PURIST: You created Documenting Hope as a way to rethink how we understand and care for children with chronic health conditions. Was there a moment that made you realize a different approach was needed?
BETH LAMBERT: My oldest child had some symptoms that didn’t fit into a diagnostic box: some sensory, GI and skin. I didn’t feel like the conventional medical model offered anything in terms of understanding root causes or being able to address them.
I ended up knocking on the door of an integrative physician, and talked to naturopaths. That’s where I learned that all of these symptoms have root causes. Within a short period, we were able to turn them around, and it wasn’t rocket science. It was about nutrition and changing things in our daily life. I started Documenting Hope as a way to build that bridge between what conventional medicine offers and what’s actually possible for kids.
How has the mission evolved since those early days?
I started by raising awareness on the epidemic of chronic health conditions. As I got deeper into learning what was happening to our children, the mission became about providing resources for parents. Then, we gathered all that data and brought it to the medical community.
By data, you’re referring to your CHIRP and FLIGHT studies?
Yes—the CHIRP (Child Health Inventory for Resilience and Prevention) study is the largest children’s environmental health survey I know of. The FLIGHT (Facilitated Longitudinal Investigation of Genuine Health Transformation) – Autism Study asks: What happens if you take a child with a diagnosis and remove those environmental factors and support their health in a holistic way? Do they lose their diagnosis? Do their symptoms go away?
Where does the research stand today?
We launched the CHIRP study in 2018 and are still in the process of collecting data. One of the preliminary conclusions is that it isn’t about a specific environmental variable that causes conditions; it’s the cumulative effect that really adds up. We have 80,000 chemicals on the market right now that have never been tested for safety. We call it “total load.”
Where do you encourage families to start?
We have an online community for parents called Healing Together where they can get help. You don’t have to worry about all the little details. It’s about shifting your mindset and living as close to nature as possible. There’s plenty of evidence showing that children who have more access to natural environments are generally healthier. documentinghope.com
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