The Healing Power of Food: A Mother's Story

I recently had a follow-up with one of my clients. I have been helping her transition her son to a Gluten and Casein- Free (GF/CF) Diet to see if it would help improve his development. Her 3 year old son was diagnosed with developmental delays and her main concerns were his lack of eye contact, gross motor skills and communication. After 6-8 weeks of being on the GF/CF diet this is what she has noticed in her little boy:

• He sustains his eye contact for a longer period of time
• His social interaction with other kids has improved and he is now playing with kids his own age and older
• His gross motor skills have improved
• He has increased his repertoire of foods and his palette is improving
• He is no longer constipated. His bowels are moving easier
• His  immune system is improving – no colds or flu in 6 weeks.  

It never ceases to amaze me how powerful food is. No matter what age, what condition, what symptoms. Food truly is medicine and should be our first go-to to improve our health.

A GF/CF diet avoids all foods containing gluten and casein. It is also common to avoid soy when following this diet. Gluten, casein, and soy have similar properties and similar effects on the body. They are very inflammatory and difficult to digest causing many physical symptoms. They are broken down by the same enzyme, and if there is an inability to digest these proteins, they can create opioids (opiate or morphine-like compounds) that can affect behavior, mood, and cognitive function. Removing this trio is recommended and often necessary to improve symptoms. 

Below is my client’s testament to the healing power of food and what happened when following this Therapeutic Nutritional strategy:

 
"My son was detected in an early age with development delay issues, specifically social, communication and physical. At my last appointment with a his doctor, who specializes in Autism, he mentioned that the delay gap had increased and that freaked me out. In the same week, I had my quarterly Nutritionist visit. I exposed the case to Amy and she suggested that I follow a diet for Autism, which basically was to eliminate gluten and dairy. I thought at the beginning “that is going to be impossible, my son LOVES his milk, cheese and pasta.” He also goes to a day home and special school and I didn't know if they would accept this change. Although I had all these preconceived thoughts, I decided to give it a try.

The change started at home bringing everybody on the same page, and doing progressive changes such as starting to combine cow milk with coconut or oat milk, and slowly lessening and then completely removing the cow milk over 3 weeks. Then I changed the pasta for the other gluten free options. I introduced the GF/CF diet to the caregiver, slowly because I didn’t want to scare her, and then to the school. They were all receptive and willing to help.

My son has been on this diet for 2 months and he is 95% GF/CF and I have started to see the changes. He is more consistent with the eye contact. For me this has been the greatest and most beautiful improvement. It makes my heart explode with love! He is getting more social with other kids and with his twin sister. He starts to engage in conversations with other kids and his caregiver and teacher sees this as well. His balance is improving. He doesn’t suffer any more with strained bowel movements and his immune system is getting stronger. In addition, he is starting to explore other foods and textures that before he wouldn’t touch.

I have tried many things to reduce that gap the doctor had mentioned, and although I have seen improvement with him going to school, I believe that the GF/CF diet has helped him to reduce that gap faster."

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Amy's thoughts:

For 17 years I have been inspiring, educating and guiding my clients to make nutritional changes that positively affect their health. When we use the power of food with children, as seen in this case, it can absolutely enhance their growth, development, behavior, cognition and improve many conditions, including autism-related symptomatic behavior.

Last year I received Advanced Training in Bioindividual Nutrition and Therapeutic Diets with Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant, Autism Expert and Creator of Nourishing Hope. As she says, "BioIndividual Nutrition is the science and clinical application of diet and nutrition intervention that is customized to the unique needs of each individual." There truly is a nutritional strategy and intervention for any condition and when we use food as medicine it can have a profound impact on our health.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their health then consider that what you are eating or not eating may in fact be contributing to the problem. Work with me so we can find the right nutritional strategy for your unique biochemistry. Book an appointment today (587)436-2692.

I hope this story and mother's courage and determination to help her son, warms your heart as much as it has mine.

Yours in health & vitality,
Amy

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