Category Archives: Diet
Chromosome 5 Found To Be a Significant Link to Autism Disorder
If you’re like the majority of the population you’re not exactly a master at all of the technical terms that are thrown about in studies of various treatments for Autism. Whenever I do any kind of article reading, I’m sure to have my search engine open and ready to go, in order to find the “lay-man’s terms” for different words and medical jargon. Truth be told, it’s a lot. A new study of chromosomes has found a connection between chromosome 5 and Autism. Great, right? But, what does it all mean?
Horse Therapy May Be Effective In The Treatment Of Autism
Every form of Autism is unique. There are many cases of Autism that are similar – similar symptoms, similar patterns, similar family background. However, it all boils down to the fact that people are different – so each Autism case will be different. Each and every story is very inspiring. Alexis Diaz’s story is no different.
A Closer Look At Biomedical Treatments
Over the years, it has been debated whether or not factors other than neurological ones have anything to do with Autism and other Neurological Disorders. Studies have found that many ND’s begin in the stomach and can be results of a poor or lacking diet.
Is Age More Than A Number In Autism?
People are diagnosed with autism at a variety of different ages. Autism diagnosis ranges from toddlers to teenagers to adults, Autism does not discriminate against the age of a person. This might not be the case when we switch focus and look at the parents’ ages. A study conducted between 1989 and 2002 of 7.5 million births in California found that the risk of a child developing Autism went up with the age of the parents.
A child’s risk of getting Autism went up 38% for each 10 year increase of a mother’s age between the ages of 20 and 40. There were also other factors taken into account including race, education, and the father’s age.
As a father’s age increased, the risk of the child developing autism went up 22% with each 10 year increase between the ages of 20 and 60.
Most believe that genetics plays a key role in the development of Autism. However, studies of parental age as a factor have mixed results. There are some studies, like the one in California, that show age may have an impact on the risk of developing Autism. Then, there are other studies that do not show any impact whatsoever. Still, there is no solid evidence that age plays a definitive role in determining the risk of a child developing autism.
Over the last 2 decades, there has been a significant spike in the number of autism cases. The reasons for this still have not been determined as there is no clear link. Though it’s just an observation, it’s not unfathomable that the overall trend of delaying pregnancy and childbirth could have something to do with the rise – and this would tie into the age speculation.
Even if the parents’ age is a factor, however, it would…
The Gluten-Casein Free Diet for Autistic Children
A few weeks back, I discussed how gluten can cause behavioral disorders in children who are incapable of digesting it. Many parents have also found that removing Gluten from their Autistic child’s diet has been very beneficial. The same goes for Casein (dairy).
How does one go about removing this from a child’s diet? It’s unfortunately not as simple as cutting out just bread and milk. Carol Ann Brannon, who focuses on specialized diets for Autistic children notes that gluten can not only be consumed via food, but also through the skin:
- “Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, and any derivatives of these grains, including, but not limited to malt grain-starches, malt wash, hydrolyzed vegetable/plant proteins, grain vinegar, soy sauce, and natural flavorings. Casein is found in milk and milk products from mammals….Gluten is in even in Play-Doh, adhesive on stamps and stickers, and many hygiene products. Soy, another common food allergen, is in many foods and hand lotions, make-up, etc.”
Starting the diet is always the toughest part. Should you go cold-turkey; cutting out all bread and dairy products all at once? Or should you slowly omit these foods from your child’s diet? Some parents choose to completely cut out all Gluten and Casein all at once. It is also common that parents and other non-autistic children in the family will feel the benefits of the diet as well. Other parents choose to cut the gluten out of their diets first, and then move on the milk products.
If your child is on the GFCF (Gluten-Free Casein-Free) diet, what CAN they eat? It seems that living without bread and milk takes the majority of food choices away.
“Children can eat a wide variety of meat, chicken, eggs, fruits, and vegetables -– anything that does not…
Autism, Autoimmune Disease and Gluten
Last week, I looked at how genetic abnormalities may be linked to autism and today I’m going to take that a bit further and look at the link between the genetic codes, autoimmune diseases, autism and gluten – an interesting recipe!
Some researchers are suggesting that there is a link between parents who suffer with auto-immune diseases like lupus, type 1 diabetes, Graves’ Disease or Hashimoto’s Disease, celiac disease and autoimmune adrenal insufficiency, and children who have autism spectrum disorders. These scientists believe that a parent’s autoimmune deficiency can make their child more susceptible to autism spectrum disorders in the following ways:-
- Toxins or pathogens may be able to damage the developing brain of the developing child.
- A pathogen may trigger an autoimmune response that could interfere with normal brain functioning.
- In utero, the mother’s immune deficiency may allow a pathogen to damage the brain of the fetus directly or by triggering an immune response in the mother that then “creates pathogenesis in the fetal brain” – see Utah State University’s Study “Possible Immunogenetic Basis for Autism” http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/79073/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0.
Two studies – “Familial Clustering of Autoimmune Disorders and Evaluation of Medical Risk Factors in Autism” by J Child Neurol (1999) and “Increased Prevalence of Familial Autoimmunity in Probands with Pervasive Developmental Disorders” T L Sweeten et al. (2003)suggested that there is a link between a family history of autoimmune disorders and autistic children because autistic children are more likely to have a family history of autoimmune disorders than healthy children in a control group. It was found that over 40% of families with an autistic child had two or more close family members with an autoimmune disorder and that those with first-degree relatives, particularly their mothers, were most often affected.
Using Nutrient Dense Food to Treat Autism
In the past I have mentioned how important a healthy diet is to all children, not just autistic children, but some parents jump in to using strict elimination diets without first making any simple changes to their child’s diet to make it more nutritious. You never know, a few simple changes to make your child’s diet more “nutrient dense” may lead to vast improvements without having to cut out gluten or casein.
Nutrient Dense Foods
As I have already said, the first thing to do before trying any special diet or eliminating any foods is to make sure that your child is having a nutritious diet and this means giving them nutrient dense foods. A nutrient dense food is a food that is rich in macronutrients, such as carbohydrates, fiber, fats, essential fatty acids, protein and amino acids, and water, and that is also rich in micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients.
According to Catherine Gavin RD, LDN, MPH of the Pfeiffer Treatment Center, a nutrient dense diet is essential because micro- and macronutrients are needed for “proper biochemical functioning of the body and brain”. She advises that parents should give their children organic foods, where possible, and foods that are whole and unprocessed because they are much denser in these essential nutrients.
Antioxidants
Everyone has seen vitamins and supplements that are labeled “antioxidant” but what does this actually mean and why are they essential in our diet?
Antioxidants are substances that protect the cells of our bodies from damage by free radicals which come from pollution, pesticides, artificial colors and flavors, heavy metals, trans fats and hydrogenated fats. Our children’s gastrointestinal tracts and brains are particularly susceptible to damage from these free radicals, which cause “oxidative stress”, and Austim experts like Dan Rossignol believe that oxidative…
The Dangers of Toxic Cleaning Products
I’ve blogged before about reducing your child’s toxic load to help alleviate symptoms of autism, to cut the risk of autism in subsequent children and to have a healthier home, and today I’m going to talk about one particular chemical and toxin, phenol.
What is phenol?
Phenol, or carbolic acid, is a chemical that both occurs naturally and that can be manufactured. It ranges from being a colorless liquid to being a white crystalline solid and has a distinct sickly sweet or “tarry” smell which is often associated with the smell of hospitals.
Phenol is used in many different products. It is used to make phenolic resins which are used in industries like the automotive, plywood, appliance, nylon and construction industries, and it is also an ingredient in disinfectants like Lysol, antiseptics, cleaning products, medicines, mouthwashes, lozenges and ear and nose drops.
Phenol can also be found in food, as gallic acid and malvin.
Dangers associated with Phenol exposure
There are many dangers associated with dermal (skin) or oral (ingesting it) exposure to phenol, and also breathing it in. These dangers and health risks include skin irritation, poisoning resulting in muscle weakness, tremors, paralysis and even respiratory arrest, liver and kidney damage, cardiac toxicity (damage to the heart) and lung damage.
But what has all this got to do with autism?
Autism, Vitamin A and Vaccinations
A few weeks ago, I blogged about Vitamin D and how the rise in Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the rise in autism, but vitamin D is not the only deficiency that has been linked to autism and some people are suggesting that a deficiency in vitamin A may be responsible.
As I have said before, the Standard American Diet is not healthy and, although we may be eating a lot and filling ourselves up, many of us are actually malnourished because our diet does not contain enough of the essential nutrients that our bodies need to function properly and for our children to develop and grow correctly. Instead our diets are high in sugar, fats, salt and empty calories. However, low fat diets can also be bad for us because by not eating an adequate amount of fat we may actually be causing our bodies to be deficient in vitamin A, which is found in foods like full fat dairy foods, liver and cod liver oil.
Autism and Vaccines
In a study entitled “Is Autism a G-Alpha Protein Defect Reversible with Natural Vitamin A?”, Mary Megson, MD, a developmental pediatrician, argues that “Autism may be a disorder linked to the disruption of the G-alpha protein, affecting retinoid receptors in the brain” and that some cases of autism may be caused by “inserting a G-alpha protein defect, the pertussis toxin found in the D.P.T. vaccine, into genetically at-risk children”. This study also argues that the live viral measles vaccine (MMR) depletes a child’s existing supply of vitamin A and so has a negative impact on the retinoid receptors in the brain.
Megson, in an article entitled “Autism and Vaccinations”, reports that this G-Alpha protein defect causes:-
- Night blindness
- Problems seeing light-to-dark shading
- Problems perceiving what they are
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