DAY 215 - Is a Bacterium Controlling Your Child’s Behavior?

This is not a joke.

Have you ever wondered at the bizarre, extreme, or antisocial behavior of your own child, or that of another? Did the child not seem like himself?

Last week I attended the 18th International Symposium on Functional Medicine. The topic was “The Challenge of Emerging Infections in the 21st Century. Derrick F. MacFabe M.D., Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry (Division of Developmental Disabilities) of the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada; and the Director of  the “Kilee Patchell-Evans” Autism Research Group, opened his lecture with the question; “Are The Microbes in Charge?”

Dr. MacFabe quickly directed us to an infection-behavior model that we were all familiar with, to help us get a handle on our skepticism regarding his question. He reminded us of the extreme behavioral changes in mammals with rabies. Rabies is caused by a virus of the Lyssavirus genus of the Rhabdoviridae family. As we know, infected animals can become vicious and lose a normal sense of fear; gross behavioral changes caused by a microorganism.

The focus of Dr. MacFabe’s current research is the autistic spectrum of disorders (which includes ADHD). In one aspect of its work, his group has introduced a compound, propionic acid (PPA), which can be formed through fermentation in the human gut by the bacterium Clostridium difficile, into the brains of rats, immediately causing behaviors in the rats that appear similar, if not identical to behaviors seen in autistic children. One can see video of these behaviors at his website.

Could a low-grade infection in the gut by Clostridium difficile elevate levels of PPA, and in susceptible individuals cause autism or ADHD? Are these children hooked on carbohydrates that facilitate the bacterial formation of PPA?

In the 1950's, the incidence of autism was one in 10,000. Now it is one in 90. The incidence of ADHD has also increased dramatically. What's going on?

Look at Dr. MacFabe’s work (http://psychology.uwo.ca/autism.htm), and give some more thought to what is controlling our children’s behavior. If you don’t, who will?

DAY 69 - All Boy

She was 4 years old; and all boy!

Her parents brought her to my office for treatment of leg pain. As the three of them entered the treatment room, she paid little attention to me; no fear of the doctor that would be customary for a child this age. No clinging to mama; she began to check out the room, handled everything she could, and slapped at the vertical blinds.

After adjusting her spine, I advised her parents that both the leg pain and her fearless behavior might have some connection to her diet. I recommended a trial of no dairy.

The next week, she was back for follow-up. This time, she was all girl!

Glued to her mom’s leg, the two entered the treatment room. She glanced around the room, kept a careful eye on me, and remained close to mama. Her leg pain was much diminished. Mom had removed the dairy from her diet since the last visit.

Two weeks later, she was back; and all boy again!

Just like the first visit, she cared not who was in the treatment room. She was far from her mother’s side, and showed not the slightest concern about me or my actions. I asked Mom if her daughter was back on dairy again. Her response was, “it was so difficult.” A game of tag ensued as the little one began messing with every piece of equipment in the room. Mom would say “no” and move toward her. She would release the handle, knob or lever, and race to yet another. As she began swiping at the vertical blinds, Mom had had enough, swooped over, scooped her up in her arms and held her. There was a struggle, and some yelling from the little one. Then the real boy in her broke out; she bit her mom’s arm. Not a nibble, she clamped on that arm.

I never got to see her again, but would bet anything that if the milk and cheese got turned off again, Dr. Jekyll would return. It was clear what Mr. Hyde was eating.

Questions: What must it feel like to child, to be out of control one day, and in balance another? When out of control, what is the effect on family, school, and friendships? What is it that makes some boys and some girls, all boy? And what will it take for our culture to appreciate that foods can alter behavior?

(photo - not of the young lady in the story, but rather of, and courtesy of my wonderful granddaughter, Liel Geraci, who is all Liel)

DAY 19 – I Can Help Your Kids Lose Weight (part 2)

OK, let’s get back to you and me helping your kids lose fat!

MY SIMPLE TRUTHS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
1)    everybody has food allergies (or sensitivities), even if symptoms are not obvious,
2)    people are attracted to foods that they are allergic too – yes, the stuff your kid loves,
3)    eating food allergens can cause many people to gain fat,
4)    food allergy is often a critical factor blocking fat loss,
5)    dairy products are one of the most common food allergens in the American diet,
6)    wheat and other gluten containing grains can cause fat gain for many people,
7)    sugars and refined starches are a real problem,
8)    it would be helpful if your child can have a body composition analysis – better than weighing,
9)    there is a difference between giving up on your kid’s health, and being discouraged at times,
10)    when we give up on our kids, they often give up on themselves.

A great place to start is to take your child off of ALL (100%) dairy products for one week. Dairy can not only cause fat gain, but often causes tiredness, emotional lability, poor behavior, aggressiveness, stomach aches, constipation, intestinal gas, diarrhea, muscle pain, headache, ear infections, throat infections, colds, etc...

It works best when the ENTIRE family participates in the experiment. In most cases, the entire family feels better while off of dairy . At the end of the week, put your child back on the same amount of dairy that he/she was eating before. Most kids feel, look and behave worse on dairy.

If your child felt or appeared better while off dairy, the experiment needs to be repeated. Some children voluntarily choose to stay off of dairy once they find that they feel so much better. Repetition of the experiment creates clarity for both parent and child.

If dairy is found to be an allergen for a child, removal for even a month will often result in fat loss.

The dairy experiment is just a place to start. Dairy is the best food to use to teach individuals and families about food allergens and their role in fat gain and fat loss. If you find that you need help as you work to improve your child’s body composition, you may want to find a knowledgeable healthcare practitioner (chiropractor, naturopath, medical doctor, doctor of oriental medicine, etc) to guide you. BEWARE; it may be difficult to find such a practitioner.

For more information on the power of removing food allergens from the diet to improve fat loss, read UltraMetabolism by Mark Hyman, four-time New York Times bestselling author, family physician and international leader in the field of Functional Medicine. Find out more at: http://www.drhyman.com/

All children deserve our help.

Dr. Young :)

DAY 13 – When “time-out” Isn’t Working Well (part 2)

     - continued from DAY 12 on October 16 -

Most of us have had firsthand experience observing the incredible stress and frustration experienced by a parent dealing with a child that behaves in an unacceptable manner over and over. It is understandable that most parents in this situation occasionally react to their child in a way that they later feel was not how they would want to respond.

(photo "Worried" by angelic shrek at flickr.com)

Beware of phrases like “he’s all boy”. Being a male child is not the same as being a child who repeatedly behaves in an inconsiderate or unkind manner. Lots of young boys are consistently kind, focused and polite, while some girls behave in ways that some would call “all boy”. I guided and documented the transformation into "student of the month" of one “all boy” boy who was failing academically and socially. His transformation was in part due to diet change, and accomplished without the medication that had been recommended by his school psychologist.

As a rule, most children don’t want to misbehave. They don’t like the cycle of distressed interaction that their misbehavior feeds. Most children are as confused by their poor behavior as are their parents. Many of these children develop poor self-images due to the repeated reprimands, punishments, and the obvious distress that their parents and others display.

Entering school systems, behavior problems often become compounded. Conflicts with fellow students are common. Teachers, not having the luxury of dealing with 1-3 children as an average parent would, are called upon to magically respond to the moods and behaviors of 25-35 children at a time, and can find themselves short on patience and needing quick answers in order to maintain a functional environment in the classroom. Quick answers are often in the form of Ritalin or amphetamines; but that is another story.

Diet change can be difficult for families; particularly with children who are picky eaters and demand certain foods. Often, these picky eaters have behavior issues fueled by the foods that they demand, and get. While dietary change can be difficult, I can assure you that it is nothing compared to the suffering and damage done to a family and the misbehaving child when change is not made.

My hope is that this brief discussion will awaken families to the increased harmony that usually accompanies dietary change. It is painful for me to watch parents, usually mothers, driven to distraction, and children learning to question their own worth. It is also painful for me to watch so many children put on prescription drugs without any prior attempt to explore the role of mind-altering foods in their life.

Children that I have worked with are often obviously relieved to begin behaving in a functional manner, and to learn that the problem was not that they were defective, but rather that they were eating things that negatively affected their mind, mood and behavior. Parents too are relieved to find that they just didn’t understand the powerful chemical factors that were influencing their child’s behavior.

One of the most notorious food groups that causes poor behavior is dairy products. Others foods include, gluten-containing grains, sugars, eggs, corn, nuts, colorings and additives.

I am not saying that every case will be an easy fix. What I am saying is that when “time out” is not working; parents need to take “time out” to include careful and knowledgeable assessment of food reactions as a cause or factor in their child’s behavior.