A Call to Action by Beth Lambert, Josie Nelson and Martha Herbert, Ph.D., M.D.
Currently, a majority of our children are chronically ill, an exponential increase 
over previous generations. This epidemic of childhood illness is taking place as we head into an unprecedented crisis of planetary health. Our relationship to the environment has a direct and immediate impact on our health, yet modern health care seems to all but ignore this inconvenient truth.
Our children, our “canaries in the coalmine,” are telling us that something must be done, today. We can stop the escalating epidemics of chronic childhood illness and redefine the human relationship with the planet by clearly and scientifically demonstrating that human health is directly correlated with the condition of our surroundings.
By proving that serious chronic illnesses can be reversed by optimizing the things that interact with our bodies on a daily basis, we have the opportunity to profoundly impact the future of our children and of life on this planet. Reversing these conditions in children through the proper application of tools and knowledge already available to us is the goal of the Documenting Hope Project—and the method through which we will inspire millions of people to restore their own health and the health of our planet.
Why we won’t accept the “new normal” of chronically ill children
Many families have refused to believe that the symptom suppression offered by their doctors is all that can be done to help their children. They have gathered into communities to share healing approaches, and many have fully reversed their children’s conditions. Every member of the Documenting Hope Team and Advisory Boards has been profoundly moved by witnessing these transformations from serious sickness back into health.
While many doctors might dismiss these recoveries by saying the child “never had the disease in the first place,” we have seen many cases of recovery where these sicknesses were well documented and rigorously diagnosed.
The idea that childhood illnesses, like autism, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autoimmune diseases, are life sentences has actually never been proven or rigorously tested. It is just a belief system held in conventional medical circles and perpetuated in the media. This perception, exacerbated by a prevailing belief in genetic determinism (the discredited belief that disease is due mainly to genetics), has allowed medicine to slide into complacency, where large numbers of sick children are just accepted as the “new normal.” This prevents us from giving our children the kind of care that can restore their health and full functioning. Few have questioned the veracity of this belief system. Until now.
Our approach operates in the spirit of systems biology by appreciating that our bodies and brains are self-organizing systems fully capable of upgrading themselves toward full healing when environmental obstacles are removed, and these systems have what they need—and have been lacking—to operate optimally.
In essence, the Documenting Hope Recovery Program is a 21st century study of systems biology as a new paradigm for understanding and enabling recovery from chronic illness. This is true “translational science” that links research directly with effective patient care and addresses a massive public health crisis.
Beth Lambert is an author, educator and former healthcare consultant. She has monitored and documented the escalating rates of childhood chronic conditions for nearly a decade. She is the founder and executive director of Epidemic Answers, a nonprofit dedicated to reestablishing vibrant health in our children, and the creator and executive producer of The Documenting Hope Project. She will be speaking at The Real Truth About Health Conference, which will be held Feb. 2-11 at the Long Island Hilton, in Melville (RealTruthTalks.com).
