Diet Helps Children with Autism
By Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant
Parents of children with autism are learning that food choices
can help their sons and daughters become healthier and reach their full
potential. In addition to traditional behavioral therapy and other
pharmaceutical treatments, pediatricians, researchers, and nutritionists
increasingly recommend that parents implement autism diets, autism-specific
nutrition, and specialized supplementation.
Even television's respected Dr. Oz recently said, "Some of
the most promising treatments for autism come from changing the foods that the
child is eating." Respected pediatrician and author of “The Autism Book,”
Dr. Robert Sears says that 75% of his patients following the diet see great
improvement.
Doctors now recognize that the bodies of children with autism
are unique and require very specific care, including special enzymes for
digestion, medical treatment for yeast infections and other common conditions
found during testing, attention to digestive issues, special dietary
requirements (autism diets), nutrient and fatty acid supplementation,
behavioral therapy, and more.
The outdated model sees autism as a “mysterious” psychiatric
disorder that begins and ends in the brain—and reports that little can be done
to impact its effects. Through the breakthrough work of the Autism
Research Institute a more appropriate “whole body disorder” (the brain is
affected by the biochemistry generated in the body) perspective of autism has
emerged.
When seen as a whole body disorder, parents and physicians are
more likely to identify the physical symptoms of autism that often get
overlooked including diarrhea, constipation, bloating and GI pain,
inflammation, and frequent infections. With this broader comprehension it
becomes apparent that there is a great deal that can be done to address these
challenges. Step one is to take charge of diet.
When parents correctly implement specific autism diets,
improvements in gastrointestinal problems (including diarrhea and
constipation), language, learning, focus, attention, eye contact, behavior,
sleep difficulties, toilet training, and skin rashes/eczema have been
observed. Parents around the world are beginning to share their stories
of healing. Since every child is unique, improvements will vary.
It’s important to understand that these diets are customized
food-focused strategies of nutritional intervention for autism. Going from not
considering the impact of food intake (standard American diet) to giving
specialized attention (nutrition centered diet) is the key to promoting systemic
healing through autism diets. All autism diets involve the removal of
problematic foods and substances, and the addition of easier to digest nutrient
dense foods.
Certain food substances, such as gluten (wheat) and casein
(milk) are known to be problematic for many children with autism, and should be
avoided – and other foods rich in healing nutrients are beneficial when added
to children’s diets. Attention to these factors is intended to help
balance biochemistry, affect systemic healing, and provide relief of autism
symptoms.
For many children with autism, nutrient deficiencies, chemicals
in foods, imbalanced biochemistry, and digestive problems can play a
significant role in their physical conditions. Their physiological and
behavioral symptoms may stem from, or be exacerbated by, impaired digestion and
GI health. Altering food choices positively affects these processes and
helps improve symptoms.
There are several diets that are used by parents, autism
nutritionists and pediatricians. These diets include the Gluten-Free
Casein-Free (GFCF) Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), Gut and Psychology
Syndrome (GAPS) Diet, Low Oxalate Diet, Body Ecology Diet, Feingold Diet and
Weston A. Price dietary principles.
Parents begin with simple steps: more fresh fruits, vegetables
and grass-fed meats whenever possible. They read labels for ingredients and
clean out their cupboards. They shop for organic foods in order to remove
antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and PCBs from the dinner table. They naturally
avoid pre-packaged, canned or frozen foods that contain preservative,
additives, colors and artificial ingredients. They immediately decrease the
amount of sugar they feed their children. The guidance of a qualified nutrition
profession is always recommended.
After the initial clean up steps are completed, parents embark
on the implementation of an autism diet, which typically begins with removing
gluten and casein—as implemented in the GFCF diet. Gluten is the protein found
in wheat, rye, barley, commercial oats, kamut, and spelt. Casein is the protein
found in dairy. The GFCF diet has become popular for autism and the general
population, and there are many GFCF foods available in stores. Parents
applying a GFCF diet cook from great recipes they find online and in autism
diet friendly cookbooks.
Autism Research Institute (ARI) surveyed thousands of parents
and found that 69% of those applying the GFCF Diet saw improvement. For
the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, 71% noted improvement. In recent autism diet
research funded by Autism Speaks, 82% of parents reported “definite
improvement” in their child's skills.
For the parent of a child with autism, the food that they choose
to serve their children is vitally important to their healing. Autism diets are
an important first step all parents should consider as they are creating a
program for the improved health and well being of children.
