Latest news with #naturopathy
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
California Parents' 'Extreme' Health Views Left Child a Quadriplegic
A California couple was convicted on Monday after causing irreversible brain damage to their young son. The Orange County district attorney's office determined that parents John Andres Gonzalez, 38, and Jaqueline Navarro, 45, were both guilty of felony child abuse and endangerment. They were each sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in prison, a punishment enhanced by the aggravating circumstance of causing great bodily injury to a child under 5. According to the OCDA's press release, charges against Gonzalez and Navarro stemmed from "exposing their newborn son to extreme heat and cold" and "withholding vital nourishment." The couple's negligence was said to have nearly killed the infant and resulted in severe brain damage, leaving the child "a quadriplegic unable to walk, talk, or see." The press release went into detail about the parents' dangerous health practices. Gonzalez and Navarro subscribed to naturopathy, which is the belief that the body can heal itself from diseases without the help of modern medicine. When the baby was born in 2019, the parents did not feed him breast milk or formula, believing both to be "toxic" for their child. The couple considered themselves vegan mucus-free fruitarians, which pushed them to feed their son only soy-based formula, fruits, and vegetables. They also exposed him to "high-temperature saunas" and "ice baths" when he was just weeks old. The lifestyle eventually led to a medical emergency. The baby was rushed to the emergency room of an Orange County hospital in August 2020. The then-10-month-old infant was in a catatonic state and had graying skin. Gonzalez continued pushing his extreme health beliefs while his son was hospitalized, imploring medical staff to starve his son to heal him. While the child survived, he was left with irreversible brain damage. His paternal grandmother, Patrizia Sanchez, repeatedly reported what was happening to the Tulare County Department of Child Welfare Services when the child was still a month old. Despite over a dozen calls to the office, the agency failed to act on Sanchez's warnings, per the press release. Sanchez later filed a lawsuit against the Tulare County, leading to the largest settlement of its kind in California history. Sanchez was awarded custody of the Parents' 'Extreme' Health Views Left Child a Quadriplegic first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 4, 2025
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
California boy now blind and quadriplegic — authorities blame his parents' extreme health views
Parents who brought their unresponsive newborn to an Orange County hospital in 2020 were convicted of felony child abuse this week, on charges they exposed the baby to extreme heat and cold and failed to provide him necessary nourishment, causing severe brain damage that left the child a quadriplegic, and unable to talk or see. John Andres Gonzalez, 38, and Jaqueline Navarro, 45, were each convicted of felony child abuse and endangerment, with an enhancement for causing great bodily injury to a child under 5, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. They each face a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison. Prosecutors said the couple considered themselves "vegan mucus-free fruitarians," which appears to refer to belief in a diet aimed at removing mucus from the body. They were also followers of naturopathy, prosecutors said, which typically means employing a more holistic approach to preventing and treating disease by addressing root causes. But Gonzalez and Navarro appeared to employ misguided and extreme views related to these practices, including that the body could heal itself and that breast milk was toxic, according to prosecutors and lawsuits about the case. They would only feed the baby soy-based formula, fruits and vegetables, prosecutors said. In a lawsuit, his paternal grandmother said the couple tried to keep the baby on a plant-based diet, and primarily fed him blended bananas and dates with honey. Medical professionals, including naturopaths, recommend breastfeeding a baby during their first six months of life for optimal nutrition, or using formula almost exclusively. Within weeks of their son's birth, the couple also began putting him in high-temperature saunas and ice baths, prosecutors said. Read more: Parents arrested after 9-month-old tests positive for cocaine in Tulare County Orange County authorities became involved in the case when the couple brought their limp, unresponsive son to Hoag Hospital Emergency Room in Newport Beach, where they'd been on vacation. The couple lived in Lindsay, in Tulare County. "The baby was gray in color, emaciated, and catatonic," according to the statement from prosecutors. "Emergency room doctors discovered the boy had extremely low blood sugar levels and suffered from hypoxia and constant seizures." Further tests confirmed that he had not been fed properly, prosecutors said. But even during the hospital stay, Gonzalez objected to many life-saving treatments and said he "believed that starvation would lead to healing," the prosecutors' statement said. The brain damage the boy suffered is permanent, doctors reported, causing him to be a quadriplegic, blind and unable to talk, walk or eat on his own. The boy is now 5 and under the care of his paternal grandmother. The grandmother had been concerned about her grandson soon after he was born, and had repeatedly called the Tulare County Department of Child Welfare Services to report possible abuse or neglect. She filed a lawsuit against the county's welfare agency, claiming the agency failed to protect her grandson, resulting in the child's permanent brain damage. That case was settled in 2023 for $32 million dollars, which at the time was believed to be the largest settlement obtained from a child protective services agency in California. 'This innocent child suffered from almost the first breath he took because of his parents' beliefs that starvation would cure him,' Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a statement. 'Instead of curing him, they robbed him of his sight, his ability to take his first steps, to say his first words, and his chance to see the world. ... Tragically, he will never get to experience any of those milestones because his parents starved him nearly to death instead of giving him the nourishment he so desperately needed.' Gonzalez and Navarro are currently being held without bail and will be sentenced July 25. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Health Line
29-05-2025
- Health
- Health Line
What Is the A-Positive Blood Type Diet?
Some people believe that eating certain foods, including soy protein and certain kinds of grains, may benefit people with an A-positive blood type. The concept of blood-type diets was originally put forth by the naturopathic physician Dr. James L. D'Adamo. His son, Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo, popularized the diet in his book, ' Eat Right 4 Your Type.' He claims that differing blood types evolved at various points in our genetic history and that your blood type should determine what you eat and how you exercise. Blood type diets are a system of eating that categorizes foods as beneficial, neutral, or harmful. It's based on a person's blood type and other factors. D'Adamo claims foods harmful to your blood type cause an agglutination reaction. This makes blood cells stick together, increasing the risk of disease. Read on to learn more about this diet and D'Adamo's claims. Eating foods based on blood type The blood type diet requires a regimen called compliance. This refers to eating 'beneficials.' Beneficials are chosen for each blood type, based upon the lectins, or molecules, which the food contains. On this diet, people are defined as being 'secretors' or 'nonsecretors.' These terms refer to an individual's ability to secrete blood-type antigens into bodily fluids. What you eat is partly based upon your secretor status. This is why the diet is known as an individualized plan. Food ratios are also provided for each blood type group. These are further broken down into ratios specifically recommended for people of African, Caucasian, and Asian descent. Supplements are recommended for blood-type diets, which are sold on D'Adamo's website. Theoretic origins of blood types According to Dr. D'Adamo, the A-positive blood type became prevalent during the early years of the agricultural age. He theorizes this is why people with this blood type can readily digest vegetables and carbohydrates, but have a difficult time digesting animal protein and fat. The A-positive blood type diet is primarily vegetarian. D'Adamo believes people with this blood type have less-than-robust immune systems and are prone to anxiety. His diet plan promises: weight loss less disease more energy better digestion As with any diet, people may try this plan in order to lose weight or for other health benefits. Weight loss and lowered cholesterol have been reported by people who have tried this diet. However, there's no evidence the theory underlying this diet caused these results. Like many other food plans, this plan stresses the avoidance of: processed foods foods high in sugar simple carbohydrates These diet measures are known to benefit anyone's health, regardless of blood type. What diet is best for people with A+ blood type? D'Adamo recommends people on the A-positive blood type diet eat an organic, vegetarian, or almost-vegetarian food plan. Foods that D'Adamo recommends to eat include soy protein, such as tofu certain grains, such as spelt, hulled barley, and sprouted bread walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts olive oil certain fruits, such as blueberries and elderberries certain kinds of beans and legumes certain vegetables, especially dark, leafy greens, such as kale, Swiss chard, and spinach garlic and onions cold-water fish, such as sardines and salmon limited amounts of chicken and turkey green tea ginger The diet recommends eating protein at the start of the day. Canned sardines or a smoothie made with silken tofu and goat milk may be a good option. Limited amounts of animal protein, such as turkey and eggs, are allowed on this diet plan. They may be eaten for breakfast. Vegetables, fruits, and the allowed grains may be eaten at any meal. What foods should people with type A+ blood avoid? The list of foods people with A-positive blood should avoid is extremely extensive. It includes, but isn't limited to: beef pork lamb cow's milk potatoes, yams, and sweet potatoes certain vegetables, such as cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and mushrooms lima beans certain fruits, such as melons, oranges, strawberries, and mangos poultry other than chicken and turkey, such as duck venison fish, such as bluefish, barracuda, haddock, herring, and catfish some grains and grain products, such as wheat bran, multigrain bread, and durum wheat refined sugar refined carbohydrates, such as white flour and white bread oils other than olive oil artificial ingredients most condiments Does the blood type diet work? Medical conditions which D'Adamo states are associated with this blood type include: cancer diabetes anxiety disorders cardiovascular disease However, there's no scientific evidence that the blood-type diet works or that it alleviates any specific health conditions. For instance, a 2021 study found that among 68 subjects who ate a low-fat, vegan diet, those who had type A blood did not experience any additional health benefits compared to those with other blood types. Another 2018 study found that no type of blood has any effect on the association between following one of the blood-type diets and the chance of developing heart disease in overweight adults. One older 2014 study found that adherence to the A-positive blood type diet might yield benefits, such as: reduced body mass index (BMI) blood pressure serum triglycerides cholesterol lower waist circumference However, these benefits weren't seen to be influenced by, or associated with, study participants' blood types. What are the risks? While no specific risks have been identified to date given the limited research, this diet is restrictive and may be difficult to follow. It's important that anyone striving to follow this eating plan makes sure they're getting broad-based nutrition from a wide range of foods, including protein sources. Frequently asked questions What is special about A+ blood? Having A-positive blood simply means that you've inherited it from your parents from various possible combinations: The positive marker is related to the presence of certain antigens in your blood along with a protein known as the rhesus (Rh) factor. There's no scientific evidence that having A-positive blood is anything unique. In fact, it's quite common. However, because it occurs in 36% of Americans, it means that it's one of the types most easily to find or donate for a transfusion. Can blood type A eat sugar? The A-positive diet recommends avoiding refined sugar and foods that are high in sugar. There's no evidence there's a specific benefit from doing this for people with A-positive blood. That said, this is a common recommendation in other diets and by many nutritionists that is likely to benefit anyone. Are eggs OK for blood type A? The A-positive diet also recommends limiting eggs. Eating them in small amounts during breakfast is optimal, according to the diet. There are some known risks associated with eating eggs. First, they may increase cholesterol, and eating one egg or more daily may be associated with the chance of developing certain cancers according to some research, however, these results were based on studies in a hospital setting.. That said, as with sugar, there is no evidence that eating or avoiding any food is specifically beneficial to a person with a particular blood type. Eggs are still a nutritious food that can be a good source of protein in any diet. In most cases, eating 1-2 eggs daily isn't likely to be harmful for most young, healthy adults. This has been confirmed by recent research findings. One egg daily may even help support better cognitive abilities in older adults, according to additional research. The takeaway Blood-type diets may yield weight loss and other positive results because they're highly restrictive. They also eliminate foods that are known to adversely affect health. However, there's no scientific evidence linking a person's blood type to their need to avoid, or eat, specific foods. If you do decide to follow this plan, make sure to eat as wide a range of foods as possible so you get enough nutrition. You can also talk to your doctor about your individual risk of developing a disease. They can help you make lifestyle changes to ensure you're living your healthiest life.
