Episode 484: ADHD, Autism & Oxidative Stress

0:00Welcome to the Natural Nourished Podcast that delivers cutting-edge food and medicine solutions for optimal health. Allie Miller is a nutrition expert sought up by the media in America's top medical institutes for her revolutionary functional medicine interventions. From disease treatment to prevention, every episode will empower you with ways to put yourself back in control of your health. Please note, the topics discussed are from educational purposes only. Now welcome, Integrated Dietitians, Allie Miller, and Vercaho's back to you. Welcome to episode 484 of the Natural Nourished Podcast. Today we are talking about ADHD, autism, and the oxidative stress connection. We've covered ADHD in autism previously in episodes 138 and 201, but today we're revisiting these topics with a deeper focus on why oxidative stress matters and how we can reduce this via

1:06diet, lifestyle, and strategic supplementation. Yes, it's goodness, been over five years since we've addressed this topic directly, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am not a fan of labels in the world of functional medicine. In fact, we were just getting rocking with our naturally nourished mentorship, and I was asked about lupus that has a unique blood marker to diagnose positive. I think all too often when we focus on a disease label and not the individual symptom expression of the complex individual that is alive and thriving in front of us, that we can overlook things, we can get to algorithmic, and we can also reiterate the condition as a disease or a problem. When I'm working with pediatrics, adolescents, and teens, I really like to focus more on the symptom management, so the volatility of emotion or the transition of tasks, the ability to focus, comprehension, distraction, stimulating drivers or behaviors, and so much more.

2:14In today's episode, I'm really looking forward to unpacking the connection of how we can use one approach of reducing oxidative stress to hit so many different markers of imbalance. Often that can end up saving you a lot of money, giving you a lot of hope, and seeing some pretty remarkable outcomes. Yes, and as these conditions are, quote unquote, spectrum disorders, it's like there can be such a wide range of symptoms and presentations, so I think the functional approach really makes sense here, right? Absolutely. Well, let's have a quick word from our sponsor for this episode before we dive right in. Yes, so today's episode is sponsored by Fond Regenerative. They make not only our favorite infused food as medicine and plain, slow-simmered bone broths from quality regenerative, sourced bones. They also make our favorite cooking fats, talos, and lard, as well as now a enduck fat,

3:14oops, another fat. And they've now just released their Demi Glaze, which is a really, now this is really the sous chef in a jar, I suppose. I've always called Fond Bone Broth a sous chef in a jar because their flavor infusions help to elevate a simple dish to really take it next level. Like I always am a big fan of the no palitos when I'm making carnitas, and that has no polys, cactus, cilantro, and habanero in there. I love their butternut squash and sage blend when I'm doing something kind of more in the savory family or working with poultry or pork. But their Demi Glaze is really reduced down broth that provides such a concentration of flavor in just a teaspoon or more. This can be used in simple sauces. This can be used in bone broth braised greens, and a Becky you've just recently made an onion dip with it. Yeah, a sour cream and onion dip, and so the beef in particular, Demi Gloss, I find like adds just a richness when you're caramelizing onions.

4:16So in that stage of any dish, if you're looking to get that like complexity, that umami that caramelized flavor, maybe you don't have as much time, I found it like shortcuts the process by probably like 20 minutes or so. It's like a elevated bouillon cube, truly, that's how if you're wondering how to use it. That's like how mom used to use it or grandma used to use it, and instead of getting MSG and additives and cornstarch instead of cube, you're actually getting therapeutic gelatin, collagen, glycine, and all coming from really quality source. So we love Fonda generative going over to fondregenerative.com slash Ali Miller RD on that page. You will see my favorites, including my favorite flavors of broth, fats, and even the opportunity to get some of their new Demi Glaze. And you can use these as well as you're in this season of kind of spring reset. Think about bone broth as a really great way to help with seasonal allergies. Also, if you got a little bit of a scratchy throat, fantastic, expectorant, and if looking

5:19to get into that keto reset or do some protein-sparing fats, I've been talking a lot about using bone broth as a protein-sparing modified fast. So a great way to love on your gut while staying hypochaloric and still nourishing, balancing electrolytes. I see such big leverage of using bone broth in our food as medicine protocols. Okay. So let's get into today's topic. Let's just refresh real quick on what is happening when we're talking ADHD and autism, just in terms of their symptoms and how they're presenting. Mm-hmm. So yeah, ADHD and autism are going to be neurodevelopmental conditions. They reflect differences in how the brain develops. Definitely, we can see information processing issues. We can see sensory issues. We can see difficulty with attention or focus and energy demand shifts in these individuals. So ADHD is going to be characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, which, again, sounds

6:22like children, period. Over time, we've come to understand that emotional dysregulation, executive dysfunction, sleep disruption, and circadian rhythm and balances can be features of ADHD. And we'll often see this presenting in childhood, but it can persist into adulthood. And some adults will be diagnosed later in life. You know, when we think about autism spectrum disorder, this can be a little bit more in the emotional intelligence and social communication. So we can see a lot more behavior issues with sensory processing. We can see issues with overload in that sense, like sounds, light, communication differences, repetitive behaviors, difficulty with transitions. ADHD and autism can have a lot of overlap. They can both involve difficulty focusing, impulsivity, that reactivity. Challenges can arise in both for school and relationships.

7:24And we can see drivers of imbalance being very similar as well. They're talking about environmental toxins, metabolic stress, dysbiosis, nutrient depletion, oxidative load, and, of course, any of that epigenetic expression, as well as we'll talk about a little bit of genetic predisposition as well. We can very easily lean into making things into problems. And then all of a sudden, we have children walking around with headphones connected to tablets all day long because they're sensory overwhelmed and yet we're overstimulating them. Right. And putting them on a screen and putting headphones over their ears probably isn't the solution. Right. And certainly doesn't help them to exist in the real world, right? Right. Okay. So let's talk prevalence in what we're calling ADHD and autism. What are we looking at in terms of like how many people in the US and in the world? Yeah. So what I found for this episode was roughly about 12% of children aged five to 17 diagnosed

8:28with ADHD. However, I experienced it a lot higher. I don't know about you, but I've been in classrooms for a while. And I would guess to made about 30% of children are either diagnosed or actively being treated for ADHD, especially in like the third, fourth, fifth grade population. About 6% of US adults, roughly 15.5 million people currently carry an ADHD diagnosis and more than half of those being diagnosed in adulthood, again, is that being distracted? Is that being dopamine depleted? Is that looking for a stimulus to make your life easier and needing that diagnosis for that? Who knows? Autism prevalence is estimated at about one in 36, so a little bit less likely. We see a little bit more genetics in that category of individuals. And we're seeing more diagnostic criteria, earlier identification, again, just louder speak of surveillance on this. But we're also set up at a higher susceptibility to industrialized toxicity, higher childhood

9:30vaccination schedules, and so many other drivers that could deplete antioxidative antioxidants or drive oxidative stress in the brain. Yes. And I think it's important to know it's likely not just like one thing that is, you know, the cause we'll talk today about the metabolic and environmental specifically. And as we mentioned, we'll probably, you know, use ADHD and autism a little bit interchangeable in this episode because there's just so much overlap. Okay. Let's talk conventional treatment of ADHD and autism and how it addresses these conditions and then where the misses are. Yes. So in an ideal setting, unfortunately, this doesn't happen often enough, but in an ideal setting, there should always be the start of therapy. This could be even like occupational therapy, working more in a child's routine, doing transition times with one, two, three steps, creating that predictability or that structure that feels

10:30safe, so that there isn't outrage or irritability or such surge dynamic. We can also think of play therapy when working with more of the executive function and the emotional behavioral elements there. We want to think about also in the world of, and just noting this, I would say sensory integration as well as occupational therapy in the other end of the spectrum of maybe not just for function, but exposure to move their bodies. I think that the fact that children are expected to be so sedentary and to sit still and to be in LED lights in a place with artificial light, often without exposure to natural light because of unfortunately safety and such, that we're setting them up to not have the opportunity to be regulated. We're creating an environment of dysregulation regardless of what they've been exposed to from their birth story or in their household. And I think that that's really worth noting, for sure, especially mothers of boys, which

11:33literally they need to move their bodies and they're really designed to be physical players. So we should ideally start there on processing, assessing, coming up with strategy, supporting output and regulating their neurological systems. There are a variety of drugs that are used in the world of ADHD, but starting with autism, there are only two unlabeled drugs that are approved, Respiradone, which is known as an anti-psychotic drug often used in the mental health realm, was first approved by the FDA to treat autism-related irritability in 2006. And this is approved for children ages five and older. This can drive though dizziness, drowsiness, feeling tired, tremors twitching, uncontrollable muscle movements, agitation, anxiety or restlessness, depressed mood, dry mouth, upset stomach, diarrhea, constipation, weight gain, and then rhinitis or runny stuffy nose, sneezing

12:35and sore throat. And so, you know, right away we're working in a second generation anti-psychotic with quite a lot of side effects, and at that, at a lesson age, so important to recognize that neurotransmitters are really just developing, and all of that pattern recognition, because of neuroplasticity and our life experience, is really secondary to actually the mechanism of the drug. So first-line therapy should always be implemented. The FDA also approved this psychotic drug, Abilify, as name brand, or a Represol, a Rep-Presol, and this was in 2009, again, treatment of irritability for children. And I think it might be shocking to some listeners to know that actually when we talk about irritability and children, that SSRIs have actually been given in this decade to infants for colic. And so, it's really interesting how we're medicating irritability in children in both of these scenarios, which seems to me to sedate or silent or kind of suppress, rather

13:35than allow expression and work with. So, this whole classification of drugs has been indicated initially for treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar one disorder, major depressive disorder, and even Tourette syndrome. Also comes with quite an array of side effects, including dizziness, lightheadedness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, and upset stomach. And then in the world of ADHD, the primary go-to's are going to be stimulants. So, Adderall likely being the most known, then Concerta, we can see Foculin, Ritalin, Vi-Vance, and there are others in between. What's really wild, and I've seen, unfortunately, in the pediatric population, is often a child has been medicated, and their medication has been increased two or three times by the time they come to me. And the child is at such a severe level of dysfunction, like muscle tremors or twitches, or feeling that palpitation heart race, full-blown panic attack, night terrors and insomnia,

14:41and unfortunately that clinician literally kept dialing up the medication, versus taking a step back, pausing, looking at root cause tools, and lifestyle therapy. Yes. And I mean, all of those medications with significant side effects, and then, you know, in the world of nutrients being recognized. We have seen Luke O'Voran talked about more recently, so we're at least starting to acknowledge, like, maybe, just maybe a nutrient could have an impact, right? Yes. Because it's totally reasonable. So Luke O'Voran is like the new kid on the block of Depplin, you know, which hit 20 years ago in the marketplace, Depplin being a methylfolate, Luke O'Voran being full-linic acid, and so both impacting these folate-dependent metabolic pathways, the Depplin or methylfolate being at end point, and the Luke O'Voran providing more opportunity. Now, it is full-linic, not full-lic acid, so this is more preferable than the synthetic

15:41folic acid, and might be a little bit more on influencing factor in a favorable way for those in the autism spectrum, especially with verbal communication issues, or if we've gone down the rabbit hole and have looked at methylation genetics, folate receptor genetics, and potentially we can see in this population auto antibodies on the folate receptor, and this is where that could be a really powerful tool. Now, both of these actually come in pretty similar dosages, and they range from like a 5 milligram, 10 milligram, 15 milligram, upwards of 25 milligram, which that would be substantially higher dose. Generally speaking, we're looking at like a 1.5 to 2 milligram dosage of folate, or a methylated form of folate in the world of like prenatal health. Generally speaking, we can dose upwards of like 5 milligrams when looking at mental health, and using more methylation support, especially if an individual has elevated homocysteine, which is a marker of methylation issue, and that's an

16:45easy blood marker to run. But when we get higher, we can definitely be turning up one dial, that methylation, or folate receptor function, while overlooking other intricate influencing factors of our neurological system, and our sympathetic nervous system regulation. And so I often think of things like COMT, or catacolomy, methanolous transferase enzymes getting imbalanced when we drive that folate receptor part expressed louder. And so that's all food for thought, but I think for sure, as a bare minimum, starting with ensuring an active form of methyl folate, or a quadrifolate, like we have in our multivail kids, or even considering going into our B complex as a higher supportive dose in addition to, would absolutely be a first line of defense. And I want to speak real quickly just on the stimulants, because I don't want to scapegoat that, because I know that they're just so widely abused. We not only deal with the nervous system dysregulation and that

17:50sympathetic overdrive, because the stimulant is driving chronic signs of survival to try to get that concentration in focus. But of course, we can see issues with neurotransmitter imbalance due to that. So we can see dopamine depletion. We can see a lot of addictive tendencies. We can see the very well-known and discussed in the medical field, you know, aterol crash, that midday afternoon slump. And that's why now so many kids are taking a half dosage after school. And really, we have to again take a pivot back and think about all of the natural tools in our tool belt, like adaptogenic herbs, which can help with stamina, resilience, academic focus and concentration. Our adaptogen boost would be such a favorable opportunity as a first line defense with then some maybe methyl folate. As an entry point, before you even pick up many rocks, that first concept of, hey, my child needs a little bit help in the mood stability and regulation and also in the concentration focus world. Yes, and not going, you know, straight to a medication. Again, some of these

18:55approved as early as age five. And I don't know what five-year-old doesn't have some form of intention. Right. And I mean, the sad thing is, is that the adrenal glands, when overstimulated at that young age, remember the adrenal glands play a huge role with sex hormone production. They play a huge role with growth and development with regulation of inflammation. So now secondarily, we're seeing onset of asthma because cortisol wasn't regulated and corticosteroids are anti-histamines and aid and inflammation. So it can just really create a crux of imbalance. And also for listeners, I never like to come in with shame. If you are currently medicating your child, there are ways to support them prior to wean. And I have successfully weaned hundreds of clients off of these medications. And they have felt freer, more balanced, less of again, that irregularity of energy expression and no dependency. Yeah, and all of the solutions we're going to get to today could be done in conjunction with a medication for sure and could help with that weaning process.

20:00Okay, so let's talk on some of the primary root causes, you know, from a functional perspective. Of course, this isn't as simple as one thing called autism or ADHD. I want to talk about just the Tylenol information that came out what last year. I know it was pregnant when it came out, but the Tylenol and pregnancy thing because that created quite a buzz and quite a stir and of course quickly became political because of who was talking about it. But let's dig in and start there. Sure, so I mean, the biggest concept when we're looking at neuro inflammation is what drives that oxidative stress. And so we're looking at toxins and we're looking at inadequate antioxidant status essentially. So we can set that tone knowing that then there are individuals that have genetic predisposition to maybe not produce as much gluten

21:05thion in the body. So if someone has a GST pathway issue, this can play a toll. If someone has an issue on detox pathways genetically speaking, they may not clear toxins as readily. And so those toxins will stay in their body wrecking havoc or driving more oxidative stress and inflammation than someone that does not. So being aware of genes, I think, is important and we can also link Becky in this episode. The episode we did on medical freedom and Stella's genetic report. And so, you know, I shared in that report my, you know, I was at that stage. This was 2015, you know, researching what I was going to do for my own child in the world of vaccines. And I knew as a functional medicine practitioner, I wanted to know her vulnerability or susceptibility when looking at potentially considering that risk reward of an injection with an adjuvant, which an adjuvant's role is to stress the immune system through an oxidative stress cascade.

22:06Or an inflammatory cascade, which is why children get fevers following that injection. And so I shared in that episode, Stella's genetics of MTHFR, GST1, and the various SNPs or single nucleotide polymorphisms or genetic mutations that gave me a very clear cut understanding of why I would consider none. Because I knew that her susceptibility was too great and that I could protect her from any of those infectious diseases with more foundational tools and also access to medical care if necessary. So we have to always take into account the individual's genes, especially if we're going to entertain a dynamic, what is the word I want to say, a dynamic insult into their environment. And I think that it's very fair game to call an injection that has an adjuvant to stress the immune system and insult to the body. Some would argue that that then secondarily drives an upgrade or an immunological response, which yes it can. It can drive antibodies in some way,

23:08shapes and forms, but not all do that by any means. And so anytime we're looking at an insult, this could be jumping into a pool of chlorine, could be an insult. This could be moving into a home that has lead-based paint or mold could be an environmental insult. And so we always have to be mindful of the risks that we are presenting our bodies to and then also that genetic individuality. And I think that when we look at cancer care and literature, we can see how often then adopted children can have a similar cancer risk, whereas sometimes twins or genetically related individuals don't that were maybe then on the other end adopted and separated at birth but had completely different lifestyles. And so that epigenetic expression is so huge and that comes down to not just the environment in which we're living, but the diet of course, the stress that the individual is exposed to because that will drive neurodiscregulation of course. And also we're looking at other

24:12drivers of again, insult or stress to the system. Okay, so the Tylenol thing, again not as simple as just Tylenol in pregnancy causes autism. That was kind of like how it was initially positioned and even we weren't like, we wouldn't take Tylenol in turn pregnancy, but that seems like a far reach, right? Right. Well, in the connection I kind of got lost in the weeds on was that, you know, so Tylenol is acetaminophen and it has a mechanism that can of course reduce fever and pain and it works on the central nervous system and relies a lot on glutathione. So glutathione is the master antioxidant and we know that use of acetaminophen depletes antioxidant status and glutathione levels are lower. And so it comes down to again that antioxidant status and the oxidative stress imbalance. And so if someone's taking Tylenol that's going to further deplete that glutathione

25:13antioxidant status and especially at a time of neurotoxicity, like at time of injection, if an individual gets a fever, that's going to be exacerbated or made more severe. And super frustrating because, you know, I think still some pediatric, some pediatricians, excuse me, are still recommending that as a tool to manage a child's fever during childhood vaccinations. Yeah. Okay. And then when we're talking about, we might as well just talk vaccines for a second. I didn't put it in the episode, but it's going to come up, right? So when we're talking about any, you know, insult, as you mentioned, we just saw a reanalysis of the largest vaccinated versus unvaccinated birth cohort study. This is the one that came out of, I think, Henry Ford Health initially. And this looked at, you know, higher incidence across 22 different chronic disease conditions in

26:14vaccinated populations, including neurodevelopmental disorders at an increase of 1254 percent autism at 180 percent. So that feels like a lot. Right. And when we're talking about PPM or parts per million of a metal adjuvant, again, yes, the children's shots are now thimera cell free, which is free of mercury. But aluminum is just as detrimental as a driver of oxidative stress in the body. And that is necessary. Again, what people need to take a step back and realize is an adjuvant is put there to drive an oxidative stress response in the body. And when certain susceptible individuals are exposed to that, that oxidative stress is going to go into an overdrive mode, which can create neurological dysregulation, some serious intercranial inflammation. And it's important to recognize that,

27:18you know, just like inflammation isn't inherently bad. There's a check and balance system when we're looking at reactive oxygen species or free radicals as drivers of these in an individual that can balance out their mitochondrial function or can metabolize the neurotransmitters to re-regulate or can activate the immune-specific cells to offset cytokine or inflammatory storms in the body following this insult. Very different when antioxidant systems are depleted. We're really losing that first-line defense or that shield to protect. And so that insult is much more dynamic and expressed and can perpetuate for a longer period of time. Basically, it's not checked if you will. Okay, and let's talk about why the brain in particular is susceptible to this oxidative stress, right? And why does it tend to show up like in the brain? So the brain uses a disproportionate amount of oxygen relative to its size. We always start thinking of like low brain oxygenation,

28:23low brain oxygenation accelerating aging or like herbs like ginkgo really good because it drives vasodilation and brings oxygenation to the brain. So it's a learning herb for you or helps to fight against dementia. So the brain goes through a high demand of oxygen. It's rich in fats that are also susceptible to lipid peroxidation. And I would add that some of these insults are injectables also have preservatives that interfere with lipid peroxidation further. So there's kind of a dual mechanism of action there. The brain has less antioxidant regeneration compared to other organs. Like the liver of course is just kind of churning out and trying to produce antioxidants. So when children's brain blood barrier is not fully complete and we know that the brain literally is in a very vulnerable space, especially that first six months postpartum in that first six months outside of mom. And then even in adolescence, the brain is just developing rapidly. It has high energy demands. It is going to be much more sensitive to the

29:29oxidative imbalance. And then mind you that the brain is making these neurological leaps, these neurological processing changes. And all of that can be very vulnerable at this time. Okay, so you know there are times like you're saying of increased vulnerability. So pregnancy being one and then obviously like early infancy being another and thinking about how we can minimize exposures during those times to all forms of toxins, not just Tylenol, not just injectables, but beyond that environmental and even in the diet. I know we've seen things coming out about baby food, having high levels of toxic metals and whatnot too. And so really working to make sure that we're eating real food and cleaning up the diet and not adding insult to injury there. Yes, and I would even extend that into blood sugar dysregulation because that blood sugar roller coaster, a huge emphasis that we utilize in naturally nourished kids again because we want

30:34everyone to optimize and thrive mode. But especially if dealing with neurological inflammation, ADHD or autism, it's even more important to support with a low glycemic diet because blood sugar instability is one of the fastest ways to increase oxidative stress. And those glucose spikes are going to increase those reactive oxygen species. The crashes are going to then drive that survival cortisol response. I remember cortisol being a glucocorticoid to try to dump glucose to regulate. A adrenaline is going to be dysregulated. Stella has been on the podcast before and she calls it, I forget what she calls her sugar crashes, but she described it as like, you know, you laugh until your head spins and then you feel dizzy and then you have a headache. It's like that's, she's literally explaining oxidative stress in the brain, going on real time in her nine-year-old vernacular. And so, you know, I think it's really important that we look at protein as an

31:36essential foundational block for prefrontal cortex. We absolutely avoid naked carbs and we support that low glycemic approach of pairing all carbs with a protein and a healthy fat. And we also prevent constant grazing so that the individual isn't on a constant stimulus demand. But this in turn, just getting low glycemic, just increasing protein will greatly enhance the redox imbalance that was driven by that glucose volatility. And so, you'll get a lot more regulation on oxidative stress response. And even also take it further, if you're eating food as medicine versus ultra-process foods, you're also getting an abundance of antioxidants, which are further more going to downplay that oxidative stress. So, you're both reducing the driver of the oxidative stress and you're providing more of the solution when you're using real food in your approach. Okay, so blood sugar stability, super important, really foundational here. And even, you know, consideration for more severe cases of going more low carb or

32:41ketogenic, I think could be appropriate. Absolutely. And we actually talk about that in the book and have, you know, keto-friendly icons. And my statement is, if you are considering a medication for your child, so that includes, yes, Adderall, that includes, yes, Ritalin, that includes, of course, any of these anti-psychotic drugs, that includes also a GLP one. So, if we're talking about child obesity, child mental health issues, or ADHD autism, and we are at the level of considering medication, keto should always be first-line defense, because keto is the best way to rapidly reduce that oxidative stress to increase. We actually make more antioxidants endogenously in our body through the process of nutritional ketosis. It is a cleaner burning fuel for the brain. And again, because glucose levels stay stabilized, we're not creating that glycemic driver of oxidative stress and inflammation. Okay, and we saw a study I'll link these in the show notes, but one called the ketogenic diet and the treatment of autism spectrum disorder. And they concluded that

33:46a ketogenic diet may improve social behavior in autism spectrum disorder, normalizing GABA, improving mitochondrial function, and ameliorating inflammatory activity and oxidative stress in the brain, inhibiting the M-tore signaling pathway, and modulating the gut microbiome. So, so many mechanisms of action that we get on, again, root causes with a dietary change of nutritional ketosis. And what I fear, and I come from a little bit of a jaded frustrated space as a food is medicine, functional medicine practitioner, is the backlash of that will be that's too restricted to put a child on. And again, you want to take a back step and talk about what is freedom, what is restriction. Having muscle twitches and night terrors, having mental dependency on a drug, actually feeling not like yourself and having dysregulation and dissociation for survival so that you can eat chemical shit storms is so far from freedom. And I'm sorry about the tough love parents, but you thinking that that's making a normalized experience for your child

34:49is disabling them and disempowering them for a successful adolescence teen and adulthood. Yeah, it's so interesting, like all these studies, as I was reading the conclusions by the authors, it was always like adherent to some spectrum may, you know, children may reject these foods because of selective eating habits. And this may be too restrictive. And it's like, yeah, compared to what, right? Compared to setting them up for a lifetime of side effects and, you know, side effects unknown of how these medications affect us from, you know, age five throughout the life cycle too, right? We're really the first iteration of people being on this from such an early age. No doubt, no doubt. And so again, it's from a place of frustration, not judgment, but you can pivot at any time parents, you can pivot at any time. And you can work with the foundational expression of your child or teens, neuro transmitters, their neuro modulation of inflammation, their gut microbial balance by literally being dynamic. And yes, red, you have to be regimented,

35:54you have to be tight when you're going into a state of nutritional ketosis. It takes tracking, it takes efforting and it takes literally a full on household investment in making this change. But it pays individence and the ability to not suppress irritability or to not shut down the expression of who your child is and numb that out with a medication and actually get to know them and actually start to enjoy them is probably more important for that sacrifice. Yeah, and another study looked a modified ketogenic gluten free diet with supplemental MCT. So I think this is interesting too, where, you know, if a child's brain is literally like on fire and they're, you know, mitochondria are struggling, their metabolism is struggling, you might even bring in MCT where we don't generally, you know, recommend street MCT in the diet, we'd go more like coconut oil and food sources of MCT. But this study showed significantly improved core autism

36:54features assessed by an autism diagnosis scoring scale. Okay, and then there was another study that looked at nutritional factors and identified minerals like zinc, iron, magnesium and iodine insufficiency in dietary intake and also identified the role of omega-3 fatty acids on development and these deficiencies deepening the symptoms of ADHD in children. So the authors of the study looked at the impact of elimination of food products containing synthetic food additives. They removed artificial food dyes and preservatives and they looked at the behavior improvements of children with ADHD. They found beneficial effects based on the elimination of products that are also rich in siacelates. So, selective acid may play a role, especially if the individual is dealing with that excitotoxin or histamine imbalance can be

37:57further impacted. But I generally start with kind of the gut first, but they found that intake of food products with low glycemic diet having to play a role with reducing symptoms in hyperactive children. So the omega-3s, though similar to that of the MCT, different mechanism, but again, thinking of the concept of the brain being predominantly made up of fat. And so when we feed the brain anti-inflammatory fats, that is a pretty good direct delivery. And again, kind of just thinking foundational players, when you look at our kids essentials bundle in the naturally nourished supplement line, we are providing you with that multivill kids, which has that support of that methylated active folate that we spoke to. You're also going to be getting the liquid EPA DHA extra, which can be given as a liquid as early as six months on and dose based on weight. Fantastic for brain development, also for reducing that neuroinflammation. And we also put in

38:58there our vitamin D balanced blend and then our kids biotic. And I know later in this episode, we'll connect the dots a little bit further on the microbiome. But all of those for so many different reasons are such an important foundational tool that why weight those should be established now to provide your child that resilience, that capacity, and that optimization versus waiting until they have struggles with math class in third grade, et cetera. It's like give them the DHA set their brain up for success. It's such an easy kind of layup effect. Yes, and it's nice to see, you know, in the research that nutrition is being acknowledged here, right? And that nutritional deficiencies, you know, that just replicion of those alone could go a really long way. I want to address like the food jags in this population in particular. We often see, especially with autism spectrum, kids getting really locked in on like beige foods, you know, typically high carb foods. And you know, we see a lot of

40:03acknowledgement of like these are the safe foods for my kid and unwillingness to like go outside of the box. But let's talk about that and why it's important to expand beyond the safe foods and beyond the beige foods. Yes, so I mean, I think it comes down to even in any sense of an individual that has dysregulation and maybe even nonverbal. I would still go hard and say that it is the parents job to provide nourishment, not to appease. It is the parents job to provide nourishment, not to appease, period. And so if you're providing foods that appease your child, their child accepts, but they're not nourishing, they're devoid of nutrients, and they actually might have synthetic enrichment like rice cereals, etc. Or might provide stressors to the system, like the food dies or preservatives. That is accelerating and exacerbating the issue. It might take a transition

41:05period. There might be food thrown on the floor. There might be yelling. There might be arguing. There might be crying. And you might have a hard time with your partner if they aren't on board with you in these changes. But it's going to take that tough love stability of ensuring that you know with great confidence that you're providing your child nourishment. All people, children included, teens included are wired to survive. And if you let your child use their rigidity and autonomy, especially in spectrum when rigidity and autonomy can be really locked down on, that can really lead to a power struggle and continued disempowerment for your child. So I'd advise against being a short order cook. I would advise going for ways to incorporate nutrient density in various textures like smoothies are a great avenue where we can pack in our way protect, which has the immunoglobulins and has cystine, which supports glutathione levels. There's actually also some active glutathione in there. So fantastic tool while still providing

42:08that prefrontal cortex protein support. And I can get spirulina and chlorella in there. Maybe not even a full green smoothie, but just putting in some E3 live or just putting in some spirulina powder, because that's going to be a natural key later of toxins and metals in their body while providing an abundance of antioxidants. We can also work with various textures of proteins. So rotating between ground, loose, ground formed in patties or meatballs, steak cuts, braised, shredded. All of these are really important and honestly this is the first thing I often work with. A lot of patients will come to me when they've hit their ends rope and they're on multiple medications. They're not seeing results and they want to do the MRT test. And they'll tell me what their child is eating and they're only eating like one brand of deli meat and one brand of frozen something with protein. And my assignment is you need to come back to me with five different proteins that your child could consume before I'm going to recommend that you run this lab. Because first off, you need to make sure that you can do a restrictive diet

43:11because the attendees at Chick-fil-A are not going to play, no matter what. So we're going to have to figure out because that THBQ is an untested preservative and that's in the fryer. And so it takes a little bit of, again, tough love and starting with whole-real foods before we open up Pandora's lid of getting so restrictive of removal. First, start with whole-real foods and start to establish a variety of textures of proteins in this population. I think that's absolutely key. I'm all about, I'm fine with reward charts. I'm fine with emphasizing and educating on the importance of protein, but protein needs to be presented first on the plate and at all meals front and center. And then we want to ensure that carbohydrates are always paired with fat or protein, never consume naked. And when the child wants more carbs, they have to complete their protein. Vegetables I'm okay with at this stage of working with especially textured version picky eaters, using them in things like the smoothies or maybe mixing into things, starting small and slow. Because I really want to get that glycemic balance and the protein quota met first and foremost.

44:15And we can get antioxidants in with a little bit of turmeric here or there or we can pack quite a punch with herb seasonings and spices. And I wouldn't get stressed out if my child, if I was struggling in this scenario, if my child wasn't finishing her broccoli, but I would have her finish, her steak or her burger or her salmon before she goes for more grapes or blueberries, etc. Yep, I agree. And sometimes we have to choose our battles there as as parents. So even if your kid is a little bit more kind of carnivore to begin with, at least they're balancing their blood sugar, they're getting that protein. They're repleting some really important nutrients that are found in those proteins. You've heard us reference, you know, with regards to naturally nourished kids, which I would say is an invaluable resource for doing all of the things that we're talking about today, by the way. But we've referenced the children needing to try a food between eight and 15 times statistic. And I think in these populations, we might be looking at more like 20 times.

45:18And I know that seems like a lot, but like Alice saying, trying things in different forms, you know, and not giving up after the third or fifth try. It's really one where we need to, you know, stand our ground and really push, especially the protein. I mean, proteins just a non-negotiable foundation for everyone. So all parents listening, you know, the idea that those amino acids that comprise proteins aid in neurotransmitter synthesis. So all of our brain chemistry requires amino acids. So if the child is depleted in amino acids, they also need those amino acids for their growth and their development, of course. Then often they're going to have neurological imbalance. And so providing them that minimum foundation is key. We also know the glutathione production pathway is comprised. Glutathione itself is a tripeptide made up of three amino acids. You know, so I mentioned that role that like our way protect has that cystine as a rich source to support glutathione. We also can get glutathione from glycine and glutamate. And so these are found in all

46:21of your meats, all of your animal products, of course, bone broth as a great tool. And in naturally nourished kids, we use bone broth in popsicles and in queso and all sorts of fun deliveries that again can get food as medicine in a user-friendly approach. But still with specific intention and purpose, I guess, is the really important thing to emphasize here. And protein plays also a key role with mitochondrial repair. And so when we look at the energy systems of imbalance, especially in those that get stemmy or those really hyperactivity boys, they need that protein to regulate the energy factories in their body. Okay, so protein, protein, protein, super important here. There was that study that came out or has been maybe recirculated recently about elimination diets and ADHD. And I just want to touch on this. And like you said, we probably don't want to go elimination diet first, eliminating processed products. Yes, absolutely. But maybe we don't want to go as tight with an MRT as if a child is only eating five foods, right? This study though

47:29published in the Lancet in 2011 showed a 64% reduction in ADHD symptoms during an elimination diet phase. And this diet was very restrictive at first. So it was literally rice, turkey, lamb, certain vegetables like lettuce, carrots, and cauliflower, certain fruits, like pears, water as the only acceptable beverage, and then some olive oil, sunflower oil, and salt. So very restrictive diet, but 64% is not nothing. Right, I think that's pretty remarkable. And again, is it that any of those foods have superstar nutrients? Sure, we could argue the cauliflower having sulfur containing compounds. We could argue, of course, the importance of the protein, et cetera. But probably it's more of the removal of the ultra processed foods that we're seeing and just kind of calming down that inflammation. And I think it's important to note that often when we start to focus on whole real foods and a lower glycemic index, we are also starting to support

48:33microbiome rebalance because that is one that I especially see in my nonverbal. So the more severe autism cases often have chronic constipation. Serious gut disposes. And this population, I will run a stool test on for sure way before I'll consider like an MRT test. But if they are dealing with severe constipation, that's many of them will be on medications literally for bowel regularity. And so we're working them off of like high high dose mags, site rate, and they're also on dolcalax or another stool softener. And because they maybe have less muscle tone, they also don't have that ideal peristalsis in pumping. And so their gut is already set up for dysbiosis. So it's a huge role of ensuring that the diet is regulated in glycemic balance, which because blood sugar spikes also feed gut dysbiosis, especially like candida and yeast. But we see if we especially go keto with them, that they have such remarkable game changing

49:34effects because we're literally starving off. This is why also some of these kids do really on the gaps diet because we're starving off at dysbiosis in that candida. And then even further more, if we can get a little bit of depending on the age and range, whether I'm using my herbal immune and burberry boost or I'm doing a tincture per age, we can really move the needle in the world of resetting gut infection. And that brain gut access can accelerate remarkably. I have literally clinically witnessed handfuls of children becoming verbal through this process. It's just a phenomenal journey to be a part of. And this can further be supported by consistent probiotic rich foods in the world of food is medicine. Again, always at double edged sword of abundance and restriction. And that's why we keep kids biotic again, going back to the foundational excellence in our kids essentials bundle. We're already setting up for that preventative role that the probiotics of the lacto and bifidose strains can have to prevent against gut infection.

50:39And if you're listening to this, and your child has been on antibiotics from this was a rough flu season, you know, et cetera, furthermore, call to action to really reenoculate their gut with good gut flora. So both a probiotic rich food and that kids biotic as a minimum to choose a day. Sure. And then, you know, if on an antibiotic or more severe, you know, gut dysbiosis, and maybe they're not ready for cleanse or you're trying to gear yourself up to get them to swallow capsules, opening any of our probiotic capsules in the naturally nourish line would totally be appropriate. I probably would go if there's evidence of dysbiosis with rebuild spectrum. Yeah. And doing like half to a full capsule, you know, mixed in a couple of bites of food daily could be a really good intervention. Yep. No doubt. Okay. I want to touch on, well, not just touch on. I want to open up to more of this oxidative stress conversation and talk antioxidants status in these populations. So when we move from an ultra processed food diet into more whole

51:44real food, we're going to start to see more antioxidants in the diet. But let's just talk why antioxidants are so important in these populations. Yeah. So again, oxidative stress is the primary driver of inflammation. And just to like visualize it, I've spoke to this a bunch and it's in naturally nourished kids. Stella's actually doing for her fourth grade science fair, a study on oxidation. And she's doing, because we do in the book, the lemon juice or lime juice on apple slices or avocado. And so she is going to cut four apples and use eight different liquids to assess how that impacts the browning or the oxidation of that produce that has been sliced and as exposed to oxygen in the environment. So when she adds a sugar solution, it will likely oxidize more rapidly. As we're talking about again, this glycemic impact on the body internally is exactly what we could visualize there. Whereas on the other end of the spectrum, something like

52:47pineapple juice or vitamin C rich lemon juice or lime juice will provide through the ascorbic acid that vitamin C antioxidant to actually donate an electron to scavenge of free radical. That is the mechanism of action of how antioxidants work. And so they're able to by scavenging free radicals that donation of free electrons stabilizes an unstable molecule that was driving oxidative stress or inflammation. Essentially think of browning, aging, the word oxidizing. I think we all kind of have a visual there. So in that process, we can see impaired mitochondrial production. So this can drive then mental fatigue or poor sustained attention. We can see issues with neurotransmitters synthesis, especially that's exacerbated with low protein status. But just the signaling itself, when there's oxidative stress, we think of like white noise or like neurotransmitters trying to connect this through synapses through jello type of thing because of that inflammation that oxidative stress. We can have more neuro inflammation, of course. We can have less plasticity on

53:53the synaptic receptor site. We can have prefrontal cortex dysregulation and weakening, which that is like higher level thinking. That's where we have our emotional reactivity, impulsivity and sensory overload. So we see time and time again in studies. When we're looking at individuals that have ADHD or autism, they will often have an elevated lipid peroxidase marker. They also will have a lower antioxidant capacity. So we can actually test for nutritional status of things like glutathione. We can see a decreased activity of the antioxidant enzymes, often they'll look at SOD or superoxide dismutase, catalysts, or glutathione peroxidase. We can see that dopamine synthesis and breakdown will generate more free radicals or reactive oxygen species. And so again, if they're on a stimulus train or they're more screen focused or they're on a drug that's a stimulus that's going to stimulate dopamine release and then lead them to that crash. During that

54:56process, that dopamine itself is going to deplete antioxidants. And dopamine will drive more oxidative strain in the brain when firing. We see with autism, lower glutathione status, higher oxidized glutathione markers, and altered redox ratios. So again, big picture, more oxidative stress less antioxidant status. So when we look functionally, just like with food as medicine, abundance and restriction, how do we lower the oxidative stress? So what's the driver of inflammation or toxin in the environment that's creating that oxidation? And then how can we replete, organ abundance, especially orthomolecular consideration if we're dealing with a disease condition of a mega dose of antioxidant that can sequester those free radicals and regulate that redox balance in the brain and body once again. Let's talk on some of the key nutrients that are needed for antioxidant defense and especially those that have been seen to be helpful in these populations.

55:58Yeah, I mean, so the number one and two are glutathione and NACC. So if you look at the chain of hierarchy of antioxidants, vitamin C is going to be like the little sister and the major arc is going to be glutathione and the enocidal cysteine can be the man of the household, I guess. And so when we're looking at this hierarchy, we call glutathione like the top, top antioxidant because it has the greatest capacity to take on oxidative stress. That's how we look at the chain. And then in the middle there, we see things like coq10, we see things like selenium, the role of vitamin E, and so many other key nutrients in the mix. But glutathione really, when we look at all cause mortality because oxidation can accelerate the aging process and organ damage right across the board, that glutathione, of course, is inversely related with all cause mortality. It's one of the most powerful players to neutralize these reactive oxygen

56:58species. There was actually a randomized controlled trial on children with autism that used NAC, which is that precursor directly to glutathione. And in 12 weeks, the children receiving NAC had significant reduction in irritability scores, around 80% improvement. Again, go back to the medications used for irritability. That's the primary mechanism of these drugs. And we see 80% efficacy, which I would say likely are arguably maybe more or equal lateral to the use of the medication without the side effects and with a gamut of other benefits to the body on the other end of the spectrum. So glutathione has also been studied on various research reviews. One of the groups consumed 900 milligrams, so less than one gram of NAC per day for four weeks. And the dose was increased by 900 milligrams every four weeks for 12 weeks. So they started at, let's call it one gram for easier math. They started at one gram at the four week mark. They went to two. They worked all

58:00the way up to 2.7 grams of NAC per day. The other group took a placebo. And at the end of the trial, the kids who had the NAC had a reduction in scores by 80% again with minimal side effects. And so if we're looking at our cellular antiox and the dosage there, the first thing to consider with our cellular antiox is you're going to get a synergy of three active ingredients. So you are getting that NAC at one gram per two capsules. So it would be very doable to dose a child reasonably at four capsules per day, two capsules into a bite of honey in the morning, two capsules in the evening. And I would argue that we don't need to go to that full 2.7, but just hang at that too, because you're also getting this setria-reduced form of glutathione, which is shown in human clinical trials to be the most bioavailable. And at the end of the day, they're using this NAC to chase glutathione. So we're providing you the active glutathione and that NAC. And then more providing cell 4FAN, which is quite widely researched supported in the world of autism and ADHD as well.

59:03Yeah, it's gotten a lot of attention in this space in the last 10 years or so, I would say. So actually one of the most widely cited studies was a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of cell 4FAN in individuals with autism. And those that were receiving cell 4FAN supplementation experience improvements in behavioral scores, again, that including that irritability, right? The irritability there, repetitive behavior, social interaction, and communication compared to a placebo over an 18-week period. And then they tended to revert to baseline after stopping. So ongoing supplementation here would be important. It's not going to somehow create this permanent change. You're going to need, you know, defense against oxidative stress ongoing. Yes, it's interesting because cell 4FAN can work to, of course, reduce oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and the reactive oxygen species in the brain. So it can help with attenuation

1:00:04of autism-like behaviors. But it works on the NRF2 pathway, which I think is important to note because it's really supporting the antioxidant response pathway. So what I'm really stoked about the reformulation of cellular antioxidants, we're giving you, again, the most potent antioxidant directly by available to the human body. The most potent driver and known research supported converter, that knack in a dosage that actually creates clinical efficacy. And then we're layering in that broccoli seed extract for the cell 4FAN NRF2 push. And the NRF2 is going to regulate the antioxidant response. So not just produce. It can, of course, we see cell 4FAN aiding and also endogenous glutathione synthesis so the body can produce more glutathione per exposure from diet or supplement. But we also see antioxidant enzyme production changes, the phase 2 detoxification enzyme changes, and more mitochondrial protection, as well as the regulation of the redox system. And then not to mention there's some B6 in there. And B6 has

1:01:10also been studied. This is more high dose B6. So if we're in consideration of a medication, you mentioned probably bringing in the B complex in turn. But there's some B6 in there to help with the conversion of knack to glutathione. And high dose B6 has been shown as effective as Ritalin for ADHD, likely due to its role in raising serotonin levels. So a super important co-factor, and you're getting some in cell antibiotics. Absolutely. And then not to mention again, this double-edged sword of your reducing the oxidative stress. But you also with these key nutrients, all three players play a role with heavy metal toxicity, natural chelation, or actually trapping these toxins from the body and aiding in the excretion. And we see generally one in seven ADHD diagnosis dealing with heavy metals when tested. We know that the pH levels can be lower, driving more acidity in the body, and often seeing calcium deficiency. And so we think of calcium's

1:02:13role in calming down the nervous system. And I think a couple minerals to consider, as we're kind of transitioning into that world would be, yes, I think don't overlook calcium. And this would be a reason to, of course, increase the dairy as a good food, as medicine tool for your child, knowing that they're demanding calcium for growth in bone and development, right? So that whole fat milk, getting the raw-aged cheese, et cetera. And often dairy and gluten will be eliminated. I would speak to gluten first and the ultra-process foods. And for this reason, for most, probably keep dairy in and keep that as something to consider six months into a food as medicine protocol because of the benefits there with calcium. Also, magnesium has to be spoken to for a moment. Huge co-factor also for neurotransmitters that regulate the social reactions and emotion. We tend to see those on the spectrum with low levels of magnesium, especially those that are in medications are more prone towards tremors and ticks, needing more of that neuromuscular

1:03:18regulating. Also, stimulants, needing more of that neuromuscular magnesium. And so our relaxant regulate will be a fantastic consideration here, not to mention that magnesium deficiency has been shown to drive issues with emotional control, social reactions, hyperactivity, attention. And we tend to see also that the enocytol, you're getting that two-for-one in our relaxant regulate. The myoenocytol can help with insomnia, depth and quality of sleep, sleep latency, if that child's having a hard time winding down. And also itself is anxiolytic, which can help with those social interactions and behavior. Yep, so we've seen studies where enocytol helped with benefits in panic disorder with OCD-like behaviors, which often we will have a lot of ticks and OCD type of compulsions, I guess, if you will, with ADHD and autism, as well as mood regulations. I think that's a no-brainer to add

1:04:19in a scoop of relax and regulate daily and also could help with the constipation piece of the puzzle that you mentioned earlier. Yes, so I mean, I think foundationally in this world of the, like I said, the four supplements that are in the kid's essentials bundle, because we want to have a quality multivitamin no matter what. So that's going to provide zinc also. Selenium, we didn't speak to, but these minerals play a role. Selenium being in that antioxidant status capacity, aiding in oxidative stress regulation, recycling glutathione, zinc playing a key role with neurotransmitter signaling and often seeing that low, especially because of often metal toxicity. Those omega-3s playing a huge role in the neuroinflammation and supporting that brain. Vitamin D, I think, also is a huge one, not only as supportive growth, development, and prohormone, but we see moods, stability, thyroid regulation, mitochondrial function, of course, immune regulation, and then that kid's biotic to have that insurance on the gut. I would absolutely, in this

1:05:22population, put the relax and regulate in cellular antibiotics equally, and maybe that means that you just do the multi-the kids' biotic, the cell antiox, and the relaxant regularly as you're four trifecta to get started with. But I really would like you to get those omega-3s if your child isn't eating fish three times a week. But we could also consider, you know, if that doesn't feel overwhelming. I like to use nutrients first, because we're actually repleting a demand of the body that we know research supported as seen in deficiency. And so by providing that, we can replete and optimize. But there's also nitropics that can be considered. And this is where I would consider, like, L-theanine as a tool. I love using L-theanine in the adolescent population when weaning off of a stimulant in conjunction with my adaptogen booths. So adaptogens would be in that world of nitropics or cognitive enhancers, mood stabilizers in the world of natural herbs, or in the world of L-theanine being an amino acid. We could even think to CBD, which there is

1:06:24in pretty solid literature on bringing down that neuroinflammation and helping with hyperactivity symptoms and sleep problems in this population. I would start with magnesium first, of course. But if we're there and we want to kind of layer on that could be considered as well as melatonin, because that deep quality restful sleep will help the brain to be less on fire. We all know if we've had a restless night of sleep, how we feel functioning the next day, we're more unhinged, we're more reactive, and we don't feel regulated. So if our child isn't getting quality sleep, you know, I would first say again, consider the magnesium and the relaxant regulate, but maybe an additional tool and also the routines and rituals that you're doing for sleep hygiene in the household, are you actually giving your child the opportunity to get ample hours with your discipline of what time you're serving dinner, cleaning up, doing the bath, and helping them get to bed? Yeah, and then not to mention, you know, restricting screens, I think super, super important

1:07:25for sleep hygiene in this population, but all children. Yes, no doubt. And then GABA is one that I'd want to call out, since we're in the supplement, then we'll close with some food as medicine. So GABA, of course, we kind of referenced in a sense that when a child goes into nutritional ketosis, they're going to have more GABA and adgenic expression in the brain. And so we will see more of that neuro inhibitory, less reactivity, inflammatory response. GABA is one that can really be like the vent of the steam train and really help. It's one of my go-to's. I would say early on as far as, again, I'm dealing with a new client and they come to me and say, my child's been diagnosed with ADHD. I don't want to start stimulants yet. What can I do? That's one of my first line of defenses because it helps the child's body and brain to feel safe versus in that survival mode. It can help with impulsivity. It can help with transitional times and can be safe even for toddlers. So again, if we're talking about that,

1:08:29like three-nager irritability, bitey, rage, we know kind of predictably when that child is susceptible to these shifts. So both we can work with our routines, we can reposition things, we can try to give advanced time directives. But GABA Calm can be a powerful tool for parent and child alike to keep that co-regulation in a positive place. Yeah, I mean, Mabel reaches for that stuff and I'm like, I have no problem with you taking this a couple of times a day in the age three stage. Let's wrap things up just refocusing a little bit on food as medicine. So we mentioned the emphasis on protein. I think that's like first and foremost to ensure that our child is consuming ample protein and is ideally eating that protein first before they're moving on to any other component. And at all meals. And so thinking through the day, we can kind of unpack a

1:09:30day of eating as we highlight these priorities. So this is either considering doing egg cups or this could be a almond flour tortilla, like a siette tortilla with a breakfast egg taco with bacon and scrambled egg and some raw cheddar in there. If we're not doing eggs right off the bat, this can be a breakfast sausage patty or clean sausage sliced up or leftovers that are savory from a meal prior. And then the third consideration would be using a smoothie as a vehicle for that protein or protein packed yogurt where you're doing a small amount of yogurt and you're adding a half cup of our excuse me a half scoop of our way protect in there stirring that up and that child can get that 20 grams of protein with just literally five six bites if they're a picky eater or aren't ready to eat in that morning time. We still need to set them up with that protein at all meals and especially before they go to a long day of school and they're supposed to sit still and concentrate and focus. Then when we give them low glycemic carbs, we want to think of antioxidant rich sources. So think of the power of produce in the world of carb choice rather than

1:10:34starchy grains etc. So this is like the raspberries and blackberries on their breakfast plate or blended into their smoothie or this could be sliced strawberries or another form of fruit but keeping a lower glycemic or portion controlled carb choice as the day goes on it could be carrot sticks in their lunch with bell peppers. It could be at their evening meal roasted broccoli and roasted cauliflower with our paleo chicken tenders and our turmeric honey mustard dipping sauce. So we're getting an amplification of antioxidants there to reduce that neuroinflammation. We want all meals to have healthy fats so this can be from that full fat coconut milk and their smoothie or the talo that you're using or butter that you're using in your pan when you're cooking your eggs or in those yolks of the eggs themselves because we're eating the whole eggs and that coline also can have such brain bathing benefits and neurotransmitter communication support. Fats so key for that myelin neurological protection and also just supporting that neuroinflammation

1:11:40in the brain. Maybe we're adding coconut oil for that MCT boost in the smoothie or in a nut butter ball. So we have a great recipe and naturally nurse kids where it's literally like nut butter, coconut oil and protein powder and you can ball that all up together with optional a little bit of raw honey and that's a really great just kind of like bite size nut butter balls if you will but really great delivery of healthy fats and could be eaten with a piece of fruit and then you're not doing that naked carb. I like to prioritize cruciferous veg and so this is a good season like I mentioned the broccoli with the tenders for the evening meal maybe I think that that's key for that NRF2 pathway but I would chase that after we've established the first goals of course as well as something like fermented food. So is it crowd juice? Are we chopping up pickles into the lunch? Are we doing of course yogurt? Like I mentioned that protein packed yogurt or my child's favorite choice would be kombucha which would be an absolutely reasonable delivery to do a couple times

1:12:43a week. Yeah and then focusing on mineral density too so getting our leafy greens in the diet for magnesium also for that folate that we talked about initially and maybe those are a smoothie or in a kale chip or a delivery that the child can get behind it first and then starting to expand you know how we consume those. Pumpkin seeds, good source of minerals especially zinc thinking about oysters and then back to like the grass-fed meats and even potentially bringing in like bone broth or meat stock to support as well. And then you know as we move that continuum of food as medicine this is where we look at ancestral blends and organs because they're richer in coq 10 and provide meat-based antioxidants as well as mineral density of course but don't get distracted in the low hanging fruit. I would really focus foundationally on getting that protein diversity established, getting consistency and establishing at least two to three of these

1:13:45foundational supplements. You will start to see that needle move dramatically and then you can start to really shift into that full empowerment mode, consider medication reduction or actually have that feedback from whoever quote unquote diagnosed or was stating that there was an issue that hey your child has really been showing up and is tapped in and things are really improving. So I hope that today's episode gives you a ability to look at this with a new lens that we aren't feeling like this diagnosis determines the trajectory of quality of life but that it's an opportunity to take a step back and pivot and recalibrate and really prioritize a foundation of food as medicine which inevitably will empower all household members. That's the beauty that gives back when we work with nutrients in the body. The focus of repleting antioxidant deficiency

1:14:46can not only help with autism and ADHD but can increase energy, can support cognitive clarity, can reduce inflammation, mental health regulation, metabolic health and so much more. Yes, if this episode was helpful, please share it on social media, share it with a friend or family member who can benefit, head on over to wherever you've listened and leave us a five-star review along with a couple of sentences of why you love the naturally nourished podcast and we will catch you back next week. Thank you for listening to the naturally nourished podcast. Visit our blog at AllieMillerRD.com for recipes, wellness tips and food as medicine meal plans. Connect with Allie and Becky at AllieMillerRD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Until next time, stay nourished and be well.