011: Breaking Down Health Myths: Pediatric Mental Health and Nutrition, with Christina Moreira, RN, NTP
Speaker 1
[00.00.00]
There's a very big gap as far as the education that parents that they're not getting about nutrition and how
important it is when it comes to the mental health of their children. Welcome
Speaker 2
[00.00.12]
back to the Real Food Mental Health podcast. My name is Cody Cox and today's guest is Christina
moreira. And she is a nurse as well as a nutritional therapy practitioner. And our topic today is pediatric
mental health, which is a fascinating topic because I think it's a very important topic nowadays as more
and more parents and teachers and clinicians are very concerned about the mental health of our children.
So we discuss specific conditions such as ADHD, autism, depression and anxiety, and how epigenetics
might be playing a role in such symptoms. If you want to support this podcast. Go to Kofi Cody. That's
kofi.com/cody Cox. Welcome to the Real Food Mental Health podcast, where we explore the powerful
connection between mental and physical health. My name is Cody Cox, a holistic nutritional
psychotherapist, and I'm here to guide you on a journey to true wellness mind, body, and spirit. If you're
tired of quick fixes and want real solutions that address the root cause, you're in the right place. Let's get
started on your path to lasting wellness. So, Christina, you are a nurse and a nutritional therapy
practitioner. And you were telling me that you you've been focusing lately more on pediatric mental
health. What are the most common diagnoses that you're seeing right now?
Speaker 1
[00.01.59]
So just a little context. I have been working the past couple of years in pediatric mental health. I work at
a facility near where I live, and unfortunately we are seeing a lot of anxiety, depression, self-harm, um,
thoughts of suicide. And um, it's just ADHD. We do get kids that are autistic. Uh, that will be Baker
acted and it's a lot. It's a very complex, you know, ADHD. They're on medication. Sometimes they do
therapy, sometimes they don't. And, um, it's really there's a very big disconnect into nutrition and how,
you know, sleep is a factor. I get a lot of kids that tell me I don't sleep, I'm on my phone and or some kids
that are doing, um, virtual school. They'll sleep during the day, so their sleep cycle is totally off. And I
mean, it's evident, you know, we have a lot of kids that are very young, that are vaping and that can mess
with their brain chemistry. I've seen vaping as young as ten, 11 years old. Um, weed as well. You know, I
tell the kids that weed can be synthetic and laced with God knows what. I did have a girl. You know, I
did talk to her about not accepting weed from somewhere because you don't know what they're putting in
it, especially with kids. So she did say she was going to stop because one of her friends, she saw them,
like, turn blue because I believe she told me they put fentanyl in it. And I think that friend passed away,
but I don't remember at this time. Um, but something did happen to him. So there's a very big gap as far
as the education that parents are getting about that they're not getting about nutrition and how important it
is. And it's not their fault that they're that they don't know. It's that nobody's telling them this information.
And there's so many kids that are on medications. I mean, you're having, you know, seven years, seven
year olds on antidepressants, on anti-anxiety meds. They're on stimulants like Adderall, which is, you
know, a constant stimulant on the body all the time. So I can imagine the taxing for the adrenal glands.
So we have to, I think, as NPS, or if we're an NDP and a nurse or you're an NDP and a doctor, just really
bring that awareness. If we do have clients, um, and just really being nurturing to that family because
they do struggle and it's, it's painful as a nurse and NDP to see family struggle and and seeing them, oh I
don't know what else to do. Like I've done everything, you know, and they just get very frustrated with
their kids and just with their lives. And I can't do anything. Um, especially the, the families that have an
autistic child, depending on the level of autism the child has. And what I mean by that, are they verbal?
Are they nonverbal? You know, they could be 15, but mentally there are seven year olds there.
Comprehension is just not there. So that is a very um, I know it's a very delicate, sensitive subjectbecause I have seen I've cried with families in the office before. You know, the resources, they just don't
really exist in the area. And if they do, it's a long time to get help. And it's, um. It's something that you
just really, you don't want to see, but it happens a lot. And those rates of, you know, kids getting on
medications and they're better or they their meds need to be increased and. Okay, but there's so much else
we can do besides medications. Medications are not the end all be all. I do have to say that there is a time
and a place for medications. As a nurse working in a health care system for almost 20 years. I know the
good medicine has, but there's so much other things that we can do for these families. Yeah, I think it
starts with the epigenetics to where, um, it's really just about diet and lifestyle, and, and environment is
part of that as well. But these are things that we can do ourselves that we don't necessarily have to see a
doctor for or get a prescription for. And you mentioned autism. And how many kids with autism don't
have the ability to get the help that they need. And I've seen that as a therapist to where therapists
supposedly are qualified to work with autism. But I see it more as a neurological disorder rather than a
psychosocial disorder. Right. Which I might say is like depression and anxiety. Those could be a little bit
more psychosocial, but even then there's a biological component to them. Absolutely.
Speaker 2
[00.07.16]
And that's where even the autistic kids who are getting help, they're not really getting that biology
addressed. And I know especially with autism, we are seeing kind of a trend where they're moving
toward this mindset of autism is incurable. Therefore, I'm going to. I'm going to take this on as part of my
permanent identity. I'm going to be proud of it. That. And so because of that, they are saying I am autistic
rather than I have autism because they're trying to be proud of that identity. And yet at the same time, I've
also heard cases where children had autism, but then they were essentially cured of it through diet and
lifestyle or the epigenetics. Yeah. So what would you say are the most important epigenetic pieces that
help support
Speaker 1
[00.08.07]
autism? So I just want to cover real quick if anybody doesn't know what epigenetics is, it's basically our
environment, our stress lifestyle, what we're surrounded by, the way we live our lives that will pull the
trigger for illness, disease, inflammation, anything like that. So let's say if you're around toxins a lot, and
if that's where you work and you're just exposed to it constantly, you know, you may have some sort of
autoimmune illness or arthritis or something like that because those toxins are affecting internally. So it
is important to be aware of what we're doing every single day. So that ways we don't pull that trigger for,
um, for illness to occur. So how are you living your life? Um, especially when you know somebody is
trying to conceive to have a baby, but more so, like you said, things that we can do every day to control
our epigenetics is, you know, limiting screen time, going outside, getting sunlight, going to sleep at a
reasonable time, trying to get those 8 to 10 hours depending, you know, if you have kids, putting them on
a schedule, uh, taking their phones away, you can turn off their Wi-Fi, you can turn off their internet at a
certain time of day, limiting. Processed foods, limiting inflammatory oils, especially artificial colors.
Especially, you know, for those that have ADHD. Red 40 is, uh, linked to that, making sure they're
getting good water. A nutrient dense diet like we did. Talk about what is nutrient dense, nutrient dense
whole foods. You know, chicken meat, bison fish, um, good carbohydrates, sweet potatoes, organic white
rice, fruits, sprouted grains, you know, even also like the the stuff that you're cleaning with in your home.
What are you cleaning with? You know, people don't often think about that because like, oh, well, it's
just harmless. Well, it's not harmless if you're using it five times a day, like I would probably have to
keep like I clean my counters multiple times a day. So if we're spraying when you're spraying something
like Cologne, any cleaner, it's an aerosol. So those drops, you're breathing them in. I have known people
that oh my gosh, like I've gotten a headache cleaning my bathtub. I'm like, oh like, what are you using?
I'm using this Lysol Clorox cleaner. I'm like, you need to get rid of that because that is not good for the
body. There's many cleaners that can cause endocrine issues cancer, respiratory. There's many people that
will start sneezing. The same thing with body lotions, shampoos I mean it's it's everything. And and we
cannot control what happens outside of our home. Right. We we can't control what the hotel is cleaning
their, their hotel with. We can control the four walls in our home. And that's really what I try to tell.Friends, family, clients, anybody. I go, if there's one thing you know, focus what's in your home, get rid
of toxins in your home. You know, start little by little, even something as simple as replacing your plastic
containers and go to glass. Something so simple as that, you know, not drinking water from plastic
bottles. Get a stainless steel you can refill every day. So those are little things that really do go a long
way.
Speaker 2
[00.11.39]
And there are so many of these things I think a lot of people are still really skeptical about, like, it seems
like I run into all the time where people are saying, oh, well, there's nothing wrong with drinking out of
plastic or eating out of plastic. We've been using it for decades. It's fine. Look, we're we're fine. We're
not getting sick. And it's like, well, you are getting sick. You're just not connecting it to your epigenetics,
Speaker 1
[00.12.02]
right? Yeah. Look how many people look. How many people are not people. Look how many women or
couples are having a hard time conceiving nowadays. Yeah, that didn't happen when I had my. That
didn't happen 15 years ago. You didn't see that
Speaker 2
[00.12.16]
even just. Oh, we could say five years ago now is when the pandemic started, right?
Speaker 1
[00.12.23]
Yeah.
Speaker 2
[00.12.24]
So the pandemic I think really caused a lot of infertility issues. My wife and I did home births and we
were talking to our our midwife who was saying like, she's she's been a midwife for like 35 years. She's
very well experienced. But she was like, yeah, um, most pregnancies did pretty well. Before the
pandemic, it was like 1 in 5 pregnancies ended in a miscarriage. Now it's more like one in 3 or 2 and
three. Like, it's it's way more common to have a miscarriage or even just infertility in general where you
just can't get
Speaker 1
[00.13.03]
pregnant. Yep. And, you know, that is because I think of, let's say, plastics, even though you can't see
that that plastic is causing issues. If you think if you're having health issues, that's something to to look
at. You know, just it's it's just like the body. Your body is like, you know, you you I think we talked
about like the funnel in NP school where you have this like funnel of, okay, our bodies can take so much
once that it's like a volcano. Once it's topped out it's like, listen, I have done everything I can to support
you internally, but like, girl, I can't anymore. It's just going to explode with dysfunction. And it's like a
cascade. If your enter, your stomach is as functioning that can lead to endocrine. If this is this
functioning, your blood sugar, your kidneys function and so on and so forth.
Speaker 2[00.14.00]
Yeah, I think that's a good metaphor too. I forgot about that one. But our bodies do naturally detox. But
when they're overloaded with toxins they need a little bit of help. Right. And and part of that help is
reducing the exposure in the first place. You mentioned using cleaners and even scented soap scented
candles. There are so many things that people use every day that they think are harmless just because
they're culturally
Speaker 1
[00.14.27]
normal, acceptable, right, and
Speaker 2
[00.14.30]
acceptable, and even encouraged in some ways.
Speaker 1
[00.14.33]
And I'm Hispanic, so, you know, like there's a brand that's super popular. And I've heard people like I've
done some wellness expos this year. Oh my gosh. But I just love the smell of my house. And I'm like,
yeah, you know, just this is what I can do. Oh, but you know that's okay. So sometimes people are okay
with knowing that it can do this, but they would rather have their house smell good. So it's and that's
Speaker 2
[00.15.03]
where I'm like, I'm big on essential oils.
Speaker 1
[00.15.05]
I make sure they're, they're good
Speaker 2
[00.15.06]
quality pure essential oils, not just the cheap ones from the discount store.
Speaker 1
[00.15.11]
And it matters. And just like you just said, quality matters. So talk about discount store. I have a story.
My I was helping my friend, like, clean out her fridge, uh, pantry, like everything. So she goes, oh,
Christina, I've been using I got these oils as a gift, but I'm getting bad headaches. I go, let me see. And I
told her before I read the label, I go, I guarantee you it was made in China. Sure enough, the lavender oil
was made in China. And I go, we need to throw this away immediately because it's not pure, you know,
and that goes with anything. Whether I tell people, I go, when you buy a car, when you buy a dishwasher,
what is the first thing you're going to do? You're going to research, you're going to compare. Hair. Unless
Speaker 2
[00.16.01]you're desperate, you'll just buy the
Speaker 1
[00.16.02]
cheapest one. Exactly. But that doesn't happen so much. Because. Why? Dishwashers are expensive. So
when you buy a dishwasher, it's going to be a well thought out process. Or oh my gosh. My friends. I
have four friends that use brand Bosch and they loved it. They've had no issues. Okay, well we'll invest
the money. It should be the same thing with our health. There should be no excuse as to why we should
impart all ties. You know, buying good quality stuff that's going to benefit our body.
Speaker 2
[00.16.35]
Yeah. And I think even nowadays, like, the poorest people still have a smartphone and access to the
internet usually. So, so even if you, you feel like you don't have the money to really spend on high
quality supplements or working with a practitioner, you can still do research.
Speaker 1
[00.16.52]
Yeah, you can learn yourself. You can teach yourself. So like you said, we have the tools as a society, but
we're just. Stagnant and not as motivated and I would say almost lazy because now everything is so
instantaneous. We have Instacart, we have Amazon Prime, you know, we have deliveries, uh, you know,
people can come, you can go to target and pick up your groceries. So in a sense, like this whole media
thing is making us lazy and not going to get the store. And listen, I'm not against any parent or family
who's going to do Instacart, because maybe they have a very busy day and that's the way to get groceries.
Awesome. But if you can go to the store, like go to the store, get up, walk, move and look at the
pandemic, the epidemic of obesity and chronic illness. We're not moving like we should because
everything is okay. You want to work from home? Awesome. So we're not getting up. We're not
socializing. We're just not doing what we're supposed to do. Therefore, we're working against our body
instead of working instead of working for it. Yeah. And you were talking about food quality and you
mentioned artificial food colorings, red number 40 particularly. And my mind immediately went to just
that skeptical person that I described earlier. I'm hearing a lot of people who are like, oh, well, it's just
food coloring. It's just it's food dyes. It's just to make it look pretty. It doesn't do anything to the body.
There are so many little things like that, though, that are just ubiquitous in American culture and in other
countries, too. But I think it's more so America because it's just so unregulated, where, I mean, a lot of
the dyes that we use in America are actually banned in Europe. Exactly.
Speaker 2
[00.18.44]
Because in Europe they recognize that it poses a health problem.
Speaker 1
[00.18.48]
There's yeah, there's warnings.
Speaker 2
[00.18.50]
Yeah. There's a warning. So. So what have you seen in terms of like particularly red 40. How does that
affect mental health and maybe autism.Speaker 1
[00.18.59]
So I just want to spit out a little fact real quick. Since we're talking about this in Europe, they're allowed
to only use a few hundred chemicals in food. And the United States there are they're allowed to use over
10,000 chemicals in food. So for example, when they say natural flavors, I used to buy them because I'm
like, oh, it's natural. Like, what could it be? They don't they don't tell you. So like let's say it's natural
vanilla flavor. It is some chemicals that's made to taste like vanilla. So it's fake. It's manmade. It's
chemicals. Now what those flavors are, you have no idea. So I stopped buying as much natural flavors as
I can. Um, and that's just something that, again, you don't really put your mind into and you don't really
kind of connect the dots. So if you're buying Pop-Tarts in the UK, compared to the United States and the
United States, you have high fructose corn syrup, tbhq caramel color, red 40, yellow six, and blue
number one. In the UK version, you don't have any of those flavors that I mentioned to you. And you
have to wonder. Okay, well, like why, you know. And I think we need to get better at questioning. Why
are we. Why can't we have. Why is this being allowed? You know, we have to be smarter than the
manufacturer. We have to, because our kids health is at risk for that. And they are paying the price,
unfortunately. So red 40, you're saying so it has been linked to hyperactivity in children. There's no
benefit in red 40 as in so many products. Sour Patch Kids, Lucky Charms, Gatorade and Gatorade is used
every day for athletes, for student athletes, for adults. It's in yellow yogurt. It's in soft drinks, candy, cake,
cookies, fruit cups, cherry filling popsicles. Toaster pastries, cereal bars, drink mixes. So you wonder you
if if red 40 is in all this food. Right. That's accessible in vending machines and water vending machines.
They're in schools, elementary schools. They're in middle schools. They're in high schools. And if kids
can buy whatever they want and they're drinking this, and now you have all these kids with ADHD, you
have to wonder, where is this coming from? It's coming. It's coming from the food industry, right? Yeah.
And as you were describing how they've banned so many chemicals and ingredients in other countries,
Europe especially, I was thinking, I think we only allow so much in America because we are a capitalistic
society. And there are these big corporations lobbying to the government and saying we need to be able
to use these things,
Speaker 2
[00.22.13]
or if they're not doing that, they're at least defending. And like if the government says, oh, maybe we
should ban red 40, they're going to come after the government and say, no, we need to still have red 40
because this, this and this, which is usually financially related. Right.
Speaker 1
[00.22.28]
It's all it's all it's all money related. And I did a a food seminar in October. So I did this whole
presentation on how to grocery shop and what to stay away from. And my big thing was, is that these
companies spend millions, if not billions of dollars in their advertising. They're very smart. They know
what they're doing. And who do companies market towards?
Speaker 2
[00.22.57]
Children? Mostly
Speaker 1
[00.22.58]
kids. Exactly. They'll put Bluey on there. Those little squishy marshmallows that I've seen, they'll put
anything on. That's why the colours are so pretty and they're so attractive because oh my gosh, I want tobuy this. And in Publix you'll see the cereals. Buy one, get one. And cereal is expensive. I don't buy if if I
buy cereal for my family, it's either the Cascadian Farm cinnamon toast or the lovebird. That's what we'll
buy at the house. But a box of Lucky Charms is like 7 or $8. It's expensive. Is it
Speaker 2
[00.23.36]
really? It's been so many years since I bought cereal. I don't even know.
Speaker 1
[00.23.40]
I was walking down the aisle, like, curious. And I want it. And I saw the price. I go, I'm like, this is
insane. I go, you could buy organic strawberries, maybe like a two pack, or at least organic blueberries
for the same amount. Like, it's literally there is nothing nutritional about cereal unless you're getting it
from a better brand. Let's say like Lovebird Lover is a wonderful small brand. Um, or like Magic Spoon
or. Now I can't remember any other brands right now. Um, but there's nothing. You're there. The kids are
literally being fed sugar. And that's how you're starting the day. That's how most kids start their day.
Speaker 2
[00.24.19]
Yeah, and even if it's not sugar, I think people don't realize if it's an unsweetened cereal, it's still
processed grains. And so it's still processed in the body as pure glucose. So it's basically sugar even if
they don't add
Speaker 1
[00.24.33]
sugar. Right. Exactly. Yeah. And they're sprayed with glyphosate you know those grains. And that's no
bueno because that's a very um. Bad pesticide that's been linked to a lot of health issues as well. So it's
the brand. There's an oatmeal brand. The brand is one degree organic foods. So their oatmeal is sprouted
oats. Rolled oats. So on their bag it has USDA organic, um beyond celiac gluten free bio check for non
glyphosate. Glyphosate free. So those are things you want to look for when you are buying oatmeal. And
it's non-GMO vegan, kosher all that stuff. Um, and they sell this at Costco.
Speaker 2
[00.25.14]
I think if you can't find that, I would at least look for organic. And I mean, organic technically is a
marketing term, but it's also highly regulated. And that's another thing people don't seem to understand is
they say, oh, organic doesn't mean anything. It just costs more. And yeah, organic foods might still have
trace amounts of pesticides in America, but it's still a lot less because they're not applying it directly to
the plants. And so I think it's still better to go back to your volcano metaphor. You want that volcano to
be mostly empty. But if you're buying conventional cereals, it's not organic. It's got glyphosate. It's got
other things in it. You're just filling up that volcano even more. I've seen sprouted oatmeal at Costco, and
I was I was going to say the preparation of your food makes a difference too. And so, especially when it
comes to grains soaking, sprouting and fermenting, those are the best ways to prepare your grains or nuts
or beans or seeds. Because it helps to reduce the anti nutrients. It actually in some cases boosts certain
nutrients like B vitamins. Right. And just makes makes them more ultimately digestible.
Speaker 1
[00.26.26]Right. Yeah. And then you could absorb those absorb the nutrients and you're not bloated or gassy and
just feel kind of yucky in a moment. Christina and I will discuss ADHD, but real quick, I just wanted to
share with you that I've started an online group nutrition class called restart. If you feel like you need
some direction on how to get away from that lingering sugar habit from the holidays, or get on the right
track to better eating in general, this group is for you. This is an interactive group, not just a webinar. The
first one begins January 30th and it goes for five weeks. It will be limited to only ten participants and my
first group will enjoy a lower price, so sign up as soon as possible. For more information, go to
Beavercreek Wellness Restart.
Speaker 2
[00.27.11]
So how about ADHD? In my mind as a therapist? Autism and ADHD are pretty closely related because
they're both neurological disorders, but they just manifest in different ways. It seems like ADHD is way
more common. I'm seeing that in adults and children in a clinical setting, but are you kind of seeing that
same trend in your work too?
Speaker 1
[00.27.34]
Oh yes. So much of it.
Speaker 2
[00.27.35]
What would you do differently for ADHD compared to what you would do for autism? Well, if I was
working as an NP with a client, remember, because I still work for a health care system, so I can't really
do much there. But listen, um, I would definitely if I had a kid with ADHD, I would have them fill out
the paperwork. I definitely would want to see what they are doing. I would want to see also like what
their sleep is like, what their diets like, um, kind of just get like a more holistic picture. And what I mean
by a holistic looking as that child as a whole, not just behavior. And also, you know, seeing what the
parents are doing as well. Um, you know, are you letting them be on the tablet? Are they stimulated all
the time? How are they starting their day? You know, are there rules in place for them? And obviously, if
they're on medications, you know, looking up those medications, if there's any nutrient deficiencies that
those medications can cost and just really helping to navigate that family, um, into a way even, you
know, recommending good quality essential oils if it's warranted and getting them definitely on a
supplement for cellular health. I would probably do the same thing with an autistic child, because we
don't really think a lot about cellular health. Because our cells are so tiny, we think more like, oh, I'm
bloated. Let me take, you know, some probiotic or sodium butter aid. Like, oh, well, I have
inflammation. You know, let me take a fish oil. In school we're taught about, you know, how we're like
cells and then, um, tissues and organ and organ system and then the human body. So our cells are
important because our cells talk to each other, our cells, they have to work for our bodies to work. So if a
child that has autism has is most likely going to have some neurological inflammation, we need to
address that cellular health for that child. And hopefully with time that will help. And I just want to say
to, you know, a lot of times parents want a quick fix.
Speaker 1
[00.30.00]
I'm sure you probably see the same, uh, in what you do. You know, like, I just want to feel better. Like,
let me have a medication. That's really not the point of what we do, because we want that person to have
lifelong health. I don't want you to have health or your child for a month. I want this to continue that
ways this child can thrive. He doesn't need an IEP. They don't need to go to ABA therapy. They don't
need an RBT at school. They can live as normally as possible. And to understand, you know, to getting toroot cause it takes a long time. And depending how long the body has been out of. Has been in
dysfunction. It can take like 3 to 6 months or even a year or longer. So this is not something that is going
to change overnight. And I think people need to understand that.
Speaker 2
[00.31.00]
Yeah I think we're conditioned. Just you could call it culture. You could call it even government
propaganda. But we are conditioned to focus on the symptoms rather than the whole person. And as you
are talking about that, where where it's important to focus on the whole child rather than just their
behavior. I was thinking about the statistics. ADHD is far more diagnosed in boys than it is in girls, and I
think it's mostly because of that behavior thing where the girls are more likely to have the inattentive type
of ADHD. So I mean, they can still have it, right, but it often goes unnoticed because their behavior is
still calm and quiet on the outside. I think it's I think it's actually in the Bible where it talks about how the
world looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. And so, so as holistic
practitioners, we want to look on the quote unquote heart, which essentially means the whole person,
like, what is this person eating? What kind of an environment are they living in? What are their
relationships like? Because that definitely plays a role too. I feel like I have actually seen parents
inadvertently teaching ADHD or ADHD type symptoms to their children by, for example, just giving
them an iPad to shut them up.
Speaker 1
[00.32.24]
Right. Oh that is oh my gosh. That's like you see that in like every restaurant. Yeah. You know. And then
how are you teaching your kids to. Socialize or behave in a public setting. You're they're not really. It's.
It's more convenient for the parent for them to have to be quiet than actually kind of discipline their kids
and say, like, when I took my kids out. My kids are 22 months apart. I understand I have two boys. We
didn't do the iPad. I didn't give them a phone. I had they're teenagers now, but whenever I went out with
them, I said, we're not crying, we're not whining, we're not kicking, we're not screaming. I warned them
before we went out and if not, then they would, you know, get discipline, you know, verbally and get a
warning. But they have expectations. They knew how to behave. When we went out in public, you know,
nowadays it's like so it's as if parents want to make parenting as easy as possible. And what I mean by
that is just give them the phone. Just just leave it alone. Well, okay, but not okay. Because they're going
to want a phone all the time and their brain is stimulated all the time. You know, we have it's our job as
parents to correct our children. It's our responsibility because we are raising future adults. You know, like
there's so many kids that don't even know how to carry a conversation because they're on their phone all
the time and they're not interacting with anybody.
Speaker 2
[00.34.05]
And I even feel like I'm I'm that way sometimes. And I mean, I'm an adult, but I'm young enough that I
grew up mostly with screens, like I watched a lot of TV in the 90s when I was growing up. We had
internet in the 90s, but it was dial up, so I wasn't on it very much. Right. And then all of a sudden, in the
early 2000, that's when that's when people started getting DSL and just various forms of high speed
internet. And then it was, oh, when was it late 2000, maybe when the when wireless internet became
more of a thing. And that's when everybody was on it all the time. And I think there are a lot of people,
especially older generations, who are quick to assume, oh, it's the parent's fault. They're not a good
parent. But to be fair, a part of that is biological as well. So going back to the the food quality, like what
are you what are you feeding your children, which I technically you could argue is still a parenting issue,
but what are they eating that can make a huge difference on their ability to sit quietly and be patient and
and need or not need that screen to keep them
Speaker 1[00.35.18]
occupied? Yeah. And look at um, so we went to Canada for my birthday, uh, in November and you.
Hardly. We were in Toronto and you hardly saw a fast food restaurant, like. No lie. Uh, it was mostly
restaurants, smaller places to eat at. And we came back, uh, we drove through the border and we came to
Buffalo immediately. Wendy's, Taco Bell, Hortons. Uh, McDonald's, Burger King, like it was on almost
every corner. And you just didn't see that in Canada. I mean, look at the people in Europe. They walk
around a lot. And, you know, there's chick fil A here. There's I mean, there's so much junk food. It's out
of this world. And then we wonder why kids have problems. And and not and I you know, and I'm saying
this now because I learned I had my own health journey with my son. I wasn't always like this. I didn't
believe everything that I do now. Let's say 15, ten years ago. This is a learning process. So and this is not
and we're not, you know, putting anybody down. This is just a lack of education that families are not
getting. Nobody's sitting at nothing. Maybe they have a good doctor. Maybe there is a good pediatrician
that they have and somebody is doing this. But for the majority of families, they're just not. I didn't get
that. Like, I had a wonderful pediatrician. My son had eczema and I was told he was going to grow out of
it. I was getting creams and like, oh my gosh, this can cause cancer. I'm not doing this anymore. And I
finally and as a nurse, I was always one to just ask questions, advocating for my patients. I love to know
why is this happening? So I did that with my son. So a friend of mine told me about a holistic
pediatrician that came down to where I lived in Florida. Uh, so I met him. He was the first person to tell
me to avoid wheat eggs, dairy, sugar, and to stop recommended to stop, um, administering the monthly
things, uh, vaccines. So I was like, okay, I again, I didn't know that. So the more I learned about that
stuff, my lifestyle totally changed. You know, I was more vocal as a parent into the health of my
children. And I think that as parents, as anybody who values their health, it's okay to question your
physician, you know? Why? Because they don't know everything. And they're also human beings, and
they make mistakes. We all make mistakes. But it's also important because it is your health. It is your
child's health. If you don't agree with something or if you want to know why. Please ask why. It's it's
your duty. And if you don't agree with the way your physician is practicing, if it doesn't align with you,
that's okay. You can feel free to disconnect with that doctor and go find somebody else that aligns with
your beliefs that's going to support you. And most importantly, it's going to listen to you. Those are the
best practitioners that are out there.
Speaker 2
[00.38.44]
Yeah, I totally agree. And I don't even claim to know everything about that there is to know about
nutrition, mental health or these other things that we're talking about, which is why I build into my
pricing time for me to do research on your behalf, because I'm not just going to sit in front of you for ten
minutes like other practitioners and just pretend like I know all the answers. Yeah,
Speaker 1
[00.39.08]
yeah. I tell my clients to like, listen, if I don't know something, I will ask or I will research it because,
you know, we don't know everything. And that's an issue. That's a problem that physicians have. And I
think that's why people feel so bad to ask them, because they're known to know it all just because they're
a doctor. Well, I have news for you. Friends. Doctors probably get like one class of nutrition, and that's it.
They're taught to prescribe and they're taught to treat. That's what they do.
Speaker 2
[00.39.39]
My cousin went to medical school, and he said he got, like, a two hour seminar, is all. I mean, he's he's a
doctor now, but that's all the nutrition exposure that he got in all of medical school was just two hours of
a seminar. It wasn't even a class. It was just a seminar. And there are so many people out there who are
like, oh, my doctor said I should eat this, this high carb, low fat diet and it's okay to eat these processed
foods as long as it's low fat.Speaker 1
[00.40.08]
Oh, but I would really want.
Speaker 2
[00.40.11]
Yeah. I mean, really, when a doctor says that they're just speculating based off of what they've heard
from dietitians and from the government.
Speaker 1
[00.40.18]
Exactly. Not actually
Speaker 2
[00.40.19]
coming from training. Usually there are some doctors that seek out that training.
Speaker 1
[00.40.23]
Yeah, but they have to do. Yes. And if, like you said, if they do seek out the training, it's out of their
pocket. They want to do that. They're not taught to do that. And remember, you know, the the medicine
pharmaceutical industry is $1 billion industry. The health insurance is another thing. You need a
diagnosis. You need this. So let's say you're going I had somebody tell me they I think they were a nurse
practitioner. And you know, your doctor really only has maybe 15 to 20 minutes with you. So if you need
to bring up another issue like, okay, we need to cover that another time. Like. Well, now I have to make
another appointment. Probably 2 to 3 months to discuss my other thing. So it's, you know, you're going
on this hamster wheel of going back, getting questions, going back, feeling frustrated. And then let's say
you have an autoimmune disease and you're working with your rheumatologist and let's say
endocrinology and your primary. And I told one lady I go, she had an appointment for I think it was for
an endocrinologist. And she was just very frustrated with, you know, the care she was getting. I go, those
three doctors don't communicate with each other. They are not comprehensively sitting down and say,
okay, what are we going to do for Patti Sue? No, your primary is doing their own plan. Your endo is
doing their own plan. Your rheumatologist is doing their own plan. So then you're still frustrated because
none of the doctors are talking. They're confused, and you're just like, okay, I guess I'll take this and kind
of see what happens. And it's it's not. It's not comprehensive holistic care. It's very individualized and not
well thought out with the patient in mind.
Speaker 2
[00.42.19]
I think the closest you're going to get is integrative where where to me, integrative means that they are
kind of talking to each other and collaborating, where you sign a release of information to allow your
doctor to talk to your other practitioner, your therapist or nurse or whoever it may be, but they only have
like a five minute phone call. Like it's not not really that holistic or as collaborative as you might think it
Speaker 1
[00.42.46]
is. And I think what's really nice about what we're doing as NPS is that we collaborate with other people.
So like let's say, you know, I have a kid who's autistic and I know of a really good therapist that believesin nutrition, quality supplementation. So you partner together with somebody and saying, okay, how are
we going to help this person? You know, like we can work you can work together to still help that
individual. And the nice thing is, as an NPS, we do take the time, like you said, you factor in the time
when you're pricing, which as you should as anybody should because you're we're doing and we're
advocating for that person who doesn't know how to research, who doesn't know how to look up stuff. So
we are, in a sense, their voice. We are helping that person, you know, along their their health journey.
And it's just really nice to, you know, I would say I'm sure you probably feel like this, but you almost feel
like a detective, like, okay, well, now it's time to put on my detective work and see what's what's not
lining up in the body where, you know, like the one kind of. Now, she doesn't drink like any water. She,
like, literally drinks coffee all day. So that's something you know, I'm going to have to address. But just,
you know, there's so much time that's put into the work that we do as an NPS. And it's so detailed. And I
really think that is such a beautiful gift, you know, to the clients that we're serving that they trust us. And
a lot of times you did mention emotional traumas. A lot of times disease can be trauma related. When
we're holding all that stuff in and not releasing it out and depending, you know, kids who have, let's say,
been abused, whether physically, verbally, sexually, they they carry a lot of that stuff. And that also, if
they haven't had a good therapist, that can lead to anxiety, depression, self cutting from all those things
that they've dealt with. So finding a good therapist to help work through that I think is really important.
Speaker 2
[00.44.56]
Yeah, I'm glad you brought up trauma, because there definitely is that psychological piece to the mental
illness where you do need that psychological help from a therapist or another qualified practitioner. Um,
but then at the same time, you still want to address that, that epigenetic side of things to the biological,
biological side, where if a person is traumatized, they are going to resolve that trauma so much more
effectively and so much quicker. If they're eating a nutrient dense diet, they live in a clean environment,
they're drinking plenty of clean water throughout the day. And if they're sleeping well,
Speaker 1
[00.45.36]
yes, sleep, I think, is so underrated. People are like, oh yeah, I'm like, I can function on 3 to 4 hours. I'm
like, no, you can't. You think you can.
Speaker 2
[00.45.47]
Sleep is your body's way of processing is its own trauma. Um, especially in the REM cycle of sleep, the
rapid eye movement, because I do eMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and
Reprocessing. So that eye movement part is actually a key part of the trauma processing when I'm doing
eMDR. But eMDR really is just mimicking the REM cycle of sleep. So if you're sleeping well and you're
getting a lot of that REM, you're going to do really well. You might still need some therapy. Yeah, but
you're going to do so much better than if you're not sleeping
Speaker 1
[00.46.23]
very well. Right? Yeah. And even sometimes, like let's say I think it was this week. I think I got maybe
like seven hours, but it wasn't. I felt it that it wasn't good quality of sleep. So I was still kind of tired. Uh,
and I think to helping educate people to really be body aware of their mind spirit being connected with
yourself. And what I mean by that is I was telling my kids this yesterday, mind body connection is
important because you need to recognize, oh, I wish I was with this friend. And you know, she just made
me like so anxious, like she's just so negative. Okay, now that you're aware of that, do you really want to
be around somebody like that? Is it time to maybe distance yourself? Like for me, if I eat gluten, I get
like itchy, like right by my armpit line. So I know that. So I'm like, okay, if I eat this, this is what's going
to happen. I'm talking body awareness. And I don't think that we really do that as a society and asindividuals. We just kind of do stuff and just deal with it. But why should we have to deal with it? You
know what I'm saying? Like, we shouldn't have to. We should be conscious of. Okay, if this makes us
feel this way. I'm not going to do this. Or if I know it makes me feel this way. I'll deal with it. Or maybe
not. You know, do as much. The Western medical system really kind of teaches us to ignore the body,
other than when we're in pain, and we need our doctor's help and. Oh, right.
Speaker 2
[00.47.55]
I mean, I'm trying to be careful with my words. I don't want to demonize them because I do think
Western medicine has their place
Speaker 1
[00.48.01]
100%, but
Speaker 2
[00.48.03]
it is being abused in some ways in that we are not taught to be aware of our bodies. We are not taught to
respect our bodies. No at all. But I can see how this all evolved into what we have now in the United
States, because it is a very lucrative business model. And that's that's essentially what it is. It's just a
business.
Speaker 1
[00.48.26]
It's a money. It's a money model. You know, health care is on health care. Health care is sick care. They
profit 100% on people being sick. Like, oh my gosh, let's say you work in the E in the E.R.. Oh my gosh.
Well this guy, he's been back five times and he's had this his fifth heart attack. And I was, you know, and.
Are. You have to think. Why is this guy coming back? Something is happening. Nobody's telling him to
do anything to change his lifestyle. You know, there's no education on that. And I tell people, like, I think
I said earlier, Western medicine has a place in time, 1,000%. Medication and crisis is a wonderful thing,
but it's not the end all, be all. And it's not something that we should go to every day. If you're sick, if you
like. Really sick. Sepsis, broken bone hemorrhaging, trauma, a car accident. You need a blood
transfusion. Like, yes. Please go to the hospital. But your urgent care shouldn't be your primary care. And
you shouldn't be going running to the primary every time your kid has a fever. We also need to
understand that our body was designed to fight infection. That's why we have an immune system. You
know, parents I c get they get so nervous when their kids have a fever. I have not used Tylenol or Motrin
in my house for years with my kids. I use essential oils. Because those medications do things to the body
and not in a good way. I let my kids fight the fever, and obviously you want to be smart about it. You
know, the fever is what kills the virus. It's working for the body. But we're taught. I used to alternate
Tylenol, and I used to do that when they were younger. I don't do that anymore. I know better now. And
it's, you know, like I said, educating people on that, like, hey, it's okay for, like, you want you want your
body to have an immune response. That's what it was designed for, you know? So the Western medicine
is a sick health care system. It's not for your health. If it was for your health. Then insurance would cover
chiropractic. It would cover acupuncture. It would cover, um, uh, what's another, uh, charge massage,
copying things like that that supports the body.
Speaker 2
[00.50.54]I have noticed. That, like doctors are incentivized, they are financially incentivized to keep you coming
back because like, if they prescribe you a medication and you need to come back every couple months to
get that medication adjusted, they make like, I don't know what it is at this point, but I think it's like $300
for like a ten minute visit.
Speaker 1
[00.51.18]
Well, yeah. Or if you have a side effect from that medication, then you're going to get another medication
for that side effect.
Speaker 2
[00.51.24]
Right. And so they are heavily incentivized to keep you coming back rather than to help you get well.
And that's really kind of where the medical system in the US is pretty corrupt in my opinion. And I'm not
saying that it's perfect in other places, but if we could somehow get away from that big business side of
things, I think we would all be healthier.
Speaker 1
[00.51.50]
Yeah, that would be a dream. But I honestly don't think that's happened. It's gonna happen. I've been in
healthcare for a long time, and it's it's not it's not going to change. But the nice thing is about it is that we
as NPS have our own practices where we can make an impact on those that come to us for help, and then
they tell other people. So we are definitely working on making our mark. And that's a beautiful thing in
and of itself for sure.
Speaker 2
[00.52.21]
So as one last segue coming from the the Western medical model, you mentioned, kind of the work that
we do as nutritional therapy practitioners. What would you say to the skeptic after all of this who's like,
oh, well, my disease is just genetic. If something like like ADHD, where genetic or autism were genetic.
Like, how would you approach that?
Speaker 1
[00.52.47]
I would ask them, how do they know? And do you want that to continue in your genes? Do you want to
continue to pass that down? If you believe, if you believe that, because if so, then that means those
though that ADHD or autism, whatever is going to keep passing down. Would you want that for your
future generations? And if not, there's a way to stop it.
Speaker 2
[00.53.11]
That's where as therapists, even in graduate school, I went to a pretty conventional graduate school, and I
was even taught about intergenerational trauma,
Speaker 1
[00.53.20]
which like from a nutrition standpoint, you could argue that, um, just being nutritionally underprivileged
could cause intergenerational trauma. For instance, if you've got something like ADHD that might becaused by gut issues or other biological things. Yeah, you could pass that down to your children, to your
grandchildren, and that could be called intergenerational trauma. There's a psychological part of that, too.
But
Speaker 2
[00.53.52]
you can change your genetics. Right. And that's that's another thing that we're not really taught is like we
were talking about epigenetics earlier. The word genetics is in there, right? Implying implying that diet,
lifestyle and environment are affecting our genes.
Speaker 1
[00.54.09]
Your gene expression. Right. Like you said, we can we can absolutely control that. But also to if Western
medicine teaches in or ingrained in us and almost yeah, you're going to have it. How many doctors will
say yeah they're probably going to have it to. So then you believe that? Why are we believing that? And
why are we not empowering we? And the other thing, too, is that I don't think that people really take their
health in their hands. They don't understand that their health is their responsibility and nobody else's. And
there's no one else to blame but yourself. At the end of the day, and as harsh as that sounds, that's just the
honest truth. If, you know, let's say for parenting, if I just let my kids do whatever they want, then I can
let them eat whatever they want and they're bouncing off the walls. I have nobody to blame but myself
because I am allowing them to do that. Instead of saying, okay, like we're not buying that at the grocery
store. We're not. We're not doing that. I need to take responsibility for what I bring into my home,
because it either benefits my family or it doesn't. Just like friendships, just like relationships. If you are in
a toxic friendship, get out of it. Nobody's telling you to stay. You have a choice. But it's like, what are
you going to do with it? And at the same time? We know as NPS and as people have their own. We all
have our own health journey, and we can't force anybody to work with us because they need to be
mentally ready to want to make that change. And I think people slowly need to under and I think they're
understanding that nobody is responsible for their health besides them. Not their doctor, not their spouse,
not their parents. It's all you. It's all you. What are you going to do about it if you're tired of it? Had to
change.
Speaker 2
[00.56.18]
Yeah. And I mean doctors, nurses, therapists we're all health care providers, right? Yeah. But to be
honest, it is our job. I mean, we don't really have that vested of an interest in getting you. Well, as much
as you should. So, I mean, you should take that responsibility. Yeah. We're here to help you. That is our
job, to help you. But it's not ultimately up to us whether or not you get better. So you have to engage in
these healthy practices to change your epigenetics. And I was going to kind of circle back to, to the
genetic thing I did here a couple years ago, that it's like it's only like 6% of our health is actually inherited
from previous generations. The rest of it has to do with diet and lifestyle. And so there are some things
that you're just born with and you're going to have for the rest of your life, like like maybe it's cerebral
palsy or some other condition that you just, you can't heal from, just from nutrition and lifestyle.
Speaker 1
[00.57.19]
Absolutely. Yes. 100%.
Speaker 2
[00.57.21]
And so so those there are some exceptions to what we were saying. At leastSpeaker 1
[00.57.27]
with that of course. Yes, there definitely are. But you
Speaker 2
[00.57.29]
can improve your lifestyle anyway even if you have some genetic condition. Mhm. It is only that 6% and
the rest that 94% is epigenetic.
Speaker 1
[00.57.39]
Yeah. Like you may not cure, you know, your Parkinson's or Alzheimer's but you can slow it down. You
can have symptom improvement, you can have better quality of life. And you know, I'm sure you may do
the same thing, but, you know, in my client agreement with that I have for clients, I, I put in there that
your results are based on the work that you do. I help you, I help you with recommendations. I am there
by your side whenever you need me. But ultimately, your result is a part of what you put into it. And
that's really important because you are giving that. You're giving your client that power that they that
they're looking for. And then once they are disciplined and consistent, they're like, oh my gosh, like, I
really can do it. But it's up to them. You know, we're not miracle workers. You know, that's that's not our
job. Our job is to help that person guide them and help them do the work.
Speaker 2
[00.58.44]
Yeah, totally. Um, one last question I want to ask you, Christina, as we are coming up on the end of our
episode, if there were one thing, just one thing that you could change about the way people approach
health and wellness, what would it be?
Speaker 1
[00.58.59]
I would say to have an open mind. And welcome a new ideas and learn about your body and just be very
open minded to it.
Speaker 2
[00.59.13]
Also, if people wanted to find you, where can they find you?
Speaker 1
[00.59.17]
So my website is. Cheers to health.com. I have a Facebook page that's Cheers to health RDN. I have an
Instagram page that's Cheers to health R n and I also have it's like a personal page to on Instagram but I'll
share like you know some things. So that's Kristina's underscore health corner. Um, so you can find me
there. My cell phone is (386) 346-7957. If you're interested, I do a complimentary 30 minute call with
anybody, and, um. Yeah, that's where you can find me.
Speaker 2
[00.59.59]
Awesome. Thanks so much, Christina.Speaker 1
[01.00.01]
Thank you. This was fun.
Speaker 2
[01.00.04]
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you leave a review. That really helps me out. And also subscribe
to the show wherever you listen to your podcasts. Real Food Mental Health is intended for informational
and entertainment purposes only. The information presented on this podcast is not intended to replace
any medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. While I am a healthcare provider, I am not your provider.
Always seek the advice of an appropriate health care practitioner with any personal questions you may
have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it
because of something you have heard on this podcast. Reliance on information provided by this podcast
is at your own risk.