Product Description

Children With Starving Brains is a message of hope in the midst of a worldwide epidemic of autism, ADD and ADHD. This is the first book written by an experienced clinician that gives a step-by-step treatment guide for parents and doctors based on the understanding that ASD is a complex biomedical illness resulting in significant brain malnutrition. Genetic susceptibility activated by “triggers” such as pesticides and heavy metals in vaccines can lead to immune system impairment, gut dysfunction, and pathogen invasion such as yeast and viruses in many children. Dr. McCandless, whose grandchild with autism has inspired her “broad spectrum approach,” describes important diagnostic tools needed to select appropriate treatment programs. Her book explains major therapies newly available and identifies safe and effective options for parents and physicians working together to improve the health of these special children.

About the Author

Jacquelyn McCandless received her M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and is certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Since the early 1990s, her interest in women’s issues and sexuality has led to an alternative medicine practice with a focus on anti-aging, brain nutrition, and natural hormone therapy. In 1996, after her granddaughter was diagnosed with autism, she returned even more to basic medicine and began working with biomedical aspects of developmentally delayed children. She now utilizes the knowledge she gained searching for treatments for her grandchild to help other ASD children.

© 1996-2011, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

On Amazon, the book is described as follows:

Experts agree that America is in the midst of a disturbing epidemic of what has thus far been diagnosed as autism. In just thirty years autism diagnoses have risen from 1 in 5,000 children to 1 in 110, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But in the history of our society there has never been an “epidemic” of any developmental or genetic disorder—it is scientifically impossible. So what is this mysterious affliction known as “autism,” and how can we stop it? Dr. Goldberg and his colleagues illustrate why autism cannot be genetic, but is a symptom of a treatable neurological disease that attacks the brain’s immune system. Readers will come to understand:

• Autism is not psychological or developmental, but a medical disease.
• Autism is caused by a dysfunction in the neuro-immune system and often by secondary neurotropic viruses that impact the neuro-immune system and brain.
• Illnesses such as autism, ADD/ADHD, and chronic fatigue syndrome all have different “labels” but are actually variations on the same thing: neuro-immune dysfunction syndromes (NIDS)

• A NeuroSPECT scan is a diagnostic tool which, used in combination with proven therapies and treatments described in this book, is saving lives today, while opening the door to new therapies.
• What you can do to transform your own life or the lives of your loved ones.

Dr. Goldberg believes that in order to save the next generation of children from the incurable stigma of an autism diagnosis, we must quickly realize that all of these disorders are the result of a curable disease process.

© 1996-2011, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

In a positive reader review, Eric Gfesser says:

A review of this book in just a few short paragraphs is difficult, but some of Goldberg’s remarks simply need to be shared here. In chapter 11, Goldberg writes that “it has become obvious over the years, many errors, misdirections in research have occurred, but looking back, the mistakes have occurred in spite of good intentions by contributors and parents. We all grew up, and I was trained with a strong belief in our ‘ivory towers’. As echoed in the Hollywood community, in theory this was the era in which ‘there was no disease we couldn’t solve with enough funding’. It is obvious to me and to many frantic parents by now that our ‘ivory towers’, the main medical focus led by psychiatrists (as noted, these disorders as defined decades ago were not considered to have primary medical issues/problems), and all the money to date, have not remotely helped solve the real crisis, a true medical crisis facing these children and adults. The situation is so bad, so controlled, that I have been told multiple times that in major institutions, if you want to study developmental or genetics, you will likely be funded (look at all the money raised, and added to this system by congress and private support groups), but if you want to study immune or viral, not only should you not expect funding, but you may be reprimanded (bad judgment if not a very high up researcher) or even let go. Somehow, that does not resemble the medical or academic world I was exposed to or have believed in.”

Earlier, in chapter 7, during his discussion of the role of diet elimination and reduction of allergy-related stresses, Goldberg comments that “the idea of removing dairy was not always an accepted practice. It has been a sad point for medicine that if we cannot conclusively document or prove with markers what is happening to the body, the medical profession is all too quick to dismiss it. I had professors who taught me to think, question, understand, and be skeptical. Sadly we have entered an era of medicine in which you do A, B, C, and D, but if you do not respond to ABCD, you are often out of luck or considered to be psychosomatic. We are in a world in which the general pediatrician has to be very cautious, very afraid of doing anything not dictated as correct by the AAP or his or her local medical society.” Well said.

© 1996-2011, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Mr. Kresser said:

Dr. Emily Deans’ Evolutionary Psychiatry blog has quickly become one of my favorites over the past year. It’s rare to find a psychiatrist that acknowledges the role of nutrition in mental and behavioral health at all, much less one that approaches these topics from an evolutionary perspective.

This week Dr. Deans joins us on the podcast to discuss the role of Paleo nutrition in mental health. Topics covered include:

• The link between diet and Alzheimer’s
• Can nutritional changes effect depression?
• Does gastric bypass surgery lead to mental health issues?
• Can gluten intolerance induce mental disorders?
• What role does the “modern lifestyle” play in the increasing prevalence of mental health problems?
• How does an individual’s mental state influence his/her biology?
• Does iron deficiency anemia contribute to mental health problems?

Copyright © 2011 The Healthy Skeptic

Recommended interview!! There is a lot to learn from it!! A lot that will help you and your children have better neurologic and mental health.

Moonwalking with Einstein follows Joshua Foer’s compelling journey as a participant in the U.S. Memory Championship. As a science journalist covering the competition, Foer became captivated by the secrets of the competitors, like how the current world memory champion, Ben Pridmore, could memorize the exact order of 1,528 digits in an hour. He met with individuals whose memories are truly unique—from one man whose memory only extends back to his most recent thought, to another who can memorize complex mathematical formulas without knowing any math. Brains remember visual imagery but have a harder time with other information, like lists, and so with the help of experts, Foer learned how to transform the kinds of memories he forgot into the kind his brain remembered naturally. The techniques he mastered made it easier to remember information, and Foer’s story demonstrates that the tricks of the masters are accessible to anyone.
–Miriam Landis

This review is from: Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything (Hardcover)
After reading the first chapter of this book online, I went out and picked up a copy and read it. I was under the impression from reading that first chapter that this book would be about Joshua’s year of training his memory. There is a large gap between knowing about a memory technique and how to actually use that technique. I was interested in reading about the author’s efforts, problems, and his solutions to those problems. Unfortunately for me, only a small part of this book actually was about the author’s actual training. He does cover a good deal of academic ground on memory. If you have a undergarduate degree in psychology, most of this material will be familiar. The author is correct when he said that this book isn’t a self-help book, but there are a few pearls within its cover. My expectations for this book resulted in my being disappointed with it. That’s my problem. I do consider the book to be a good read and would recommend it to friends and associates.
–Tony R. Vaughan

© 1996-2011, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

An excerpt:

Think how often you hear children saying “I just lack the brain for numbers” or “I don’t have the coordination for sports”. These are direct manifestations of the fixed mindset, and they destroy motivation.

Those with a growth mindset, on the other hand, do not regard their abilities as set in genetic stone. These are the youngsters who approach tasks with gusto. “I may not be good at maths now, but if I work hard, I will be really good in the future!”

BBC © 2011

Nick Vujicic can tell you about that! Wow…

But I hope they are not saying to not call anyone intelligent! If someone is intelligent, he is. Period. The point is to learn how to use your mind, how to use your rational faculty. The problem is false philosophic ideas about knowledge: tell someone he is intelligent; teach him that knowledge is Platonic insight; and you have a recipe for disaster. The solution is a proper view of knowledge: knowledge is perception-based and is primarily inductive. And induction takes work and an active mind.

The episode and Dr. Bock are criticized on Media Matters. However, Dr. Ann Childers, among numerous other people, has made observations similar to those of Dr. Bock, and has used diet to treat children with mental health problems, as she discussed in an interview by Jimmy Moore.  You could also listen to Nora Gedgaudas discuss how diet has an affect on mental health in some of her radio shows (episodes #29, 33, 39). See also the PBS documentary The Medicated Child (which I have not seen, and so cannot recommend; I am posting it here on the implicit recommendation of Tom Naughton) and read the comments to the post.

I’d tend to think that diet does help; however, we’d have to do the (real, proper, inductive and integrated) science and research the (real, proper, inductive and integrated) science that has already been done. If you look into related issues, you will learn how high-fat diets have been used to help children who are not developing neurologically properly and how ketogenic diets are used to treat cancers and neurological problems.

I do not know anything about the validity of the quiz, or the site’s credibility.