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After our son, Ryan, was diagnosed with autism at 2 years, 9 months
of age, our life changed dramatically. We went from believing
our life was normal to running on a treadmill that would never
letup. We were on a mission to save our son and we wouldn’t stop
until we achieved our goals!
As my husband worked to finance our mission, I searched for answers
day and night. I hardly slept. I knew there were remedies out
there that would help my son and I was charged with finding out
what they were. I took Ryan to doctors and therapists every day
of the week, begging others in waiting rooms for information, while
researching every other moment of the day to figure out how to
help my son.
Diet was something that I noticed kept coming up in my research.
Doctors also mentioned diet and suggested that I remove gluten and
casein from Ryan’s meals. Gluten is a specific type of protein
that is commonly found in rye, wheat, barley and most oats. Casein
is a protein that is found in milk, as well as other dairy products,
and both proteins are also used independently in many foods as
binding agents. The doctors told me that people with immune dysfunction,
especially autistic people, were very reactive to these proteins.
One of his doctors suggested allergy testing. I was finding out
about removing gluten and casein from his diet, as I was finding
out that he was very sensitive to his environment and probably
many other foods as well. Life was going a million miles an hour…
As I was researching diet and allergies on the Internet one night,
a message popped out at me that said many kids were improving on
the Body Ecology Diet™. I immediately found out everything I could
about that diet and started Ryan on it right away. This diet not
only removed gluten and casein, but also soy, and the food family
called Nightshade. Foods in the Nightshade family often irritate
the nervous system. People who are sensitive or hyperactive should
not eat them. This food family includes eggplant, tomato, potato,
bell peppers, cayenne and some other less common foods.
Now, Ryan always talked but he would only repeat what others said
and his vocabulary was fairly minimal. He was like a parrot.
We would be at the park and he would come over to me and say “Blues
Clues coming up next.” His words had no meaning; he was just remembering
something he could have heard days before on the television… he
couldn’t communicate. His first speech therapist told me that
she thought she could teach him how to greet her with “Hello, Denise”.
However, she then ripped my heart out when she told me that he
would say “Hello, Denise” to everyone that he greeted. Needless
to say, I switched speech therapists immediately!
What happened next was absolutely amazing!
WHEN HE STARTED REALLY COMMUNICATING IT SEEMED LIKE A MIRACLE!
After only 7 days of the removal of all of the big culprits that
the Body Ecology Diet™ eliminates, he was communicating! He was
even asking appropriate questions! Something else equally exciting
was also occurring: he was interacting much more appropriately!
My husband and I were beyond thrilled! We were able to have a
relationship with our son! I held onto him at night, not wanting
to let go of our wonderful day together. Each day was so exciting
and such a blessing! We were so incredibly thankful and felt God
was leading us each step of the way in our journey.
Because I felt the Body Ecology Diet was so special, I took a trip
to Florida to study with its creator, Donna Gates, and I became
a Certified Body Ecologist.
Things weren’t perfect, though. We wanted even more improvement,
of course. One of the doctors on Ryan’s team suggested I contact
Dr. Sally Rockwell to find out more about the Rotation of foods.
Dr. Rockwell helped me tremendously.
At this time, I combined many areas of research
and two different diets to form The Forever Healthy Diet.
It combines the principals of the Body Ecology Diet™ while
including Rotation Methods.
The Rotation portion of The Forever Healthy
Diet is different than most due to the extreme sensitivities
that these children experience. For the most part, the Rotation portion
does not duplicate food families. Another distinction of The
Forever Healthy Diet is that it works on a 5-day rotation,
instead of a typical 4-day rotation; thus ensuring that the
immune system is getting the recovery time that it needs.
It works! I have worked with many families while they have
converted to this Diet. Every single child has improved.
It has been amazing and so incredibly rewarding to watch this
happen! Words cannot describe what a blessing it is to watch
relationships be restored between children and their parents!
Diet is not the only piece of the puzzle, but it sure is a
big piece! I encourage you to try this diet, with 100% commitment,
for 7 days and then make it part of your life! Join the group
of families that have connected from all over the world to share
recipe ideas and support each other in the forum on this
website. This will provide you an extra serving of encouragement to sustain
you during this time of change.
I am rooting for each and every one
of you! |
