Is it ADHD, Autism or Invisible Toxins? A Biological Audit for Kinship Kids

Understanding behavioral issues in kids

SPEAKER_00 0:01

When we talk about behavioral issues and our grandchildren, ADHD, autism, or emotional outbursts, we often look at it through the lens of psychology. But what if the glitch isn't in the mind but in the body's hardware? Well, today we're joined by Dr. Jeffrey Knight, an expert in natural health and cellular healing. We're going to discuss the invisible toxins from heavy metals to mold that might be driving the behavioral symptoms we see in the second cradle. Dr. Knight helps us understand how much of our grandchildren's struggle is emotional and how much is actually biological. Welcome to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Nurturing Through Adversity. In this podcast, we will delve deep into the challenges and triumphs of grandparents raising grandchildren. As we navigate the complexities of legal, financial, and emotional support, I invite you to join us on a journey of exploring thoughts, feelings, and beliefs surrounding this growing segment of our society. Drawing from real stories and expert advice, we will explore the nuances of child rearing for children who have experienced trauma and offer valuable resources to guide you through the intricate journey of kinship care. We'll discuss how we can change the course of history by rewriting our grandchildren's future all within a supportive community that understands the unique joys and struggles. This podcast was made especially for you. Welcome to a community where your voice is heard, your experiences are valued, and your journey is honored. I've been buying canola oil for years, thinking I was making a healthy choice. Like many of you, I'm trying to manage a household on a fixed budget while navigating the administrative weight of kinship care. But as Dr. Knight explains today, some of the very things that we think are normal, like seed oils or food dyes, are actually adding layers of inflammation to our kids' nervous systems. If your grandchild is stuck in flight or fight mode, it might not be the trauma of the past. It might be the toxicity of the present. Today we're learning how to open up the drainage funnel and audit the ingredients in our pantry to give our kids a fighting chance at focus. Welcome to the show, Dr. Knight.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Thank you. It's so good to be with you, Laura.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Can you tell me how much of our grandchildren's struggles might be emotional and how much might be biological?

SPEAKER_01 3:17

It's a really good question. And it's a hard one to answer because it's the

Modern stressors affecting kids

SPEAKER_01 3:21

classic answer of it depends, right? So it really does depend on a lot of factors. I think it does depend on the uh the environment that they're being raised in, right? Or the situation where they're coming from. And there can be layers. There can be a lot of layers here that can definitely influence some of the challenges that these kids are experiencing. One thing that is for certain, we know that just the world we live in now is definitely there's a lot more emotional stress and a lot a lot more that kids are worrying about than when I was a kid and and I'm certain than when you were a kid. The fact that we have the social media platforms that are so readily available that can definitely have a strong connection to anxiety and depression with some of these kids and the whole comparison game and feeling like they're not enough. So there's there's heavy ties with that. I would also say that, you know, depending on the way that their family situation, of course, that can naturally create some different stressors, whether it's parents' divorce or loss of a loved one or having to move from one school to the next. I mean, there's just a lot of things there. But when we look at the chemical side, we also know that our world is getting more and more toxic. And there's more and more chemicals that get put on the shelves of our grocery stores and into our homes. And sometimes it's happening without us even realizing that it's happening. And there's lots of different things that we can get exposed to uh just from trying to do the best, you know, with living life and doing the best we can with the foods we're eating as well as the beverages we're drinking. But then, you know, there's a lot of other layers that can be connected there. So so there is a strong connection, I think, with both things that can definitely add to the dilemma that some of these kids are faced with, where my expertise is more addressing the chemical side. There's definitely some great tools that I encourage people to consider when it comes to the emotional side, but uh we know that they definitely intertwine.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Well, I know that we're talking about reducing inflammation in the system, basically, correct? So for a child who's experienced early trauma or prenatal exposure, how does chronic inflammation manifest as behavioral problems?

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Yeah, I would say uh that some of the behavioral things that you'll see with some of the the chronic inflammation associated with some of those things, oftentimes you will find, from my experience at least, you can see definitely more hyperactivity, you can see difficulty with the nervous system being able to calm down. So if you've heard of the sympathetic nervous system, that's the part of the nervous system that reacts when we're in a fight or flight mode. And it's a natural protective mechanism that's uh you know built into all of us and it's designed beautifully to help us, but some of those kids can get stuck and stay in that

Effects of stress on digestion

SPEAKER_01 6:22

state where they're constantly feeling like they're running from a tiger, you know? And so certain chronic stress can definitely initiate those things. So the hyperactivity, challenges with sleep, chronic constipation can be one of those things because if the body is in a constant state of stress or feeling like it needs to fight or flight, digestion doesn't become a hard huge priority for the body. It's saying, you know what, we got to get up and move, we got to get up and go, where the opposite is where we can actually have that more calm, rest, relaxation, digestion, you know, recover, repair. And those things would naturally come into play in in a situation where there's not a lot of that stress going on internally. I would say there's definitely other behavioral things that you might see too is um, you know, anxiety, I already mentioned focus and attention, you know, ADD type stuff. Some other things too can be aggression. And we'll see that show up where kids might be a little bit more aggressive either to others or to themselves. Other things could be more defiance as well, where they're more resistant to maybe their their parents, grandparents, teachers, individuals, and and some other behavioral things too might be that they tend to pull back and they might even want to stay in their own little bubble and not really want to interact or engage with other people too. So those are some some common ones that I've seen that might be present uh for some of those kids.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

I know that a lot of kinship families are living in older homes or have experienced transient living situations. How much do those environmental triggers like mold or or maybe gut dysbiosis hijack a kid's ability to focus or regulate their mood?

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Yeah, it definitely can affect in a big way, I'm in fact, more more than we realize. You know, we call the gut the second brain for a reason, you know. We you hear people say, well, I had this gut feeling, right? And they connect it to a lot of emotions, right? And just what they what they say is like, oh, I had a flutter in my stomach or a butterflies in my stomach. We know that there is a connection there. And so if the digestion isn't working right due to some kind of toxicity, whether it is mold, uh, you know, whether it is some kind of chemical toxicity that can definitely interfere with normal functioning, you know, digestion, which means that can also relay, have connections with poor absorption maybe of certain nutrients or inefficiency with digestion and actually breaking things down properly. And therefore, maybe the the food that you're trying to get in the body that's actually potentially a good food, it's maybe not getting delivered to the body and the nervous system as effectively as you would hope as well. So definitely mold can cause a lot of stress. I've seen it connected to headaches, I've seen it connected to skin issues, I've seen it with energy. So like low energy can definitely be one of those connections and just feeling really lethargic. I've seen mold also connected to even heart racing too. So high blood pressure or adrenal glands that are getting stressed, which the adrenal glands help a lot with controlling and balancing the stress hormones in our body. So that can also be affected by by some of those things.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Wow. A lot of those symptoms are things that I think many of us grandparents experience with our grandchildren. And I know that detox is a word that just triggers a lot of people. Sure. I know that we want to do everything that we can to rule out anything that might be able to improve our grandchildren's lives. So what are some safe, actionable first steps that a grandparent can take to help a child clear out maybe heavy metal toxicity or cellular waste?

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Sure. Yeah, I would say you you want to tiptoe into it the right way because, like you said, detox can be overwhelming. It can be a little bit intimidating because there is right ways and there's wrong ways to do it. And I see people that have done the wrong way many times to where what I would recommend not doing, and this can be helpful, I would recommend not going straight into full-fledged detox mode with trying to get rid of whether it is mold or heavy metals. You need to prepare the body firsthand. And so if you prepare the body appropriately

Reducing inflammatory seed oils

SPEAKER_01 10:49

and effectively, then that's when the body can start to detox more effectively and you can actually facilitate the removal of those toxins more clearly and simply. And so a couple actionable items would be, and here's a few things because with the cellular inflammation that can be present, some simple things that you can do right away. As, and again, I know everyone's situation is going to be unique or different. So if you can even focus on some of the ingredients that you cook with and some of the foods that you use, because some of those can be highly inflammatory and can cause some added stress and strain on our organs and glands. And so a common one that's very easy, and I say easy because really it's more of an exchange that we're going to make here. It's not like you have to give up your lifestyle of eating a certain way completely, but uh changing out seed oils with cooking. So that would be like your canola oil, your soybean oil, those things are very highly inflammatory and they can cause a lot of added stress and strain on the body with the digestion, and it even can affect the nervous system too. If you just exchange instead of cooking with vegetable oil, let's use like real butter, let's use olive oil, let's use coconut oil, let's use ghee, or even avocado oil would be a better option. So those would be my go-to when it comes to just some things that you're using for cooking, whether it's cooking things in the frying pan, you know, some vegetables and you're sauteing them, or using it to cook other goods, using butter, good healthy oils like the olive oil, coconut, avocado, uh, a lot better options than the soybean or the canola, which are the most common oils that are actually used, unfortunately, because it's very inexpensive and it's easy to make, but it's highly processed.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Interesting. I didn't know that before. I I buy canola oil because I thought it was healthier.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Sure. I know. And with the label that says vegetable oil or even you know canola oil, you're thinking, oh, this is just coming from a plant. So this is great. But the the problem with it is the way it's processed. It goes through a processing that really degrades the value of where it started

Supporting liver and kidney detox

SPEAKER_01 13:08

from. So that would be a good thing to start with. As far as with heavy metals, uh, some other things to consider there. I think the biggest things are more about how you can avoid getting more access to it. And then the whole preparation piece is going to be critical. So supporting your liver, finding good herbs or products that can support the liver effectively, support your digestion, like making sure you're having regular bowel movements is going to be helpful, making sure your kidneys are being supported because those are the main organs and glands that are helping detoxify the body. And so you want to support those because if we're asking the body to then eliminate other things, we're asking it to maybe do a little bit more than what it's ready or capable of doing. So getting that preparation first can be critical. I call it opening up the downstream detox pathways or the drainage funnel because the body naturally is draining things just with, you know, we eat, we drink, our body digests, and eventually we poop or pee it out, right? But it goes through a process of going through that liver, going through those kidneys, going through the digestive tract, you know, the colon. So we need to make sure those are being supported.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Aaron Powell Are there foods that help detoxify the liver?

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Yeah, I would say so. Beets are really good. Citrus can be really good too for helping with like the lymphatic system.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Any drinks or foods that kids might like?

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Aaron Powell You could make like a smoothie that contains, I mean, celery juice, beets. Like I said, some of the citrus can be good. S spirulina, you know, there's those are some of those other types of foods that can can also be therapeutic to some degree. Uh let's see.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

There's probably some green drinks on the market that kids would take down more easily.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

You know, there there might be some good ones. The challenge, though, is that there can be some good ones out there, but I think you know, the more closer you can get to putting foods from Mother Nature into your body, the better.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:11

Apples, oranges, and actually, yeah, apples, I'm glad you reminded me, apples is a good one. The malic acid in the apples can also help with like the gallbladder, which is right underneath the liver. So apples are good, oranges are great. Uh you know, grapefruit can also create some stimulation of the liver. So some good things.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Yeah, great. For the grandparent that's sitting in uh in the doctor's office, I know that doctors are not always very supportive of the concept of of uh detoxing or or even have knowledge about metal heavy metal toxicity. Is there something that we can go to to our doctors for support? A lot of these grandparents have children that are on Medicaid. If the doctors support specific actions, then they can get financial support for testing or take further action. Are you aware of what we can do to get our doctors to support us that way?

SPEAKER_01 16:15

So specifically the support with like a detoxification protocol, is that what you're asking?

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Or testing.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

Or testing. You know, I think it's a little more tricky with the medical model just because they get paid through in insurances and what the insurance is willing to support, right? So there's there's doctors that can do so many things, but I mean, technically they are working for the insurance company because that's who's paying their checks, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

So it can be a little tricky. And I know that certain situations you have to have some kind of evidence to even bring up the idea of let's order these tests, like some kind of symptoms or that would validate the reason why they would order the tests to where insurance would even be willing to pay for. So it's a tricky situation. I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

I was just thinking that I mean, I know that my children have symptoms, and the first response is to go to a pill, take a specific pill. I would I just wonder if you were to say, my children might are having this symptom, and I just wonder what might be related to allergies.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

If that would be a prompt for them to prescribe a test to see if there weren't allergies.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

It could be skin issues, like if you see a lot of eczema, that could potentially prompt the ordering of, you know, maybe an allergy test. It could also potentially prompt the ordering of mold, and especially if you have seen any mold. And another factor that's important about the mold piece, if more than one person under that rooftop is dealing with symptoms, then there's a good chance there might be mold present.

SPEAKER_00 18:05

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Because they're all being exposed to it at the same level. However, there are some people that are more susceptible and more sensitive to mold toxicity than others. I remember a time when I was at a conference and I think I was in, I was either in Florida or Tennessee, somewhere where it is very humid and where mold is definitely more common. And I remember going to the conference and I could smell in the conference room a more musty, moldy, mildewy smell. And I was like, oh, I noticed that. And a colleague of mine, a d another doctor friend, she was very sensitive to the mold. And so she's like, man, this wiped me out. So she actually went back to her room because she could feel like a headache and

Identifying symptoms and testing for mold

SPEAKER_01 18:49

she was super lethargic and she just was having a hard time functioning. Now I was getting exposed to the same amount of mold, but my body wasn't nearly as sensitive as hers was. And there's a reasons, you know, why she had more sensitivity, but at the same time, you know, it's still a good thing to pay attention if there are multiple people under the same roof that are experiencing unique symptoms, whether it is skin, whether it is headaches, whether it is fatigue, whether it is insomnia, you know, that could also be a good thing to prompt and say, hey, I wonder if we have mold, can we do a urine test to look at and for mycotoxins? Or even can we do a blood work? Now, unfortunately, the way medical doctors will look at blood work, it's very black and white. They're not necessarily always looking for the gray areas, which is something that I would be looking for. For example, if the white blood cell count fell in the normal range of say five to eight or five to nine, somewhere around there, that won't think anything of it. But if you look at the white blood cell breakdown, you do want to look at the percentages of each white blood cell because that can tell a different story. And so even if the breakdown, normally you want to see a 60, 30, 73, and 1% breakdown of neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, and basophil. So even if your white blood cell count does say the total white blood cell count is normal, but then the white blood cell breakdown is off. Like if neutrophils, for example, are way above 60%, then you can assume there's some kind of hidden infection present. Same thing with the lymphocytes, if it's above 30%, monocytes above 7%. Eosinophils and basophils, if those are higher than the 3% or the 1%, then you could think of food allergies or sensitivities or even parasite infections can be connected to that. So that could, again, but not every doctor is going to look at it that way. But those are different, different clues that could potentially help you realize, like, hey, I know there's something else going on.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

Now, is that a special request that you can get from a doctor to get that type of a breakdown, or is that something that a naturopath would normally do?

SPEAKER_01 21:07

It should normally be included in the regular CBC. So a CBC is the most simple blood work that is performed or lab that is ordered. And that's basically the breakdown of your red blood cells and your white blood cells and your platelets. And so you're looking at the blood, and that's the most simple, basic blood work you can order. You just need to make sure they include the differentiation aspect of the white blood cells.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

And you can request that.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:34

And then we can send it to someone like you to analyze it.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

For sure. Yep, exactly. And so so those are some other things. I'm I'm trying to think of some other tools, Laura, that could be helpful as far as communicating with your medical provider. I mean, I know that there's there's a doctor that is known nationwide. His name's Dr. Daniel Eyman. He's a psychiatrist. And one of the things that I admire about him is He recognizes the importance of before prescribing, say, like medications for depression, anxiety, you know, ADD, ADHD. He wants to see what's happening with the brain. So he'll one of the tests he'll use is called an EEG. So it's basically measuring the brain waves of the brain. And you can see if the brain waves are moving too fast or too slow, or if there's an imbalance with how the brain waves are showing up. So that's something we do. We call it a brain map. And that could be something if you are concerned about some of the behavioral things, that might be something you could potentially get some support with. And I know in some places, depending on where you go, some insurances might actually support that kind of care. I'm not 100% sure if Medicaid does, but I do know that there are places where if you combine it with some of the therapies, such as some of the different therapies, like with mental health therapy, you might be able to have insurance help with that. So those are some other things that are looking into. Yeah. Yeah. Especially with some of the emotional

Understanding chemical toxicity tests

SPEAKER_01 23:05

stressors that some of the kids that your listeners might be dealing with.

SPEAKER_00 23:10

Yeah, because when you've tried all the therapy and you reach a dead end, this is a perfect example that there might be more going on. Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Always, you know. And and again, you've maybe you've even had friends or people you know that had said, hey, I feel like crap, but my blood work says that everything's normal. And so this is just where you you need to have someone that's willing to be a little bit more investigative. Some certain tests that I would definitely encourage as far as chemical toxicity and trying to understand the burden of the chemical toxicity that isn't often ordered, but can be really helpful. And I believe part of the reason why they don't order these tests often is because there's not a medication or a pill that can necessarily address

Organic acid and health tests

SPEAKER_01 23:57

it completely. Sometimes there are, but um, so certain tests like a urine test can actually reveal chemical toxicity, environmental toxicity, heavy metal toxicity, and even mycotoxins, which come from mold. And you can look at that, and that can definitely trigger some insight as far as like, okay, we need some help here to make sure we're pulling some of this out of the body and reducing the burden that the body is experiencing. So those are some other good tests that can be helpful. There's another test called the organic acid test, and that can give you a breakdown of maybe the nature of your, you know, the digestive tract and if there's certain bacteria or fungal or yeast markers present, or if there's certain cellular aspects that are under stress that can be insightful. Again, I don't know how much insurance really covers some of those things. The practice that I run, we're we're a cash practice, and I know that's not realistic for everyone to be able to just afford some of those things. So that those are some things you could at least open the conversation and say, hey, we want to look into a few more things here because we know there's something else that's going on. Can we get a little bit more help? Is this something you can order and is this something that could be justified for insurance to pay for?

SPEAKER_00 25:17

Right. And I would think that some of those very simple basic tests most doctors would probably justify if they knew we were wanting to do more research.

SPEAKER_01 25:25

Yeah. I think that's a good thing. Well, thank you. That's I think very helpful. That's true. Yeah. You're welcome.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

I understand you do have a podcast. Would you share with the listeners the name of the podcast and where they can find more information about you and your work?

SPEAKER_01 28:02

You bet. So the name of the podcast is called The World of Autism, and it is available on Spotify, Apple, you know, you can search it up on pretty much any major podcast platform out there. And the work that I'm doing primarily, I've got an organization called Health Empowered Families. So if you go to Health Empowered Families.com, that's a place where you can access me. I I I'm working closely with families that have children on the autism spectrum. Uh, and I address more of the cellular healing component because there's so many wonderful therapies out there for these kids. You've got speech therapy, you've got occupational therapy. I know some families have found success with ABA therapy. And then there's not a lot happening on the cellular level. And so I focus a lot on addressing those things and supporting the body to detoxify chemicals, toxins, hidden infections, which when I say hidden infections, I include the things that we don't usually talk about. We always talk about bacteria and viruses, but that would include parasites, mold, fungus, even Lyme's disease that is more common than you would realize. So we focus a lot on helping the body get rid of those things, create the healing at the cellular level. And what's what's wonderful is we do see behavioral changes happen as we do address these cellular components. So that would be the best way. Um I have a free training you can listen to that can teach you more about cellular healing if you go to the Health Empowered Families.com website. And uh that would be a good way to listen to that. And then, of course, the World of Autism podcast, where we break down a lot of different tools and tips that can be helpful for families and parents and caregivers.

SPEAKER_00 29:45

Yes, I think I started following that after I met you or discovered you.

SPEAKER_01 29:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yeah, and I'm looking forward to reading more. I do think we're looking for every kind of encouragement we can find, and this is one of them.

SPEAKER_01 29:58

Yes. Yeah, and I think what you're doing is great, Laura. So keep up the good work.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

I shall. Thank you. I have the three questions that I'm asking all of my interviewees this year.

SPEAKER_01 30:08

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 30:09

And for you, the systematic question I have is traditional medicine often treats symptoms with a pill, as we said. If you were the chief medical officer,

Importance of detoxification for children

SPEAKER_00 30:19

how would you integrate detoxification into the standard care for children in the foster and kinship systems?

SPEAKER_01 30:26

Well, knowing what I know and knowing how much we're exposed to with the foods that we're eating, the toxins and chemicals, pesticides, herbicides that are sprayed on a lot of the foods that we consume, and knowing that there's just so much of it, I would incorporate detoxification to be something that all children do at least yearly to where they can have the opportunity to safely and effectively remove unwanted things that can cause added stress to their organs and glands as well as their nervous system and how this definitely can reflect into behaviors, which I know when it comes to foster parents, sometimes there are kids that are acting out a little bit more, but it might not be necessarily the kids' fault. It could be that they're just burdened with a lot of underlying toxicity that could just create more havoc internally, and that shows up in some of the behaviors. So I would definitely say make this a an annual, you know, requirement or um recommendation at the least, and uh have that be a routine going forward.

SPEAKER_00 31:31

I love that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 31:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:33

My taboo question for you is that many caregivers feel guilty that they can't afford organic food or expensive supplements. How can we support a child's hardware on a fixed kinship budget?

SPEAKER_01 31:46

It's a great question. And it is a difficult one with the fixed budget and knowing that some of these good healthy options are more expensive. So I would encourage, again, trying to eat as close to mother nature as possible. If you are going to buy foods that come off the shelf, try to look at the ingredients. And if you can read and understand the ingredients, that's a good sign. If it says some like methyl, follo, filee, you know, zolfane, whatever, number 42, then then it's like, okay, that's not natural. It's definitely synthetic. So if you can read the ingredients, if you understand the the ingredients, and if there if there are very few ingredients, that would be a recommendation and give you an opportunity to be able to have foods that are are going to be healthier and better options for for that child.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

I think that's a great simple answer to that question. Thanks. Yes. And my policy question for you is what do you think is the one environmental toxin that we're ignoring at a national level that's having the biggest impact on our grandchildren's cognitive development?

SPEAKER_01 32:57

That's a good, good question. And if it's okay, I'm gonna add two, okay?

SPEAKER_00 33:01

Yes, you may.

SPEAKER_01 33:03

And I feel like finally the our country is actually recognizing some of this thanks to some of the work that um our Secretary of Health is actually doing. And the two that I would say would be glyphosate, which is found in Roundup. And glyphosate is a chemical that can create awful uh issues with like leaky gut. If you have leaky gut, that can cause a leaky blood-brain barrier. Glyphosate can also drive toxins that are present deeper into the tissues of our body. It's been shown to have connections with cancer. We do see a correlation with the increased amount of glyphosate sprayed on our crops, with

Harmful effects of additives

SPEAKER_01 33:42

a correlation with higher rates of autism, Alzheimer's, dementia, et cetera. It really started getting more rampant, I think, in the 90s was when glyphosate started picking up quite a bit. So that would be one. The other one would be the synthetic food dyes, the food colorings, the red 40s, the, you know, the yellow, the blues, the greens, uh, all that stuff. Those are very toxic to the brain and can cause a lot of issues for some of these kids. In fact, I've witnessed how red food dye for some kids, it can create such a reaction to where it can make them even have uh more agitation, more restlessness. I even know one individual where if she consumes red food dye, it can make her have even suicidal thoughts and have more challenges with a mental health as well. So the food dyes and the glyphosate, those would be the two that I would get rid of as fast as possible because they are doing so much harm and there's really no good that is coming from it. And unfortunately, a lot of the food dyes are found in the inexpensive, cheap foods that are on the shelf. And so it's uh it's something that we're battling constantly.

SPEAKER_00 34:57

Great. I did know that uh children with autism are very sensitive to dyes, artificial dyes. And it's always surprised me like why would they put dye in grape jelly?

SPEAKER_01 35:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:08

I mean, it's already purple.

SPEAKER_01 35:09

I know. It doesn't make sense.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

It might be more purple.

SPEAKER_01 35:13

Well, and what's what's sad, Laura, is if you look at other countries throughout the world, the the companies that make some of these foods that use red food dye here in the US, they might have the same food on the shelf, let's say in the Netherlands or, you know, some other country, and they're using beet juice or they're using turmeric powder or whatever, like different things that actually can still color the food, but it's actually using like natural ingredients that can do the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 35:44

So yes, I guess we need to take a look at that in this country as well.

SPEAKER_01 35:49

Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_00 35:50

Well, thank you, Dr. Knight. It's been a pleasure speaking with you.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

It's been an honor to be with you today. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

You're welcome. Take a breath and look at your kitchen counter. You don't have to throw everything away today, but can you make one exchange? Can you swap the canola oil for real butter or olive oil? Dr. Knight reminded us that our kids aren't bad, they might just be burdened. If you've hit a wall with traditional therapy, it might be time to look at the cellular level. Go to the resource library and download the biological hardware audit. See the link in the show notes to help you prepare for your next doctor's visit. And remember, if more than one person under your roof is feeling lethargic or foggy, check for mold. Your environment is the foundation

Teardown of academic paywalls

SPEAKER_00 36:43

for your sanctuary. Next week I'm going to be speaking with Kristen Riskoff. She's a community services intern for DuPage County. She's going to walk us through some of the tangible resources that are available in the eight county age guide region, serving over 945,000 people and 250 schools. Whether you or someone you know needs help with the light bill, school supplies, or legal guardianship, this episode is your directory for support.