How to Grow a Healthy
Brain
 Katherine Erlich M.D., pediatrician
 Anastasia Banicki-Hoffman M.D., child psychiatrist
 Tina Deeds, clinical nutritionist
What makes us different:
 We look for the underlying cause rather than just treat the symptoms
 We see the body as interconnected (ie. brain/ gut relationship)
- book - Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS)
 We have actually learned about nutrition, rather than just restating
myths/propaganda
 We use food and nutrition as medicine, to help the body heal itself
 While we may still recommend medications, we prefer safer, more
natural options whenever possible
What do brain and body need for
good health?
 Sufficient nutrients - needed to function,
grow, fight infections, and heal
 Minimize toxins
 Maximize detoxification
 Emotional/Psychological support
What can disrupt good
health:
 Nutrient deficiency/insufficiency
•
Missing from diet: from lack of knowledge, refusal, ethical, allergies/
intolerances, too much non-nutritious food, lack of appetite
•
Poor Digestion: due to low stomach acid, inadequate enzymes,
dysbiosis
•
Poor Absorption: due to low quality nutrients, blocking agents in foods,
dysbiosis, inflammation in the gut (ie. celiac, Crohns, UC)
What can disrupt good
health:
 Toxin overload
•
Too much exposure (food, air, water, skin, home)
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Can’t break them down
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genetics
other toxins
insufficient vitamins/minerals
too few good bacteria/ too many bad microbes, like Candida
Can’t get them out
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constipation
poor hydration
exercise
sleep
How to optimize brain
health:
• Improve nutrients in
• Minimize toxins in
• Maximize toxins out (detox)
• Improve gut bacteria
How to Improve Nutrients in?
•
Provide high quality, REAL foods (foods our great-grandparents
ate)
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Limit non-nutritive foods (drinks other than water, processed
food, high starch foods)
•
Make snacks mini-meals (protein, fat) rather than “filler-food”
carbs
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REDUCE SUGAR and other addictive foods (bread/gluten,
dairy/casein, PB)
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Avoid soy (unless miso or tempeh) - blocks nutrient absorption
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Assist digestion - zinc, apple cider vinegar, enzymes, probiotics
High quality REAL food
• Homemade broth*
• Celtic Sea salt
• Good fats (coconut oil, olive oil, fat from pastured
animals, cod liver oil)
• High quality protein (pastured animals)
• Liver (capsule or food)*
• Iodine source: dulse/ seaweed
How to minimize toxins in?
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FOOD: wash with grapefruit seed extract, “Dirty Dozen”/ “Clean 15”. Avoid HFCS and
brominated flour. Choose organic / pastured animal products, caution with fish.
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COOK/STORE food in glass or ceramic, stainless steel, parchment paper. Avoid plastics
& styrofoam. Avoid teflon/non-stick. Use overhead fan when using gas burners.
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AIR: Hepa filter on furnace, evaluate home for mold, avoid room humidifiers/vaporizers.
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WATER: reverse osmosis water filter, glass or stainless steel water bottles
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HOME: limit pesticides, herbicides (lawn); EMFs - smart meter; Radon, CO
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SKIN: www.ewg.org, natural lice products (Neon Nits), Badger sunscreen. Avoid fireretardant PJs and fragrance/perfumes/ air fresheners/ Febreeze
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Avoid Fluoride: Use fluoride-free tooth paste, R.O. water filter, no fluoride
treatments
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Avoid Tylenol! Esp. if allergies, asthma, autism, ADD or C. difficile infection
Fluoride is a neurotoxin!
• Fluoride consumption LOWERS IQ
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Fluoride has been proven since the 1920's to lower IQ at least 10-15 points. (confirmed by 2013 Harvard study)
Inverse association between high fluoride exposure and children's intelligence. The results suggest that
fluoride may be a developmental neurotoxicant that affects brain development (Findings from metaanalyses of 27 studies published over 22 years)
there are more than 100 published studies illustrating fluoride's harm to the brain, plus 25 published studies
directly linking fluoride exposure to reduced IQ in children!
• Fluoride consumption has been linked to ADHD and poor
impulse control.
• Fluoride causes the body to store aluminum, which is
associated with Alzheimer's.
• Fluoride accumulates in and causes calcification of the
pineal gland in the brain. The pineal gland (AKA: the third eye) is associated
with the body’s production of melatonin and thus affects wake/sleep patterns and
seasonal/circadian rhythms and thus may be the cause of increasing rates of early
puberty.
Dental Fluorosis
"DENTAL FLUOROSIS is now estimated at 41% among
adolescents aged 12-15 in the U.S” significantly more than
in 1986-1987 study.
(CDC, Prevalence and Severity of Dental Fluorosis in the
United States, 1999-2004.)
Fluoride found in:
•Toothpaste
•Water (city & most bottled)
•Baby products: infant formula, baby food, “nursery water”
•Released from teflon pans
•Foods: non-organic grape products (juice, wine), chicken nuggets/fingers, walnuts, green teas
•Meds: Ciprofloxacin, Prozac (fluoxetine) is 30% fluoride by weight!
• In addition to being toxic, fluoride
is ineffective when swallowed
Fluoride’s main effect is post-eruptive and topical (CDC
2001)
•And may be ineffective even
when applied topically:
A 2010 study found the fluorapatite layer to be only 6
nanometers thick. “That’s at least 10 times thinner than
previous studies indicated. The scientists question whether
a layer so thin, which is quickly worn away by ordinary
chewing, really can shield teeth from decay”
Elemental Depth Profiling of Fluoridated Hydroxyapatite: Saving Your
Dentition by the Skin of Your Teeth? Langmuir, 2010, 26 (24) pp 18750–
18759
Tylenol is a toxin too!
Damages the brain and the lungs
 Increased Acetaminophen use in Genetically Vulnerable
Children Appears to be a Major Cause of the Epidemics of
Autism, ADHD, and Asthma (Willaim Shaw PhD, Journal of Restorative Medicine 2013; 2: 116)
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Prenatal use of acetaminophen was strongly correlated with autism/ASD prevalence (Bauer AZ, Kriebel D.
Prenatal and perinatal analgesic exposure and autism: an ecological link. Environ Health. 2013;12:41. doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-12-41.)
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Acetaminophen produces neurotoxic effects on rat brain neurons both in vitro and in vivo (Posadas I, Santos
P, Blanco A, Muñoz-Fernández M, Ceña V. Acetaminophen induces apoptosis in rat cortical neurons. PLoS ONE. 2010;15(12):e15360.)
• There is a DOSE DEPENDENT relationship between
Tylenol use and risk of wheezing.
“Acetaminophen
use at age 1 year was
associated with a dose-dependent positive increase in the risk for wheeze at age 1 to 3 years; the risk was more than 7fold higher among children who received at least 4 acetaminophen tablets in 1 month.”
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“Systematic reviews also suggest that acetaminophen can promote asthma and wheeze” “The risk for asthma
was similar among adults and children, and this study also demonstrated that prenatal use of acetaminophen
increased the risk for asthma and wheezing among offspring.”
How to Maximize Toxins Out/
Detoxification?
• Address CONSTIPATION as a priority!
• Hydration, exercise and sleep
• Provide minerals/nutrients that aid in detox and evaluate for
deficiencies
• Improve gut bacteria
• Test for MTHFR mutation
• Liver support
• Iodine (dulse, seaweed, iodine supplement)
Iodine
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Needed by every cell, but in particular:
‣ Thyroid (70-80%) (need iodine to form thyroid hormones)
‣ Brain (in particular, needed to make CSF)
‣ Breast, ovaries, uterus, cervix
‣ Salivary glands
‣ Prostate
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Iodine deficiency is the “single greatest preventable cause of mental retardation.”
(WHO) Deficiency is associated with a 10-17 point drop in IQ.
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Low iodine levels correlated with a concomitant rise in autism and ADHD in
EVERY Western country in which it was studied. Arch. Des. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2004.
Sep;89(5):F436-9
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Deficiencies related to disease and cancer of the above organs, especially cystic
diseases. (fibrocystic breasts, PCO, cystic acne,)
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Iodine is depleted by fluoride, chloride, and bromine. At high doses, iodine helps the
body detoxify from these toxic halides.
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Iodine protects against radiation
How to Improve Gut Bacteria?
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Cut the sugar!!!
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Eat more vegetables and less starches
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Eat fermented foods, like real kefir, real yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchii,
fermented drinks, like kombucha and Kevita in moderation
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Stop all the antibacterial soaps, sanitizers, and Microban/triclosan products
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Take a good probiotic daily or more
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Avoid antibiotics whenever possible
It’s a Journey
 True health is a real journey. Each of us takes a different path.
We each carry different baggage. We have to start with baby
steps. No one expects you to make all the changes at once.
And when you get off the path, as we all do sometimes, you just
have to get back on.
 Each of us is an individual. It’s helpful to get guidance from a
knowledgeable professional to help you figure out which steps
are most important to make.