Lowering Oxidative Stress in Special Needs Children

Holistic Practitioner Spotlight with Tina Clements, Wellness Advocate for Special Needs Children

You won’t find a more dedicated partner on your wellness journey than a mother of a child that is struggling. We are speaking with Tina Clements, mom of a special needs child who stops at nothing to find answers to what works and what doesn’t. A tenacious Wellness Advocate, Tina utilizes diet and science-backed products to activate the body and let the body be able to do what it is designed to do.

Tell Us a Story About a Client with Special Needs and How You Helped

Sophia’s Story:  This beautiful little girl named Sophia, born with health issues, endured 18 surgeries during the first year and a half of her life. By 18 months old, she only had a vocabulary of about four words and then lost the ability to speak, babble or gurgle. She also showed behaviors of spinning and lining up toys.  So, at 18 months old, the doctors added the diagnosis of autism and apraxia (a neurological disorder affecting motor movements and speech).

These parents had already gone into massive debt on credit cards to find every known therapy to help their daughter and even though they have seen small shifts with her – she still was non-verbal and still had a lot of issues. She was now three years old.

How Nutrigenomics Helps With Symptoms of Autism

Sophia’s Mom and I were introduced through a mutual friend.  We chatted online and I told her of the wonderful results my son, who had similar issues, had with Nutrigenomics, the study of the effects of food on gene expression. I suggested she look into the amazing science of this which helps activate the body to do what it’s designed to do, but for whatever reason can’t.  

Sophia’s mom did the research I provided that included scientific peer reviewed studies (just a few of over 75,000 medical articles), an ABC News Investigative Report from 2005 explaining the science, and more. Her heart told her that this could possibly help Sophia.  

Oxidative Stress Underlies Most Disease and Chronic Illness

Oxidative Stress  occurs when there is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Most kids don’t usually have high oxidative stress levels. The same is not true for an Autistic or a health or special needs-struggling child. Compounding the problem is that these children, for some reason, can’t produce their own glutathione or detoxify well. They have very low Glutathione levels (a potent anti-oxidant, free-radical scavenger and detoxifying agent).

Many holistic health practitioners can administer Glutathione injections (orally is not effective), but another way to elevate glutathione levels is to turn on a protein in your body – the Nrf2 pathway with certain foods, supplements, and exercise. It’s a bit complicated, but essentially it helps with regulating antioxidants, detoxification, cell defense gene expression and increasing mitochondrial health- the power house of cells. After a few months, the body is able to produce antioxidants as well as produce Glutathione on its own, helping the child to detox. 

Sophia’s Mom began the protocol of Activating the Nrf2 and Nrf1 pathway’s on December 18, 2017.  By February 23, 2018 Sophia was verbal, actually speaking in sentences! Her cognitive skills had drastically increased as well.

From Autistic to Mainstream

Sophia’s mother is ecstatic with her daughter’s progress who is now enrolled in a regular preschool class. Her Mom has not had to say that her child has autism, as you really can’t tell any longer.  As a side note: The entire family, as well as Sophia, is using the same protocol of activating their bodies, and they are all enjoying better than ever health. 

Why and When Did You Choose the Holistic Path?

Quite frankly, my journey began a long time ago as a child. My grandfather in Sweden was interested in herbs and treating the body with nutrition instead of the typical medical routes.  I truly didn’t step into this way of life 100% though, until I adopted my special needs son and we had exhausted all conventional medical treatments. Nothing was working and quite frankly many things were made worse!  I jumped into research on my own to get to the root issues of how to help this little boy. Through alternatives to conventional medicine, I uncovered the ways and means to clear out toxins and rebuild the body. It changed all our lives.

What Lessons Have Your Work and Personal Experiences Taught You?

There is hope out there.  So many parents with kids that are struggling with autism are left with little or no hope.  They’re given these heartbreaking diagnoses with a bleak future and no resources. So many parents are left to their own research and they don’t know where to turn.

I’m here to say that there are answers out there. While there are never guarantees in life, you’re on the right track if you provide the body what it needs to heal itself. If I never opened my mind to learning and then implementing and staying the course in lowering oxidative stress, this adorable now 10 year old would not be where he is today. He is now able to talk in sentences and carry on a conversation with anyone. He is capable of running, playing and climbing. He is able to sleep soundly (and now so am I). He continues to learn, grow and live a more normal life.

What Would You Like Your Patients/Clients to Know About Your Services that They May Not be Aware of?

There is information, education and hope for families with autistic children.  I have a Facebook Group where there are so many resources for prevention and/or helping the body to shift into a more healthy being. You can chat with other parents, learn about things like Activation and the new technology that is changing how we approach healthcare.

Any Additional Comments:

I want to be clear. While it is important to know that natural products do not treat any disease, lowering Oxidative Stress is a good thing.  All you need to do is go to Pubmed.gov and type in Oxidative Stress and you’ll see well over 200,000 studies linking it to poor health conditions. 

Biography

I’m passionate about helping families who have children diagnosed with ADHD, Autism, Cognitive Impairment, etc.  to find a direction that will help them improve their lives. We are ALL bombarded by toxins, chronic aches, pains, illness and you don’t have to just accept it. I found that Nutrigenomics and nutrition can play a big role and if you take the time to investigate it, you will be thankful you did.

Tina Clements

Waterford, MI, USA

Visit Tina’s Website

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