Autism or Allergies - Or Both?

Could there be a link between autism and allergies? Could severe allergies cause an autism misdiagnosis? Could allergies themselves contribute to autism? A lot of things are still unknown about autism but as a parent of a child who was diagnosed at the age of three and by the age of 11, no longer displaying symptoms of autism, the above questions are important ones for me and my family.
Autism is a disorder that affects the brain development in children and is usually diagnosed by age three or four. It affects the child's social interaction and communication skills and it can limit behavior patterns. Autism is believed to be genetic but there are also environmental factors that are believed to influence the disease.
In recent years, reports of several studies done (mostly in alternative medicine) have suggested the idea that diet and food allergies could play a role in either causing or worsening autism. In particular, gluten (a wheat protein) and casein (a milk protein) were both believed to worsen the symptoms of a child with autism. It is believed that these food proteins are broken down into smaller proteins called peptides, that will function like narcotics in autistic children, worsening the symptoms.
My son's food allergy diagnosis came after his initial autism diagnosis. It was later found that all 4 of my children had allergies to gluten and casein with the older ones outgrowing it around ages 6-10. However, only one of the four ever displayed the symptoms and signs of autism. He now no longer displays symptoms of autism, although he is not on the same behavior maturity level as his peers. He has outgrown most of his food allergies and intolerances but still receives treatment for seasonal and environmental allergies.
We're unsure if he was misdiagnosed in the first place or if the food allergies somehow played a role in the severity of his autism at a young age. Diet change alone was not the only thing we did for him. Years of counseling and therapy on all levels- speech, behavioral, family, etc., have helped him learn to overcome many of the challenges he had when he was younger and when he carried the diagnosis of autism. The doctors will say nothing more than "Before he displayed the signs and symptoms of autism and now he doesn't". While he still has some symptoms on the spectrum, they are not enough for him to be considered autistic.
Autism is a touchy subject and a condition that still asks a lot of questions. Each time I write about it, I get my fair share of hate mail telling me to "check my facts" but the fact of the matter is that even the experts disagree on many aspects of autism, what causes it and what might treat it. I write from my 10-year experience with a child who was diagnosed, as well as my experience coaching children with autism and Asperger's. I'm not claiming to be an expert; only looking to share information and experiences.
I can't say it's fact that there is a link between allergies and autism but in my experience there is, on some level. My children's allergist as well as other medical professionals seem to think there is some type of link as well, even if we are not all 100% certain of what the link is yet.
The bottom line is this: if it helps a child to live a more productive and functional life, does it really matter who is right and who is wrong? I want what's best for all of my children, regardless of labels or conditions. If changing their diet helps, I'm going to do it.
Note: Changing and/or restricting your child's diet should only be done under the supervision and advice of your doctor. This is especially true when limiting important nutritious foods such as milk and wheat. It's important to be sure you are replacing these omitted foods with something equal so that your child does not suffer from malnutrition due to restricted diet.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for personal care by a licensed physician. The author is not a licensed medical professional.
Sources and references:
Personal Experience
Millward C, Ferriter M, Calver S, Connell-Jones G. Gluten- and casein-free diets for autistic spectrum disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2004, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD003498.
Kidd PM. Autism, An Extreme Challenge to Integrative Medicine. Alternative Medicine Review. 2002; 7(6):472-99.
Sun S, Itokazu N, Le HT, et al. Innate Immune Responses and Cytokine Production Against Dietary Proteins in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Those with Dietary Protein Intolerances. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2002; 109:S222.

Lisa Mason is a freelance writer with a specialty in Internet content and SEO articles and the author of How to Earn a Living Writing for the Internet. She has written thousands of articles, hundreds of ebooks and thousands of website pages and related content in more than 10 years as a professional writer.
See her website for a free article writing template guide as well as more information about writing and the writing services she offers.

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Does a Healthy Diet Influence Autism? If So, How?

If you have a child living with autism, you have probably heard the publicity and asked yourself how does a healthy diet influence autism? There are many different points of view on how diet actually affects children with autism. Eliminating gluten from the diet of your child, removing casein from dietary choices, for example excluding nuts, soy, and eggs from daily consumption. Many dieticians, and medical experts say, there is no conclusive proof that these foods have an affect on the behaviors that is displayed in autism. There are many parents who disagree, and have seen legitimate, positive results from dietary changes in their autistic children.

Gluten may cause problems to many people, and not just in autism cases. Some examples of gluten laden foods include barley, and rye. One of the foods that are difficult to remove from a diet is, wheat. In addition, soy sauce, vinegars, couscous, artificial colors and flavoring contain gluten.

Casein, is found in milk, so if you want a casein free diet, you must eliminate milk and all products that contain milk from the diet of your child. It is wise to avoid regular milk, butter, margarine, ice cream, yogurt, and cheese. These are regular staples in the diets of most children. Due to this fact, living with a casein free diet, may result to be extremely difficult and frustrating to follow. Many parents attempt to change to a soy based diet, to replace the lost milk, but soy can also contain casein.

Soy, can be a culprit, and deceiving, because of this, one must check your choices of soy, to ensure that it will not include casein. Another discovery that has been made, is, nuts and even eggs have been said to disturb children with autism and their behavior.

When choosing dietary adjustments as a treatment for autism, most dieticians recommend removing one food at a time from the diet, to see what results show in the behavior of your child. The reason some experts believe food choices may have an impact on autism, is some children are not able to digest these types of foods. If the undigested food remains in the body, it will turn into opiates, that will change the behavior patterns of the person.

Many health food stores are excellent places to help assist people, who have decided to make positive dietary changes. As food interaction has become more and more publicized, many grocery stores have made more choices available for their clients. To make such significant changes is often a slow process. Many parents find assistance on the multitude of internet sites, face book, and support groups that have popped up surrounding this issue. If you connect with other parents who are on, common ground with your circumstances, you will have a better understanding of what has worked or failed for other parents. Another positive result from gathering information from parents, with similar issues, one can request recipes from the websites to help make the dietary changes more manageable for both you and your child.

Parents who have experienced success, and improvement in the behaviors of their child, show it is worth it to try and incorporate alternatives in dietary choices. If you are concerned about how a healthy diet will influence autism, speak to your medical professional, or dietician, about your concerns, and incorporate a plan, or an alternative for introducing new foods that may make a difference in autistic behavior. Do research on your own, by looking up the properties of different foods, what they do, and the effect they have on your child. Keep a journal, mark down the dates, time, kind of foods, how often your child eats, the quantity of food that is consumed, is an excellent idea to monitor foods that would give one an idea of how, the foods are reacting or producing behavior patterns in children with autism.

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Autism Treatment for My Child - What Should They Eat?

There are a lot of things that you want to avoid when using diet as an autism treatment tool for your child. But there are also a lot of things that you want to put in their diet, that can help ameliorate some of the symptoms and help them cognitively and behaviorally.

1. Vitamins

First of all, you will want a diet that is well balanced in terms of essential vitamins. Vitamin B is an important one. It helps increase brain function, can help produce neurotransmitters, and helps the absorption of essential nutrients into the body. This in turn helps improve nervous system function. All of this increases overall health.

Vitamin C improves the immune system, as most people know.

Also, though, it helps neutralize free radicals in the body. Free radicals are naturally occurring chemicals that can cause problems for the body; Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant, and as such, helps to control the damage that the free radicals do.

Multivitamins are important to take because many people with autism have deficiencies in many vitamins and minerals. Vitamins can be an essential autism treatment for your child.

2. Probiotics

Probiotics can help the digestive problems that so often plague autistic kids, and can be an effective autism treatment for these symptoms in your child.

Our guts have a lot of "friendly bacteria" that keep things in balance. Sometimes, though, these friendly bacteria can get out of balance and start to bring havoc on our bodies and digestion. Using probiotics as a supplement brings things back into balance.

Probiotics can improve bloating and gas issues, and other digestive issues. Digestive complaints are common with those on the autism spectrum. Yogurt is a good source of probiotics. Plain yogurt is better than the sugary flavored kind, however.

The best way to get probiotics is a full spectrum supplement that has many different strains of probiotics. Your doctor or someone at your local health food store can help you figure out what kind are best for you.

3. Essential Fatty Acids

What are Omega 3s? They are essential fatty acids. Your body can't make them but they do a lot for your health. Omega 3s improve brain function. They seem to "oil" the gears of the brain, especially in the case of the child with autism. Omega 3s also help prevent cancer, heart disease and arthritis.

The best way to get Omega 3s is from fish. Salmon is a great source of Omega 3s. Fatty fish, like mackerel, trout, herring, sardines, and albacore tuna also work well. Many nuts, like pumpkin seeds and walnuts, have Omega 3s too. Of course, the easiest thing to do is to get fish oil supplements that have Omega 3s in them. You will want to find supplements that have both Omega 3s and 6s in them. Nordic Naturals is one such company that makes an excellent product.

So you see, adding a few extra things to your child's diet can be an excellent addition to your autism treatment plan for your child.

And parents should learn as much as you can about dietary issues in the treatment of autism. Tips from other parents and professionals can be extremely helpful. A great site that has tips and suggestions for additional treatments is the AmericanAutismSociety.org. There you can sign up for their FREE newsletter with tips and info on autism.

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Diet - An Autism Treatment You Might Not Have Thought Of

When you think about autism treatments for your child, teenager or adult, do not overlook diet. It may not occur to you at first, but what your loved one with autism is eating is just as important, if not more, than the medications or therapies he is getting in terms of affecting behavior and well-being. Many children with autism need to avoid certain ingredients in common foods, as they are very sensitive to them.
Autism Treatment Using Diet
Using diet as an autism treatment is often called a biomedical intervention. You will want to avoid artificial ingredients, food dyes, and as much sugar as possible. These can all bring havoc onto the system.
A lot of people with autism are sensitive to gluten and casein.

• Gluten is an ingredient found in many foods, especially bread, cereal and grains. Nearly all pastries and other bakery items have gluten in them. Pasta also has it.


• Casein is found in most dairy products, such as milk, ice cream and yogurt.

People who are intolerant to these items will have digestive complaints; bloating and gas are common. Often, there are cognitive and emotional effects, like irritation, inability to focus, and spaciness. Taking gluten and casein out of your autistic kid's diet can result in big improvements to their health and behavior. You can find a large selection of gluten and casein free items at your local health food store.
Why is avoiding sugar often a good autism treatment?
A lot of people with autism have yeast and candida problems. Candida is a natural yeast that is present in the body. However, if it gets too big, it can take over the body and cause all sorts of problems.
It can be responsible for things like abdominal gas, fatigue, anxiety, inability to think straight or concentrate, mood swings, hyperactivity, constipation, acne, depression, learning difficulties, and indigestion, among others. Candida is fed by sugar, so keeping a low sugar diet free of processed or artificial foods is the healthiest thing you can do.
Other Factors
There are many different claims and thoughts about diet and its effect on autism. Some parents report that autistic symptoms greatly improve when wheat or eggs are removed from their child's diet. Some see an improvement in behavioral problems simply be removing one group, or be eliminating caffeine, chocolate or even peanut butter.
Supplements such as B6 and magnesium have benefited some kids.
Parents simply have to decide for themselves what works and what does not for their loved ones with autism. Try it. Experiment. For some, nothing seems to work...but for many, dietary treatments for autism have been remarkably successful.

As parents learn as much as you can about dietary issues as well as other therapies for autism. Tips from other parents and professionals can be extremely helpful. A great site that has tips and suggestions for additional treatments is the AmericanAutismSociety.org. There you can sign up for their FREE newsletter with tips and info on autism.

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Autism Alternative Treatments - Eliminate Diary And Wheat To Eliminate Autism

As more information is found about autism, researchers are suggesting alternative forms of treatment. One of the ways to reduce symptoms is by eliminating dairy from an autistic person's diet. Researchers feel that one of the phosoproteins found in dairy, casein, is responsible for some of the behaviors of autism. By eliminating casein from the diet, an autistic person will be helped out with their behaviors. It has not been proven to show improvement in cognitive skills, social skills or motor ability.

One thing to note is that this isn't a cure for autism. This is only served as a way to help certain behaviors. Casein is found in all dairy products so it would mean removing foods such as milk, ice cream and yogurt from the autistic person's meals. Casein is also used as a binding agent and is found in some hot dogs. Another tactic that is used once casein is delimited from the diet is removing gluten as well. Gluten is a protein found in wheat products. This is believed to have the same effect as casein.

Before you start any of these programs, speak with your doctor about alternative treatments and discuss the methods you will read here. At this time you may also want to see an allergist and get tested to see if they have any allergies to food. It could turn out they are actually allergic to dairy products. When you first start the casein-free diet, keep a journal of the activities for the patient. You might want to start this about two weeks before you actually begin the diet so you will have something to compare it with. Right down all of the activities and note the times. If having a casein-free diet does help, you won't see the results right away. This is going to take several months, so you have to be patient.

Casein will stay in a person's system for some time so there is no way to know if the dairy-free diet is working yet. The same is the true with a gluten-free diet, but gluten stays in the system longer. Also you don't want to try too many things at once because too many changes can upset the autistic person.

If you do eliminate dairy from the diet, you have to find other ways to substitute calcium. Try vitamins or calcium-enriched foods. This is especially important in children because calcium is important for the growth of a child.

A casein-free diet can get expensive. You also might have some difficulty finding milk substitutes at the local grocery store. You can look through specialty shops or check nutritional stores. If you have no luck at either of these places, go on the Internet and find special mail orders websites. You can find all the foods you need here. The Internet also offers casein-free recipes. However, with more people suffering from dairy allergies and wheat allergies, many products are available without casein and gluten.

If after some time this method isn't working, you can safely add dairy back into your autistic child's life. Just because it didn't work, don't feel as though you have failed. This is only suggested as a way to curb someone of the behaviors of autism, not put an end to it.

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Autism Treatments and Methods - Interesting Tips to Know If They REALLY Work As Claimed

Do not get the wrong impression; the way that different patients suffer from the different symptoms of autism differ one from another. Their abilities to learn to speak or communicate, their ability to learn to observe and respond to other people's emotions, are all dependent on how well they can learn, which will in turn dictate which therapy or treatment procedure you should be using to help the patient.

There are several of such training procedures that are obliging in autism management. Some are well known and popular, and have yielded positive results in a limited number of cases. Others are defector procedures that the greater portion of the medical society frowns upon because no scientific proof to back them up and because they tend to be harmful to the patients; and treatment methods for autism are still largely in the research phase. The truth is that none of these methods are entirely dependable.

But of course - whether or not they can be "entirely" dependable, they DO help somewhat. Many people insist that they have gotten some good results from the methods they applied. While there's no guarantee you just might get the same, or even better, results too. It doesn't hurt to try any of the training procedures, treatments or methods out there for handling autism.

Very importantly, ensure that you don't do anything or make any move without the guide of your doctor. Doctors know best and are in the right position to give you the right guide on what to take, what to do and other aspects that are very important to handling autism.

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How Yeast Overgrowth May Be Linked To Autism

Autism and an overgrowth of yeast? For some in the medical profession, it seems like a real stretch of logic. But for others, the evidence is all too clear.

For one thing, it appears that the incidence of autism is on the rise. Once barely heard of, now some reports claim that one in 155 children may suffer from this neurological disorder.

In a nutshell, the symptoms of autism include a lack of awareness of the feelings of others as well as a minimal -- or no -- social interaction. The most common description of autism is that these children are "within themselves." They seem to avoid receiving affection and love.

Many autistic children don't talk, are isolated and self-stimulating. Because they can't handle change very well, routines are extremely important to these children. However, these children can be taught self-care, social skills as well as language skills.

No one yet has been able to pinpoint an exact cause of autism. That means that no theory is really off- limits to some individuals. One popular notion is that this disorder is caused by something in the vaccinations being administered to babies and children. Others say the cause of autism is purely a genetic condition.

More recently, some studies are leading researchers to believe that yeast may play a vital role in causing this debilitating problem.

The question is: just how does yeast affect autism?

Interestingly enough, recent research demonstrates children with autism do have a different "gut flora" than other children. For the most part, the healthy or "good" bacteria are spread throughout an individual's digestive tract. This helps to keep the entire system operating smoothly.

The decrease in "good" bacteria allows for candida albicans to get a foot hold and out grow the good bacteria, allowing for an acid environment, this leads to extremely non oxygenated conditions (Anaerobic), yeast is able to survive and grow in greater numbers, this in-turn will increase negative bacteria and reduce the positive. To prevent negative yeasts colonies, there needs to be a more oxygenated environment.

There exist distinct circumstances when positive bacteria may be altered. As you'll recall, antibiotics can help destroy the natural balance of your flora. And this is exactly what is prescribed for children with ear infections.

It is not unusual for some young children to develop chronic ear infections. This means, of course, a series of antibiotic prescriptions. Here is the potential for an imbalance of bacteria to appear.

Mark W Thomas holds an Advanced Diploma in Naturopathy and Nutrition. I am interested in helping people to achieve health and well being through diet and lifestyle changes. Grab yourself a free e-course on how to eliminate candida go to http://www.realhealth7.com/shop/. Find out how to eliminate Candida without die off symptoms.

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The Gluten Free Casein Free Diet and Autism

The gluten free casein free diet is one that is very widely used on children with autism. Many people who had their children on the diet witnessed positive changes in their behavior. The diet is based on a hypothesis that because children with autism digest gluten and casein poorly, the gluten and casein form peptides, which affect his/her behavior, perceptions of and responses to the world around them.

What are gluten and casein? Gluten and casein are proteins. Gluten is found in wheat products, and casein is found in dairy products. Caseinate is derived from casein and is sometimes hidden in other products.

Gluten Free Casein Free Foods
Removing gluten and casein from your child's diet might seem difficult, considering a majority of foods in the United States are made with gluten and/or casein. When choosing what to buy for your child, look at the ingredient label. Keep an eye out for ingredients like caseinate, lactose, curds or bran. Sometimes if vinegar is used, it will be a type that contains gluten, so look out for that as well. Check your local health food store, sometimes they will have gluten free casein free foods. Or maybe there is a co-op in your area that sells gluten free casein free foods.

Before you start the diet, consult your pediatrician to see if the diet is right for you.

When starting out on the diet, remove the casein first. The body has an easier time adapting to a no-casein diet.

About Me

I am a thirteen-year-old on the autism spectrum. I was diagnosed with autism when I was six years old. Currently I maintain a Website all about autism at http://www.myautismrecovery.com To this date, My Autism Recovery has helped hundreds of people.

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Choosing an Autism Diet For Recovery

The road to autism recovery begins with diet. That is, making calculated omissions and additions to food choices is the first step to improving children's health and well being. Certain food substances (most notably gluten and casein) are known to be problematic, 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 balance biochemistry, affect systemic healing, and provide relief of autism symptoms. In simple terms, these are the underlying tenets of diets for autism.
There are many "autism diets" to choose from and deciding how to begin nutritional intervention can seem overwhelming. Ten years ago, it was a simpler choice-do diet! And, "do diet" meant do the Gluten-free Casein-free Diet (GFCF). Eliminating gluten (the protein in wheat) and casein (the protein in dairy) was the primary focus of diet for autism for many years, and provides many positive benefits. Since then, significant advances in biomedical nutrition research and mom-centric anecdotal data have resulted in broader dietary strategies for autism.
Now, one has to decide which diet to do. This can inhibit even the most recovery focused parent from getting started. Parents hear "You need to do this diet," or "my son improved on that diet." Because each diet has its group of supporters, parents whose children did well with a particular diet aptly tout it. How can there be so many varied opinions? It's because every person is different-each has unique biochemistry, genes, environment assaults, and eating preferences. A diet that helps one child, may not be the best for the other.
My clients are relieved to learn that I do not spout the dogma of any one diet. As a Nutrition Consultant, I practice nutrition intervention focused on improved systemic health and relief of physiological and neurological symptoms. Autism diets are food-based strategies employed toward this objective. I help parents choose the best initial diet for their child and then work to customize that diet to further to meet their specific needs.
In my book, Nourishing Hope for Autism, I discuss thirteen different diets that are recommended for autism. While each diet has merit, some include advanced components that are best supported by an experienced practitioner and not necessarily required to get started. In this article, I will explain the top three diets for autism - they include the most immediately helpful dietary principles and practices and there is much literature and community support to help aid successful implementation. In addition to these diets, I'll discuss the most common food allergies and substances, as addressing these comes hand in hand with diet.
The most popular autism diets are:
o Gluten-free and casein-free diet (GFCF)
o Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD
o Body Ecology Diet (BED)
Gluten-Free Casein-free Diet (GFCF)
Does your child crave milk?
Does your child only eat wheat and dairy foods?
Does your child seem spacey after consuming gluten or casein, and agitated before?
Are you just beginning to look at diet for the first time?
When parents decide to "do diet," they typically begin with GFCF. There are many good books about it, and the food marketplace is increasingly GFCF friendly. This diet entails the removal of all gluten and/or casein containing foods. Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, and commercial oats, and casein, the protein found in dairy.
When ingested by children with a compromised digestive tract and weakened immune system, these proteins can cause gut inflammation, pain, and digestive problems. If the protein is not properly broken down during digestion, it can form opioids (opiate or morphine-like compounds). The properties of gluten and casein can lead to digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, as well as foggy thinking and inattentiveness for many children with autism.
According to parents (Autism Research Institute survey), a gluten- and casein-free diet is helpful for 65% of children with ASD, even though a food sensitivity panel may or may not have shown a reaction to these foods. Therefore, I typically recommend a gluten- and casein-free trial period-often beginning the diet by removing first one, then the other.
Most of the foods containing these offending proteins are easy to identify. While following the GFCF Diet, you'll need to avoid any breads, crackers, pasta, or bakery items made with wheat and other gluten grains, and all dairy foods such as milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, and cream. Some sources are not that apparent:
o Soy sauce (except gluten-free soy sauce)
o Potato chips and fries (often dusted with gluten during processing and not listed on label, ensure they are gluten-free by checking with the company in the ingredient list)
o Malt (derived from barley)
When beginning the GFCF diet, be careful not to introduce a bunch of GFCF junk foods such as cookies, candy, and chips. Even though they don't include gluten or casein, the sugar can feed yeast, imbalance blood sugar, and disregulate energy. Remember, diet is more than just the removal of offending foods - attention must be placed on ensuring healthy and nutritious food intake.
GFCF is a great diet to follow when beginning nutritional intervention for autism.
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
Does your child have chronic diarrhea?
Does your child have an inflamed gut, maybe even been on steroids?
Have you tried GFCF to no avail?
Does your child have trouble digesting grains?
Does your child have dysbiosis (pathogenic yeast or bacteria)?
The SCD diet involves the removal of all complex sugars: everything except honey and fruit sugar, including the removal of maple syrup, cane sugar, agave nectar, brown rice syrup and more. SCD also removes all starches and all grains, including potatoes and sweet potatoes. This diet allows: meat, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, certain beans, all non-starchy vegetables, and fruit. This is not a low carbohydrate diet but a specific carbohydrate diet that focuses on non-starchy vegetables, fruit, honey, and certain beans for carbohydrates and avoids other sugars and starches.
SCD is the second most commonly applied autism diet, and 66% of parents say it is beneficial for their child (ARI ratings). It is very helpful for those who have inflammatory bowel conditions and chronic diarrhea, although it can help constipation too.
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet aims to reduce gut inflammation and aid healing by "starving out" the bad gut bugs and avoiding foods that require carbohydrate digesting enzyme that are often in short supply. By eliminating problematic foods, the bugs can't feed. Because it is more restrictive than GFCF, parents don't usually begin dietary intervention with SCD. However, if there is a significant inflammatory gut condition, some will go straight to SCD.
SCD is often applied when doing GFCF is not enough and digestive problems still remain, or if someone needs to further evolve the diet to see any additional benefits. A variation of SCD is the GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome) diet, created by Natasha Campbell-McBride, M.D. It includes the essentials of SCD, plus the addition of wonderful principles such as fermented foods and homemade broths.
While SCD diet is not inherently casein-free, I recommend that SCD be done casein-free until someone is certain that casein is not a problem.
The Body Ecology Diet (BED)
Does you child have persistent candida?
Does your child have harmful bacteria in the gut?
Does your child have bad smelling stool or gas?
Does your child sometimes act drunk, spacey or have maniacal laughter?
Does your child seem itchy or yeasty in any "moist" areas of the body like elbows, knees, or crotch?
The Body Ecology Diet is an anti-candida diet focused on clearing up yeast and dysbiosis (imbalance of bad bugs in the gut). BED is often called BEDROK (Body Ecology Diet Recovering Our Kids) in the autism community. BED incorporates the principles of proper food combining, acid/alkaline balance with low acid-forming foods, low/no sugars and limited starches, easily digestible foods, fermented foods, and other solid nutrition recommendations to clear up candida overgrowth and support health beginning in the gut.
BED allows only a few grains such as quinoa, millet buckwheat, and amaranth (when properly soaked)-restricting more starches and grains than GFCF. In addition to being gluten-free, BED is rice-free, corn-free, and soy-free. Foods such as rice bread, gluten-free pretzels, and rice pasta are not allowed on this diet. BED allows casein, but can be done casein-free. I always recommend going casein-free (on any healing diet) until you are certain that dairy is not an issue.
If you child has candida, BED may be for you. Though it requires that the child eat vegetables as the food combining aspect allows meat with vegetables and starches with vegetables but not meat and starch together. BED may be challenging if a child is picky and does not have a varied diet.
Like SCD, this diet is beneficial for helping reduce dysbiosis and restoring good flora balance in the gut. However, these two diets conflict with each other as they rely on very different underlying principles. SCD removes certain sugars and all starches, while BED removes all sugars and certain starches. Even if someone chooses a different diet, many of the Body Ecology principles can be also be applied, such as the inclusion of fermented foods, soaking grains, and consuming more non-starchy vegetables full of minerals and alkalizing to the body.
Getting Started
Now that we have discussed three effective autism diets and problematic food substances, where does someone start? Typically I recommend GFCF or SCD. Sometimes, based on the diet of the individual, I may suggest BED instead-for example if a child has significant yeast over growth and is currently on GFCF (which may filled with too many sugars and starches), but the child will eat vegetables, I may suggest BED. Additionally, I may suggest just adding fermented foods, soaked grains and nuts, and more vegetables-several BED principles, but not the full Body Ecology Diet.
The most important dietary principle is to start. It sounds simple, but start somewhere - even with the most simple thing - such as getting rid of all artificial ingredients - and then progress.
You Can Do Diet.
I know what you are thinking, "My child is picky and very inflexible with eating new foods. I'm never going to be able to get him to eat anything other than wheat and dairy, and never mind anything "healthy."
I appreciate this concern. I have had some very picky eaters in my nutrition practice-many children ate only bread and dairy, others subsisted on just pancakes and fries. However, there are solid reasons why these children are so one-sided in their food choices, primarily craving. When the body creates opiates from foods, one can become addicted to them and thus crave nothing but those foods. Children eventually narrow their food choices to include only those that make them "feel better." It's worth trying diet because once the child gets passed the cravings (a few days to a few weeks), they often expands food choices dramatically and it becomes much easier to do.
I know that any child's diet can change. It may take time and require great patience, but you can succeed. I've never seen a child's diet that did not improve eventually-increasingly so as the body heals. It's crucial that parents believe that it's possible for their child to change and improve. By envisioning the changes, you project a positive image that is important for your child and the success of your overall efforts.

Julie Matthews, a top US biomedical autism diet/nutrition specialist and Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) Practitioner, helps parents recover children from autism. She is a parent/physician educator and creator of "Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition Intervention for Healing Our Children" (Book) and "Cooking to Heal Autism Nutrition and Cooking Classes" (DVD). Visit http://www.NourishingHope.com to study autism diets and view video presentations.

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Selecting an Autism Diet A Review of Popular Approaches

Art therapy may be an ideal way to develop social skills, but an autism diet may also be another form of effective treatment. Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy, and like expressive therapy, when it comes to food control, there is more than one type of diet that can be used to treat autism.

Many health practitioners believe that an autism diet may be beneficial treatment. The reason is because most autistics have distorted immune response which causes their body to respond abnormally to certain types of food, viruses and toxins. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for many autistics to suffer from gastrointestinal inflammation and other intestinal disorders. It is thought that these intestinal problems might decrease the body's ability to absorb specific essential nutrients. Thus, by following a diet and other alternative treatment methods, certain abilities and overall health may be improved in an autistic individual.

The following are 4 autism diets you may want to consider -

Gluten and Casein Free Diet

Gluten and Casein are both proteins found in many foods which some autistics have a hard time digesting. Gluten occurs in wheat, oat and rye products, while casein is found in human milk, cow milk and many other dairy products. Both of these proteins are also in the ingredients of many medications.

Research has discovered that abnormally high level of specific peptides related to gluten and casein have been found in the urine of autistic children. This could mean that these proteins are not being effectively broken down into amino acids, and this over-absorption of peptide can actually affect brain function. Thus, by removing gluten and casein from the autism diet, this will prevent further gastrointestinal and neurological damage from occurring.

Yeast- Free Diet

Some research is based on the belief that some autistics have high levels of candida albicans (a type of yeast that occurs naturally in the body) in their intestinal tract. A candida overgrowth in the intestines can cause "leaky gut" syndrome, a condition that causes tiny holes in the intestinal tract. The yeast grows fast and releases toxins in the bloodstream which has the potential to affect brain functioning.

In fact, aside from causing stomach distress, it is thought by some that a candida overgrowth can cause a number of behavioural difficulties such as fatigue, confusion and hyperactivity.

Candida can be controlled naturally through an anti-candida (yeast) diet or with essential oils. In short, an anti-yeast diet involves cutting out all natural and artificial sugars, caffeine, most diary products, preservatives and, of course, yeast products (I.E. bread).

Specific Carbohydrate Diet

This is a science based autism diet, and it involves the cessation of ingesting specific carbohydrates (sugars and starches) that have been found to cause problems within the digestive tract. In addition, carbohydrates are small enough that they can slip by the surface of the small intestine into the blood stream, and can cause abnormal brain function.

This diet limits the amount of carbohydrates ingested and slowly adds them back once the intestinal tract has had time to heal.

Body Ecology Diet (BED)

This particular diet used to treat autism was originally created to treat systemic fungal infections typically caused by Candida overgrowth. It has been used to treat the inflammatory bowel diseases ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, as well as a number of autoimmune diseases and AIDS. Like the other autism diets, the BED works to heal the gastrointestinal system and prevent future infections.

The BED diet involves eliminating gluten and casein from the diet as well as drastically limiting bad fats, carbohydrates and sugars.

It is best to talk to your child's health care provider to find out which autism diet would be the best course of treatment. It is also important to have your doctor monitor your child's condition while on a diet treatment. This way you can ask any questions or concerns you may have about the autism diets, and to ensure your child is receiving the sufficient nutrients his/her body requires.

Grab your free copy of Rachel Evans' brand new Autism Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you and your family find out about autism strategies and for information on autism diet please visit The Essential Guide To Autism.

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Gluten Free Diet - Autism Still A Mystery

We know that scientists still don't know what causes autism, but research has found that with a gluten free diet autism characteristics or behaviour is lessened. With need for children to have a gluten free diet autism traits are more controlled too. Unfortunately it does not seem easy just to remove the basic foodstuffs such as the starches and dairy products from every household or only have a specific diet for one child who may suffer from autism.

Autism is a malfunction of the brain, and since there is no cure for it yet, other ways of handling the situation so to speak have to be implemented. It is not easy for a parent who has no idea that their child has autism, finding the reasons and what can be done for them is also another major issue that needs to be discussed when parents find out this information.

Gluten And Casein Removed Helps Autistic People

When it comes to the dietary needs of the autistic child it is recommended that the gluten intake and the casein intake, or gluten free diet autism is lessened. Somehow these ingredients have been found to cause a gastric problem, which seems more evident in autistic children too. By eliminating the daily usage of bread and milk which does sound harsh, and replacing it with something just as useful could sometimes prove quite difficult if it is done for the whole family in one shot. If you are changing your food sources over to be gluten free, you can easily find a gluten free diet recipe those suites your whole family's dietary needs.

With the gluten free diet, autism cannot be totally eliminated or remedied, as this is a malfunction of the brain. However, it has been proven that by using the gluten free diet autism gastric intestinal problems are totally eliminated or reduced radically, thereby also not putting the child in such a tense mode continually and therefore more relaxed and happier.

Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover

If you do come about a child with autism, you will find that the child is tense continually. This is also part of their own nature to be this way, and for some to be taken out of their usual environment causes their stress and panic levels to increase immensely. Some autistic children may seem out of the ordinary by their actions, but a lot are actually geniuses in their own right. It is important that "normal" children learn not to tease others with so-called disabilities, as it also has been proven that abilities that are lacking in one category are heightened in another.

For more information visit: http://www.happylifeglutenfree.com/.

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Sensory Diet Ideas For Oral Sensory Seeking

The mouth has many sensory receptors: for taste, texture, temperature, wetness and dryness, movement (in the jaw and in the tongue, for instance), and so on. The information from these receptors is sent to the brain, which organizes and processes the information. When sensory processing is dysfunctional, children typically seek, or avoid, certain sensations around the lips, tongue, and mouth. A child with sensory issues may enjoy sour and chewy Starburst candies or spicy Buffalo wings because he finds these foods stimulating, but sensory seeking that involves the unsanitary and even dangerous habits of licking and biting are socially unacceptable and must be addressed.

A pediatric occupational therapist (OT) or speech/language pathologist (SLP) with the proper training in oral/motor issues can help kids who have oral/motor sensory issues. In the meantime, there is a lot parents and teachers can do to reduce unacceptable oral sensory seeking.

Offer chewy foods and/or sour foods. These give strong input to proprioception receptors around the mouth and can be helpful in preventing licking and biting. If the child's system can handle the sugar and artificial colors or flavors, you can give him gum, licorice, gummy bears, Starburst, Tootsie Rolls, or similar candies. Other chewy foods include dried fruit or sugarless gum. Sour foods that can satisfy oral needs include candies such as SweetTarts, but also lemons, limes, and dill pickles.

Offer chewable jewelry and other items. You don't necessarily need to use a food substance to address the desire for chewing or biting, however. There are many chewable necklaces and bracelets available these days, as well as tubes that you place atop pencils or pens so the child can chew that instead of the writing implement.

Address other sensory issues that are affecting your child. By all means, redirect the child to lick, chew, or bite appropriate items to lick or bite is important, but note that these behaviors often get worse when the child is anxious or frustrated by other sensory challenges. Just as you might find it comforting to chew gum when you are nervous, you may not have a strong desire to do so when you are feeling calm and focused. A good sensory diet can prevent oral sensory seeking behaviors by reducing the child's sensory discomfort overall. Lessening emotional stress on the child can have a similar effect.

Check whether your child is hungry or has a nutritional deficiency. Sometimes, oral/motor sensory seeking is related to being hungry or having a nutritional deficiency. If the sensory seeking persists, consider getting a nutritional consultation to assess whether the child is getting all his nutritional needs met or if supplementation is required. Giving the child a warm bath with a handful of Epsom salts a few days in a row, which causes the body to absorb some magnesium, seems to reduce oral sensory seeking behaviors in some children and is low-cost, safe, and easy to try.

Copyright © 2010 Nancy Peske

Nancy Peske is the coauthor of the book Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues. She sends out a weekly newsletter of practical tips for parents and professionals who work with children who have sensory processing issues, available at http://www.sensorysmartnews.com. You can learn more about sensory issues at http://www.sensorysmartparent.com.

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Why Doesn't Gluten-Free Work for Autism?

Many people are touting the gluten-free diet for children with autism. I am going to explain why the diet does not work for all children with autism, what the dangers are, and how to improve the diet to truly make gains for your child with autism.

The Danger of a Strict Gluten-Free Diet

There are many people swearing by the gluten-free diet and that it does help their child with autism. There are inherent dangers in providing a child with a gluten-free only diet. Don't get me wrong. I do believe in these diets. However you need to be able to replace minerals and vitamins lost when a diet becomes strictly gluten-free.

I believe that we do not get proper minerals and vitamins in our diet anyway. Our soils have been depleted of the minerals our plants need to process the vitamins we need. This makes it necessary for all of us to supplement with minerals and vitamins.

Not all vitamins are equal. Don't think that you can just pop a cheap multivitamin and be on your way. Many of these cheap supplements are inexpensive for a reason. Many have fillers added to them for bulk so they can sell many of them on the cheap. In fact, these cheapies have been found to just pass through the body providing no nutrition at all!

What to Add to the Gluten-Free Diet

In order to avoid hundreds of nutritional deficiency diseases, we need 90 essential nutrients. I know of only a few companies that are able to effectively provide that in a quality supplement. Quality is essential over quantity.

Now, the biggest culprit in autism. Sugar. Yes, start with the gluten-free diet. Supplement. The biggest change is to take sugar out of your child's diet. Treat your child like a diabetic.

I want you to think of what happens to a child when it is weened from its mother in our society. Young children jump from their mother's milk to sweetened everything. Sweet cereal, sweet juices, sugary toasted snacks/meals, and so on. Those young brains need all of the nutrients we can give them, yet in Western society we give them sugar and processed foods.

What Can My Child With Autism Eat?

The question I get asked at this point is," What can my child eat?" Before answering that, I want to mention another category of foods to avoid. They are fried foods and nitrates and nitrites. Everything from processed meats to chicken nuggets fit these categories.

You can now have the privilege of exploring foods you may not know about. Millet, flax, buckwheat. You can provide your child with eggs, not hard cooked, but scrambled or poached. Eggs are great brain food. Rice is a good food. Sweet potatoes. Add butter and milk if your child is not allergic to milk products. There are also food supplements which help improve the taste. Margarines and cooking oils need to be avoided. These have trans fats, the biggest danger to our heart health today.

The Healthiest Autism Diet

If it were my child, I would have him or her tested for allergies. I would give my child a gluten-free, trans-fat-free diet. I would provide my child with the 60 Minerals, 16 Vitamins, 12 Amino Acids, and 3 Essential Fatty Acids (Omega 3 & 6 are essential). I would eliminate all sugar from their diet as if they had juvenile diabetes.

Dr. Joel Wallach, a pioneer in nutritional medicine, has stated that the 85% to 90% of children who have used this diet and nutrition program have changed from autistic to normal behavior. Children with true autism have benefitted from this program.

The theory of nutritional medicine is that when you provide your body what it needs, it fixes itself. Many are enjoying the benefits of good health today because of this approach.

Brian Sater provides information on solving health problems with nutritional approaches. Discover how to improve your health at http://healthpromotionandwellness.blogspot.com or contact Brian for answers about specific health information at bsate@youngevityonline.com

Acupuncture and Autism

Autism is on the increase around the world, with current estimates ranging from one in a thousand to one in five hundred children affected. No one knows exactly why the numbers are going up. The old theory of vaccines causing the problem has been largely discounted, while other theories encompassing viruses, antibiotics, nutrition and environmental pollution wax and wane.

Because autism is a baffling and difficult problem to treat, many parents are turning to alternative therapies to try and help their children. The western orthodox approach to treating children with autism has ranged placing them in care to working on improving their social and communication skills. There is no 'cure' as yet for Autism, leading some parents to try alternative therapies for symptomatic relief and possible improvement in the condition of their children. One popular recent approach is acupuncture, even though autism as defined by western medicine is not recognised by Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Anecdotal and preliminary medical evidence suggest that children with autism can benefit from acupuncture. While a cure is not to be expected, acupuncture seems to give symptomatic relief to children.

Though it may be a challenging experience for the child and the parents in the beginning, the results seem to suggest that it is helpful in the long run. Traditional acupuncture requires the patient to lay still for long periods, to endure the close contact of a stranger and the invasive insertion of needles, all of which could prove to be exceptionally difficult for a child, particularly one on the severe end of the autistic spectrum. But Paediatric acupuncture addresses some of these issues. Acupuncture for young children doesn't require them to lay still as with adults. It's just a quick prick (with super thin needles) at pressure points. Acupressure is an alternative for those who would prefer a less invasive treatment.

A study was done in the US to observe the effect of acupuncture on the brains of children with autism. The acupuncture treatment was given once every other day, for four months. After acupuncture treatment; of the 22 cases, 20 had remarkable improvement and 2 had significant in cerebral blood flow. Before the treatment there were significant differences in blood flow between the left and right cerebrum and between the left and right frontal lobes, however, after treatment, no differences were found between them

Preliminary clinical trials have been conducted in Hong Kong to establish the effectiveness of tongue acupuncture - a relatively new treatment method that is thought to be particularly effective for children on the autistic spectrum. Traditional acupuncture has been practiced in China for over 5000 years, but tongue acupuncture has developed only over the last two decades.

Based on the traditional Chinese view that the tongue and heart are connected through meridians that spread to all the organs of the body, it is believed that points on the tongue influence the state of the body's organs and it is through this that relief of autism's symptoms occurs.

Most agree that a combined approach to diet and alternative therapies can offer symptomatic relief to suffers of autism, improving mood and communication skills in children. Though it will always be on a scale of improvement, rather than cure.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Acupuncture [http://acupuncture-guideto.com]

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