Anxiety, Autism, Allergies: The Hidden Triggers in Children No One Talks About

Mark Hyman

Jun 23, 2025

Episode description

Rates of chronic illness, behavioral disorders, and neurodevelopmental challenges are rising rapidly among children, often tied to underlying gut dysfunction, nutrient deficiencies, and environmental triggers such as toxins and ultra-processed foods. Conventional treatments frequently overlook these root causes, relying instead on symptom management or medication. Functional approaches emphasize foundational lifestyle changes—clean nutrition, microbiome support, movement, sleep, and stress reduction—as powerful tools to restore health. Children are especially responsive to these changes, often experiencing rapid and dramatic improvements in behavior, mood, and physical symptoms. With education, testing, and family-centered strategies, parents can take simple, effective steps to help their children thrive.

In this episode, I discuss, along with Dr. Elisa Song, Dr. Suzanne Goh, and Dr. Elizabeth Boham why a root-cause approach is just as important for children, as it is for adults.

Dr. Elisa Song, MD is a Stanford-, NYU-, UCSF-trained integrative pediatrician, pediatric functional medicine expert, and mom to 2 thriving children - and she is on a mission to revolutionize the future of children’s health. Dr. Song is the bestselling author of the Healthy Kids Happy Kids: An Integrative Pediatrician’s Guide to Whole Child Resilience. Dr. Song created Healthy Kids Happy Kids as an online holistic pediatric resource to help practitioners and parents bridge the gap between conventional and integrative pediatrics with an evidence-based, pediatrician-backed, mom-approved approach. In her integrative pediatric practice, she’s helped 1000s of kids get to the root causes of their health concerns and empowered parents to help their children thrive by integrating conventional pediatrics with functional medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and essential oils. Dr. Song is chair of A4M’s pediatric education and has lectured around the world at leading integrative and functional medicine conferences and premier parenting events. She has also been featured in hundreds of top podcasts, print and online media outlets, including the Wellness Mama podcast, BloomTV, Forbes, Healthline, MindBodyGreen, National Geographic, PopSugar, Parents, Motherly, Parade, Verywell Health, and New York Post.

Dr. Suzanne Goh, co-founder and chief medical officer at Cortica, is a Rhodes Scholar and graduate of Harvard University, University of Oxford, and Harvard Medical School who has spent decades working with autistic children. Her work as a board-certified pediatric behavioral neurologist, behavioral analyst, neuroscience researcher, and author led her to create the Cortica Care Model, an innovative, whole-child approach that combines optimal medical treatment with the most effective strategies for advancing cognition, communication, and behavior.

Dr. Elizabeth Boham is

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Address zinc deficiency to improve appetite and auditory sensitivity

Zinc deficiency, the most common nutrient insufficiency in kids, can cause pickiness, low appetite, and auditory gain, where normal sounds seem excessively loud.

#deficiency

#zinc

Expand diet with whole foods before eliminating problem foods for picky children with autism

For picky children with autism, the best initial strategy is to first expand their diet by adding more whole foods before attempting to eliminate potential problem foods.

#autism

#whole-food

Enhance autism features through regular exercise

Beyond physical health, research shows that exercise directly improves the core features of autism, including socialization, communication, and executive function.

#autism

#exercise

Perform at-home zinc taste test to check for deficiency

You can perform a simple zinc taste test at home using liquid zinc sulfate to screen for deficiency; if you can't taste the metallic flavor, you are likely deficient.

#testing

#zinc

Utilize microcurrent stimulation to combat chronic stress

Novel interventions like tiny microcurrent electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve are being used to counter the chronic stress response common in conditions like autism.

#device

#stress

Address neuroinflammation in autistic children to improve brain health

Brain imaging studies on deceased autistic children show they have massive amounts of neuroinflammation, meaning their brains are 'on fire' in a way similar to Alzheimer's and depression.

#autism

#inflammation

Address nutrient deficiencies in children for optimal health

A pediatrician states that 99.9% of children she sees, even from proactive and health-conscious families, have suboptimal levels or deficiencies in key nutrients.

#children

#deficiency

Avoid dairy to protect folate receptors for brain health

Dairy can trigger an immune response that creates antibodies that attack the body's receptors for folate, a critical vitamin for brain function and detoxification.