It was an interesting time with Mrs. IjeomaUgwu (nutritionist consultant) as Pure Soul Learning Foundation, held their first quarterly series of training programs for year 2021, on “Essential steps for lasting results with nutritional intervention”.

The training took place on October 24^th, 2021, at the learning place, Plot 105b, Hakeem Dickson Street Ibeju- Lekki, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. It was a hybrid program

The topic for the training was “FOUNDATIONAL APPROACH TO NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION IN SPECIAL NEEDS” the importance of nutrition in the life of children with special needs. It was a period of mind blowing discussion on the importance of supporting the body by eating the right food so that our bodies get all the vitamins and nutrients they need for our well-being.

The training started at 2: 30 pm with a welcome address and introduction of the facilitator (Mrs. Ijoema) by Mrs. DotunAkande.

The facilitator elaborated on the significance of supporting the body by eating the right food and using the right utensils.  She also said that deficiency of nutrients from the mother can affect the child. Deficiency of these nutrients can impair learning development, affect social reaction, lead to delayed language development, reduce attention span and cause oxidative stress disorder (not wanting to be in one spot) among other autistic tendencies.

She talked about some brain rich foods, that is, foods that can help brain activities. She also gave a few tips on how they can be sneaked into the children’s diet since most of them don’t find these foods palatable. Some parents also suggested different means they employed to ensure their children ate these brain rich foods. Here are few examples:

• Plant-based diet such as carrot and cabbage
• Yogurt
• Bone broth
• supplements
• Plant-based milk such as coconut milk, sesame milk, tiger nut milk, date milk. This is because animal-based milk contains lactose and case in which some children cannot tolerate.

She also talked about leaky gut syndrome which is a digestive condition resulting from gaps in the walls allowing bacteria and other toxins to pass into the blood. Then went on to mention some few symptoms of leaky guts; they are:

·         Chronicdiarrhea

·         Joint pain

·         Confusion

·         Skin problems such as eczema, rashes, or acne

·         Widespread inflammation

·         Difficulty concentrating

·         Fatigue

·         Headaches

·         Nutritional deficiencies

Lastly on the leaky gut syndrome, she also mentions steps to heal leaky guts such as treating all obvious and underlying infections, restoring microbiome balance, coconut oil, and some herbs can help too such as ginger and curcumin.

While during the questions and answers session, different questions were asked by the online and physical participant, and the facilitator was able to provide solutions to the participants’ questions individually, and to their utmost satisfaction. She also encouraged participants to base their food on natural plant food and plant based milk etc as these could be used as curative and prevention measures. The participants were very happy for attending the training and Mrs.Ijeoma gave some take-home points which are as follows:

Foundation steps in nutritional intervention: just like every structure, nutrition needs a strong foundation. The following needs to be done to lay a good foundation for nutritional intervention.

1. Gut healing

2. Detoxification

3.Repopulation of Microbiome

4. Elimination of toxicants from the environment

These steps will ensure lasting results in any nutrition intervention/

The total of 145 people registered and 78 attended the training both online and physical which include parents, caregivers and therapists.

After the training, Mrs. Akande appreciated the participants and informed them about the subsequent training that will be coming up. A group picture was taken, and the training was brought to an end.