Friday, February 1, 2013

Gut flora is extremely important!

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/24/one-of-the-most-important-steps-you-can-take-to-improve-your-health.aspx

http://www.culturelle.com/your_health/culturelle_for_kids


                Horribly common problem for kids with autism is bowel trouble. Or I could say bowel trouble caused problems for my son’s autism because it actually induced some pretty strong side effects. I have written about this before but I constantly see cries for help on this issue and I know exactly how hard it is to see your child struggle with this problem. I also know a lot of medical providers or other parents will give advice that is a quick fix and long term is what is needed.

                Our son had some pretty serious bowel problems for at least a year. I am not talking about discomfort, but problems that were debilitating for him. We had to actually plan life around his bowel system. Meaning if it wasn’t working we were not leaving the house until it did. It would literally take a week sometimes or longer for relief and what I noticed during that time was not only was our son going through hell but it had a strong effect on his mind. The only way I can describe it easily is the autism traits were intensified and the light in his eyes would go away. I also noticed it wasn’t a matter of him not wanting to, it was a matter of him not being able to.

                I did what everyone says not to, researching on the internet because sometimes you just have to. I was told more water, a laxative, suppository, and all of the things I was told could have been a quick fix but none of these things were addressing the problem.  I read a ton of articles and took a little bit of information from each one, especially when the immune system was mentioned. I already knew his immune system may have not moved the vaccines along so there had to be a connection to this problem, meaning his body was lacking what it needed to get the job done.

                I knew nothing about gut flora and how it affects the system and not just the bowel system but the mind as well. The link above is one of many parents should read who are facing the same problem but I chose this one because it’s easy to follow and understand. I also know this isn’t always the answer but for our son it was.

                I started giving our son one dose of kids Culterelle probiotic every day. I included the link for this product but there are a ton of options out there to choose from as well. This is just the one we found to work for our son.  Within 24 hours we saw relief and a long term difference. Without that discomfort his focus was better and he was making more progress. Constipation can have a toxic effect on a child’s body because it is just sitting in the body releasing toxins into the blood stream and I do believe that was affecting his mind. It was actually hindering him from being his best physically and mentally and it was not just because he was autistic like so many people would tell me. He is autistic and if that is neurological, than why was it so clear this was a physical struggle having a neurological effect? This was not his mind not understanding what to do; this was his body not being able to.

                Since the addition of a simple probiotic every day Phillip has been able to make progress without the physical set back that was grabbing a hold of his mind and body. A probiotic is a natural treatment by the way as I know many parents want a natural option. The only thing that is unnatural is the body isn’t able to produce enough good bacteria (Gut flora). That problem goes way beyond autism and is affecting a large amount of people. For now, I strongly encourage parents who are trapped at home for a week waiting for relief to get educated on gut flora and how important it is for the entire system. Personally I have no idea how we would have gotten past this problem if at all without learning about this connection.

 

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