I am thrilled to reconnect with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge today!
Dr. Roseann is a much-loved guest with our listeners who appeared previously in episodes 174 and 273. Known for her incredible expertise in pediatric mental health, she mixes traditional and non-traditional methods to care for her young patients.
In this episode, we focus on the needs of teens and young adults and the unique challenges they currently face. We review the latest research relevant to shaping the mental health of the younger generation, covering topics from building resilience to navigating nutritional choices with university-level students to avoiding and addressing disordered eating behavior patterns. We explore strategies for addressing various issues, including sleepovers, acne in kids with special needs, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and intrinsic motivation. Additionally, Dr. Roseann sheds light on suicide, suicidal ideations, and the lack of stress tolerance in young people today and shares valuable insights into supplementation that has proven effective within her patient population.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:
How the pandemic impacted the mental health of teenagers
How to help your kid become more comfortable socially
How to go about finding mental health providers qualified to work with children, teens, and young adults
What can universities do to support better nutrition on campuses?
How to address food intolerances in teenagers
Dr. Roseann describes the QEEG brain mapping process
How to help kids overcome their anxiety about sleepovers
Some helpful advice for overcoming acne
How to manage behavioral issues in kids with special needs
How to help your child become more regulated to allow them to achieve at a higher level
How can families support young adults with suicidal ideations in a way that is helpful and not harmful?
What can universities do to foster an emotionally healthy and supportive environment?
"So it takes 34 times to do something where you learn it at an innate level without thinking about it. If you have any kind of issue interfering with learning, it's three times that."
-Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge
Connect with Cynthia Thurlow
Connect with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge
On her website
Transcript:
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:00:02] Welcome to Everyday Wellness Podcast. I'm your host, Nurse Practitioner, Cynthia Thurlow. This podcast is designed to educate, empower, and inspire you to achieve your health and wellness goals. My goal and intent is to provide you with the best content and conversations from leaders in the health and wellness industry each week and impact over a million lives.
[00:00:29] Today, I had the honor of reconnecting with fan favorite Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge. She's previously joined me on Episodes 174 and 273. She is an incredible pediatric mental health expert who utilizes, both traditional and nontraditional modalities for her given patient population. Today, we reviewed relevant research specific to the net impact on mental health in teens and young adults. We spoke about resilience, how to navigate nutritional choices with university level students, avoiding disordered eating behavior patterns and how to address them, sleepovers, addressing acne, dysregulated kids with special needs, obsessive compulsive disorders, intrinsic motivation, suicide and suicidal ideations, and the lack of stress tolerance in many children and young adults today, as well as relevant supplementation that she has found to be very helpful in her patient population. I know you will love this conversation as much as I did recording it.
[00:01:38] Welcome back to the podcast, Dr. Ro. I've been really looking forward to reconnecting with you. You are a fan favorite, and I have tons and tons of questions from listeners that are interested in our teenage focused episode.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:01:51] Well, thanks for having me back. You know, I could talk to you all day long.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:01:54] I know.
[laughter]
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:01:56] That's the fun thing is that when you record with friends, it's just an easy conversation. But there's something that you brought to my attention earlier today that I wanted to share with listeners. And for many parents, obviously, I have a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old. You have a tween and a teen.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:02:13] No, they're both teenagers now, Cynthia.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:02:15] They are both teenagers.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:02:16] 13 and 18.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:02:17] Ooh. So you understand you've got two teenagers yourself. For me, thinking about the impact of the pandemic on my children, and not just my children but everyone's children, and the article that you shared with me was specific to what brain scans have revealed during the pandemic, the impact on teenagers’ mental health. I'm going to kind of synopsize this and I'll let you address it because obviously you are in the thick of it. You see the net impact on your patients. It's saying the adolescent brain is still developing and vulnerable to external and internal factors. This is Elizabeth Powell, who's the program officer of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The abstracts in this group show that major stressors in teenage lives, including those associated with the pandemic and mood disorders, may have significant effects on the way their brains are structured and organized, with potential implications for their mental health.
[00:03:15] I want to just tie into the fact, and we'll talk about what specifically they found. But it's not just your children, my children, it's every listener here that is part of the Everyday Wellness community probably has a very unique perspective on the net impact of what that time period of everything getting very quiet, and families being home together, and especially with what I would describe my kids were a teen and a tween. But for them, the net impact of not being able to socialize with their friends, not being able to be around their friends, I think, has had a significant and large impact on their emotional and mental growth. And so for you, as a mental health specialist, clinical psychologist, what have been some of the broad-based changes that you saw in your patient population during and after the pandemic?
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:04:09] Well, we'll talk a little bit about this study too, but I think what I have seen in general and I think that I know this is going on across the globe is there has just been a real increase in mental health issues in general. But also, I feel like mental health issues have become increasingly complex that people have anxiety, depression and OCD, they have ADD and OCD. There feels like a lot. That is a definite. We know the numbers of mental health. The issues have increased. Suicidal ideation, planning, attempts have increased. And also, what I can tell you and you know you and I talk about this all the time is I feel a hum of just unbelievable anxiety in parents.
[00:04:59] We have this message that talk about this quite a bit that we think if our kids are doing okay in school grade wise that there really can't just be a hot mess on the inside. And that's not true. I know a lot of your questions, some of your listeners put in questions and thank you, were about what happens at college, what happens later, because they're seeing the level of distress. In college, just so everybody knows, the number one reason why a student leaves college is mental health. And 40% of college kids leave freshman year, not all of that is mental health, sometimes it's a transfer, not to freak you out. And I think sometimes, parents don't really think about all those little signs. They don't put it together until they're on their own and until they're facing, let's face it, a huge college bill. They start thinking, “Wait a second, is this the right time? Should I do it?”
[00:05:57] A lot of parents ignore the signs, not that you're doing anything wrong but nobody's saying the young adult, this person at school like, “Hey, I'm really worried.” So they think, “Okay, well, you know what? Going to college was sorted out.” Well, I can tell you this. If you're on your own and you don't have good support systems and you're at college, the outcomes are not good. That is why kids leave. There's nothing wrong with a kid leaving if they're getting help. What we also know is that people did try to seek help during the pandemic, you can't always get help, but we also know that a lot of people are not getting help. So 70% of people diagnosed with depression teens are not getting consistent help, 70%. So right there, that's going to take away income levels, that's going to take away gender disparity. That means you're just not getting help.
[00:06:49] Certainly, we know that in minority populations, certain populations in general don't get as much help, but there's a lot to unpack there. But ultimately, really to answer your question, there has been a big increase in mental health issues in general, psychiatric medications. We know through the Stress in America Survey by American Psychological Association, a massive increase in parent stress.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:07:14] Yeah. It’s not surprising to hear that. But I feel like during the pandemic, because there's no one listening that has ever been through that before.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:07:25] That's right.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:07:25] We were all as a nation, as a world in this massive shutdown. I always try to find the reframe of my kids and say that we had a whole year of togetherness. It was just the four of us. We had sold a house. We were living in a rental. We're living in a different neighborhood.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:07:41] That was not a fun time, Cynthia, just so you know. remember, living in that rental?
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:07:45] No, it was-- I was writing a book, which I don't recommend that you have all those things on your plate at the same time. But what's interesting is when I think back to the pandemic overall, there was so much bonding like, “When's the last time my kids took Legos out? When's the last time my kids took puzzles out? When's the last time we played board games as a family?” Because let's be honest, there wasn't a whole lot you could do other than go to school, go to work, and hang out together, walk the dogs, connect over Zoom, connect by cell phone and so, you just get to a point where you can only saturate yourself with so much binging of Hulu, Netflix,-
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:08:23] That’s right. [laughs]
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:08:23] -Amazon Prime, whatever it is that you do. And exercise, for that matter. So I think on a lot of different levels that we were all doing our very best, but I think for so many people, and certainly my oldest was impacted by the pandemic. That was his 8th grade year. Missed 8th grade graduation, which, yes, in the part of the country I was in, 8th grade is a big deal. They do it up, they have a graduation ceremony, an 8th grade dance. He missed all of that and started high school from his bedroom.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:08:52] Oh.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:08:52] I know that there are thousands and thousands of people that they have similar stories, they had younger children, they had older kids, they had kids in college, people who missed all these milestones. And so on a lot of different levels, there's a degree of grieving. I think we, as parents, feel badly for our kids because they had this arrested development, this period of time where they weren't able to do the fun things they should be celebrating and enjoying. And so I'm so grateful that I have you here today to talk about many of these things. There's a question that came in from Meg saying, “My teenage daughter and my adult son have suffered from social anxiety. Going to places that are crowded makes them uncomfortable. My daughter gets sweaty palms. My son rarely left the house other than school or work. What do you suggest to help them get more comfortable in uncomfortable situations?”
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:09:41] Yeah. Well, I'm going to start with the end of her question and then go back, because learning how to tolerate uncomfortableness is the definition of resilience. And when we talk about, there are questions here about what's the magic in mental health. That is the magic. So we have become like a bubble wrap society where we want our kids to never experience anything uncomfortable. If you follow me on my podcast, I talk a lot about my kids. But my youngest, J.C, was a severe dyslexic. I mean, severe. He only had dyslexia reading instruction. We never put him in a public school. We did it ourselves. At a certain point, about two years in, where he was getting it between five and seven times a week, I thought, “Is this damn kid ever going to read?” But he did. And he's a totally normal reader. He has the gift of a dyslexic brain. And the number one common characteristic of millionaires is dyslexia. 40% of US businesses owned by dyslexics. Very creative mind.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:10:47] Wow.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:10:47] So recently, we worked to try to skip a grade because he's a science phenom in math. We were on the fence. I'm not so sure he was ready and we said, “Listen, you're probably going to get a C when you use the summer to skip a grade.” And now he's two years ahead in math. This is his choice. I'm not one of those mothers, okay? So I was like, “Look, you can struggle and probably get a C, or you could coast and get an A and you're still a year ahead.” And he was like, “Yeah, let's get a C.” [laughs] I was like, “It doesn't mean you are.” But I said, “I'm predicting you're going to get some Ds and F's.” And he's like, “What's a D?” [Cynthia laughs] But he is uncomfortable. He's uncomfortable and I can see it. And I'm like, “We're pushing ahead. This is what we're doing.” It's a good lesson. And the poor kid's been used to being uncomfortable, but it doesn't mean you make everything hard. It means that we have to teach our kids. There's going to be moments of uncomfortableness. Anxiety and anger can't be the only two emotions you ever experience. There's a range of emotions, and what are those tools and resources to get through them. That is what our job is as parents.
And so we have this beautiful opportunity with our children to coach them in those 18 years through this and also to model for them how we manage stress. Never hiding that there are stressful periods, but showing them how we do it. So that's a little lesson from Dr. Ro. [laughs] We're not hearing this as much. And please know your kids watch everything you do. Not saying they don't listen to you, but they're going to 10X pulling information from you. When just by observing how you're doing things. It's just the way. So to answer this question, let's talk about social anxiety. So first of all, social anxiety is the fifth most common mental health issue in America. It is not shyness. And if anybody doesn't know Cynthia, she's an introvert. [laughs]
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:12:54] Very much so. People are always shocked when they hear me say that. When you talk about resiliency and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, that's one of the reasons why I did student government, and why I ran for office in college, and why I did all these things, because it forced me to get outside my comfort zone, and that's where growth and potential happen.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:13:17] 100%, it does. Absolutely. I'm on the other end. I'm the extrovert. I'm like, “I have to learn how to be an introvert” and be quiet sometimes. It's almost uncomfortable for me to be quiet. I'm like, “Okay, I'm used to-- You know me. You like me.” You like when I come with you because I schmooze everybody and [Cynthia laughs] we have a good time.
[laughter]
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:13:38] We balance each other out. Yes.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:13:40] We balance each other out. Absolutely. And so shyness and social anxiety are very different. Social anxiety truly is a clinical issue. So how do you help your kid be more comfortable socially? Really, they require therapy. My magic is calming the brain, calming in with therapeutic support in some way, shape or form. It's just so much easier when we calm the brain. And no, I don't mean meds. So what do I mean? So always the balance the base of all health is nutrition. So, you do what you can with nutrition. We can talk about that. You can use meditation, you can use yoga, you can do breath work, you can do neurofeedback, you can do PMF, of course, you can do supplements like Inositol and magnesium.
[00:14:28] There's a lot of good things we can do, always evidence based, but you must do them consistently. I don't want to hear--- You don't message me if you haven't done it for a month. So, [laughs] it's not one and done. Even though the number one quickest thing we can do to calm our nervous system, breath work. It's the fastest way we can calm our nervous system. But that child, that young adult, I think it's both her kids, we have to help them. It doesn't mean that they are going to be the head of the student council. But you have to help them gain social skills in some way, shape or form that is right for them. So I literally could go anywhere and I'm going to be fine. I'm not asking you to do that. But what can you do? Because guess what? You're going to have to go to college, you're going to get a job, you need those skills. You don't want it to bubble over. Untreated anxiety pretty much always leads to depression at a certain point, and then there becomes the layer. So calm that nervous system, get them the skills. That really sounds easy, but it's not. But it's worth that effort.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:15:35] Yeah. I would imagine that there are parents who are listening right now or listening later in our discussion, how do they go about finding qualified providers? Because it's my understanding from talking to my traditional allopathic trained friends, there aren't enough mental health professionals, and this is unfortunate. How do we go about finding qualified individuals to work with our children, our teens, our young adults? Because I would imagine that this in and of itself is its own specialty. There are people who do better with grown up adults, and then there are people who are really patient and very attuned to children, teens, and young adults. I would imagine in and of itself, that is very much a very specific focus.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:16:23] Yeah. So great point. So what you want to do is find somebody who has an expertise in that specific problem. So in social anxiety, you want to say, “Have you worked with people, young adults, teenagers?” Because an adult therapist, man, they don't know what they're doing. They don't know how to talk. I was driving in the soccer carpool the other day, and the kids were like, “Oh, you don't know this rapper?” I said, “Yeah, let me hear his name. I'll tell you who he is.” They were like, [Cynthia laughs] “Oh, she knows everything.” I was like, “I got to stay current, kids. I work with teenagers, [laughs] plus I love music,” but I was like, “I at least want to know who it is.” I joke, but I don't because teenagers need to know that you're relatable in some way, shape or form, and that just requires that you're putting that effort in. So do they have a specialty? Where are you going to find them?
[00:17:14] So number one, start with somebody you trust. If you have a friend who's had a kid with problems, ask them. And if they've had a great experience with a local provider, do that. If you can't do that, ask a medical professional. And certainly, you can do a Google search. People come to me all the time from all over the world in a Google search. You want to make sure they're licensed, credentialed. You don't want to go to somebody who is a mental health coach. You want to make sure they are properly credentialed. Is a mental health coach great for things like parenting or mindset? Great, sure. But when it comes to a clinical issue, you really got to know what you're doing. There is so much work that you have to do, not just to get that degree but to get that license, and making sure that's where the results come from.
[00:18:02] I have a whole podcast on why expert care is important, because it's just a very different experience when you go to an expert, non-comparable, really. So there are great providers in the world. You just have to look for them. Once you meet with them, “Are they the right fit?” That's important too. If your child can't relate to that person and it's truly an issue of relating, not treatment refusal, then find another person. I think one of the questions has to do with, what do I do with a kid? How do I talk to them about it? How do I get them for help? So one, conversations are never one and done. You have open conversations about mental health. You never make it negative. You really just try to make it a positive thing. Never hide clinical diagnoses from kids. It's often a relief when they're like, “Yeah, I know I was depressed,” and then really talk to them and be part of that therapy if you can. Really, if you are the parent, you're doing the heavy lifting because one therapy session a week isn't going to move the dial, if you're not implementing those things at home and you can. I want you to be empowered, not scared by that.
[00:19:18] It's going to teach you to get in alignment and use the right words instead of being like, “What am I doing? Spaghetti on the wall.” That's what a therapist is for. They're there to guide you and your child.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:19:31] That's such an important point, and certainly really helpful because I would imagine there are going to be parents that are going to listen to this and they're going to say, “I know that my child needs help, but I don't know where to start.” So thank you so much for that. Suzanne asked, “How do you think universities should best support nutrition on campus, and what do you feel is missing most to allow ALL STUDENTS, including those with food intolerances, to have a level academic playing field for best success.” Great Question.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:19:58] Yeah. Suzanne, I've helped so many kids [giggles] pick colleges. So many of the students that I work with have food intolerances, have celiac, have medical conditions that prevent them from-- We have to get their inflammation down. It's hard to find really good nutrition at schools. Do I see a trend in the last few years where things are improving that they have these apps now where students can order food? I think all schools have to-- just like restaurants, have to acknowledge that you got to have a little gluten free symbol. You have to have options. We know that food quality is a big, big determining factor in health. And yet, there are many campuses. I had somebody this summer and they're like, “The primary food method of cooking is frying” and I'm like, “Really? Like, everything is fried?”
[00:20:59] And then in the same breath, I have another student who goes to one of the top food schools, always in the top 10 here. They have a sushi bar, they have this, they have that, and I was like, “I couldn't even imagine that.” It's so great. So what do I think universities need to do is, I think they need to provide better food options for all students, and also, to bring taste to those foods. Like, you can't just have grilled chicken. So a lot of my kids who have food intolerances, they literally have to have the same food choices every day. I can't live like that. That gets boring. So in one sense, they're providing safe options, but they have to do a better job with taste. I think just like when people come to my house, they're surprised that everything's gluten and dairy free because it's just so darn good. It's just a matter of proper spicing and having some variety.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:21:54] Yeah. And it's interesting. My 18-year-old will be going to college in 2024, and you better believe, especially because I'm the mom of all boys. When we're doing college tours, he's very attuned to the food options. He has peanut and tree nut allergies. So that is a huge-- He has real allergies. They're not going to go away. Unfortunately, only 30% of kids that are diagnosed with a food allergy will actually “outgrow it.” And in talking to him, one university in particular is always in the top five for food options. It's amazing how some universities just have an overwhelming amount of choices. Unfortunately, that's not consistent. And so I completely understand what I hear what you're saying, and I also understand what Suzanne is saying is that, “What do these kids do?” So obviously, for us, we have to make sure, wherever he ends up attending that they're going to have safety parameters around contamination with nuts and peanuts.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:22:50] A lot of investigating. My friend Ellen was like-- She guides me in all things. Her kids are older than me. They're adults. And my kids, I should say. And she was like, “Ro, you got to check with the feeding the kids and how often they're clean in the bathrooms.” I was like, “Ellen, I would never think of that.” But it's true. I think that's really the answer is what you have to do your investigating work before you get there. I would really even say, I would go to those dining halls and taste the food, because sometimes things have been promised, and again, that quality isn't there. Certainly, another option is for kids to get-- I've had kids get special rooms where they have access to cooking and they just cook themselves. That's not as typical. You've got to be a really pretty self-sufficient kid who really knows how to cook.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:23:41] Yeah, it's interesting. Both my boys were at a university this summer for a program, and one came home and said, “Oh, I'm going to definitely gain 15 pounds because I couldn't believe how much food was available whenever we wanted it, as much as we wanted of it.” And the other one came home and said, “I miss our home cooking.” So they were at the same university, but their perceptions were completely different. Along this line, Jen asked, “How do you recommend talking to a 14-year-old girl about avoiding gluten and dairy as needed due to severe intolerances without creating disordered eating behaviors?” Now, I know you and I have had some conversations around this. Obviously, it's a very sticky subject because you don't want to then imprint your child with being overtly concerned and becoming orthorexic, anorexic, binge eating, food addiction, etc. How do you typically address those kinds of concerns?
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:24:36] Well, you're right. You have to tread carefully, and especially, if this is new at 14. If this has always been going on, it's different because there's a foundation, there's a trust, there's an understanding. I'm not saying these are not tricky to navigate in either scenario, but let's say that's new. Number one is you've got to do this as a family. I think the greatest mistake people make is they make it for just the one kid and they're already feeling so bad about it. You're listening to this podcast, you know, this is the way for better health, brain health. When I do my brain scans and people are eating their intermittent fasters or paleo, their keto, you can't believe the difference in their brains of any age. The inflammation is not there in the same way, if at all. The stress levels, even just the neuroplasticity, the flexibility of the brain is incomparable regardless of age. I can get a 7-year-old who's eating super, super clean and a 14-year-old that's eating chicken nuggets. And that 7-year-old brain is going to be way easier to train. I never tried I only get to tell that to my good eaters because everyone else feels bad.
[00:25:51] But you want to start with your whole family really getting rid of the stuff. You're all going to feel better. It's going to be easier. You're not going to be locking horns as much and then you psycho educate, like, I slip in nutrient facts. I also really try to get my kids to connect to how they feel when they eat. So like, “Wow, how do you feel?” I made a baked berry compote thing with almond flour and butter in it last week, and my kids, “This is so good.” I was like, “It is.” There was nothing terrible in there. It's just baked fruit. It was a dessert. And I was like, “Oh, do you like it better than” dah, dah, dah, and they're like, “Oh, no, this is way better. I'd rather have this than the gluten free,” whatever it was. And so you just get them to connect. And obviously, you want to validate feelings. If your 14-year-old is angry, they can't eat certain things, be like, “Yeah, me too. God, I'd love to have a cinnamon. Would it not affect me,” whatever it is. [giggles] But it does and things like that.
[00:26:54] My kids have been drinking the Kool-Aid long enough [Cynthia laughs] where they get it, [laughs] but it is hard. I've had some real-- The other thing is sometimes having another person talk to them is huge. So you have to be very careful. If you find a traditional clinical nutritionist, a lot of times they're not down with super healthy eating. They're like, “Oh, you can have a little bit of everything.” Really?
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:27:19] Real heart healthy grains. If you hear that, run, please [unintelligible [00:27:22] [laughs]
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:27:22] But you can find an integrative health coach, you can find somebody-- I certainly have had many conversations with kids and families. And sometimes I even do like, “Hey, could you do me a favor? Could we do it for three months and we'll do a pre and post brain map?” It really depends on where people are at. I met with a young man this week, and he had to give up stuff. We based it on his stomach hurting. A month later, he's like, “My stomach start hurting.” And I was like, “Well, what do you think?” He's like, “Well, I guess I have to stick on the gluten free.” And I was like, “Yeah.” I was like, “You look great too.” And he's like, “I feel a lot better.” So he was 20-years-old, and he was not too happy with me when I told him we had to be gluten free. He said, he's done it before, and it did nothing.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:28:05] It's hard, especially at that age, because I feel like teenagers and young adults, they feel like they're missing out. I'll share with it with my community that my youngest, who's 16, has been struggling with pimples and very mild acne. We've been bringing him to a local holistic person, and she's been reinforcing, “You really should go gluten and dairy free.” He has just dug his heels in the ground. I said, “I can't force him to do it.” And something over the summer, it was like a light bulb went off for him and he said, “I'm willing to go dairy free.” Do you know that that kid's skin looks completely different? So he tried probably two weeks ago to have a little bit of-- I think he had whey protein and he had a bunch of breakouts and he said, “I don't tolerate dairy.”
[00:28:49] So he and I are dairy free buddies. I keep saying to him, “I will do everything I can to find healthy alternatives for you if you really feel like you're missing something.” And in most instances, with the exception of ice cream, he doesn't miss it at all. But his skin has gotten so much better. I never pushed him. I just said, “You're going to come to this decision when you're ready.” And now that he's ready, the dermatologist, the aesthetician are like, “Oh, my gosh, I cannot believe the difference in his skin.” We were actually looking at photos that they had taken, and he's so proud of himself now. And he just said, “It just reinforces, I want to have clear skin, and I'm not willing to go back to having a face full of pimples.” And so for him, dairy is very inflammatory, very insulinemic.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:29:30] That’s right
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:29:31] He's in the midst of puberty, so spiking insulin for him is going to drive the acne issues. And so I just share that, so that our community knows. As a parent, I had to wait till he was really ready to do it, because if I pushed him to do it before he was ready, if any of you have a stubborn teenager, you understand, it's like trying to push a mule. And so I love him to pieces, and I'm so proud of him because he came to this all on his own. He was really ready to just be done with these skin problems.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:30:01] Well, and you handled it beautifully. You're like, “Okay, well, you can have the skin problems or you can get rid of dairy and not. So, it's really up to you.” You let him decide. Skin is our largest organ, and so much toxins want to come out through that. And for him, it was created toxicity. Who knows? Maybe there's Candida in there. It could have caused a lot of different components for it. Yeah.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:30:26] When you talk about a brain scan, can you explain the technology that you're using in your practice? Because I'm sure people are probably curious. Probably they're thinking like CAT scans, MRIs, but this is different.
Roseann Capanna-Hodge: [00:30:37] Yeah. So I do something called the QEEG brain map. And sometimes people come to me and just do diagnostics with me. They come in. It's a lovely, non-evasive process. I can do it as somebody young as three and a half to whatever age, and I do it all the time. So you put a cap on, i