asthma Archives - Epidemic Answers

Parasites Can Cause Seemingly Unrelated Symptoms

It took me years to understand how my seemingly unrelated symptoms of dental, digestive and respiratory issues as well as obesity were all due to parasites. Blood in the Stool It’s really frightening to have blood in the stool, especially with a family history of colon cancer. At first, I thought it was remnants of beets, and a colonoscopy showed no abnormalities, not even a tiny polyp. I eliminated wheat and dairy. No change. As my symptoms gradually worsened, I made an appointment with Pittsburgh’s “best” gastrointestinal specialist. Gastrointestinal Symptoms The candy in the waiting room and the intake with not one query about diet should have been fair warning. “Dr. GI” requested a stool test. “I did one two weeks ago with a top lab; the results will be back soon,” I said, expecting him to be impressed. “Why’d you do that, honey?” he asked kindly. “We have a great lab down the street.” I explained that mine could…

Magnesium: The Super-Mineral

Magnesium can stop an asthma attack, pull toxins out of the body, increase circulation, remove age spots, decrease joint pain and relieve constipation. It is the eighth most plentiful element on the planet and the fourth most abundant mineral in the body. It is essential for a very wide gamut of critical body functions, affecting virtually every organ system. Why Is Magnesium Important in Developmental Delays? This mineral is directly responsible for over 300 biochemical bodily reactions, many of which have gone awry in individuals with autism, attention issues, Sensory Processing Disorder and other developmental delays. It is extremely important in the metabolism of fellow elements: cadmium, calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus, potassium, lead, sulfur and zinc. It is the single most important mineral for maintaining proper electrical balance and facilitating smooth metabolism in the cells. One of the major properties of it is that of stabilizing cell membranes. The health status of the digestive system and the kidneys significantly influence…

Vitamin D Deficiency

Increasing amounts of research (see References, below) point to a vitamin D deficiency as being linked to autism, as well as ADHD, allergies, asthma and autoimmune disorders. What Is Vitamin D and How Do We Get It? Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is produced naturally as D3 or cholecalciferol (pronounced koh·luh·kal·sif·uh·rawl) when sunlight hits the skin. Most people used to get sufficient vitamin D3 from sunlight. Today, vitamin D deficiency is rampant largely in part to increased use of sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, coupled with a move away from an agrarian society. A Perfect Storm for Vitamin D Deficiency With just 10-40 minutes of unprotected summer sun our bodies produce about 20,000 units of vitamin D. The body makes what it needs, accumulating and storing significant reserves in the tissues, liver, spleen, bones, and brain; it can be then be available during darker months. Vitamin D is fat soluble, requiring sufficient “good” fats in the diet for…

Why Is Digestion Important?

Understanding the process of digestion is necessary before understanding what goes wrong in children with chronic disorders such as autism, ADHD, allergies and asthma. Digestion starts in the mouth. Each bite of food that enters the mouth mixes with saliva and is swallowed. A process of muscle contraction called peristalsis moves the partially digested food into the stomach, small intestines and colon, where enzymes and other juices work it further. Enzymes, which are proteins responsible for many essential biochemical reactions, are vitally important for proper digestion. Enzymes act as catalysts, breaking down carbohydrates, proteins and fats into simple forms that the body can absorb, burn for energy, or use to build or repair itself. As the body absorbs nutrients, toxins and other waste products finish the journey, exiting through the rectum as fecal matter. How Long Does Digestion Take? This very complex process could take hours to days, depending upon many factors. Ideally food should not tarry too long in…

9 Easy Ways to Create a Healthy Home

Good health starts in a healthy home, but toxins in the everyday products you use in your home can negatively impact your health and well-being. Some can mess with your hormones and others can have triggering reactions on your nervous system, which is especially important if you have kids with ADHD, autism, asthma or allergies. If you feel confused about the simple, practical things you can do, don’t worry. Here are some easy ways to decrease these invisible hazards. Here’s a list of nine items you want to rethink using, and how to shop smarter. Scrubbing Tile Cleaner Put some baking soda in a grated cheese container (the kind you find at pizza parlors) and sprinkle it on bathroom sinks, tubs, and showers before scrubbing. For tough stains, make a paste of baking soda and a little water. Smear it on the spot, let it sit for half an hour, and sponge off. Laundry Bleach Instead of bleach, try adding…

The Importance of Soil Microbes

by Maria Rickert Hong, CHHC, AADP Kids who live and work on farms have far less allergies, asthma and autoimmune disorders. Researchers theorize that this is due to exposure to a wider variety of soil microbes, both beneficial and pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses. In today’s too-clean environment, our kids lack access to these microbes that can both train the immune system how to fight and give it the tools it needs to fight. A healthy gut microbiome is essential for the normal development and function of the immune system. An unhealthy gut is a common cause of autoimmune disorders, of which I include autism and ADHD. An unhealthy gut typically means that there is some form of gut dysbiosis, which means that the bad (pathogenic) guys outweigh the good (probiotic) guys. Common causes of gut dysbiosis include antibiotics, GMO foods, low stomach acid, steroids, birth control pills, birth via C-section, lack of breastfeeding and passage from mother to…

Ear Infections and Autism

Many years ago, a group of parents and professionals discussed concerns about the emergence of a regressive autistic-like syndrome, later named Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), which is on the autism spectrum. All knew children whose development regressed following frequent otitis media (inner ear infections.) Could ear infections and autism and/or PDD be linked? The autism epidemic now claims an estimated one in 36 children. Some experts suspect the mercury-based preservative thimerosal as a major culprit, but one factor is not responsible for PDD or autism. Ear infections remain shadowy contributors. Perhaps a subgroup of children on the autistic spectrum, including those with attention deficits and learning disabilities, have a condition named Post-Traumatic Ear Infection Syndrome (PTEIS). These kids are apparently normal at birth, develop continuous ear infections and subsequent auditory processing issues and developmental delays as a result of complications from sustained damage to the inner ear from both the disease and its treatment. Why Are Ear Infections Such a…

A Unique Approach to Healing

The Documenting Hope Project: Grassroots Initiative Tackles New Childhood Epidemics by Beth Lambert One of the greatest paradoxes of our times is that the most affluent, resourced and medically advanced societies in the world also have the highest rates of chronic childhood illness. Obesity and diabetes, autism and neurodevelopmental delays, and digestive and allergic diseases were rare just a generation ago. Today those illnesses are impacting our children in epidemic numbers, and the social, economic and human costs are staggering. Our children are the “canaries in the coal mine” of national health. For their sakes, we must take action now. “The Fierce Urgency of Now” Some startling statistics: Rates of autism have risen over the last few decades from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 50 children. Autism costs the United States $126 billion per year. Asthma affects 1 in 8 children, and as many as 1 in 6 African American children. Asthma costs the United States $56 billion per…

Our Favorite Recovery Books

You can purchase items from Amazon Smile and designate us as your beneficiary – we’ll get 0.5% of all purchases. We’d love to be your charity of choice! If you feel inspired to give outright, you can make a tax-deductible donation here. To make it easy for you, we thought we’d share our favorite books about health and healing: “Is This Your Child: Discovering and Treating Unrecognized Allergies in Children and Adults” by Doris Rapp, M.D. “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders” by Kenneth Bock and Cameron Strauth “A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America’s Children” by Beth Lambert and Victoria Kobliner “Outsmarting Autism: The Ultimate Guide to Management, Healing and Prevention” by Patricia S. Lemer “Almost Autism: Recovering Children from Sensory Processing Disorder, A Reference for Parents and Practitioners” by Maria Rickert Hong, CHHC, AADP “Envisioning a Bright Future: Interventions That Work for Children and Adults…

Change: Notice It, Adapt to It, Anticipate It, Go with It!

By Patricia S. Lemer, M.S. Bus., NCC Everything changes: winter to spring, summer to fall, youth to adolescence, health to illness. We expect, accept and adapt naturally to the irreversible cycles of the seasons and to aging. Changes from health to illness and illness to health are not so predictable and irreversible. We can benefit from fine-tuning our responses to these changes. How people deal with change is the basis for a profound, little book, “Who Moved My Cheese?”, given to me by my dear friend Diana Henry, OTR. Cheese, a metaphor for what we want in life, is elusive. As I read the book, I saw how its wisdom can help us attain our “cheese” — good health and function for our kids. Change Happens; Notice It Health changes appear first in those subtle differences in skin, digestion and behavior. Do those little bumps persist? Is elimination less regular? Are sleep patterns disturbed? In many children these early warning…