Ginkgo Biloba & Nutritional Intervention

There is a documentary coming out about a woman I have come to know over the last few years. As part of this very special community of parents, Teresa Cashion is definitely someone who has taken her role as advocate and mom very seriously. I was lucky enough to be introduced to her through the Internet on one of my Yahoo groups, DSTNI. This is a group devoted to discussing different natural therapies and nutritional intervention. We've been completely in support of Nutritional Intervention and have had Jaden on supplementation since he was 3 months old. After reading a little about Ginkgo Biloba and its extraordinary effects it has on the memory and for its ability to increase blood flow in the brain, I was more and more intrigued by it's ability to help in Down Syndrome. After all, much of what many top Researchers from Universities across the country are realizing is: If we can help prevent the neurons from dying off in the brain, and at the same time increase blood flow to the region of the brain that is most severely affected in Down Syndrome, they hypocampus, then we could possibly allow for more typical brain development. The studies being done at Stanford Univeristy right now are extremely promising and all point to this hypothesis being correct. Just how to treat the brain, is something that still needs to be completely realized.

In the mean time, parents like me, aren't waiting for all of the trials and medications to be completed and tested. Teresa Cashion, a Dentist from Houston Texas decided to start giving her son Ginkgo Biloba along with different supplementation to see if it could in fact help her son. In her own words, she was completely amazed at the almost immediate results after starting him on Ginkgo. After speaking with her for an extended period of time and her informing me that many other parents were having fantastic results with their own children, I decided to start giving Ginkgo Biloba to Jaden at 16 months of age. After researching Ginkgo Biloba and realizing that the formula I was going to give him had to be regulated, pure and from a reputable company, I was excited to start Jaden on this. Since I research nutritional supplements avidly anyway, I was able to trust the brand I chose. Nature's Way, GinkgGold.

Within the first few hours of giving Jaden his first dosage of Ginkgo Biloba, we noticed immediate changes in his response time. No longer was there a slight delay when calling his name and waiting for a response. It was as if a light bulb went off in his head, and things started to click much faster for him. From that day on Jaden has been on Ginkgo Biloba. We give him 60mg a day, we crush a tablet and put it in some applesauce or soy yogurt. We also give him a multi vitamin supplement every day as well. Many parents also give extra fish oil and other supplements, but as of now we are only giving Jaden these 2 things.

The consistent things we hear almost daily from people who meet Jaden since he was born is, "He doesn't seem like he has Down Syndrome." or other's ask "He's so smart, so alert, does he have just a little Down Syndrome?" Now, we hear it from his pre-school teachers. Over and over people in the profession of working with children with special needs tell us they literally can't believe how "typical" Jaden is. They tell us daily how "on par" he is with other kids his age and in fact is doing many things earlier than he should be! Never has "typical" been such music to my ears. Jaden is breaking down stereotypes just by being himself, showing everyone he meets that Down Syndrome isn't a curse or hindrance. It isn't because it's bad to have Down Syndrome, it's because we all innately want our children to be as independent and healthy as possible. I am not trying to take away his Down Syndrome by giving him these protocols, I am trying to help his body and mind work together as seamlessly as possible. Parent's like me may be up for quite a bit of criticism from other parents who really feel that we're not just accepting our children as they are. I understand this, but it couldn't be further from the truth. If your child had diabetes, you get them treatment, or if they have trouble reading, you get them a tutor, or if your child gets sick, you give them antibiotics. It's the same thing here. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing I didn't follow my gut instincts for my son and that I wasn't doing everything within my power to allow him a life to the best of his capabilities. Does every parent reading this have to agree? Of course not. That isn't the point of writing this. I am just sharing my personal experience, which is obviously different from everyone Else's.

If you are interested in reading more about these therapies, check out:
changingmindsfoundation.com and when you're done there, check out this excerpt from the documentary they just made about Down Syndrome and Theresa Cody.
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=WFKW7-DDzNo

Come On Over & Get FREE Products

Hey everybody, if you're still out there that is! I've been a bad "blogger" due to the fact that I've been on the computer upwards of 10 hours a day building my new website! Thank goodness my gorgeous husband helps me as much as he does! This is truly the most exciting thing I've done in quite a while! I'm finally officially ready to launch
Your Healthiest Life!

I have been getting everything together for over 3 weeks now, and it's taken up all of my time.
I have 7 TOTALLY FREE, All Natural, Environmentally Friendly, Organic products to give you this week! I plan on having at least this many different products to give away each week. I really want to spread awareness to everyone on just how easy it is to switch from "toxic" products to "healthy" products. Many people, because of where they live, don't have access to so many healthy products, Your Healthiest Life, is a place where everyone can read and win products from amazing companies that want you to try them!

This week, I have an amazing product many of you might be interested in. It's called Nutrivene D, the multi vitamin supplement I have been giving Jaden since he was 3 months old. This company is on the forefront of nutritional supplementation and is always ahead of the curve as far as research goes. They actually formed a research team called The Trisomy 21 Research Foundation which continues to research, evaluate and test formulations specifically for our children with Down Syndrome! Studies keep showing that children/babies who are given supplements actually grow taller, have less hearing and vision problems and tend to be healthier overall, than those not given supplements. Jaden is a perfect example of this. He is average height and weight for a 2-1/2 year old, his vision is perfect, he's very healthy, has no digestive problems, etc. I really attribute this to the supplements. I strongly advocate Nutritional Intervention, especially when you educate yourself as to why and what to do. Nutrivene D is formulated by Doctor's and Pharmacists who have been studying the physiology and metabolisms of children with Down Syndrome for years. Our children have different metabolisms and different ways of absorbing nutrients. Anyway, you can read all about Nutritional Intervention, HERE. I have 12 bottles, (Full size), of different supplements to give away! I would definitely stop by and enter to win!

If you subscribe to the feed burner on the right of the home page, you will get updates on all of the products I am giving away. All you have to do is answer ALL of the questions completely in the entry form, and you can win! The more complete and informative the answers are, the better your chances of winning are. There is no limit to how many products you can win or how often! There is no catch and nothing to buy. This is just straight up marketing from companies that would love for you to try their products. These are all FULL Size Products also! No Samples!
Hope to see you all there!

Nutritional Intervention

I started reading about Nutritional Intervention shortly after Jaden was born. Through all of the researching I was doing on the Internet regarding Down Syndrome, I started coming across different studies and Doctors throughout the years who had tried an array of Vitamin Supplements to try and help the brain development and health of children with Down Syndrome. There have been several fascinating studies which easily convinced me that the least I could do for Jaden's immune system which seemed to be naturally less sturdy, was give him vitamins.
Here is one of MANY articles on Nutritional Intervention that I have. If you're interested in me forwarding you more, just let me know.
One of the best on explaining Targeted Nutritional Intervention.

At Stanford University, right now, they are doing a tremendous amount of research on the similarity between Alzheimer's and Down Syndrome. This is actually good news for us parents because they are realizing that many of the drugs that seem to be effective in treating Alzheimer's, are also effective in treating Down Syndrome. They have known this for quite some time, but research seems to be narrowing in on which treatments will work the best. Some argue that with this research comes the fact that we don't accept our children the way they are. I see it from the perspective that if there are effective treatments that are not harmful, that will help my child live a fulfilling, enriching life, I am the first in line to try them. Am I trying to make Jaden something that he isn't? No. Am I hoping that his brain will develop so that he can remember and comprehend and speak well? Yes. Does this mean that if he struggles in a few of these areas that I will be sad? No. I accept and love Jaden for all that he is. I am only excited at the possibility that maybe some things won't be a struggle if their become methods available to help him. I am very excited, like many parents for our children's future and possibilities. I truly think our kids are amongst the first few generations to live healthy, enriching lives where the world seems to embrace them with so much more acceptance and love. At least that's how we experience it with Jaden.

With this I bring excellent news. The Innovative Company, International Nutrition is going to be participating in the weekly Giveaway and is sending Jaden's Vitamins that has been taking since he was 3 months old, to try for FREE! A full size Jar! Value, $45.00! Everything I will be giving away is full size, by the way. I am not giving away samples and trial sizes, I am giving a way FULL SIZE Products. I will start the Giveaway with Nutrivene in 2 weeks. First I have the Crystal Stick, and then I have Osea Skin not to mention 15 more products on line!

Ginkgo Biloba & Nutritional Intervention

Hi Ya'll.

This is a post I've been wanting to write for quite some time now, and I finally have a minute to do so. I'm not sure how many of the parents that read this blog give their kids/babies any other form of supplementation, but I thought I would share briefly what we do with Jaden.

3 Months after Jaden was born, an article was passed on to me by my Step-Sister. The article was all about this lady, Dixie Lawrence, who had formulated a nutritional supplement for her adopted daughter, Madison who had Down Syndrome. Based on her own Body Building Background, she had become very educated on supplements, amino acids, and the body's own metabolism. She noticed from the get go, that Madison had a slew of health issues, and she was desperate to try and help her any way she could. She started researching and researching and came across some other People before her, who had taken the Nutritional Supplementation approach with kids with Down Syndrome to some surprisingly positive results. So, she met up with some of these people and worked to develop a formulation that could help kids with Down Syndrome, since their immune systems and metabolisms were different than the "average" kid.

This was back in the late 80's early 90's. Now, lets fast forward. Right after reading this article about Dixie Lawrence, and all the other people involved in researching better health treatments for kids with Down Syndrome, I became very interested in trying to do everything possible for Jaden. Even though Jaden was blessed with a healthy digestive system and perfect heart, I knew I was going to have to do everything I could to keep him healthy, and give him all the advantages I could. So, I too, started researching Health and Nutrition, a subject I've always read a lot about, and the more I read, the more I learned. We are always trying to stay healthy, eat healthy, and I have always believed in supplementation where deficiencies are concerned. I truly believe that our bodies begin to break down due to un-detected deficiencies within our bodies due to poor eating habits. Over time these deficiencies lead to imbalances, symptoms, and eventually diseases or chronic conditions. So, with Jaden It made perfect sense that his body doesn't absorb nutrients the way the "average" child does and that he doesn't Metabolise these nutrients the way the "average" child does. Why not give him the added benefits of supplementation, especially one that's formulated for kids with Down Syndrome.

After years of research, that is still ongoing, they can now see patterns in deficiencies and Oxidative Stress found in babies/kids with down Syndrome. In doing my research, I came across a Doctor out of Virginia, Lawrence Leichtman, who is a Genetic Researcher and one of the worlds most Re-knowned experts on Down Syndrome. He is an extremely brilliant man who has devoted the better part of the last 20 years to helping babies/kids/adults with Down Syndrome, and to helping "Typical" Doctors understand Down Syndrome Better. There is Nothing this man does not know, as far as Down Syndrome goes, and he travels the United States each year to do clinics to see families that can't get to him in Virginia. He is an extremely valuable resource to us who frequently ask questions on the DSTNI (Down Syndrome Targeted Nutritional Intervention) Group on Yahoo. Anyway, he has worked closely with Dixie Lawrence over the years on helping to formulate the Supplements and they have worked with the Company International Nutrition to keep this formulation updated and current.

We personally saw Dr. Leichtman in Florida 1 year ago to have him evaluate Jaden. We started giving Jaden Nutrivene D, the supplement by International Nutrition, when he was 3 months old. From personal experience I will say that I don't think it's a coincidence that Jaden is as Healthy as he is, or that he is developing so well. I can say that this is probably why he's on the "normal" charts for height and weight, his eyesight is perfect, developing in the "normal" range on almost everything, etc. (Dr. Leichtman has found that the earlier babies/kids start on Supplements the better they seem to do). Then about 1 year ago, I started talking with some other parents who are closely following all the Down Syndrome Research going on at Stanford University, and they started hearing about amazing results with Ginkgo Biloba. So, some parenst started giving it to their children, to astonishing results. Apparently, based on all the studies, Ginkgo Biloba not only increases blood flow in the brain, helping to improve memory in the area of the brain affected in down Syndrome, but it also helps to inhibit cellular death, also seen in Down Syndrome, Hence the Delay in response time or the lack of remembering something from one day to the next, even though a new skill was learned. They also have found that Ginkgo Biloba is a powerful antioxidant and can see very little down sides to it. After reading more and more research about Gingko Biloba, I started giving it to Jaden when he was about 17 months old. Please see here for a few of the different articles on Ginkgo Biloba & Down Syndrome:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_265-266/ai_n15688808
http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/02/25/downs-syndrome-brains-aided-by-ginkgo-tree-extract/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle.ns%3Fid%3Ddn11249%26feedId%3Donline-news_rss20&frame=true
http://herbalmusings.com/mind_over_matter.htm

What we noticed Instantly was not only astonishing, it was phenomenal! Jaden has always been bright, alert, involved, responsive etc. However, there was always a slight delay attached to the response time. For example we would ask him a question, and he would take a few seconds to respond etc. The minute we started him on Ginkgo, that delay in response time completely went away! It was as if a Light Bulb had gone off in his head and he was now free to interact in "real time"! It's as if he knew he wanted to respond faster, but was unable to! We not only saw his response time increase to Normal we saw his memory completely improve. For example, Jaden was always fantastic at learning something new, really fast, however from day to day he maybe didn't remember what he had learned the previous day, and we would have to "re-teach" the skill. Now, when we teach him something, he not only remembers it, the next day he brings it to my attention without me going over it with him! For example if I say, "Kiss doggy on the belly", he'll do it, but the next day, he'll bring me the doggy and kiss it on the belly to show me he knows how to do it!

I have hundreds of examples of how this is working with Jaden, but I couldn't possible list them all here! I can only recommend researching more about this if you are interested, or contacting some of the Hundred's of parents currently using Nutritional Intervention and/or Ginkgo Biloba with their kids. Their stories are very encouraging. The way I look at it is this: We can only do what we feel is best for our children and their future, and I personally will do anything I can so that Jaden can interact with the world to the best of his abilities. I really hope this information helps you or at least introduces you to some new information!

Please email me or contact me at anytime for more information or with any questions! Pass this on to anyone you want!