NourishingHope 12NutritionSteps JulieMatthews PDF
NourishingHope 12NutritionSteps JulieMatthews PDF
NourishingHope 12NutritionSteps JulieMatthews PDF
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Welcome to Nourishing Hope!
Since you’re here, maybe you’re wondering if diet and nutrition can help your
child – or, you’re a parent that’s already seen the benefits food and nutrition
can make and are seeking even further improvements.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to begin, see results, and know that
you are headed in the right direction. Then, advanced steps for experienced
parents to help you refine a personalized dietary approach for your child.
For 18 years, I’ve been researching and working with parents and children with autism as a
Certified Nutrition Consultant and published researcher. I know the importance, and have seen
the impact, of using diet and nutrition to improve healing and reduce symptoms. I have
witnessed the life-changing impact of this approach to improve the health, learning, and
behavior of children through the food and nutrition they receive.
Nourishing hope (using food and nutrition) benefits many childhood conditions:
These 12 Nutrition Steps reflect my new step-by-step program for parents, Nourishing Hope for
Healing Kids, the best practices from my clinical experience and published research.
The proven methodology can benefit all children, including picky eaters. It’s strategically designed for
the quickest results and maximum improvement, for both beginner and experienced parents. Steps
1-6 are the Nourishing Hope Diet and Nutrition Essentials, and Steps 7-12 explore BioIndividual
Nutrition and Therapeutic Diets.
Julie Matthews
Preparation methods
There are many ways to improve the quality of your child’s diet, and
this is a good place to start. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
are plants that have been engineered to withstand disease and create
a larger crop yield – often using non-plant sources such as bacteria, or
antibiotic-resistant genes. They’re bad news for many reasons – in
particular, studies show that eating GMO food brings a higher chance
of allergies 5 – but not enough research has been done to establish the
risks to the immune system. GMOs and conventional produce often
use large amounts of pesticides which are known neurotoxins, and
glyphosate which has been found to cause cancer. And children with
autism have more difficulties detoxifying toxins, including
organophosphate pesticides, which can impair neurobehavioral
development.6
Supplements are a useful tool for picky eaters who may be hesitant
about trying new healthier foods right away. Using supplements can
also aid your child’s microbiome, counteracting the damage caused by
leaky gut, and minimizing gastrointestinal symptoms. 7
A vast majority of my clients are picky eaters. But with some nutrition
education to be most strategic about your approach and some new
creative ideas, most picky eaters improved. In fact, in my Nourishing
Hope for Healing Kids program, 81% of children who were picky eaters
improved after knowing these strategies. And all of the parents said
they gained confidence to feed their child nutritiously.
Consider texture when you create your list of new foods. Notice
whether your child likes a crunchy texture or maybe a pancake texture.
Then find ways to prepare vegetables and nutritious food like protein in
a way they enjoy.
Soy has the same properties and challenges as gluten and casein,
including the opiates, so avoid soy as well on this diet.
First action step: Add new gluten and casein free alternatives.
Self-care is personal, but here are a few examples of small things you
can do to alleviate stress and change focus. If you’re worried about
time, set an alarm for 20 minutes.
While cooking for your child, make extra breakfast - for yourself - to
ensure you’re getting your day off to a good start with nourishment too.
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22708999
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4488002/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3342663/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27609410
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392248/
6. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/ehp.1002234
7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159118300783
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22151477
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6251698/
10. https://journals.lww.com/jcge/Abstract/2000/01000/Pediatric_Feeding_Disorders.7.aspx
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6138623/
Once you’ve made changes in your child’s diet and seen some improvements, now it’s time to
customize your approach, optimizing the food your child eats to suit their unique needs. There are
many special or therapeutic diets; however, it can be confusing to know what to do next and which
to choose.
I created Nourishing Hope to help children with autism and ADHD improve their health, learning, and
behavior through improved diet and nutrition choices. Through my years in nutrition practice, I
recognized that children respond differently to varied foods and diets. And because there is no “one-
size-fits-all” diet, I developed the BioIndividual Nutrition® approach, a way of personalizing diet and
nutrition to the child’s unique biochemistry and needs.
I have studied and researched the most effective therapeutic diets to help you really drill down and
make the right choices for your child. In the second half of my Nourishing Hope for Healing Kids
program we go through a process of questionnaires, food elimination and inclusion to fine tune your
child’s nutritional intake and tailor their diet to their specific needs.
Steps 7-12 aim to make an extra difference to your child’s life by bioindividualizing your diet and
nutrition approach.
Whether your action step is to join my program now, or get started on your own, I hope these 12
steps support you on your path of nourishing hope.
If you are ready to join me in the global community of parents, health practitioners (and researchers)
that are nourishing hope through bioindividual nutrition;
Julie Matthews
Diets include:
Regardless of what other dietary choices you make for your child, an
elimination diet helps refine their overall food plan.
Using a process of trial and error, the elimination diet is a great way to
identify food sensitivities. By removing certain foods, you can look for
the reduction of symptoms to see if you are on the right track. Often an
elimination diet has a “provocation” phase where foods are
reintroduced a few weeks later. Here you can check for the return or
flare up of certain symptoms associated with food intolerance – a
powerful tool when making changes in diet for a child with ADHD.6
The elimination stage lasts 2-3 weeks, and then the reintroduction
phase can last a further 3 weeks. This Elimination Diet testing phase is
not a forever diet. However, once food reactions are determined,
depending on the reaction and reason, some foods may need to be
avoided for the long term.
Restricts: Gluten, casein, soy, corn, eggs, citrus fruit, nuts, beef,
seafood, chocolate, and sugar.
The Gut And Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Diet is based on the diet
principles on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet above, with a few tweaks.
The GAPS diet is named for the link between the gut and brain, and
more emphasis is placed on bone broths and eating fermented foods to
help heal the gut microbiome.
Known as the caveman diet, the paleolithic (or paleo) diet has been
designed to mimic the diet of our ancestors, before we began to farm
and process our food. As the paleo diet is hunter-gatherer in style, the
emphasis is on: wild fish, grass fed beef, free-range chickens and eggs
– along with fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, and nuts.
There are a number of reasons for high oxalates in the body. Normally,
your gut microbiome deals with oxalates, but an imbalance in your gut
bacteria can lead to higher oxalate levels. Additionally, digestion of
fats, vitamin and mineral levels, and individual biochemistry all affect
oxalate levels.
The low oxalate diet is designed to restrict the intake of high oxalate
foods, with the understanding that there is no way to eradicate
oxalates from the diet completely. Instead, the diet concentrates on
limiting exposure where possible, with some flexibility. Low oxalate is a
helpful tool to use alongside diets like GFCF or SCD to fine-tune your
child's diet.
If you are considering a low oxalate diet, research and go slowly as it’s
generally recommended not to remove oxalates too quickly.
Restricts: fructose, cow and soy milk, wheat, legumes, certain fruits
(including apples and cherries), certain vegetables (including the onion
family).
The Body Ecology diet can be helpful with yeast overgrowth and when
the microbiome, digestion, and the gut need support.
Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet is a very high fat, very low carbohydrate diet that
uses fat, ketones, for energy rather than carbohydrates. Designed to
reduce seizures in children with epilepsy, it has a number of
neurological benefits, and can improve behavior in children with
autism. 12 Because it is a strict diet, families should always work with
their physician, and have an understanding of supplementation. The
keto diet places an emphasis on healthy fats, with adequate protein,
and a small number of non-starchy vegetables, but restricts most fruits.
The Ketogenic diet can be helpful for some children with seizures,
neurological disorders, mitochondrial dysfunction, and a doctor well
versed in a ketogenic diet can help.
The Ketogenic diet can be helpful for some children with seizures,
neurological disorders, mitochondrial dysfunction, and a doctor well
versed in a ketogenic diet can help.
Nightshades
This step involves assessing any other diets that might be important to
the individual. In addition to the options above, someone might want to
consider:
• Low sulfur,
• Low lectin
• Low purine,
• The carnivore diet
• The Nemechek Protocol
• …and more
• Probiotics • Glutathione
• Carnitine 22 • Sulforaphane 24
• Amino acids (Tryptophan and • CoQ10
tyrosine are low in autism 23) • Medicinal herbs
• Vitamin D • Biotin
• Sulfate/MSM • Taurine
When using some supplements in Step 12 you may benefit from using
lab testing, and guidance from a health practitioner. Tests may include
labs for gastrointestinal health, toxins and detoxification, nutritional
status such as vitamin D levels, hormones, and genetic. Though it
seems like a lot to cover, do remember you’re not just looking – you’re
seeing if those nutrients are being used in the body in the right ways!
Research the supplements carefully before you buy – you want high
quality ingredients. Supplementation when done right can make a huge
difference to your child’s health, in conjunction with dietary and lifestyle
changes.
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20696007/
2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13590840050000861
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10779289
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4322780/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604636/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21296237/
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3174969/
8. https://journals.lww.com/jrnldbp/Abstract/2006/04002/Frequency_of_Gastrointestinal_Symptoms_in_C
hildren.11.aspx
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24897165
10. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/494187v1
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5647120/
12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28808808
13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21911305
14. https://gut.bmj.com/content/66/7/1241
15. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016508513014078
16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8269884
17. http://www.bu.edu.eg/portal/uploads/Medicine/CLINICAL%20&%20CHEMICAL%20PATHOLOGY/2655
/publications/Eman%20Gamal%20Behiry_306_JIPBSV4I304.pdf
18. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20705664
19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6306734/
20. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18399356
21. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987799910460
22. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21651783
23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15673999
24. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4217462/
25. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5872787/
If you’d like to join me in my live step-by-step program, learn more about the
program here at Nourishing Hope for Healing Kids.
This program is only for parents and individuals, not for practitioners.