October 01, 2025

Fake Food, Real Damage: Protecting Kids’ Gut and Immunity

39 minutes

Fake food, real damage—here’s how to protect your child’s gut and immune system. In this episode of Demystifying PANS/PANDAS, Dr. Michelle Perro joins us to share how ‘fake food’ and environmental toxins are disrupting our kids’ guts and immunity. We also explore practical steps you can start today—from choosing organic staples and cooking at home, to using bone broth, testing key minerals, gardening with kids, and even pushing for healthier school lunches.

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In this episode of Demystifying PANS/PANDAS, Dr. Michelle Perro shares her journey from pediatric emergency medicine to integrative pediatrics after witnessing how homeopathy transformed her own son’s health. She connects the rise of ‘fake food’ with today’s explosion of autoimmunity and neurobehavioral challenges in children. At the heart of her message is the gut microbiome: when chemicals like glyphosate disrupt gut microbes, kids become more vulnerable to inflammation that impacts mood, sleep, learning, and immunity.

Our conversation also turns practical, offering families clear, doable steps. Dr. Perro explains why going organic—especially with dairy, meat, and berries—makes a difference, and how cooking at home, packing lunches, and testing for zinc and magnesium levels can reveal and correct hidden deficiencies. She highlights simple solutions like bone broth, home or community gardening, breastfeeding, and vagal therapies, while also encouraging parents to push for healthier school meals. She ends with hope: even small changes, done consistently, can rebuild resilience and shift a child’s long-term health.

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Dr. Michelle Perro is a pediatrician with over four decades of experience spanning emergency and integrative medicine. She has focused her career on the impact of genetically modified organisms, pesticides, and environmental toxicants on children’s health. She is the co-author of What’s Making Our Children Sick? and serves as executive director of GMO Science, a nonprofit dedicated to evidence-based education on food and health. She also sits on the Scientific Advisory Board for Biocidin Botanicals. A sought-after speaker on regenerative food, soil, and environmental justice, she continues to champion children’s health worldwide.

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Michelle Perro, MD, DHom

Website: https://gmoscience.org/

X: https://x.com/GMOScience

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GMOScience

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmichelleperro/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-perro-md-2593ba9/

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Nancy O’Hara, MD, MPH, FAAP, FMAPS

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