Patricia Lemer discusses a Functional Medicine Approach to Autism with Dr. Ben Weitz.

[If you enjoy this podcast, please give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, so more people will find The Rational Wellness Podcast. Also check out the video version on my WeitzChiro YouTube page.] 

 

Podcast Highlights

4:05  The rates of autism are rising rapidly.  Some of the experts claim that we are just diagnosing autism more frequently, but today everyone knows someone with autism and when I was growing up, we never heard of anyone with autism.  According to Patricia, “Did those people used to hide in the attic and in the basement so we didn’t see them? Or didn’t they exist? And are we just more aware?” And those of us who are in the field don’t believe that’s true, though this is a new phenomenon as kids in our world get sicker and sicker.  In the 1980s we were seeing one kid in 10,000 with autism, while today the rate is one in 23 children.  And kids with autism could not have been confused with kids who simply failed to develop normally and are mentally handicapped, since kids with autism typically are seen to be developing normally until one and half years or two and then in a matter of a few days undergo a radical transformation and stop communicating, sit in one place, and bang their head against the wall and perform other repetitive actions.

9:53  Patricia explains autism with the total load theory that she borrows from engineering that explains why a bridge collapses.  When a bridge collapses, we seek to find out who’s to blame.  Was it the engineer who designed the bridge?  Was it our terrible weather that rusted out the moorings of the bridge?  Rather, it is a combination of things over time that overload the tensile strength of the bridge.  Kids with autism have a threshold of health they hover under and different load factors are added to the child until they go over their threshold and then start getting sicker and sicker.  Children used to be born with a lot of room under the threshold, so they could be exposed to a few toxins, such as painting the room or spraying for termites and they would be fine. But today because families are having kids later in life, the mother carries a bigger toxic load, and we have all these other chemicals and toxins that are bombarding our baby and lead to them overloading their threshold till they start experiencing symptoms such as autism.

And so kids used to be born and way, way, way down here and we could have a few toxins. We could paint the room. We could spray for termites. And the kids still had a lot of wiggle room there. But because of a couple of factors, like families having babies later, the mother carries a bigger toxic load herself, which nature has her dump into her unborn baby. And then we have all these other chemicals and toxins and environmental things that are bombarding our baby, that are adding up, adding up, adding up to where the bridge collapses.  Along with this autism epidemic, we also have an epidemic of infertility and miscarriages.  We need to start working with the parents for a good year prior to conceiving to get them healthy, so they can have healthier kids. 

14:05  Environmental Toxins.  One environmental toxin to avoid is antimony, which is contained in the flame retardant chemicals that are sprayed on most mattresses, furniture, and even clothing.  You should buy all natural, toxin-free bedding, since we spend a third of our life in bed.  The bedroom should be for sleep and sex and nothing else.  And we want to avoid EMFs, which are more pervasive since 5G.  Patricia has a canopy over her bed to repel EMFs.

17:10  Heavy Metals.  Mercury is commonly associated with autism.  Mercury can come from amalgam fillings and from coal fired power plants, which spew mercury into the atmosphere and that falls i...

Dr. William Rawls discusses The Power of Herbs with Dr. Ben Weitz.

[If you enjoy this podcast, please give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, so more people will find The Rational Wellness Podcast. Also check out the video version on my WeitzChiro YouTube page.] 

 

Podcast Highlights

1:13  Dr. Rawls had a real health challenge with Lyme disease that led him to appreciate the power of herbs.  He was practicing obstetrics for 20 years being on call every 2nd or 3rd night in a small town, which was very tough.  Dr. Rawls got sick and was diagnosed first with fibromyalgia and then with Lyme Disease.  He was happy to find out about the Lyme disease diagnosis, thinking that all he had to do was to take antibiotics and he would be fine. But chronic infections like chronic Lyme are not that easily treated and when antibiotics did not bring resolution, Dr. Rawls found that herbs could be helpful and using an herbal protocol over a period of several years allowed him to get his health back.  He now believes that everyone should be taking certain herbs every day to promote their health.

4:47  Herbs and drugs work differently.  Drugs are designed to block manifestations of illness and they specifically target pathways in the body, enzymes, receptors, or hormones that affect the symptoms or other manifestations of illness. But drugs don’t get to the root cause of illness. While some herbs do have a drug like effect, herbs generally act at the cellular level to protect the cells from free radicals, toxins, radiation, and microbes.  Herbs also have regulatory functions that they can balance hormones that have been disrupted by stress. So when we take an herb, we’re getting the plant’s defense systems that are protecting our cells.

8:59  Drugs block metabolic pathways, while herbs modulate our metabolism.  When we look at inflammation, the inflammatory response is a cleanup mechanism and we want to modulate that but we don’t want to halt that process as drugs do.  When you take turmeric, it tones down the immune system response, but it doesn’t block the pathways that protect the stomach the way that ibuprofen does.  And turmeric also has an antioxidant and antimicrobial effects and it protects the liver and promotes blood flow to the area that is injured.  

 

 

Dr. William Rawls is a medical doctor in North Carolina who previously specialized in OBGYN, but after his personal journey with Lyme Disease, Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Immune Dysfunction, he is now focused on speaking and writing about natural approaches to using herbs.  Dr. Rawls is the medical director for Vital Plan, an herbal supplement and wellness company that he cofounded with his daughter, Braden. Dr. Rawls previously published Suffered Long Enough and Unlocking Lyme and his new book is The Cellular Wellness Solution, which is focused about how to use herbs to promote wellness.  His website is RawlsMD.com and the website for his herb company is  VitalPlan.com.

Dr. Ben Weitz is available for Functional Nutrition consultations specializing in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders like IBS/SIBO and Reflux and also specializing in Cardiometabolic Risk Factors like elevated lipids, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure and also weight loss and also athletic performance, as well as sports chiropractic work by calling his Santa Monica office 310-395-3111. Dr. Weitz is also available for video or phone consultations.

 

 

Podcast Transcript

Dr. Rawls:            Great.

Dr.

Dr. Justin Brandeis discusses Men’s Wellness with Dr. Ben Weitz.

[If you enjoy this podcast, please give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, so more people will find The Rational Wellness Podcast. Also check out the video version on my WeitzChiro YouTube page.] 

 

Podcast Highlights

1:30   Dr. Brandeis feels that men are the hero of their own journey and to live a healthy life requires men to not drink, not smoke, don’t do drugs, don’t eat too much, exercise every day, stretch, visit your chiropractor, meditate and be nice to other people.

 

 

Dr. Justin Brandeis is an MD Urologist, clinical researcher, and a sexual medicine expert. He wrote a new book, The 21st Century Man.  Dr. Brandeis helped pioneer the use of robotic surgery for urological surgery, and his practice now is more focused on regenerative care for men, helping to improve their sexual health.  His website is BrandeisMD.com.

Dr. Ben Weitz is available for Functional Nutrition consultations specializing in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders like IBS/SIBO and Reflux and also specializing in Cardiometabolic Risk Factors like elevated lipids, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure and also weight loss and also athletic performance, as well as sports chiropractic work by calling his Santa Monica office 310-395-3111. Dr. Weitz is also available for video or phone consultations.

 

 

Podcast Transcript

Dr. Weitz:                            Hello, Rational Wellness podcasters. Today our topic is how to help men become healthier with Dr. Judson Brandeis, who wrote the very ambitious book, The 21st Century Man. As you can see, this is a very ambitious book that covers pretty much everything men would want to know about how to improve their health. Dr. Brandeis is a urologist, a clinical researcher, and a sexual medicine expert. He helped pioneer the use of robotic surgery for urological surgery, and his practice now is more focused on regenerative care for men, helping to improve their sexual health. Dr. Brandeis, thank you so much for joining us today.

Dr. Brandeis:                      Hey, it’s my pleasure to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me.

Dr. Weitz:                            That’s great. So in your book, chapter one, you start with this discussion about a hero’s journey, which I guess, comes from Joseph Campbell and you write, “Each of us was born with individual gifts and walks a unique life path of hardship and opportunity with mindfulness and determination. We all have the chance to become the hero of our own story. Some men start in their quest for fame and fortune, others are late bloomers.” Is this an aspiration? Do you think all men have a hero’s journey or? It seems to me a lot of men are simply trying to survive.

Dr. Brandeis:                      Yeah, I mean, that is true, but I honestly believe that we all have the potential to be the hero of our own journey. And to me, we all really know what to do. So I can tell you how to live a healthy life in 15 seconds. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, don’t eat too much, exercise every day, get some good sleep, stretch every day, visit your chiropractor, meditate and be nice to other people. There you go.

Dr. Weitz:                           It’s simple,

Dr. Brandeis:                      Right. And you’re ahead of 98% of people, but life is-

Dr. Weitz:                           And don’t take classified documents home with you. No, I’m just kidding.

Dr. Brandeis:                      Don’t do that either. But yeah,