The Magic Pill Page #4

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kale that I just removed.

And I made

some riced cauliflower,

so that I can feel

like I'm having carbs.

Bone broth in all of these,

by the way.

Normally, I would just go out

and eat three times a day.

I'm so used

to grabbing and going,

but I am really gonna do this.

I am gonna do this.

I have to do this.

[Abigail crying]

[Emma]

Not gonna eat them.

Emma's convinced

that we are punishing her.

-You want some chicken?

-[Emma] No.

[Barry] No? Why not?

I don't like them!

She's like, "Why are you

taking all of my food away?"

[crying]

[Barry]

"This is mean. I can't eat

macaroni and cheese.

I can't eat chicken nuggets.

I can't eat SpaghettiOs."

-No.

-[Barry] She just

went down the list...

-No.

-...tattering through

this list of, of junk.

I'm just like, "Man, we didn't

feed her anything healthy."

Like, we literally took away

everything that our children

have been eating.

-[crying]

-Okay, okay, don't throw it.

Those are scrambled eggs

on the floor.

She just started

pushing my hand away

as I was sticking

the fork into her mouth.

And then she literally

crawled across the counter

and she grabbed

this bag of Goldfish

that was sitting there.

She ripped it open and just

starts shoveling handfuls

of Goldfish into her mouth.

It reminded me

of when I was a drug addict.

I would get my bag,

and I'd be fiending...

for, for something.

I'd be fiending for a fix.

Oh, for goodness sake.

The first five days,

she starved herself.

She barely ate anything.

Yeah, I'm burnt out, man.

I'm burnt out.

That was the turning point.

She was just, "More, more,

more, more, more." [laughs]

Good job!

I mean, she just was

a bottomless pit.

Abigail's eating coconut.

And from that day forward,

it was like--

she was eating everything

I gave her. Everything.

[woman]

There you go.

[Kate]

Barry texted me the day that

she was eating with a fork.

[Barry]

There you go. Good job!

He texted me that she had

never done that before,

that she was eating

a piece of steak with a fork.

[Barry]

And what is she eating?

Steak and kale!

And, I mean, I was-- I was

literally jumping up and down,

and I think he was too.

I was so happy.

She just took the fork and...

[mimics pop]

stuck the-- stuck the steak

and popped it in her mouth

like she's been doing it

her whole life. It was crazy.

So anyways,

we're doing great.

I'm looking forward

to seeing

where she's at

in another two weeks.

There you go! Good job!

[Lisa Thatcher]

When a little baby's

put in your arms...

and you giggle,

and they giggle back...

this little body

is talking to me

without language,

but talking in their own way.

And the baby lights up.

He never lit up.

We knew from the moment

that he was put in our arms

at two weeks old--

we knew something was amiss.

When he was three,

I decided to put him

on the Specific

Carbohydrate Diet.

Just meat, vegetable,

fruit, nuts, and seeds.

Third day

on Specific Carbohydrate Diet,

he fed himself

for the first time.

Fifth day,

he said his first word.

So I almost

fell over on my chair.

He said, "We come,"

for "welcome." [crying]

'Cause I said, "Thank you."

I would always talk to him.

And it was always

me doing the talking--

us doing the talking.

And he, you know,

wouldn't answer to his name,

all that typical autism stuff.

And I said, "Thank you,"

and he said, "We come."

One of the things, though,

that always bothered me

was that he didn't seem

to be able to stop...

bobbing, rocking...

verbal noises,

and so I was already

beginning to wonder about...

if he needed something more.

[Ryan Lee]

We're at the Shriners Hospitals

for Children in Honolulu.

We take care of children

with brain-based disorders.

Specifically,

we specialize in autism,

ADHD, and other

developmental problems.

Use this hand

and tap your fingers.

[narrates]

Our medical study

involves a clinical trial.

We're investigating not only

if the ketogenic diet

impacts children with autism...

[child]

Do you have any parents?

[Ryan]

...but also how it might

impact children with autism.

To help with their language,

help with their socialization.

We want children to be able

to interact meaningfully

with their families again.

And you put

that one in there,

and you can push it off

with-- Yeah.

[Miki Wong]

The ketogenic diet

and the state of ketosis

changes the metabolism

in the body,

and so instead of using glucose

as your primary, go-to fuel,

the body taps into ketones.

Do you want butter too,

or you're fine?

-I'm okay.

-[Lisa] Yeah.

Ketones are acids

that the body produces from fat.

It cannot be produced

from carbohydrates or sugars.

[Lisa]

He likes coconut oil

all over everything.

[Miki]

And the body uses the ketones

for energy for the brain,

and the free fatty acids

for the muscles.

Good balance.

Open your eyes.

[Ryan] Aaron Thatcher's

been on the ketogenic diet

for approximately six months.

He has seen an improvement

in some of the core features

of his autism,

including

increased socialization,

interaction with his mom...

Just to get him peaceful--

-Yup.

-It is huge.

It brings peace

to the whole family.

And I would say,

you know, our loving

interactions are more.

[Ryan]

Increased independence

and self-care skills,

decrease in his stereotypic

repetitive movements

and behaviors.

[woman]

Aaron, we're going to put

these puzzles together. Okay?

Start with these and I have

some here, and let me know

when you need more.

[Ryan]

As evidenced

by his scores on the ADOS,

he initially, pre-diet,

had an ADOS score of 16,

which is in the high range

for autism.

And on his

three-month follow-up,

had a score of 8.

[woman]

What do you like doing

that makes you feel

happy and cheerful?

Coming here.

[woman]

Coming here?

You like coming here?

Okay. What are

some other things

that make you feel happy?

Taking a bus.

[woman]

Taking a bus. That sounds fun.

Okay. How about things

that you're afraid of?

-Are there things that--

-Turtles.

[woman]

Turtles, like

in the story that we read?

The ocean.

[woman]

Oh. The "honu" in the ocean!

That makes you feel afraid?

[Robert]

I was watching Aaron

take the ADOS,

and there are

questions on the test like,

"What do you find scary?"

-And he said...

-"Turtles."

[Robert]

Great! "A plus," right?

So I said, "Can you say that

in a complete sentence?"

-Given the opportunity,

he probably could.

-[Robert] He did!

-He did? [laughs]

-[Robert] We did give him

the opportunity.

Can you tell me

in a full sentence?

-I'm afraid of turtles.

-[Robert] Awesome.

Tell me in a full sentence,

what makes you feel happy?

-I feel happy I took the bus.

-[Robert] Awesome!

That's more therapeutic

than the question

that we asked him.

-[woman] Do you ever feel sad?

-Mmm.

[woman]

Can you describe what

it's like when you feel sad?

Sometimes I feel lonely.

[Robert]

What makes you feel lonely?

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