What is biomed?

I get asked this question a lot. What is "biomed," or biomedical treatment? It is an approach most commonly associated with treating autism, but is also used to treat ADHD, asthma, allergies, and other conditions. The guiding principle is simple: "Remove what is causing harm, and add what is missing," stated by the Autism Research Institute. According to Dr. Sidney Baker, M.D., "Difficulties of children in the autism spectrum with respect to detoxification, inflammation and oxidative stress have been studied, described, presented and published, leaving no room for doubt that these three interconnected domains are crucial to understanding the origins and treatments of our children’s problems."  My daughter does not have an autism diagnosis, but some doctors actually believe ADHD is in fact a milder form of autism, and when you put her three diagnoses together, there are several similarities. In truth, it doesn't really matter WHAT the diagnoses or labels may be... what matters is where she struggles, with what she struggles, and why this may be happening. After unsuccessful attempts with and horrible reactions to conventional medications, we decided to try biomed. At first, I was a little skeptical. Really, even up until last week, I just wasn't sure about the whole thing. We cut out gluten and casein for 2 months. We saw some changes, but we just weren't sure how big the changes were, and to what we could attribute them. All it took for us was a food challenge where we  added those substances back into her diet! After about a week of gluten and dairy being back in her system, we knew we had to go back to GFCF. If just doing this has shown improvement, I'm anxious to see what the other recommendations may do! Know that biomed is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is tailor-made to each individual, based on a significant amount of testing and information that a practitioner acquires. We personally decided to go with a doctor east of our closest city who has been doing this for many years. She is a M.D. and N.D., (medical doctor and naturopathic doctor) and practices functional medicine and homeopathy. We felt most comfortable with her many years of experience, as well as the fact that she also has her conventional M.D. license. When her first recommendation was to remove gluten and casein from our daughter's diet, I have to admit, I really didn't want to do it, but knew I had to give it a try. There is an "opiate theory" and "methylation theory," both of which are widely accepted by biomedical practitioners. The following are taken from http://www.child-behavior-guide.com:

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The Opiate Theory

Gluten is an elastic protein with a sticky, gluey texture that helps give wheat products the ability to bake properly. It is commonly found in wheat, rye, barley and some oats, which means most carbohydrate foods will contain gluten. It is not found in corn, rice or millet. The other ingredient, casein, is usually found in dairy products. However, it can be hidden in other foods, such as whey protein.

In America, a large percentage of the population lacks a particular enzyme called DPP4 that breaks down gluten and is also involved in the digestion of milk products. If gluten is only partially broken down it creates partial proteins, or peptides that are similar to opiates.

These opioid peptides lead to feelings of spaciness, and even intoxication for children that lack the DPP4 enzyme. The feelings and pleasure these foods cause can become addictive to children, which may explain why many children become obsessed with certain foods.

The Methylation Theory

The process of methylation helps to remove built up toxins within the body. If this process is not working properly and toxins build up in the body, it’s possible that the resulting effects lead to autism signs, symptoms of a sensory disorder or ADHD symptoms, especially if a child is exposed to the toxins lead and mercury.

If a child is having problems digesting gluten and casein, the partially digested proteins damage the process of methylation. This process is critical for maintaining proper levels of neurotransmitters – particularly dopamine, which is the neurotransmitter most often involved in ADHD.

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What is particularly fascinating to me is the lessening of my daughter's impulsivity, as well as an increase in her ability to self-regulate. She has had four evaluations at this point over the last 7 months, three of them by licensed psychologists, and at three of them, written in these evaluations, her mood was stated as "euphoric." Yes, euphoric. I'm talking... running down halls and into rooms with no regard to where she was going, jumping on furniture, climbing onto exam tables and attempting to jump off of them... you name it. Zero response to redirection, actually laughing at those who were trying to redirect her... I say this with the utmost love of my daughter and respect for those with mental illness... but essentially acting like a crazy person. It's difficult to describe unless you see it for yourself. When I see this decrease by simply removing these two substances from her diet... well, it makes me a believer.

Why is my child, and not yours, effected by gluten and casein? Why does she need biomedical treatment? There are various reasons... a genetic predisposition, perhaps, along with a "toxic overload" on her body. Toxic overload can be caused by many things combined... everything from foods we eat, vaccines that we get, chemicals we are exposed to, and the ability, or inability, of our body to detoxify these substances. There are other things such as yeast overgrowth in the gut, leaky gut, and inflammation that I am learning about as well. I talked to a wonderful momma recently who has two boys with Asperger's. She strongly believes that her boys' diagnoses are so genetically ingrained in them, as she sees so much of her husband and her father-in-law in her sons. I completely get- and respect that. I think a mother knows, don't you? See, I don't feel that way about my daughter. Her anxiety... sure. Her strong will and emotions? Absolutely. She gets all of that honestly. The other stuff... Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD... there's NONE of that in the family. The truth is, she probably didn't respond well to conventional ADHD meds because she probably (hopefully) doesn't truly have ADHD. Wouldn't that be something? Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part... and I'm sure this won't be perfect and be a magic cure-all... and I'm not expecting that. All I want is for my daughter to be able to function in a school setting, to be able to learn and grow in school and at home, to associate and play properly with her peers, for our family to have a happy and harmonious home life, and to just give my daughter... both of our children... the absolute best chances for success! THAT is why I am doing this. And let me tell you, after a week of having gluten and casein in her system, we started to see a very noticeable increase in lack of impulse-control, as well an increase in hyperactivity and that "euphoria" in certain situations that the psychologists noted.

This is one of the most informative articles on biomed that I have read. Note where it says "No parent is able to do everything on this list," nor do I plan to. We will be coming up with a plan, along with her doctor, based on prioritizing what she may need most, and what we are willing to do. Her doctor has a feeling that we are looking at a leaky gut issue as well as a deficiency in DHA... so we may be looking at continuing GFCF, continuing probiotics and DHA supplements, perhaps adding in a yeast-killer as well as some other supplements... we shall see. Nothing crazy. Simply "removing what is causing harm, and adding what is missing."