Jenny McArthy bio
Jenny McCarthy is a popular name in American mainstream media. A model, comedian, actress, TV show host, and former nude model, Jenny has managed to draw a lot of media attention and criticism during recent years, for her strong views on parenting issues, vaccination, alternative medical treatments for autism and environmental concerns. From 1999 to 2005, she was married to fellow actor John Mallory Asher, with whom she has a son, Evan Joseph, born in 2002. Between 2005 and 2010, Jenny dated Hollywood comedian Jim Carrey.
Jenny McArthy autism story: In 2005, Jenny’s son was diagnosed with autism. His disorder manifested through seizures that gradually improved with treatment.
Seeking answers as to why and how autism affects children, Jenny ardently explored various scientific and non-scientific theories, including the New Age view that some children are born with special traits, which allow them to develop specific creative abilities more so than their peers, albeit at the risk of appearing odd. These so-called “indigo children” are described as unusual, but at the same time, highly empathetic, curious, strong-willed, and spiritual.
But soon after, Jenny found herself drawn towards the anti-vaccination crowd, which advocated that some vaccines (especially those containing the controversial mercury-based ingredient Thiomersal) are a health hazard that may contribute to the development of autism. In fact, criticism of vaccines has become so strong and widespread, that some American kindergartens are reporting a 10%-and-rising rate of nonvaccinations.
Becoming an anti-vaccination spokesperson
2007 was a busy year for Jenny – she wrote a book on how she fought to heal her son’s autism, called Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism, she participated in numerous TV shows where she discussed the impact that disorders like autism can have on family life (mentioning that her husband’s inability to deal with their son’s condition eventually lead to their divorce in 2005).
From June 2007 to October 2008, Jenny was a spokesperson for Talk About Curing Autism, an NGO that provides information and support for families affected by disorders in the autism spectrum. In October 2007, she held her first fundraiser, and later joined Generation Rescue, an NGO which holds that disorders in the autism spectrum are caused primarily by environmental factors and vaccines. During her early involvement with Generation Rescue, Jenny became engrossed in research that could link autism to environmental causes, and by 2011, she had joined the organization’s Board of Directors.
Thousands of parents are desperately trying to rescue their kids
“I came home, he had a fever, he stopped speaking, and then he became autistic. It’s time to start listening to parents who watched their children descend into autism after vaccination,” she told Larry King in 2008, explaining that the stories of thousands of “autism moms” resonate with her own.
Video: Jenny McCarthy on Autism – Larry King – Part 1
Video: Jenny McCarthy on Autism – Larry King – Part 2
Video: Jenny McCarthy on Autism – Larry King – Part 3
Supportive of his then partner’s struggles, Jim Carrey also developed an interest in the root causes of autism, and in 2009, he published a controversial article in Huffington Post, called “The Judgment on Vaccines Is In???”, which questions the current scientific consensus on the benefits of vaccination.
The popular comedian asks why is it that American children are given more vaccines, on average, than European children, but also wonders if the financial aspects of the multi-million dollar vaccine industry could have something to do with it. Far from labeling all vaccines as potentially unsafe, Jim Carrey does think that it is important to remain prudent about what is forced onto children by the CDC, in tandem with pharmaceutical companies that may or may not have public welfare at heart.
In 2008, Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey participated in a “Green our Vaccines” march in Washington, which advocated the use of safer substances in vaccines for children. Jim Carrey was quoted saying that children are given “too many vaccines, too soon, many of which are toxic.”
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“Try everything. It was amazing to watch, over the course of doing this, how certain therapies work for certain kids and they completely don’t work for others … When something didn’t work for Evan, I didn’t stop. I stopped that treatment, but I didn’t stop.”
To heal her son Evan, Jenny tried nearly every autism treatment out there, including aromatherapies, electromagnetics, heavy metal detoxification, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, b-12 shots, multivitamin therapy, spoon rubbing, but also intensive Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy, anti-fungals, multivitamins and the gluten/casein-free diet, which proved most effective.
Jenny found that chelation therapy (or heavy metal detoxification), which is a medical technique used to remove heavy metals from the body, actually helped her son’s condition. She then asked herself how is possible that a treatment for heavy-metal poisoning helped a child with no known exposure to heavy metals, at least not beyond the mercury contained in standard vaccines?
The gluten/casein-free diet is recommended by the Autism Research Institute, on the premise that some individuals are incapable of processing the proteins gluten and casein. The result of this incomplete metabolism of gluten and casein has been correlated with an elevated incidence of schizophrenia and autism, although the American Academy of Pediatrics, along with other mainstream medical authorities, found that there is insufficient scientific evidence to support this theory.
Implementing an autism friendly diet involves the complete removal of any sources of gluten and casein, including any foods containing wheat, rye, barley and dairy products. Some vegetarian items, however, like milk-free whipped cream, may also contain casein, which is added in to provide a richer texture.
Fungal overgrowth and autism
“After I cleaned out Evan’s Candida – and I’m going to say this very clearly – he became typical. He started speaking completely. His social development was back on. He’s now in a typical school. He got that much better. And my story is not alone.”
During her time on Larry King Live, Jenny also discussed the importance of Candida, which she described as a kind of yeast overgrowth, in the development of her son’s autism. After putting Evan on a gluten and casein free diet, coupled with a multivitamins and an intensive therapy program, Jenny added probiotics and adapted his regime for a full blown fungal detox. Evan’s reaction was so strong, that he began vomiting yeast, according to Jenny’s descriptions. The more she advanced his treatment, the better Evan became at communicating and interacting with other people, much like any normal child.
How did Jenny link Candida to Autism?
Existing in a delicate balance with probiotic bacteria of the gut, Candida is a fungus that can grow out of control and affect children and adults alike, should the body’s delicate inner balance be somehow disturbed. Infections of the vagina, mouth and other mucous membranes are the most common symptoms, but a growing community of natural therapists has started investigating other potential implications of candida overgrowth, including effects on the development of mental and behavioral conditions, like schizophrenia, depression, and even autism.
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During recent years, Jenny McCarthy has continued her advocacy work, writing numerous books, participating in autism awareness campaigns and earning both criticism and praise from the mainstream media, parents and therapists alike. Her 2008 book, Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds, shares the personal struggles of several families that have had to deal with autism, and how alternative therapies proved to be viable solutions for children that were deemed beyond recovery. In 2009, she co-wrote Healing and Preventing Autism, with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1968100,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1888718,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_McCarthy
http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1000114
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/02/lkl.01.html
http://www.candidafree.net/testi_autism_jennymccarthy.htm
http://www.bioactivenutrients.com/news/learn-more-fungus/99
http://www.ei-resource.org/news/autism-news/jenny-mccarthy-links-sons-autism-to-vaccinations-and-candida/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-carrey/the-judgment-on-vaccines_b_189777.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten-free,_casein-free_diet
http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/26/jenny-mccarthy-vaccine-expert-a-quarter-of-parents-trust-celebrities/
http://legacy.autism.com/ari/editorials/ed_candida.htm
