Ep 146: What Your Child’s Food Preferences Reveal About Their Health

Introduction: Connecting the Dots 0:00

Hey everybody it's Dr. Laura with Connect My Brain. Oh so happy to have you with me today. I've got a really big picture idea of what I want to talk about and bringing oh my goodness multiple issues together or multiple factors multiple situations and really try to connect the dots i think that's one of my biggest attributes is to be able to connected dots because. all these situations that all of us go through while we may look at particular pathways, such as looking at a food sensitivity test, looking some genetic markers, and looking a stool test.

There are very specific ways you can look the information and you can make some determination. And yes, many of those things have very common elements. I think that's the part that I really want to focus on in this particular podcast is how important it is to realize that there are many things that can go on, such as mood issues, physiological issues like having constipation, diarrhea, adrenal issues. But at the end of the day, there's very common reasons why this happens. It just so happens that what it does is it plays out differently in each and every one of us.

And this is why a practitioner like myself and others, you know, we always talk about getting to the root cause of something and try to understand where the obstacles are. What is it that you have to change in order to move the needle? And that's just the chemistry. And if we isolate Just the chemistry so you have something going on you decide to go see your insurance based provider in the medical community and again this is not a podcast to bash the Medical Community I see a lot of medical providers truly turning around and understanding that there is a functional chemistry to the human body, and there are many things that we can do to promote health.

But one of the pillars that has been part of The Medical Community forever is that many diagnoses are considered chronic and therefore you're going to

Root Causes vs. Symptom Treatment 3:04

have them for the rest of your life and honestly that that's what medicine was really built on. That's why the pharmaceutical industry is really hoping for And therefore, they want to relate everything back. OK, if you get this label, this is the medication that you take. If you have this gene, we're going to promote some kind of gene therapy. And we are always trying to do something just from the outside in. We got to face it, the human body is designed To be well. The human body is designed to heal.

Now, let's realize that, yes, the human can become overwhelmed. There's no question about it. However, Let's put that particular situation over to the right side for just a second. When we're talking about acute, meaning you've got something going on right now, okay, you may decide to have some medical pharmaceutical intervention, but if you at least look at the whole picture and I think one of the classic ones are antibiotics and that's probably where I'll put my focus is because there's been many things that I've seen in practice.

We even have the current situation where the little girl in Texas died. She had measles and she had pneumonia And really what came out was it was a medical error. She did not receive the appropriate antibiotic for the pneumonia. It was not measles. And even the investigators, the medical investigators looking at this situation, looking the record, they made that determination. That is not my determination, I am simply giving you information that came out and one of the greatest resources I think we have today in getting a broader perspective of things that can happen is children's health defense.

And I it is worth looking at, there is lots of resources on there. So you should build your library of how are you going to look at information and make that determination. We all should do that. And I'm 30 years into this and that is exactly how I got to the place where I am today. I read all the time, I stay current, and I believe I look objectively at the information. You know i come from a family that everybody was vaccinated so this is not about trying to bash vaccines it is nothing i want to do today it's not something i chose to give for my children because i read and i learned and.

the the types of illnesses which now there's just so many books available that you can look at for yourself and make that determination when i made that termination for my children. I was actually a paralegal. So before I got into healthcare, my career trajectory was go to law school, become a lawyer, and then actually I wanted to go the Supreme Court justice position. But God had another plan and said, no, you're going into health care. And I'm very glad I am into heath care, I specialize in pediatrics.

I want to be a pillar in the world that is offering information. I don't like information thrown at me and just accept and I think a lot of times that's really what's happening. I am very grateful that I'm able to look at research, I have an abundance of colleagues from many different professions and the information and conferences and specialties that you can acquire and credentialing that you can acquire, it just gives you an abundance of information.

Antibiotics, Microbiome, and Biofilms 7:52

And that is who I am. But back to what we're focused on is what, we have to look at the choices that we are making and the big picture of things. So sometimes we do choose a medical intervention and that's each individual's right. Okay, your health decisions are your right to make and I believe we should protect that at all cost. So you choose a medical intervention, you put an antibiotic in. Now, wouldn't it be great if there was also part of that service teaching you how to go back and re-support the microbiome.

There is an abundance of information about the micro biome I'm going to just take a statement and say I bet At least 99% of the people listening to this podcast have heard that word microbiome. So this has to do with the function of your gut. What is the health of you gut? And there are so many issues that have to with your health. The balance of good and bad bacteria. the how our immune system works, how we make neurotransmitters for our brain, and how there is this synergistic relationship between the gut health, the liver health the adrenal health and the brain health.

So all of this goes together. But unfortunately, what I've seen and looking at histories is there's just, you know, give the antibiotic and your symptoms should go away. And that's the word I think I'd like to underline is your systems will go way. Okay, but what is the aftermath of that use of the antibiotics? And right now, I think one of the biggest areas of concern have to do with things like bacterias and viruses that you have experienced or your child has experienced. And so that cellular energy, it lives inside of you, your body.

experienced it and created a reaction that's what i mean by cellular energy okay and so you have these blueprints these footprints of these viruses and bacteria but the category is even broader it also is. Bad bacteria that that started off in the guy this is another word called bio films bio film are healthy and then they can also be unhealthy if you can't get your teeth brushed for a day. You get scuzz on your teeth. That's a biofilm protecting the enamel. In your gut, you have all these little microvilli, these hair projections lining the entire lumen of your intestine.

And they are coated with a Biofilm to protect it. Well, unfortunately, in our bodies, we can have unhealthy ones too, depending upon what is the body burden. So let's just say I'm holding my hands up for my podcast audience and I am making like a balance scale with my hand. And let's just say my right hand represents my foundation. And that foundation is balanced. It's abundant. it's got lots of good species in it. But over time, through the use of medications, things that are introduced into our body, bad food choices, viruses, bacteria, fungi, stress.

Now my balance scale, my foundation is low and my representation of the damage that can be done in that gut health is way up. So this is leading to higher susceptibility of additional problems like a weakened immune system, like neurological changes, Like mood up and down or all over the place. This is like having attention issues. You know, I think this whole concept behind attention issue is very misrepresented because I can tell you that is the bulk of the children that come to connect my brain.

and attention issues have a plethora of roots. And that's what you have to get to. You have get the root. Where did this start? If you don't, you're simply you are at the surface level. Now let's think of, here we are in springtime. If if you listen to this spring 2025, this is where we everything is blooming. You know if you look at that tree and now like all the flowers are coming out and all, the green leaves are showing. If you follow the trunk down, is the truck just kind of standing at the top of the soil?

No, there's roots all And they go. I mean, think about if you ever had to have a tree stub dug out of your yard. This is not just taking your garden shovel and lifting it out. It literally has to be completely dug-out of the earth. And this is to me one of the greatest representations of what I'm seeing, especially in the pediatric population, is that their little foundation, it's being influenced before you ever get pregnant. It's being influenced by your pregnancy, it's been influenced your labor, your delivery and everything that goes on, especially in those early years.

That's when the roots are being laid down. And some children express symptoms very early and some put a star by this connecting a big truth.

Strep, Immune Dysfunction, and Cycles 15:10

They don't show it till later. Everybody is not the same. So one case in point. You know, today everybody thinks strep is just common. It happens in childhood. Well, it is something that does happen quite a bit in Childhood. But by no means should we believe that it Is common because this is telling us if I have frequent strept infections, something is going on with my immune system and I cannot get rid of it. Strep mimics other bacteria in our body. The other part about it is most people treat it with an antibiotic and most of the antibiotics are broad spectrum and what that means is is that you're wiping out your microbiome, you are causing damage, your putting in a new footprint to create even unhealthy biofilms.

Those bio films, they collect bad bacteria, They collect medicines, collect anything that we got injected into our body, and they build a war house that is not easy to break down. Then what do they do? They grow, they multiply, They mutate even more and then they spawn. And what does that mean? It opens up and it dumps that whole thing right back into your belly. Now, this creates a very cyclic journey or cycle of events. Let's go with that one. Cycle of Events. It creates, a cycle events that can literally explain what you're seeing in your child.

So I'll listen. That's one of the things God gave me some great ears because I listen and that's what any provider that you are working with should do. And I'm always picking up. I've always referred to it as the red flags. But I'll hear the mother go, you know, we were moving along, it seemed like we we're really doing well. And then all of a sudden it was like, oh my gosh, everything came back and it came with a vengeance. My first response is, okay, mark this down on a calendar. This is a typical report associated with when the biofilm opens up and spawns into the bloodstream.

And these cycles can go on for about four to six weeks. So every child might be a little bit different. I don't want to just say it's either four or six. It can be within that range. It could even be longer, it could be even shorter. The point of it is, is watch the behavior. When we look at a child that has cravings, especially in the carbohydrate world, chicken nuggets, pizza, dairy, breads, Fruit, I know fruit is a good source, but it shouldn't be 90% of a kid's diet. Most, all fruit, is gonna break down to sugar.

And if you're following at least a low glycemic diet, you are picking lower sugar rated fruits and vegetables. However, everybody doesn't do that. But those cravings are a huge indication of what they're feeding into their belly. Now, what about the kid that doesn't eat? That's a child who is really stuck in their brain stem and they are stuck with that withdrawal pattern and that has to do with the earliest reflexes called the withdrawal reflex. Any time a kid is pulling away, Please, that is a red flag.

Reach out, let's talk about it, okay? What about the child that eats lots of food, is ravenous all the time? That is child may have some metabolic syndromes going on. However, what ends up happening is they cannot push all of that glucose into the cell to make insulin. And that triggers a fight or flight, which looks like attention deficit hyperactivity. So again, my point is in making these connect the dots, there's so many reasons for why you see what you. You have to look at each child individually.

But when you get this cyclic-like behavior, start charting it. See if this is true. Date it, show the ranges of time where there's balance. But what was the child also eating, participating in, while the cycle was actually growing and mutating before it spawns? These can give you some great indicators of what your child is actually going through. Now, I want to peel back to strep for just a second because I see a lot of this. And if these kids have streps in their histories, it's an automatic, we're going to look at a streped antibody test.

Because if those antibodies are too high, Even without, listen to this, underline it, even without the expression of symptoms, it is raising havoc. not only on the microbiome, but it's raising havoc on their brain. You know, we used to only talk about nothing can get through that blood brain barrier, and that is not true. Today, science, thank goodness, has actually revealed you can break down the barrier by neutralizing the immune system regulator in the brain and you can allow the exchanges of viruses and bacteria to get into the Brain.

How do you think we found out about spinal meningitis getting into the brain. At some point, that's not just one unique bacteria, it had the capacity to neutralize the brains and create such incredible symptoms that it got everybody's attention. And yes, thats not good. But I can tell you, I've had cases that that is in their history. Now I am leading up to a very important point in talking about the chemical part of any kind of chronic illness. But our acute illnesses lead to chronic illnesses because you do not have to have symptom expression.

the most common ones that I hear about all the time, not just reported in cases, but at the conferences that attend, the literature that read, information is coming out in this arena all of the times. And it has to do with Epstein Bar. It has do do the Vericella, which is chicken pock. So if you had that in your history, right? Lyme disease, the herpes family. And let me tell you, herpies has an abundance of different ones. There's not just one or two, there's lots of them, okay? Now, those are some, oh, pneumonia.

Pneumonia is another one. Recently, I have heard across the globe, how this cough that was going around, the next stage that it led to, because they couldn't suppress the cough, they went and got x-rays, and then they were diagnosed pneumonia.

PANS, PANDAS, and Chronic Inflammation 24:18

There has been more pneumonia reported in the last six months than I think I've ever seen. I saw the same cycle of events with kids getting diagnosed with pink eye last year. So we have to pay attention to what is going on and what we're getting exposed to and are we ready to fight with our immune system. At the end of the day, that is the critical point. You must understand how your immune systems works, you must how it's a connection. It's not just like this one little pathway in your body, it is your gut, its your liver health, and it your elimination pathways.

Its your brain, It all works together. Now, one of the things that I wish would happen, and if this helps somebody out there, I'm ecstatic. Let's say your child has an infection. I am going to just put strep up there for right now. But we understand as a group, there's multiple infections, okay? But strep, child goes in, they culture the throat, your child has streps, put your children on an antibiotic, okay? We cannot test for antibodies. I typically will wait eight weeks after an antibiotics because you would get false positives or false negatives.

So you don't test that immediately. But wouldn't it be great if our system would do that for these kids with what is understood about strep and the potential for acute neuropsychiatric responses. This is where the acronym of PANS comes from. And then the Acronym of Pandas, which is an autoimmune storm. And I would venture to say the children that have gone into the pandas category have had strep multiple times and their antibodies are off the chart. And we're not zeroing in on first getting that gut health ready to then eliminate the streps in their body.

We don't follow up. So in my opinion, what I think would be ideal in our healthcare system is if a child goes in, you're following a traditional medical approach, your right, but after that child got tested for strep and put on an antibiotic, that then we are going to automatically follow back up with rebuilding the microbiome, and then in a couple of months. I just want to check your antibodies. I want make sure that number is in check. The thing that is so frustrating to me is how many times I've heard parents come in and say, you know, why isn't anybody else testing for this?

Why are you telling us this is the way we need to go and nobody else is doing it? Unfortunately, we still have a body of people that do not believe that that's an issue. on Children's Health Defense just a few days ago, I believe it was March 28th, a little one-year-old went into the pediatrician and she did not go to her six-month visit. She went to one year visit and what did they do is they said, you're behind on your shots and they gave this little baby six shots in one day. Not only did they give her six shots, but they put fluoride on her two baby teeth, two, baby, teeth.

Fluoride is a neurotoxin. That's right. It's a neuro toxin is only allowed to be in three places. Your teeth the water. and a toxic waste dump. And we have had counties last year that actually finally began to ban fluoride. Now, back to this little girl. This little was constipated the day she went in, so that was reported by the parents. There's an interview of these parents right on Children's Health Defense. she was constipated, and she had some cold-like symptoms. So she has immune symptoms, which meant that her body had a higher toxic burden.

The little girl died. She died before they started to go home, she started having seizures. They checked in with a police officer. He said, well, I think she's okay. And the parents, thank goodness, took her back to the hospital and the little girls died of cardiac arrest, one year old. That just happened on March 28th. Now again, If you are strong about shots, do it. That's not my judgment. But the point is, even in the medical literature, we are not to tax the body when the bodies immune system is not healthy.

And this is really the big point of all of this. We must understand how the immune systems works. We have to understand what we are doing to our body. I have families that absolutely are very strong on vaccines, and that's their right. But they also realize, wouldn't it be better if we boosted our system or knew if our systems was in a good place to receive that? And I had other families Unfortunately, they believe that that's when their child began to regress. And so, unfortunately, I think we've become very closed down on so many issues that involve our health.

And I just think it's time that we should be comfortable talking about these things. If you believe in it, that's what matters. What I believe is what matter for me and what I can offer my community. But I do an informed consent with every single family. What they choose to do is their right to. If they ask for resources, I will support them with resources either way. So I don't know. I just feel like it's time for us to get comfortable communicating about such very important issues that can make a huge difference in the life of any

Vaccines, Toxic Burden, and Informed Consent 31:58

of us, but especially our children. Now, let's go back to the strep case. If we did that, if the child had strep, we had a medical intervention, We also supported the microbiome, and then we went back and we checked those antibodies, you'd know right then and there, is your child's immune system truly up to par? Is it truly functioning? One of the other things that just breaks my heart is I have school-age kids, I had teenage kids. And there's a pattern over the 30 years in practice that I've seen that really points to very high strep antibodies.

One the greatest ones is this roller coaster mood. Just think about it. Kids are meant to be light. kids are mean to going towards new adventures. Kid are supposed to enjoy learning. kid are suppose to follow their parents as their subconscious mind is being developed and be ready to take on new responsibilities as they get older. Okay, so anything on the other side of that mood being like a roller coaster where they're showing signs of depression and anxiety where their very obsessive about anything they can't focus they cant pay attention they've got gut issues they really are very withdrawn and just prefer to be by themselves they just kinda isolate themselves those are classic symptoms that in my mind I'm always saying to myself, wow, I wonder if I find on their intake form that they've had strep and nine times out of 10, that's it.

And then we do a strep antibody test and we find it. And when we found it, we've already typically started working on healing the gut. I don't like to just, you know, throw things and see if they stick. We follow a very specific journey here at Connect My Brain. we want to work with the body. We want teach the Body how to function properly so that when you do go into that next step, especially here we use homeopathy, but when we go in to that step where you're going to pull things out of the BODY, the child is prepared.

when you just, you know, dive into, oh, I want to get those heavy metals out, or I wanna get that strep out and the child is not ready for that. It just causes a storm of problems. And we all know we can get leaky gut, leky liver, licky brain. I even read an article last week on lekey throat. So in these areas, there's always the potential. of toxins going back out into the body and as we looked at the the story of the little girl her body burden was too high for a little one-year-old to have anything else put into it and she couldn't handle it.

And so when we see these examples it's not always about the same subject matter. So it is not just about shots, okay? It is just not about strap. It's just is about anything in particular. Its about synergy of the body and how the works and every story, every individual is unique. And at Connect My Brain, that's what we focus on here. We focus the individual, we focused on your goals, but we teach, so that life does happen. So while you spend time with us to get healthy, We want you to know how to do it if life surprises you again.

So we're going to teach you how understand the body and how look at it in order that you can maintain the health of you, your family, children, and community. That's what Connect My Brain focuses on. Now I wanted to add a couple of other points before we wrap it up. Today I really focused a lot on the chemistry and I felt very strong about doing that. But I don't want it to sound like the only thing you have to do is chemistry. Lots of times You have to retrain the brain and that's why here at connect my brain we are mechanical chemical brain.

We are all three pillars because that is the way the human body works.

Connect My Brain: Whole-Child Support and Closing 37:18

The other thing that I'd like to put out there, you know, your wonderful community and I hear from you. Lot so if there is a topic that you would like for me to focus on Please go ahead over to the website connect my brain calm and send me a message Hey, dr. Hansen would love to hear your perspective on Dot dot dot and I will address those. I think that's very important. The other thing is remember We have an app called Connect My Brain. I believe it's incredibly important that we put into the hands of parents what your child should be doing when.

It really does matter. it matters that your kid crawls for six months. Your child stands up at a year and begins to walk. All the milestones matter! your history matters this was the creation of your unique blueprint so if you have a question about your blueprint send me a message through the website connectmybrain.com and as always share the podcast give us a review we want to make this a number one podcast in bringing the truth to the community, our world. Have a wonderful day and be blessed.