We have Lisa Beaury back from our last episode, to share some more wonderful information with us.  Today she is going to talk to us about: common symptoms that are seen in children who have been (usually unknowingly) exposed to high levels of toxins compared to what their body can handle; the biggest known causes of AD/HD, mood disorders and sensory disorders from an alternative health provider’s prospective; common treatment plans provided to help children to act and feel better; and other general health recommendations that we can all learn from.  She did a phenomenal job of explaining the alternative tests and assessments they offer at their office in Orlando, Florida, as well as all the non-invasive testing that can be done for everyone, including our sensory kids that may behave a little less than perfect at times!

Please refer back to the previous episode if you haven’t listened to it yet, or at least read the blog, to know more about Healing Alternatives before listening to this episode, as so many children with sensory processing difficulties have, and do consistently respond very well to their services.

These are the highlights from this episode:

1. Common Symptoms expected to be seen in children when they have been exposed to an excessive amount of toxins:

Weakness, unsteadiness, vision disorders, tactile disorders (i.e.- aversion to certain types of clothing or food), auditory disorders, sleep disturbances, excitability, depression, irritability, restlessness, speech impairments, and learning impairments- just to name a few!

2. The biggest suspected causes of SPD, ADD, AD/HD, or mood disorders from an alternative health care perspective:

Poor diet (SAD stands for the standard American diet which consists of processed foods, white sugar and white flour), food sensitivities/allergies, nutritional deficiencies, family stress (which is a huge burden on the nervous system), and toxins found in babies fat at birth.

3. The most common recommendations given to families with children in order to help improve their overall health and functioning:

First look at food allergies and get these children off of gluten and casein-based foods (basically wheat and dairy products).  These foods are considered inflammatory foods and can cause a whole host of problems.

Try to buy organic foods, especially organic milk, eggs and meat as well as porous fruits and vegetables that absorb the pesticides that are sprayed on them (i.e.- strawberries, blueberries, etc…).  This will help reduce your child’s exposure to pesticides and his or her overall toxin load (as the bigger the burden, the more the body will break down and show symptoms of dysfunction).

Soy and corn products are not so good as they are genetically modified foods in this country.  Please read about genetically modified food if this is a new term for you- you will be amazed!

Try to avoid or eliminate sugars both natural and artificial, fruit juices, refined carbohydrates such as pastries, French fries, sweetened cereals, “healthy” waters that contain sugar, high fructose corn syrup and/or food coloring.

4. Helpful websites offered by Lisa for parents out there who are struggling to find answers and help for their kids:

Hamster Study – Genetically Modified Foods:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/22/jeffrey-smith-interview-april-24.aspx

Environmental Working Group: Children’s Health – http://www.ewg.org/childrenshealth

Is Organic Food Worth The Price? – http://www.oprah.com/food/Food-Writer-Nina-Planck-Gives-O-the-Lowdown-on-Organic-Food/1

Fighting Toxic Exposures in Your Home – http://www.oprah.com/world/How-to-Fight-Toxic-Exposure-and-Keep-Chemicals-Out-of-Your-Home-Simran-Sethi

Homemade Veggie Cleaner Spray:  1 cup water, 1  cup distilled white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract.   (Recipe: Sophie Uliano)

CNN Study – Pesticides Linked to ADHD – http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/17/pesticides.adhd/index.html

5. Additional helpful tips:

Find parent blogs online for support from parents going through these difficulties first hand.

Keep in mind that working on improving your child’s overall health and decreasing his or her symptoms of dysfunction takes time! It’s like peeling the layers of an onion, and everyone is different.

Thank you so much again Lisa for sharing your time and knowledge!  I know this will be a great resource for parents everywhere, for many years to come.  We are continually finding out more information about how to improve our children’s health, so parents out there, please stay connected with these great resources, continue to do your research and continue to keep an open mind, as I find the parents who are willing to step out of their comfort zone and try some of these alternative health approaches are yet to be disappointed!

If you would like to contact Healing Alternatives directly you can find them on-line at www.healingalternativesinc.com call them @ 407-682-7111 or email Lisa directly at: lisa.halternatives@gmail.com

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Today I had the privilege of interviewing Lisa Beaury, a holistic clinician from Healing Alternatives in Orlando, FL.

Healing Alternatives is a holistic wellness clinic that focuses on treating the entire person – mind, body and spirit.  They treat patients of every age and walk of life, by looking for the root cause of their ailments and healing from those causes, not from symptoms.

Dr. Donna Johnston, D.O.M. has 20 years of experience in natural medicine.  Not only is she a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, but she is a Doctor of Naturopathy, she has also achieved the status of Master Herbalist and Certified Natural Health Professional. She is further certified in Homeopathy, Iridology, Kinesiology, Nutrition, Reiki, Yoga, Biological Terrain and Metabolic Balancing for Allergy Elimination.

Her clinician who is with us today works with and supports her on a daily basis with all patients.  Lisa works with applied kinesiology, as well as all bioenergetic feedback modalities, and energy clearings.  She answers client questions and sees patients for appointments when Donna is not available.

There is also a new Acupuncture Physician, Tara Reed who will be starting with them soon and will focus on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Herbs, as well as Acupuncture.  She will be a great addition to their dynamic team!

Lisa started off by talking about how common it is to see children now days needing alternative types of health services to treat attention, sensory and/or behavioral difficulties.  She stated that it’s much more common now than 10-15 years ago.  Their clinic is set up to see people of all ages, but they are getting calls at least once a week from parents concerned about their children having ADD, ADHD, sensory-based concerns, etc…  These parents express how they have been through the wringer trying to figure out ways to help their children after a number of unsuccessful attempts and a whole lot of frustration.

She stated that usually by the time a family brings their child in for an evaluation they are happy but frustrated and often feeling nervous about trying a new testing or treatment approach.  After the team at Holistic Options spends a good hour with them reviewing their background, the parents usually feel well understood, less stressed, and then they become curious of what can be done to help their child.

As far as their testing procedures, I had Lisa explain to us how their office determines a child’s underlying problems when they come in for initial testing.  This is something I try to explain concisely to many parents that have children with sensory processing difficulties, food sensitivities, allergies and suspected neurotransmitter imbalances to name a few.  Lisa was able to break this down for us with very good explanations (of course)!

They always start their testing by looking for “root causes” of the symptoms reported by the parents.  They have explanations of their tests on their website at  http://www.healingalternativesinc.com/ if you look under their “services” tab.  They mainly use applied kinesiology techniques and a computerized electrodermal screening machine called the LSA Pro by Zyto.  These are fascinating testing approaches that are highly sensitive and able to pick up subtle changes in the body to give the clinician information on how the body needs to best be balanced.  I highly recommend you listen to this episode to hear the great ways that Lisa explains this technology in an understandable way.  The LSA Pro machine has 40,000 different test items in its database with the ability to assess the health of each organ and every gland in the body as well as detecting specific viruses, mineral imbalances, neurotransmitter imbalances, foreign chemicals in the body (such as plastics and pesticides), parasites (as well as identifying the type), molds, mycotoxins and even electromagnetic fields that affect our bodies in negative ways.

If you are concerned about your child being able to sit still and cooperate, rest assured, they have several tricks up their sleeve to help ease you and your child.  They have toys, Legos, crayons, etc… available to distract your child, and often one of them will work gently to distract your child while the other one does the testing, so the parent can be freed up from trying to get their child to behave and feel a lot less stressed.  This allows the parent to think more clearly, be able to share information and ask all the important questions they came with and have along the way.

Once Lisa and Dr. Johnston have identified the keys areas to address within each child’s body, they find specific supplements from their natural pharmacy of over 1,800 products to complement and balance that child.  They are very creative and realistic when it comes to finding ways to get children to take certain products, vitamins or supplements, and can disguise many products into a tasteless liquid form to put in their mouth or to be blended into good-tasting drinks or shakes.

Lisa has agreed to return for our next episode, to talk to us about: common symptoms that are seen in children who have been (usually unknowingly) exposed to high levels of toxins compared to what their body can handle; the biggest known causes of AD/HD, mood disorders and sensory disorders from an alternative health provider’s prospective; common treatment plans provided to help children to act and feel better; and other general health recommendations that we can all learn from.

Thank you so much Lisa for your time and expertise!  We look forward to more great information!

If you would like to contact Healing Alternatives directly you can find them on-line at www.healingalternativesinc.com call them @ 407-682-7111 or email Lisa directly at: lisa.halternatives@gmail.com

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