Migraine headache is a common condition with a prevalence of 17.6% females and 5.7% males. It was estimated that 23 million people older than 12 years of age have severe migraine headaches. Medical research showed that there was a 60% increase in the disease from 1980 to 1989. The social and economic effects of migraine are staggering, between $2 million to $17.2 million are lost in productivity per year. A successful treatment plan for migraine headache has not only medical but also serious economic and social implications.

Migraine headache is a recurrent neurovascular headache disorder characterized by attacks of debilitating pain associated with photophobia, phonophobia, and nausea and vomiting. The highest incidence of migraine occurs between the ages of 20 and 35, and is often associated with a positive family history of the disease. Migraine headaches are classified into two diagnostic categories: migraine with and without aura. Migraine without aura (common migraine) consists of unilateral or generalized cephalgia, throbbing or pulsatile in nature, in conjunction with nausea, vomiting, and photophobia. Migraine with aura is preceded by a 15-20 minute episode of visual or sensory aura. Auras are most likely visual alterations, usually experienced as hemianopsia and scotomata that enlarge and spread peripherally.

Tension headaches are also common complaints, especially for women. Non-typical migraine and tension headaches are very similar and to distinguish from each other. From the holistic point of view, the causes for the headaches are similar and we always treat them the same way. High inflammation in the body is the baseline issue for both types of headaches. There are five common factors that cause inflammation and lead to headaches:

• Allergy and immune response
• Candida and intestinal toxins
• Hormonal imbalance
• Stress and emotional issues
• Structural imbalance

Allergy related headaches could be a sinus problem. The pain is around your forehead and spread to one or both sides. It happens to individual with or without allergy symptoms. Allergy headaches are not easy to detect because of the delayed reaction from food allergies. If you have a headache in the morning, it may be related to the allergic food you ate last night. Sugar and wine are known to trigger headaches in the morning. Allergy testing such as electrodermal screening is useful to get clues what food and environmental factors bother you the most. With detoxification and Immune System Reprogramming, allergy headaches can be easily controlled. For those who have had allergy headaches for their whole life, the healing process may take a few years, but the headache may get better sooner than you think.

Candida is a hidden cause for many headaches. For more information about Candida please read Candida and Leaky Gut Syndrome. Candida overgrowth produces special toxins that may leak through a “leaky gut” to our body and cause a lot of physiological changes, such as hormone imbalance, problems in nerve and circulation systems, which in turn can cause headaches. Candida headaches normally come with sleeping disturbance, sugar craving and food indigestion. Solving Candida issue is not very easy. The therapy involves Immune System Reprogramming, detoxifying the body, helping ingestion and leaky gut. Special Candida protocol is used in the later stage of the IBMT including Candida control remedies and dietary changes. Without dietary changes the Candida problem will not go away easily and will come back from time to time.

Hormonal headaches often happen around ovulation or menstruation period. It happens a lot during menopause as well. The headaches often combine with other symptoms like irritable, mood changes, sleeping problems etc. Hormonal headaches are caused by high inflammation which is the result of hormonal fluctuation. Many factors cause hormonal fluctuation including immune response, Candida overgrowth and adrenal stresses. Chinese medicine is often used to treat hormonal headaches. Both acupuncture and Chinese herbs are effective to control hormone imbalance. Please read below for details.

Emotional headaches often happen to those who would like to hold their emotion inside. Emotions are processed through different meridians. If for some reason there is a blockage in the meridian, the specific emotion can not be released easily. Emotional blockage causes toxin build up, hormonal imbalance and adrenal stresses in the body. Adrenal stress caused by busy lifestyle also leads to headaches. Stress caused headaches are related to sensitive immune system, fluctuation of blood sugar and toxin accumulation. Solving emotional blockage and reducing stress is the key to help the headaches.

Structural headaches often happen after physical accident like auto accident, falling down or moving heavy object. Some patients don’t have clear accident but do shows structural imbalance such as spine misalignment. Structural headaches always start from the back of the head and often combine with neck or shoulder discomfort. A proper adjustment of bone or muscle with cranio-sacral and osteopathic technique will help to release the headache.

Clinically these above headaches are often mixed together. In the beginning we do not have to do specific therapy unless the type of the headache is very clear. The first thing we need to do is to reduce inflammation and detoxify because the direct reason to cause headache is inflammation. IBMT is very helpful to reduce inflammation in the body. Sometimes after initial chaotic layer is gone, the headaches are already getting better without even addressing specific root issue. But solving the root issue will prevent the headaches coming back forever.

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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Menopause Syndrome and Female Hormonal Imbalance

Hormone imbalances, including adrenal, thyroid and sex hormone imbalance, are common problems for many people. In the past, the most popular approach to correct female hormone imbalance was Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). People thought that female hormones became deficient during aging process, which is the cause for menopausal symptoms. HRT would not only bring the youth back but also solve the hot flashes. However, recent large-scale clinical trials showed that HRT correlates with high risk of stroke and cancer. Thus, many people have switched from conventional HRT to natural hormone replacement. But, is the natural hormone safer than synthetic ones?

Let’s take a look of our hormonal control mechanism, which is called the negative feedback loop. Each individual hormone is stimulated by higher level stimulating hormones. Once the lower level hormone is produced, it sends a negative signal back to the brain to say, "I’m here." When the brain senses the signal, it reduces the production of the (higher level) stimulating hormone. Hormone replacement, either natural or synthetic, simply suppresses stimulating hormone. This can cause the body to lose its ability to produce a specific hormone on its own. On the other hand, each individual hormone has to reach to a delicate balance with other hormones. Too much or too little of specific hormone may either promote cell growth and cause cancer, or cause atrophy of specific tissue. Thus, the following three questions have to be asked before any hormone replacement therapy:

1. Whether the deficiency is true or not?
2. What is the reason that causes hormone deficiency?
3. Whether or not the replacement disturbs balance of other hormones?

If you are unsure of the answers to the above questions, would you like to have an alternative to any form of HRT? Now the alternative is here: You can teach your body to balance its own hormones the right way, thus fully utilizing the God-given abilities embedded in our body. Solving the cause of the hormone imbalance makes more sense than simply giving hormone replacement.

Menopause is defined as the point at which menstruation ceases, and it is usually confirmed when a woman has not had a menstrual period for 12 consecutive months in the absence of any other obvious biological or physiological cause. Natural menopause occurs as part of the aging process and the estimates of the mean age at menopause range from 48 to 52 years. However a woman may notice the changes of menopause far before it comes. The World Health Organization defines peri-menopause at the 2-8 years preceding menopause and 1 year after final menses. During peri-menopause, lots of women experience various symptoms, which include menstrual irregularities, vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes), sleep disturbances, and psychological/behavioral changes (depression).

Hot flashes are not caused only by estrogen deficiency but also by the fluctuation of the hormone. Stresses of the body, including allergies, indigestion, infection, pain, emotion and busy schedule, always trigger overproduction of cortisol, which is one of the adrenal hormones. Because cortisol and estrogen share a common precursor, OH-pregnenolone, changes of the cortisol production are probably one of the major reasons causing estrogen fluctuation, which in turn causes hot flashes. Thus, addressing adrenal stress is more important than estrogen replacement to help hot flashes.

On the other hand, estrogen fluctuation is also caused by environmental estrogen like toxins, called Xenoestrogen. Coming from petroleum product, these harmful estrogenic substances cause problems in cellular communications by over-signaling the cell or jamming the receptors. Helping the body detoxify with meridian balance and homeopathy is necessary to balance the female hormonal system.

Autoimmune response to female hormone is another factor causing estrogen fluctuation. Many women who have menopausal symptoms, PMS or infertility may also have immune response to their own hormones, glands or receptors. For those with Highly Sensitive Body, imbalance of the immune system is the first issue needs to be addressed. Without solving this issue, toxins and stresses remain, and it would be hard to solve the female hormonal problems alone. Immune System Reprogramming is the right therapy for this condition.

Besides, there are laboratory tests available to address not only the levels of the hormones but also the ratio among them to prevent from over taking certain hormones causing cell proliferation of uterus and breasts. By gaining more understanding on hormone imbalance, the replacement therapy can be avoided in many cases. This is the functional approach for hormone related conditions.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs have a long history of use in the treatment of menopausal symptoms. Chinese medicine provides a unique theory in understanding female’s hormone regulation. According to Chinese theory, human body consists of two opposite energy forces, Yin and Yang energy. A healthy person usually has a balanced Yin-Yang energy force. If your Yin-Yang energy is not balanced, your self-healing system is down and you may get sick. Yin-Yang energy forces also regulate female menstruation cycle. It is the Yin energy in dominant during the two weeks before ovulation, while Yang energy gradually becomes dominant in the two weeks after ovulation. Since Yin energy is the basic energy force for women’s body, it is not unusual to see Yin energy deficiency during the week before period comes. According to Chinese medicine, menopause is a natural process of Kidney energy deficiency, especially the Kidney Yin energy. Therefore, it is even more difficult for menopause women to balance Yin-Yang energy during their menstruation cycle. Yin energy deficiency results in excess Yang energy, which produces Heat (toxic material) in the body. The pathogenic Heat inside the body blocks energy movement in organ systems and causes a variety of symptoms such as hot flashes, insomnia, irritation, pain and depression.

Chinese approach to menopausal symptoms is to balance Yin and Yang and help your body pass through this natural process peacefully. Acupuncture improves energy movement and stimulates self-healing system of the body, while Chinese herbs provide specific Yin or Yang energy to your body and lead the body to a healthy balance. Both therapies use natural method to balance your hormone level and reduce menopausal symptoms.

With Chinese herbal therapy, specific herbal formulas are used during different period of time within your menstruation cycle to balance your hormone specifically. With Chinese Yin-Yang theory we are able to balance women’s body with herbal formula for a variety of hormone-related illnesses such as menopausal syndrome, PMS and infertility. A number of classical Chinese formulas such as Xiao Yao Wan have also been widely used for menopause and PMS around the world. A specific formula for each individual patient, usually prescribed by a Chinese doctor, would be even better to balance your energy and reach harmony in your body and mind.

In addition to hot flashes, osteoporosis is another major concern for menopausal women. Osteoporosis is caused by an imbalance between bone re-absorption and bone formation, which results in bone loss and fractures. Hormone imbalance is the main reason for osteoporosis in menopausal women. According to Chinese medicine, osteoporosis is also a Kidney problem. Therefore, the Kidney energy herbs also help to improve osteoporosis for menopausal women. Many clinical studies showed that Chinese herbs are of potential use in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis.

Sum it up. The alternatives to HRT are body balancing, stress reduction, allergy management, lab hormone test, plus a brand new line of herbal and homeopathic remedies to teach the body to rebalance its hormones, so that in the long run, your body will be able to function on its own than taking hormone for the rest of your life.

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohn’s Disease

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases. Most common among the symptoms are abdominal pain, a feeling of intestinal distention or bloating, and either diarrhea or constipation. Patients may have symptoms with stress and an increased sensitivity to bowel distention. Crohn’s disease and colitis, like other autoimmune diseases, is caused by immune attack to the lining of the colon. Colonoscopy often shows inflammation or ulcers on the membrane of one or more sections of colon. Clinical symptoms include abdominal pain, irregular bowel movement, blood in stool etc. People who suffer from Crohn’s disease usually start with milder conditions like irritable bowel syndrome. If the problem is not resolved, it may further develop into much more server Crohn’s disease.

IBS and Crohn’s disease share the common root causes which are the stresses and toxins. Related factors include food intolerance and allergies, emotional blockages, Candida and Leaky Gut Syndrome. Like many other autoimmune diseases the reason causing immune attack is still unknown. It is reasonable to believe that there is toxin or pathogen inside the colon lining, which may be the trigger for the attack. Thus colon detox is the major therapy for Crohn’s disease. Meanwhile stabilizing immune system with Immune System Reprogramming is also important to ease the immune attack. Most of the Crohn’s patients have food intolerance, Candida and leaky gut syndrome. Our IBMT program benefits most patients by controlling inflammation of the colon and calming immune down.

I have many successful cases helping colon recovering. Patients started with either mild inflammation with polyps or many ulcers and bloody colon. After therapy most cases showed normal intestinal lining in colonoscopy. Intestinal lining regenerates everyday as long as the pathogens and toxins are gone and the healing energy is not too bad. The only difficulty to treat Crohn’s disease is to battle with the steroids. Some patients take prednisone to get a quick fix. If they take the drug too long or too much (10mg or higher), the electrodermal testing results are going to be masked and inaccurate. Meanwhile, prednisone is adrenal hormone. Taking it too long will dramatically reduces patient’s adrenal function and causes further hormonal imbalance, which hurts the patient in long-term healing ability. Other immune suppression medications are ok to take during our therapy. We will work to reduce the medication gradually.

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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Insomnia, Fatigue and Adrenal Stress

Insomnia is a common health concern for people with modern lifestyles. The main complaints for insomnia include:

• Can not fall asleep
• Disturbed sleep, easily wake up at night and difficult to fall back to sleep
• Feel not rested and tired in the morning
• Slow starter in the morning
• Fatigue during the day

The common cause for insomnia is the malfunction of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal system. Adrenal gland responds to our everyday stresses. Long-term stress eventually causes adrenal malfunction. Adrenal malfunction is classified into two stages, Stressed stage and Fatigued stage. The characteristics of the Stressed stage include:

• Can not fall asleep (adrenal hyper function)
• Afternoon fatigue or headache
• Slow sugar metabolism (insulin resistance)
• Low appetite control (hippocampus destruction)
• Low sex drive (suppress LH)
• Low thyroid function (suppress T3 conversion)
• Low liver detox function
• Slow bone growth (low calcium absorption)

If the stress factors are not resolved, the malfunction of adrenal gland further develops into Fatigue stage, in which patients experience tired easily, low healing ability and other degeneration related symptoms. The characteristic of the Fatigued stage include:

• Can not stay asleep (adrenal hypo function)
• Hypoglycemic reaction
  • Get shaky, fatigue or lightheaded if meals are missed or delayed
  • Irritable or moodiness before meals
  • Eating relieves fatigue
  • Crave sweets

To identify detailed stages of adrenal problems, a saliva test for cortisol pattern is helpful. To identify the stage of the adrenal system is the key to help insomnia because the treatment plan is going to be different for the two stages. The common complaints for insomnia and their associated adrenal stages are the follows:

• Can not fall asleep (stressed stage)
• Disturbed sleep, easily wake up at night and difficult to fall back to sleep (fatigue stage and possibly hypoglycemic)
• Feel not rested and tired in the morning (both)
• Slow starter in the morning (stressed stage)
• Fatigue during the day (afternoon fatigue-stressed stage)

Most of the insomnia cases belong to the adrenal Stressed stage. The common therapies for this stage are:

• Calm adrenal down before bed time
  • Avoid exciting activities such as TV, computer etc
  • Relaxation such as reading, yoga or meditation
  • Chamomile tea, valerian root, 5-HTP, melatonin
• Avoid afternoon fatigue by rest and adding a snack
• Stabilizing blood sugar by having small meals more frequently
• Avoid strong exercise, do mild one for a longer time
• Avoid coffee, caffeine drink, alcohol and tea
• Do not use animal adrenal glandular

However, to help adrenal recover, eliminating stress factors is always the first approach and supporting adrenal is secondary. Without solving the root issue, adrenal therapy will not work in the long run. The common causes for adrenal stress are:

• Busy lifestyle: long working hours and not enough sleep
• Working at night or frequent travel across time zones
• Emotional stress
• Indigestion or food allergy
• Toxin accumulation
  • low liver detox function
  • Intestinal Candida outbreak
• Female hormone imbalance
• Neurological conditions such as anxiety and depression
• Infections
• Pain

Addressing above factors efficiently helps adrenal recover completely. The following is a guideline for those who have already been treating those stress factors. Lifestyle changes are necessary to help adrenal recover faster.

Lifestyle Changes for Adrenal Stress Syndrome

Avoiding Adrenal Stimulators

It is very important to avoid certain foods and chemicals in order to avoid excessive stress on the adrenal glands. Patients who do not comply with avoiding stimulators will not reach optimal results. The following is a list of foods and chemicals that need to be avoided as much as possible when attempting to normalize adrenal function.

• Concentrated sugars
• Caffeine (decaffeinated is not acceptable because it is still 60% caffeinated)
• Nicotine
• Alcohol
• Allergic food (histamine is an adrenal stimulant)
• Partially hydrogenated fats such as deep fried food and shortenings (inhibit steroid hormone synthesis)
• Artificial sweeteners (blocks the conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine, which is needed to synthesize catecholamines in the adrenal medulla)
• Over training
• Inadequate sleep

Stabilize Glucose Levels

When blood sugar levels fall, healthy adrenals restore the levels back to normal. If blood sugar levels are not stabilized, there will not be optimal results when attempting to correct adrenal status. Here are the dietary guidelines to stabilize glucose levels:

• Do not skip breakfast
• Eat a high quality protein based breakfast
• Eat every 2-3 hours. Do not wait until you are hungry. Do not eat none-stop either
• Snack with low glycemic foods such as nuts, seeds, hard-boiled eggs, etc.
• Avoid all fruit juices and carrot juice
• Never consume high glycemic fruits (foods) without a source of protein
• Avoid all adrenal stimulants
• Eat a well balanced diet consisting mostly of vegetables, quality grains and lean meats

Exercise in Aerobic Heart Range

We have two systems of energy production in our bodies—aerobic and anaerobic. Anaerobic exercises include activities that require fast explosive movements such as weight lifting, fast paced jogging, and any other for of exercise that can not be performed for a long duration. This type of exercise will put excess stress on the adrenals. On the other hand, aerobic exercise includes long duration and slow paced activities such as walking, slow jogging, slow cycling, and any other for of exercise that involves endurance. This type of exercise will help decrease cortisol levels and will help to burn body fat as well. Aerobic exercise will benefit the patients who have stressed adrenal glands.

Relaxation Techniques

The stressful daily life can have an adverse impact on the adrenal glands. This is especially important with those who have a high load of emotional or mental stress. Simple and quick relaxation such as meditation, Yoga and Chi Gong can be very helpful in reducing mental effects of stress on those with adrenal stress syndrome. For each week, 3-4 sessions of 20-minute relaxation are necessary.

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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Acupuncture, as an ancient Chinese system, has been scientifically demonstrated to help many clinical conditions. Recently the use of acupuncture as an adjuvant to conventional treatment such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is becoming more common. This ancient technology is gaining popularity because of its promising outcomes to improve successful rate of the conventional procedures. With its nature of low cost and few side effects, acupuncture will play a role in the future integrated female healthcare system.

How acupuncture helps fertility is still unknown. There are at least three possible mechanisms by which acupuncture could influence pregnancy rate:

1. Acupuncture could influence ovarian and uterine function via modulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis function producing normalization in secreting of hormones such as GnRH and LH. The anesthesia-like effects of acupuncture have been studied extensively. Acupuncture stimulates secretion of beta-endorphin, which has inhibitory effects on the central sympathetic system. This central mechanism further regulates the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis.
2. There is evidence that acupuncture increase blood flow to the ovarian and uterine arteries, thus thickening the endometrium and making it more receptive to the transferred embryo. This could be a response to a reduction in sympathetic nervous tone induced by acupuncture. It is well known that successful IVF requires optimal endometrial receptivity at the time of implantation. An increased blood flow to uterine arteries helps the receptivity for the procedure.
3. The calming and anti-anxiety effects of acupuncture are likely to be very important to the success of the procedure. Stress and anxiety are seen as significant factors in failure to achieve pregnancy. Acupuncture is well known to have a relaxing effect and could be very helpful to provide relaxation before and after the IVF/ICSI procedure.

There have been more controlled clinical trials published in the past years concerning acupuncture and IVF:

• Westergaard et al. randomized 273 patients into one of the three groups: to receive acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer (ACU1), to receive acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer (ET) and again two days later (ACU2), or to receive no acupuncture (control). The pregnancy rate were significantly higher in ACU1 than in the control groups (42% versus 28% P=0.044). A significant overall improved outcome was also seen in combined acupuncture groups compared to the control group.
• Paulus et al. randomized 160 patients to receive either acupuncture 25 minute before and after ET or a standard regimen with no acupuncture but with bed rest after ET. The clinical pregnancy rate was significantly in favor of acupuncture: 26.3% versus 42.5% (P=0.03). The authors concluded that acupuncture at the time of ET improves the clinical pregnancy rate in IVF/ICSI patients.
• Stener-Victorin et al. included 147 patients considered to be poor responders in their trial: 53 received eight electroacupuncture treatments during hormonal stimulation and 94 received no acupuncture. The pregnancy rate in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than in the control group, 53% versus 38%. The authors concluded that acupuncture has a positive effect on pregnancy outcome in IVF.
• Dieterle et al. included 225 infertile patients undergoing IVF/ICSI. 116 patients received luteal-phase acupuncture according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine and 109 patients received placebo acupuncture. The clinical pregnancy rate and onging pregnancy rate (33.6% and 28.4% respectively) were significantly higher in acupuncture group than in control group (15.6% and 13.8%). The authors also concluded that luteal-phase acupuncture has a positive effect on the outcome of IVF/ICSI.

Reference:

• Dieterle et al., Effect of acupuncture on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and intracytophasmic sperm injection: a randomized, prospective controlled clinical study, Fertility and Sterility 2006;85(5):1347-1351
• Johnson, Acupuncture prior to and at embryo transfer in an assisted conception unit, Acupuncture in Medicine 2006;24(1):23-28
• Paulus et al., Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy, Fertility and Sterility 2002;77(4):721-724
• Stener-Victorin et al., Use of acupuncture in female infertility and a summary of recent acupuncture studies related to embryo transfer, Acupuncture in Medicine 2006;24(4):157-163
• Westergaard et al., Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer significantly improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women: a prospective, randomized trial, Fertility and Sterility 2006;85(5):1341-1346

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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Allergies, Sensitivities and Associated Asthma, Sinusitis and Ear Infections

Everyone knows someone who has allergies and sensitivities. Statistics shows that almost a quarter of our population in the United States has allergies. It looks like that there are more and more people suffering from this condition. Claritin used to be the number one prescription drug before it became available over the counter. Claritin is an antihistamine agent that blocks IgE allergy response and successfully reduces the symptoms of sneezing, itchy eyes, running nose etc. But what causes allergies? There is no clear answer to the question and certainly Claritin does not treat allergy but reducing its symptoms.

What causes allergies?

It suggests that two major factors cause allergies:

• Toxins: in the past fifty years, more toxins have shown up either from petroleum or synthetic products. In the meantime, allergy cases have been on the rise. Toxins may be the trigger for the hyperactivity of the immune system
• Stressed adrenal function: stress is another big factor in our modern lifestyle. It directly damages the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal system and causes the out-of-control of cortisol level. Associated symptoms are sleeping issues, fatigue, low focus, and blood sugar problems. The stressed adrenal function leads to immune sensitivities

In addition to toxin and stress, other factors may also need to be considered:

• Toxic colon and Candida: we are exposing more and more processed food with additives, antibiotics and other toxic materials. The lining of intestine is damaged by the toxins and pathogens like Candida fungus can easily grow there. The toxic colon is the major internal source of toxins
• Leaky Gut: it may be the direct reason for someone to develop food allergies. Toxins and pathogens damage the lining of intestines and cause the intestine leaky. Partially digested food molecules leak into the blood and trigger immune response. Toxins also leak back to the body and ware out our detox system
• Inherited allergy information: allergy information can be inherited from parents. If both parents have allergies, 60% of their children will have allergies

Another important factor for the increase of the allergy cases is vaccination. It is directly related to its promotion of the TH2 response in the body. Normally once the antigen reaches the body. T -cell is being activated and becomes T Helper cell, which has two different signal pathways. One is called T Helper 1 Response (TH1), which is an intracellular response and is good to clean up the pathogen infected cells with natural killer cells, macrophages and cytotoxic T-cells. The other one is called T helper 2 Response (TH2), which is an extracellular response and produces large amount of antibodies such as IgE. These two pathways complement each other. TH1 response to fast and is very efficient to clean up the virus and bacteria infections, while the TH2 response is powerful to destroy parasites and toxins that flowing around the lymphatic system.

The problem we are facing for those who have allergies is that there is large amount of antibodies in their system. It seems that the body prefers TH2 antibody response over TH1 and over-produces antibodies that cross-respond to many substances and even own tissues and cause allergies and autoimmune conditions. In the meantime the TH1 response is weak and under-developed. The body has difficulties to fight for virus and bacteria and the infection can last for a long time. But why the body prefers TH2 over TH1 response?

Vaccination may be the answer. Our immune system is designed with a learning ability, adaptive function. After we are born, the immune system is not fully developed. It needs to engage environmental pathogens and toxins and learn its ability to fight efficiently. Because the pathogens and their toxins are changing frequently, an inherited fixed immune system does not fully protect our body. The learning ability is a big excess to our immune system and the first few years of our life is very important to the learning process, through which the immune system knows the enemies it supposes to fight. However, according to our vaccine schedule, a child receives more than twenty vaccines during the first year of life. Vaccine is designed to trigger antibody production, which may promote TH2 response. It by-passes the normal pathways the pathogens contact the body and may not signal TH1 response. After a few years of the extensive exercise for TH2 response, the body highly prefers to make antibodies when contacting with pathogens, which leads to more allergy and sensitivities and inability to fight for virus and bacteria.

How can I get allergies?

It believes that you can develop allergy to anything on earth if you have a sensitive immune system while you are exposed to a substance for a long period of time. How long is long enough to cause allergy really depends on each individual person. For example, having had apple for ten years may not be enough to develop allergy to apple, but one incident such as having a cold/flu or having an argument with someone while eating a pear may be enough to cause sensitivity to the pear. Thus allergy development is a complicated process that we don’t know much detail about it. Rotation diet is a good way to prevent food allergies. When you are having a cold, try not to take any unrelated supplements. Avoid to expose to the same thing everyday is the key to prevent allergy from happening.

How can I control allergies and change my immune system back to normal?

Where is the allergy information stored? The information is probable stored in the local lymphatic cells and may not be in the DNA form because it can be acquired later in life. Based on the theory of energy medicine, allergy information may be stored in an energy form and can be controlled or erased through energetic techniques. NAET is the original allergy desensitization technique, which is a meridian stimulation therapy while the patient is holding allergen information. There are many variations of this technique. Please read the Immune System Reprogramming for details.

What about asthma, sinusitis and frequent ear infection?

Allergy is one of the major causes for these conditions. The normal pattern for sinus and ear infection is that they always start with the nose and sinus blockage. The drainage duct is blocked by swollen tissue, which results in fluid retention inside the cavity. If the symptoms are not better in a period of time, bacteria may grow and infection follows. The initial inflammation that causes swollen tissue is often caused by allergies, food indigestion and/or virus infections. The use of antibiotics only helps the second part of the problem but has no effect for allergies. Antibiotics are known to disturb the balance of intestinal flora and lead to more toxins in the body. Thus frequent use of antibiotics develops a vicious circle for chronic sinus and ear infection.

Chronic sinus and ear problems can also be a result of misalignment of the cervical vertebrates. Inflammation around cervical spine blocks the lymphatic drainage and triggers sinus and ear blockages.

Almost every person who has asthma, frequent sinus and ear infections, frequent colds/flu shows some intestinal issues. Clinically toxic colon is one of the major causes for these conditions. Toxic colon causes not only high inflammation, leaky gut and allergies, but also weak lymphatic and immune system. Therefore solving the root issue for above conditions has to rely on intestinal therapies. With our IBMT, after stabilizing immune function and controlling inflammation, a long-term Candida/leaky gut therapy is necessary to clean the colon and restore immune function. Meanwhile, a healthy diet is a must. A diet with low sugar, dairy and white flour helped lots of people with chronic sinus issues.

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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Eczema and Dermatitis

Eczema and other dermatitis are common conditions for the Highly Sensitive Body. The cause for this condition is high inflammation and immune responses in the body. The associated factors include toxin accumulation due to low liver and kidney detox function, Candida and Leaky Gut Syndrome, food and environmental allergies as well as malfunction of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal system. For those with chronic eczema all above factors can be involved. Addressing any one of them may not be enough to completely help the situation. A systematic and comprehensive approach such as IBMT is needed to help the body out of the chaotic stage and start the healing process.

Liver Blockage and Toxin Accumulation

Liver blockage is not a biochemical concept, because conventional medical tests usually don’t show abnormality, but a functional issue in the energy level. For most of the time, liver problem is not due to the liver itself but the over accumulation of toxins in the system. Thus helping liver alone may not be very helpful to treat eczema clinically. But liver therapy is necessary to detox the body and is one of the major parts of the program to treat this condition. Here is a list of factors involves the liver and toxin:

• Alcohol
• Virus and parasite
• Medication
• Toxins: heavy metal, pesticides, additives, chemicals etc
• Stresses such as emotional stress, anger e.g.
• Poor sleep

Candida and Leaky Gut Syndrome

Intestinal problem is the major issue for eczema and dermatitis. Most of the eczema patients have intestinal problem no matter if they have the intestinal complaints or not. Toxic colon is the major source of toxins in the body. Candida, bad bacteria and parasites produce toxins and the toxins are recycled back to the system through Leaky Gut and wear out the liver detox function. In the meantime the toxins lead to high inflammation and hypersensitive immune system and cause autoimmune response and skin damages. Fixing digestive system is the major focus in treating eczema and other dermatitis.

Food and Environmental Allergies

For many eczema cases, allergen is so obvious that the root issue can be easily missed and allergy becomes the only cause for eczema. As matter of fact, allergy is only a symptom on the surface of the condition. Many factors contribute and create a base involving toxins, autoimmune response and adrenal malfunction. Without helping the whole body balance, treating allergy alone may not have lasting result. However, allergy can be a clear trigger for the eczema. Identifying, treating and avoiding allergens help the eczema recover faster, while addressing the root issue makes the result lasting.

Common food allergens for eczema include dairy product, egg, wheat and seafood etc. Other foods make eczema worse through other pathways. For example, sugar leads to Candida outbreak; alcohol damages the liver function; spices increases inflammation level etc. Common environmental factors for eczema include household chemicals, fabrics, animal hairs and air pollutions etc. Treating allergies with Immune System Reprogramming helps calming immune system and reducing inflammation and in turn helps eczema outbreak.

Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal System

All of the chronic cases of eczema involve malfunction of the HPA system. Frequent occurring and lasting skin damage indicate the low adrenal function, which causes hypersensitive immune system and low regeneration ability of the skin, respectively. To completely help eczema, HPA system has to be addressed sooner or later. In the later stage of the IBMT, a supporting protocol specifically improving the HPA system, liver and intestinal lining is often used to make sure the eczema will not come back in the future.

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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How to Reduce Sugar for Your Children

• Be a role model: Children learn eating habits from the adults in their lives. Eat the way you would like them to eat so they can learn what a good diet is.
• Teach, talk, and explain: Explain to your kids about too much sugar can make them sick and why it is necessary to limit sugar consumption. Children as young as two years old can learn and understand what you talk about.
• Limit access: Children under a certain age only have access to food you bring into your house. Do not bring sweets home. Find alternative snacks instead.
• Promote alternatives: Buy or make your own healthy snacks with low sugar content. Prepare fruits or other alternatives in advance. Use diluted fruit juice instead of soft drinks.
• Plan ahead: Bring your own snacks along when you are going away from the house. An unexpected stop at a convenience store or fast food place always means extra sugar.
• Eliminate sugared drinks: One 12-ounce soda drink contains 9-10 teaspoons of sugar alone. Make your own soda by mixing half of 100% fruit juice with half of sparking water. It tastes as good as other soft drinks.
• Manage frequency and portions: Limit dessert to once or twice a week. Make it a special occasion instead of a routine. When eat out, order a small size dessert or share one with family members.
• Out of sight, out of mind: Limit TV time or channels that show excessive junk food commercials aimed at kids. Rent or buy videos, or pre-record your child’s favorite shows (without the ads) onto blank videotapes or DVDs.

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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What is Candida?

Candida Albicans is a fungus that causes yeast infection or Candidiasis in our body. Similar to baker’s yeast, Candida is an oval-shaped microorganism that can reproduce rapidly by budding. Almost everyone has intestinal Candida colonies. Under normal circumstances the yeast lives in harmony with us through a delicate balance of bacterial types.

How does Candida make us sick?

Candida releases powerful poisons as it multiplies, which circulate in the bloodstream causing many symptoms and disorders. Candid can produce a type of false estrogen and thyroid hormone, which leads to hormone imbalance and receptor malfunction. Candida produces an alcohol called ethanol, which grows rapidly when yeast has a food source such as high blood sugar. Too much ethanol production can cause liver detox function overloading. Acetaldehyde is another by-product of Candida. It is related to formaldehyde and causes a variety of malfunctions in the body. Candida can invade a variety of body tissues causing local inflammation. It typically attacks the mouth (thrush), vagina, gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract, prostate gland, skin and finger or toenails. It is also believed that chronic Candida overgrowth in digestive tract is the major cause for leaky gut, which could be one of the main reasons for food allergies.

What makes Candida grow?

• Faulty nutrition: over consuming refined sugar, carbohydrates, and dairy products have a positive correlation with Candida growth. Nutrition imbalance weakens our immune system and makes Candida condition worse.
• Antibiotics and food preservatives: antibiotics and food preservatives suppress growth of not only bad bacteria but also healthy bacteria, which we need to digest food and fight for Candida. Long-term or frequent intake of antibiotics leads to Candida overgrowth. Another concern is that antibiotics that are administered to animals and accumulated in animal tissue eventually end up in our body to promote Candida growth.
• Compromised immune system: poor nutrition, lack of sleep, constant stress, allergies, environmental pollution, use of certain drugs and emotional stress all weaken immune system and cause Candida overgrowth.
• Hormonal changes during pregnancy and menstruation: Female hormone plays an important role in immune function. Hormone changes during pregnancy and menstruation make women prone to Candida infections.

What are the symptoms of a Candida infection?

• Digestive system: bloating, cramps, gas, diarrhea or constipation, and food intolerance.
• Skin: eczema, hives, excessive perspiration, acne, psoriasis and nail infections.
• For women: PMS (mood swings, water retention, cramps, craving for sweets, headaches), vaginal itching and burning, vaginal discharge, recurring vaginal or bladder infections, loss of sexual desire.
• For men: prostatitis, impotence, and recurring anal itching and genital rashes.
• Endocrine system: thyroid and adrenal gland malfunction.
• Other chronic conditions: fatigue, depression, painful joints, numbness, burning and tingling, digestive disturbances, poor recall, muscle aches, abdominal pain, feeling spaced-out.

Nutritional Guideline for Candida Therapy

What Not to Eat:

• Eliminate all sugar and dairy products as much as you can: Refined sugar, maple syrup, honey, corn syrup, fructose, sucrose, lactose, white flour products, bread, pastries, pretzels, potato chips, crackers, alcoholic beverages, soda pop, sweetened fruit juice, melons, dried fruits
• Dairy products (except active culture unsweetened yogurt), cheeses, butter and cream.
• Avoid yeast or mold containing foods as much as you can: Mushrooms and all fungi, mold and yeast in any form, yeast breads, brewer’s yeast, all pickled products, fermented foods, sauerkraut, soy sauce, and cheeses
• Avoid citrus fruits, pineapples, and tomatoes
• Use occasionally: Whole grains, baked potatoes, fruits in small amounts, raw nuts and seeds, dry beans and legumes in small amounts, millet, brown rice, buckwheat and yellow cornmeal

What to Eat:

• Eggs, fish, chicken, turkey, lamb and veal which has been organically fed
• All vegetables except potatoes, corn and yams.
• Recommended fruits include apples, cherries, pears and all berries.
• Increase your fiber intake to keep intestinal flora healthy and bowel movements consistent.
• If you have food intolerance toward above recommended food, treat the intolerance the same time while treating Candida.

Leaky Gut Syndrome

Leaky gut describes a condition that the permeability of the intestinal lining is increased. The Organic Acid Urine Test (OAT) often shows the presence of many organic acids, metabolic products of intestinal yeast or bacteria, in the urine sample. The positive results of OAT suggest an over growth of the intestinal pathogens and a leakage of the intestinal toxins to the bloodstream. The toxins are further detoxified by the liver and kidney.

Leaky gut syndrome is caused by the following factors:

• Damage of the intestinal lining:
  • Over growing yeast produces digestive enzymes, destroys part of the intestinal lining and imbeds themselves inside the lining
  • Over use of antibiotics plays a major role in the yeast over growth
  • Heavy metal from vaccine and other sources damages the lymphatic system on the intestinal lining
  • Autoimmune attacks also introduce high inflammation to the intestinal track
• Body’s weakened repairing system: The body often has a compromised immune system, which consumes huge amount of energy to deal with energetic conflicts among systems and make antibodies against many allergens. Such a chaotic system has very limited ability to repair the damage.

The consequences of the leaky gut fall into the following four areas:

• Recycle of the toxins: intestine is the major source of the internal toxins in the body. Over growth of pathogens produces extra toxins, plus the regular intestinal movement is paralyzed (constipation). The recycled toxins eventually ware out the body detox organs such as liver and kidneys. The high toxic situation results in high inflammation and causes damages to not only the digestive system, but the immune and nervous system as well.
• Food allergies: undigested food leaks into blood and triggers immune response. This is the reason why food allergy always comes back if the leaky gut is not completely healed.
• Malabsorption of the nutrients: absorption of many nutrients requires active transport or binding site on the intestinal lining. The damaged membrane system does not provide enough active transport for the nutrients. Even you eat very healthy you may not get the nutrient with the leaky gut syndrome, which causes many clinical conditions such as anxiety, depression and AD(H)D.
• Poor defense: damaged intestinal lining system does not provide enough lymphatic cells to defense pathogens. Digestive system is the largest lymphatic organ. Without a healthy lymphatic system in the intestinal lining it is hard to control pathogen growth and results in a viscous cycle and creates a chaotic stage.

The treatment of leaky gut emphasizes on controlling pathogens and supporting repairing functions. Before stating leaky gut therapy, the body’s chaotic stage has to be controlled using Meridian Balance and Immune System Reprogramming. Once the body’s function returns to normal stage, a carefully monitored Candida and leaky gut program will help to heal the leaky gut (please refer to IBMT). Here is a summery:

• Meridian Balance to re-achieve body’s functions and reduce inflammation
• Pathogen control including Candida and parasite therapies. Re-achieve intestinal functions
• Regeneration of the intestinal lining using homeopathic and herbal remedies. Regeneration of adrenal function and overall body’s healing ability

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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A Holistic Aspect of Autism Spectrum Disorder

When a child is born, the overall infrastructure of the brain is done, but the detailed wiring and insulation of the nervous system has not been fully developed. It may take as long as ten years to complete the detailed connection between neurons. During this period of time, any factors that suppress neurological development will cause the child to miss the window of development and lead to neurological damage, such as developmental delay and autism.

The Physiological Base of Autism

Neurotoxin and the associated inflammation and hypoperfusion (lack of circulation) caused by autoimmune response are the major factors suppressing or slowing down neurological development. Heavy metal especially mercury has been suggested to have affinity to nervous system and bind receptors of neuron. Mercury may be used in some vaccines with old preparation method. After vaccinations are done, immune system is under high stress to make antibodies. If a child has already suffered from allergies and compromised immune system, vaccination may not successfully stimulate the right antibody but produce more problems in the immune function. In the meantime, neurotoxin leads to immune response to nerve tissue and suppress neurological development.

Autoimmune response is the key factor causing neuro-inflammation and hypoperfusion of the brain. Most of the autistic children have sensitive immune system, which is a malfunction of the immune system that prefers the TH2 response and over-produces antibodies. Large amount of antibody cross-responds to internal organ and in turn causes inflammation. Please read the Allergy and Sensitivity for details.

Any factors increase toxin and immune response in the body make autistic symptoms worse. Those factors include food intolerance, environmental allergies, emotional blockages, structural imbalance and vaccination etc. By treating these factors as well as detoxifying the body we are able to lift the suppression of neurological development and let the child to catch up the development and repair the damage. The therapy has to be done as early as we can (at 3 year-old is better than at 12 year-old) to leave enough time in the developmental window for the repair in the future.

Digestive problem plays an important role in autistic conditions because digestive system believes to be the biggest toxin source in the body. When toxins such as mercury passes through intestines it binds lymphatic cells and causes damages and results in the overgrowth of pathogens such as Candida. Pathogen overgrowth further damages the intestinal lining and result in “leaky gut”, through which intestinal toxins and partially digested food particles leak back into the body causing toxin accumulation and food allergies. It is suggested that leaky gut is the major cause of the toxins in the body as well as the cause for food allergies and intolerance. By solving digestive problems for autistic children, we are able to control clinical symptoms much faster and reduce the inflammatory pressure to the nerve system as well.

Therapies for Autism

Neurotoxin, autoimmune response and digestive problem are the three major directions for any autism therapies. Biomedical approach focuses on detoxification and solving digestive issues. Our holistic therapy for autism, IBMT, is a comprehensive program complementary to the biomedical approach. IBMT for autism has the following characteristics:

• Balance the body with homeopathy and meridian testing to improve body’s function to detox and regenerate. The energetic nature of the program makes it different from other biomedical based therapies
• Address autoimmune response and allergies with the Immune System Reprogramming. This technique is designed to efficiently resolve the initial chaotic stage of the immune system
• Help emotional blockages of autistic children. Emotions can be a major factor to contribute to everyday behavior changes of autistic children. Addressing emotional issues help the parents manage their autistic child much easier
• Provide time frame for the therapies. The three stage of healing is unique feature for this program
• Provide specific treatment plan for each child by using electrodermal testing. No one takes the same remedies
• Other characteristics include non-invasive and no pain testing, home tapping procedure that most children love, liquid homeopathic remedies that easy to take

This program includes two arms. In one arm meridian balancing approach provides energy balance to the body, helps detoxification and digestive system, manages emotion and provides support and regeneration to the system. In the second arm, Immune System Reprogramming helps the immune system recover from the chaotic stage of malfunction. In the later stage of the program, to further help autistic conditions by improving nerve regeneration and brain development, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and other complementary therapies may be used. HBOT is an optional therapy and has been used by many clinics to treat autistic children. Further information can be found in HBOT.

Other Important Factors

Neurotoxin and neuroinflammation are always the main focus for autism. However, if the body’s detox function is impaired, neurotoxin and inflammation condition won’t get better easily unless the whole body detox issues are addressed. Here is several related conditions worth to be discussed in details:

Food Allergy and Other Sensitivities

Many autistic children show hypersensitivities. Some parents clearly notice that the child is sensitive to food and environmental factors and the sensitivity makes their autistic behavior worse. But other parents do not recognize this sensitivity issue so obviously. The reason is that the immune responses caused by allergy and sensitivities show different directions depending upon the area it attaches. If it attaches digestive, respiratory or nervous system, related symptoms follow. But if the immune response is toward detox function, energy metabolism and hormonal system or other areas that no specific symptoms are correlated, it results in overall reduction of energy production, accumulation of toxins or malfunction of the body communications. Therefore, no matter sensitivity symptoms show up or not, immune response and sensitivities always play a major role in autism. Without addressing sensitivities and autoimmune response, the body never reaches optimal detox function and never gets out of the chaotic stage completely. Thus, Immune System Reprogramming is not just for allergies. It helps the immune system regain its function and gives the body a fresh start to heal the damages. Please read Immune System Reprogramming for details.

Candida and Parasites

Most of the autistic children have digestive problems more or less. Weak digestive system is a result of toxic damage and pathogen overgrowth. Because of the malfunction of the immune system and frequent usage of antibiotics, Candida yeast overgrowth becomes a common problem. Symptoms include bloating, constipation or diarrhea, sugar craving, mental fog, high inflammation, sleeping problems, increased mucus production and sinus congestion etc. Candida hides inside the intestinal lining and causes damage to the mucus membrane system. This condition is called leaky gut, which believes to be the cause of many digestive problems. Parasites are also common in autistic children although it may not be easy to be detected through stool analysis. The common sign of parasites is that the child is a pick eater and tries to eat many odd things other than food. The body weight of those children is lower than normal kids because of malnutrition. They may or may not show constipation or diarrhea. Parasites and Candida often come together. But the treatment has to be carefully monitored and timing is also critical. At most of time we do not treat them together. Pathogens release extra toxins when dying out. Strong treatment plan may results in toxin overloading in the body and the child’s behavior going backwards. We usually treat Candida and parasites when whole body detox function has recovered somehow.

Leaky Gut Syndrome

Leaky gut describes a condition that there are damages on intestinal lining and the damages cause mal-absorption of nutrition and leakage of toxins to the body. Toxin damage and pathogen overgrowth are the major cause for leaky gut. The weak healing ability and low tissue regeneration also play a role here. Leaky gut can be a main cause of body’s toxin accumulation and high inflammation condition. Meanwhile, partially digested food leaks to the body and causes food intolerance and food allergies. Malabsorption of nutrients such as amino acids leads to deficiency of neurotransmitters and causes anxiety and depression. Therefore leaky gut is the center piece of the whole body puzzle to health. To treat leaky gut, not only pathogen has to be addressed, whole body healing ability, adrenal function, and tissue regeneration should also be addressed as well. Please read Leaky Gut Syndrome for details.

CF/GF diet

Casein is a protein in dairy product, while gluten is from wheat. Some people have trouble to digest them well. Partially digested casein and gluten peptides may leak into blood and behave like morphine chemicals and react to the receptors of brain tissue. The common reaction for casein and gluten is spacy, mental fog, focus and behavior issues. For autistic children, casein and gluten may cause inflammation and damage to the brain.


Autism is a multifactor disease. Casein/gluten factor may not be the only factor causing the problem. But most of the autistic children do have casein/gluten issue. Thus even you tried casein free gluten free diet and do not see good result, it’s still worth to continue the diet and adds on other therapies. Without CF/GF diet, some autistic children may not respond to other therapy very well. It believes that once leaky gut and food intolerance is fixed, CF/GF diet can be phased out gradually in the future. Children don’t need CF/GF forever. After their nervous system has developed and insulated, casein and gluten effect may not be as damaging as when they are young.

Sleep

Sleeping issue should be addressed as early as possible. Without efficient sleep the body would never detox and never recover its healing ability. Many autistic children have sleeping issues. Sometimes the parents do not realize the importance of the problem. Children under 10 years old require 10 hours of sleep or more. If a child only sleeps 7-8 hours, after a few years, the body will start to show sign of toxin and adrenal problems. To treat sleeping problem, digestion, adrenal or liver have to be addressed. Meanwhile, life style changes are necessary. Parents have to pay more attention to the child’s sleeping needs and schedule it accordingly.

Hyperactivity, Behavior and Emotions

Hyperactivity is often triggered by sugar intake but not limited to it. Some food additives such as colorings also lead to hyperactivity. Casein and gluten may cause behavior issues as well. Diet control is the number one tool to help hyperactivity and behavior related problems. Taking digestive enzymes and treating digestive system also help. The connection between digestion and behavior is not limited to food allergy, but the leaky gut and associated the neurotransmitter imbalance. Some neurotransmitter pathways such as serotonin pathway start from digestive system. Without a good digestion, neurotransmitter will never balance completely.

Emotional stress is another trigger for behavior issues. Most autistic children do not express them well. For them speaking is the most difficult tusk they have to face. Their emotional needs can not be easily met and are often ignored (unintentionally) by their parents. This results in emotional blockages in autistic children. Once emotion blocks meridians in the body, next time when they experience the same emotion, they are going to explode. Addressing emotional blockages using Energetic Emotional Therapy is an efficient way to help behavior issues. Giving flower essences or performing EFT to autistic children will make their parents’ life easier.

Dr. Harry Hong's comprehensive program specializes in the integration of a variety of natural healing therapies such as energy testing, allergy desensitization, homeopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, enzyme therapy, flower essences, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more. The Healing Light Co is committed to provide quality special care to the Highly Sensitive Person with Highly Sensitive Body. We are located at northwest suburb of Chicago area and have a Out-of-Town program as well. For more information, please visit www.highlysensitivebody.com.

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