4-A Healing.com

Supplementation Therapy

Nutritional supplements have consistently demonstrated a high degree of efficacy
in contributing to recovery from the 4-A disorders, and particularly in aiding recovery
from autism and ADHD. Virtually every practitioner of biomedical therapy for
autism and ADHD now includes supplementation therapy as an integral element
of his or her treatment program. Supplementation therapy is also very valuable in
treating asthma and allergies.

Supplements can trigger, support, and sustain certain biochemical healing
mechanisms in ways that simply cannot be effectively achieved with the other three
elements of The Healing Program: Nutritional Therapy, Detoxification, and
Medication.
Used properly, they are safe, effective, and powerful.

Supplements Can Help Resolve Root Causes
Supplements – consisting of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty
acids, enzymes, and herbal preparations – contribute to recoveries by correcting
the root causes that cause cascades of dysfunction.   They are uniquely beneficial
in overcoming nutrient deficiencies, and they have an unmatched power to trigger
various metabolic healing processes. Supplements are also ideal for fulfilling
nutrient dependencies, the highly individualized requirements for various nutrients
that often vary greatly from person to person.

Autistic children, in particular, typically have an astonishing array of nutritional
deficiencies and dependencies, as well as some excesses. These deficiencies
and dependencies almost always contribute to their symptomatology. Overcoming
the deficiencies and dependencies invariably requires supplements. The
excesses can also be ameliorated, or balanced, by using specific supplements.
Food alone just can’t do it. The nutrients in even the most nutritionally dense
foods are generally not sufficiently concentrated to trigger certain vital healing
mechanisms.

Deficiencies, and sometimes excesses – particularly when they are present in
numerous combinations – can create vast cascades of dysfunction in each of the
three major systems involved in autism and ADHD:

•        The gastrointestinal system
•         The immune system
•         The nervous system

Some parents, however, are resistant to the concept of supplementation therapy,
because they often hear presumed experts in the media saying that a healthy diet
is sufficient to provide all necessary nutrients. This sounds reasonable – but it’s
not. Kids with the 4-A disorders have specific, elevated needs. These heightened
needs require full-scale, comprehensive nutritional and supplementation therapy
– not just a wholesome diet. These kids need more than minimum daily
requirements, or a one-a-day type of supplement.

To achieve a therapeutic effect from nutrition, relatively high levels of specific
nutrients are needed, which are generally not attainable solely from foods. For
example, to achieve a relatively high dosage of vitamin C, such as 500 mg., the
amount found in many vitamin C tablets or capsules, a person would need to eat
10 oranges. Similarly, to get 50 mg. of B-6, which is a typical amount found in
many supplements, a person would need to eat 20 pounds of liver. Foods can’t
realistically meet these requirements. Supplements can.

Almost all kids, as well as most adults, need certain very common supplements.
Some also need extra supplements for specific problems. Still others need an
even wider scope of supplements. Therefore, I have placed the Healing Program
supplements that I recommend in three tiers, based upon how commonly they are
needed by 4-A kids.

Tier One Supplements
This tier consists of the basic, fundamental nutrients that almost all children need
to thrive. Many 4-A kids suffer from nutrient deficiencies, and begin to recover
when these deficiencies are remedied.
•        Vitamin C.
•        Vitamin E.
•        Zinc.
•        Calcium/magnesium.
•        Vitamin A (generally given in the form of cod liver oil, which also
contains vitamin D, and DHA).
•        Essential fatty acids.
•        Probiotics.

Tier Two Supplements
This tier consists of more specialized supplements that only certain, individual
patients will need. For example, some kids need the Tier Two supplement
melatonin, generally as a sleep aid, and some don’t. Similarly, some kids have a
deficiency – or another type of need – for vitamin D, and some don’t. Also, only a
certain percentage of patients need extra chromium, generally for hypoglycemia,
or for carbohydrate cravings and intolerance.
•        Vitamin B-6.
•        Taurine.
•        Melatonin.
•        Methyl-B-12 (or methylcobalamin).
•        Folinic acid.
•        N-acetyl-cysteine.
•        Amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids (consisting of
      leucine, isoleucine, and valine).
•        TMG, or DMG (trimethylglycine, or dimethylglycine).
•        Vitamin D.
•        Coenzyme Q-10.
•        Transfer factor.
•        Selenium.
•        Iron.
•        Chromium.
•        Multiple vitamin/mineral.

Tier Three Supplements
his tier is made up of supplements that are needed by an even smaller segment
of patients. Only a relatively small number of patients, for example, would need to
take the Tier Three supplement quercitin, which is helpful to patients with airway
obstruction, allergies, and inflammation.

   •        N-acetyl-carnitine.
   •        DMAE.
   •        Silymarin.
   •        5-HTP.
   •        Activated charcoal.
   •        Phosphatidylcholine.
   •        Oral gamma globulin.
   •        Pycnogenol.
   •        Herbal preparations, including:
   •        Quercitin.
   •        Curcumin.
   •        Oregano oil.
   •        Caprylic acid.
   •        Olive leaf extract.
   •        Garlic.
   •        Lauricidin.
   •        Creatine.
   •        Carnosine.
   •        SAMe
   •        Pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5).

It’s common for me to give a specific patient all of the Tier One supplements, plus
a number of the Tier Two supplements, plus several of the Tier Three
supplements. It all depends upon the patient. I have mentioned almost 50
different nutrients in the prior material, but your child will probably be taking only a
relatively small portion of them, perhaps as few as 10.
If your child is not accustomed to taking supplements, even 10 might seem
daunting, but I am confident that you and your child can adjust to this.

As your child begins to improve, I believe that your family will embrace this
program of supplementation therapy. Getting children to take supplements can
present some challenges, but most parents can find a way to make this happen,
because supplements typically trigger profound, far-reaching, positive changes.
As these positive changes accumulate, motivation generally tends to increase
among many children.

I typically recommend supplements according to these three fundamental, clinical
issues:
•        Deficiencies, as established by laboratory testing, and by symptomatology.
•        Therapeutic goals, such as the restoration of the detoxifying process known
as methylation; or relieving hyperactivity; or increasing cognitive function.
•        Response of the patient, either positive or negative.

For many kids, recovery doesn’t take traction until supplementation therapy
begins.

For much more detail on supplementation therapy, read Healing the New
Childhood Epidemics.

You can order supplements designed to complement the H ealing P rogram.
Click here to view.