How Food Helped My Neurodiverse Family

The Exam Room by the Physicians Committee

Physicians Committee

Carroll, Health & Fitness, Diabetes, Science, Nutrition, Vegan, Pcrm, Barnard, Weightloss, Food, Health, Recipes, Medicine, Diet

4.9 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Katherine Lawrence, BCAS is a nutritionist, board certified autism specialist, and mom to a child with autism, ADHD, and OCD. She’s seen firsthand how certain foods can make symptoms worse, like stimming and challenging behavior, while others help her son feel calm, focused, and in control.

Backed by science and grounded in real life, Katherine shares what every parent of a neurodivergent child should know about food: what to avoid, what to prioritize, and how to ensure even the pickiest eaters get the nutrition they need.

In this episode of The Exam Room, you'll learn:

- The best foods for neurodivergent brains

- The worst foods for neurodivergent brains

- How processed foods and sugar affect behavior and self-regulation

- The smoothie routine that changed everything for Katherine's neurodivergent child

- Practical tips for helping selective and picky eaters get the nutrition they need

- The most powerful gift you can give your neurodivergent child

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Katherine Lawrence

Neurodivergent Nutrition Masterclass: https://bit.ly/NeurodivNutrition

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International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine

Where: Washington, DC

When: August 14-16, 2025

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— — —

Wellness Weekend

Where: Canaan Valley Resort - Davis, WV

When: Sept. 26-27, 2025

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Today on the exam room.
0:04.0	We know that neurodivirgent kids have a lot of common nutrient deficiencies.
0:10.0	If you think about that and then you consider, wait, now he has texture sensitivities and he doesn't want to eat this and he isn't like, what am I going to do?
0:18.0	So kind of our kind of catch- all fail safe is in the afternoon.
0:21.6	We have smoothies.
0:22.6	And so we've got berries in there for all of those brain boosting nutrients and vitamin C.
0:28.6	We put leafy greens in it.
0:30.6	And then we load up on our plant omega's with flax seed, chia seed.
0:34.6	And he is starting to notice, Chuck, that he feels better when he has a smoothie.
0:40.3	His brain, he says he can focus better.
0:43.3	He actually prefers to do his homework about half hour
0:46.3	after he has his smoothie rather than doing it before.
0:50.3	And so he's noticing a difference.
0:57.1	Welcome to the exam room podcast, brought to you by the Physicians Committee.
1:01.6	Hi, I'm the weight loss champion Chuck Carroll, raising health IQs coast to coast and around the world.
1:08.0	Hi to the exam room.
1:08.8	He's listening in Allen, Texas, Winston-Salem, North Carolina,
1:12.9	and Seoul, South Korea. Wherever you are, we appreciate you helping to make the world a healthier
1:18.2	place. This is episode 60 of season 8, number 659 overall. And Catherine Lawrence is back with us today.
1:27.2	She is a nutritionist and autism specialist
1:30.9	because she also happens to be the mother of a child with autism as well as ADHD and OCD. She has seen
1:40.0	firsthand how certain foods can make her child's symptoms worse, but others can help her son feel
	...

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