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Monday 26 February 2018

Get to Know Nutralinks #autism #autismdiet

We are so excited for today’s Get to Know post! Here at Autism Hope Alliance (AHA), we would not be where we are without the incredible support of our amazing partners. In this series, we will be checking in with some of our partners to bring you their latest news, as well as ask some frequently asked questions.

Today, we are checking in with Mona Hashemian, co-founder of Nutralinks. NutraLinks was founded by Hashemian and Soheyla Filipour. Both pharmacists, these ladies have over fifty years of professional experience between them. NutraLinks strives to provide homeopathic alternatives utilizing active ingredients found in nature rather than drugs manufactured by pharmaceuticals.

Concerned with what they saw as the over usage and abuse of over-the-counter remedies and prescription medicines, the pharmacists were also mothers looking for safe natural products for their children and families to relieve common symptoms of everyday ailments like nasal congestion, a stuffy nose, hay fever, and more.

Today, the mothers travel all over the world seeking safe and natural alternatives that leverage nature’s bounty of botanical solutions already in use elsewhere for centuries. We are so honored to count them among our AHA supporters!

Get to Know: Nutralinks

AHA: When and how was NutraLinks founded?

Mona: Nutralinks was founded by myself and my partner, Soheyla. We’re both pharmacists as well as mothers. After working as pharmacists for many years, we decided to establish our own business about three years ago.

As mothers we always looked for natural remedies to treat our children’s illnesses, whether being congestion, seasonal allergies, sinusitis, fever or stomach aches. As pharmacists we knew that most of the over the counter medications not only don’t work for kids but also have bad side effects. My older son was suffering from sinusitis starting at 2 and he was put on one antibiotic after the other. That is when I came across Pepex, which helped to open up his nasal passages, therefore no more congestion and no more infection as a result no more antibiotics.

AHA: On your website you state that NutraLinks believes in leading a healthy lifestyle for one’s best life. We do, too! What does an ideal lifestyle look like to you?

Mona: An ideal life style is the natural life style, the one that our ancestors lived by. A life without added hormones, antibiotics, trans fat and processed food. Our ancestors survived by utilizing what nature offered, and we like to follow suit. Eat healthy, walk and meditate.

 

AHA:  It’s been a devastating flu season. Which products can our community turn to from NutraLinks for extra immune support?

Mona: To fight the symptoms of flu, we definitely recommend Pepex. Pepex helps relieve the symptoms of congestion, headache, runny and stuffy nose. Pepex is an ideal remedy for children 2 years and older. It has no side effects, and it is also great for people who suffer from blood pressure and heart issues.

AHA: We love your relief patches. What can you tell us about your Fever Cooling patch?

Mona: If your little ones suffer from fever , we also recommend our Fever Cooling patch. It contains all natural ingredients, needs no refrigeration, no side effects and each patch lasts about 8 hours.

AHA: For kiddos with sensitive tummies, does NutraLinks have anything for gastric issues?

Mona: We have a product called Gastric Relief to help people who suffer from gastric ulcers, gastritis, and H.Pylori recommended for ages 12 years old and older. Again, being all natural, it gets to the root of the problem, and not just a quick relief. All natural and no harsh side effects.

Children 6 -12 years old can take this powder with their parents supervision, and sprinkle the powder in applesauce or plain white yogurt.

L to R: Nutralinks founders, Soheyla Filipour and Mona Hashemian.

Visit Nutralinks web-site as well as on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!

 

 

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Tuesday 20 February 2018

Get to Know Enzymedica and GlutenEase! #autism #autismdiet

We are so excited to bring you our second post for our Get to Know series! Here at Autism Hope Alliance (AHA), we would not be where we are without the incredible support of our amazing partners. In this series, we will be checking in with some of our partners to bring you their latest news, as well as ask some frequently asked questions.

Today, we are teaming up with Enzymedica to learn about one of their most popular products, GlutenEase! We asked Enzymedica’s Digital Marketing Associate, Tommy Carello, to fill us in on why this product should be on your grocery list if you or your child experience sensitivity when eating gluten.

(*Disclaimer: This product is not intended as a replacement for a gluten free diet for people with Celiac. Please consult your Physician before starting any new supplements.)

AHA: What exactly is gluten?

Tommy: Gluten is a storage protein that exists in many types of grains. It makes foods like pancakes,
bagels, pasta and pastries pleasingly chewy, and it’s responsible for helping these foods keep
their shape. Kneading dough develops the gluten. Higher gluten content in certain foods creates
that soft, malleable texture, as well as increasing elasticity in dough and the flour’s ability to
absorb water.

AHA: If you are not allergic to gluten, can you still have trouble digesting it?

Tommy: Unfortunately, yes. When someone has a gluten allergy, they have severe immune reactions
whenever they eat it. Someone can also have what’s known as a “gluten intolerance.” Like an
allergy, an intolerance will produce symptoms when gluten is ingested. The difference is that
these symptoms are less severe and can be difficult to isolate. Gluten intolerance is common
and may cause a variety of digestive issues like gas, bloating, stomach pressure, or fatigue.

AHA: What are the active ingredients in your GlutenEase supplements??

Tommy: There are four active ingredients in GlutenEase™. Protease, Amylase, Glucoamylase, and DPP-IV.
Protease is responsible for digesting proteins. It works synergistically with DPP-IV, an enzyme
that breaks down gluten, to help our body dismantle all the components in gluten and casein
proteins.

Amylase is included to optimize the digestion of carbohydrates from starches and
grains, as these foods contain the highest amounts gluten. Lastly, Glucoamylase assists the
conversion of polysaccharides from broken down carbohydrates into glucose units.

GlutenEase™ Extra Strength features Protease G2, an advanced form of protease designed for
mitigating the effects of accidental gluten consumption.

Like all Enzymedica products, GlutenEase is meaningfully crafted using Thera-blend™, providing
the optimal solutions for digestive health and wellness. It combines multiple enzymes to work
quickly throughout all environments of the body.

AHA: You can also take GlutenEase for casein digestion. Is casein the same thing as gluten?

Tommy: Casein is different from gluten, but it can still cause digestive distress. Unlike gluten, which is
often found in grains, casein is typically found in dairy. Sometimes when people are casein
intolerant, they experience symptoms like those with gluten intolerance when they ingest it.
The reason GlutenEase can be taken for both of these is due to the enzyme DPP-IV. It has shown
to be effective in the breakdown of both gluten and casein.

AHA: Is GlutenEase safe for children to take?

Tommy: Enzymes have a long history of being very safe. The good news is that supplemental enzymes do
not affect our body’s natural ability to produce its own. As with all products, we always
recommend consulting with your physician before starting a child on any supplement.

Enzymedica is a Florida company that was founded in 1998 with the purpose of offering our customers the
highest-potency enzyme products possible. Today, as one of the leaders in the industry, they still strive for no less.
Visit them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Tommy Carello:

Tommy Carello was born and raised in Florida. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business
Administration from The University of South Florida. During the summer of 2017, Tommy participated in
the Enzymedica internship program. He was extremely happy to transition to a permanent member of
the team due to his interest in health and wellness, and love for the Enzymedica culture and work
environment. He now works with the marketing department, specializing in digital marketing.

The post Get to Know Enzymedica and GlutenEase! appeared first on Autism Hope Alliance.



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Tuesday 13 February 2018

Get to Know MELT’s New Organic Probiotic Spread! #autism #autismdiet

Welcome to our exciting new spotlight series, Get to Know! Here at AHA, we would not be where we are without the incredible support of our amazing partners. In this series, we will be checking in with some of our partners to bring you their latest news, as well as ask some frequently asked questions.

For our inaugural Get to Know post, we are teaming up with MELT to learn about their new organic probiotic spread! We asked MELT’s Marketing Manager,  Andy Query, to fill us in on why this butter-style spread should be added to your grocery list.

AHA: What are the main ingredients of your new Melt Organic Probiotic Spread?

Andy: MELT Probiotic is made from the Perfect Blend™ of “good fats” like virgin coconut, hi-oleic sunflower and flaxseed oils blended with the highly stable probiotic GanedenBC30.Why are probiotics important in our diet?

AHA: Kids can be picky. Will this spread appeal to little ones and adults alike?!

Andy: With its creamy taste, MELT Probiotic enhances the flavor of the foods your kids love while delivering probiotics safely and deliciously. Just two servings, or two tablespoons, per day spread liberally on their morning toast, muffin, bagel or waffles delivers 1 billion CFU’s of probiotic GanedenBC30  to support your kiddos digestive health.

AHA: If we already eat yogurt, is the Melt Probiotic Spread still a good addition to our diet?

Andy: MELT Probiotic delivers active cultures 10x more effectively than yogurt because MELT is dairy free and therefore isn’t pasteurized. Additionally, GanedenBC30 survives the digestive process better than yogurt cultures.

AHA: The spread has both Omega 3 and 6. What’s the difference?

Andy: Industrialized societies have reduced the consumption of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and increased consumption of vegetable oils rich in omega-6 fatty acids such as soy, corn, safflower, and canola oils. Both are essential and healthy as long as they are in the perfect 2-1 balance (the same as grass fed milk). Omega-3 fatty acids also play a role in the prevention and modulation of certain diseases that are common in Western civilization.

About MELT:

MELT is a small but dedicated team of enthusiastic and talented employees focused on contributing to your needs and goals by providing healthy alternative dietary fats for your daily diet. Visit them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Need another reason to try their new probiotic spread? Sign up for their newsletter and receive a $1 off coupon every month!

Meet the MELT team!

From L to R: CEO Meg Carlson, Shige Toyoguchi, and Payton Stone-Johnson.

The post Get to Know MELT’s New Organic Probiotic Spread! appeared first on Autism Hope Alliance.



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Thursday 1 February 2018

Vitamin B9 and Autism: Could it Benefit Your Child? #autism #autismdiet

It’s my fall semester, and I normally have my Wednesday mornings free; I chose to spend it with my mentor Dr. Oskin. One of his first patients of the day was a teenage male who carried a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The mom was very pleased with her son’s progress, because he is starting to talk more! Even her son’s pediatrician noticed a huge improvement in his language. Up until recently, her son had been non-verbal for the most part, which all changed once they began treatment with a vitamin called folinic acid.

There’s a good chance many of you have heard of folinic acid, because you’re all such incredible parents/caretakers who will never stop learning how to help your child with autism, and I greatly admire that. Even if you have heard of folinic acid, maybe you didn’t exactly understand what it was or how it related to your child with autism. My goals are to help you understand exactly what it and why it might help your child. Let me start with what it is. Folinic acid is a B-vitamin (vitamin B9) that looks really similar to folic acid. Folic acid is a synthetic vitamin added to processed foods to give it some nutritional value. Folate is the general category of these compounds and can be supplied in either synthetic form, or natural form from whole foods like leafy green vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts and seeds. Folic acid is considered inactive, and must be “turned on” by a few different enzymes so it can be useful to our bodies. Our bodies convert folic acid to active forms of folate, such as folinic acid and 5-methylenetetrahydrofolate (methylfolate), through enzymes such as dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and MTHFR (Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase), respectively. .

Here, let me simplify this for you:

Folic Acid → Folinic Acid → Methylfolate

You may be wondering, so what does all of this have to do with my child with autism? There is a recently discovered condition called cerebral folate deficiency, which basically means the brain isn’t getting enough folate. If you refer back to the above flow chart, we can see less folate means less folinic acid and less methylfolate. Our bodies require methylfolate and folinic acid to make neurotransmitters (norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin), glutathione, DNA, and myelin for our neurons, all incredibly important for proper brain health and brain development. Infants with cerebral folate deficiency seem to be neurotypical up until about 4-6 months. Around 4-6 months, they can begin to regress developmentally and develop neurological symptoms, which can present like speech delay , high muscle tone, and seizures1. Sound familiar? It’s a very similar picture to a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Children with cerebral folate deficiency have antibodies produced by immune cells (called autoantibodies) that are attacking folate receptors at the entrance of the brain, which prevent the brain from getting the folate it needs. The standard treatment for this is folinic acid (also know as Leucovorin Calcium in its prescription form), because folinic acid can get into the brain without the folate receptor2.

As it turns out, children with autism can also have autoantibodies to the folate receptor alpha, cleverly called folate receptor alpha autoantibodies (FRAA). Not all autistic children have them, but one study showed out of 93 children with autism, 75.3% had FRAA3. In a study of 70 children with autism and FRAA, 44 children were given folinic acid, and the other 9 were the control group. In about 4 months, those given folinic acid experienced significant improvement in verbal communication, receptive and expressive language, attention, and stereotypical behavior, with minimal side effects3. In another study of 48 children with autism and FRAA, 23 children were given folinic acid and 25 children received a placebo. Those who received folinic acid experienced improved verbal communication compared to those who received placebo2.

While I was researching this whole topic, I came across something interesting that I’d like to share. Cow’s milk contains folate receptors, which look incredibly similar to the folate receptors human’s have. If we are exposed to bovine folate receptors, our bodies may see them as foreign invaders and start to make antibodies to them. Because bovine and human folate receptors look so similar, antibodies to bovine folate receptors may also react with our own folate receptors. One study took 12 children with FRAA on folinic acid, and eliminated milk from their diets. After milk was eliminated, the number of folate receptor autoantibodies was significantly decreased, which correlated to improvements in seizures, abnormal movements (ataxia), communication and stereotypes. Milk was then reintroduced in 9 of those patients, and this caused their folate antibodies to significantly increase4. One possible reason infants may develop FRAA is if they start dairy formula, or if mom has been consuming milk and has formed antibodies herself, which are being passed through the breast milk.

I believe it is important to get your child tested for the FRAA if they have a diagnosis of autism. Even though these studies are small, the results are significant. Sure, we could wait for larger studies before having every kid with autism get tested, but why wait? Imagine giving your child the gift of language so they can tell you how much they love you for all the work you’ve put in to helping them.

Action Steps:

Works Cited:

  1. Gordon N. Cerebral folate deficiency. Developmental medicine and child neurology. 2009;51(3):180-182. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2008.03185.x.
  2. R E Frye, J Slattery, L Delhey, B Furgerson, T Strickland, M Tippett, A Sailey, R Wynne, S Rose, S Melnyk, S Jill James, J M Sequeira, E V Quadros. Folinic acid improves verbal communication in children with autism and language impairment: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Molecular Psychiatry, 2016; DOI: 10.1038/mp.2016.168
  3. Frye RE, Sequeira JM, Quadros EV, James SJ, Rossignol DA. Cerebral folate receptor autoantibodies in autism spectrum disorder. Molecular Psychiatry. 2013;18(3):369-381. doi:10.1038/mp.2011.175.
  4. Ramaekers VT, Sequeira JM, Blau N, Quadros EV. A milk-free diet downregulates folate receptor autoimmunity in cerebral folate deficiency syndrome. Developmental medicine and child neurology. 2008;50(5):346-352. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.2008.02053.x

About the Author

Scott Spiridigliozzi is a 4th year naturopathic medical student at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona. He is excited to graduate in June 2018. It is his passion to serve the pediatric population, specifically those with autism, ADHD, Lyme disease, and other chronic conditions. He strives to help children feel their absolute best mentally, emotionally, and physically so they can enjoy being a kid, engage in social activities with their peers, feel great about who they are, and have no limitations on who they can become and what they can accomplish. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, playing guitar, hanging out with his cat, and hiking! He plans on opening up a family medicine practice in the northeast, somewhere close to his home in New York.

The post Vitamin B9 and Autism: Could it Benefit Your Child? appeared first on Autism Hope Alliance.



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