New research on the impact of Roundup to human cells

This should not come as any surprise to people. What it should do it force people to wake up and start looking at their environment and food more closely. Monsanto is the creator of Roundup, they are also the main supplier of GMO seed. Their seeds are genetically modified to withstand Roundup. They can spray the plants with this toxin and they will survive. GMO food has been shown to increase inflammation in the body and theoretically would carry a bigger toxic burden since it would be able to withstand Roundup application. Another very good reason to buy organic produce lies in this article HERE. While we cannot control all of our toxin exposures, we have to be mindful of the tipping point. I had to laugh when the article says "Monsanto, Roundup’s manufacturer, contends that the methods used in the study don’t reflect realistic conditions and that their product, which has been sold since the 1970s, is safe when used as directed. Hundreds of studies over the past 35 years have addressed the safety of glyphosate." Well, should we look at Autism rates back then, ADHD rates, juvenile diabetes rates, juvenile obesity rates? Do we not see a correlation? Just because something has been in use for that long does not make it safe. And what does it say that our rates of neurological and auto-immune diseases have skyrocketed during the same time period? Roundup is a piece of that pie, not the whole pie certainly, but a piece. More and more of our food today is GMO food, everything from schools, playgrounds, churches and HOMES are sprayed with these toxins. The human body is miraculous but come on, we have to help it out here (and let's compare this to our mother Earth as well). Pollute it to this level and yes, bad things happen. Lets wake up and smell the dandelions growing wild in our yards (well if dandelions had a distinct smell but you get the metaphor, right?). I have blogged before, weeds are the least of our problems, same thing with germs. These toxic chemicals we spray all over everything are far more harmful. Dr. Stuart Freedenfeld does an amazing talk at DAN! on protecting yourself in a toxic world. Look at the chemicals found in a newborn baby's cord blood. Hundreds of toxic chemicals are already polluting our precious infants. There are other ways, less profitable to the powers that be but when will we learn that we cannot eat or drink money? Every plot of land soon will be developed. We will only produce GMO corn and soy and import all of our "food" from China. And then we will be up in arms and revolt when we are all obese and everyone has been poisoned with melamine. Educate yourself on the quality of food going into your family. Our food should be pure and unadulterated. Put down those coupons for "fruit" by the foot, goldfish crackers, pop tarts and "juice". Head to your local farmer's market. Buy a juicer and expose your family to true, healthy juice with all those live enzymes, not the dead, pasteurized stuff with dyes, high fructose corn syrup and fillers. Enjoy a smoothie with your kids, throw in some frozen bananas and make this your nightly "ice cream", we do! Eat a salad with fresh greens, red and yellow bell peppers, fresh broccoli or put together a stir fry with fresh veggies, organic rice and maybe some organic chicken. That is what we had for dinner last night. It doesn't have to be hard or expensive. But, it does take getting out of your comfort level and maybe some extra time. A whole cart at the farmer's market runs me about $20, a whole cart FULL of beautiful produce. Homemade sweet potato fries are a huge hit in this house. But, it can take some time to get used to the fresh tastes and remove the tricks that high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and MSG (all 200 forms!!!) have played on our brains. I remember grossing out at a date roll. Now I can appreciate the sweetness, I couldn't then. But, take control of your diet and that of your family. Just like anything, it is hard at first but you get used to it. Don't fall into the trap that your kids NEED capri suns or the crap that they see at school. Rise above it and know you are making a better choice. Know that you are giving your child a better chance than the 1 in 3 that will have diabetes in the future. Make sure YOUR child is one of the other 2!! It may not be easy at first, but I promise it WILL be worth it!

L-Carnitine changes

So some who have been following this blog may know about our issues with L-Carnitine and Acetyl L-Carnitine. When we tried to introduce these supplements, after 3 days of use my son began to smell very strongly of fish. We started with L-Carnitine and then later switched to Acetyl L-Carnitine, same thing occured with both forms. After some talking to Dr. Woeller and a quick internet search we came up with this HERE. Once again, it comes down to enzymes. So, after our success with Respen-A for almost a year and the tanning that we are seeing as a sign of enzyme progress, we decided to reintroduce Carnitine but very, very slowly. We did 250 mg every 3rd day. By the 2nd dose we were seeing lots of emotional outbursts, screaming "NO, I DON'T WANT TO" when we made requests, craziness. That sealed the deal and we will rest knowing we tried yet again. The last thing we wanted to do was flare clostridia since that had happened in the past when we used Carnitine.

That was last week. This week we are making the transition to Ubiquinol (read more about Ubiquinol HERE) instead of the CoQ10 we were using. This morning is the first dose so we shall see what happens.....always interesting around here. But, We always have to be learning and trying new things to maximize our kiddos' healing I think. I came back from the DAN! conference with a few new tidbits and wanted to see if anything I heard would make a difference. I will keep the blog posted on what changes we see (if any) with this new form of CoQ10.

The importance of vitamin D3, especially during cold and flu season!

I blogged something similar last year as well. Each year there seems to be more data suggesting the important role vitamin D3 has in immune function and protection against the flu, including H1N1. I firmly believe that the only defense is a good immune system. That IS our protection, period. So, the more you can do to boost your immunity, the better you will fare during cold and flu season. And lets remember that contracting and fighting these bugs is what enables our system to continually get stronger. Life is not about NOT getting sick, that is impossible, it is about getting sick, fighting it effectively because you've supported your immune system and then moving on quickly with greater immunity in the future. Nobody likes being sick but it kind of goes with the territory of being human. But our bodies were designed to fight these bugs, we just need to make sure we optimize our health to allow it to do so. Below is an article from www.foodconsumer.org on vitamin D3. (By the way, the 1200 ius that the doctors suggest for children to cut risk of flu by 64% is just 2 drops of the mycellized D3 from New Beginnings, FYI).
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News on viruses and viral diseases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its flu message on its website on Oct 19 to promote use of influenza vaccine and get ready for the 2010-2011 flu season.

In the meantime, some medical researchers suggest people should take high doses of vitamin D in winter to have additional protection because flu vaccine is not as effective as thought.

The CDC said right now flu activity is low, but everyone 6 months and older should get vaccinated even if they received a seasonal or 2009 H1N1 vaccine last year.

According to the agency, the influenza vaccine for 2010 to 2011 season has been updated to include three flu viruses including H1N1, which media reports have said will not be a pandemic in the near future to say the least.

Children, pregnant women, elderly people and those whose immunity such as HIV, cancer patients has been compromised are considered at high risk for flu complications.

At flu.gov, the first message that shows up on the website is for pregnant women. It says "Protect Yourself and Your Baby Get A flu shot." Flu.gov also reminds consumers that other measures like washing hands need to be taken to prevent influenza.

One important preventative measure, taking vitamin D3 to boost innate immunity against influenza, was not mentioned on both cdc.gov and flu.gov. Recent evidence is convincing that taking high doses of vitamin D can highly effectively prevent flu including H1N1 the swine flu.

Lapinsky S.E. in April, 2010 published a study in Critical Care Medicine saying that pregnant women and immunosupressed patients are at increased risk of severe A (H1N1) influenza.

To respond to Lapinsky's findings, Dr. William B. Grant, PhD, Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC) in San Francisco, CA and John J. Cannell, MD, The Vitamin D Council in San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 commented in the journal that the risk of influenza is linked to low serum vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D helps make antimicrobial peptides, which can prevent influenza viruses including H1N1. The role of vitamin D in innate immunity has been known for some time now, even though many people may not have heard of it.

Dr. Cannell said in his newsletter issued last year that two physicians, one in Wisconsin and the other in Georgia reported their observations that taking high doses of vitamin D in winter protected against H1N1 virus effectively.

According to Drs. Grant and Cannell, a Japanese trial has already demonstrated in a trial that children who took 1,200 IU per day of vitamin D3 and no additional vitamin D3 had their risk of influenza reduced by 64 percent.

One needs to know the efficacy of influenza vaccine to appreciate the protective effect of vitamin D reported in the Japanese study. Often, the effectiveness of influenza vaccine is likely no better than what vitamin D3 can provide as shown in the Japanese study.

High levels of serum vitamin D can help prevent other bacterial and viral infections, cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases as well as adverse pregnancy outcomes in addition to influenza and pneumonia, Dr. Grant and dr. Cannell said in their comment.

Drs. Grant and Cannell said in their comment "pregnant women should be encouraged to increase their serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels to 40 to 80 ng/mL through supplementation with several thousand international units per day of vitamin D3 or solar ultraviolet-B when the sun is high enough that one’s shadow is shorter than one’s height."

It is generally advisable that no matter a person gets influenza vaccine or not, he should make sure to maintain sufficient levels of vitamin D to protect seasonal flu and H1N1 in any flu season. This is necessary because in most cases influenza vaccine does not work as effectively as thought.

Jimmy Downs

Toxins in Halloween face paint

I posted something similar last year but it is worth repeating. Here is an article from Yahoo Green about face paints. It is worth the read and something to be aware of. There are so many ways our children are exposed to toxins that if you can eliminate one, why not? At least you are armed with the knowledge to make an informed decision!
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The Food and Drug Administration is warning parents to be wary of Halloween face paint, which the agency has limited jurisdiction over.

Halloween costume makeup is recommended as a good alternative to masks for kids who will be walking the streets trick-or-treating, since masks can obscure vision.

But Halloween face paint can have toxic ingredients (like lead and mercury) if not formulated according to the law; it can cause reactions in those who are allergic to certain ingredients; and it can cause reactions if applied to the wrong parts of the body.

The FDA recommends these simple steps to keep safe:

1. Follow all Halloween face paint directions carefully, including warnings against using around the eyes.

2. Don't decorate your face with products, paints, and colorings that aren't intended for your skin (and check out The Daily Green's 14 favorite homemade Halloween costumes for kids and adults).

3. If your Halloween face paint has a very bad smell, this could be a sign that it is contaminated. Throw it away and use another one.

4. Before using new Halloween costume makeup, perform a simple patch test, particularly if you or your child is prone to allergic reactions, a few days before Halloween.

5. Read ingredient lists and don't buy any product that has non-approved colors. The FDA lists coloring agents approved for use in cosmetics. Go beyond the FDA list and check your Halloween face paint label against The Daily Green's list of six cosmetics ingredients to avoid.

6. Don't use products with fluorescent colors near the eyes. You can identify fluorescent colorings by looking for the following ingredients:


D&C Orange No. 5, No. 10, and No. 11
D&C Red No. 21, No. 22, No. 27 and No. 28
D&C Yellow No. 7
7. Don't use luminescent (glow-in-the-dark) colors (like zinc sulfide) near your eyes.

8. Wash thoroughly (and follow label instructions) once trick-or-treating or the party is over. Don't go to sleep with Halloween costume makeup on your skin.

9. Before using an older product, check it against the information included in the May 2009 recall of Fun Express children's face paints, and the June 2009 expansion of that recall. See all children's product and toxic toy recalls.

10. If you have a bad reaction to Halloween face paint, report the incident to the FDA, so that other consumers can be protected.

The Daily Green adds that you can look for natural makeups and cosmetics to cut down on the chance of an adverse reaction (though allergens come in natural and synthetic forms).

Allergen free Halloween candy list

Well, if you are like me and dreading Halloween only from the standpoint of the allergen-filled candy bags that we bring home, then you are going to love this list! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the excitement in the air, the dressing up, coming together as a community and seeing everyone fill our neighborhood streets and going door to door. But, I don't love coming home and not being really sure what my kids are allowed to have. Not only do they suffer from food intolerances but we keep a tight rein on any refined sugar as well. Sugar feeds yeast, affects behavior and depresses the immune system. So, we don't use refined sugar at all except for the very rare cupcake or cake and my dairy free "buttercream" frosting recipe. Other than that, we use all natural alternatives like Stevia or we use honey, dates, fruit, or even crystallized coconut sugar which is made from the sap of the coconut tree. But, I do want my kids to have SOMETHING yummy and something on our "no-no list" once in a while. So, while searching the web about candy corns, I found this gem. As always, read labels to double check whether your child's allergen is listed, but I found this resource very helpful. I am passing it on in the hopes you will too, click HERE. Have a safe and fun Halloween!!

Toxins in our environment

Reducing everyday toxins is a big focus of mine and has been since I have learned more about my son's Autism and some of the things that I believe have contributed to it. It really bugs me to see the hypervigilance on things like disinfecting sprays, wipes, chemicals when our bodies are really designed to handle the bugs, it is the chemicals that it doesn't know what to do with! And we are also contributing to the rise in super bugs. Good handwashing and common sense practices can cut down your chances of getting sick. And common sense things like staying home while sick, and keeping your kids home while sick, covering your cough with your elbow, etc can reduce the risk of you spreading bugs to others, believe me, everyone thanks you for keeping those germs at home! But more than anything, I would challenge you to do an immune system assessment. Our immune system IS our defense. A good, healthy, predominantly plant based diet, maybe a good multi-vitamin, some common sense supplements and herbs and very little "junk" will go a long way to keeping our system working well (did you know that sugar depresses immune function?). Stress and sleep are also big immune system saboteurs. So, finding healthy outlets for stress and getting enough sleep will also help keep you well. Here is a wonderful newsletter by Great Plains Labs, in it Dr. Shaw and others talk about some of the commonplace chemicals that are not so pretty these days, one is Triclosan. It seems that Triclosan, and its evil sister Microban, is showing up all other the place these days. It was even hard to find child's lunchbox or scissors without Microban on them! Do some research of your own on these two gems. I avoid them personally at all cost. Dr. Shaw has some things to say about Triclosan and some great tips on helping the body detox after exposures, and we ALL have exposures. So, understanding what things will help the body get rid of the bad stuff to keep running effectively is important. Read his newsletter HERE.

T*E*E*M Products

I always have a ton of new ideas floating around. I usually lack the time (or energy) to implement them. But, I have finally decided to bite the bullet and get started so I am jumping in with both feet! I am introducing T*E*E*M GREEN products. I am starting out small, with reusable sandwich and snack bags at first. But, look for a more broad product line as I get packaging and ingredients together for our T*E*E*M CLEAN line. All of our items will focus on health, wellness and environmental impact with an emphasis on green items. We are T*E*E*M-ing with excitement!

So pop on over to our T*E*E*M blog, there you will find my very first products for sale in the T*E*E*M shop. More colors and designs are coming soon, and special requests welcome! I will also have family size assortments to handle snack sized baggies and even larger baggies as well.

More information on the negative effects of BPA

I know I have blogged this before, BPA is something I avoid for our family. That can be challenging since it is a very prevalent component in many commonly used things. Plastic bottles, containers, canned goods, etc. all can have BPA exposure. Below is an article talking about why BPA may want to be avoided. We have switched to glass for most food storage and I never put hot food into plastic anymore, even in plastics without BPA. Canned foods are a no-no for me unless they come from EDEN FOODS. Eden foods has a commitment to provide quality foods without GMOs and their cans do not have BPA. Here's a link about their cans, click HERE. They are one of the only companies that does offer a BPA free can. If I find any others I will certainly pass that info on. Food storage is something I have been learning more about for the last few years. I like to be prepared for anything and that means being able to feed my family in the case of an emergency. But, unless they are Eden Foods, we don't use too many cans. I do break down once in a while and get the organic pears from Fresh and Easy but that is about it. Eden Foods has canned tomatoes (which will leech more toxins from cans since they are acidic) along with beans, rice and lentil combos, etc. Check them out and I would encourage you to support them.


From www.FWdailynews.com
BPA: Studies suggest it should be avoided
By Dr. Terry Gaff
Sunday, 26 September 2010 00:00
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to make plastic and epoxy resins, among other things, that have been both common and useful in our day-to-day life for more than 50 years.

The problem is that it may be toxic, especially to fetuses, infants and young children.

BPA, a key ingredient in polycarbonate plastic, which is clear and nearly shatter-proof, is used to make a variety of common products including baby and water bottles, sports equipment, medical and dental devices, dental fillings and sealants, eyeglass lenses, CDs and DVDs and household electronics.

Epoxy resins containing bisphenol A have also been used as coatings on the inside of almost all food and beverage cans. BPA is also a color developer in carbonless copy paper and thermal paper, commonly used in receipt paper at your checkout counter. BPA-based products are also used in foundry castings and for lining water pipes.

There are literally millions of tons of BPA produced every year. However, in the U.S., less than five percent of the BPA produced is used in food contact applications. Even that small percent may be too much.

When you look at the bottom of a plastic container, there is a little triangle with a number inside. That number indicates which of the seven classes of plastics is used in making the product.

Type seven includes several types of plastics, some of which contain polycarbonate (identified with the letters PC near the recycling symbol). Type three (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) can also contain bisphenol A. This is particularly true for “flexible PVC”, but not the PVC pipes used in household plumbing.

The concern about bisphenol A is that it can mimic the body’s hormones and may lead to health problems. However, some of that concern is more opinion than science.

A panel of experts appointed by the National Institutes of Health determined that there was “some concern” about BPA’s effects on fetal and infant brain development and behavior. This was seconded by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), regarding “the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A,” as well as a small concern for effects on the breast tissue and an earlier age for puberty for females in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures.

On the other hand, the NTP expressed no significant concern about exposure of pregnant women to BPA resulting in fetal or neonatal death, birth defects or reduced birth weight and growth in their babies.

Other reviews of BPA data have concluded that BPA exposure before and after birth may increase body weight and obesity.

Some research has suggested a connection between BPA and interference with brain cell connections vital to memory, learning and mood. Highly controversial claims have been made that BPA could be involved in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and other neuralgic problems.

There are lots of studies about whether BPA is related to cancer or the sensitivity to chemotherapy treatment of specific tumors. However, those questions have not been clearly answered.

A large study of health effects on 1,500 people associated with bisphenol A exposure found that higher BPA levels were associated with heart disease, diabetes and abnormally high levels of certain liver enzymes. However, these findings need to be confirmed and a second study found an associated increased risk for heart disease but not for diabetes or liver enzymes.

Studies have suggested that BPA exposure is associated with recurrent miscarriage, altered hormone levels in men, declining male sexual function and other concerns.

The problem is that plastics with BPA can break down, especially when they are washed, heated or stressed, allowing the chemical to leach into food and water and then enter the human body. In fact, the CDC has found BPA in the urine of 93 percent of surveyed Americans over the age of six years and 90 percent of newborns.

The Environmental Protection Agency has set the current U.S. human exposure limit set at 50 micrograms/kg/day. The federal government formally declared bisphenol A as a hazardous substance in October 2008 and has placed it on its list of toxic substances.

Companies like Nalgene have stopped using the chemical in their products and Toys-R-Us said it too will stop selling baby bottles made from it. Many U.S. states are considering some sort of BPA ban and other countries, like Canada and Japan, have restricted and/or eliminated the use of BPA in many products.

Even Sunoco, a producer of gasoline and chemicals, is now refusing to sell the chemical to companies for use in food and water containers for children younger than 3 years.

What I recommend is that you heat your food and drinks in glass, stainless steel or BPA-free plastic containers, which are marked with recycling codes 1, 2, 5 or 7 without the PC (polycarbonate) marking. Also, store food or drinks in these types of containers.

What a difference a new teacher makes

So I just blogged our experiences from school the last few weeks. As I said, our new teacher has been staying in constant contact, what's even better is that it has all been good news.

So in keeping with that theme, I received a reply from her yesterday. The special ed director was wanting an update on how we felt the transition was going. Since I have not been in the class yet to volunteer, I emailed the teacher to find out how things were going from HER perspective. I heard that all reports had been good into the Principal and special ed from their viewpoint but it really comes down to what the teacher is seeing daily.

The email I got back was insightful and very, very positive! She said he needs gentle reminders to stay on track, but they are nothing out of ordinary from what all of the other (neurotypical) first graders need. He is getting help from parent helpers on the math sheet in class but she feels that once he gets into the groove he won't need that since he is doing really well working independently on the "math facts" sheet already. She said he is a very happy little boy who is very proud of his hard work. She has assessed that his self-esteem can be low and when you encourage him, he thrives!! Usually this is a concept that I have to tell teachers about and she already knew that 1 week in. Positive reinforcement is key with my son, his fear of failure is huge. She had good things to say about his ability to sit and focus, as is age appropriate, and that he is not needing any more "wiggle breaks" than what she is already providing. One of the things I liked best about her class were those chances to move along with learning. She said he is a great kid and she is glad to have the opportunity to work with him.

Hmmm, very different than "He's just not getting it, and he's not going to get it, even with the supports being suggested". OK, I confess, I have been slipping him a "get it" pill for the past week. I know, snarky comment, I couldn't help it. There is an amazing world out there for our special kiddos, and for those who teach them. They will gain as much from these children and the children do, if you are open. So I end this week with a very positive message from his new teacher and the hope that we've once again found a teacher (like his Kindergarten one) who sees him not for his disability but for his ability to shine and to illuminate those around him with the right help, the right direction and the right understanding.

Educational choices for our children with Autism

So here comes the drama post! It has been a very busy month or so. Here's what happened. I had been in constant contact with my son's teacher. I was volunteering weekly and in contact via email in addition to address some issues we were both seeing. The main issue being focus and needing to be redirected for weekly math tests and math worksheets. It was a very different classroom this year, a big change in classmates as well as schedule and amount of work expected so I expected a period of adjustment. So the teacher and I spoke about many things and one of those was whether the all day format was a better fit for him or not. He was currently in a program where the day is shortened, they only had 1 recess, but he was at school for less time. Now, this is a mainstream school, they support our IEP but it is not a school specifically for children with special needs. At the end of last year we all spoke about which format would be best. I personally believe that our kids spend too much of their time in school and we expect way too much of them too soon at these early ages. I understand people have different viewpoints on this but that is how I feel. That and the fact that we had a very good therapy schedule set and less time in the classroom really seemed like a good idea. I was assured by our 1st grade teacher when I broached this topic that the longer day really wouldn't help in the areas where we needed it and that the pace was not that much slower. OK. So what do we need to do to help him be successful? I came up with some ideas, as did the teacher and I contacted special ed at the school.

I got an immediate response. They had their Autism specialist observe him in the class and had some additional ideas at our meeting. My husband and I felt heard and supported when we left, having a clear vision of what they were going to do to help us make sure our son was successful. We grabbed lunch and then it was time for our parent/teacher conference next. As we walked in my husband said that basically this was just a formality right? I said yes, we've touched base so much, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the situation. The teacher knew about our meeting with spec ed prior and asked us about it. I expressed my enthusiasm and happiness over their response and shared some of what they said. The basic takeaway was that most of what they saw could be handled in the classroom with some supports/suggestions given to the teacher and that pull out did not appear necessary. Apparently that was NOT what she wanted to hear. Again, I thought we were on the same page as to the help my son needed and her feelings on the subject. The parent/teacher conference took a detour south at that point. The bottom line was that she was telling us he could not be successful in that classroom, not even WITH the suggestions/supports special ed had suggested. WOW. I told her that because of issues like fine motor delay and auditory processing and auditory sensitivities, we'd have to adjust the expectations accordingly. I told her how his kindergarten teacher really rolled with the punches and she figured out ways to asses what he knew so that when a task came where it really pushed him in those weaker areas, she could set attainable goals. We were told "I have higher standards". I told her that the Autism specialist at school had the same suggestions, we need to meet him where he is to encourage that feeling of success, not set him up for failure.

My husband said as we left "I thought you were going to ghetto on her". Over the years I have learned that you pull that out only when you really, really need it. Don't get me wrong, catch me on the wrong day and it could get ugly. But, I could tell her words were coming from frustration, not malice. Now my emotions quickly morphed into anger over that weekend but I have worked very hard on NOT responding out of emotion, especially anger, until I can process it a little and look at the various sides. But, here was a teacher who even said to me "I feel like a failure because I don't know how to teach him". I think we are going to see this issue as a common theme in getting our children educated. Especially those kiddos, like mine, who seems to be in "no man's land". They don't need the Autism specific programs anymore but do need a little help in a mainstream class. Sometimes the teachers have a hard time understand all of the issues that go into a disorder like Autism. And one big factor this year was class dynamics as well. Not only were there teacher issues but also kid issues.

So, I sent him back to school Mon/Tues and then said "forget it". I kept him home. I sent an email to the teacher basically saying I can't be fake, I cannot believe you said to me what you did about my child. I did not work the last 6 years of my life removing obstacles from my son's way that prevented him from learning more effectively to short change my son when it comes to his education. I told her that I felt she was telling us that we were letting him off easy in his education by changing the range of what we expect. I told her it was like telling a child in a wheelchair to walk up the stairs to reach the top because everyone else was.

Believe me, I was formulating my next step. Wed I got a call from the Principal. We played phone tag and I tried to set up an appt for the following day. Thurs I got a call from the head of special ed, she must have heard rumblings. I told her the whole story. She was shocked and dismayed. Within 30 min both she and the Principal were on the phone, scheduling a meeting for the following Wed (we had Labor Day holidays in between, Fri and Mon). They asked if I was ok sending him to school after the Labor Day holiday on Tues. I said I would.

Tues he got held in from recess, for not finishing his writing. Oy vey! Can you say fine motor issues??? My meeting on Wed went well, but again, we had very good meetings with special ed before. I told them he was held in from recess, the special ed director looked very upset at that and immediately said that would not happen again. We had even been given suggestions from spec ed to give him MORE opportunities to move, the child (and EVERY child) needs movement to facilitate the learning process. Holding him in from recess is only going to make all of those issues worse, not better. They asked if we were in a place where we'd consider working with them on new placement or working with the teacher to determine how to move forward. We said yes. All that week my son was sent into the hall because he "got frustrated". To me that is a sensory issue that was not addressed and escalated when it probably didn't need to. Or it was (as I saw first hand) an issue of another child antagonizing him to the point where he melts down and yet unless you were watching you can't really tell that it was the interaction with that other child that caused the reaction. On Fri he was sent into the hall 4 times. No one else is sent into the hall. Way to set him apart even more. Mom is done at this point.

I did not send him to school Monday. He'd also had a very busy weekend, his bday party and a friend's birthday party and the foods with sugar and possible cross contamination were catching up. Sending him in with those reactions would have been a recipe for disaster anyways. I got an email saying they wanted to put him into an all day class. I told them no thanks and proceeded with homeschool. We have great therapy schedules set and losing those was only going to make all of the issues worse in my mind. I had already begun to think of the unthinkable....dun dun dun.....homeschool. I only say this because I thought I would fail miserably at it, I was resistant to it, said I would "never" homeschool, etc etc. But you do what you have to do. The school came back and said they were heartbroken over our decision, wouldn't we consider looking at the new class. Then I began to think about potentially regretting it if I did not explore ALL of the options. We sat in for an hour and a half of the new class. It seemed to be made up of those "gentle souls". The teacher gave the kids many chances to move their body in the time we saw, we watched their math lesson since M was struggling there. They use a smart board (which is so cool) that the kids get to use.

After class let out I stood and talked with the teacher. She was honest, she said she had never had a child with Autism in her class before but she considers communication very important back and forth. I totally agreed. I explained some of the issues (food allergies, fine motor, auditory, etc). The next day I took M in to see the class and meet her. Every Fri is a half day so we went just after the kids were released. There were only 2 children in the room, one boy he really seemed to hit it off with in just those few minutes. After just a few minutes, we were ready to leave and he gave her a hug, a good sign. I spoke with a mom whose daughter is in the class, one of our kindergarten families. She had only good things to say about the teacher thus far.

Monday was his 1st day in that new class after being homeschool all of the prior week. We are still in the adjustment period. He is seeing old kindergarten friends he missed in the morning before the whistle blows which he loves. He is coming home with completed math sheets (something he was not able to do before) and math seems to be "clicking" for him this week. I have gotten emails from the new teacher every day after school. I love that! And they have been "He had a good day, stayed focused and on task". NICE! I love to hear that.

See, I KNOW our kids can be successful, it takes the right teacher and the right environment. And that is why I am so thankful (yes you heard me) for this experience. Up to this point, we have had nothing but good experiences with school/teachers. This experience taught me that not only will I do exactly what is necessary for my children, but that I CAN homeschool if I choose. I also see homeschooling in a whole new way. It gave me the freedom to teach my child in whatever way he/she learns best. I could use whatever format, medium, curriculum I needed to. And, I know them best, hands down. We got SO much done in just a few hours! It was amazing how much you could cover without all of the "processes" of school. I am also not scared of the social issue that so many want to bring up when you say homeschooling. Knowing me, I polled lots of people, including my therapist friends who know a lot about Autism and social issues. They all consistently said the same thing, the social part is easy! Parks, playdates, karate class, boy scouts, etc. are all various ways to encourage that social component. My issue was the social interaction he was getting in school was BAD. To me, bad social is not better than less social.

All in all, I only have good things to say about the way special ed and the Principal responded and handled this issue. It clearly was an issue with bad teacher/student fit. As I told the teacher, I get how frustrating it can be *I really do*! I had my own ideas of mother hood and M came along and pulverized them! He challenges you to think outside the box to motivate him, to teach him, to enrich him. It is possible, it can be an amazing experience, and YOU get to grow right along with him. I speak from experience on this one, heck he got me homeschooling him, LOL. M will make YOU grow as much as you make him grow. He is an amazing child, as are both of his sisters, and my commitment will always to give them what THEY need, no matter what.

I am also thankful for my newly acquired meditation skills or the last month would have been harder than it was. This whole process has been stressful but I think my way of dealing with the stress is better, at least I keep on trying anyways! So here's to change (since that is the only thing constant in this house!) and new beginnings! Change used to be a scary word but I have realized, change is much better than sticking with something that isn't working. Hope YOUR last few weeks has been a lot less stressful than mine!!

And my next blogs will be about yummy treats!!

Great information on learning and brain development

OK so blogging has been lagging, drama on the homefront. The drama deserves its own blog and will get one once we get things a bit settled. I feel as though all my "balls" are in the air right now and I am trying to put my stress aside to focus on a certain someone's 7th birthday this week! But suffice it to say that this article has come at a perfect time for me, as we re-evaluate placement for my son and once again consider the unique education that Waldorf schools provide. This article is amazing and tells us how we SHOULD be teaching, we need to honor brain development and to quit forcing our kids to learn things their brain is simply not READY to learn yet (and I am talking ALL kids, NOT just ones with developmental delays!). It seems like every year they add more requirements, more assessments, even starting in kindergarten, ENOUGH ALREADY! Our children can be forced to learn things too early but then bad things are going to happen later on. They have 1 chance to be kids, they have their lifetime to do tests. Anyways, here is a wonderful article and some enlightening information on ways to tell when your child's brain has developed enough to progress on to reading and writing. Enjoy.

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Teaching our Children to Read, Write and Spell

Author: Susan Johnson, M.D.
Issue: Fall 2007: Issue #49, Vol. 12
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Proprioceptive System
There is a widely-held belief that if we just start teaching children to write, read, and spell in preschool, they will become better writers, readers, and spellers by the time they reach the first and second grades. This is, however, not true. The truth is that children only should be taught to write, read, and spell when their neurological pathways for writing, reading, and spelling have fully formed. There are many neuropsychologists, developmental specialists, occupational therapists and teachers who are concerned that our current trend in this country of pushing “academics” in preschool and kindergarten will result in even greater increases in the number of children, particularly boys, diagnosed with attentional problems and visual processing types of learning disabilities.
In order for children to be able to sit still, pay attention, and remember abstract shapes, like letters and numbers, they first need to have developed their proprioceptive system.
In my clinical practice I see children who are being asked to sit still at a desk who can’t yet “feel” where they are in space. They have to keep their muscles and body moving all the time or sit on their feet or wrap their feet around the legs of their chair in order for their mind to locate the position of their body. They also have difficulty balancing on one foot while their eyes are closed. Their drawing of a person is more like that of a younger child, being stick-like in form and lacking hands and feet. These children are often given the label of Attention Deficit Disorder because they appear fidgety in their movements, have difficulty paying attention, and have poorly developed fine-motor skills. In addition, these same children are often labeled as having learning disabilities in visual processing (for example, dyslexia or other types of nonverbal learning disabilities). They have difficulty recalling letters, numbers, and shapes that are shown to them, and they are unable to recognize letters, numbers, and shapes that are drawn with a finger on their back. These children have difficulty remembering the orientation and direction of letters and numbers when writing, reading, or spelling. They often will confuse the letter “b” with the letter “d” and may write the number 2 or number 3 backwards and not even notice.
The proprioceptive system is strengthened by physical movements, like sweeping with a broom, pushing a wheelbarrow, carrying groceries, emptying the trash, pulling weeds, or hanging from monkey bars. When children do these types of activities they stimulate pressure receptors within their muscles, tendons, and joints, thereby allowing their minds to make a map of the location of these various pressure receptors within the body. A connection is made between the mind of children and the various parts of their physical body. In this way children develop a sense of where their body is in space (proprioception), and even if their eyes are closed, the children will be able to feel or sense the location of muscles, joints and tendons within their trunk, arms, legs, fingers, and toes. In addition, as the children move their arms, legs, hands, and feet forwards, backwards, up, down, left and right, they will start to gain a sense of the spaces around them. Now, when these children look at the shapes of letters and numbers, their eyes will follow and track the lines and curves. The memory of these movements will then imprint upon their mind. They will have the capacity to make mental pictures or images of these numbers and letters. They will easily remember the correct orientation of numbers like 2 and 3 when they are writing. There will be no more confusion between the letter “b” and the letter “d.” The correct orientation of the letter or number will be seen within the mind before it is written.
This proprioceptive system impacts other areas in children’s lives beyond being able to sit still and having a visual memory for abstract forms. It also affects their ability to fall asleep by themselves at night and to stay asleep throughout the night. When the proprioceptive system is not fully developed, children will have difficulties falling asleep at night by themselves. They will frequently wake up during the night and then need physical contact with their parents in order to fall back to sleep. Since their own proprioceptive system is not yet developed, lying next to their parent will activate their pressure receptors and allow them to feel their body, relax, and fall back to sleep. For these children, closing their eyes at night makes their body disappear because their mind has not made a connection to the pressure receptors within their muscles, tendons, and joints. This is why so many children want the light on at night when they go to bed. They need to see their body and the spaces around them since they cannot “feel” their body when in darkness.

Reading, Spelling, and Writing
Our current educational system is teaching children to read in a way that doesn’t make sense developmentally. Children in preschool and kindergarten are expected to memorize letters and words before their minds have developed the necessary pathways to identify letters, easily read words, and comprehend what they are reading. We are asking these young children to read, when the only part of their brain that is developed and available for reading words is the right hemisphere.
The right hemisphere first develops for reading, usually around four to seven years of age. This right part of the brain allows children to recognize words by sight. It enables children to focus on the first and last letters in a word and the overall length and shape of the word. It allows children to guess at words without paying much attention to spelling or matching sounds to letters (phonics). In contrast, the reading center in the left brain and the connecting bridge-like pathway between the left and the right brain don’t start developing until seven to nine years of age (girls may develop these pathways a little earlier, while some boys won’t develop these pathways until ten or 11 years of age). It is this reading center in the left brain that allows children to match sounds to letters and enables them to sound out words phonetically. Now they can remember more accurately how words are spelled.
Because the reading center in the right brain sees abstract forms like letters and numbers as pictures, it makes sense to first teach children to read by relating the shapes of letters to actual pictures that children can relate to and draw. For example, the letter “M” can be represented by two mountain peaks with a valley in between. As teachers we can tell children that the sound “M” is the first sound one hears when saying the word “mountains.” Other examples might include drawing a king out of the letter “K,” a bunny out of the letter “B,” or waves out of a “W.” What doesn’t make developmental sense is expecting children to just memorize the abstract shape of the letter “F,” or memorize phrases like “F” as in the word FOX, “B” as in the word BOY, or “C” as in the word CROCODILE. These words do not make any visual sense to the reading center in the right brain. The letter “F” doesn’t look like a FOX, the letter “B” doesn’t look like a BOY, and the letter “C” does not look like a CROCODILE.
When we push young children to read when they only have access to their right hemisphere for reading, we create learning problems for them in the future. Since children using the reading center of the right hemisphere look at the first and last letters of a word, the length of that word, and then make a guess, they will look at a word like “STAMP” and may guess that the word is “STOP” or “STUMP.” If you show them the word, “TGOEHTER” they may read the word as “TOGETHER,” but will not realize that the word is misspelled. Words like “FRIEND,” “FIND,” and “FOUND,” as well as “FILLED,” “FILED,” and “FLOOD,” will all seem the same.
It takes a lot of mental effort to read words using only sight memory. Sight memory was meant to be used for only small words. Children who are reading using only their right hemisphere often are exhausted after reading just a few paragraphs, and can only parrot back words or sentences by memory. In addition, their minds are busy deciphering each word and therefore are not free to create the pictures and actual scenes associated with the words they are reading. This limits their overall comprehension. These are the children who plagiarize or copy a text verbatim, word by word, when they are doing a report. This is because they can only recall the exact words they read and therefore can’t summarize, condense, or comprehend ideas very easily.
For all of these reasons, reading should be taught in school only after children have developed both their right and left reading centers. This will enable children to use sight memory for small words and the more efficient method of phonics for larger words. In addition, children need to have developed the “bridge” pathway that connects the two reading centers together. When children have developed this connection between the right and left cerebral hemispheres (bilateral integration), they can access both the right and left reading centers of their brain at the same time, and therefore can decide at any given moment whether to read a word by sight, if the word is short (a right hemisphere activity), or sound out the word phonetically if the word is long (a left hemisphere activity).
A physical sign that children have developed bilateral integration and can now read both by sight memory and phonics is shown by their ability to do the cross-lateral skip (swinging their opposite leg with opposite arm forward at the same time) without thinking or concentrating. This is because movements on the right side of the body are connected to the left hemisphere of the brain, while movements on the left side of the body are connected to the right side of the brain. If children can move their opposite arm and leg at the same time, then the right and left hemispheres of the brain are “talking” or connected to each other. If children can only skip using their feet or only skip extending the same arm with the same leg (the homolateral skip), they are not ready to read, since they can’t access both sides of the brain simultaneously.
Children who can simultaneously access their reading centers in the right and left hemispheres of their brain will read easily and will create visual images and pictures in their mind related to the content of what they are reading. They will be able to discuss or write about what they have read using their own words, because they can replay the scenes in their mind and don’t have to think so much about the specific words used in each sentence. Therefore, they will have an easier time understanding the meaning behind the stories and books they are reading. Learning to spell will be easier too.
Besides pushing children to read and spell before their minds are developed, we also ask them to hold a pencil and write before they are developmentally ready. I see very young children being asked to write with one hand while they still have overflow movements occurring in the fingers of the opposite hand. Before six or seven years of age, the vertical midline of the child is not fully integrated. When a child moves the fingers of one hand, the fingers on the other hand will also move, often without the child’s conscious awareness. Children should not be forced to write until this vertical midline is integrated. If we force children to hold a pencil or pen and write before they have integrated this vertical midline, they will develop a tense pencil grip, a cramped writing style, and a spatially compromised and jerky penmanship. It makes more sense first to teach children to write the small letters of the alphabet in cursive before teaching them to print these lower case letters. When doing form drawings or writing in cursive, the right and left hemispheres are both active and working together. Printing of the lower case letters is a more abstract and advanced developmental task that requires the left hemisphere, which often isn’t developed enough for this task until seven to nine years of age. Girls may be ready to do this task by age six while boys often can’t do this task until after nine years of age.
My greatest concern is that I am seeing more and more fourth, fifth, sixth, and even seventh graders from public and private schools who can’t spell easily and are still reading mostly by sight memory. They can now use their left brain to sound out words, but they approach every word they read first by using the reading center in right brain (by sight). For example, when I give these children a sentence to read like: “Six byos wnet on a vaccaiton tohgeter and tehy wnet fsihing in a bule baot,” they often do not notice any of the misspelled words. Furthermore, when I have these same children read another paragraph where every word is spelled correctly, they often tell me that both paragraphs are exactly the same or only note one or two words where the spelling is different.
My worry is that these children were pushed to read too early, when only their right brain was developed enough for reading. They compensated by learning to read everything using only sight memory. When the reading center in their left hemisphere finally developed, the habit was still to read by using the reading center of the right hemisphere. Therefore, these children first looked at the words in a sentence using sight memory, and if the words didn’t make any sense, then they accessed the left reading center to sound out the words. The problem was they weren’t using the reading centers in the right and left brains simultaneously. Many of these children still lacked bilateral integration in their physical movements as well as in their reading. For some of the children, reading was slow and took a tremendous amount of effort. For other children, their sight memory was so strong that they could read quickly but their comprehension and spelling were still poor. Neither group of children could easily picture the scenes from the words they read or remember how individual words were spelled.
Many of these children need cranial therapy because of a history of a c-section birth, prolonged labor, induced labor, or use of suction forceps at delivery. In addition, these children need lots of cross-lateral types of movements (where the opposite arm moves at the same time as the opposite leg) to strengthen bilateral integration. Movements like walking or hiking with the arms swinging, swimming the various strokes, rock climbing and playing tennis will all strengthen bilateral integration. Also, specific movement therapies such as Therapeutic Eurythmy, Extra Lesson, Parelli horseback riding, Spacial Dynamics, Bal-A-Vis-X, Brain Gym, HANDLE, and sensory integration therapy will foster the development of these neurological pathways. These movements need to be noncompetitive, and the therapists needs to avoid over-stimulating the children or activating their fight and flight “stress” nervous systems. For neurological pathways do not form well when children are stressed. Once these pathways and connections are formed, many of these children will need tutoring to relearn the rules of spelling and phonics and to start using their left brains for reading. Even if these children were taught phonics in the first or second grade, they need to revisit these reading skills because they didn’t have access yet to the reading center in their left brain.

Prevention of Learning Disabilities
Overall, schools and parents can support a child’s learning by serving healthy foods that are rich in protein, good quality fats (especially omega-3 fatty acids), and fresh fruits and vegetables, while eliminating partially-hydrogenated oils and trans fats which occur when cooking or frying foods in corn oil. Adequate sleep will increase the percentage of rapid eye movement or REM sleep. A lack of sleep leads to less REM sleep and therefore, less consolidation of the previous day’s learning. Limiting screen time (television, videos, and computer games), and eliminating it altogether on school nights, will keep the mind free to do its own picturing and not stress it with violent images and rapid sequences of pictures that the brain cannot fully process. Regular rhythms and routines in eating and sleeping as well as daily activities will promote a more relaxed nervous system for learning.
In addition, children can’t learn and neurological pathways can’t form as easily when children’s nervous systems are experiencing stress. Forcing children to write, read, and spell, and giving them “standardized” tests before they are developmentally ready, will stress their nervous systems. Furthermore, children will dislike reading and will not want to go to school. If we insist on pushing writing, reading and spelling before the children’s minds are ready, we will continue to create an epidemic of behavior and learning difficulties, especially in our boys.
First grade is the time to introduce form drawing, learn the capital letters (as pictures that children can draw), and practice cursive writing. As the majority of children in the classroom strengthen their proprioceptive skills and integrate their right and left hemispheres (as evidenced by their ability to stand on one foot with their eyes closed, remember the shapes that are drawn on their backs, jump rope forward and backwards by themselves, and easily perform the cross lateral skip), then children can be more formally taught to read, and to learn how to print the lower case letters.
It is time to remove the desks from kindergartens and preschools. Our preschools and kindergartens need to fill their curriculums with play consisting of lots of sensory integration activities that will strengthen fine motor movements, visual motor abilities, balance, muscle tone, proprioception, as well as strengthen children’s social and emotional development. Activities like imaginary play, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, walking the balance beam, playing circle games, singing, playing catch, doing meaningful chores, painting, coloring, playing hand-clapping games, doing string games, and finger knitting will strengthen their minds for learning. Children need these healthy, harmonious, rhythmic, and noncompetitive movements to develop their brains. For it is the movements of their body that create the pathways in their mind for reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, and creative thinking.

Susan Johnson, M.D. is a Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrician in Colfax, California.
Copyright © 2010 Lilipoh | All Rights Reserved

New Yeast Control Pack for kids with Autism

If you have a child who suffers from yeast overgrowth and who doesn't swallow pills, this may be what you have been looking for! I just found out that New Beginnings has a NEW yeast control package designed specifically for kiddos who can't swallow pills! I will be ordering mine ASAP! Click the New Beginnings logo/link on the right side of my blog to go to their website. Here's the info:

New Beginnings is now offering a liquid Yeast Control Package designed for younger children who do not swallow capsules. The following potent single herbal products have been placed together in this package to provide better and more palatable (better tasting) broad spectrum Candida and bacteria control. When the suggested protocol is followed, this package provides yeast control support for at least three consecutive months while reducing the possibility of the yeast building resistance to the herbs:


Black Walnut Extract


Golden Seal Extract


Uva Ursi Extract

AlliMax


Suggested Dosage/Protocol: Dose 6 – 10 drops of each herb with breakfast and dinner for five (5) consecutive days or as suggested by your healthcare practitioner. Start with any one herb and keep rotating through all the herbs (every 5 days) for a period of three months. Probiotics should be dosed at bedtime or at least two hours away from herbal doses. This protocol can be used whenever Candida symptoms appear.

Explaining Autism to Classmates

Well Monday was unexpectedly emotional for me. I had asked M's 1st grade teacher if I could come in and talk to the kids about Autism. Eventually I knew this would happen. As kids get older, differences regardless of how small, do become magnified. Kids are alternately incredibly sweet and terribly mean depending on the situation. We have thankfully gotten to the point where he is virtually indistinguishable from his peers, yet has his unique "quirks". I once spoke with Roseanne, Adam's mother from Autism The Musical (whom I related to on a very deep level, her career, her life, her personality type, etc). She told me she always makes it a point to go into her son's class and tell them about Adam and his Autism. M was in preschool at the time and didn't seem like a time to broach this subject as most of those children also had some form of disability. But, 1st grade, the kids begin developing at different rates, there are the more "mature" kids and certainly any gap in development becomes very apparent. So, now seemed like a good time as there had been a couple of "mother hens" in the class always trying to make M do something he didn't want to. He does not like to take orders from many people, just his authority figures. He gets that from me so I can't say that I blame him. So I searched online for resources. I found a book HERE that I ordered. Then I found this awesome blog HERE

OK so here's where it got emotional. I am so thankful for my children, I am so thankful for my son's progress but I had myself a little pity party. The realization sank in (again) that Autism will always be a part of our lives. I know this, don't get me wrong, I am not delusional. As my son "recovers" we do leave many pieces of the proverbial puzzle behind but Autism will always be in his history, in his now, and probably in his future. I realize this but sometimes it slaps you in the face a little harder than usual. I was sad at the realization that I needed to talk to my son about his Autism. See for him (and his sisters) it has always been this way. Life is filled with OT visits, Speech therapy, music therapy and for a long while, tantrums and screams at sensory issues in his environment. Trouble sleeping, constant supplements and special diets has also been part of our family's status quo. But for the child living it, I realized we had never spoken of it, had to explain it. And it kind of broke my heart just a little to have to do so. I looked at the unfairness of it (Why do I have to talk to MY child about this?). But my true self kicked in and said "Why NOT my child?". So I proceeded to write something that I could say to the kids to help them understand my son better. My goal was to explain in small bits, just how different his brain can be. I used a super hero analogy about a super hero with a cape that makes him fly. But, when you swim with that cape it can be heavy and hard to swim with. The same is true for my son's super sonic hearing. Yeah when he's older he may have a blast with that but right now, trying to listen to the teacher when other kids are talking, rustling paper, etc. can be a real challenge. And, his reaction to noises that no one else can hear may set him apart. I told the class that EVERYONE is different, that's what makes each person special but M's brain does work just a little differently and that is OK! I covered repetitious speech, I used the analogy of getting a song stuck in your head, they could ALL relate to that. I also told them that sometimes he needs to repeat stuff back to himself to make sure his brain hears the important stuff. At the end I passed out silly bands from the National Autism Association in the shape of puzzle pieces, found HERE . I can't even tell you what a hit those were!

Reading the book on Autism to them and then just talking to them about the way M's brain works is something that I never thought I would have to do when I pictured motherhood. But, not only is this a chance for my child to gain greater acceptance of his "quirks" but also for the kids to grow in their tolerance and love for those who are different. I reiterated that M is still just a 1st grader, just like each of them. He wants to come to school, learn, make friends and have fun. His Autism can make that harder for him. Some of his kindergarten friends in the class made some comments about helping him and his kinder class really was just so kind and loving. I can only hope that his 1st grade class is the same way. But whatever comes our way, I promise to use these experiences as ways to grow as individuals and as a family. Sitting down with my son and talking to him about his Autism was certainly never what I expected I would have to do but it is what it is. He asks to read that book now and maybe this process has even helped him understand a little better why some things are just a bit harder for him. And regardless, it gave us another chance to tell him that WE KNOW that he does have to work harder than a lot of people and how proud we are of him and the hard work he does each day.

Dairy and headaches

A friend from my son's kindergarten class' mom was also a holistic momma and wanted to know who I take my kids to as a pediatrician. I referred her to Dr. Carrie Rittling from East Valley Naturopathic Doctors. Over the summer this child began suffering from headaches and they began to investigate. After her prior pediatrician wanted to send her to a neurologist and then explore medications, her mom decided to take her to our doctor. After a lengthy appointment where her concerns were actually heard and all bases explored, they determined that dairy could be a trigger. After removing dairy, no more headaches.

As a GFCFSF cooking mom, I do have my own weakness, which is dairy. My son get NONE, and I am STRICT on his diet (i.e. fanatical). I don't use enzymes so he can eat regular pizza at birthdays, I don't let him eat gluten or dairy AT ALL, no exceptions. I love enzymes but I am a firm believer there is NO replacement for the diet, period. Immune stimulation and inflammation is still occuring when you give these kids foods that they react to, regardless of what enzymes you want to give them. That is my personal belief. But, I am more loose with my own diet and yet my body continually sends me signals. I am so great at reading my kids but not so great at reading myself.

For years I have suffered from headaches with weather changes. When a system moves in or it clouds over I have a headache for 2 days straight. Not fun. This has gone on my whole life. After a really bad experience with a cheese ball last week I said enough was enough. Besides my last container of greek yogurt, the past week has been dairy free for me as well as wheat free (which I have been very faithful about). As the clouds rolled in yesterday I felt the pressure of the weather changes as usual but there was no PAIN. No headache above my eyes, no throbbing sinuses! I can usually count on this pain anytime we get the monsoons in or anytime the weather goes from clear and sunny to cloudy. This was the first time I had no pain. I could tell my body was still reacting to the changes which is normal but there was no pain associated with it.

So again, I would suggest exploring a wheat and/or dairy free lifestyle if you are suffering from unexplained health issues (gut issues, headaches, etc) as many of these things are closely tied to diet. If I eat or drink anything with excitotoxins like artificial sweeteners or MSG (which also includes autolyzed yeast, natural flavors, maltodextrin, etc) found in so many boxed and prepared foods I immediately get a headache. Sometimes it takes a while to clean out your system but when you do your body is a pretty good barometer of what you should or should not put in it, if we just listen and heed. Clearly I am still working on this one, but getting better at it every day!

What's On Your Food?

Here is a lovely little website if you are feeling a little too jolly about the world. Take a gander, it will show you the pesticides and chemicals that are sprayed on our foods. It has little color coded pie charts that show which are known carcinogens (cancer causing agents), what are hormone dysrupters, which are neurotoxins, etc. You can click on "Conventional vs. Organic" for each pesticide and see what the range is on organic versions of these products. Take a look at strawberries and see if you want to buy those $1 for a pound baskets on sale at most of the stores right now.

If we take a hard look at reality we see a world that is constantly being polluted. From the oil in our own gulf (and around the world as well) to the air, to our food, it is no wonder we see a rise in almost every auto-immune disorder and even now in our children being born with these disorders. Maybe all of our kids are being poisoned but these days its not just by environmental catastrophes but by juice box and otter pop. Between dyes (and do the research on those bad boys, there is a reason why other countries have banned many food colorings from foods), high fructose corn syrup (data just out about cancer cells feeding off fructose not to mention the other ills of HFCS) and the other crap in the foods that are SO commonplace, especially for children, it is not even funny.

We cannot control oil spills, we cannot control exhaust fumes, toxic waste dumping into our water supply, but we CAN control the foods we put into our children. I try and challenge parents that you can have healthy foods that also taste good. And yes, sometimes it is a process. You do have to get un-used to the heavy sweet tastes of HFCS and the MSG and additives in foods so that you can appreciate the sweetness of pure fruit and REAL ingredients. But what I am saying is that your kids will be healthier for it. There is only so much we can do in this toxic world, but I would challenge you that food is the biggest source of toxins. Household cleaners are probably the 2nd largest offenders. But food is meant to nourish and fuel growing bodies and brains. It is the building block. And if you dare, check this website out HERE and take a look at your top 3 items that you DON'T buy organic. Then learn about what these pesticides can do to us. It may change the way you shop. We vote with every dollar we spend. If we support organic (or local CSA's, local farmers markets, etc) we can have healthier options for ourselves and our families more readily available.