milk and bread. So basically, we have none! I do keep almond milk in the house (mainly for me, since the baby can't handle dairy either) but for bowls of cereal, it really doesn't taste much different. It's also great for baking and cooking. As long as a child is receiving supplements and eating other foods high in calcium and D, milk isn't even necessary. (note - almond milk is high oxalate, which we no longer use now)  See my more recent blog entry for pumpkin seed milk, if you need a low oxalate alternative to milk. 

Enzymes
At some point, consider researching and adding enzymes to the diet. Generally, food intolerance is related to the lack of an enzyme needed to digest the food(s) which causes a leaky gut, resulting in antibody production. Adding enzymes for a good two months while on the diet may allow you to return some food(s) to the diet, slowly, but possibly even permanently. Check out my enzyme links to the right. There is more information than you could ask for on EnzymeStuff.com.

If any readers have tips or tricks to share here, please do!

**A fabulous GFCF resource is TACA (regardless of whether autism is part of the picture, this source of dietary steps to take are priceless, after all autism is proving to be an autoimmune disease too).

What happens...and why?

I'm sure you must be wondering what causes all of these crazy changes in a once well-behaved child. How could food have an effect like this on someone? Just like some people have hay fever or environmental allergies, others have food allergies or reactions to the chemicals in certain foods (phenols).

When a food is not "tolerated", it's also known in lay terms as an allergy, even though it may not inflict a true allergic reaction on a person. Those who have immediate response to foods with rashes, hives, itchies....they are having an IgE reaction, a true allergy. When someone displays changes in behaviors, hypoglycemic responses, headaches and more delayed reactions to foods, they are having an IgG response. This means that their bodies are developing antibodies to the foods and over time this will throw the body into autoimmune disorder(s). When an IgG blood test is done, the blood is put into separate vials where somewhere around 113 foods (one at a time) are then dropped into each of the vials. When the blood "reacts" to the food, it's considered reactive or positive. Is this 100%, no...what is? That is where the food challenges come in, but we can save that for another day's explanation.

The crazy thing about what undigested foods do to us is scary! They create what is known as an "opiate" effect...yes, as in OPIUM, the drug. The undigested foods build up and cause the same exact effect on the brain that opium causes!! Tested and proven! Imagine giving your child a nice dose of opium with breakfast, and then lunch....and then dinner, every day! Wheat and dairy are the biggest culprits of this effect and it causes that hypoglycemic effect that is oh so common in many. The brain is satisfied as long as it is being "fed" it's drug of choice. When the food is no longer available, it goes through withdraw, causing those crazy highs and lows in personality we see, then the food is ingested again, satisfying the brain for some time. Many kids also begin to self-limit the foods they will eat, sticking to just the foods that give them a high, avoiding all others. As long as you keep feeding the monster, it's happy, sounds like a drug addict, doesn't it? Well, it IS! People experiencing this effect will begin to crave the very foods they should be avoiding, because they NEED them, well the brain thinks so. Take away the foods and you will see a drug addict in withdraw, literally, yes in your child! It's is amazing to watch the progress. Grayson was slurring, walking into walls, holding himself up while walking, he was in a daze, then he would get "stimmy" (sensory stimulating behaviors like touching everything around him, bumping into people and things, throwing himself on the floors and furniture, repeating strange words over and over in a sing songy pattern). It was a crazy few weeks until he leveled out, but once he was without the foods for a few weeks, he was/is a new child!! Well, the old child really. Many kids start showing signs of food sensitivities between 2 and 3, because this is how long it takes to buld up enough in the body to start showing these signs outwardly. When you are seeing these signs in your child, you are seeing an outward expression of what the brain and body are experiencing inside. If you continue to feed the culprit foods, as an adult, they turn into autoimmune illnesses such as arthritis, IBS, lupus, asthma, cancer...the list is endless! So how many illnesses can we prevent, who knows, but am I willing to bet we are helping our son extend his life!