Guest guest Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 is correct that money doesn't grow on trees and it is important to THOROUGHLY investigate all potential therapies and providers to choose a team that " clicks " with your family's needs and financial possibilities. That, however, for me does not make the non-mainstream choices " EXTREME " , especially when they work on the underlying medical conditions and don't just treat the symptoms. IF we had opted to do traditional speech intervention at two 45-minute sessions each week of speech therapy for 12 months = $5184 (we tried it for a while but the treatment was not giving a bang for the buck so to speak because these sessions did not touch the sensory integration issues, the inattentiveness due to limited diet and the apraxia neurological issues). WHEREAS one year of combined DAN! and Neurological Organization Therapy can cost on average around $4500 a year which includes: - Transportation to the 4 annual visits and lodging for the overnight stay for 2 of the visits which are 2 full 8-hr day visits - All major medical lab tests - 2 hours of phone consultation (broken out over 4 update calls per year at half-way points between in-person visits) - 40 hours of in-person neurological re-evaluations (broken out over 2 full re-eval visits and 2 intermediary visits per year) - Unlimited email correspondence for support as needed - Personalized nutritional and neurological organization programs re-customized as needed throughout the year based on patient's reactions and periodic neurologic re-evaluations - Our in-home program includes 3 hours a day for 6 days a week (this was our choice as a family of the time WE have to dedicate to the needed therapies) and includes the therapy areas of vestibular, proprioceptive, vision, auditory, tactile, reading/math, oral defensiveness (plus vitamin-mineral-omega-dietary therapies). All of these together bring us better coordination, writing abilities, speech abilities, listening abilities, decreased sensory overstimulation, expressive communication abilities enhanced, distinguished neurological primative reflexes that should have disappeared around 12 months of age but lingered due to neurological insults. Our DAN!/NDT did not " change our ProEFA " on a whim. In fact, my son had been taking ProEFA for 18 months prior to finding a DAN!/Neurodevelopmental Therapist combo that worked for us. After we began healing his gut, he showed physical symptoms of an Omega 3 deficiency as his body began using up the ProEFA that we had been giving him for a long time. In fact, our DAN!/NDT advised us to add on CLO (Cod Liver Oil) because my son needed not only the extra Omega 3's but also the Vit A and Vit D. A bit further along in his treatment, we also added the second dosing of ProEFA and Vitamin E. Our DAN!/NDT is VERY knowledgeable and up-to-date in all the major treatments both in the biomedical and neurological camps - the plus is that the two camps are inter-related and we are fortunate to have a one-stop group of professionals who can evaluate, monitor and counsel us in the right holistic approach to curing the clear medical/neurological issues that my children have. All the " traditional doctors " here ALL poo-poo'd my son's malnutrition and neurological issues saying " there is nothing you can do " and " oh, but he's a beautiful child " ...including his pediatrician who supposedly is a certified specialist in nutrition! They now ask with great curiosity what our DAN!/NDT has discovered about the kids on their latest visits and what we are doing that is bringing such obvious improvements. DAN! " practioners " are varied in their background but all of us who have talked about our own personal DAN! experiences have always shared our advice to check the qualifications of the DAN! and to use personal references from other families - just as we all should when searching for ANY medical treatment or " traditional " therapist. Some families have even reported how they have had to change DAN!s several times. The DAN! program as of January 2008 lists ONLY DAN! medical doctors (i.e. M.D.) and Osteopaths/Naturopaths. They also offer a suggested list of questions to ask potential DAN! practioners while you are searching for one that is a good fit for you and your family. www.autism.com has a complete section on this topic (see a box near the center of the home page). Honestly any medical " professional " who attends -1- conference once in a while on his alleged specialty, I would avoid, albeit a neurodevelopmental pediatrician or surgeon or pediatrician or therapist. I certainly wouldn't see a therapist who claims to be specialized in " apraxia " if that specialization came from attending -1- workshop 5 years ago with no additional continuing education on the subject. Are there exceptions, sure - some people stay abreast of all the latest research and treatment plans and integrate them into their expanding practices. Any DAN! who hands out what seems to be a cookie cutter treatment plan preprinted in it's entirety that does not take into account your child's medical history and needs, should be dropped like a hot potato. While there is NO DAN! " protocol " per se (even they will tell you this) they are a group of professionals who are in continous contact on research and treatment plans in general - each treatment plan should be customized to the patient...there cannot be a single protocol. I think it is not a prudent idea to limit oneself to only " DAN! " treatments - even though they are ever-evolving...one should find whatever treatment works, even incorporating other biomedical avenues...like environmental medicine, expert gastrointestinal professionals, nutritionists. Just like for the other half of Apraxia treatment it is recommended to create a TEAM of speech therapists, occupational therapists, etc. knowledgeable in the problems of apraxia. As for a NACD program being domanding and not being able to keep up, that person should recontact NACD to modify the program to the time the family does have available. There is nothing more frustrating that to have program that is being the real time and resources available - I know because we were doing 2 neurological and biomed programs to accomodate each of my two children who had different needs and different programs - we still are but modified a bit because of time constraints around school. I still choose to do the home therapies with the guidance of the neurodevelopmental specialists than to shuttle the kids back and forth to therapists they would see for maybe 45 minutes once a week...that travel time and the time wasted in transition crises is better-used staying home and using that time to do producutive and truly useful excercises. There is NO professional who follows my children in our town who can deny the huge progress my children have made doing these therapies over the past 3 years - not with them, but with the DAN! and Neurodevelopmental Therapist NACD-like programs. We do take them to a private Speech Therapist once in a while to be re-evaluated and they are always pleasantly surprised at the enormous leaps our kids are making and how other children in their age group with similar issues have not made. I believe it is fundamental that PARENTS do their homework, both to choose the practioners who can provide a real service and help their child's problem(s). Not all children have obvious extra physical issues which require a skip down DAN!-lane or NACD-avenue. But for those who DO need the extra global/holistic input, thank goodness those options are available. The homework for parents also includes independently researching ALL of the various inter-related treatments and how they may or may not work based on your families' medical histories. Many, many good links have been shared on this list for that express purpose. It is important to have a professional who can think outside the box and be well-informed of all the possibilities, or at least willing to investigate with you. Even where I live, the fish oil for apraxia treatment is still considered a wack-o treatment...way out there. I know based on our experience that it can help - maybe not in the ProEFA formula for everyone but the omegas are necessary (not counting that to by 1 bottle of ProEFA can cost upwards of $65 with purchase and shipping - talk about expensive therapy! I'm not joking). I would also caution parents from quoting articles from Quackwatch as a reliable information source...do a Google search to see their recent legal woes related to lack of integrity of the information being spouted there. As for food/behavior interactions........it DOES exist as a valid interaction! Here is one NEW reference plus -3- LONG archive messages on the topic that contrast the Quackwatch comments referenced by kiddietalk: Food/coloring sensitivities and behavior ARE related, including related to the partial list quoted by (kiddietalk). There was an article touted by the AAP (American Acadamy of Pediatrics) just this week on this topic (see pasted info below). > See full report at: http://www.feingold.org/aap.html > > In the article's final sentence, the editors say: > > " Thus, the overall findings of the study are > clear and require that even we skeptics, who > have long doubted parental claims of the effects > of various foods on the behavior of their children, > admit we might have been wrong. " > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ -------------- Even the famous EFA researcher Dr. ties nutrition to behavior, including omegas Here's an archive message from February 2007: There was an Autism conference held recently in the UK and sponsored by Treating Autism. One of the presenters was andra who spoke on EFAs and the also the importance of BRAIN nutrition. Although the conference was focused on autism, Ms. 's presentations are not limited to that diagnosis (see below). Below are the links to her presentations - they are in Acrobat Reader format. They are clear and informative and may be useful to help educate your pediatricians and others. :-) andra ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Dr * is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, and co-founder of the UK charity Food and Behaviour Research. She has become internationally known for her research into the effects of food and diet - and particularly omega-3 fatty acids - on behaviour, learning and mood. Her work has centred on developmental conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism, but her research interests also extend into mental health and the biology of individual differences in perception and cognition. Dr is involved in several collaborative research programmes that include studies of genetics, brain imaging, biochemistry and nutrition as well as physiological and psychological functioning. Her current studies include controlled treatment trials of omega-3 supplementation in both children and adults. http://www.fabresearch.org/view_item.aspx?item_id=473 *Presentation 1 - The Importance of Nutrition for mood, learning & behaviour <http://www.treatingautismconferences.com/Importance%20of%20Nutrition%20for%20Mo\ od,%20Learning%20 & %20Behaviour%20-%20Dr%20%20.pdf> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ -- Here is one more archive message from me that I sent in July 2007: Here's a good book that explains the relationship between what happens in the digestive tract and how that relates to behavior. You can Google the title and find where it's sold in your area...* The Second Brain: A Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders of the Stomach and Intestine (Paperback) * by Gershon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/002-1804727-7627264?%5Fencod\ ing=UTF8 & search-type=ss & index=books & field-author=%20Gershon (Author) Gershon is apparently the father of neurogastroenterology, the science behind the " brain " that resides in the digestive system. This second brain is just like the first one, being composed of the same types of cells and using the same neurotransmitters. Consequently both brains are affected by many of the same drugs and diseases, even though they operate largely independently. It's not an easy read, as Gershon is not afraid to use heavy-duty technical lingo in his detailed descriptions of experiments and theories. He also has a weird sense of humor that actually grew on me as I read the book. One of the sections is entitled " Everything has its place, especially gastric juice " . I notice that the hardcover edition of the book was advertised as a description of " the scientific basis of gut instinct. " Thankfully that's not true, nor does the book provide anything that could possibly be of interest to fans of alternative medicine. Buyers should also be aware that the book does not contain any advice about which diets or treatments might be effective for the various diseases that affect the digestive system. Instead, the book provides a very interesting description of the kinds of intellectual challenges that motivate scientists to investigate complex biological phenomena, even those that are somewhat smelly. *Important read...* Honestly, I have not been able to complete this book because I bought it for my Dad to read. The little I was able to read before I gave it away was very informative. Dr. Gershon writes clearly and concise. You don't have to be a doctor to understand his book. He starts out by explaining the inner workings of the intestines and then proceeds on with how it really does have a mind of its own. I highly recommend this book if you or someone you know has or has had an intestinal disorder. Even if that's not the case, I think this book holds a lot of important information for someone who is healthy. *A wonderful and fascinating read....* Gershon is a gifted writer and equally gifted scientist. He takes the world of the gut and explains its workings in great detail eliminating historical misunderstandings and common misperceptions along the way. thought his development of the history of the branches of the nervous system was fascinating and demonstrated some of the politics and the effects of unexamined assumptions on how scientific discoveries are interpreted. There is an extensive section on the use of various toxins to discover how the nervous system was organized and this section is developed very logically and includes a lot of interesting scientific history. Sometimes, it included more than I wanted to know, but I must say he was very comprehensive. This book is also well organized in thorough in every respect. The tour of the GI is well done and includes all the important things one would want to know. I have a very good background in biology and for me this book was a pleasant read. However, it is not always an easy read and it certainly doesn't read like a dime store novel. It is a book that is intellectually challenging, but fascinating and relatively easy to read considering the scope and depth of the topic This is not a quick fix manual for people with gastrointestinal ailments. It is more about how the gut is built and how it works. It would be useful book for someone with gastrointestinal ailments for understanding this part of the body, but the emphasis is not on disease mechanisms and treatments. If that is the only thing you are looking for, then this book may not be for you. I think we all admit tacitly at some level that the gut has some sort of special relation to the rest of the body in terms of sophisticated neurological processing. I think this is revealed by common sayings such as " I have butterflies in my stomach " or " I had a gut feeling something was wrong. " Gershon presents a plausible explanation for the sophistication of the GI tract that sheds some light on why these expressions may have entered our lexicon. If you are interested in the mind-body connection, this is also a useful book. It reopens many questions about the gut and how it interacts or works independently of the brain. It is great food for thought that reopens a lot of questions about how the body is organized and the relationship of the brain to the internal workings of the body. I'm not saying it's revolutionary, but it certainly challenges the current paradigm in some significant ways. Some interesting facts that Gershon bring up is that the vast majority of serotonin is made in the gut, not the brain. He also points out that if the vagus nerve is cut, the bowel can still go on functioning without input from the brain. He also talks about the density of neurons in the gut and how no other area of the body except the brain can match it. These facts have interesting implications and lead one to formulate some interesting questions for reflection. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ --- Here's another good archive reference also from July 2007: Dr. Natasha -McBride is a well-respected physician in the U.K. and is considered a leading expert in nutrition. I began reading her book a few months ago but haven't had time to dive back in and finish it...I find it very informative and not too technical so far. She has an autistic son but her work covers ANY gastrointestinal problems that cover ADHD, Autism, IBS, etc. You can find a video presentation by her at the following page - she is included in the second online free video on that page http://autismmedia.org/media7.html She also has several websites: http://www.medinform.co.uk/ http://www.behealthy.org.uk/home.htm http://www.dietarysupport.com/essentialdiet(art).html and has written another article the use of probiotics to help heal the gut: http://www.dietarysupport.com/probiotics(art).html and one more on the Essential Diet for Children with Autism (but again this diet can be applied to any neurological difficulty) http://www.dietarysupport.com/essentialdiet(art).html For more articles by Dr. -McBride, go to www.dietarysupport.com and look in the left-hand burgandy column under ARTICLES...all of the articles there are by her. ____________________________________________________________ FREE ONLINE PHOTOSHARING - Share your photos online with your friends and family! 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Guest guest Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Thank you so much for taking the time to post this compilation as well as your comments and experience. I found them to be very helpful to me, and right on point. I currently (or should I say, continually) remain in the considering, researching and thinking phase of this process -- the " where to go and what else (if anything) to do next " part. The resources you cite seem like great additions to my " library " of knowledge, which in my opinion, will never be considered " full. " :-) Thank you again! Gershon's book will likely be my next on-topic read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 That's the longest post that I've ever read, and worth every word. When we had our fourth child, everybody wanted to know if we would be buying a new, big house (how dare we expect children to share a room! And where will guests sleep?!) My husband responded that we decided to shop at Whole Foods instead. They think he's joking, but he's not. When you add up what is spent on typical insurance and medical expenses, DAN, NACD, all-natural food, sometimes organic food, supplements, and let's not forget really bad teeth -- ugh! You have to pick and choose every element very carefully to maximize the return on your investment. No one should ever feel like they have to do it all, because few kids need EVERY darn good thing out there. And the corollary to that is expensive does not equal best or even better. There is a lot of expensive, bad therapy/medicine available. One of the great things about this board is that there are people here who can recommend (or not) professionals and organizations as a FIRST STEP in your research process. in NJ > > is correct that money doesn't grow on trees and it is important to > THOROUGHLY investigate all potential therapies and providers to choose a > team that " clicks " with your family's needs and financial > possibilities. That, however, for me does not make the non- mainstream > choices " EXTREME " , especially when they work on the underlying medical > conditions and don't just treat the symptoms. > > IF we had opted to do traditional speech intervention at two 45- minute > sessions each week of speech therapy for 12 months = $5184 (we tried it > for a while but the treatment was not giving a bang for the buck so to > speak because these sessions did not touch the sensory integration > issues, the inattentiveness due to limited diet and the apraxia > neurological issues). > > WHEREAS one year of combined DAN! and Neurological Organization Therapy > can cost on average around $4500 a year which includes: > - Transportation to the 4 annual visits and lodging for the overnight > stay for 2 of the visits which are 2 full 8-hr day visits > - All major medical lab tests > - 2 hours of phone consultation (broken out over 4 update calls per year > at half-way points between in-person visits) > - 40 hours of in-person neurological re-evaluations (broken out over 2 > full re-eval visits and 2 intermediary visits per year) > - Unlimited email correspondence for support as needed > - Personalized nutritional and neurological organization programs > re-customized as needed throughout the year based on patient's reactions > and periodic neurologic re-evaluations > - Our in-home program includes 3 hours a day for 6 days a week (this was > our choice as a family of the time WE have to dedicate to the needed > therapies) and includes the therapy areas of vestibular, proprioceptive, > vision, auditory, tactile, reading/math, oral defensiveness (plus > vitamin-mineral-omega-dietary therapies). All of these together bring > us better coordination, writing abilities, speech abilities, listening > abilities, decreased sensory overstimulation, expressive communication > abilities enhanced, distinguished neurological primative reflexes that > should have disappeared around 12 months of age but lingered due to > neurological insults. > > > > Our DAN!/NDT did not " change our ProEFA " on a whim. In fact, my son had > been taking ProEFA for 18 months prior to finding a > DAN!/Neurodevelopmental Therapist combo that worked for us. After we > began healing his gut, he showed physical symptoms of an Omega 3 > deficiency as his body began using up the ProEFA that we had been giving > him for a long time. In fact, our DAN!/NDT advised us to add on CLO > (Cod Liver Oil) because my son needed not only the extra Omega 3's but > also the Vit A and Vit D. A bit further along in his treatment, we > also added the second dosing of ProEFA and Vitamin E. > > Our DAN!/NDT is VERY knowledgeable and up-to-date in all the major > treatments both in the biomedical and neurological camps - the plus is > that the two camps are inter-related and we are fortunate to have a > one-stop group of professionals who can evaluate, monitor and counsel us > in the right holistic approach to curing the clear medical/neurological > issues that my children have. All the " traditional doctors " here > ALL poo-poo'd my son's malnutrition and neurological issues saying > " there is nothing you can do " and " oh, but he's a beautiful > child " ...including his pediatrician who supposedly is a certified > specialist in nutrition! They now ask with great curiosity what our > DAN!/NDT has discovered about the kids on their latest visits and what > we are doing that is bringing such obvious improvements. > > DAN! " practioners " are varied in their background but all of us who have > talked about our own personal DAN! experiences have always shared our > advice to check the qualifications of the DAN! and to use personal > references from other families - just as we all should when searching > for ANY medical treatment or " traditional " therapist. Some families > have even reported how they have had to change DAN!s several times. > > The DAN! program as of January 2008 lists ONLY DAN! medical doctors > (i.e. M.D.) and Osteopaths/Naturopaths. They also offer a suggested > list of questions to ask potential DAN! practioners while you are > searching for one that is a good fit for you and your family. > www.autism.com has a complete section on this topic (see a box near the > center of the home page). > > Honestly any medical " professional " who attends -1- conference once in a > while on his alleged specialty, I would avoid, albeit a > neurodevelopmental pediatrician or surgeon or pediatrician or > therapist. I certainly wouldn't see a therapist who claims to be > specialized in " apraxia " if that specialization came from attending -1- > workshop 5 years ago with no additional continuing education on the > subject. Are there exceptions, sure - some people stay abreast of all > the latest research and treatment plans and integrate them into their > expanding practices. Any DAN! who hands out what seems to be a cookie > cutter treatment plan preprinted in it's entirety that does not take > into account your child's medical history and needs, should be dropped > like a hot potato. While there is NO DAN! " protocol " per se (even they > will tell you this) they are a group of professionals who are in > continous contact on research and treatment plans in general - each > treatment plan should be customized to the patient...there cannot be a > single protocol. I think it is not a prudent idea to limit oneself to > only " DAN! " treatments - even though they are ever-evolving...one should > find whatever treatment works, even incorporating other biomedical > avenues...like environmental medicine, expert gastrointestinal > professionals, nutritionists. Just like for the other half of Apraxia > treatment it is recommended to create a TEAM of speech therapists, > occupational therapists, etc. knowledgeable in the problems of apraxia. > > As for a NACD program being domanding and not being able to keep up, > that person should recontact NACD to modify the program to the time the > family does have available. There is nothing more frustrating that to > have program that is being the real time and resources available - I > know because we were doing 2 neurological and biomed programs to > accomodate each of my two children who had different needs and different > programs - we still are but modified a bit because of time constraints > around school. I still choose to do the home therapies with the > guidance of the neurodevelopmental specialists than to shuttle the kids > back and forth to therapists they would see for maybe 45 minutes once a > week...that travel time and the time wasted in transition crises is > better-used staying home and using that time to do producutive and truly > useful excercises. There is NO professional who follows my children in > our town who can deny the huge progress my children have made doing > these therapies over the past 3 years - not with them, but with the DAN! > and Neurodevelopmental Therapist NACD-like programs. We do take them > to a private Speech Therapist once in a while to be re-evaluated and > they are always pleasantly surprised at the enormous leaps our kids are > making and how other children in their age group with similar issues > have not made. > > I believe it is fundamental that PARENTS do their homework, both to > choose the practioners who can provide a real service and help their > child's problem(s). Not all children have obvious extra physical > issues which require a skip down DAN!-lane or NACD-avenue. But for > those who DO need the extra global/holistic input, thank goodness those > options are available. The homework for parents also includes > independently researching ALL of the various inter-related treatments > and how they may or may not work based on your families' medical > histories. Many, many good links have been shared on this list for > that express purpose. It is important to have a professional who can > think outside the box and be well-informed of all the possibilities, or > at least willing to investigate with you. > > Even where I live, the fish oil for apraxia treatment is still > considered a wack-o treatment...way out there. I know based on our > experience that it can help - maybe not in the ProEFA formula for > everyone but the omegas are necessary (not counting that to by 1 bottle > of ProEFA can cost upwards of $65 with purchase and shipping - talk > about expensive therapy! I'm not joking). > > I would also caution parents from quoting articles from Quackwatch as a > reliable information source...do a Google search to see their recent > legal woes related to lack of integrity of the information being spouted > there. > > As for food/behavior interactions........it DOES exist as a valid > interaction! > > Here is one NEW reference plus -3- LONG archive messages on the topic > that contrast the Quackwatch comments referenced by kiddietalk: > > > Food/coloring sensitivities and behavior ARE related, including related > to the partial list quoted by (kiddietalk). There was an article > touted by the AAP (American Acadamy of Pediatrics) just this week on > this topic (see pasted info below). > > > See full report at: http://www.feingold.org/aap.html > > > > In the article's final sentence, the editors say: > > > > " Thus, the overall findings of the study are > > clear and require that even we skeptics, who > > have long doubted parental claims of the effects > > of various foods on the behavior of their children, > > admit we might have been wrong. " > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------- > Even the famous EFA researcher Dr. ties nutrition to behavior, including omegas > > Here's an archive message from February 2007: > > There was an Autism conference held recently in the UK and sponsored by > Treating Autism. One of the presenters was andra who > spoke on EFAs and the also the importance of BRAIN nutrition. Although > the conference was focused on autism, Ms. 's presentations are > not limited to that diagnosis (see below). Below are the links to her > presentations - they are in Acrobat Reader format. They are clear and > informative and may be useful to help educate your pediatricians and > others. :-) > > andra > -------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > *Dr * is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of > Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, and co- founder > of the UK charity Food and Behaviour Research. > > She has become internationally known for her research into the effects > of food and diet - and particularly omega-3 fatty acids - on behaviour, > learning and mood. Her work has centred on developmental conditions such > as dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder > (ADHD) and autism, but her research interests also extend into mental > health and the biology of individual differences in perception and > cognition. > > Dr is involved in several collaborative research programmes > that include studies of genetics, brain imaging, biochemistry and > nutrition as well as physiological and psychological functioning. Her > current studies include controlled treatment trials of omega-3 > supplementation in both children and adults. > > http://www.fabresearch.org/view_item.aspx?item_id=473 > > *Presentation 1 - The Importance of Nutrition for mood, learning & behaviour > <http://www.treatingautismconferences.com/Importance%20of% 20Nutrition%20for%20Mood,%20Learning%20 & %20Behaviour%20-%20Dr%20% 20.pdf> > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- > Here is one more archive message from me that I sent in July 2007: > > Here's a good book that explains the relationship between what happens > in the digestive tract and how that relates to behavior. You can Google > the title and find where it's sold in your area...* > > The Second Brain: A Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous > Disorders of the Stomach and Intestine (Paperback) * > by Gershon > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/002-1804727- 7627264?%5Fencoding=UTF8 & search-type=ss & index=books & field- author=%20Gershon > (Author) > > Gershon is apparently the father of neurogastroenterology, the > science behind the " brain " that resides in the digestive system. This > second brain is just like the first one, being composed of the same > types of cells and using the same neurotransmitters. Consequently both > brains are affected by many of the same drugs and diseases, even though > they operate largely independently. It's not an easy read, as Gershon is > not afraid to use heavy-duty technical lingo in his detailed > descriptions of experiments and theories. He also has a weird sense of > humor that actually grew on me as I read the book. One of the sections > is entitled " Everything has its place, especially gastric juice " . I > notice that the hardcover edition of the book was advertised as a > description of " the scientific basis of gut instinct. " Thankfully that's > not true, nor does the book provide anything that could possibly be of > interest to fans of alternative medicine. Buyers should also be aware > that the book does not contain any advice about which diets or > treatments might be effective for the various diseases that affect the > digestive system. Instead, the book provides a very interesting > description of the kinds of intellectual challenges that motivate > scientists to investigate complex biological phenomena, even those that > are somewhat smelly. > > *Important read...* > > Honestly, I have not been able to complete this book because I bought it > for my Dad to read. The little I was able to read before I gave it away > was very informative. Dr. Gershon writes clearly and concise. You don't > have to be a doctor to understand his book. He starts out by explaining > the inner workings of the intestines and then proceeds on with how it > really does have a mind of its own. I highly recommend this book if you > or someone you know has or has had an intestinal disorder. Even if > that's not the case, I think this book holds a lot of important > information for someone who is healthy. > > *A wonderful and fascinating read....* > > Gershon is a gifted writer and equally gifted scientist. He > takes the world of the gut and explains its workings in great detail > eliminating historical misunderstandings and common misperceptions along > the way. thought his development of the history of the branches of the > nervous system was fascinating and demonstrated some of the politics and > the effects of unexamined assumptions on how scientific discoveries are > interpreted. There is an extensive section on the use of various toxins > to discover how the nervous system was organized and this section is > developed very logically and includes a lot of interesting scientific > history. Sometimes, it included more than I wanted to know, but I must > say he was very comprehensive. This book is also well organized in > thorough in every respect. The tour of the GI is well done and includes > all the important things one would want to know. I have a very good > background in biology and for me this book was a pleasant read. However, > it is not always an easy read and it certainly doesn't read like a dime > store novel. It is a book that is intellectually challenging, but > fascinating and relatively easy to read considering the scope and depth > of the topic This is not a quick fix manual for people with > gastrointestinal ailments. It is more about how the gut is built and how > it works. It would be useful book for someone with gastrointestinal > ailments for understanding this part of the body, but the emphasis is > not on disease mechanisms and treatments. If that is the only thing you > are looking for, then this book may not be for you. I think we all admit > tacitly at some level that the gut has some sort of special relation to > the rest of the body in terms of sophisticated neurological processing. > I think this is revealed by common sayings such as " I have butterflies > in my stomach " or " I had a gut feeling something was wrong. " Gershon > presents a plausible explanation for the sophistication of the GI tract > that sheds some light on why these expressions may have entered our > lexicon. If you are interested in the mind-body connection, this is also > a useful book. It reopens many questions about the gut and how it > interacts or works independently of the brain. It is great food for > thought that reopens a lot of questions about how the body is organized > and the relationship of the brain to the internal workings of the body. > I'm not saying it's revolutionary, but it certainly challenges the > current paradigm in some significant ways. Some interesting facts that > Gershon bring up is that the vast majority of serotonin is made in the > gut, not the brain. He also points out that if the vagus nerve is cut, > the bowel can still go on functioning without input from the brain. He > also talks about the density of neurons in the gut and how no other area > of the body except the brain can match it. These facts have interesting > implications and lead one to formulate some interesting questions for > reflection. > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- > Here's another good archive reference also from July 2007: > > Dr. Natasha -McBride is a well-respected physician in the U.K. > and is considered a leading expert in nutrition. I began reading her > book a few months ago but haven't had time to dive back in and finish > it...I find it very informative and not too technical so far. She has > an autistic son but her work covers ANY gastrointestinal problems that > cover ADHD, Autism, IBS, etc. > > You can find a video presentation by her at the following page - she is > included in the second online free video on that page > http://autismmedia.org/media7.html > > She also has several websites: > http://www.medinform.co.uk/ > http://www.behealthy.org.uk/home.htm > http://www.dietarysupport.com/essentialdiet(art).html > > and has written another article the use of probiotics to help heal the gut: > http://www.dietarysupport.com/probiotics(art).html > > and one more on the Essential Diet for Children with Autism (but again > this diet can be applied to any neurological difficulty) > http://www.dietarysupport.com/essentialdiet(art).html > > For more articles by Dr. -McBride, go to www.dietarysupport.com > and look in the left-hand burgandy column under ARTICLES...all of the > articles there are by her. > > ____________________________________________________________ > FREE ONLINE PHOTOSHARING - Share your photos online with your friends and family! > Visit http://www.inbox.com/photosharing to find out more! > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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