CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND WELLNESS
- Autism
- ADHD
- OCD
- Down Syndrome
- Food Sensitivities and food allergies, Environmental allergies
- Histamine Intolerance, Hives
- Eczema, Psoriasis
- Candida
- Picky Eating, Ticks
- Constipation/Diarrhea
- MCAS
- Kids Yoga
Welcome to better health and wellness for kids.
We use food and nutrition to improve health, learning, and behavior. You can take some simple steps to begin seeing results and you will know that you are headed in the right direction. I am excited to see you begin this journey with Bioindividual Nutrition and Nourishing Hope founded by Julie Matthews, a nutrition consultant, educator, and author of the Nourishing Hope for Autism. For more information on Julie’s approach, you can check these two links:
Nutrition and Therapeutic Diets for Children with Autism and ADHD – Nourishing Hope
Bioindividual Nutrition is the science and clinical application of diet and nutrition intervention that is personalized to the unique needs of an individual.
The principles of Bioindividual Nutrition involve understanding chronic disease, determining bio-individuality, how food affects biochemistry, mastering special diets, customizing nutrition, and evolving the diet.
This approach utilizes a dozen diet strategies like Gluten-Dairy Free, Paleo, SCD/GAPS, Low Phenol, Low Amine, Low Salicylate, Low FODMAPs, Elimination Diet, Body Ecology Diet, Rotation Diet, Ketogenic Diet, Low Oxalate, Low Histamine, Feingold & Failsafe.
I am a Bioindividual Nutrition Specialist trained by Julie Matthews to support special kids with specific needs and their parents in addition to a pediatrician or other medical professionals your child may be seeing.
Julie created Nourishing Hope to help children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, and other neurological conditions to improve their health, learning, and behavior. She recognized that children respond differently to varied foods and diets. And because there is no “one-size-fits-all” diet, she developed the Bioindividual Nutrition® approach, as a way of personalizing diet and nutrition to the child’s unique biochemistry and needs.
Children with autism, ADHD, or anxiety often need extra nutritional help. Supplements can aid your child’s body in repairing itself, as well as in growth and daily needs. It is not in place of diet, as “you can’t out-supplement a bad diet.” Both good foods and supplements are often necessary. Supplements such as a multivitamin/mineral formula and essential fatty acids are helpful tools for picky eaters to provide much-needed nutrients for the body and brain, and those who may be hesitant about trying new healthier foods right away. Picky eating is prevalent in children, and 80% of children with developmental delays are picky eaters.
There are biochemical reasons for picky eating including:
1) the addictive nature of wheat and dairy
2) the stimulatory effect of artificial flavors and MSG
3) the role nutrient deficiencies have on the sense of taste
Sensory sensitivity can cause texture aversions. There are many ways to help children eat more nutritious foods. It often just takes creating ideas and patience. In fact, 81% of children in the Nourishing Hope for Healing Kids program who were picky eaters improved after knowing these strategies.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and other cereals, while casein is a protein found in dairy. Both can be bad news for children with autism, as often their digestive system is impaired and unable to deal with these proteins. They can also have a negative neurological effect on those with ADHD, anxiety, and digestive issues. Left to their own devices, gluten, casein, and soy can turn into morphine-like substances, that not only influence your child’s mood and cognitive function, but are very addictive, often causing an intense food preference – or cravings – for wheat and dairy foods like bread, milk, and cheese. Cutting out these foods can lead to improvements in language, focus, anxiety, and mood.
Food sensitivities are common with autism, ADHD, and anxiety. They are an immune system reaction, often a delayed food reaction causing chronic symptoms like congestion, constipation, and tummy aches, as well as anxiety, depression, and other neurological symptoms. In addition, wheat, dairy, soy, corn, eggs, citrus, peanuts, and other nuts are common sensitivities, and they can cause inflammation and many symptoms. Grains and starches can be difficult to digest and can cause irritation, and even inflammation of the gut, impacting the gut bacterial balance.
Often children with autism struggle with their digestion because they have reduced numbers of carbohydrate-digesting enzymes. Since the gut and brain are connected, issues in the gut can lead to neurological symptoms in the brain. Reducing starch and grain intake gives your child’s gut a chance to heal.
There are several grain-free diets including the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, the Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet, the Ketogenic Diet, and the Paleo Diet. The Ketogenic Diet is a very high fat, very low carbohydrate diet that uses fat, ketones, for energy rather than carbohydrates. Designed to reduce seizures in children with epilepsy, it has several neurological benefits and can improve symptoms and behavior in children with autism.
The Low FODMAPs limit fermentable carbohydrates that can cause digestive upset that the body finds hard to digest and can trigger diarrhea, constipation, gas, and inflammation in the intestinal tract. High FODMAP foods include fructose, cow and soy milk, wheat, legumes, certain fruits (including apples and cherries), and certain vegetables (including the onion family).
The Body Ecology Diet works to balance the microbiome, most commonly reducing yeast (candida) to regain health.
Further diets include low sulfur, low lectin, low purine, the carnivore diet, and the Nemechek Protocol.
There are many diets that serve different biochemical purposes and can reduce symptoms. The Nourishing Hope for Healing Kids program guides you with the tools to find the right diet for your child and gives you the food lists and handouts to succeed.