Epidemic Answers Archives - Maria Rickert Hong

Maria Rickert Hong September 30, 2013

AN EVENING OF INSPIRATION

Maria Rickert Hong heading into "An Evening of Inspiration" I’ve been pretty busy lately helping to organize an event for my non-profit. Epidemic Answers hosted “An Evening of Inspiration” in New York City on September 27, 2013 to benefit the Canary Kids Film Project. It was fabulous!

The motto of the film project is: 7 children, 18 months, 1 goal: RECOVERY. We will be taking 7 children with a known diagnosis of autism, ADHD, allergies and asthma and providing free healing and recovery services while we film them for 18 months. Most people don’t know that recovery is possible.

We honored Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group, Deirdre Imus and Harvard pediatric neurologist Dr. Martha Herbert, author of “The Autism Revolution”, for their work in protecting the health of children, which is a subject near and dear to my heart. Dr. Herbert and Dr. Russell Jaffe will be heading up the film’s medical advisory board.

Allison Moorer singing "Mama Let the Wolf in" Academy-award-nominated alternative country singer Allison Moorer gave a heart-wrenching performance about her son’s autism in her song, “Mama Let the Wolf In”. I can completely relate to the pain and anguish that she feels in thinking that she didn’t do enough to protect her son from developing autism. By performing at our event, I sure hope she realizes that recovery is very possible for her son!

Donna Gates, Geri Brewster and Maria Rickert Hong I finally got to meet Donna Gates, the developer of the Body Ecology Diet, and Geri Brewster, a functional-medicine nutritionist. Both Donna and Geri are on the film’s medical advisory board. I’ll be interviewing Donna in my monthly webinar in November 2013, so be on the lookout for that. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter below so you can get the invitation for it.

You can watch Ken Cook’s acceptance speech of his Canary Award here:

If you’d like to help us get this film made, click here to donate!

To view professional photos of the event, click here and here.

Filed Under: ADHD, ALLERGIES, ASTHMA, AUTISM / PDD-NOS, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, HEALTH TOPICS, MEDIA, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS Tagged: ADHD, allergies, asthma, autism, autism revolution, Body Ecology Diet, Canary Kids Film Project, Deirdre Imus, Donna Gates, Dr. Martha Herbert, Dr. Russell Jaffe, Environmental Working Group, Epidemic Answers, Evening of Inspiration, Geri Brewseter, Ken Cook

Maria Rickert Hong September 4, 2013

Ritalin, Adderall and Anti-Depressants Aren’t the Only ADHD Options

Did you know that most, if not all, school shootings were performed by children on some type of anti-depressant or other psychological medication?

Even if you think your child would never do something like this, do you really want to take that risk?

Many parents feel that they have no other option but to medicate their child if he/she is hyperactive, inattentive or has behavioral problems.

Usually it’s a boy, and recent statistics show that 1 in 10 children has been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. That’s crazy!

I keep doing a double-take and wondering when people are going to wake up and smell the Kool-Aid that they’re drinking.

Yes, I believe many of these diagnoses are correct. I don’t think it’s just better diagnosis. I really can’t remember kids having these issues when I was in school, but now that my sons are in elementary school, I see it everywhere. In fact, I heard that the 2nd grade teachers said that this last class was the toughest yet in terms of behavioral problems – the teachers were worn out!

There is another way, and I recommend that parents look into the possibility of their children having gut dysbiosis, food allergies/sensitivities and/or toxicity before reaching for Ritalin or Adderall for ADHD options.

Unfortunately, your local pediatrician likely hasn’t been educated about these issues.

A child with any of the above issues is more likely to have had colic, projectile vomiting, developmental delays, chronic ear infections, chronic runny nose, ears/cheeks turning red after eating, distended bellies, acid reflux, cradle cap and more.

You can find out what’s happening to our children by viewing the full-length video below of “The Drugging of Our Children”.

Filed Under: ACID REFLUX (GERD), ADHD, ALLERGIES, ASTHMA, AUTISM / PDD-NOS, COLIC, DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, DIGESTIVE ISSUES, EAR INFECTIONS, FOOD AND NUTRITION, GUT DYSBIOSIS, HEALTH TOPICS, IMMUNE DYSREGULATION, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, NEUROTOXINS, SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER, SINUS INFECTIONS, TOXINS Tagged: acid reflux, Adderall, ADHD, allergies, asthma, autism, autoimmune, Canary Kids Film Project, chronic ear infections, chronic runny nose, colic, cradle cap, developmental delays, distended bellies, Drugging of Our Children, ears/cheeks turning red after eating, Epidemic Answers, projectile vomiting, Ritalin, SPD

Maria Rickert Hong August 16, 2013

Announcing the Documenting Hope Project Website

14 children, 18 months, 1 goal: RECOVERY

I am the Media Director for the Documenting Hope Project, a documentary brought to you by my non-profit, Epidemic Answers. In this film, we will be documenting the potential recovery of 14 children from autism, ADHD, allergies, asthma, juvenile RA, mood disorders and type 2 diabetes as they work with integrative health practitioners for 18 months. These children will be receiving free medical services, healthy food and supplements during the duration of the project.

I am extremely excited about this film and am also excited to announce that we have officially launched the website for the film project. We are currently raising funds for the project and have not started taking applications for children to be featured in the film. If you’d like to help us get this film made, click here.

Filed Under: ADHD, ALLERGIES, ASTHMA, AUTISM / PDD-NOS, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, HEALTH TOPICS, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS Tagged: ADHD recovery, allergies recovery, asthma recovery, autism recovery, Canary Kids Film Project, Epidemic Answers

Maria Rickert Hong June 25, 2013

Epidemic Answers Announces Collaboration with Developmental Delay Resources to Raise Awareness about Recovery of Children from Autism, ADHD, Developmental Delays, Allergies, Asthma and More

EA_logo WEST SIMSBURY, Conn., June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — Epidemic Answers, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization at www.epidemicanswers.org dedicated to educating the public about the epidemics of chronic illness and helping parents find healing solutions, is joining forces with Developmental Delay Resources (www.devdelay.org), the only educational resource for families dealing with developmental delays that integrates the full spectrum of treatments and therapeutic modalities from diet interventions to biomedical protocols, physical therapies and everything in between.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130625/CG37989)

Epidemic Answers (EA) and Developmental Delay Resources (DDR) are combining efforts to raise awareness about the record number of children being diagnosed with chronic health conditions and developmental delays. The rates of autism are now 1 in 50 children and 1 in 31 boys. The rate of asthma is 1 in 8 children, and the rate of ADHD is 1 in 10 children.

Both EA and DDR are dedicated to educating parents about the environmental factors that contribute to these conditions. Beyond that, both organizations subscribe to the belief children can recover from these conditions.

“The fundamental belief that ties our two organizations together is the belief that children can get better,” said Beth Lambert, Executive Director of Epidemic Answers. “Both EA and DDR want the public to know that there are answers for their children and that personalized application of therapeutic, healing and recovery solutions can bring children closer to reaching their full potential.”

DDR’s Executive Director, Patricia Lemer, will be joining the EA Board of Directors, bringing forty years of experience to advise and help guide the future of Epidemic Answers.

DDR will be supporting Epidemic Answers’ latest project aimed at raising awareness: The Canary Kids Film Project. For this project, Epidemic Answers will be supporting seven children with a diagnosis (such as autism, ADHD, allergies, or asthma) and providing them with free healing and recovery services for eighteen months. These children’s recovery journeys will then be documented and made into a feature length film to be directed and produced by award-winning film maker Mary Mazzio.

The children in the program will be involved in a clinical study being run by Dr. Martha Herbert, MD, PhD, pediatric neurologist and professor of neurology from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Herbert will be tracking the children’s progress over the course of the program by collecting biomedical data. The program and film are being entirely funded through donations and grants. To learn more about and view the trailer of The Canary Kids Film Project, or to make a donation, please visit: www.epidemicanswers.org/canary-kids.

Epidemic Answers will manage the collaboration between DDR and EA. DDR members are welcomed to join the EA community by visiting www.EpidemicAnswers.org and signing up for the newsletter.

Epidemic Answers was founded in 2009 by two moms, Beth Lambert (author of “A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America’s Children”) and Michelle Tortora. Through a variety of healing modalities (including diet, supplements, energy medicine, homeopathy, and others), both Beth and Michelle have recovered their children from chronic illnesses including autism, sensory processing disorder, Lyme disease, allergies and more. Epidemic Answers is dedicated to educating the public about the epidemic of chronic illness affecting the current generation of children and providing prevention and healing solutions for parents, caregivers and future parents.

To view this video on YouTube, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjXFDDELLRI

Media Contact: Maria Rickert Hong, Media Director, Epidemic Answers, (860) 217-0111, [email protected]

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

SOURCE Epidemic Answers

View the press release here on PR Newswire.
RELATED LINKS
http://www.EpidemicAnswers.org

Filed Under: ADHD, ALLERGIES, ASTHMA, AUTISM / PDD-NOS, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, HEALTH TOPICS, MEDIA, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS Tagged: ADHD, allergies, asthma, autism, Beth Lambert, Canary Kids, developmental delay, Developmental Delay Resources, Epidemic Answers, Patty Lemer, press release

Maria Rickert Hong May 31, 2013

THE “R” WORD

road to recovery sign You may or may not know my personal recovery story. I have recovered my 2 sons, now ages 5 and 7, from sensory processing disorder (SPD), asthma, allergies, acid reflux and eczema with a biomedical approach, which means correcting nutritional and hormonal deficiencies, removing toxicities and correcting gut dysbiosis.

I’m still working on failure to thrive, mitochondrial dysfunction, hypothyroidism and persistent eczema in my older son. In addition, they both had developmental delays, and my older son had severe hypotonia as a baby.

I have recovered from immune dysregulation, in which I had shingles twice, the worst case of poison-ivy ever, bronchitis (which I’d never had before), constant sinus infections and constant colds that would last 3-4 weeks at a time.

My older son had immune dysregulation, too, when he was younger: he would go to preschool, get sick and be out for at least a week at a time, then go to school the next week, get sick, and the cycle repeated ad nauseum (pun intended).

I also had severe adrenal fatigue, which was caused by dealing with my older son’s severe SPD.

Adrenal fatigue caused middle-of-the-night insomnia, in which I would be awake for hours at a time in the middle of the night and be so dead tired the next day that 3 hour naps wouldn’t help.

I later learned that adrenal fatigue was the cause of the onslaught of my “female problems”, which I’d never had before: a suddenly irregular menstrual cycle, a uterine fibroid and ovarian cysts.

I also found out I have two types of anemia: iron-deficiency (the more commonly known about kind) and folate-deficiency. I learned how these and most of out other problems can be tied back to gut dysbiosis and its chronic infections, especially Candidiasis.

I also discovered that I am hypothyroid and that this may have played a large part in my sons’ problems when I was pregnant with them.

I found out that I was loaded with heavy metals, especially mercury and lead, which are the most neurologically damaging. I immediately had my sons tested and found out they were full of them, too.

It’s been very hard going through this, as most people, even most doctors, don’t know about the causes of all these problems. They don’t understand that all of these problems are related, and they certainly don’t know that recovery is possible.

We got a lot of help from changing our diets and seeing a naturopath, a functional-medicine doctor and a holistic nutritionist, as well as from me doing never-ending research about how all of these problems are connected.

We’ve recovered from so much, although there is still more work to be done. In any case, we are so much better off now than we were 4 years ago, when all of these problems hit a crescendo.

I want people to know that recovery is possible, which is why I joined the non-profit Epidemic Answers. We seek to educate parents about the causes of these problems as well as let them know that recovery is possible.

In fact, we’re making a documentary film to show the world that recovery is possible because most people just don’t know that.

Most people don’t know that a child can recover from autism or asthma or that an adult can recover from an autoimmune disease, even multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis.

If you want to learn more about our film, you can find out more by watching this video or by visiting our website. Please help us get this film made!

Filed Under: ACID REFLUX (GERD), ADHD, ADRENAL FATIGUE, ALLERGIES, ANEMIA, ASTHMA, AUTISM / PDD-NOS, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, CANDIDA, DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, DIGESTIVE ISSUES, ECZEMA, ENDOCRINE ISSUES, GENERAL, GUT DYSBIOSIS, HEALTH TOPICS, HEAVY METALS, HYPOTONIA, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, OVARIAN CYSTS, RECOVERY STORIES, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER, SINUS INFECTIONS, STRESS, TOXINS, UTERINE FIBROIDS Tagged: acid reflux, adrenal fatigue, allergies, anemia, asthma, autoimmune disease, biomedical, bronchitis, Candidiasis, chronic sinus infection, developmental delay, eczema, Epidemic Answers, failure to thrive, gut dysbiosis, heavy metal toxicity, hormonal deficiencies, hypothyroid, hypothyroidism, hypotonia, immune dysregulation, insomnia, irregular menstrual cycle, lead toxicity, mercury toxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, multiple sclerosis, naturopath, nutritional deficiencies, ovarian cyst, rheumatoid arthritis, sensory processing disorder (SPD), Shingles, toxicity, uterine fibroid

Maria Rickert Hong March 11, 2013

FAILURE TO THRIVE

“Failure to thrive” is when your child’s weight percentile falls to the 3^rd percentile or below or when it crosses 2 or more major percentile curves. When either of these (or both, as in the case of my older son) happens, it’s an indication that the child is not growing as he or she should be.

I could scream every time someone tells me that I’m not that big or my husband’s not that big, so my sons’ failure to thrive is something I shouldn’t worry about. Or how about when I’m told to stop comparing my kids to fat American kids? [Read more…]

Filed Under: ACID REFLUX (GERD), ALLERGIES, ASTHMA, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, DIGESTIVE ISSUES, ECZEMA, FOOD AND NUTRITION, FOOD CHOICES, HEALTH TOPICS, PHARMACEUTICALS, TOXINS Tagged: "A Compromised Generation", acid reflux, allergies, asthma, baking soda test, developmental delay, Dr. Nancy O'Hara, eczema, Epidemic Answers, failure to thrive, food insensitivities, food intolerances, gag reflex, GAPS, GERD, gut dysbiosis, hypotonia, nutritional deficiencies, oral motor therapy, Pediasure, Periactin, pharmaceuticals, Prevacid, projectile vomiting, sensory processing disorder, stomach acid, transit time test, Vicki Kobliner, Wendell Berry

Maria Rickert Hong March 4, 2013

IS IT FATIGUE OR MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION?

mitochondrion Because of my son’s failure to thrive, our pediatrician sent us to see Vicki Kobliner, a holistic nutritionist, who’s also on the board of Epidemic Answers with me.

Given that Crane Man has constant fatigue and stomach pain, poor growth, mild sensory issues and developmental delays, Vicki suggested having preliminary tests for mitochondrial dysfunction done. [Read more…]

Filed Under: ADHD, ALLERGIES, ASTHMA, AUTISM / PDD-NOS, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, FOOD AND NUTRITION, GENERAL, HEALTH TOPICS, HYPOTONIA, METHYLATION, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES, NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES, OTHER DISEASES, SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER Tagged: acid reflux, alinine, allergies, Andrew Cutler, asthma, autism, autoimmune disease, body burden, brain dysfunction, carnitine, Carnitor, carnosine, Center of Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, chronic stomach pain, concentration problem, constant fatigue, constipation, creatine, Cristy Balcells, Detoxify or Die, developmental delay, developmental delays, difficulty recovering from anesthesia, difficulty recovering from fever, difficulty recovering from illness, dizziness, Dr. Doug Wallace, Dr. Sherry Rogers, Dr. Terry Wahls, eczema, environmental toxins, Environmental Working Group, Epidemic Answers, failure to thrive, gastroparesis, headaches, heat intolerance, heavy metals, hormonal fluctuation, hypoglycemia, hypotonia, immunodeficiency, lack of coordination, lack of insomnia, lactic acid, levocarnitine, LHON, liver dysfunction, lysine, malabsorption, MELAS, memory problem, mercury, methylation defect, migraines, mito cocktail, mito crash, mitoaction.org, Mitochondria as Chi, mitochondrial dysfunction, muscle cramp, muscle pain, muscle weakness, muscular dysfunction, nausea, neurodegenerative, newborn pollution, pancreatic insufficiency, PDD-NOS, phosphatidyl choline, POLG, poor growth, pre-polluted, pyruvic acid, seizures, sensory issues, sensory processing disorder, sensory processing dysfunction, sleep dysfunction, sleep issue, slow motility, spasms, stomach pain, stress, supplementation, system dysfunction, toxicity, unexplained vomiting, United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, Vicki Kobliner

Maria Rickert Hong February 27, 2013

PEANUT ALLERGY

peanuts I remember when I was growing up in the 1970’s (ahem) that no one had allergies, let alone an allergy to peanuts. Now, if you go to a school, you’ll see “nut-free classrooms” and “nut tables” in the cafeteria.

Visit the school nurse’s office these days, and you’ll see epi pens everywhere along with a binder full of names of children that may require them.

Peanut allergies are no laughing matter. They can be deadly very quickly, causing sudden anaphylaxis upon exposure to even dust or oil from peanuts.

Peanutallergy.com reports that 1% of the American population has an allergy to peanuts, while 4% of children are allergic to peanuts. This means that the incidence is rising in the pediatric population.

So what is a parent to do? One thing is to learn the soft signs of a compromised immune system that Epidemic Answers lists. Be on the lookout for projectile vomiting, cradle cap, colic, diaper rash, red ears after eating, chronic runny nose, chronic constipation, a distended “pot” belly and more in your baby or toddler.

Filed Under: ACID REFLUX (GERD), ALLERGIES, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, COLIC, DIGESTIVE ISSUES, GENERAL, HEALTH TOPICS, HEALTHY BABY, IMMUNE DYSREGULATION, RASHES Tagged: allergies, chronic constipation, chronic runny nose, colic, cradle cap, diaper rash, distended belly, Epidemic Answers, immune dysregulation, peanut allergy, pot belly, projectile vomiting, red ears after eating

Maria Rickert Hong February 13, 2013

CAN KIDS BE RECOVERED FROM AUTISM?

We at Epidemic Answers know that children can be recovered from autism, as well as PDD-NOS, Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders and digestive issues.

In fact, we’re making a film about recovering 14 kids in 5 cities from 7 disorders: autism, ADHD, asthma, atopic dermatitis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, mood disorders and type 2 diabetes/obesity.

Dr. Rusell Jaffe, developer of the ELISA/ACT test, and Dr. Martha Herbert, Harvard pediatric neurologist and author of “The Autism Revolution”, are heading up the film’s medical advisory board.

Something is happening to our children.

Over the last two decades:
* Asthma has increased 300%
* ADHD has increased 400%
* Allergies have increased 400%
* And autism has increased 1500%

We can help.

Many say it is not possible.

But we are doing the impossible.

14 children. 18 months. 1 goal.

Recovery.

Help us help them. We need your help. Even $5 can help us get this important film made. Many people, even many doctors, don’t know that kids can recover from these conditions.

www.EpidemicAnswers.org/donate

Filed Under: ADHD, ALLERGIES, ASTHMA, AUTISM / PDD-NOS, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, DIGESTIVE ISSUES, HEALTH TOPICS, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, RECOVERY STORIES, SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER Tagged: ADHD, allergies, asthma, autism, autoimmune diseases, digestive issues, Epidemic Answers, Mary Mazzio, neurological disorders, PDD-NOS, sensory processing disorder, SPD

Maria Rickert Hong January 29, 2013

THE “R” WORD

recover button

You may or may not know my personal recovery story.

I have recovered my 2 sons, now ages 6 and 8, from sensory processing disorder (SPD), asthma and acid reflux with a biomedical approach, which means correcting nutritional and hormonal deficiencies, removing toxicities and correcting gut dysbiosis.

I’m still working on failure to thrive, mitochondrial dysfunction and hypothyroidism. In addition, they both had developmental delays, and my older son had severe hypotonia as a baby.

Filed Under: ACID REFLUX (GERD), ADRENAL FATIGUE, ALLERGIES, ANEMIA, ASTHMA, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, CANDIDA, DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, DIGESTIVE ISSUES, ECZEMA, ENDOCRINE ISSUES, FOOD AND NUTRITION, GENERAL, GUT DYSBIOSIS, HEALTH TOPICS, HEAVY METALS, HORMONAL ISSUES, HYPOTONIA, IMMUNE DYSREGULATION, INSOMNIA, IRREGULAR CYCLES, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES, OVARIAN CYSTS, PANCREATIC INSUFFICIENCY, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER, TOXINS, UTERINE FIBROIDS, YEAST INFECTIONS Tagged: acid reflux, adrenal fatigue, allergies, anemia, asthma, biomedical, bronchitis, developmental delays, eczema, Epidemic Answers, failure to thrive, functional-medicine doctor, gut dysbiosis, heavy metals, holistic nutritionist, hormonal deficiency, hypothyroidism, hypotonia, immune dysregulation, insomnia, irregular periods, lead, mercury, mitochondrial dysfunction, multiple sclerosis, naturopath, nutritional deficiency, ovarian cyst, poison ivy, rheumatoid arthritis, sensory processing disorder, Shingles, SPD, toxicity, uterine fibroid

AN EVENING OF INSPIRATION

Ritalin, Adderall and Anti-Depressants Aren’t the Only ADHD Options

Announcing the Documenting Hope Project Website

Epidemic Answers Announces Collaboration with Developmental Delay Resources to Raise Awareness about Recovery of Children from Autism, ADHD, Developmental Delays, Allergies, Asthma and More

THE “R” WORD

FAILURE TO THRIVE

IS IT FATIGUE OR MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION?

PEANUT ALLERGY

CAN KIDS BE RECOVERED FROM AUTISM?

THE “R” WORD

ABOUT ME

BUY “ALMOST AUTISM”

BUY “BRAIN UNDER ATTACK”

DOCUMENTING HOPE PROJECT

Recent Posts

DISCLAIMER