Autism Paradigm Shift- 110101

8/3/2019 Autism Paradigm Shift- 110101

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Autism Paradigm ShiftAn International Public & Media Release

Revised: January 1, 2011

The Urgent Need to Embrace Nonconforming ThoughtAnd a Return to Nutrition and the Natural Medical SciencesIn Effectively Conquering Current & Future Occurrences of

Autism Spectrum Disorders & Related Conditions

Presented by

NOHARM F OUNDATION , INC .N ATURAL O PTIONS FOR H EALING A ND R ECLAIMING M EDICINE

A Colorado Not-for-Profit Corporation 140 Rock Point Drive Durango, CO 81301Phone (970) 403-0817 Fax (970) 385-5834

www.noharmfoundation.org [email protected]

And

A ssertiveW ellness® Research Center

Shauna K. Young, PhD, CTN140 Rock Point Drive Durango, CO 81301Phone (970) 385-7577 Fax (970) 385-5834

www.assertivewellness.com [email protected]

Copyright 2011: Assertive Wellness Center, Inc. & NoHarm Foundation, Inc.



Copyright 2011: Assertive Wellness Center, Inc.1

A personal message & updates from Dr. Shauna – January 1, 2011

Hi everyone! Can you believe it? - 2011 already! Seems like I just got used to writing 2010 onmy checks…

Once again, let me thank and congratulate all of you who have had the confidence anddetermination to start with the Spectrum Balance™ Protocol Diet from home, and thanks aswell to all of our new practitioners who have now started training with us! We’re also gratefulfor the many of you families and professionals who have supplied us with reports of yourpositive results, as well as your challenges so that we can be of help.

Since we’re able to update the diet for start of the New Year, I thought it would be a goodtime to include another short message from me. Some of these thoughts are reminders aboutold subjects and some are new, so please take a minute to read this - especially those of youwho are looking at this information for the first time.

New Stuff:

We’ve just completed primary filming for our “virtual office visit” that includes in depthdiscussion of many frequently asked questions, which will be soon available on DVD. We’revery pleased with the way that this video is coming along and we know that this uniqueeducational tool is going to fill a great need in supporting the effective home-use of the SBPDiet. We’ll be updating you again just as soon as we have an expected availability date.

I would like to encourage everyone (as a New Year’s resolution perhaps) to invest in a good juicer and start juicing regularly. Juicing is an excellent way to get the fruits and veggies(especially the greens) into the kids as well as the whole family. We’re finding that the kidswho consume larger portions of their leafy green vegetables are by far doing the best with theProtocol, and these foods are far easier to consume in quantity when juicing them.

Some of you have been trying Natural Calm as a laxative, and there has been a pretty solidtrack record of negative results with it. It looks fine to us by the label, but we’ve had enoughblow-ups to advise against it. I’ve always thought it was a great product and know many whouse it with great results, but apparently it’s not a good fit with this Protocol. We do have someother suggestions if your child is having less than two BM’s daily and needs some help.

On the flip side of this, we found another product called “Bioplasma” that has been reallyhelpful for keeping the kiddos calm. They are a combination of all 12 of Schuessler’s tissuesalts and are available at many health food stores. These were suggested to us by Dr. CaryBirch, so thanks Cary!

WE SURE NEED YOUR TESTIMONIALS! Write ‘em up, email ‘em, videotape ‘em, record‘em – just please get them to us. We have a large growing interest in the Protocol right now,but no one wants to hear results from me - they want to hear them from you! In the samevein, we’d also like to compile a list of people who would be open to being interviewed bymedia (print/radio/TV type stuff). There are quite a few sources expressing interest right nowand many of them want to talk to families local to their particular media market. So if you’reinterested, please let us know about your personal story and where you live so that we cancreate that resource.




Older Stuff:

When it comes to your emails and phone calls, please be patient with us. Always rememberthat the great bulk of this work is being done by Doug and me, and there are a lot more ofyou (and more every day…yeah!), than there are of us. As always, I’m very happy to try toanswer quick questions between 9:00 & 10:00 in the morning (Mountain Time) Tuesdaythrough Friday (with “quick” being the operative word) on a “first call, first served” basis. Themore to the point your question is, the quicker that we’ll be able to get back to you.

Since so many of you have asked for more time, we have also recently made available full30-minute phone consultations to discuss all your particulars, at only a $50.00 fee. Manypeople have been extremely pleased with this service that helps get them off on the righttrack and maximize results. Just call my office at (970) 385-7577 if you’d like to schedule.

Be sure to read the entire Protocol, and not just the food lists! Despite the fact that weaddress the following two topics numerous times in the body of the written materials, they stillare a huge block of the questions asked of us. These two issues are:

1. Missing food items. Answer: If a food isn’t listed, don’t eat it! Usually missing foodssimply means that we have not yet been able to locate the nutritional information

we need in order to properly classify it to our satisfaction. There are TONS of fooditems in the diet now, so please do your best with these for now

2. Length of time in the “Phases”. Answer: Transition from only the Best Choices listto more of the Moderation list should ALWAYS be done based on behavior andNEVER just on the length of time on the Protocol. You cannot say, “I’ve been onPhase 1 for ‘X’ number of weeks, so it’s time to move to Phase 2”. Nope - whenyour child is behaving, learning and reacting the way you would like them to, thenand only then is the time to move on to the next Phase. Everyone is different.

Older, but extremely necessary stuff that needs to happen:

We certainly know that the economy isn’t great, but we can’t move forward in a big way untilwe secure the funds to do so. It would be the worst kind of shame if this Protocol, which hasdone so much for so many (for so little cost), is slowed in getting out to the rest of the world.So please find a way to give yourself, or help us fundraise. If every family that is now usingthe diet had donated even $10, we wouldn’t even have to be asking!

We hear all the time about how many of you have spent much time and tens or evenhundreds of thousands of dollars on protocols and treatments without results, only to haveour little diet here turn the trick. Doug and I live for those calls, those emails, that feedback,but folks, we really do need some funding! We put this out in a “pay-it-forward” fashion so thatyour child could start being helped before you pay anything, but if we’re to continue to grow,we certainly do need some help as well. Remember that very dollar you give to NoHarm goesdirectly to helping more kids, so please, give us a hand, okay?

As I always say, keep up the good work, keep loving your kids, and keep believing in yourselfand your ability to create change. Together we will make this happen. We will change thisparadigm of fear and surrender that surround ASD’s, and we will do it with faith, love… andsweet potatoes!

Be Well: Shauna




NOHARM F OUNDATION , INC .N ATURAL O PTIONS FOR H EALING A ND R ECLAIMING M EDICINE

140 Rock Point Drive Durango, CO 81301Phone (970) 403-0817 Fax (970) 385-5834

www.noharmfoundation.org [email protected]

MISSION STATEMENT

PLEASE HELP US PROMOTE REAL & PROVEN SOLUTIONS FOR CHILDREN & ADULTSSUFFERING WITH AUTISM, ADD, ADHD & OTHER AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

“What if in reality, one of the answers to a problem that is perceived as so complex,could be so simple that a child could do it?”

For almost ten years now I have had the pleasure of serving as General Manager of theAssertive Wellness Research Center located in Durango, Colorado, and over that time I havebeen witness to nearly miraculous reversals in the health and wellness of a great number ofindividuals with highly-varied ailments and conditions who have had the confidence to travelto the Center from every U.S. state and a number of foreign countries, solely as the result ofprivate and professional referrals.

One of the most astounding testaments to the power of natural medicine and proper nutritionthat we have experienced has centered around my sister Dr. Shauna Young’s work for morethan four years now with a multitude of children and adults who had been suffering under thesymptoms that have been clinically diagnosed as Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Asperger Syndrome and otherclosely-related learning and behavioral conditions cast under the net of Autism SpectrumDisorders (ASD’s) .

Through her intuition, clinical experience and persistence, Shauna has rediscovered a long-ago identified condition of toxicity and imbalance in the human body that appears todemonstrate a direct link in causation to a good percentage of cases of ASD’s, but even moreimportant, she has also theorized and subsequently clinically-proven time and time again thata safe, uncomplicated and inexpensive dietary and supplement protocol is capable ofproducing rapid, undeniable and apparently non-regressing reversal and/or elimination ofsymptoms in an unbelievably-high majority of the cases that she has worked with.

So right up front, here are the bullet points on what you’re probably looking for:

• Shauna’s work has proven to us that not only is there a common link to many casesand syndromes along the Autism Spectrum, but that in a large percentage of suchcases we find that the conditions and symptoms are highly and rapidly reversible

• Such effective reversals of symptoms can in many cases be achieved with no morethan implementation of uncomplicated and manageable changes in diet, and the firstnoticeable improvements can usually be measured in days and weeks as opposed tohaving to wait many months and even years




The primary goal of the NoHarm Foundation is to aggressively help in getting this highly-important message out to the general public and media with the hope that countless othermedical practitioners will be stimulated and encouraged to join Shauna in making thisinformation and help available to their clients and patients, and that the research andapplication of this productive new direction of medicine will be magnified a thousand foldworldwide.

This is highly-important subject matter and we truly hope that this material will start to supplypart of the answers that you and countless other families are searching for. Pleaseunderstand that this story has been a very difficult and a regrettably-long process in gettingout, and although certainly not all of your questions will be answered in this writing, it is ourmost sincere goal that the broad public release of this information will spark and usher in anentirely new paradigm in research and real help for countless suffering children and adults.

Our extreme preference with this writing would have been to be able to supply you with a listof trained practitioners local to you, but regrettably that resource does not yet exist. There isno doubt that the potential for maximum individual success increases greatly where one-on-one assessment and consultation with a healthcare professional is possible. However, due tothe fact that enough of Shauna’s clients have shared no more than their copies of her dietary

protocol with friends and relatives who have reported being able to achieve various levels ofundeniable success on their own, we have reached the point of confidence that a good dealof benefit can be achieved at home until greater resources become available.

We know that surely some percentage of those who decide to follow this Protocol will achieveno dramatically apparent result without individual professional assistance, but the potentialupside here definitely justifies giving it a try. There’s certainly nothing to lose, and everythingpotentially to gain.

As there is no way that Shauna’s office is able to personally and effectively answer all yourquestions by phone, email or otherwise, we hope that the information you will find here will be

able to address many of the issues and questions that she regularly hears from all around thecountry and beyond. After reading this information completely, we will do our best to help youwhere possible with your remaining questions if you will email to [email protected] or phone the Assertive Wellness Research Center in Colorado at (970) 385-7577.

If you are a physician, therapist or other healthcare practitioner and would like moreinformation about participating in this program, you may also call (970) 385-7577 Tuesdaythrough Friday (Mountain Time). Be sure to register your email with us through our website atwww.noharmfoundation.org so that we will be able to keep you posted on new developments,protocol revisions, and on upcoming seminar and training resources that will be organized atthe earliest opportunity.

We sincerely hope that you elect to join and help us in this worthy & necessary effort




DISCLOSURE & DISCLAIMER

The entire contents and information provided in this writing are intended only as a free-sharing ofknowledge resulting from private research and clinical experience, and represents only the opinions ofShauna K. Young, PhD, CTN of the Assertive Wellness Center, Inc. Neither in her capacities as aBoard Certified Traditional Naturopath nor as a Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Sciences, does Dr.Young diagnose or treat any disease or give out what is legally-deemed, “medical advice”.

It is important to understand that the Spectrum Balance™ Protocol & Diet have been created toaddress the theorized condition of abnormal and unmanageable stress being induced on the body,and the brain specifically, due to specific chemical disruptions associated with mineral imbalancesthat may result from improper nutritional choices. It is proposed by Dr. Young that by effectivelyrestoring these balances with specific corrective dietary changes, many subjects may experience andhave experienced reductions and/or elimination of some or all of the symptoms that have beenclassified under clinical labels such as PDD-NOS, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention DeficitHyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and various degrees of classic Autism. As these syndromes anddisorders have not been formally classified by any medical body or authority as “diseases”, thensuccessful instances of reduction and/or full reversals of symptoms should not be in any way referredto as “cures”.

No official clinical trials and/or double-blind tests have been conducted using this Protocol and it hasnot been endorsed by the U.S. FDA or any medical body, agency or association. This entirely newfield of study warrants significant additional research and much broader clinical application, and theauthors make no representations whatsoever that following this Protocol will provide the same level ofdesired progress for all subjects, especially when considering all the various underlying and unknownfactors that may be present in each individual case and without each subject having the ability toreceive personal consultation and assessment with Dr. Young or another trained healthcareprofessional.

This writing was not created and is not presented to be a technical paper and it was prepared most-importantly so that the material could be easily understood for education of and consideration by thegeneral public. The information contained is only provided for educational purposes and is notintended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional. Dr. Youngencourages each and every one of you to always make your own health care decisions based uponyour own desires and research, and through consultation with trained practitioners.

Dr. Young is herewith making no philosophical, cultural, religious or other such judgments about thefoods recommended or discouraged, and certainly you will need to take into account any foods thatyou or your children have known allergies or other sensitivities to. The Spectrum Balance™ DietaryProtocol is not derivative of any other dietary philosophy to Dr. Young’s knowledge and is definitelynot consistent with all requirements of classic gluten-free and/or casein-free (GF/CF) dietaryprotocols. Therefore, any child or other person who has received evidence by testing ofsensitivities/allergies to these or other dietary factors should exercise proper caution with deviationfrom any special diet that is currently producing positive and cumulative results.

These statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. No protocols,foods or products herein discussed are intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, or toreplace the need for regular medical care. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking prescription medicationor have any medical condition, consult with your physician before making significant changes in yourdiet and/or supplementation.






• Does this represent the outcome and revelations of many years and millions of dollars ofresearch in the development and production of a device, drug or even a natural supplementthat will be marketed with the intention of decisively crushing Autism? No

For the many out there who always seem to be expecting that solitary and simple answer for optimalwellness that will not require any pesky changes in your choices or priorities in life, you might be alittle frustrated to some degree with the information presented here. There is neither now, nor willthere ever be, that miraculous pill that will allow you to deny the bodies of yourself or of your children,the necessary levels of proper nutrition that will provide the infrastructure to allow your wondrousbodily systems to do their respective jobs in crucial function and synergy. In these days ofoverwhelming amounts of confusing marketing and constant misinformation and disinformation, yourpersistent and voracious self-education on these all important subjects is the only answer. Fortunatelyfor you, this particular writing will supply you with a great push along your personal journey.

At one point in the process of forwarding the research for Shauna’s current dietary Protocol, Iconsulted a Webster’s dictionary in search of various definitions of the term “Autism”. I was confusedby the vague and seemingly inappropriate definition found there: “… a state of mind characterized by daydreaming, hallucinations and disregard of external reality .” My first reaction was in wondering ifthis had been written sometime back in the 19 th Century.

The reason for this odd definition became a little more understandable when I realized that I waslooking at an older dictionary that was published in 1984, but this poignantly represented anexemplary contrast in the perception and understanding of a disorder, generally now suggested bymany to be a “disease” that has approached nearly epidemic proportions, yet only 25 years ago wasdescribed simply as a “ state of mind ”. Just what has happened to our children in a short two and ahalf decades??

I believe that really the first time that I heard, or at least acknowledged the word Autism (maybe likefor many of us), was when I saw the 1988 movie hit “Rain Man”, in which Dustin Hoffman portrayedthe real-life case of an adult man living under the diagnosis of being an “Autistic Savant”, which ofcourse is a revised term used to replace the politically incorrect and potentially-offensive previouslabel of “ Idiot Savant”. The intrigue and popularity of this film was obviously enhanced by the generalperception that one might never actually see in their lifetime such a unique person with such highly-focused obsessions and odd abilities.

Thinking back to when I was a child (not all too long ago), I don’t recall hearing anything about otherchildren who were considered to be “Autistic”. I suppose at that time there were any number of kidswho might receive more familiar labeling by today’s standards, who’s behavior at that time was simplychalked up to being overly shy, anti-social, introverted, difficult or even displays of the catch-all“mental retardation”, but still…

Now the current U.S. statistics support that 1 out of 120 children (or more) are being diagnosed withsome degree of Autism. The rates of incidence actually vary from State to State, and are dramaticallyhigher in many other countries and regions of the world. When also taking into account the number ofchildren and adults who are affected by conditions clinically labeled as PDD-NOS, ADD, ADHD, OCD,Sensory Integration Disorder, etc., the true numbers of those affected are truly staggering.

There is certainly much disagreement and debate out there as to the accuracy, categorization andscope of what is referred to as the “Autism Spectrum”. Differential diagnosis is also very subjectivedue to the fact that all these conditions and syndromes are only clinically diagnosed, and very muchup to the discretion and judgment of the individual practitioner and the philosophy and methodologyeach is trained in. After all, it’s not like there is a blood test or other objective empirical marker forAutism and related disorders and we seriously doubt that there ever will be.




Let me say right here up front, as will be restated numerous times in this overview, that in no way isShauna claiming that she has somehow divined the full or final answers to either the causes,avoidances or solutions to Autism. There is no doubt that any number of factors that are contributingto this wide range of syndromes and symptoms, and far be it from her or us to claim knowledge orrevelation of some one-size-fits-all source or remedy.

What we are saying however, is that the commonalities that she first observed nearly six years agofollowed by theorized and refined courses of dietary modification, often combined with simple andnatural supplementation, have resulted in positive and sustained symptomatic improvements thathave consistently changed the lives of many many individuals and their families in ways that arenothing short of extraordinary.

Maybe even more extraordinary to behold, is the lack of appreciation and belief in the process thatShauna has received back from the many attempts to share her findings with peer medicalcommunities and even with numerous organizations with the adopted mission statement of ridding theworld of Autism within our lifetimes. How would they like to change their focus to reversing asubstantial majority of the problem within the next few years ? Could you justify holding off onscheduling a few of your next 10-K runs, banquet dinners and conventions if you could just shift yourpreconceptions and resigned acceptance of what Autism really is, and just lend us a hand here?

On that note, this is not a message about casting around blame, alleging disingenuous intention oraction, or specifically naming names of those in the Autism communities that may be taking positionsand postures that we see as counter-productive to the greater cause. This is about bringing to all theeyes and ears open to divergent thought, what we know to be an intriguing story of our growingunderstanding of a global challenge to physical, psychological and mental health that if not broughtinto more accurate focus, will be destined to negatively affect the development, happiness and socialproductivity of millions more children and adults of our world. It is our sincere desire that bystimulating broader private and professional interest and attention to what we have been fortunateand blessed enough to accomplish over the last several years, we will be joined by countless moreresearchers and clinicians who will help further develop this science and refine the process for thebetterment of all mankind.

So in this abbreviated writing we’re going to share with you much that we have learned and theorizedabout some of the causes and reversals of Autism. With no intention to bury the lead story here, I askthat you don’t try to just jump to the actual “diet”, in order to locate Shauna’s summaries and see ifyou happen to “ agree ” - either as a medical practitioner or as a parent or other concerned individual.Instead, please allow us to first share with you a few of our thoughts about the “big picture” and a littlebackground behind Shauna’s knowledge gained from her ten years as a practicing TraditionalNaturopath so that you may better understand the road that she has followed and the genesis anddevelopment of her successful work with ASD’s.

I really want you to have a better idea who Shauna is, and who we are, before expecting you tobelieve that some crazy Naturopath from Durango, Colorado is attempting to change the face andfuture of nutritional and medical sciences. But what we are seriously talking about here, once broadlyaccepted and exponentially implemented, may be truly destined to improve on many aspects of howwe look at our priorities and responsibilities in supplying early nutrition to our children and how foodproducts are processed, labeled and consumed.

Our primary intent in this shared writing is just to challenge and shake you up a bit. To stretch yourcomfort zone and perceptions about the sources and causes of “disease” and other conditions, andespecially with regard to Autism Spectrum and related disorders. We see this as the only way thattrue help is going to brought about in short order to the current and the next generations of childrenworldwide. Endless time and dollars dumped into the black hole of genetic and pharmacologicalresearch is definitely not the exclusive answer.






practitioners. The unrealistic assumption that we all progress in the same way or move along thesame path and timeline can lead to disappointment.

Even speaking to you personally by phone will be inadequate in providing any assurance for you as tothe measure that the health goals of you or a loved one will be addressed to your satisfaction afterseeing any practitioner. No legitimate Naturopath will be able to make specific assessments or givecomplete advice without seeing you in person. The same would be true in the case of your seekingadvice from any legitimate healthcare professional, including those in the allopathic communities.Your ultimate success with such goals will be a direct function of your individual circumstances andyour desire and compliance in following any recommendations made to you.

Most of the public is completely unaware and shocked to find out that the practice of traditional naturalmedicine is under constant and mounting scrutiny and legal challenge in this country and beyond, andhas even been condemned as illegal to practice in a growing number of U.S. states. This is onereason that many people have elected to travel interstate to see us at the Assertive Wellness Center.The state of Colorado is still one of the many battlegrounds regarding the matter.

Our state legislature has historically chosen not to strictly define or license the practice of naturalmedicine, but neither has it yet elected to specifically guarantee protection of this form of healthchoice and freedom to its citizens by legal mandate, as has already been enacted in a number ofother states. Until such time as Colorado commits to a clear health freedom act, or moves the otherway in establishing some form of exclusionary and/or restrictive policy within the medical art, this statestill remains an open home to alternative medical thought and practices.

Please be aware that a conscientious Naturopath will never direct or even advise you to stopconsulting with any physician of your choice or to reduce or discontinue any medications that havebeen prescribed to you. Medications you may be currently taking were prescribed by your physicianbecause of your symptoms and/or condition by test results. If any of your symptoms are reduced overtime through alternative processes, then you must always consult with your physicians regarding anypotential changes with those medications.

Remember while reading this material, that reaching an unhealthy state-of-being doesn’t happenovernight, and unfortunately, neither does the journey back to wellness. The prime intention and dutyof Naturopaths is to provide you with added information, education and choices, consistent with yourConstitutional rights, regarding your health and wellness. After all, it’s your body, so this should beyour choice.

Natural medicine will always be capable of supplying viable and even superior options for individualsso long as misguided government regulation isn’t allowed to be put in place that will limit the choicesfor all. So in this dogmatic and restrictive medical paradigm we currently live under, we strongly feelthat it’s up to each individual and family to educate themselves on the full spectrum of availablemedical options, to be free to choose their courses of care, and to be the final judges as to theirsatisfaction with the outcome and adopted path to wellness. People need to powerfully protect theirfreedom and choice, or both will surely continue to be limited by the forces that have something togain from the absence of such options. Your informed decisions and more-healthy future is all thatreally matters to us.

We strongly feel that you must be assertive about your own wellness in order to understand andmaximize your body’s innate potential to overcome health obstacles and maintain your sustainablewellness. Educate yourself with the many available resources. If you ever feel frustration regardingthe restricted and lower-tier status that natural medicine and alternative care continue to occupy in theU.S., then try not to channel that frustration towards the many battling alternative practitioners, butinstead write, call and inform your elected officials that you wish them to preserve and protect yourmedical freedoms and choice. Only together, will the paradigm shift.




Shauna K. Young, Ph.D., CTN, CBS, OSJ

Shauna Young is the owner and Medical Director of theAssertive Wellness Research Center of Durango, CO,which first opened its doors in 2001. Since its humblebeginnings, her center has now to date had the distinctpleasure of seeing thousands of clients who have had theconfidence to travel from every U.S. State and evenseveral foreign countries based almost exclusively onreferrals from other practitioners and clients who havebeen pleased with the consultation, products and help.

Shauna completed her initial education and obtained her degree as a Naturopath under a regimentedcorrespondence curriculum through the Herbal Healer Academy, a school duly certified by theAmerican Naturopathic Medical Association. Since 2001, she has been practicing as a TraditionalNaturopath within the disciplines of her continuing education and certifications with the AmericanNaturopathic Certification Board (ANCB) and as a Certified Biofeedback Specialist (CBS) with theNatural Therapies Certification Board (NTCB).

In 2005, after four years of clinical observations and experience, Shauna began specific researchregarding her theorized negative effects of excess and stored manganese on the human neurologicaland sensory input systems and its possible symptomatic connections to Autism and otherneurological, learning and behavioral disorders in both children and adults. The unique success of thisclinical research, originally referred to as “The Popeye Protocol” and currently as the “SpectrumBalance TM Protocol”, led to her receiving speaking engagements and Distinguished Awards ofExcellence in both May of 2006 and May of 2007 from the internationally-recognized GlobalFoundation for Integrative Medicine.

Shauna holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Sciences and based on the merits of herresearch, theories and doctoral thesis on Manganism as it relates to Autism, was awarded a Doctor ofPhilosophy (Ph.D.) in Natural Sciences from the University of Natural Medicine in Santa Fe, NewMexico. In February of 2008 she was also knighted into the international Sovereign Medical Order ofthe Knights Hospitaller in recognition of the unique impact of her work with Autism and for positivelyadvancing the field of natural medicine in general. The mission of the Knights Hospitaller is to promotehigher levels of international health and to establish, equip, staff and maintain humanitarian andmedical treatment centers worldwide.

She has also been appointed to the faculty of the University of Natural Medicine in Santa Fe, NM, tothe Medical Advisory Board of the Allergy Kids Foundation (www.allergykids.com) and serves as theChief Medical Advisor for the NoHarm Foundation (www.noharmfoundation.org), a Colorado not-for-profit organization formed with the primary goal of releasing this vastly important information with theintent of ushering in a new paradigm in research and provide real help for countless affected childrenand adults. This is expected to serve as a lighting rod issue to create permanent positive change inhow the role and importance of natural medicine is perceived by the public and peer medicalcommunities.

Shauna maintains additional professional memberships and affiliations with the American Associationof Nutritional Consultants and the Coalition for Natural Health, and is a member and serves asChairperson of the Legislative & Legal Fund of the Colorado Naturopathic Medical Association. Forthe last several years she has been an international lecturer on many aspects of natural medicine, theSpectrum Balance™ Protocol, Autism Spectrum Disorders and many other health related topics. Sheis author of her first book available only in audio-book format, “ If Naturopaths Are Quacks, Then I Guess I’m a Duck ”, a both realistic and humorous look at life as a Naturopath practicing in the UnitedStates today, and she is currently working on a book for published release in 2011 that will specificallyhighlight and chronicle her research and successful work with Autism Spectrum Disorders.






very questionable as to whether this will ever be specifically proven (and admitted to), so we hope thatvaccination will always remain a choice and decision for each informed family to reach independently.

How about genetic links? With as much energy and research as is being put into addressing thisquestion, I have seen no data that evidences any more than miniscule genetic commonality for thedisorders. Might there be some level of genetic predisposition that makes one child more prone todeveloping these conditions than the next? Sure; but where the allopathic medical community seemsalways obsessed with labels and categorization for every state of disease and disorder, the job of agood Naturopath is to be less concerned about specific causation of symptoms that have beenclumped under a label, than to just look for what’s necessary to try to reduce and eliminate them.

So what do I personally and professionally suspect is the primary culprit in causing these devastatingsymptoms? Again, although there are certainly many possible contributing and complicating factors, Ibelieve that potentially a very large number of these cases may be brought on and/or exacerbated byno more than an intolerable excess of the mineral/metal manganese in the brain that hasaccumulated due to over-consumption and other exposure, combined with insufficient bio-available iron and simultaneous suppression of the normal and natural regulatory mechanisms that our bodiesuse to naturally keep such an imbalance from occurring.

We have referred to this as the “ Menefe Syndrome ”: “Mn” is the periodic symbol for manganese and“Fe”, the symbol for iron. Mn & Fe sounded out together equals “Menefe”. I know that many doctorsand researchers often take pride in naming syndromes and diseases after themselves, but I nevercared too much for naming a condition that attacks millions of children worldwide – “YoungSyndrome”, or the like. So Menefe it is…

A little general info about manganese is warranted here. Manganese is one of those trace nutrients one wouldn’t normally consider giving a lot of thought to, as our bodies usually maintain its levels inregular fashion. It is a naturally-occurring mineral that is found in many types of rock. Sometimesreferred to as the “brain mineral”, small quantities are important in the utilization of mental capacitiesand functions as well as in the formation of tendons, ligaments and in maintaining the structuralintegrity of the lining of various organs. But obviously the “brain mineral” idea caught my attention.

The first medical record of suspected problems associated with environmental overexposure tomanganese was noted in 19 th Century miners and was commonly referred to by the syndromeoriginally labeled “Manganese Madness”. This was more-accurately cases of manganese “toxicity” ascompared to what we are classifying as the Menefe Syndrome, however it was very instructive to findthat the sufferers of Manganese Madness were nearly always in a state of high to extreme sensory overload .

This condition that afflicted these manganese miners exposed to toxic dust, appeared to causesymptoms of “ emotional liability, irrationality, hallucinations and impulsivity ”. Chronic exposure led to“muscular weakness, ataxia, tremors, immobile facial expressions and extreme speech disturbances ”.These symptoms, often mistaken for Parkinson’s in adults, also sounded to me suspiciously similar toAutism in a child. Further reading revealed that other very common symptoms of manganese excesscan be speech difficulties and extreme reactions to sensory input - light, touch, smell and sound.

The neurological aspects from this overload are most likely due to the fact that the primary site ofinternal collection for manganese (described in neurological textbooks as “a neurotoxic metal”),regardless of the source of exposure , is the basal ganglia; the mass of nervous tissue buried withinthe cerebral hemispheres of the brain that is closely associated with the other nerve cell collections ofthe thalamus and hypothalamus. Since this nerve collection center is primarily responsible forcoordinating and smoothing out the movements of the body and for organizing the sensory messagesbeing sent to the cerebral cortex, it’s no wonder that the neurological symptoms can the first toappear.




Plentiful international research studies have been done for decades that well-document not only theconsequences of manganese overload in compromising brain function in animals and humans, butthat adequately describe this competitive game of musical chairs so to speak that is competitivelyplayed between manganese and iron in a crucial brain chemistry balancing act. Again, the point of thisabbreviated writing is not to overcomplicate this science for the reader, but anyone who wishes toperform a basic Internet search will locate an abundance of documentation on this subject.

Illustrated very simply, try to picture the consequences of this sensory overload in this way: Threepeople are in a room together trying to listen to me explain this concept. Unfortunately there are tentelevision sets that are all on different channels blaring away at top volume. There are also ten radiosblasting away on ten different music stations. How will these subjects react?

• Let’s say that Person 1 keeps darting from input source to input source; their attention beingcaught by a word or phrase coming from one of the TV’s or radios only to be distracted againby something else being said on another station, and so on. This very quickly becomesexasperating

• Person 2 thinks to themself, “Forget all this noise! I’m going to concentrate on this one TVscreen and see if I can figure out what’s going on”. They concentrate and concentrate – evengoing so far as to repeat the words and phrases being heard in an attempt to be able to retainany information to the exclusion of all the noise going on around them. They may even strikeout, rave or shout if someone disturbs them in their concentration

• Person 3 just can’t handle all the input! They put their hands over their ears, close their eyesand shut down. If you try to penetrate in, they strike out to protect their fragile peace from theintolerable noise and input

According to medical science, Person 1 might be considered to have ADD, Person 2 – AspergerSyndrome, and Person 3 - Autism. All of these conditions manifesting differently in various people, butin response to identical input. Think about it for a second: How do you think you would react?

Although there’s no way of knowing all the sources of this manganese that may be attributed in eachparticular case, I do now regularly see and recognize the disastrous result of these excesses and

associated sensitivities in both children and adults. Our research has revealed that beyond foodsources, we can also be exposed to manganese through such means as our water and combustionemissions. However, I believe it likely that in most cases the storing of excess manganese can bemore attributed to the lack of iron in a person’s diet and/or the lack of the bioavailability andabsorption of iron due to dietary factors and other gut-related problems, than specifically to the highconsumption of or other exposures to manganese. This is why at our Center, in addition to themanganese issues, we prefer to simultaneously address any gut and mal-absorption issues. No foodor supplement in the world will be effective if you are not absorbing the nutrients in the first place.

I have seen the suspected culprits in manganese excesses be anything from toxic exposure (in thecase of a welder), to the use of many soy baby formulas, to a low-iron diet coupled with excessivevitamin consumption. Wherever the excess comes from, it’s important that you get rid of it! The best

thing you can do for the issue for yourself and/or as a parent is to become a diligent food and productlabel reader. You will need published reference materials or at least our lists to identify generic fooditems that are relatively-high in manganese, however we have seen amazingly-high levels ofmanganese listed right on the labels of anything from baby foods and formulas, to popular breakfastcereals and many other processed foods, so pay strict attention! Our recommendation is that if thecontent for manganese is not shown on a label, then play it safe and either research it, or avoid it.

Since I am a Traditional Naturopathic Doctor, a named “diagnosis” doesn’t mean much to me. I havemore of a tendency to look at symptoms and how and why they occur, than to have a need to givesomething a name or label. In my practice, I choose to use a form of evoked potential bio-feedback to




try to detect bodily stress in response to an excess, and that’s how I originally suspected the conditionand syndrome. But quite frankly, no matter the result of any form of testing, if a person/child isexhibiting these recognizable symptoms, I’d go ahead and try the Protocol at any rate.

So instead of concentrating on any specific diagnosis, just refer under our Frequently Asked Questions section to my list of some of the most common clinical symptoms of manganese overloadand how they may relate to all kinds of diagnosis’s and syndromes. There are sometimes more thanthese listed, but anyone presenting any or many of these in particular will put me on high alert.

The issue that is constantly raised and I believe obsessed over by many in the allopathic medicalcommunity and even in Autism groups, is how to precisely identify and quantify the presence ofexcess manganese in a manner acceptable to them using standard medical testing procedures. Tothis I respectfully respond, “Who cares?!” When the above-mentioned symptoms are present, whyinitially jump to expensive and invasive testing procedures and possibly to drugs? Why not just try thedietary Protocol and see what happens? Aside from the presence of any specific allergies, I am notaware of any possible side-effects from this type of dietary modification. Although I would highlysuggest having the support of a health professional whenever possible, even parents at home canstart this program independently and just see how it goes.

We have had both children and adult clients come to us who have elsewhere had metals testing donein the forms of blood work and/or hair analysis that do not seem to evidence any “excesses” ofmanganese. The problem with this limiting assumption is at least three-fold:

1. The problem we have theorized, which has been supported with plentiful historic third partyresearch, is that the manganese sensitivity occurs most specifically within the brain chemistry ,so neither blood nor hair testing alone will necessarily reveal and/or confirm this condition

2. We are talking here about individual sensitivity to manganese, and not a syndrome that can beapplicable or susceptible to all children or adults. I often use the analogy of a person beingallergic to a food such as peanuts: As one person could eat a pound of peanuts and have no illeffects and the next person may experience a violent allergic response to a minisculeexposure, it is obvious that the response produced by the peanuts is far more important in theequation than the amount of peanuts that might be measured and quantified in one’s body

3. There is much disagreement and conflicting information in nutritional/toxicology research fieldsas to what actual levels of ingestion and retention of manganese is even considered safe above very trace amounts. We have found numerous studies internationally that have pointedto negative consequences suspected from manganese levels that are currently considered tobe within acceptable standards. We certainly hope that our work will motivate more definitiveresearch and reconsideration regarding this important matter

But as it turns out, there’s more to it than just Manganese & Iron:“The Spinach Paradox”

Spinach happens to be one of the very first foods that demonstrated to us its ability to help trigger thestabilization of excess manganese and rapid reduction of unwanted symptoms in my child clients,however the wonder-leaf also became a point of temporary frustration for us due to a subsequentrealization that at first seemed to be a potential contradiction in the logic of our already successfuldietary Protocol. We have referred to this turning point in understanding as “The Spinach Paradox”.

By the summer of 2008, we had a good deal of client cases under our belt and we were aggressivelyramping up our efforts to get the word out to the medical and Autism research communities in order toattract help in dramatically advancing and expanding the work. One complaint that we were hearingover and over from parents was that we didn’t have enough food items categorized on the diet toallow diverse enough meals for the whole family over extended periods of time.




It was true; at that time we had a fairly short listing of no more than a couple dozen foods on our two“eat” and “avoid” lists, and due to the fact that things seemed to be working so well despite our havingso little available pertinent reference information, we had been extremely conservative about addingmore foods into the mix that might create unknown or unwanted interactive consequences. Why try tofix a process that didn’t seem to be in any way broke? But still, we had to agree that we might havegreater and more consistent compliance if we were able to add greater variety to the mealpossibilities.

One day my brother Doug sat down at his computer to try to locate more foods that I might be able torecommend with confidence. Logical Internet searches involved lists of “foods that are highest in iron”,and lists of “foods that are highest in manganese”. He later described a particular day that resulted inso much confusion and frustration that he was literally afraid to bring the new data to my attention.

The concern arose when a particular search result located a list of foods that were considered to be“excellent sources of manganese ”, and he noted that near the top of the list was one of our Protocolheroes – spinach . How was it possible that spinach, one of our first assumed trigger foods that put uson our path of discovery, was considered as good a source of dietary manganese , as it was of iron ? Ithink he nearly had a heart attack. Was this revelation destined to throw our entire theory out thewindow? Were we back to square one??

However, as our ongoing research has revealed to us, the answer as to why spinach “works” withinthe Protocol is more complicated than just its ability to simultaneously provide both minerals and thenhave the iron simply “win out” over the manganese. As we started researching the overall nutrientcontent of foods more completely, it became increasingly obvious that there are other factors thathave influence on this important mineral balancing act such as certain vitamins and compoundspresent or absent in foods that tend to either enhance or inhibit iron absorption and utilization.

Our intent in this writing is not to overcomplicate our food selection and rating process for you, so justknow that the there are a number of underlying factors within the nutritional profiles of the foods takeninto consideration, and therefore we suggest adhering to our food rating system in preference to anyseeming contradictions that may result from simply searching, cross-referencing and contrasting listsof high-iron and high-manganese foods. Additional information will surely become available soon.

Spinach continues to have a net-positive effect in the whole process, however over time we havefound a number of foods that we feel are even superior for our purposes. But never the less, we willalways be thankful to spinach in serving as one of the first heroes for the kids in our program. Popeye saves the day again!

Potential Application and Effectiveness Beyond ASD Cases

I, like many practitioners who work with ASD’s, believe that less-severe symptoms associated withmany diagnosises of PDD-NOS, ADD, ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder and others are all less-pronounced expressions along the same Autism Spectrum, and therefore may share in this samedietary/nutritional imbalance that is producing various degrees of “brain fog” consequences.

As the majority of our clients seek our help for general wellness, and to a growing degree for help withASD’s, we have far less clinical experience with specific psychological issues. However, we haveseen sufficient benefit from our Protocol with both children and adult clients to suggest that the samedietary links and imbalances that we have identified (the Menefe Syndrome) may be contributingfactors in many other disorders that involve informational processing breakdowns in the brain.

So for physicians and therapists, this represents an additional consideration for trying this dietarymodification therapy with patients who are dealing with such disorders as OCD, Tourette Syndrome,Chronic Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Bi-Polar/Schizophrenia and even Alzheimer’s.




Certainly no harm will be done, and if such cases are going to positively respond to these dietarychanges, this “trigger” effect should result in some subjectively and objectively noticeableimprovements in as little as 2-4 weeks of compliance, so this will not represent a very protracted orlaborious experiment in exchange for the potential upside.

Now I know what many of you will be thinking when first reviewing the attached diet, because nearlyall the parents say the same thing: You’ll be wondering how you’ll get your kids to eat these foods,right? I mean, “Don’t all kids hate sweet potatoes and spinach”? The answer to this, as unbelievableas you may find it, is no . The children (and the adults) almost to a person have all found themselves,once exposed to it, actually craving many of the iron-rich meats, veggies and fruits suggested on thediet. One 9-year-old I was discharging from regular monitoring after a few months was very concernedthat since he was technically going off the program, whether he could still eat spinach because he“loved it so much”. His Mom assured him that he could have it anytime he wanted it; something shenever expected to say to her formerly vegetable-hating picky eater!

Trust me; most kids tend to adapt to the diet readily. And even if they don’t at first – make them stay on it! You’re the adult, and you get to make the choices. A few of the kids (like the one who only likedhamburgers and cereals) threw some major tantrums and/or went a little hungry for a couple of days,but in the end they have virtually all come around to adapting to and enjoying the diet. Honestly, thebiggest adaptation problem we have seen is with parents who are resistant at first to preparingbreakfasts for the family that involve more than just pouring something out of a box, or lunches thataren’t between two slices of bread. We truly wish that we could make the diet even easier, but unless you are prepared and able to avoid the types of foods that have helped create the problem in the first place, you cannot have the expectation of achieving real and sustained improvements.

Before putting people and especially children on lifelong courses of very serious and expensive drugswith very real potential for side-effects and/or into very expensive behavior modification programs,why not get the person on this high-iron/low-manganese Protocol and see if there is any positiveresult? The usual response time for the first significant changes to be noticed is quite rapid, and noone in this world is going to be damaged by a few weeks of this diet – in simple contrast to theprospect of starting on many prescription drugs where it often seems that potential side-effects can beas bad or worse than the targeted condition or disease itself.

One of the drawbacks to so many of the other dietary regimes I have reviewed that are designed toaid various conditions, is that they are quite difficult to maintain. They require a lot of portion control,specific shopping, very limited choice, and just forget about ever traveling or eating out! It usually alsomeans making one meal for the affected child or adult and another meal for everyone else. The diet Iam recommending will be wholesome, healthy, tasty, varied and satisfying for the whole family.

The “portion control” for this Protocol does not include anything measured in ounces, or except in thecase of specific supplements we might individually recommend, include instructions on how manytimes a day to eat something in particular or dictate any one food that you must eat. Truthfully I triedto do that at first because that type of strict regulation is far more readily-accepted by the medicalcommunity at large, but it just didn’t work as well and I’m completely results-oriented.

My standard instruction to parents is exactly this: “ Every time your child wants something to eat, just make sure whenever possible that it’s from one of our “Best Choices” columns ”. Thisincludes breakfast, lunch, dinner AND snacks. If at first they only like a few things on the lists, then letthem eat those foods – over and over. It always amuses me when I hear, “I love salmon” or “I lovespinach” out of the mouth of a child – especially one who had little or no language skills before thediet, but it just keeps happening.

So in summary, you’ll find that the basics of the Protocol are just that – very basic. As I mentionedbefore, I honestly believe that one of the barriers to acceptance by most medical doctors (or even by




the public in general) has been how simple and easy this actually is: Give the digestion system somesupport, increase bio-available iron consumption, enhance iron absorption and minimize manganeseintake. Pretty simple isn’t it? How can something as easy as balancing the iron and manganese levelsin the body erase these horrible and debilitating symptoms? Answer again: “I don’t yet have every answer, but who cares as long as it works!” This is a gift. Be grateful for it.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I know if my child is, or I am, a good candidate for this Protocol? 1. If any person is displaying associated symptoms and/or has been diagnosed anywhere along

the Autistic Spectrum (PDD-NOS, ADD, ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder, AspergerSyndrome, classic Autism, etc.) or has any form of chronic psychological or behavioral issues,then it’s worth a try.

2. If the person in question in displaying any of these particular symptoms:

A. Oversensitivity to sensory input. This is first and foremost, and I have rarely seen anyone inour program who didn’t display at least some of this. Sometimes it can be an overreaction to asingle sensory source such as light, noise or certain sounds, but it’s often from combinations

of input. This can manifest in ways such as not wanting to be around other people (especiallyin a classroom, restaurant or shopping mall), flinching, squinting or watering eyes in brightlight, intensely smelling everything from fabrics to foods (sometimes getting very offended bystrong smells), to always complaining that they are “being yelled at”. It can also induceclaustrophobia and a tendency to physically strike out at anyone who gets too close. On the“touch” end, I’ve seen kids who refuse haircuts because they can’t stand the way the little cuthairs “hurt” them, who can’t stand wearing bedclothes, or who keep tearing off their clothesbecause of the little tags in the neck of a shirt. If your child is light or sound sensitive, hatesgoing to the mall, doesn’t like to go to the movies, constantly sniffs all his/her food or hates allthe shirts with tags on them, you’re probably looking at a case of sensory overload. Although it shows up in varying degrees, this is the most common of the issues and reflects the basis of the problem.

B. “Extreme” Dreaming:Frequent, horribly frightening and very realistic Technicolor nightmares that they have difficultywaking up from are quite common. Others might just dream very frequently and in extremedetail. Children often times don’t voluntarily tell their parents about these dreams, but it willmanifest in a kid who always wants to sleep with Mom and Dad, or at the very least can’t sleepwithout a nightlight. Others tell long very-involved stories about the vivid dream they had thenight before. At least 90% of the time these affected people tell me that the worst part of thedreams are that objects, people or quite commonly “demons” or other scary beasts, are“coming at them from everywhere”, or that they are being “pounced on” or otherwise attacked.Another strange aspect of these dreams is that for some reason in many people, thesyndrome seems to invoke some of the darker areas of the subconscious resulting in dreams

that the person is actually ashamed of for even thinking.C. Impulsivity and/or “Blurting”:This can range from saying inappropriate things or acting out, all the way to violence – sometimes even extreme violence. A common statement to look for from older vocal childrenand adults is, “I know I shouldn’t be doing that, but I just can’t stop myself”, which is oftenaccompanied by tears of frustration or recriminations that they are “a bad person”. It took me along time to stop being shocked at some of the things children said to their parents or siblings,or sometimes even to me during office visits. These things range from the odd or inappropriateto incredibly sarcastic, cruel or lewd. I’ve had everything from kids who tell me how horrible




their parents are, to those who started screaming and cursing at, or even hitting, their parentwho was with them.

D. “Scenario Building”, or hearing voices in their head:So common that it is nearly universal, is this “scenario building”. It involves hearing your ownvoice (or sometimes someone else’s) in your head making up wild stories and primarily-negative fantasies. In children (especially the younger ones) this manifests most often in fearand particularly in paranoia. They very often are afraid of other children, teachers, normallyharmless animals, or of what they project someone may do to them – even their own parents!Some of the scenarios related to me by children have been absolutely chilling, and there havebeen some very shocked expressions on the faces of Moms who find out that their ownbeloved kids are afraid of them or their Fathers. It also shows up regularly as the “tall storyteller” with a child who either wildly exaggerates or just commonly lies altogether. The thing toremember is that because of the high sensory input, this “tall tale” stuff is quite often not anexaggeration in their mind, but rather exactly as they remember it happening.

E. Related Physical Symptoms and Especially Digestive Complaints:Not always, but with enough regularity to definitely mention, I see that kids who fall into thiscategory also have chronic stomach pains, diarrhea or constipation, rashes, eczema, allergiesor asthma. Presenting with these symptoms alone I would not necessarily first consider oursyndrome, but these often accompany the other more-recognizable ones.

How hard is this diet to follow? Can we still eat in restaurants? The diet is actually relatively simple: No measuring or worrying about specific portions, or searchingfor foods and ingredients you’ve never heard of, and the best part is that the diet will be healthy,nutritious and delicious for the whole family – no reason to have to make more than one meal for thewhole gang – a real plus for busy parents. Although restaurant eating can be a real wildcard , anoccasional restaurant that offers decent quality food should not present much risk.

Do I have to eat the same foods as my child? This is a very important component of the diet for many reasons, with the one at the top being that ifthe child has excess manganese, then you might as well! Next is that if everyone is eating the samemeals, then your affected child doesn’t feel that they’re being “punished” or otherwise singled out. Andprobably most importantly; if you have junk food in your house – whether it’s under your bed or on topof the fridge – trust me, your kid will find it. Set a good example for your child and eat by the diet alongwith them. Your attitude that the changes are “no big deal” will go a long way with your kid.

How do I get my picky-eater kid to eat healthier foods and go without his/her favorites? Actually, it’s probably much easier than you think. Unlike adults who are set in their ways, once youshow kids a better way to go, they generally grab onto the changed lifestyle with gusto. I have seentwo-year-olds (and older) who walk around with open bags of raw spinach eating from it like anotherkid might with a bag of potato chips. Besides, it’s not essential that you serve a large variety in orderfor this process to start working. If the child initially only seems to like a limited number of food itemson the diet, then let them eat just those for a little while. Truthfully, that hasn’t really happened as yetwith the clients who have come to see me, but that would be my general answer. Many of our mostbeneficial foods can also be blended into “smoothies” that most kids don’t have much problem with.Purees that mix meat and vegetables, or fruit and vegetables (not fruit with meat), can be veryeffective. I know some of this may sound a little far-fetched at first, but trust me - the kids usually do

just fine. It’s generally harder to change the habits of the parents than of the kids!




How long should it take to see any results? That’s hard to predict with any consistency as every case is different, although I need to reinforce thatthe people who adhere most strictly to this Protocol will always see the fastest results. As a generalrule, the younger (and smaller) the child, the quicker the parents usually see some results. In general

– let me stress that – IN GENERAL , we are commonly seeing the first significant changes beginningsomewhere within the first 10–30 days of proper compliance.

Is it normal to experience ups & downs, good & bad days and other inconsistencies while on this diet? Absolutely. As much as we would like to say that everyone sees progress in some uniform,cumulative and predictable manner, the majority of people see ups and downs that if not anticipated,may seem like setbacks or regression. The process can be very different for many due to individualsensitivities to the Menefe Syndrome and the particular severity and duration of the condition andunwanted symptoms. Setbacks almost always settle down within a couple of days, so stay with it!

If my child’s (or my) behavior or symptoms actually seem to get “worse”, either immediately after starting the diet or several weeks into the diet, does that mean that the process is not working correctly? We like to say that any resulting changes in symptoms and behavior are indications that you’remaking positive progress. It is important to understand that all we’re doing here is substituting somefoods for other foods, so here’s our logic regarding the process that I think will make sense to you:

• Obviously the best and most desirable reaction and outcome will be rapid, progressive andcumulative improvements

• But another positive indicator and reaction may actually be a temporary worsening of somesymptoms – If the Menefe Syndrome were not indeed present, then it would be more likely tonotice absolutely nothing from the dietary changes

• Therefore, the WORST outcome we could expect would be to notice absolutely no changes,good or bad, over the entire process

Is this program expensive to take on? In a word … no . Even with those clients who are able to travel to see us, we usually only recommendlimited supplements, and the necessary food items can all be easily included on your family’s usualshopping list. If you’re not accustomed to eating anything beyond junk-food, then this will probably besomewhat more expensive for you. If you usually eat good quality foods, then you probably won’tnotice a significant difference in your budget as the diet is mostly based on avoidance andsubstitution.




THE SPECTRUM BALANCE TM PROTOCOL DIETRevised: January 1, 2011

Since foods are the cornerstone and most vital parts of this Protocol, pay particular attention to our relativerankings of the many food items that follow. Due to still expanding research, this is a growing yet incomplete listconsidering all the food choices that are out there, but this should easily give you enough options to create avariety of complete meals and snacks, and ones that the whole family will enjoy and benefit from nutritionally. Ifyou are not prepared and ready to strictly follow these recommendations, then just wait until you are. It isimperative to understand that an inadequate 50% compliance will in no way produce a 50% or more

positive result, so treat this program very seriously if you wish to achieve any significant success.

Now, please trust that we know what many of you will be thinking when first reviewing these lists…” What do you mean to not eat (whatever)...I’ve heard it’s extremely good for you! ” Understand that the key here is that wewould like you to temporarily concentrate on eating certain foods and avoiding certain other foods because oftheir overall nutritional profiles and the ways that they might ease, perpetuate or aggravate the symptomspresent. Therefore we suggest adhering to our food rating system regardless of any seeming contradictions withmore “conventional” thought out there. Once balance is restored in the body and ongoing dietary responsibility ispracticed in the future, many foods that may be your favorites will return to being fine to consume, at least inmoderation. If you don’t see a particular food item in any of our categories, it’s because we haven’t been able tolocate sufficient information to classify it with any confidence. The lists will expand as further research iscompleted, so the basic rule for the time being is… if you don’t see a food listed, then please don’t eat it!

Our intent with this short guide is not to overcomplicate our food selection and rating process, so just know thatthere are a good number of underlying factors taken into consideration when ranking these foods with specificregard to their influence on an all-important mineral balancing act, such as certain vitamins and compoundsbeing present or absent that tend to either enhance or inhibit nutrient absorption and utilization. We have takeninto account both “nutrient” as well as “anti-nutrient” properties of foods in creating this unique reference.

The processing of foods always has an impact on their nutritional contents, so whole, raw foods and juicing areusually preferred, and whenever possible use only steaming for the vegetables that are to be cooked (avoidmicrowaves). Only un-sulfured dried fruits should be used where indicated. Also remember that we are ratingfoods with the assumption that you’re mostly preparing meals at home. Just be aware that restaurant and fast-foods will often be of unknown nutritional quality and therefore may be responsible for less-consistent results.

We’re making absolutely no philosophical, cultural, religious or other judgments about these foods here, and youcertainly will need to take into account any foods that you or your children have known allergies or other

sensitivities to. Just do your best to put the foods that you can and wish to consume into this perspective beforeplanning your meals. With a little diligence, some imagination and practice, we’re sure you’ll find plenty on theselists that your child and the rest of the family will be happy to eat – and most important, it will all be worth it!

Most Important Factors:

You will find that the foods groups that follow are divided into three very important categories:

“Best Choices” – These are the foods that you will want to utilize in planning your meals whenever andwherever possible. Any positive results that you will achieve from these dietary changes will be a directfunction of how well you comply with these recommendations. The food items in this column reflect ourabsolute best suggestions that will allow you to hopefully see initial results in the shortest timeframe.

“Eat Only in Moderation ” – The primary purpose of this second column is to offer you a greaterassortment of foods for your meal planning, but their value in the dietary therapy is considered to be mostly“neutral”, in that our expectation is not that they will be especially beneficial in your overall program, butmore that they will not be detrimental in your program. A good rule of thumb: Try to eat a mix of at least 2-3portions (by volume) of Best Choices items to every 1 portion (by volume) of Eat Only in Moderation items.

“Don’t Eat at All for Now!” – Just what it says, and this is by far the most important classification of foodinstructions to strictly comply with. If you do not avoid the foods in this column virtually completely during at least the initial phase of this dietary program, then you will be negating most or all of the progress being made. Taking one step forward only to take one stepbackward will help no one and will drastically reduce your potential with this Protocol.




It is important to realize and appreciate that unlike many highly-specific and potentially-lifetime dietary protocolsthat are recommended in support of many Spectrum Disorders, our Spectrum Balance TM program is designed toproduce certain primary changes and bring greater equilibrium in the body, and once positive response isexperienced, the diet will transition to being less and less stringent. As reinforced above, it is of the utmostimportance that you maintain strict compliance in the beginning, however we generally see your initial and longterm maintenance plan being broken into three “Phases” that will progress according to your own body’sresponse and rate of improvement. Don’t be frustrated by any temporary ups and downs in your progress!

Phase 1 : Typically the first 4-6 weeks on the program are the most important to the pace of your success, andduring this time we ask that you eat foods predominately from the “Best” columns with all others fromthe “Moderation” columns. *If you do not have a healthcare practitioner helping you monitor yourprogress, then you will want to strictly stay in Phase 1 as long as you are seeing positive progress.

Phase 2 : Typically the remainder of approximately your first 3 months on the program. Although we ask thatyou always consider the Best Choices that we recommend for the vast majority of your dietary needs,it will become less imperative that you completely avoid all foods in our “don’t eat” categories. Again,you alone set and control the pace of your progress, but a little “cheating” here and there in Phase 2should not be of any major consequence. Always base these transitions on changes in behavior.

Phase 3 : Once you have been able to see how your body is reacting to the dietary changes over the first 3months, most people are able to start eating with more balance within all three categories, but youshould always remember what your body has told you about what’s best for you and continue to eatin a more healthy pattern in order to preserve your highest level of wellness. Continue to minimizeyour consumption of wheat and soy foods on an ongoing basis (see the new Phase 3 Diet attached).

So please do your best to be patient and compliant with the process and know that if a “favorite food” justhappens to appear in our “Don’t Eat at All for Now” category, you will probably only be asked to live without ittemporarily with the exception of a very few foods that just might never work positively with your body - no matter how much you may like their tastes. There are plenty of great foods available out there so try hard not tofocus on the few that you need to avoid in order to stay healthier! At the top of this document and in the lowerright corners of each page appears a date code due to the fact that we make changes frequently. Our clients arealways welcome to check back with us and we’ll be happy to furnish you with an updated version if available.

*Note to our vegetarian friends: Please be aware that those who have chosen a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle forthemselves and/or their children will have a special challenge with this Protocol when they review our temporaryrestrictions on most of the grains, nuts, soy & legumes that serve as staples for many non-meat and/or non-dairy eaters. Due to the fact that meat-source iron (heme iron) tends to accelerate progress from this dietary

Protocol to a far greater degree than plant-based iron (non-heme iron), vegetarians will be at a disadvantage.

FIRST: YOUR “ COMPLETELY AVOID ” LIST

Artificial sweeteners – Ditch ALL of them. The pink, the blue, the yellow – avoid them completely! And becomean effective food label reader to keep your kids from ingesting these substances from processed foods. Beaware that many times there are also artificial sweeteners hidden in chewing gums, toothpastes and drink mixes(unless they are from the health food store, but inspect them too…just in case).

Soy Products – Do your best to avoid all possible. Watch your processed food labels closely because soy-based ingredients are hidden everywhere. No soy milks for anyone & no soy formulas for infants.

Processed foods – Eat whole foods whenever possible and avoid or at least minimize consuming processedand pre-packaged foods. If all you have to do is pour it out of a bag or box, add water & stir, you can be prettysure it’s full of chemicals. This is not just a “Protocol” rule, but a general rule of thumb for good health.

Cow’s milk, wheat & most other grains, and processed sugars – We’re sure you’ve seen these as “avoids”on almost any healthy diet you’ve ever looked at, so don’t expect any real surprises here in our Protocol.Consult our food lists for some suitable alternatives for at least the time being.

Multi-vitamin supplements – Best to avoid all for now. Most of these are loaded with minerals and variouscompounds that seem to be able to build in cumulative concentrations in the body and can actually contribute tothe problem. Often when people put all their supplements together and start adding up the numbers, they mayfind that they’re actually consuming hundreds of percent of recommended values daily. This Protocol has little orno chance for success if you keep loading any of the primary substances we’re trying to reduce and/or balance.




SPECTRUM BALANCE TM PROTOCOL DIETRevised: January 1, 2011

Food Categories & Relative RatingsFood Items are Listed Alphabetically

For easy identification, all food items that have been added or changed in classification within this revision have been highlighted in bold text

FRUITSBest Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! ApricotsBlack CurrantsCantaloupe MelonCherries – BlackClementinesFigsGrapefruit – Pink & RedKiwiLemonsLimesMangoPapayaPassion FruitPlumsTangerines

Apples & ApplesauceAvocadoCasaba MelonCherries – Red & WhiteCranberries – Raw, dried, sauceDatesGrapefruit – WhiteGuavaHoneydew MelonOrangesNectarinesPeaches (fresh)PearsPomegranatePrunesWatermelon

BananasBlackberriesBlueberriesBoysenberriesCoconut (raw or dried)GrapesPeaches (dehydrated)PineappleRaisinsRaspberriesStrawberries

JUICES & OTHER BEVERAGESBest Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! ApricotBlack CherryCarrotCranberryGrapefruit – PinkMangoPapayaTangerine

Almond Milks - original, vanilla orchocolate

AppleGrapefruit – WhiteGuavaOrangePearSparkling water flavored w/ SteviaVegetable Juice

CoffeeGrapePineapplePomegranatePruneCoconut Milk or Coconut WaterRice MilkSoft Drinks – sweetened or dietSoy MilkTeas – none for nowTomato

GREENSBest Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! Beet GreensChinese Cabbage (Bok Choy)Collard GreensDandelionKaleMustard GreensRed LettuceRomaineSwiss ChardTurnip Greens

ArugulaCabbage – all common typesEndiveOnions/ScallionsRadicchioSauerkrautSpinachWatercress

Chrysanthemum GreensFennel (Bulb)Iceberg Lettuce




VEGETABLES & BEANSBest Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! AsparagusBroccoliBrussels SproutsCarrotsCauliflowerCelery

Peppers – BananaPeppers – Hot ChiliPeppers – Red, Orange, Yellow

BellPumpkinSquash – ButternutSquash – ZucchiniSweet Potatoes ( not the same as

“True Yams” )

Cabbage – common typesCucumbersEggplantJerusalem ArtichokeJicamaLeeks

OkraOlivesOnions/ScallionsPeas – GreenPicklesPeppers – AnchoPeppers – Green Chili (canned)Peppers – JalapenoPeppers – SerranoPeppers – Green BellPopcorn (air-popped or olive oil)RadishSpinachSquash – AcornSquash – CrookneckSquash – SpaghettiSquash – Summer varietiesTomatillosTomatoesTomato Sauce & PasteTurnipsWater Chestnuts

AdzukiArtichokesBeetsBlack BeansCorn – White & YellowGarbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)

Fava Beans (Broadbeans)Green (Snap) BeansKidney BeansLentilsLima BeansMisoMung BeansMushroomsNavy BeansParsnipsPinto BeansPotatoes – French fried/ hashedPotatoes – WhiteRefried BeansRutabagasSoy Beans & Soy ProductsTofuWhite BeansYams (“ True Yams” are not the

same as Sweet Potatoes, but are not common in the U.S. )

*Note regarding Herbs & Spices below: We have simplified the following section by only separating herbs &spices into “Allowed” and “Don’t Eat at All for Now” classifications. The Allowed choices can all be regularlyused as long as an item does not constitute a main part of a meal, and all others should be avoided completely,

at least until Phase 3. Organic, garden grown, freeze dried and minimally processed versions of herb & spicesare always preferred. As always, if you do not see a particular whole food item listed, then assume that we have not yet found sufficient information to rank it with confidence and please just avoid it for now!

HERBS & SPICESAllowed More Allowed Don’t Eat at All for Now! BasilBay LeafChili PowderChivesCilantroCorianderDill WeedGarlic – fresh, bulbGinger – freshMarjoramMint (Spearmint, Peppermint)OreganoPaprikaParsleyPepper – red or cayenneRosemarySage

Salt – Celtic, Sea Salt, othernatural forms

TarragonThyme

AllspiceCelery SeedCinnamonClovesCuminCurry PowderFennel SeedGarlic – powered or saltedGinger – ground, powderedLemon GrassNutmegPepper – black or whitePoultry SeasoningSaffronSalt – processed “table” versionsSavoryTurmeric




MEATS & POULTRY

Best Choices More Best Choices Don’t Eat at All for Now! Beef – ground & sausageBeef – prime/leaner cutsBeef LiverBisonChicken - meat with skin is bestChicken Liver

Cornish Game HenDeerDuck

ElkGoatLambPheasantQuailRabbit

Turkey – meat, ground, sausage

BaconHamPork

FISH & SHELLFISH

Best Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! CatfishHalibutLobsterMackerelOctopusSalmon – AtlanticSalmon – ChinookSalmon – CohoSalmon – SockeyeSardines - AtlanticSea BassSquidShrimpTuna - fresh or cannedWhitefish

AnchovyCod – Atlantic or PacificCrab – Mixed speciesGrouperOrange RoughyOystersPollockSardines - PacificScallopsSnapperSwordfishTilapiaTroutYellow Tail

Clams

NUTS & SEEDS

Best Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! None are good choices for now! None are good choices for now!

AlmondsAlmond ButterBlack WalnutsCashewsCashew ButterChiaHazelnutsMacadamiaMixed NutsPeanutsPeanut ButterPecans

Pine Nuts (Pinion)Pumpkin SeedsSesame Kernels (dried)Sesame Seeds (whole)Sunflower Seeds (whole)Walnuts




*Notes regarding use of Dairy items below: Because of general dietary considerations more than because ofSpectrum Balance considerations, we caution against making dairy foods a significant portion of anyone’s diet.However we are not of the belief that small inclusions of dairy in the diet will result in the negative impact that wesee from the consumption of larger quantities. All dairy items should only be eaten in moderation using thefollowing guidelines: Know your blood type! If you have blood type “O”, eat no more than 1 oz. in totaldairy over an entire day, and if you have either blood type “A” or “B”, eat no more than 2 oz. total dairy(in 1 oz. servings) over an entire day. The reason that more cheeses are allowed where milks are not, is thatit is far easier and realistic to eat a single ounce of cheese in a meal than it is to drink only an ounce of milk.

DAIRY & EGGSBest Choices Eat Only in Moderation* Don’t Eat at All for Now! ButterEggs – Whole (cooked)

Cheese – AmericanCheese – CheddarCheese – CottageCheese – FetaCheese – MozzarellaCheese – Mexican AnejoCheese – MonterreyCheese – ProvoloneCheese – RicottaCheese – RomanoCheese – SwissCream CheeseGoat CheeseSour CreamYogurt – Goat Milk

Cheese – ParmesanCow MilkCow Milk – ChocolateEgg SubstitutesGoat MilkYogurt – Cow MilkYogurt – SoyYogurt – Coconut Milk

BREADS, GRAINS & MEALS (Avoid all that you can for now for best progress)Best Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now!

None are good choices for now! No more than a total of 1 cup (cooked) per day between the following*

BarleyCarob FlourCouscousMacaroniNoodles – Cellophane (Mung

Bean)Noodles – RiceNoodles – SobaNoodles – SomenRice – WhiteSpaghettiTapioca

*If progress seems to slow or regress, try reducing or eliminating these foods as well

BuckwheatBulgurCorn Flour – White & YellowCorn Meal – White & YellowKamutMilletNoodles – Egg & SpinachOats, Oat Flour & BranPolentaQuinoaRice – BrownRice Flour & Bran – BrownRice Flour & Bran – WhiteRyeSoy FlourSpaghetti – SpinachSpeltTortillas – Corn & Flour

Wheat Flour & Bran – AllWild Rice

BREAKFAST CEREALS (Applies to both generic & brand name products)Best Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! None are good choices for now!

Avoid all cereals for best results

Corn flakes - UnsweetenedCorn grits – White or YellowCream of riceRice – Puffed, unsweetened

All processed & sugared cerealsMillet – Puffed, cookedOatmeal or oat bran cerealsWheat cereals - All




OILS, CONDIMENTS & BAKING*Due to the fact that we’re heavily restricting the use of grains and flours, “baked goods” won’t be a significantpart of your diet at this time. If you’re baking with only the limited approved food items, baker’s yeast can beused in very small amounts as long as you’re not currently dealing with Candida or other yeast excess.

Best Choices/ Allowed Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! ButterOlive Oil

Coconut OilCod Liver OilPepper – Red or CayenneSalt – Celtic , Sea SaltsVinegar - Balsamic

*Although the above oils are the most-preferred to use, still be sensible about use and portions

Almond OilBaker’s Yeast

Baking SodaCream of TartarFlaxseed OilHorseradishKetchupMayonnaise – NaturalMustardPickle RelishSesame OilVinegar – Cider or Red Wine

Bacon GreaseButter Substitutes

Canola OilLardMargarine – RegularMargarine – SoyPeanut OilPepper – Black or WhiteSafflower OilSalt – TableShortening – Lard or VegetableSoy Sauce – All (Tamari)Sunflower OilVegetable Oil – Canola or Corn

SWEETENERS & FLAVORINGBest Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! Honey (but don’t overdo it!) Stevia - Herbal sweetener also

available in many flavors

Brown SugarCarob - unsweetenedVanilla Extract

Agave (use Honey instead)Any and all artificial sweetenersMaple SyrupMolassesStevia – Cinnamon flavor onlyWhite Processed Sugar - all forms

SNACK & TREAT IDEAS

Best Choices Eat Only in Moderation Don’t Eat at All for Now! Celery or carrot sticksFresh fruit or veggie chunks from

Best Choices listFreeze-dried or dehydrated fruits

from Best Choices listSweet potato chips - natural

Fresh fruit or veggie chunks fromModeration list

Freeze-dried or dehydrated fruitsfrom Moderation list

Graham Crackers (smallportions)

Mozzarella cheese sticksPopcorn (air-popped or with Best

Choices oils) 4-6 oz. servingsTapioca pudding (no artificial

sweeteners of course)

CookiesCorn ChipsNutsPotato ChipsPretzelsRaisinsSugar CandiesTortilla Chips




THE SPECTRUM BALANCE ™ PROTOCOL DIETPHASE 3: Maintenance Recommendations

Revised: January 1, 2011

Once you or your medical support personnel believe that you have attained and stabilized your goalsusing the Spectrum Balance™ dietary modifications, we now want to give you our bestrecommendations for maintaining and building upon your achievements. Congratulations on teachingyourself a valuable lesson that you’ll be able to use to help keep you and your family feeling their bestover a lifetime. Proper nutrition is the foundation of sustained health and wellness, so please don’t fallback into the poor eating patterns that rob your body and mind of their unlimited potential.

We’d really love to be able to tell you that you can now just go back to eating the same as you didpreviously, but over time we’re seeing so much better prolonged and sustained success and wellnesswith the ongoing practice of continuing to minimize or even avoiding altogether just a small minority ofthe multitude of food choices available to us. As everyone has different levels of sensitivity to themineral imbalances that we address with the SBP Diet, pay special attention to how you feel as youbegin making any changes in your program and watch closely for what your body tells you about anyfoods you resume eating that might start negatively affecting the way you feel.

The good news is that you now have the knowledge to recognize problems early on and to use the

foods you’re eating to keep control. Remember that you can always temporarily return to the more strict requirements of the SBP Phase 1 Diet anytime that you wish.

So here are some guidelines to help keep you on track toward feeling better and better.

The Most Important Factors:

Remember that because processed and pre-prepared foods will always be more prone to containingunwanted and even undisclosed ingredients for our purposes, we will still recommend that youcontinue to make whole foods the greatest portion of your diet. Avoid over-cooking and especiallymicrowaving your foods in order to preserve their nutrient values. As always, you’ll certainly need totake into account any foods that you or your children have known allergies or other sensitivities to

when planning your meals using the following lists.

You will find that the vast majority of our food choices for your Phase 3 are now divided into only two important categories:

“Best Choices” – These are the foods that you will want to utilize in planning your mealswhenever and wherever possible. Any positive results that you have achieved and will continue toachieve from these dietary changes will be a direct function of how well you stay with theserecommendations. You’ll find that very few of your favorite foods will continue to be restricted.

“Continue to Minimize or Avoid ” – We consider these to be the foods that promote theimbalances in your body that you’ve worked so hard to stabilize, so please continue to minimize or

even avoid eating them altogether for best continued results. Where appropriate, we’ve madespecific comments within the columns to warn you of the worst of the worst choices.

*Note to our vegetarian friends: Please be aware that those who have chosen a vegetarian orvegan lifestyle for yourselves and/or your children are still advised to keep your consumption oflegumes (especially soy), nuts, and grains (especially wheat) as a smaller potion of your total diet incomparison to your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Yes, the sprouting, fermenting and soakingof these seed-based foods will reduce some of the anti-nutrient content and their potential to promotemineral imbalances and deficiencies, but to unknown and inconsistent degrees, so please take care.




THIS IS YOUR “ CONTINUE TO AVOID ” LIST

If we are able to impress upon you anything toward your journey to continued health from this pointforward, it would be to practice avoidance of all of the following. It’s very common when people take afirst look at our Spectrum Balance™ Protocol Diet, that their first words are, “ Oh no, many of my (or my child’s) favorite foods are on your avoid lists .” Of course there’s a very good reason for this. Oureating patterns that have been formed and driven by cravings produced by sometimes natural,sometimes artificial, chemical compounds present in many of our foods are greatly contributing to theweakening of our bodies and of the disruption of the wellness of society in general. Stay away from…

Processed foods – Continue to eat whole foods whenever possible and to minimizeconsuming processed and pre-packaged foods. If all you have to do is pour it out of a bag orbox, add water & stir, you can be pretty sure it’s full of chemicals. Faster and cheaper – youbet, but poor choices for optimal wellness for sure. This is not just a “Protocol” rule, but ageneral rule of thumb for good health.

Artificial sweeteners – Continue to avoid ALL of them - the pink, the blue, the yellow andcontinue being an effective food label reader in order to keep you and your children fromingesting these substances in processed foods. Also be aware that many times there are alsoartificial sweeteners hidden in chewing gums, toothpastes and drink mixes.

Processed sugars – Stay away from white table sugars, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) andas many other processed sweeteners as you’re able. Again, your biggest control over this is tominimize your consumption of processed, packaged, ready-to-eat foods.

Soy & Soy Products – Do your best to continue to avoid all possible. Watch those processedfood labels closely because soy-based ingredients are hidden everywhere. No soy milks foranyone and no soy formulas for infants. Soy tends to be very high in both manganese andphytic acid content, and statistics show that in excess of 90% of the soy available in the U.S.results from genetically modified crops, which just adds another reason to locate and rely onsuperior sources of fiber and protein.

Wheat & Wheat Products – The more we research wheat through our own work and the workof others, the more we have huge concerns about the tremendous amount of anti-nutrientsthat we are regularly ingesting due to our heavy reliance on wheat products. The selectively-bred wheat that we have today is not the same as what was consumed in past generations,and so many people report to us that they just feel so much better when they continue tominimize their consumption of wheat. Again…watch those packaged foods, because wheatingredients are quite prevalent.

GMO & Modified Oil Products – Avoid all foods of known genetically modified origin andthose that contain unnatural trans fats labeled as “shortening” and “hydrogenated”, or“partially hydrogenated vegetable oil”.

Multi-vitamin supplements – It’s best to continue to avoid these unless you have receivedspecific recommendations from someone trained in nutritional sciences, and they will mostlikely also prefer that you supplement with specific and isolated nutrients at any rate. Manybroad spectrum products are loaded with minerals and various other compounds that have thepotential to build in cumulative concentrations in the body and can produce or contribute to theproblem. Often when people put all their supplements together and start adding up thenumbers, they find that they’re actually consuming hundreds of percent of recommendedvalues daily. Particularly avoid any supplements that are fortified with manganese . You’llreduce your potential for long-term success if you keep loading any of the primary substancesthat you’ve reduced and/or brought into balance.




Spectrum Balance™ Protocol Diet: Phase 3 Maintenance Only Revised: January 2011

Food Categories & Relative RatingsFood Items are Listed Alphabetically

FRUITSBest Choices More Best Choices! Continue to Minimize or Avoid ApricotsApples & ApplesauceAvocadoBananasBlack CurrantsBlackberriesBlueberriesBoysenberriesCantaloupe MelonCasaba MelonCherries – Black, Red & WhiteClementinesCranberries – raw, dried, sauce

DatesFigsGrapefruit – Pink, Red & WhiteGrapesGuavaHoneydew Melon

KiwiLemonsLimesMangoNectarinesOrangesPapayaPassion FruitPeachesPearsPlumsPomegranatePrunes

RaisinsRaspberriesStrawberriesTangerinesWatermelon

Limit your consumption of:

Coconut (fresh or dried)Pineapple

JUICES & OTHER BEVERAGESBest Choices More Best Choices! Continue to Minimize or Avoid Almond Milks - original, vanilla or

chocolateAppleApricotBlack CherryCarrotCranberryGrapefruitGuavaMangoOrange

PapayaPearPomegranatePruneSparkling water flavored with

plain or flavored SteviaTangerineTeas – HerbalTomatoVegetable Juice


Coconut Milk & Coconut Water

CoffeeGrapePineappleRice MilkSoft Drinks – Health store brandsTeas – Black & Green

Continue to avoid completely:

Soft Drinks – Artificial sweetenersSoy Milk

GREENS

Best Choices More Best Choices! Continue to Minimize or Avoid ArugulaBeet GreensCabbage – all common typesChinese Cabbage (Bok Choy)Collard GreensDandelionEndiveFennel (Bulb)Iceberg LettuceKale

Mustard GreensOnions/ScallionsRadicchioRed LettuceRomaineSauerkrautSpinachSwiss ChardTurnip GreensWatercress

Chrysanthemum Greens




VEGETABLES & BEANSBest Choices More Best Choices! Continue to Minimize or Avoid ArtichokesAsparagusBeetsBroccoliBrussels SproutsCabbage – common types

CarrotsCauliflowerCeleryCucumbersEggplantGreen (Snap) BeansJerusalem ArtichokeJicamaLeeksMung BeansMushroomsOkraOlivesOnions/ScallionsParsnipsPeas – GreenPeppers – AnchoPeppers – Banana

Peppers – Bell (Red, Orange,Yellow)Peppers – Green Chili (canned)Peppers – Hot ChiliPeppers – JalapenoPeppers – Serrano

PicklesPopcorn (air-popped or olive oil)PumpkinRadishRutabagasSpinachSquash – AcornSquash – ButternutSquash – CrookneckSquash – SpaghettiSquash – Summer varietiesSquash – ZucchiniSweet Potatoes ( not the same as

“True Yams” )TomatillosTomatoesTomato Sauce & PasteTurnipsWater Chestnuts


Black BeansCorn – White & YellowFava Beans (Broadbeans)Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)Peppers – Bell (Green)Potatoes – French fried/ hashedPotatoes – White, Yellow, RedRefried BeadsKidney BeansLentilsLima BeansNavy BeansPinto BeansWhite Beans


Adzuki BeansMisoSoy Beans & Soy ProductsTofuYams (“True Yams” are not the

same as Sweet Potatoes, but are not common in the U.S.)

HERBS & SPICESBest Choices More Best Choices! Continue to Minimize or Avoid BasilBay Leaf

Chili PowderChivesCilantroCorianderCuminCurry PowderDill WeedFennel SeedGarlic – fresh, bulbGinger – freshLemon GrassMarjoram

MintNutmeg

OreganoPaprikaParsleyPepper – red or cayennePoultry SeasoningRosemarySageSalt – Celtic, Sea Salt, other

natural formsSavoryTarragonThyme


Celery SeedCinnamonClovesGarlic – powdered or saltedGinger – powderedPepper – black or whiteSaffronSalt – processed “table” versionsTurmeric

MEATS & POULTRYBest Choices More Best Choices! Continue to Minimize or Avoid Beef – ground & sausageBeef – prime/leaner cutsBeef LiverBisonChicken - meat with skin is bestChicken LiverCornish Game HenDeer

DuckElkGoatLambPheasantQuailRabbitTurkey – meat, ground, sausage

BaconHamPork




FISH & SHELLFISHBest Choices More Best Choices! Continue to Minimize or Avoid AnchovyCatfishClamsCod – Atlantic or PacificCrab – Mixed speciesGrouper

HalibutLobsterMackerelOctopusOrange RoughyOystersPollockSalmon – AtlanticSalmon – Chinook

Salmon – CohoSalmon – SockeyeSardines – Atlantic or PacificScallopsSea BassShrimp

SnapperSquidSwordfishTilapiaTroutTuna - fresh or cannedYellow TailWhitefish

Notes regarding use of Dairy items below: Because of general dietary considerations more thanbecause of Spectrum Balance™ considerations, we caution against making dairy foods a significantportion of anyone’s diet. However we are not of the belief that small inclusions of dairy in the diet willresult in the negative impact that we see from the consumption of larger quantities. All dairy itemsshould only be eaten in moderation using these guidelines: Know your blood type! If you haveblood type “O”, eat no more than 1 oz. in total dairy over an entire day, and if you have eitherblood type “A” or “B”, eat no more than 2 oz. total dairy (in 1 oz. servings) over an entire day.Try to use raw sources of dairy products where available and avoid processed milks.

DAIRY & EGGSBest Choices Eat Only in Moderation* Continue to Minimize or Avoid ButterEggs – Whole (cooked)

Cheese – AmericanCheese – CheddarCheese – Cottage

Cheese – FetaCheese – MozzarellaCheese – Mexican AnejoCheese – MonterreyCheese – ParmesanCheese – ProvoloneCheese – RicottaCheese – RomanoCheese – SwissCream CheeseGoat Milk & CheeseSour CreamYogurt – Cow MilkYogurt – Goat Milk


Cow Milk – rawGoat Milk - raw


Egg SubstitutesCow Milks - processedGoat Milks - processedYogurt – Soy

SWEETENERS & FLAVORINGBest Choices Continue to Minimize or Avoid Brown SugarCarob - unsweetenedHoneyStevia - Herbal sweetener also

available in flavorsVanilla Extract

Agave (use Honey instead)All artificial sweetenersMaple SyrupMolassesWhite Processed Sugar - all forms




OILS, CONDIMENTS & BAKING

Best Choices/ Allowed Continue to Minimize or Avoid Baker’s YeastBaking SodaButterCoconut OilCod Liver OilCream of Tartar

Flaxseed OilHorseradishKetchup – low sugarMayonnaise – naturalMustardOlive OilPepper – Red or CayennePickle RelishSalt – Celtic , Sea SaltsSesame OilVinegar – BalsamicVinegar – Cider or Red Wine


Bacon GreaseLardPeanut OilSafflower OilSoy Sauce – All (Tamari)Sunflower Oil

Continue to avoid:

Butter SubstitutesCanola OilMargarine – RegularMargarine – SoyPepper – Black or WhiteSalt – TableShorteningVegetable Oil – Canola or Corn

A special note about these last five food categories:

As these last food groups are filled with many of the food items that we believe are responsible forcreating or at least for contributing to the very syndromes that we work to eliminate, we want you tocontinue to be very cautious about adding significant portions of these foods back into your diet and towatch closely for the signs of any return or worsening of the unwanted symptoms. As we are all verydifferent individuals, we each need to listen to what our own body is telling us about foods that maymake us feel worse after being off them for a while. So with that caution in mind, you can try addingback some of these foods in moderate portions and frequency and watch for any regression.

BREAKFAST CEREALS (Applies to both generic & brand name products)Best Choices Eat Only in Moderation Continue to Minimize or Avoid None are Best Choices No more than a total of one

serving per day between the following:

Corn flakes - UnsweetenedCorn grits – White or YellowCream of riceMillet – Puffed, cookedRice – Puffed, unsweetened

All heavily sugared cerealsBuckwheat (Kasha)Oatmeal or oat bran cerealsWheat cereals - all

NUTS & SEEDS (But r emember - Too many nuts, can make us feel nutty! )Best Choices More Best Choices! Continue to Minimize or Avoid AlmondsAlmond ButterCashewsCashew ButterChia

PeanutsPeanut ButterPistachioSesame Seeds

HazelnutsMacadamiaPecansPine Nuts (Pinion)Pumpkin SeedsSunflower Kernels or WholeWalnuts




GRAINS, MEALS & NOODLESBest Choices Eat Only in Moderation Continue to Minimize or Avoid

None are Best Choices No more than a total of one serving per day between the following:

Arrowroot FlourBarley Flour

Carob FlourCouscousKamutMacaroniNoodles – EggNoodles – Mung BeanNoodles – RiceNoodles – SobaNoodles – SomenPolentaRice – WhiteSpaghettiTapioca Flour

Wild Rice*If progress seems to slow or regress, try reducing or eliminating these foods

BulgurCorn Flour – White & YellowCorn Meal – White & YellowOats, Oat Flour & BranNoodles – SpinachQuinoa

Rice – BrownRice Flour & Bran – BrownRice Flour & Bran – WhiteSpaghetti – Spinach

Continue to avoid:

Buckwheat FlourRye FlourSoy FlourSpelt flourWheat Flour & Bran

*If progress seems to slow or regress, try completely eliminating these foods

BREADS (Too many to list, so read labels for grain contents as shown above)Best Choices Eat Only in Moderation Continue to Minimize or Avoid None are Best Choices No more than a total of one

serving per day between the following:

BagelsBiscuits – Plain, ButtermilkCornbreadEnglish Muffin - WhiteFrench BreadOat – Oat BranPita - WhiteTortillas – Corn & Flour

English Muffin - WheatPumpernickelRice BranRye

SpeltContinue to avoid:

All bread products with addedcinnamon

Pita – WheatWheat – Whole, Bran, Germ

SNACK & TREAT IDEASBest Choices Best Choices (in Moderation) Continue to Minimize or Avoid

Celery or carrot sticksFresh fruit or veggie chunks fromBest Choices list

Freeze-dried or dehydrated fruitsfrom Best Choices list

Popcorn (air-popped or with Best Choices oils)

RaisinsSweet Potato Chips – naturalTapioca pudding (no artificial

sweeteners of course)

Cheese sticksGraham Crackers Candies – sugared or artificialsweetenersCookiesCorn ChipsCrackers (made from grains you

should continue to avoid)Potato ChipsPretzelsTortilla Chips




THE FINAL WORD & A REQUEST FOR YOUR HELP

The current medical establishment knows nothing beyond demanding “empirical evidence”, being theresults of years of highly-expensive research and double-blind testing, in order to accept this type oftheory and dietary Protocol. They keep asking me “Why specifically, does this work?”, and “Where doall of these theorized imbalances come from?”, and “By what exact biological processes does yourProtocol work” and all sorts of other questions that, quite frankly, are neither my primary concerns norissues that we have all the exact answers to at this point in time, as we freely and openly admit. Afterall; I’m a Naturopath, and no one is exactly burying me in millions of dollars to help me expand thisresearch and my base of case studies.

Unlike them, we’re interested in more than empirical evidence , as our sole intent is simply to do ourbest to create positive results for these kids and adults without a downside. I honestly have no way ofknowing at this time how many or what percentage of children and adults who exhibit symptoms bothwithin and outside the Autism Spectrum are even appropriate candidates for this Protocol. But let me

just say that wherever I’ve been able to find my identified commonalities in clinical observation andassessment, the results have been amazingly impressive in the vast majority of cases. Our results are simply far too good to continue to be ignored.

As I have absolutely nothing to “patent” here, I made the decision late in 2009 to disseminate theresults of my years of work directly to the public at no cost. I do hold the Copyright to these writings,

however I even grant you the right to make copies of these documents for use by friends, family oryour doctor - just as long as you don’t do so for financial profit . Please don’t just copy and giveout the “diet” alone, as it is not sufficiently compelling without the background of the work.

If you diligently use this Protocol at home or with the assistance of a healthcare provider and startachieving any level of noticeable success, we simply ask and hope that you will do several things inreturn:

1. First and foremost, tell others! Circulate our information and your personal story of hope toeveryone you know in the ADD and Autism communities and post entries on the blogs of researchand support groups

2. If you have not done so already, we encourage everyone to please join our email update list at

www.noharmfoundation.org so that we will be able to keep you informed as to new developments3. Please email us at [email protected] with any feedback regarding your experiences

(positive or not) with the dietary Protocol so that we will be able to exponentially build and advancethis research. We love to hear all your personal stories and hope to soon also have a blogappearing on our website to serve as an open forum for people to share their experiences withothers internationally

4. Lend your support by making a charitable donation of any affordable size with your check by mailto NoHarm Foundation at 140 Rock Point Drive, Durango, CO 81301 , or with your credit cardthrough the website www.noharmfoundation.org so that this work will continue and gain higherexposure and use. Either method will generate you a donation receipt for tax purposes

Although it is very important to us that families everywhere are able to access this valuableinformation and experiment with this program at no direct cost, we want you to consider this to be our“pay it forward ” contribution to the wellness of society. The NoHarm Foundation is a not-for-profitorganization with the missions of advancing the field of natural medicine, preserving health freedomand choice for the public, and broad dissemination of this information about new hope for Autism andother disorders to the general public and medical communities.

The amount of your donation is not important, but simply consider in retrospect what the informationwas worth to you and to the wellness of your child or other family member and please just do whatyou can to help us with our continuing efforts to get the word out to countless others and to advance



education and effective research on the subject. As resources become available, a portion of thisNoHarm charitable fund will also be utilized to subsidize and supply the expenses of families withless-than-fortunate circumstances in getting the help they need from our center and from otherhealthcare practitioners who choose to join us.

For some of you who are currently dealing with Autism and other related conditions, it may be anoption and possibility to travel to personally consult with the Assertive Wellness Center in beautifulDurango, Colorado, as many have chosen to do for several years now. We see as many new clientsas possible every week between Tuesday and Saturday. The services are very reasonably priced andthe consultation process only requires less than a half day of your time. Even so, we understand thatthis may not be a viable option for many with transportation, time or financial challenges.

We fully understand any frustration you might feel around the void of localized help available to you atthis time, but please know that we have been aggressively trying to attract help and support for thisproject from the medical communities, a number of Autism organizations and media outlets for severalyears now, and we have accepted the realization that only by this information directly reaching theattention of the general public will sufficient attention be stimulated and directed towards a form of realprogress for the millions of families worldwide that are dealing with these destructive conditions.

Just as soon as possible we will be making available a few written and video training materials thatwill be able to more extensively explain the science behind my work and provide families morecomprehensive instruction on trying to get the best results possible with this dietary Protocol fromhome until broader professional help is organized. These helpful training materials will be available toyou for only modest donations to the NoHarm Foundation. Please understand that this is the absolutebest we are able to do until such time as enough health practitioners can be trained and join ournetwork so that we can refer one-on-one professional support in your own geographical areas.

You can greatly help this cause in the meantime by sending this message on to any affected familiesyou might know, to therapists and physicians, to any contacts in the media and to anyone else whocares that these syndromes are now needlessly affecting a tragically growing number of our kids. Withyour help, we’ll be able to stimulate enough public and professional awareness so that we canaccelerate into a new paradigm of research, prevention and effective care.

Why should people from all across the country and beyond have to travel to visit our Center here inColorado in order to have access to this safe and inexpensive option, when they should be able toreceive simple guidance and support right in their own communities? Amazed and elated parents ofour clients are constantly asking us, “ Why aren’t you able to refer me to practitioners closer to us who are aware of what you’re doing? ” Our goal is to be able to make that happen very soon.

A large part of our intention in releasing and sharing our findings to date, is to be joined by as manyother open-minded practitioners as possible in order to expand this exploration and with it, the numberof affected children and families that could be benefiting from this program right now . There’s only somuch that we can continue to do by ourselves. We need a great number of forward-thinkingpractitioners, organizations and media outlets who are unwilling to accept the hopeless confines ofthis prison, and who are willing to listen and join me outside this “box” that has been labeled “Autism”.

I also need you – the Moms and Dads out there with affected children to open your minds and heartsand give this a try. This program is safe, and it could be as effective for you as it has been for somany of my clients. There is no down-side, nothing to lose, and so very much to gain. Your childtrusts you with their health and well-being. Please always do your best to be worthy of that trust.

Be well,

Documents

Autism Paradigm Shift- 110101