Dr.
Natasha Campbell-McBride is to be congratulated on putting together such
a well-researched and provocative book. From the over-use of antibiotics
to the promotion of breast-feeding and healthier diets, Dr.
Campbell-McBride writes with the authority of a practising doctor and
with the warmth and feeling of a mother of a child with autism. Every
parent with a child who has autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder, dyslexia or dyspraxia will find much to value in this book,
which in turn delights and shocks the reader. I warmly recommend it.
Dr Basant K Puri,
MA, PhD, MB, BChir, BSc
MathSci, MRCPsych, DipStat, MMath
Head of the Lipid Neuroscience
Group, MRI Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College, London; and
author of the books 'The Natural Way to Beat Depression'; 'Chronic Fatigue Syndrome'; and
'Natural Energy'.
Dr.
Natasha Campbell-McBride has done an excellent job of summarising the
nutritional biochemical connections with psychiatric and neurological
disorders and gastrointestinal function. She has done an admirable job
in relating specific digestive disorders in conditions such as
schizophrenia, autism, attention deficit disorder and other problems of
child development. The book is full of valuable and interesting facts
that can be used by people to optimise the health of themselves and
their children.
Dr. William Shaw,
Ph.D.
Great Plains Laboratories, Kansas, USA
Dr.
Campbell-McBride’s book provides important information and great insight
into the understanding and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders in
those with developmental disabilities and other disorders. The book
contains basic information for the beginner as well as in-depth
information for those at an advance level. Thank you Dr.
Campbell-McBride for writing this book.
Dr. Stephen M. Edelson,
Ph.D.
Center for
the Study of Autism, Oregon, USA
This book is fantastic and will become a classic. Every medic should
have one… No, every household should have one!
An invaluable resource for patients with ‘syndrome diseases’ and
so-called ‘mental health problems’. The medicine of the future already
in practice.
Martina Watts
BA(Hons) DipION MBANT,
Practising nutritionist and journalist
This book presents the case for investigating the nutritional aspects,
how the gut works and how poor gut function seriously impacts not only
physical health but also brain function, for all children with learning
and behaviour difficulties.
Countless parents seeking help from The Hyperactive Children’s Support
Group find their children benefit greatly from dietary and nutritional
interventions. Vitamin, mineral and essential fatty acid deficiencies
are all too frequently discovered.
This book offers an insight to how the digestive system affects the
brain.
Sally Bunday,
The Hyperactive Children’s Support Group
Outline of the book
'Gut and Psychology
Syndrome' (GAP syndrome or GAPS).
Natural treatment of autism, ADD, ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia,
schizophrenia and more.
We live in the midst of
an epidemic of learning disabilities and mental illness in children and
young adults in the western world. For example, let us have a look at
one of the most devastating learning disabilities in children – autism.
In the last 10 years in the UK there has been 40-fold increase in newly
diagnosed cases of autism. Ten years ago one in 10,000 children were
diagnosed autistic. Today one in 250 of all children born in this
country will become autistic. In California in the same 10 years there
has been 10-fold increase in newly diagnosed cases and the trend is
still up: it is estimated that today in California rates of autism are
increasing by 1 child every 3 hours. The rest of the States in the USA
report similar numbers.
About 10% of school children in the UK and USA are diagnosed with
ADHD/ADD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). ADHD/ADD is a
serious condition, which impairs the child’s ability to learn and
function in society. Dyslexia affects the lives of every tenth child in
this country and the same number suffers from dyspraxia. As these
children move from childhood to adulthood they are more prone to be
diagnosed with schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),
depression or other mental illness.
The book largely concentrates on treating autism in children. However,
there is an overlap in symptoms of autism, ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia
and many other seemingly unrelated conditions in clinical practice. That
is why the information in this book is not only relevant to autism, but
to ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, schizophrenia, OCD, depression and
other learning and mental problems.
The book is aimed at both parents of affected children and
professionals. It is written in a way that the most complex medical
issues are explained with a simple language, understandable by
non-medical people. However, the book is fully referenced by published
peer reviewed scientific studies for the professionals.
Autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, schizophrenia and many other learning
and mental problems are not incurable. For example, there are hundreds
of documented cases of recovery from autism, ADHD/ADD and schizophrenia
when the child was given the right treatment. However, clinical practice
shows that the earlier the treatment is started, the better the outcome
we can expect. As soon as the diagnosis is established, there is a
tremendous sense of urgency to start the treatment immediately. The
older the child is, the more difficult it becomes to pull him/her out of
autism or other mental disability. That is why there is a great need for
a book, which will explain to the parents of a newly diagnosed child,
what exactly is happening in their child’s body on a medical level and
how to treat it. This book does just that. It provides the parents with
a full understanding of their child’s condition and, based on that, a
treatment protocol.
The treatment described in this book is not drug based. It is a natural
nutritional protocol, which involves changing the child’s diet,
supplementation and life style. It is a protocol, which the author has
developed based on clinical experience in treating hundreds of children
with learning disabilities in the last 6 years. A major part of it is
appropriate diet. There is a lot of conflicting and confusing
information on this subject: gluten and casein free diet, phenol and
salycilates free diet, yeast free diet, anti-Candida diet and others.
The most commonly promoted diet in connection with autism and
schizophrenia is the gluten and casein free diet, which is unsuccessful
in helping the majority of patients. This book explains why a gluten and
casein free diet and other diets on their own are inadequate for
treating mental disabilities and what diet in particular is appropriate.
This book is the first to explain the pathophysiology behind development
of many learning disabilities and how the appropriate diet would remedy
the condition. The appropriate diet is explained in great detail
including a full array of recipes and daily menus, which will allow the
parent to implement it themselves without any help.
A great barrier for introducing any diet into a child’s life is the fact
that the majority of children with learning disabilities are extremely
“picky” eaters. It is a part of their problem to limit their diet to a
handful of foods, which only perpetuate their biochemical and
physiological abnormalities. For the majority of parents feeding time is
a nightmare and introducing any new food is out of the question, because
their child would simply refuse it. This book provides a clinically
proven step by step structured approach to introducing new foods into
the child’s menu, which allows the parents to change their child’s diet.
The nutritional programme described in this book includes detailed
explanation of what supplementation is most appropriate for treating
mental problems. There is a wealth of scientific and clinical knowledge
accumulated in this area and it is very important for the parents to
understand it. Unfortunately, many parents finish up giving their
children too many supplement in wrong proportions and combinations,
based on what they learned on the Internet or heard from other parents.
This book aims to clarify this issue and to help the parent to establish
an appropriate supplementation protocol for their child.
A matter of appropriate education for autistic children is discussed in
this book as well. There is a sea of information on this subject and it
can be very difficult for a new parent to decide on what is right for
their child. Autistic children, due to their condition fall far behind
in their development from their normal peers. In order to have any
chance to catch up these children have to have a very targeted and
intensive approach to education. This book describes what particular
education would give an autistic child the best chance to develop as
normally as possible. Practical advice and a list of professional
organisations and their contact numbers are provided for the parents in
order to establish the right education for their child. Elements of this
educational approach can also be used for helping hyperactive, dyslexic,
dyspraxic children and children with other learning problems.
This book presents much-needed information for parents of affected
children and for professionals in a very understandable and practical
way. The writing of this book was prompted by the author’s patients.
Many health practitioners and parents in Europe and the USA have been
waiting for this book as a practical guide for treating children and
young adults with learning and mental problems.
Dr.
Natasha Campbell-McBride set up The Cambridge Nutrition Clinic in 1998.
As a parent of a child diagnosed with learning disabilities, she was
acutely aware of the difficulties facing other parents like her, and she
has devoted much of her time to helping these families. She realised
that nutrition played a critical role in helping children and adults to
overcome their disabilities, and has pioneered the use of probiotics in
this field.
Her
willingness to share her knowledge has resulted in her contributing to
many publications, as well as presenting at numerous seminars and
conferences on the subjects of learning disabilities and digestive
disorders. This book captures her experience and knowledge,
incorporating her most recent work.
She
believes that the link between learning disabilities, the food and drink
that we take, and the condition of our digestive system is absolute, and
the results of her work have supported her position on this subject. In
her clinic, parents discuss all aspects of their child's condition,
confident in the knowledge that they are not only talking to a
professional but to a parent who has lived their experience. Her deep
understanding of the challenges they face, puts her advice in a class of
it's own.
Natasha Campbell-McBride holds a Degree in Medicine and Postgraduate
Degrees in both Neurology and Human Nutrition. In her clinic in
Cambridge she specialises in Nutrition for Children and Adults with
Behavioural and Learning Disabilities, and Adults with Digestive and
Immune System Disorders
