Life-Changing Genius

How would you like it if your clients described you as a “life-changing genius?”

I believe that most of us become nutrition professionals to help change lives. So today, I’d like to share how BioIndividual Nutrition is helping practitioners like you do just that.

The following case study comes from Holly Morello, she’s a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP) and BioIndividual Nutrition Practitioner – her practice is called Nourishing Excellence.

Holly attended the Nutritional Therapy Association for her nutrition certification, and then graduated from our BioIndividual Nutrition Training and Pediatric Program. She has a passion for nutrition and healing and works with many families to help their children reach their full potential

I believe that case studies are one of the most valuable tools to help us learn, grow, and make a difference for others. Before the days of social media, I used to meet in person at a doctor’s office to share case studies and recommendations. It was incredibly helpful!

Holly’s case will help you in the future when you think through your own client situations – and how to help them, even when they have severe autism. 

Her client, let’s call him, Cody, is a 3 yr. old extremely unhappy boy with severe autism. His parents had him on the GAPS Diet for many months. The results were fantastic, but they had not been able to get past the first stage without experiencing regressed behavior and explosive diarrhea.

So Holly asked me for suggestions on where to go next with Cody’s diet and nutrition plan. We talked for an hour as Holly honed her advice for Cody’s mom.

The story’s not over, they still have things to work on and improve, but soon after Holly provided her new suggestions, the mom wrote to Holly in gratitude, about her being…

“A life changing genius.”

Who doesn’t want a compliment like that?!

Here’s what Holly did, and how BioIndividual Nutrition helped.

Client History

• Antibiotics since he was born
• GFCF started originally / saw Improvements
• Then did GAPS / amazing results on behavior, mood, some good BM’s showed (however, only 5 times total in 5 months) – but were encouraged
• At the time of the client session he was on GAPS Diet Stage 1, except with lots eggs and bacon, as he was begging for food
• And he was regressing again
• Distended belly / begging for food / refusing GAPS soups / weight issue
• Salicylates issues showing from BioIndividual Nutrition assessment questionnaire, one of the tools in the BioIndividual Nutrition Training (score was 21, with 14 being considered high)

Salicylate/Amine

This client PRESENTS with many symptoms of salicylate/amine reactions, which can include: hyperactivity, inattentiveness, irritability, aggression, defiant behavior, poor sociability, emotional sensitivity, difficulty falling asleep, diarrhea, gas and bloating, and more. Cody had quite a number of these symptoms.

Salicylates were high in his multivitamin and diet from the bacon and other foods. And amines were high in his diet.

Current GAPS Diet

The client PRESENTS that they cannot get off Stage 1 of GAPS and still has poor BM’s (but saw 5 good poops in 5 months while on GAPS).

My Suggestions for this Client

Since improvements on GAPS had plateaued (and because it did not seem to be addressing his gastrointestinal issues at this point, he was hungry and not happy on the diet, and because restricting it further with an additional diet approach was even more limiting), I thought loosening up GAPS and moving to a low salicylate and lower amine diet might be very helpful. Based on Holly’s knowledge of her client she agreed and suggested they try this.

RECAP in order of importance for this client

•  Stop the multivitamin (salicylate concern), add new one after diet changes
•  Evolve diet from GAPS to low salicylate/amine diet
•  Use digestive enzymes to improve digestion

I followed up with Holly after these changes were made, and she said,

“My client has made significant gains behaviorally and developmentally. Behavior, mood, eye contact, calmness, language has improved. He was not a happy child and now he is – despite the poop issue.”

And the client’s mother even shared gratitude for Holly being a “life-changing genius!”

Remember; while the GAPS Diet is wonderful, it is a GENERAL “out of the box” approach so to speak. Your clients with complex problems like Cody need SPECIFIC and customized diet and nutrition advice—a BioIndividual Nutrition approach—if they’re going to get the best results.

Holly’s client still has more to go. Healing is like peeling the layers of an onion. You start with one thing, see what improvement is gained and what symptoms remain and then go from there with deeper insight and discernment. Now that Cody’s behavior has improved immensely, they are working on his GI symptoms.

Here are some of the additional suggestions that arose from our bioindividualizing discussion (Holly and I) that might be helpful as next steps for this client:

• Gut support
• Microbiome support
• New multivitamin
• Minerals
• Essential fatty acids

And one more important lesson from this client is about gluten infractions. In this case, the boy got an accidental ingestion from some French fries because of a restaurant error. One infraction can cause a significant set back in GI symptoms. Sometimes parents/clients don’t realize the importance of staying strictly gluten and dairy free.

Always let your clients know how important it is to communicate clearly with teachers, loved ones, and restaurants to ensure their diet stays clean.

Here’s more from Holly’s client…

“Holly is incredible; she has helped our boy and our family so much. Over that last 3 months, following Holly’s diet and supplement protocol, our boy has gone from strength to strength and has been the happiest he’s ever been – it’s been the most amazing thing to see. Holly is utterly wonderful and we are so grateful to have found her. Thank you Holly, so much!”

More from Holly

Here’s what Holly said after our call and about our BioIndividual Nutrition Program…

“I feel so much better and confident after my call with you and feel hopeful about working with more autism kids so I think the more of us feeling that way, the more of us helping to reach more kids!”

She has a practice of about 2/3 children. Here are some of the wonderful results she has achieved (the first one is Cody)

1. An extremely unhappy toddler with severe autism and little verbal skills, eye contact, and inability to stay still is now happy, talking, smiling, maintaining eye contact and is calm. His parents think I am a miracle worker but really, it’s their hard work that has made it happen.
2. A toddler with extreme digestive issues was about to face surgery and a friend mentioned my work to them so they decided to try nutritional therapy first and during our work together, his surgery was no longer needed and his digestion normalized.
3. A girl with serious stomach issues, extreme anxiety and ADHD. Her doc had no answers except meds, which were a consideration but they decided why not try nutritional therapy first since it was the summer. Within a couple months, all the symptoms went away and the following school year was a success. This is a very typical client.
4. A boy with nearly the same issues as above (again, it’s a VERY common theme I see), even had GI scoping done with no findings (also common), after 1 month, nearly all symptoms are gone, and he is now extremely focused and getting his homework done in a timely manner rather than spending endless hours at it. 
5. Teen girl with similar issues as above plus exponential weight gain and concerning thyroid symptoms – within 3 weeks all these symptoms resolved and troubling weight gain resolved soon afterwards. 

I feel so proud of Holly and our BioIndividual Nutrition Institute members and all they have achieved through their hard work and dedication.