My older son got sick a lot, especially after he started preschool when he was 3.
He would go to preschool for a week then be out the whole next week because he was sick; the preschool didn’t want kids coming in who were sneezing and coughing.
When he was 4 years old, he had a severe asthmatic episode after we went to Los Angeles to visit my husband’s family. Read More→
Gut dysbiosis — this topic is the motherlode. It’s one of the two core (in my opinion) reasons for the explosion of chronic childhood illnesses we see today.
First, let’s discuss the numbers behind this epidemic: How many kids did you know when you were growing up that had autism, ADHD, acid reflux, allergies, asthma, developmental delays and/or mental health issues?
I knew of only ONE child with any one of these in the whole time I went to school from elementary school to high school. Now that I am a mom, I can tell you that it’s the rare child who does NOT have any chronic illnesses. The statistics for today’s kids are staggering: Read More→
Vicki Kobliner MS RD, CD-N, is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Holcare Nutrition (www.holcarenutrition.com). She practices using a functional nutrition approach to help the body heal itself and has extensive experience using various diet modalities to help children with autism and related disorders. Vicki works with infants through adults with chronic illnesses, digestive disorders, food allergies, ADHD and autism and provides fertility and prenatal nutrition counseling. She is a contributing author to A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in Americas Children. She can be reached at vicki[at]holcarenutrition[dot]com
Mention the words “nutrition” and “autism” and many people quickly but exclusively think of gluten and casein free diets (GFCF).
While this diet has certainly helped to improve the symptoms of autism for many children, there is far more about nutrition and its relationship to autism that every parent should know before embarking on the complex and often expensive journey into the world of biomedical therapies. Read More→
I have a 7 year old daughter and a 5 year old son. Our healing journey really began when they were 3 and 1 years old.
I now know that both of them had gut dysbiosis and dysregulated immune systems which presented in very different ways for each child.
Learning that they had gut dysbiosis and immune dysregulation was like finding the missing link. Learning about these conditions and how to overcome them was what really put us onto the path of healing.
Soon after Alexa was born, she developed oral thrush and was treated with Nystatin. This seemed to clear up the thrush, yet Alexa had “foamy” diarrhea and painful gas constantly.
Nursing became increasingly difficult as Alexa struggled to stay latched on as if she was choking on the milk.
My pediatrician at the time instructed me to reduce my diet to chicken, rice and a couple of vegetables. She also told me to remove dairy from my diet and put the baby on reflux medication. I tried the diet change but refused to use reflux medication.
When nursing didn’t improve, I found a new pediatrician and a lactation specialist that diagnosed oversupply of milk. With their help, the baby was able to nurse properly and seemed healthy. But then the thrush returned and a new round of Nystatin was used.
At about 8 months of age, Alexa began having periodic fevers often accompanied by an ear infection. The fever episodes lasted about 5 days, the fevers would always reach 105 and were accompanied by severe vomiting and lethargy.
The fevers started coming regularly every month and were often treated with antibiotics and high doses of acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Several times, I opted not to use antibiotics and the fevers took the same course as when they were used.
Routine vaccines were administered and the fevers began coming every 2 weeks instead of every month. Repeat blood tests showed inflammation in the body but doctors could not pinpoint where the inflammation was coming from.
We took her to specialists in genetics, gastroenterology and infectious diseases in hopes of finding the cause. All of the time spent and tests performed led nowhere as their tests could not determine anything.
After waiting over 4 hours for a scheduled appointment at a very prestigious hospital, the doctor reviewed the tests and files and actually scolded me for bringing such a healthy child into such a busy place.
The periodic fevers continued and at 18 months of age, white spots began presenting in Alexa’s tonsils. On recommendation from our pediatrician, I began bringing Alexa to an ENT. He diagnosed her with exudative tonsillitis.
At 2 ½ years old, her tonsils were removed and the fevers stopped. Although the fevers were now gone, Alexa had a severely distended belly, pale skin that wouldn’t tan and dark circles under her eyes.
She was slightly anemic and began having rashes and hives. An IgE test was done which showed her to be allergic to eggs and wheat. These were removed from the diet and the hives decreased.
Alexa also had severe reactions to spider and mosquito bites. When she got a bug bite, it would remain swollen for weeks and often become infected because the bite wouldn’t drain on its own. This resulted in more rounds of antibiotics to clear up the infection.
At that time, I thought that these remaining symptoms indicated that she just needed to “catch up” on nutrition. I had never heard of gut dysbiosis or immune dysregulation and I didn’t connect these conditions to Alexa until after my son was diagnosed with autism…
By six weeks of age, Sergio was very gassy and constipated. (This was chalked up to babies commonly having colic…) By 3 months old, he was constipated to the point of stooling only once a week and it appeared to be very painful for him.
My pediatrician advised me to add fiber and prunes to my own diet to help Sergio’s condition through breastfeeding. The constipation continued, and the baby was only sleeping for an hour at a time and had to be held, even while sleeping. He seemed uncomfortable most of the time.
He also spit up or vomited after feedings and the pediatrician suspected mild reflux. She recommended that we try introducing solid foods when Sergio was about 5 months old.
He seemed to like the food, and we were hopeful that it would help the vomiting and constipation. Sergio enjoyed eating fruits and vegetables and ate them happily. He didn’t really take to the baby cereal, and it constipated him even more.
I didn’t make the connection at the time that the dairy and wheat might be affecting him, and so I continued to feed him these foods. By the time he was twelve months, he had given up eating all fruit and vegetables.
He would only nurse and eat bagels and goldfish crackers. The constipation continued to get worse. He was stooling every 7 to 12 days. I know it was extremely painful as he would cry and shake every time. I was frightened but I didn’t know where to look for an answer.
There were other signs that something was wrong with Sergio, but I was in complete denial about it.
He did not smile or make eye contact. Sergio seemed like he was in a fog most of the time. He did not respond to our voices at all.
I almost thought he had hearing issues except that if I ran the vacuum or hair dryer he would run around screaming and banging his head.
I would put my nose to his nose and scream his name repeatedly and he wouldn’t flinch or look at me.
I felt like a bad mom because it seemed like my son had no interest in being with me. I would try to play on the floor with him and he would walk away and put his back to me. The only thing he seemed to like doing was spinning wheels on a truck. Over and over again.
We wanted to hear words from his so badly. At his 15-month check-up the only words he had were “da” and “bye”, and he didn’t use them consistently.
The pediatrician mentioned that he might have a speech delay and told me to track his words until his 18-month check-up and if he started to gain words, then we shouldn’t worry too much about it.
Well, at his 18-month check-up he no longer said “da” or “bye” or anything else. He had no words. He was flapping his arms constantly and moaning.
Sergio could not handle any transitions. Just going from the car into the house caused a complete tantrum. Waking up in the morning and from naps was an instant tantrum. He would tantrum if people came to our house or if he was anywhere crowded. Sergio was constantly miserable.
At his 18-month check-up, the pediatrician introduced us to the M-CHAT (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) test. It is a series of questions to determine whether a child should be evaluated for autism spectrum disorder. Sergio failed every question on the test.
I went home and called Birth to 3 to set up an evaluation. I read Jenny McCarthy’s book that night and the comparisons between her son and mine really hit home to me that we were dealing with autism.
This was my first introduction to autism. I really knew nothing about it prior to that day.
I felt completely powerless waiting for the evaluation.
The gluten-free/casein-free diet from Jenny’s book really stuck in my head. I thought I would try the diet since it couldn’t hurt, and it made me feel empowered. It was something that I could do while I waited the endless wait for an evaluation.
To ensure that Sergio was 100% gluten and casein free, I had to go on the diet myself because I was still nursing him.
When you have to do something for your child, it is easy. I would do anything for my kids. Give up gluten and dairy? No problem.
For Sergio, it was not so easy. His whole diet consisted of bagels and goldfish. I found some gf/cf alternatives and hoped he would like them.
Sergio went through terrible withdrawals for about a week. Screaming, crying, shaking and nursing constantly.
It took every ounce of my will power to not give in. After that first week, he decided to try a gluten-free pretzel.
I could have chosen to wean him slowly from gluten and casein, but once I realized that these foods were hurting him, I just couldn’t ever give him another bite.
We were very lucky in that a couple of weeks into the diet, Sergio made eye contact with me for the first time. I took that as a sign that we were on the right path.
Our pediatrician gave us the name of a registered dietician that had experience helping children on the spectrum. She walked us through the gluten free/casein free diet and how to implement it.
She also gave us an education on food sensitivities, nutrients often missing from diet and labs we could do to get a baseline of Sergio’s issues.
With the combined information from Sergio’s medical history and labs, our registered dietician was able to give us a diet plan and a supplement protocol. I tracked everything I could think of – food and supplements taken, stool and sleep patterns and behaviors.
Sergio began stooling every day and didn’t seem to be in as much discomfort. Over time, he stopped banging his head and throwing himself against walls. He consistently made eye contact and kept gaining new words.
By age 3, most of his autistic “behaviors” were gone. He developed the ability to connect emotionally and began to speak in 3 word sentences.
Implementing a healing diet along with several other healing protocols, he’s gone from a child severely affected by autism to a neurotypical, thriving child. He is now indistinguishable from other children his age.
Much of this tremendous progress is attributable to early intervention and sticking steadfast to diet and supplement protocols. It took about 18 months of intense intervention.
Now, at the age of 5, Sergio is truly healed. He has no signs of autism or gut dysbiosis. I believe in feeding him nourishing, healthy foods, but he no longer needs a restrictive diet. Sergio is an extremely bright, insightful and loving little boy living a healthy and “normal” life.
Also, Alexa is really thriving now. Thanks to all we have learned about gut dysbiosis and immune dysregulation through Sergio’s healing journey, we were able to apply similar healing protocols to Alexa with miraculous results.
Her distended belly is completely gone and she is not anemic. We have recovered her from her food allergies and she no longer reacts to bug bites.
Through testing, we learned that she had chronic Lyme disease. Using an alternative healing modality called vibrational therapy, her Lyme was completely eradicated. After applying this therapy, all of her concerning symptoms cleared up.
It has been over a year since the Lyme cleared up and now, at the age of 7, she is truly a happy, healthy little girl.
This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
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Because of my experiences with my older daughter who had sensory processing disorder, allergies and eczema, I caught my second daughter’s biomedical issues at a much earlier stage.
My second daughter, Maggie, developed oral thrush within one week of birth. She was given Nystatin and unfortunately, she was also exposed to antibiotics early on (these were given to me to prevent an infection from breastfeeding with thrush).
Maggie developed colic-like symptoms shortly after exposure to the antibiotics. It was at this time that I began to do some research on the possible causes of colic.
I learned that people in many other countries use probiotics to address colic and also to restore gastrointestinal balance after exposure to antibiotics.
Against our pediatrician’s advice, we gave Maggie some infant-formulated probiotics in breastmilk and within a few days, the colic symptoms were completely gone. After this, all seemed well with Maggie’s health. There was no constipation or other signs of ill health.
Shortly following her nine-month check-up, however, Maggie developed a 105 degree fever after receiving her routine vaccinations. Shortly after this, Maggie’s stools began to get looser and looser.
When I stopped nursing Maggie at around 13 months old, the loose stools turned into chronic diarrhea. Maggie had diarrhea everyday for months and our pediatricians and gastroenterologist only suggested that we feed her less fruit and take her off of dairy (neither of these suggestions were helpful in stopping the diarrhea).
Maggie was also chronically sick with green running mucus and a cough. Luckily, for Maggie, it was around this time (when she was approximately 15 months old) that we began seeing functional medicine specialists for our older daughter and we were able to determine what was at the root of Maggie’s chronic diarrhea and immune dysregulation.
Like her older sister, Maggie had diagnostic tests that revealed gut dysbiosis, immune dysregulation and food intolerances (to wheat, dairy, and a several other foods).
Further tests revealed that she had significant inflammation in her gut (obvious to the eye because her abdomen was severely distended) and had biomarkers predictive of Crohn’s disease.
Her gastroenterologist could not believe that a child not even two years old could be developing Crohn’s disease (a disease traditionally diagnosed in teenagers and adults) but he couldn’t argue with the diagnostic tests she had been given.
How could such a young child develop Crohn’s disease? We immediately started Maggie on the same healing diets and protocols as her sister, and within a short time her chronic diarrhea was completely resolved.
Overtime, her distended belly and irritable behavior (another symptom) and cough and mucus went away. By the time she was 3 1/3 years old, most of her symptoms were gone and she was eating all of the foods to which she was previously intolerant.
Today, at 5 years old, she is happy, symptom-free and thriving. She went from being a chronically irritable and miserable child to one that laughs, sings, plays and enjoys life.
This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
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An Interview with Lauren Stone, PhD, MS, HHP, Homotoxicologist, BioSET practitioner, and holistic health practitioner
Lauren has a B.A. from Yale University, a Ph.D. from Cornell University, and a Masters in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport. She also holds an advanced certificate in BioSET, Quantum Reflex Analysis, and is a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner. She owns CornerStone Integrative Care, a foundational healing practice specializing in autism and auto immune dysfunction located in Wilton, CT.
How did you first become involved with BioSET treatment?
I started out in academia and was finishing up my Ph.D. when my children were born. Once my children were born, they ran into a lot of health issues and my career path started to take some turns.
My 2 year old had persistent projectile vomiting and my older son had chronic loose stools. It was difficult finding treatment for my kids. When we sought medical advice, all we were told was that this was normal and that there wasn’t anything we could do for them.
Feeling frustrated with the medical establishment, I started researching on my own in an effort to figure out what was going on. I thought my children’s problems had something to do with reactions to certain foods they were eating.
I was frustrated in that I had three children, and all of them needed different diets. I needed something that would help to sustain them besides taking every food out of their diet that they were sensitive to.
For the short-term, this would be okay; however, for the long-term, the goal should be to bring the inflammatory process down and get them to a place where they can live in the world and be able to eat and process a variety of nutritious foods.
This was when I found out about BioSET. I had found a Naturopathic Doctor who practiced BioSET, and my children greatly benefited from the treatment; it helped to heal their reactions to food.
After this experience with my children, I began to take coursework in Nambudripad’s Elimination Technique (NAET) and then BioSET. I found both techniques eye-opening and decided to pursue them to help others with food allergies and sensitivities.
What is BioSET?
It is an allergy elimination technique that was developed by Dr. Ellen Cutler. It is a system that offers the opportunity to help create and maintain an improved state of health and wellness.
It integrates traditional Chinese medicine and acupressure together with contemporary approaches to applied immunology and nutrition. The BioSET system employs three basic treatments: organ-specific detoxification, enzyme therapy, and desensitization.1
BioSET is “a gentle, drug-free means of eliminating food intolerances and environmental sensitivities. BioSET promotes healthy immune function by reducing overload.”2
How does BioSET work?
BioSET corrects this energy flow thereby releasing the blockage and resetting the immune system. This process is called “clearing.” Clearing for a specific sensitivity helps to normalize the immune response resulting in a marked decrease in symptoms.2
What made you decide to practice BioSET after you learned NAET?
I found that BioSET was a deeper clear and that it held longer on the client because there wasn’t any avoiding [of specific allergens] for 12-24 hours. You can clear for multiple items at one time, it is more cost effective, and it takes less time.
I also found that there were fewer reactions. BioSET allows me to clear multiple layers at the same time – for example, organ systems and emotional aspects.
What should someone expect after a BioSET treatment session?
A patient comes in for a BioSET treatment and when the allergen clears, it clears for good. There are certain things, however, like viruses and hormones that are always in flux in the body, so those may have to be re-cleared in the future.
A patient may also have to re-clear for certain allergens that he/she is continually exposed to. Also, with very serious or life threatening allergies, BioSET is not always 100% successful. For example, some people who are gluten-sensitive may always have to avoid gluten.
Likewise, I would never claim that I can fully clear a peanut allergy for someone who has an anaphylactic allergy. My goal is to bring down the inflammatory process for the patient, and in so doing, reduce the allergic reaction from something that is life threatening to something less threatening, like a rash.
How long can a “clearing” last?
For most clients, clearings are permanent. However, the one thing that can cause a clearing to fall apart is trauma. When my kids were young, they had been cleared for everything they were sensitive to and then when my son had an accident (he fell when a deck collapsed), his reflux returned.
I tested my son after the accident and found that his two biggest allergies, egg and soy, had returned. Everything else remained solid, but the egg and the soy were suddenly a problem again. To remedy the problem, I simply reset the two clearings and my son was once again, symptom free.
Is there evidence to show that BioSET is effective for allergy elimination?
Anecdotal evidence, yes, but scientific studies, no. There are no studies in the scientific literature that look at the effectiveness of BioSET treatment. There are, however, some studies currently being conducted that look at the effectiveness of NAET, a similar allergy elimination technique.
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence for the efficacy of these allergy elimination techniques; however, there aren’t many researchers who are studying it at the moment. Immunologists don’t know what BioSET is; they think that these kinds of “alternative” treatments are a waste of time. However, there are some immunologists who are open to alternative modalities. For example, some are using oral immunotherapy, which is something similar to the principles of homeopathy.
What do you think are the main things that are contributing to the allergy epidemic among children?
For me, I think it all comes back to our toxic world. Unfortunately, there are those of us with certain genetic differences that affect our ability to detoxify. If we aren’t detoxifying as we need to be, we are building inflammation. This is inflammation gone awry.
For some it is allergies, autism spectrum disorder, or PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections). For those who are older, it is multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer’s disease. Our immune system can’t handle everything.
What about Nutrition?
Nutrition is so important. Keep your diet clean, and make sure you know how to open the channels to detoxify. Homeopathic drainers are a great way to facilitate detoxification of everyday toxins. Eating more cultured and fermented foods while reducing grains is great place to start when it comes to reducing the overall inflammatory burden on the immune system.
How can I find a practitioner in my area that practices BioSET?
Visit Dr. Ellen Cutler’s website for a directory of practitioners: www.drellencutler.com
Lauren Stone’s practice is in Wilton, CT. Visit her website at www.cornerstoneintegrativecare.com
References:
2. www.cornerstoneintegrativecare.com
This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
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by Ayelet Connell-Giammatteo, P.T., I.M.T.,C.
Recently, I visited with my son’s new preschool teacher. One of the first questions that she asked me was if my son had any allergies. I was pleasantly surprised.
Honestly, my biggest fear in having my son begin school was that his food sensitivities would not be accommodated.
When I mentioned that he had gluten sensitivity and peanut sensitivity, she exclaimed, “That’s great! We have plenty of gluten-free snacks in the classroom and the school is a peanut-free zone!”
In fact, she mentioned that the only snacks that they provide to the children in the classroom are those that can be eaten by everyone.
Now, I know that not every classroom is as allergy-friendly as this one. But it leads us to consider a future of more possibilities.
Allergies are becoming so commonplace today. It is a rare family that does not have a child and/or parent with allergies.
There are many signs and symptoms associated with allergies, including: eczema, headaches, asthma, abdominal discomfort, low back pain, chest discomfort, swallowing difficulty, constipation and diarrhea, bloating and swelling, and much more.
These signs and symptoms are diverse and many are correlated with inflammation. Inflammation is at the root of most dysfunctions, including allergies.
Certain foods are ‘pro-inflammatory’ which means that they produce inflammation in the body when ingested.
Gluten is a good example of a pro-inflammatory food. Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats that are not certified as gluten-free.
There are many individuals that eat gluten and do not realize that they are sensitive to it because their reactions may not appear related.
According to Dr. Thomas O’Brien, a clinical nutritionist and chiropractic physician that specializes in gluten sensitivity, most gluten sensitivity tests are inaccurate and often lead to false negatives.
Today, there are many options for treatment of allergies, including alternative and traditional approaches.
One traditional approach involves allergy injections, which can sometimes lead to adverse side effects and often presents with no beneficial results.
Another traditional approach involves pharmaceuticals to help combat the effects of allergies. The challenge with using drugs is that they purely ‘mask’ symptoms. When you stop the drug, the symptoms often come back and sometimes with additional issues.
There are many alternative approaches for the treatment of allergies, including NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique), nutritional supplements, elimination diets, and Integrative Manual Therapy.
These alternative approaches are ‘non-invasive’ and when used in combination, can lead to elimination of allergies and related signs and symptoms.
NAET is a comprehensive approach to the treatment of allergies. It involves a series of sessions that utilize a combined approach based on acupuncture/acupressure, chiropractic medicine, applied kinesiology, and nutrition.
Many health practitioners utilize NAET in conjunction with nutritional supplements plus elimination diets to treat and correct allergy dysfunction.
Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT) is a hands-on approach that is practiced by many health disciplines, including physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, and more.
IMT follows the ‘Integrated Systems Approach’, meaning that we are comprised of many different body systems, such as the skeletal system, the connective tissue system, the circulatory system, the immune system, and more.
When we have a sign or symptom, it can involve one or many of these systems.
IMT uses gentle hands-on techniques to correct dysfunction in many body systems.
Let’s consider back pain as an example. Back pain can be a result of joint compression in the sacrum or pelvis; it can be secondary to irritation of the colon, and even inflammation of the ureters (the tubes that travel from the kidneys to the bladder supporting elimination of toxins from the body).
If someone was unaware that they had gluten sensitivity and continued to eat foods that contained gluten, this could cause irritation of the colon or ureters and lead to back pain.
IMT uses a hands-on integrative diagnostic process to determine where the primary site of dysfunction is in the body. IMT practitioners develop an individualized treatment plan for each client that outlines the specific IMT techniques to be performed on the person.
These treatment plans typically include a nutritional program outlining a supplement program along with specific elimination diets that would be beneficial to help correct the body’s dysfunction and reduce signs and symptoms.
Elimination diets are often short term and help to highlight specific allergies in the body as well as provide the body with an opportunity to ‘deload’, or desensitize to a particular food.
Some foods are harmful to everyone, such as gluten. Other foods uniquely affect specific people.
The best way to discover whether you are allergic to a particular food is to perform an elimination diet for four months. During these four months, it is important to 100% eliminate the food. To perform a gluten elimination diet, you would eliminate wheat, rye, barley, and non-gluten-free oats.
During these four months, you may expect to find a reduction in general body aches, reduced headaches and back pain, reduced abdominal cramping and bloating, improved energy, improved mental clarity, and more.
Remember that the signs and symptoms associated with allergies are not always obvious! When elimination diets are combined with IMT, nutritional supplements, and NAET, remarkable changes can be made in the realm of allergies.
Ayelet Connell-Giammatteo, P.T., I.M.T.,C. is the Director of Pediatrics for CenterIMT, Center of Integrative Manual Therapy and Diagnostics, headquartered in Bloomfield, CT.
She is also the Dean of the Connecticut School of Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT). Ayelet has taught courses in IMT nationally and internationally for over 15 years. She is in the final stages of her PhD focusing on autism.
For more information about Integrative Manual Therapy, nutritional supplement programs, elimination diets, and NAET, please visit www.CenterIMT.com
This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
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Ethan appeared to be a very healthy baby at first. Aside from a little baby acne and some toenails that looked a little misshapen, all seemed well with him.
When he was four months old he had a bad reaction to a DTaP vaccine and his doctors recommended that he no longer receive this vaccine.
He developed chronic constipation, chronic sinus congestion, and snoring that was later diagnosed as sleep apnea.
The pediatrician recommended that he go on Zyrtec daily but his mother felt more comfortable with giving him children’s Benadryl instead. He lived on Benadryl for years and his symptoms did not improve.
New symptoms developed. His constipation got so severe, that he would only go once every 5 days or so, and his stools became smelly and loose when he did go.
At age 5, he was diagnosed with asthma, allergies, and sleep apnea. He began treatments with Pulmicort, prednisone, and albuterol.
The pediatrician also suggested that he begin Singulair, but his mother refused because she had heard reports of children developing suicidal behaviors on Singulair.
His last major asthma attack was so severe that the doctor told Ethan’s mother it would take 6 months for his lungs to recover and heal. “Treat it like a broken bone,” he said.
This was the last straw for Ethan’s mother.
She looked into alternative ways to treat her son’s asthma, allergies and sleep apnea. She changed his diet when he was six years old, taking out wheat, diary, eggs, and corn, foods that an IgG food sensitivity test indicated were potentially inflammatory for Ethan.
At this point, Ethan started a gut-healing protocol developed by Russell Mariani, a nutrition counselor in Hadley, Massachusetts.
Ethan also received allergy elimination treatments, both NAET and BioSet and started to eat a more traditional diet, like that advocated by the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Six months after the diet changes and beginning the allergy elimination and gut healing, Ethan’s asthma and allergies disappeared and never returned.
He now has daily bowel movements, eats all of the foods he once eliminated from his diet, and is a talented soccer and lacrosse player.
This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
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Despite the long-standing impression that Americans are a well-nourished people, they are actually overfed but undernourished.
While food has always been relatively plentiful in the United States (as compared to other nations), the American diet has never been truly nutritionally sound.
Even when the country was predominately agricultural, Americans still ate what would be considered a “constipating” diet of mainly meats and starches.
Despite this fact, Americans historically did not suffer from chronic illnesses like Americans do today. What has changed?
Industrialization in the nineteenth century changed the way that Americans ate food.
In the late nineteenth century, Americans (especially upper and middle class Americans) began to exchange home-preserved and home-grown foods for factory preserved and processed foods.
Home-preserved foods were often fermented, pickled, brined, and salted, which are processes that use “good” bacteria (the kind necessary for good gastrointestinal health) to preserve food, where as factory processed foods eliminate all microbes through heat processing or other modalities.
Furthermore, grain-refining technologies developed in the nineteenth century stripped grains of their nutritive value in order to produce lighter, whiter flours that were desirable for breads, cakes, cookies and other baked foods.
Essentially, Americans began to exchange foods that were digestively beneficial (such as fermented vegetables and whole grains) for foods that were less-nutritive and potentially damaging to the gastrointestinal system.
Typically, it was upper and middle class Americans that had access to these types of processed foods.
Interestingly, America’s very first chronic inflammatory illnesses (allergy and allergic-type diseases) suddenly appeared during the late nineteenth century, and mainly among upper and middle class Americans.
Diet changes, in conjunction with newly introduced industrial toxins, may have contributed to allergies in nineteenth century Americans.
These changes in diet were accelerated further during the twentieth century with modern advances in food processing and manufacturing.
Over the course of the last forty or fifty years, the food chemical and additive industry has grown exponentially.
There are now thousands upon thousands of additives added to everyday foods, and most them have not been studied extensively in humans.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans eat mainly processed foods.
The American diet today is one that contributes to poor gastrointestinal health and the increased likelihood of developing gut dysbiosis and immune dysregulation.
A diet that is high in sugars and simple carbohydrates, and low in fiber and lactofermented foods creates an environment in the gastrointestinal system that is ripe for the overgrowth of pathogenic microbes.
Overgrowth of these microbes can lead to gut dysbiosis.
The average American consumes over 140 pounds of sugar annually, up from 10 pounds in 1821.
In addition, Americans are not getting the micronutrients (e.g., zinc, calcium, iron, magnesium, iodine, etc.) necessary for good gastrointestinal or general health, because most processed foods lack readily absorbable versions of these nutrients.
Without these essential life-giving nutrients, the immune system will not function properly.
Unfortunately, children in this country are notoriously bad eaters, subsisting on a diet of macaroni and cheese, processed chicken nuggets, French fries, pizza, soda, candy, and other sweets.
Their diet, in conjunction with other environmental factors, leaves them susceptible to the development of chronic illnesses.
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This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
Gastrointestinal symptoms are often the first sign that a child has underlying gut dysbiosis and/or immune dysregulation. If your child shows any of the following symptoms with persistence, consider having him/her evaluated for gut dysbiosis:
And the following signs may indicate malabsorption or inadequate diet- – an issue of the gastrointestinal tract:
How do I know if my child has gut dysbiosis?
Ask your healthcare provider for a comprehensive stool analysis where a laboratory will look for signs of gut dysbiosis.
You may also ask your healthcare provider to order an “organic acids test” for your child which may provide some insight into whether or not your child has gut dysbiosis.
Back to “Soft Signs” and Symptoms
Sign up for our newsletter and find out why this epidemic of children’s chronic illnesses is occurring and what you can do about it.
This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
EPIDEMIC ANSWERS
The rates of chronic illnesses like autism, ADHD, allergies and asthma in American children are skyrocketing.
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