The answer to the question topic is NO. But. Could giving blood be a piece in the puzzle? The jury is still out on that one. Personally, I’m NOT going to do the so-called “root cause protocol” and you probably should not either…There are both dangerous and great ideas in the protocol (most of the great ones we’re already doing in Barefoot Autism Warriors Tribe). More on that below…
I had 2 strange experiences with the trending topic “iron overload and autism” last week. Well, I had three, actually, because I also took this new “protocol” to the autism practitioners that I trust to get their opinion. More on that in an upcoming podcast…I don’t believe ANY practitioner who says that they have ALL the right answers. Not even the ones I go to for clarification. Even though they pretty much dismissed this latest trend – I still think that there are pieces to our healing puzzle here. As long as you DON’T follow the root cause protocol and its guru…that is…because boy is there missing links and gaps there too……
WARNING!!!!!
Before you run off to donate blood or jump on the “Root cause protocol” bandwagon (Yes. that’s actually what they call it even though “root cause literally is the opposite of “protocol”) take time to read this email. Because just as with any other protocol…NO, it’s not THE SOLUTION (in fact it might make many of our children (and you) worse.
That doesn’t mean that there might not be one or two things from this protocol that might provide knowledge or pieces to our healing puzzle, and in this email (and in an upcoming podcast episode) I’m going to reveal what this might be.
Clue 1 + 2 (let me share last week’s events):
It all started with me having my period. It was heavy. After that – the brain fog, tiredness and overall discomfort I’d dealt with all week disappeared. I had a “natural” procedure of “dumping blood (aka iron overload). And it made me feel better. This is one of the reasons (according to Root Cause protocol) why menstruating women are healthier and live longer than men. They “give blood and dump iron (of which we have too much) on a monthly basis.
Iron and water (which we are made of) create what? Rust. Oxidative stress is “cells rusting” and that is what happens when we deteriorate. Our cells are RUSTING. So far so good – but as you’ll learn …it’s not that simple…
What happened next?
My friend Kelli told me how her son had been to a practitioner who picked up that he had toxic levels of free iron in the body (this had not been picked up by traditional iron tests and he did not have the genetic propensity for hemochromatosis where the body absorbs too much iron from food). This practitioner told his mom that he needed to give blood. “Dude, the ONLY way your body can get rid of toxic levels of iron is by giving blood” this practitioner said.
After giving blood this boy (who has been struggling with his health, social skills and behaviour) felt GOOD, improved his tolerance for social interaction and so on. In other words…it worked.
This would cause any other autism mom who is looking for THE ANSWER to all problems to jump straight on the Root Cause bandwagon, because it seems harmless and because deep down we’re all looking for that magic bullet/miracle cure…But the truth is that NO protocol will provide more than one or two pieces to the healing puzzle. Nothing more. If you buy the whole package, you’ll miss out on the unique pieces for YOUR CHILD’S unique, complete healing puzzle. AND you will make your child worse (probably) because every protocol has missing links and gaps. Root Cause protocol is NO exception. Let me tell you why…
Now…. because I’ve been in the autism recovery/health/healing field since 2004, I’ve seen protocols, practitioners and miracle “cures” come and go every season. I have “protocol-phobia for that reason – not even one of them had all (or even a significant chunk) of answers and solutions for autism symptoms. But they all had great marketing. This one was (unfortunately) no different.
But, I always research things thoroughly just to make sure I’m not missing anything that might help mothers to relieve the symptoms of their children. And to be honest – for a while there I was disappointed to learn that the Root cause protocol wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
I’m obsessed when it comes to making sure that you get the RIGHT information about the good, the bad and the ugly truth about iron, the root cause (and any) “protocol and the REAL road to recovery…
Red flags re: root cause protocol.
It’s created by a hospital director, not a practitioner/doctor (red flag).
It’s stating the obvious:
By basing many of its tools on things that we already do in the Barefoot Autism Warriors protocol (which will have a positive effect on the health in every person.) Such as: Stop eating multivitamins and synthetic supplements. Be very careful with supplements and never take supplements without knowing your biotype/nutritinal status. Stop eating processed/fortified foods and get your nutrients from real food instead.
Move/exercise. Get sunlight every day. Avoid EMF, fluoride, and industrial seed oils.
It’s mainly spreading via bloggers and influencers (red flag).
These influencers often refer to a page called “copper toxic” – which is an upsell for hair tissue mineral analysis (a red flag, not a useful test at all.)
It’s got a very emotionally dedicated crowd backing it and the community and founder are very resistant to critical questions and opposing views. It gets defensive and emotional real quick (red flag/cultish like the Medical Medium crowd).
It claims that copper deficiency and iron toxicity is the root cause of almost every disease
It repeats what anyone who’s followed me for a while knows: (Don’t take iron supplements) which we’ve said for a very long time because iron supplements can cause cancer, it can actually promote disease and the standard tests for iron (such as ferritin levels) aren’t useful.
Dare I say “duh”?
Here’s where it gets dicey:
The hospital director then goes on to talk about Ben Lynch and MTHFR (and by doing so he reveals a huge gap in knowledge because MTHFR is NOT a relevant concept or useful to determine anything Health, methylation, optimal diets, or supplements needed. ) I’ve covered this extensively HERE
This is a huge red flag. He then goes on to recommend supplementing with copper-rich food and histamine-triggering foods plus recommends that people should stop taking molybdenum, zinc, and D3 and do beef liver and bee pollen. Our children who are HIGH in copper, undermethylated, have GABA-GLUTAMATE imbalances and high histamine because of undermethylation (which we almost ALL are dealing with.) This is almost certainly going to cause an exacerbation of all behavioural issues like Anxiety, aggression, agitation, anger, depression, tantrums, and mood swings. D3 should never be taken without K2. But that doesn’t mean that d3 is a bad supplement. For people who have elevated kryptopyrroles, imbalanced zinc to copper ratio, and undermethylation, stopping zinc and taking copper could be a recipe for disaster.
So what’s the verdict?
I believe that giving blood (and menstruating) can be helpful. The experts that I asked (whom I respect do not agree.) Most of the lifestyle advice and warnings against anything artificial – we’re already doing.
Some of the food/supplement advice in root cause protocol can and will cause problems for our children. It’s true that mineral deficiency is an issue and that our soil is depleted. It’s also a good idea for most people to take magnesium.
Real food, movement, sunlight, and avoiding processed food, EMF, and toxins is something we’re already doing.
Is root cause protocol the solution for us? No, it is not. It might provide a piece to the healing puzzle.
Upcoming podcast: Busting myths, debunking autism therapy trends with Dr. Barendse.
I’m going to invite the experts that I respect on my podcast to give you all the details about all the trending therapies for autism:
Restore
Bio-resonance.
Hair mineral testing.
Neurofeedback.
Popular diets.
TRS
Enzymes/peptides.
Etc…
Can’t wait. I am here to SERVE YOU….