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Autism and Pregnancy Specialties

Julie has been a Defeat Autism Now (DAN!) Practitioner for seven years, currently presents at the national DAN! conferences, and is the author of the award-winning book on diet and nutrition for autism Nourishing Hope for Autism.. Overall, Nourishing Hope comprises her book, a monthly show on Autism One Radio (particular to autism), a new Blogsite, NourishingHope.com, a Facebook Group, and an upcoming community website for knowledge sharing among families dealing with autism.

Her love for healthy babies led her to create Nourish The Future; workshops and cooking classes for all stages of pregnancy from preconception to postpartum. Julie particularly enjoys speaking to Mom's groups, classes of midwives, doulas, or other holistic pregnancy practitioners, or private schools groups such as her friends at Waldorf.

Holistic Nutrition Philosophy

Julie's nutrition "philosophy" (that she refers to as "holistic nutrition") involves trusting the innate wisdom of the body and its millions of years of evolution. While she utilizes supplements and herbs to assist with imbalances, she believes the best way to take in nutrients is how Mother Nature intended - through the foods we eat. She focuses on Traditional Healing Foods (avoiding modern food processing) as much as possible because organic whole foods, unprocessed dairy, traditional fermented foods, and other nutrient-dense foods are ideal ways to build nutrient reserves and support healing. Holistic nutrition addresses the whole person; including lifestyle, mind, body, spirit/energy, as well as how our food supply affects environment, animals, and the foods we eat.

Approach

Julie's multifaceted approach to holistic health stems from her own journey to wellness. Dedicated to supporting the improvement of her clients' health, she creates nutrition and lifestyle plans that best suit each person and can assist their navigation through the world of complimentary therapies. Her supportive "coaching" approach helps accelerate the realization of your health goals.

Since she understands how nutrition affects health and wellness, her prolific knowledge of biochemistry helps Julie identify specific foods and therapeutic nutrients to address a wide range of physical disturbances. She collaborates with many local physicians, naturopaths, and acupuncturists to discuss nutritional insights that aid their clients' healing.

"The more I learn about different imbalances, the more I’m convinced that most chronic disease stems from a combination of environmental exposures and genetic predispositions (sometimes created by toxin exposure). In addition to the toxins in our world, the stressful attitudes and beliefs we hold as a culture and individually, all affect our health. Proper nutrition helps to naturally balance the body's systems and aids in restoring overall health."

Julie Matthews

Individuality

Bioindividuality is key to nutrition. It is essential to understand as much as possible about the biochemical needs and environmental factors that are unique to each individual in order to best provide a customized nutrition plan. People are affected differently by toxins, diet, and stressors. Julie works with clients as their “nutrition detective” to help uncover which foods are not tolerated by an individual, and well as the foods and nutrients one can most benefit from given their circumstance and health objectives.

Focus on Children and Families

From the onset of her nutrition studies and professional career, Julie has specialized in Autistic Spectrum Disorders (including ADHD). Her passion for helping children fuels her drive to learn and find answers in order to best serve parents and children facing this epidemic. She has extensive knowledge of biomedical approaches, sulfation, and the disordered chemistry of ASDs. Her experience with childhood imbalances sparked her interest with consulting and educating women to optimize baby's health early – during pregnancy and before conception. Supporting the nourishment of children and families is her personal mission; she provides healthy food choices and insights that are practical and delicious. Her approach is unique to the health needs, lifestyle, and desire of each woman, partner, and family. In addition to family nutrition (including dads), Julie works with most common health needs including digestion, weight loss, high cholesterol, and blood sugar.

Julie@HealthfulLiving.org
415-437-6807