“The primary seat of insanity generally is in the region of the stomach and intestines.”-- Phillipe Pinel The father of modern psychiatry
Diet intervention is the foundation of biomedical intervention. To understand biomed, you must first understand why diet interventions may work for some kids.
"NOOOoooooooo!" I yell as I race across the room just in time to grab a cookie covered in Reeses Pieces out of my son's hand. The innocent, adorable old man had to catch his balance from the shock, and he then backed away from me and the buffet table like he was facing an armed gunman. I apologize immediately while secretly praying that he didn't have a heart condition. I politely explained that my son has severe food allergies. "That's going around a lot here lately." THAT is why I love senior citizens. So why is that "going around a lot"? Food allergies, allergies in general, asthma, and eczema are now the norm. The rise in autism cases is nothing short of ALARMING! My first interest in nutrition came when I happened upon an article from Karyn Seroussi. She explained how the proteins in wheat and dairy (gluten and casein) may not be properly digested or broken down resulting in peptides that affect the brain like a hallucinogenic drug. Her husband worked as a research scientist and actually confirmed the presence of these drug-like peptides in their autistic son's urine. These peptides actually showed up in his urine as opiates. Sound familiar? Click here to read the full article.
WHAT? This is when lights go off in a dozen people's head. Is your child "addicted" to crunchy wheat products and carry milk around all day long? My child did, for sure. Around this time, Jenny McCarthy was getting a lot of attention for her books about autism. I bought one of her books, and quicky found another puzzle piece. So what causes these opiates in children with autism and not typical kids? Jenny's research led to the conclusion of intestinal permeability--the controversial leaky gut syndrome. If the intestine is inflamed with lesions, those proteins would seep into the bloodstream, and ultimately the urine, before being broken down into a digestible form. After reading this, I was a bit skeptical. This "leaky gut syndrome" was regarded as quackery by most in the medical community. The next thing I read was my AHAH! moment. Jenny explained several things that can cause intestinal permeability. One item on the list was candida albicans--a yeast infection. When I read this, I knew I was hitting on something. I suffered with several yeast infections while pregnant with my son, Tyler. In addition to that, he battled thrush repeatedly during his first year of life. She explained how repeated antibiotic use strips the digestive tract of its protective lining and healthy bacteria. This sets the course for candida albicans to take over. Most of us ladies know that yeast infections frequently follow antibiotic use. Imagine that pain in the mouth or digestive tract. It then makes sense how undigested proteins leak into the bloodstream.
So is it antibiotics or vaccines? I am often asked if I believe vaccines cause autism. No, I do not. However, I do believe that vaccines may be a possible trigger that causes an immune injury and definitely a contributing factor in autism. This immune injury, I believe, sometimes results in the methylation cycle crashing. Yeah, I know--What the heck is that? The methylation process is the body's detox system. It's how we rid ourselves of the toxins that we take in daily. We all remember the little handout from the pediatrician that stresses to not give vaccines to children who are sick or have compromised immune systems. Did anyone get an immune test for their children before they got their shots? Me neither. No one knows for sure what causes autism, but I feel free to offer my opinion sense this is my blog. :) Have you ever played the game Don't Break the Ice? After so many cubes getting knocked out, the little man always falls through. Mom's poor eating habits--cube. Chemicals in everything in our home from air fresheners to carpet--cube. Repeated use of antibiotics--cube. Vaccines--CRASH! The MMR just happens to be timed when parents are expecting some key developmental milestones such as talking and problem solving. That is why I believe it gets most of the bad rap.
Here are the facts: vaccines are LIVE viruses. The MMR is the most controversial. Historically, measles was deemed responsible for many cases of mental retardation and ultimately death in 30 % of immunocompromised patients that contracted it. Some say it's the viruses themselves that cause an immune injury, while others claim it is the heavy metal preservatives. No one knows for sure.
One of the most controversial topics in the autism community is vaccines. Every change in behavior made me ask the why question. Some people ask, "If this is the case, why aren't adults getting autism after getting vaccines?" Simple. Neurological development. The brain develops most rapidly in the first four years of life. Instead of adults that lasp into autism, we have adults with a fully developed brain that lasp into Bipolar disorder, OCD, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity, adult onset of allergies--I could go on forever.
So how does this all flow into nutrition? Healthy children start with healthy parents. There are thousands, probably millions, of obese children walking around America that are vitually malnourished. Overuse of antibiotics is dangerous. What you put in your body during pregnancy affects the immunity of your baby. Below is a link to the studies done on children with autism that have gastrointestinal problems and malnourishment. So why are autistic kids running into walls on purpose, banging their head, running in circles or hunched over in a ball in the corner? Actually, I won't answer that. Just go watch a documentary on drug addicts. You will be floored at the similarities. Links to studies on gut/psychology association
Most biomedical practitioners are called DAN! doctors. That stands for Defeat Autism Now. Beware of DAN! doctors continually prescribing supplements and treatments. We used everything he recommended in the beginning. We added each supplement in one at a time and documented the effects of each. If one was expensive, and I saw nothing, I chunked it. There were some supplements that made a huge difference and some that were just a plum good idea (like a super charged multivitamin). Always remember, cost versus benefit. Put your money where you get results. I have heard of DAN! doctors that want to try extreme measures on all children with autism. We were blessed with a great practitioner that, at one point, said, "Stop. Don't do anything differently than what you are doing right now. He is doing excellent." I did inquire about a supplement that might reduce the extreme negative reactions from diet infractions, but he isn't one to try to make millions on the "poor autism moms looking for a miracle pill." Just use your brain and dollars wisely.
