Goal Preserve microbial diversity, reduce inflammatory signaling, and promote resilient host–microbe balance.     1. The First 1000 Days Pregnancy: Focus on fiber-rich, whole foods. Avoid ultra-processed foods and unnecessary antibiotics. Birth: Encourage vaginal delivery when safe; prioritize skin-to-skin and early breastfeeding. Infancy: Breastfeeding preferred; if formula, consider HMO-supported options. Avoid early sugar exposure.   2. Feed the Microbiome Aim for fiber in

1) " Background: The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in brain development and function, especially in early life. Disruptions in the pediatric microbiota–gut–brain axis have been linked to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. We hypothesize that early-life dysbiosis can perturb neurodevelopment via the pediatric microbiota–gut–brain axis, increasing risk and/or severity of neuropsychiatric outcomes, and that microbiota-targeted strategies may mitigate this risk.

"Change occurs from the outside in" Dr. Bland     Medicine has a habit of believing it has arrived. Every generation of physicians looks around the room, surveys the white coats and microscopes and MRI machines, and quietly assumes the puzzle is mostly solved. History laughs at that assumption. The truth is that medicine is always mid-sentence in a very long story.   Dr. Jeff Bland has spent decades helping rewrite that sentence.   In a recent conversation on The Root Cause B

After returning from Jackson Hole, Wyoming this week, I was struck by the beauty of the Elk refuge, a place where thousands of elk relax in the winter lowlands. Staring at them, I pondered a question: why do the elk shed their antlers yearly? Seems like a lot of wasted energy in a resource scarce world.   The answer, mating.   Nature has a peculiar sense of theater. When reproduction is the goal, evolution doesn’t whisper, it builds costumes, props, and entire stage productio

1) In a new article in Cell, we see that prenatal maternal inflammation alters the maternal gut microbiome in ways that can be transferred to offspring, predisposing them to exaggerated intestinal inflammation later in life.  Specifically, maternal immune activation reshapes microbial communities that drive pro-inflammatory immune responses in offspring with neurodevelopmental abnormalities. The mechanism involves epigenetic reprogramming of CD4⁺ T cells in the offspring, mak

There are moments, usually late, usually quiet, when honest thinking can be had. When you zoom out and see the ecosystem around children not as a collection of caring institutions, but as a set of incentive machines. And incentive machines, unlike grandmothers, do exactly what they’re built to do.   MAKE MONEY   Tonight I sat with some difficult thoughts about the state of primary services for children in the United States. The deeper I look, the clearer it becomes that money

Picture this: A story that lands for me and many.   Youth is a roaring engine fueled by the audacious belief that time is infinite and sleep is optional. You burn the candle at both ends, then try to invent a third end just to prove you can. You mutter, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” as if biology were a suggestion rather than a contract. The thrill of output, work, projects, ambition, fun, music, feels limitless. Productivity becomes virtue. Rest becomes a nuisance.   You perfo

Relational balance falters when one person needs the other to feel safe or whole. A parent in a strained marriage or carrying childhood wounds may lean on a child for comfort. The child, loyal and loving, tries to meet that need. Over time, this can harden into dysfunction.   Years ago, I cared for a mother and son locked in a budding enmeshed relationship. She could not draw boundaries. She absorbed his pain, projected her own trauma onto him, and smothered him with anxious

It has long been established that metabolic health plays a crucial role in vaccine effectiveness and overall immunity against infectious diseases. Poor metabolic status impairs immune activation, antibody production, and long-term protection.   In older adults, vaccine responses are often weaker. Aging frequently coincides with rising rates of metabolic disorders (such as insulin resistance, obesity-related issues, and inflammation), reduced immune cell function, and lower an

A) " Establishment of the gut microbiome during early life is a complex process with lasting implications for an individual’s health. Several factors influence microbial assembly; however, breast-feeding is recognized as one of the most influential drivers of gut microbiome composition during infancy, with potential implications for function. Differences in gut microbial communities between breast-fed and formula-fed infants have been consistently observed and are hypothesize

There is an old idea that refuses to die because it keeps proving itself useful: human beings do not grow through force. They grow through relationship. A statement that Duey Freeman taught me years ago. More imbedded in my soul.   Stephen Porges gives us the neurobiology. Mona Delahooke gives us the clinical lens. Jesus and the Stoics give us the philosophy of what to do with the strength that emerges once the nervous system is steady. Porges’ polyvagal theory tells us that

Chapter 4 of Beyond Behaviors is often read as a continuation of the neuroscience laid out in the first three chapters. That’s understandable, but it slightly misses the point. By the time Dr. Delahooke gets to Chapter 4, she’s largely done making the physiological argument. She now pivots to a far more practical and, frankly, more uncomfortable question:  What does this mean we actually do as caregivers?   This chapter is less about how the nervous system works and more abou

Can I Get an AMEN!!!!!!   The new HHS food pyramid represents something rare in modern nutrition policy: a quiet return to biological reality. (The Big Ag corporate capture and control is finally - not in the decision room)   For decades, the official food pyramid was less a reflection of human physiology and more a mirror of corporate convenience. Grains at the base, fats demonized, protein politely minimized, and ultra-processed foods slipping in through the side door with

School Based Nutrition - Why is it happening this way?   There is a quiet experiment happening in American childhood, and we should stop pretending it’s benign.   In the 1970s and 1980s, when I attended school, school food was far from perfect, but it existed in the context of something essential: it was mostly prepared on site, minimally processed (but changing in that direction) and not laden with additives and chemicals (Yet). Oh, and most children still ate meals prepared

Integrative Takeaways   1. Individual differences are the biological blueprint of behavior. They shape how a child senses, interprets, and reacts to the world, long before language arrives.   2. Sensory processing is a central regulator of emotional and behavioral tone. Ignoring sensory contributions leads to chronic misdiagnosis and ineffective interventions.  3. The nervous system stores memories in the body. Past pain, inflammation, trauma, and sensory overwhelm can impri

I just reposted my interview with Dr. Stephen Porges on the podcast as a timely relisten. Because Beyond Behaviors makes a lot more sense when the frame is right.   Chapter 3 - Individual Differences   Dr. Delahooke starts Chapter 3 by allowing Margaret Mead to remind us that each child is absolutely unique: “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” This is more than a witty paradox, it is the hinge upon which all effective pediatric care swin

Christmas Eve 2025   Tonight is one of the few nights each year when the world collectively slows down. Phones grow quieter. Tasks loosen their grip. Food is held off until dinner, until after Mass. Pensiveness and connection replace the do, the need, the want. The sounds of children clamoring for attention echo through the house as traditional meals are prepared, meals that nourish the present while binding us to the past. Presents wait patiently, holding joy in reserve.   T

Articles and Points of Interest:   1) Microplastics in the Brain -  From Science Advances: "Human health is being threatened by environmental microplastic (MP) pollution.  MPs were detected in the bloodstream and multiple tissues of humans,  disrupting the regular physiological processes of organs .  Nanoscale plastics can breach the blood-brain barrier, leading to neurotoxic effects.  How MPs cause brain functional irregularities remains unclear. This work uses high-depth im

Three main limitations of traditional approaches to helping children with behavioral challenges are:   (1) not determining the etiology of behaviors before we try to change them   (2) using one-size-fits-all approaches   (3) failing to use a developmental roadmap to insure we’re using the right approach at the right time.   • Neuroception, a concept developed by Dr. Porges, is the brain’s and body’s ongoing subconscious surveillance of safety and threat in the environment • C

Review of Chapter 1 of Beyond Behaviors  by Mona Delahooke, PhD   "When we see a behavior that is problematic or confusing, the first question we should ask isn't "How do we get rid of it?" but rather "What is this telling us about the child?" (MD 2019)    The opening chapter sets the stage for a quiet revolution in how we understand children who struggle. Dr. Mona Delahooke invites us to take a step back from the culturally and medically ingrained belief that children’s out