42. Functional Medicine Approach to Autism with Dr. Will Cole

Nov 20

In this week's information-packed episode, I interview Dr. Will Cole about the functional medicine approach to autism.

Dr. Will Cole, IFMCP, DNM, DC, is a leading functional medicine expert who consults people around the world via webcam and locally in Pittsburgh. Named one of the top 50 functional medicine and integrative doctors in the nation, Dr. Cole specializes in clinically investigating underlying factors of chronic disease and customizing a functional medicine approach for thyroid issues, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, and brain problems.

He is the bestselling author of Ketotarian and The Inflammation Spectrum. Dr. Cole has also cohosted the popular podcasts goodfellas and Keto Talk and will be hosting the new podcast, The Art of Being Well, which launches in early 2021.

Dr. Cole grew up in a household where health and wellness and adaptogenic tonics were the norms of the family and he soon went into the field of integrative medicine to further pursue his passion in health and wellness.

He explains how functional medicine is different from mainstream medicine in that it combines the best of conventional and alternative medicine where it's evidence-based and at the same time getting to the root cause of the problem.

He discusses the alarmingly increasing rate of autism along with conditions like Hashimoto's, autoimmune conditions, digestive disorders, and many more, and believes that there's "genetic epigenetic mismatch" where our genes have not adapted to the fast-changing environment around us, resulting in many dysfunctions we see today.

He believes that each patient is unique and requires a highly individualized approach to achieving their optimized health but he also believes that inflammation is the commonality in most cases.

He talks about the connection between gut inflammation and the dysfunction of the brain and reveals the 4 foods that are most likely to disrupt your child's microbiome and raise inflammation in their brain.

He also talks about the importance of intuition and says to not let your intuition be delegitimized even by your doctors when it comes to your health and your child's health.

Furthermore, he gently reminds moms to take good care of themselves because they simply cannot afford not to and they can only give what they have.

Enjoy this episode!

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