What is the role of diet in autism? While the causes of autism are still being researched and outcomes of many treatments are less than successful, many are turning to a gluten/casein free diet as an answer to autism.
Roughly 1 in 250 children will be diagnosed with autism, and this number increases by about 10 percent each year. With this disorder growing at epidemic speeds, doctors and parents alike are searching for new ways to combat and prevent autism.
In her book, Louder Than Words, actress Jenny McCarthy talks about her son Evan, his diagnosis with autism, and her search for answers. Jenny has employed a gluten free diet (accompanied by medication, therapy and supplements) to help Evan overcome autism with amazingly positive results. Once communicating with only one word at a time, Evan is now fully conversational. He holds eye contact and enjoys life as a normal little boy.
How is it that a wheat and gluten free diet can help children with autism? No one knows for sure, but one school of thought is that gluten (a protein found in wheat and some other grains) and casein (a protein found in dairy) act in a way that’s similar to morphine on some children.
Children with autism often have permeable intestinal tracts, or leaky guts. The weak membranes in the intestine allow these broken-down peptides from digested gluten and casein (which act like morphine) to basically get loose in the bloodstream.
It either makes them lose control, or become zombie-like. How can a person know if the gluten/casein free diet will help their autistic loved-one? Research is still inconclusive about how this works – or even if it works.
But there’s no reason not to try it and see if it helps. Because there are good food substitutes for the food that would become off-limits, there isn’t a risk of malnourishment by eliminating gluten and casein.
It is recommended, however, that no child under the age of 5 go on a cold turkey gluten and casein-free diet, because it could cause withdrawal and worsening of the symptoms of autism.
It would be better to slowly wean the child off of the newly blacklisted foods and introduce replacement foods over time. Begin by eliminating one source at a time, and give the new diet at least six months for results.
The medical community is looking closely at alternative treatments for autism and many doctors are adding it to their treatment plans for autistic patients — although it’s not a guarantee for everyone. A person suffering autism can also be examined for leaky gut initially, but again, because a gluten-free or casein-free diet is not inherently unhealthy, it’s acceptable to try it and note any positive changes.
Many parents who have incorporated this diet into their autistic child’s healthcare plan are swearing by the positive results they’re seeing. Children are communicating better, interacting more, and functioning at a higher level.
It’s a stunning thing that wheat free diet can help in autism of children because wheat is a basic food life. Mostly we use gluten in our daily meal. Medical communities should find any alternate of this cure as you said that they are searching still.
I think the vital ingredients of promoting long life is by eating green leafy vegetable. It is very rich in fiber and most of all does not clog blood vessels.Well it is good know about autism and whet free diet.here i learned lots of useful thing thanks for this great article.
Jenny Mccarthy is an absolute twit. She calims she “cured” her son. I’d bet dollars to donuts he never had autism in the first place. She makes me sick. She should keep her mouth shut and keep stripping – it ‘s what she’s good at.
I was actually just reading this morning about how in the US, the number of reported autism cases had gone up by something like 60% in the last four years, so it certainly is a serious problem. Whether or not Gluten has any role in treatment is up for debate, but I think you are right that it won’t hurt anything to try. However, it would be essential to make sure that they are still getting all the important nutrients. I always find it interesting how many doctors are against alternative treatments, simply because they didn’t learn about it in college or they don’t get a kickback from the medical industry from it. This is actually one of my pet peeves…
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It is great problem autism, for which a balancing diet is required so that the man will be kept perfect, in the article one of the good new i have just reading is , the medical community is looking closely at alternative treatments for autism and many doctors are adding it to their treatment plans for autistic patients.
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1 in 250 children will be diagnosed with autism, and this number increases by about 10 percent.uhhhhhh
I teach agriculture at a community college, and I’m amazed as I come across more and more information about “natural cures” to diseases mankind has been suffering with for ages. Very interesting article. Thanks for posting it.
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This is actually one of my pet peeves. It is very rich . ingilizce türkçe çeviri
Both of my parents went on a detox plan called bio-set for food allergies and have changed physically and mentally due to this process. I’m hoping to start the program sometime in the next year.
As cases of known gluten sensitivity increase, many foods in the western world are now labeled to clarify whether they contain gluten.
Gluten is the composite of a prolamin and a glutelin, which exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperm of various grass-related grains.