Autism Diet: How To Improve The Gluten-Free Diet
The most frequent Autism diet recommended is the gluten-free diet, casein-free (GFCF) diet. We are looking to improve this diet to get more consistent results.
The reason that the GFCF diet is so often used is because the autistic person can also suffer from intestinal disorders like a chronic gastrointestinal inflammation, resulting in poor digestion and also poor absorption of nutrients. So, eating a healthy balanced diet is even more important for the Autistic child. Constant stimulus of undigested proteins in those with poor digestion can then trigger an allergic response. The autism diet attempts to address these issues with varying success rates. Some mothers report notable improvements and others a limited success. Looking at the issue and success reports with a intention to isolate the cause of these differences in success is how I approached the problem. One is either seeing a variation in each child or a variation in each child's environment, which includes their diet, that would account for the differences in results. A GFCF diet is difficult to maintain, so any improvements would make the endeavor more worthwhile. Wheat and milk are common allergens among the larger population. The autism diet removes these partly for this reason. But more for the observation that these children have difficulty digesting the proteins of milk and wheat. A blood test or urine test would demonstrate if your child has undigested proteins. Still if this were the only cause, would not all children improve with their removal? So, there must be some missing information or factors at work here. That missing factor is the effects of genetically altered food or
genetically modified foods.
In the animal kingdom, gmos are proven to cause low birth weight, allergies, neurological problems, still births and death. In the US, over 90% of the soybean crop is genetically modified, as is over 60% of the corn crop. And as of the Fall 2009 crop, gmo sugar beets will hit the market. Since the autistic person suffers neurological symptoms and demonstrates a limiting of nutritient absorption any foods worsening these effects should be eliminated. How to Improve the Autism Diet
1. Genetically altered foods are the first to be removed. Whether or not you have already instituted the gluten-free, casein-free diet, removing gmos is an absolute must. Download a free
non-GMO shopping guide
at www.nongmoshoppingguide.com
2. Foods containing MSG need to be eliminated. MSG is an excitotoxin. This means it is a substance that causes the neurons of the brain to fire impulses at a rapid rate and continue to fire until they exhaust themselves. Exototoxins cause brain cell death.
3.
Aspartame is also an excitotoxin.
Any substance that can cause brain cell damage needs to be eliminated to be eating a healthy balanced diet.
4. Soybeans should be avoided. As I said earlier, over 90% of all soybeans are genetically modified. The changes in the DNA of this crop link it to the significant rise in soybean allergies. Doctors have even reported children only reacting to the gm soybean and found to have no reaction to the non-gmo soybean. This should only be checked under the supervision of a doctor.
5. Isolate the exact nutrients your child is deficient in. This can be done through hair analysis. A physician knowledgeable in nutritional sciences or a nutritionist can help determine your child's nutritional needs. Please note that monitoring the nutritional needs of your child is an ongoing process. As your child begins to improve, changes in nutrient demand may also occur. The reason for this is that if digestion improves, so does nutrient absorption. So a nutrient that wasn't absorbed before, may now be absorbed easily, resulting in a lessor amount being needed.
6.
Hydrogenated fats and oils
are heavily processed. They have lost their amino acids that are supposed to be found in fats. These fats have no nutrients. They also act to limit the absorption of nutrients from other foods. 7. Medications need to be reviewed with your child's physician. There are no drugs that can cure autism. Yet the anti-depressants and psychotropics often prescribed to the autistic person all have damaging neurological effects. Informed consent requires that you be fully informed of all side effects to these drugs. These classes of drugs should not be used simply as "something you can try to lesson the symptoms," without your thorough evaluation of the risks to benefits ratio. The elimination of harmful toxins coming from food sources is not only a benefit to the autistic person, but also to the whole family. Choose organic foods whenever you can. No genetically modified organisms are permitted in the production of organic food and so are a perfect fit into the autism diet. Additional resources for the
gluten free diet, autism help
are available at www.the-gluten-free-chef.com.
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Hydrogenated Oils
Autism And Vaccines
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