There are a number of dietary interventions that are helpful for individuals on the autism-spectrum. These include the gluten and casein-free diet (GF/CF), the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), Low Oxalate Diet (LOD), Feingold, GAPS, and anti-candida. Deciding on which diet is right for your child can be confusing. How do you know where to start? Which one do I do? Which one is best? All of these are common questions, but sometimes difficult to answer. In my experience there is no one diet that is right for every person – certainly not every autism-spectrum child. One size does not fit all. It is true that in the context of eating the elimination of toxic foods such as processed grains, high fructose corn syrup, and trans fats is critical, and in doing so will go a long way in improving the health of your child. Let’s take a glance at one diet – The Body Ecology – as a treatment option for autism.

Yeast is a major problem in autism. The biotoxins from yeast contribute to cognitive, behavioral and language difficulties. Working to reduce or eliminate yeast toxins is an important consideration for any person on the autism-spectrum. Programs such as the Body Ecology Diet help in attacking chronic yeast problems. Here is an overview of the Body Ecology Diet:

* Anti-candida diet by eliminating all fruits other than lemons, limes, dried cranberries, and black currant seed juice.
* Cultured vegetables which aide in proper digestion, normalizing intestinal beneficial bacteria levels and acid-alkaline balance.
* Using various kefir products which are a good source of protein.
* Using a wide variety of protein meats, vegetables, and certain non-gluten (gliadin) grains (quinoa, amaranth, millet and buckwheat).
* Vegetable juices for increased nutrient bioavailability.
* Proper food combining to reduce digestive problems such as bloating, gas, and yeast overgrowth, etc.

The benefits derived from the Body Ecology program are a reduction in yeast overgrowth (and other opportunistic intestinal “gut bugs” such as bacteria and parasites), reduced exposure to harmful sugars, proper digestion, stronger immune function and less food allergies.

The Body Ecology Diet is a good example of how a more whole food diet (with the incorporation of fresh fruits and vegetables, organic meats, and healthy grains), and the elimination of fast foods can have wide-sweeping positive effects on your child’s health by reducing many of the artificial food ingredients, sugars and toxic fats that plague so much of the typical American diet.

Recommended Reading

• Autism Treatment
• Autism Treatment – Pandas, Probiotic Problems and Autism
• Autism Treatment – Thyroid Evaluation and Autism
• Helicobacter Pylori and Autism – What Tests to Perfom
• Autism Treatment – Helicobacter pylori and Autism
• Autism Treatment – How to Successfully Work With a Biomedical Autism Doctor
• Autism Treatment – The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
• Autism Treatment – Using Methylation Chemistry for Autism Treatment
• Autism Treatment – How Music Therapy Helps In Treating Autism
• Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and Autism
• Autism Treatmentand the Biomedical Approach – Patience and Perseverance Is Critical For Long-Term Success

We talk a lot about the gluten and casein free diet for children on the Autism spectrum and there are a couple of reasons why. One is that it is a tried and true remedy. There is statistical data that has been accumulated over the past number of years that has shown for a wide variety of kids, upwards of 65%-75%, report a positive improvement as a result of implementing the gluten and casein free diet. This improvement can be seen in better eye contact, better language skills, more attention, better focusing, better awareness environmentally and an overall improvement in health and particularly bowel function just by implementing the basic gluten and casein free diet. Now what is gluten and what is casein? Gluten is a protein found in wheat and casein is a protein found in dairy and in this case we are talking about cow dairy. Other types of grains, rye, barley, etc. will also have gluten like substances which means when you are on a gluten free diet you need to eliminate these as well. With casein you are essentially eliminating cow dairy for most kids. There is a chemical effect that gluten and casein can have that is apart from the immune system so much that you might be thinking about a food allergy or food sensitivity. But there is something called a peptide effect where the particular type of protein or a sequence of amino acids called a peptide that is found within these chemicals. This chemical structure looks really very similar to some of the opiate chemicals in the body. That is why they refer to the peptide of gluten as gluteomorphine and the peptide of casein as casomorphine because they look similar to morphine. Gluten and casein can have a drug-like effect like morphine or other opiate chemicals. We know that this peptide effect can have a direct impact on brain chemistry which affects attention, focusing, concentration, language skills, etc. So when you remove gluten and casein from your child’s diet, you are removing them not just because there is an allergic sensitivity. You are removing gluten and casein because chemically they have an adverse neurological effect on these kids. You are removing gluten and casein to remove that drug like effect with the hopes that it helps in the areas of attention, focusing, eye contact, environmental awareness, etc. The gluten and casein free diet is a very important part of an early biomedical intervention and something you can implement on your own. It can be quite helpful with respects to your child’s overall ability to function and to get them on the road to health and wellness.

Recommended Reading

• Autism Treatment
• Autism Treatment – Pandas, Probiotic Problems and Autism
• Autism Treatment – Thyroid Evaluation and Autism
• Helicobacter Pylori and Autism – What Tests to Perfom
• Autism Treatment – Helicobacter pylori and Autism
• Autism Treatment – How to Successfully Work With a Biomedical Autism Doctor
• Autism Treatment – The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
• Autism Treatment – Dietary Treatment Options for Autism Treatment
• Autism Treatment – Using Methylation Chemistry for Autism Treatment
• Autism Treatment – How Music Therapy Helps In Treating Autism
• Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and Autism