Tag Archives: diet

There is Always a Reason

 

Our sudden journey with Autism and alternative medicine

There is always a reason. You do something and there is a consequence. You speed, you get a ticket (or wink and smile). You eat too much and you feel sick. You drink too much and you act like a jerk. Same goes for injuries. You fall, you sprain your ankle or break a bone. These things don’t just occur. You don’t wake up one day and have a broken leg or are suddenly drunk. Ridiculous, right?

As you know there are reasons for internal issues in your body too.  Heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer…anything and everything.

And there are reasons for behavioral/emotional and psychological disorders as well. Why shouldn’t there be? This is what most Autistic children are up against. Most doctors, specialists and even families have no clue that there are in fact reasons, real reasons for their child’s obscure behaviors. In fact, most of the behaviors that Autistic children display have very clear reasons.

We talked about low levels of zinc and magnesium and how it can disregulate the system causing sensory issues and bathroom issues. We talked a lot about food and its effects on the body and especially behavior.  We talked about yeast overload and bacteria and the changes that can take place as a result in the body. And of course we talked about the “leaky gut”. This causes incredible behavioral changes and dysfunction. There are reasons for everything. It’s not magical, or invisible and should never, ever be dealt with in that matter. Somebody needs to carefully dissect the behavior to determine what went wrong in the machine we call our body.

We aren’t robots, I know that.  We shouldn’t all be perfect. We all have personalities, similarities, differences…things we don’t necessarily need to change. But, when something goes wrong or deviant trying to figure it out instead of covering it up with medication should be the first line of defense. Why do we settle when we know that something is wrong. Much like a serial killer. This is not “ok” behavior. We all know this. Doctors/specialists/investigators have been trying to figure out the difference in these people for years…an extra chromosome, an abnormality in the brain, too much of one hormone and not enough of another.

Two weeks ago Liam started displaying some very strange, out of character behaviors at school and at home. We were completely stressed about it. It was scary and awful. Liam has always been a love. Sweet, kind, affectionate and generally obedient.  He is a really good listener and aims to please. But, suddenly things changed. The school, friends and even we didn’t know what happened? “Everyone changes”, people said. Maybe he is just “fed up” with listening to everyone that he is protesting? Maybe he’s bored or trying to get out of work….

I emailed our Nutritionist thinking maybe she would know if something had gone wrong with his diet or he is deficient in a vitamin, or has another parasite…she said that there is“always a reason for behavior”. I knew that. Of course there is. But, when you are in the thick of it and the people around you have little to no schooling in this philosophy it’s difficult to be the one, the brave soul to act on such radical thinking.

We went to see our Nutritionist a week after all of these “crazy” behaviors started and sure enough Liam had two types of yeast that were extremely high in his body. She named the 5 most common behaviors seen in Autistic children with high levels of yeast. Liam had all 5 of them. She gave us a new probiotic which helped both types of yeast and anti-fungal yeast drops to take twice a day. Three days after we started both remedies Liam stopped these behaviors. There is no amount of behavior modification,  ABA, or consequences that would have stopped these behaviors in three days!!!

I can’t help but think about many other Autistic children displaying “obscure” behaviors due to internal problems in their bodies.                                                                     Behaviors including:  self injury, crying and screaming out , tantrums, hurting others, loss of language and other skills like potty training . The list goes on.  It’s heartbreaking. Imagine that is your child. Just for a minute. And you could help them. Wouldn’t you? We can change the fate of our children. Good or bad. Many families have no idea that this is possible. They are told, to this day, that they should “accept the fate of their child and to move on”. We were told this…..only 10 months ago.

If I would have brought Liam to the Doctor or Specialist when he started these behaviors do you know what would have happened? We would have been sent home in tears thinking that this is “our new normal”. To readjust our expectations and to move on. That just infuriates me. It’s not ok!

I guess the moral to this story is to always do your own investigating. Don’t let others choose the fate of your child. If you see something “off”, different or wrong do your research. Look very closely at what has changed. Don’t accept this as your “new normal” or a phase until you are absolutely sure that everything is working properly inside. There is always a reason.

Please pass this one along. I wish I wrote this as my very first post. I think it’s more important than anything else I have written.

Thx for reading

The author, Erin Turner is the sister of Excel Fitness trainer Ilicia Balaban. For more information on Autism and alternative treatments, please visit www.liamsjourney.net or speak with Ilicia who can put you in touch with Erin directly!

Health Benefits of Herbs and Spices!

Did you know that some herbs and spices have more disease-fighting antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables?

Cinnamon

Can lower blood sugar, triglycerides, LDL, and total cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes. Try for one-fourth to one-half teaspoon of cinnamon twice a day.

Turmeric

Contains curcumin, which can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Try to have 500 to 800 milligrams a day.

Rosemary

Stops gene mutations that could lead to cancer and may help prevent damage to the blood vessels that raise heart attack risk.

Garlic

Destroys cancer cells and may disrupt the metabolism of tumor cells. One or two cloves weekly provide cancer-protective benefits.

Paprika

Contains capsaicin, whose anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects may lower the risk of cancer. There’s no specific recommended dose, but moderation is probably the best way to go.

Ginger

Can decrease motion sickness and nausea; may also relieve pain and swelling associated with arthritis. Doses used from 500 to 2,000 mg of powdered ginger.

Oregano

A study found that, gram for gram, oregano has the highest antioxidant activity of 27 fresh culinary herbs.

Adding more herbs and spices to your diet can help reduce the risks of certain diseases.

For more information on how increasing your daily intake of certain foods can change how you approach health and fitness, as well as jump start weight loss and muscle development, schedule an appointment with one of Excel Fitness’ Certified Personal Trainer today. Call (860) 523-8167 or email info@excelfitnessct.com

By Chris Caruso, C.P.T.

 

Are You on a Healthy Diet?

Millions of people in the United States are considered to be overweight, and many of those who are overweight are actually obese. Carrying excess weight often leads to a whole list of health problems, including: heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes among others. Weight loss isn’t easy, and for many of us it’s a battle just to maintain a healthy weight, let alone lose the extra weight that’s making us sick and keeping us unhealthy.

Finding the right diet for you can be a challenge on to itself. Conflicting messages in the media tend to lead us in many different directions, making it hard to know what information to trust or which diet plan will be most successful for our unique body. I mean every day you hear about some new fad diet, which is guaranteed to lose weight fast. Okay, some of these diets do that, but they are extremely low calorie diets, and as soon as you go off the diet and eat regular foods again, you will see the weight you lost come right back. The best way to lose weight and keep it off, is to follow a healthy diet that has all of the nutrients we need to stay healthy, and make sure that you are eating enough so that you do not feel hungry. Make sure that when you are on a diet, that you allow yourself the occasional treat. This will help to keep you from binging, which often happens to those who are on extremely low calorie weight loss diets.

For more information on proper nutrition for weight loss or exercise, schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our Excel Fitness certified personal trainers today!!! Stop by the gym, call (860) 523-8167 or email info@excelfitnessct.com.

By Chris Caruso, CPT