Biomedical Survivial Guide

 

Introduction to Biomedical Treatment

What you need to know to help your child recover.  I believe developmental issues can be compared “being hit by a bus”.  You can recover but you have to identify what got hurt and put a program in place to fix it.  The first step in biomedical treatment is to identify your child’s underlying weaknesses


Common underlying issues:

  • YEAST
  • PANDAS – STREPTOCOCCUS
  • CLOSTRIDIA
  • VIRUSES
  • HEAVY METALS
  • ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS
  • MITOCHONDRIAL WEAKNESS
  • DIGESTIVE ISSUES LIKE CONSTIPATION, DIARRHEA AND/OR LEAKY GUT
  • METHYLATION DEFECTS
  • DETOXIFICATION IMPAIRMENTS
  • NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES INCLUDING ESSENTIAL FATS AND B VITAMINS
  • PROBLEMS WITH CONVERTING NUTRIENTS TO ACTIVE FORM

 

Laboratory Testing:

Assessment provides many clues to what is going on with your child but individualized treatment requires testing.  Most commonly recommended tests for biomedical treatment include:

 

The above testing is not covered through OHIP but may be covered under extended health benefits.  Other important tests can be requisitioned through your child’s MD or specialist.

Getting Started Information


Great Books to learn more about biomedical treatment and research:

  • The Autism Book – Dr. Sears, MD
  • Healing our Autistic Children – Julie A. Buckley, MD
  • Changing the Course of Autism – Bryan Jepson, MD
  • Children with Starving Brains – Jaqueline McCandless, MD
  • Healing the New Childhood Epidemics – Dr. Kenneth Bock, MD
  • The Devil in the Milk – Keith Woodford

Websites:

Biomedical Dietary Intervention: BDI


Picture a flood in your basement.  Water is running down the stairs and the water level is rising.  This is a great analogy for a developmental issue.  Food is the water running down the stairs.  Food makes up a lot of the fluid flooding the basement.


Dairy:
The first step of biomedical diet intervention includes removing dairy from your child’s diet.  It is important to remove 100% in order to support gut healing and developmental gain.  Autism is INFLAMMATORY.  Some foods cause inflammation and excite the brain making it very difficult to support development.  Dairy is the first food to remove and includes all sources of lactose, whey, casein and modified milk ingredients.

               
                Dairy Alternatives include:

  • Unsweetened rice milk
  • Unsweetened hemp milk
  • Unsweetened almond milk
  • Unsweetened coconut milk
  • Coconut Bliss – non dairy ice cream
  • Chapman’s Sorbet – dairy free gluten free
  • Earth Balance butter

There are no replacements for yogurt or cheese that I recommend for your child’s BDI


Gluten
:  The next step is removing all sources of gluten from your child’s diet.  Many parents ask if it is necessary to remove all sources of gluten (and dairy) because it is so hard to do 100% of the time.  The answer is YES!  It is very important to remove dairy and gluten 100% from your child’s diet because food creates a “flood” of inflammation in your child’s body.  In order to clean up and repair damage caused by this “flood”, the foods need to be completely removed.  In my practice, children who are completely dairy and gluten free experience more benefit from treatment which translates into social, language and cognitive developmental gains.


Limiting carbohydrates
: The digestive tract is filled with trillions of microbes that work together to breakdown proteins, absorb and convert vitamins and minerals, promote immune function and regulate inflammation.  Children who have digestive problems, who have had multiple rounds of antibiotics (including during their mother’s labour and delivery) and/or were delivered via c-section are at risk for MICROBIAL OVERGROWTH.  “Bad” bacteria, yeast and/or parasites can disrupt the proper balance of microbes in the gut and contribute to developmental delay.  These abnormal or dysbiotic microbes LOVE carbohydrates and cause children to crave breads, sweet foods, fruits, crackers etc.

Please note that going GFCF is very important but keep in mind it is important to limit carbohydrates and not replace all of the gluten products with other grains.

 

Protein:  Serotonin, dopamine, GABA and other important brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) are made from protein.  Many children with autism suffer from a lack of protein in their diet.  Protein with every meal and snack is very important for BDI.


Fibre:
 An essential part of gut healing and biomedical treatment.

  • Binds inflammation to be removed by the gut
  • Binds heavy metals, pesticides and other harmful chemicals
  • Regulates digestion and helps to treat constipation, diarrhea, bloating etc.

 

Nutrient Density:  Studies have shown that increasing the amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and nutrients in general can positively impact development in children with ASD and other developmental disorders. 

List of high nutrient density foods:

  • Berries – blueberries, raspberries, blackberries,
  • Free range organic chicken and turkey
  • Nut butters including almond and hazelnut
  • Green leafy vegetables including spinach, swiss chard, kale, broccoli
  • Beans and lentils
  • Brown rice, quinoa and steel cut oats
  • Flax seeds, chia seeds, hemps seeds

 

Cleaning up your child’s diet

 

GFCF, low carbohydrate intake and nutrient density are key factors to promoting development in children with autism and other developmental issues.  The research overwhelmingly identifies INFLAMMATION as a underlying causative and contributing factor to ASD and AD/HD.  Cleaning up your child’s diet is an ongoing commitment and other important strategies include:

 

  • Removing processed, pre-packaged and “fast foods”
  • Strictly limit intake of sugar by eliminating juice, candy and high glycemic (very sweet) fruits such as oranges and bananas
  • Dilute juice – ¼ juice, ¾ water
  • Replace peanut butter with almond, cashew or hazelnut butter (peanuts = inflammation)
  • Eliminate refined sugar sources such as cookies, muffins, croissants, most crackers
  • Consider free range organic meat and eggs because the decrease your child’s detoxification burden
  • Ensure adequate water intake by giving your child ½ their body weight in ounces daily

 

Example: 40 lb child would need a minimum of 20 oz of water daily

 

Healthy Cooking Tips

 

  • Cook with extra virgin olive oil on low to medium heat – adding water will minimize production of free radicals which cause oxidative stress (a key factor in developmental delay)
  • Anything fried creates TRANS fats that cause oxidative stress – cooking oils to the point of cracking and snapping creates TRANS fats as well
  • DO NOT MICROWAVE PLASTIC and consider minimizing overall use of microwave
  • Use bisphenol A free plastics for drinks and storage
  • Smoothies are a great way to get in lots of nutrients (and supplements)
  • Read labels – if you don’t recognize a word, it is a chemical that is tough to break down

Smoothie Recipe

  • 1 scoop of Ultra Meal Rice Protein – Vanilla, Chocolate or Cherry Banana (2 scoops – Ultra Care for Kids) – OR –  2 tbsp Nut butter (excluding peanut)
  • ½ to 1 cup of spinach
  • 1 cup rice milk, hemp milk or unsweetened almond mlik
  • ½  frozen banana and/or ½ cup frozen berries

 

Castor oil Pack – this easy treatment is extremely effective for decreasing inflammation in the digestive tract.  Castor oil packs help to detoxify the liver and remove harmful toxins safely and effectively from your child’s body.

 

Epsom salt baths daily – safe, easy way to detoxify the body

Cleaning Products – these are very strong and harmful chemicals that increase your child’s toxic load.  Clean out all your old cleaners and replace them.  Public health now recommends couples having fertility issues should remove their toxic cleaners.  Children with developmental issues need to be as protected as possible from environmental exposures. 

Supplements – How do I get this stuff in?

Many parents struggle with getting supplements into their children.  Here is something to consider.  If a child had meningitis, they would be given life saving medicine.  If a child had diabetes, they would need insulin to survive.  Developmental issues can be DRAMATICALLY improved through biomedical treatment but the supplements have to be consistently given to kids in order to effect positive change.

  • Mix with a small amount of juice and use a medicine syringe to squirt into the mouth
  • Mix with applesauce, maple syrup, jam or honey (especially MANUKA honey)
  • Mix in a berry smoothie (use a small amount to ensure the medicine is not too diluted)
  • Mix in organic sugar free peanut butter or other nut butters 

Pesticides – have been linked to autism, ADHD and other developmental issues.  Avoid using pesticides in and around your home and do not let your child play where pesticides have been sprayed.

Foods with the highest number of pesticides:

Celery Peaches
Strawberries Apples
Blueberries Nectarines
Bell peppers Spinach
Kale Cherries
Grapes Potatoes

Foods with the lowest number of pesticides:

Onions Avocado
Sweet corn Pineapple
Mango Sweet peas
Kiwi Cabbage
Eggplant Cantaloupe
Watermelon Grapefruit
Sweet potatoes Honeydew melon