Is it enough to eat "healthy"?

What does eating healthy mean to you?  For most, it means avoiding too many sugars and refined foods, eating more home cooked meals, but does that always equate to healthier options?  We trust our grocery stores to provide us with high quality foods, but what is really lurking in your grocery isles will surprise you.  Check out this gruesome article from the Rodale Institute.

The 9 Nastiest Things in Your Supermarket Think pink slime is gross? Wait 'til you see what other unappetizing secrets lurk within your grocery store.

And while we are on the topic of eating healthy, I would love to share a fabulously simple and direct excerpt from Kerri Rivera's upcoming book, "Healing an Epidemic".  If you know anyone with a child even remotely on the spectrum (even ADHD), please share this with them.  It is probably one of the simplest, yet most thorough explanations of the GFCFSF diet I've seen. Kerri Rivera is a fabulous autism mom who is also the co-founder/director of a not-for-profit autism clinic in Mexico known as AutismO2. I can't speak highly enough of Kerri's knowledge and go-get-em attitude.  She dedicates all of her waking hours to healing kids on the spectrum. 

If I could choose the one part of my protocol that would be the single most important piece of the autism recovery puzzle it would be The diet. By The diet I am referring to the dietary plan that I recommend to all of the families that I work with. It is a combination of the classic Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free, with the elimination of sugar, corn syrup, coloring, preservatives and other “harmful foods.” The diet is the basis to the rest of my protocol, similar to laying the foundation of a house that the rest of the structure will rest on. It is critical to the effectiveness of the rest of the protocol. When a family with a child recently diagnosed with autism comes to see me, the first thing they want to know is: What can I do to fix this? I always, always start with The diet. In fact, I send them away after that first meeting with hope that they will be able to recover their child, but only if they have the dedication to commit to the diet 100%. I explain to my families that they must think about food how their great grandparents thought about food. In generations past food was derived from the Earth, with little processing. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and meats were dietary staples for our great grandparents and they will be for our children as well. We must think whole foods, not processed foods. It is of little help to go from junk food to gluten free, casein free junk food.

After my first meeting with a family they leave with the list of permitted foods and I tell them to email me when they have a week straight with zero exceptions or “errors” on The diet. That is where the parents who are truly hungry for recovery are separated from those who are interested in having someone else recover their child for them.

One of two things generally happen during that first week. First scenario: I get an email from an ecstatic Mother or Father…”I can barely believe it, Johnny slept through the night for the first time in months, or Johnny had a normal bowel movement, or Johnny said 2 new words yesterday! “ That’s what I hope for, the second scenario is I never hear from the family again, there may have been tantrums, or an adjustment period related to the diet that proved too much for them, and they decide to pursue another avenue. That’s not to say that everyone sees a miracle, or there’s no middle ground, as some of the results are less obvious, such as more eye contact or less redness in face, but generally speaking, we see positive changes. But in reality, any change is a good sign. The diet is only the first piece of the puzzle. It is the welcome mat to autism recovery. We must continue from there. We don´t just do the diet. We do the diet and then keep adding and subtracting till we get the desired, end result.

That said, your child’s Dr may have not heard of the diet, of may be misinformed on it’s benefits. We will include a list of links to various studies and articles published on the benefits of The diet for children and adults on the Autism Spectrum. It is important to only consult with people who are familiar with autism and the recovery of autism. If your current physician is unfamiliar with autism recovery, it is important for the health of your child that you find someone who is. Surrounding ourselves with people who are immersed in biomed and healing children is of the utmost importance.

For starters, a researcher at the New Jersey Medical School’s Autism Center found that children with autism were more likely to have abnormal immune responses to milk, soy and wheat than typically-developing children, according to Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012. Also, there is growing interest in the link between autism and gastrointestinal (GI) ailments. A study by the University of California Davis Health System found that children with autism born in the 1990s were more likely to have gastrointestinal problems, including constipation, diarrhea and vomiting, than children with autism who were born in the early 1980s.

Simply because your Dr is uninformed or tells you there is no evidence to prove that The diet will help your child, do the research for yourself, as only you are in charge of your child’s diet. Heck, do The diet. It doesn´t cost you any money and it just might save your child. Whether he eats Cheesey puffs or fruits and vegetables will ultimately come down to you. The only way to know for sure if your child is going to be one of the cases who recovers with diet, is to try. It can take gluten 6 months or more to be removed from the micro villi or “shag carpeting” of the small intestine. As I mentioned previously some children have monumental changes in 2-3 days, but even if your child’s evolution is taking a little longer than most, DO NOT GIVE UP! At the writing of this book I have worked with over 2,500 families of children with autism, and all of the recovered children as well as the children about to come through the door have used varied protocols depending on their symptoms. What is the one thing that they all unequivocally have in common? The diet.

In my opinion, it makes little difference what other interventions you apply to your child if you can’t manage The diet 24/7/365. Hyperbarics, chelation, music therapy, ABA, etc simply cannot have the desired effects if we are still feeding drugs to our children. Why drugs? Because that is what gluten and casein become in the bodies of our children on the spectrum. More specifically, gluteomorphin and casomorphin. Yes, similar to morphine. These substances are produced in the gut due to improper digestion of peptides (as we will explain more in detail later) and the existence of leaky gut syndrome allows them to cross the blood brain barrier where they act exactly like morphine or heroin. Would you purposely give your child heroin, or any other illicit drugs? NO! So now that you have read these words, and understand the severity of this issue, do not give your child another piece of pizza, Cheesy puffs, bread or flour tortillas. Tell your family and your child’s school that they can no longer give your child these items, and if they do it’s like giving them a dose of morphine. If it sounds drastic, that’s because it is. Researchers have found an abnormal amount of these undigested peptides in the urine of children with autism, therefore proving their existence in the body. Dr. Reichelt in Norway, Dr. Cade at the University of Florida, and others found that urine samples from people with autism, PDD, celiac disease, and schizophrenia contained high amounts of the casomorphin peptide in the urine, similarly Gliadorphin (gluteomorphin) has been verified by mass spectrometry techniques to be present in unusual quantities in urine samples of children with autism, (excerpted from gfcfdiet.com)

Do the diet! There are still plenty of food options that are permitted, I promise you your child won’t starve. There are some recipes that will be included later in the chapter to get you started. I truly mean when I say that The diet is absolutely the most important piece of the puzzle. If we can’t remove what is directly linked to brain and gut inflammation as well as immune allergic reactions to offending foods, it is nearly impossible to heal a child on the spectrum. I have personally never seen a family recover a child without dietary intervention, that’s not to say it hasn’t happened, but I can’t say I’ve seen it nor heard of it.

In the case of my own son, his acidic diarrhea and sleepless nights stopped the week we started The diet. From that moment I was hooked, not only on The diet but on Biomedical treatments for curing Autism, and I have never looked back. I strongly encourage you to experience the diet for your child and even as a family it is a good thing.

Some other tips include:

Keep a journal. What foods have you taken out? Are you adding something in? Reactions: rash, more/less hyper, more/less stimmy, sleep patterns, bowel movements: how many, consistency, tantrums, acceptance of new foods, eye contact, language, etc. Write it all down, then you know what’s going on, and when something is working for you, and when it’s not. Doing the ATEC at www.autism.com is an excellent way to see how you are doing. Everytime that you begin a new intervention it is a good idea to do and ATEC and then repeat every month or so and see how your child is evolving. Sometimes our children are recovering right before our very eyes and we don’t even know it.

Using the ATEC helps a great deal to measure improvements. Many of us are tired or burned out and don’t have as good as a memory as we would like to, so a formal questionnaire can help us to discern when an intervention is working or not.

Always read labels. Read the label on the back. Not just the one on the front that says “gluten free”. Many times they have sugar, yeast or other items that are not allowed. We must know what we are putting into our children’s bodies. If you can’t pronounce it, you don’t really want to put it into your child. Be careful of hidden offenders like malta, natural flavors, artificial flavors, whey, numbers (red 40), etc.

Have a support system. It doesn’t matter whether it is a friend, family member, rescue angel or neighbor. Have a shoulder to lean on, autism recovery is a marathon not a sprint, and no one should have to go it alone.

Take it one day at a time. Defeatist thinking will only harm your resolve to help your child. “I Can’t do this for the rest of Johnny’s life” or “How will I get through this year” are defeatist thoughts. Go hour by hour or minute by minute if you have to, and know there are victories every day in the world of autism, and we must draw strength from those victories, even when they aren’t our own. My website has a section called Milagros, which are real emails that I receive from parents describing the advances of their children on my protocol. Take some time to read them, and know that children are recovering every day and believe your child can be next.

So here it is…The Diet

Permitted Foods List

Proteins:

Beef
Pork
Chicken
Turkey
Fish: small not large
Eggs
Organic is better, but not required
No processed meats or cold cuts (hot dogs, bologna, etc)
No shellfish (full of toxins)

Fruit:

All fruit is acceptable
Homemade juice and fruit waters are acceptable
Frozen fruit without cream or sugar is acceptable
NO canned fruit
Be careful of dried fruit, as it may contain sugar

Note: Fruit should not be consumed after a meal as a dessert. Due to it’s rapid digestion, if it is eater after other slower foods (meat, grains, etc) it will ferment in the stomach, causing bloating, gas, or discomfort. Fruit is best eaten before a meal, or separate from meals.

Vegetables:

All Vegetables!!!
This includes french fries…however, not frozen fries nor fries from fast food chains, these are often coated in flour.

Nuts:

Cashews
Walnuts
Almond
Hazelnut
Coconut
All of them!

Grains:

Corn
Rice
Amaranth
Quinoa
Millet
Tapioca
Xanthan Gum
Sorghum
Buckwheat

Beans:

All beans – EXCEPT Soy
Garbanzo
Lentils
Navy
Peanuts
Cacao

Sweetners:

Xylitol
Stevia
Honey
Agave syrup
Maple syrup (without sugar added)
NO Piloncillo
NO Sugar


Prohibited Foods:

Corn Syrup
Sodas – Cokes, etc.
V8 Splash
Chocolate milk
Natural Flavoring
MSG
ADES
Soy sauce
Microwave popcorn
Pasta
Candies
Oatmeal
Sugar
Splenda
Cow’s milk in any form, even lactose free
Noodle soup
Ketchup
Mayonaise
Knorr suiza (boullion cubes)
Corn flakes
Soy milk
Processed meats (hotdogs, ham, sausage, cold cuts)
Play-doh (contains gluten)
Bread
Flour Tortillas
Coloring
Jell-o or gelatin
Preservatives
Margarine
Yeast
Carrageenan
Numbers (E260)
Preservatives
Coloring
Cane
Malt
Artificial flavoring


NO Cow’s Milk

NOT CASEIN FREE
NOT LACTOSE FREE
NOT ORGANIC
NOT EVAPORATED
NO NO NO COW’S MILK
ALL COW’S MILK, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS REMOVED FROM IT, CAUSES MUCOUS AND INFLAMMATION. (which are responsible for maintaining pathogens)

Common Error:

The food allergy panel says he’s not allergic to gluten or casein…so my child can continue to eat those ingredients.

It doesn’t matter…if your child has autism or is on the spectrum he must avoid gluten, casein and soy. The network formerly known as DAN! Also says to observe your child carefully after adding a new food or a food he hasn’t eaten in a while. In one particular case, even though the child didn’t test positive for an orange allergy, he produces symptoms of an allergic reaction whenever he eats one. We must remember that the body is changing constantly and that any test is only good for a couple of months, if at all.

Some sample recipes:

Almond Milk

1.5 cups of almonds
3 cups of water
Honey to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender for 2-5 minutes and strain. Serve cold or warm. Almonds should soaked in hot water and then peeled beforehand. A Vitamix works best, but is not necessary.


Coconut Milk

The flesh of one coconut
Enough water to cover the coconut in the blender.
Honey to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender for 2-5 minutes and strain. Serve cold or warm.


Cookies

300 grams rice flour
300 grams corn flour
One egg yolk
200 grams agave syrup
250 grams coconut oil
Bake 20 minutes at approx 325 degrees

FAQ’s

Until we have this section organized, there is a very complete list of FAQ’s about the diet at

www.gfcfdiet.com

Have you been wondering, if the diet really works?

Ok, so maybe you have been an avid reader, and maybe you have a child who could benefit from something, you just don't know what yet, and maybe you have even considered going GFCF at minimum...but don't have enough evidence that it will work and just the thought of the intense changes in diet make you sick to your stomach.

Now, if I could just briefly hit on my biggest hot button in all of this?  A child does NOT have to be completely autistic to have these deficiencies, in fact, neither does an adult.  Dr. Kenneth Bock has made it VERY clear in his book Healing the New Childhood Epidemics that people with allergies, asthma, ADHD and even autoimmune diseases have their roots in the same soil as autism.  Autism is just one facet of this "illness" on the rise.  It takes the shape of many faces and does not have to go by any one label.  

Well, let me enlighten you!  It may not be enough for little old me to tell you the diet works (I have seen it, like night and day, especially during an infraction that changes my children practically overnight, turning them into a sensory snowball), but what if a well-known National autism nutritionist was able to tell you this, and what if she even had a double blind study to further prove it?  Would it be worth it then?

Feast your eyes on THIS!

One of the Most Comprehensive Studies on Nutrition for Autism

September 22, 2011 Categories: Autism News by Julie Matthews

One of the Most Comprehensive Studies on Nutrition for Autism
By Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant
As a nutritionist working with children with autism for ten years, I was particularly excited to read the most recent research findings. For those who continue to say, “There is no science behind diet and nutrition for autism” or “there is nothing you can do about autism,” you’re about to finally be convinced.

A study entitled, “Nutritional and Metabolic Status of Children with Autism vs Neurotypical Children and the Association with Autism Severity,” conducted by Jim Adams, was recently published in the journal of Nutrition and Metabolism in June 2011. It provides an excellent framework for consideration of dietary intervention and supplementation for children with autism.

This study validates what many clinicians have observed in their practices for years—that children with autism have biomedical imbalances that are strong factors in their autistic symptoms, and that diet and supplementation play a role in helping children to heal, even lose their autism diagnosis. In my clinical experience, I’ve witnessed hundreds of children improve through specialized attention to diet and nutrition.

A fairly large number of children (99) were included in the research that measured a wide range of nutritional and metabolic markers—i.e. scientific, quantitative indicators of children with autism’s unique biochemical status.  In the “Background and Significance” and “Discussion” sections of the published paper, Adams, et al. provides a straightforward interpretation of the results that were measured, and explains functional testing, interpretations, and makes comparisons to previous study results (both consistent and contrary).  I believe it’s an excellent analysis of the current biomedical understanding of autism and supports clinical findings reported worldwide. And, it presents fresh new data to guide the use of supplementation and diet.

The study compared 55 children with autism diagnoses with 44 controls (neurotypical children of similar ages ranging from 5-16 years old).  Neither group had taken nutritional supplementation for two months prior to the testing conducted in the study.

The research indicated that for the children with autism, their levels of vitamins, minerals, and most amino acids were within published reference ranges; however many of their biomarkers were significant different from the control group.  Biomarkers are a way of discovering the functional insufficiency of a nutrient by measuring markers in biochemical pathways that indicate a deficiency, and comparing that to the actual amount of the nutrient in the body (as measured in blood, etc).
This is an interesting finding—nutrient levels appear “normal” but functional testing shows that they are not normal in children with autism. Functional testing (that identifies these biomarkers) are not used in most traditional medical settings.  If the medical community is looking for nutrient deficiencies through standard testing of nutrient levels (as an underlying factor and course of treatment), they most likely will not find it – even though biochemical/nutritional insufficiencies are common and supplementation is necessary.

In this study, biomarkers for increased oxidative stress, decreased sulfation and detoxification, vitamin and glutathione insufficiency, and reduced energy transport were also found. And, several of the biomarker groups were significantly associated with the severity of autism.

Again, this parallels what autism clinicians routinely report —that children with autism have decreased detoxification, energy disregulation, and increased oxidative stress.

The authors conclude, “These nutritional and metabolic differences are generally in agreement with other published results and are likely amenable to nutritional supplementation.”
I absolutely concur.

Here are some of the specific areas measured and details of the study’s findings, and my discussion of the results.

Vitamins
Biotin was the only vitamin with a significant difference in the children – it was 20% lower in the children with autism.  B5, vitamin E and total carotenoids levels showed “possibly significant” lower levels in children with autism.

The functional need for certain vitamins (folate and niacin) was assessed using FIGLU and n-methyl-nicotinamide, and were somewhat higher and possibly significant in autism.  This suggests and an increased need for folate and niacin in children with autism.

Minerals
While most mineral levels tested within neurotypical reference ranges, the study found a statistical significance with lower levels of WB (whole blood) lithium, but higher levels of iron in the autism group. Twenty-five percent of the autism group was below the reference range for iodine and calcium.

Sulfation
Free and total sulfate in plasma (necessary for adequate sulfation) were very significantly lower in children with autism – 28% and 65%.

Sulfate is necessary for proper sulfation. Sulfation comprises varied processes that use sulfate (sulfur) in the body, such as in forming sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGS) in the gut for intestinal integrity, or detoxifying compounds in phase II liver detoxification. Sulfate is used in many biological processes, and adequate sulfur is required both from consumption of sulfur rich foods and recycling sulfate in the kidneys.  The results of this study are consistent with the findings of Dr. Rosemary Waring who found children with autism (and adults with autoimmune conditions) to have low sulfate levels.

Methylation
SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) was also significantly lower in children with autism – very much so. Uridine in plasma was very significantly higher in children with autism +93%. Uridine is believed to be a marker of methylation status, with high levels indicating poor methylation.  For SAM, SAH and SAM/SAH ratio 25-39% of the autism group had low levels.

SAM is the primary methyl donor in methylation reactions (more than forty in the body).  Methylation is important for the methylation of neurotransmitters, proteins, and DNA methylation (gene expression).  Methylation affects fatty acid metabolism, allergic responses, myelination, cellular energy, and more.  Proper methylation is also necessary for the body to produce adequate levels of glutathione.

ATP
ATP is the primary energy source for the brain and the body.  SAM is converted from methionine with methionine adenyosyl transferase, which requires ATP.  Methionine was at normal levels but ATP was very significantly lower in the autism group. The authors suggest, “low levels of ATP are at least part of the reason for decreased levels of SAM.”ATP is required by the kidney to resorb sulfate and “recycle” it. The authors believe that decreased ATP is a significant contributor to decreased sulfate levels in children with autism.

I believe that oxalates could be a factor.  When sulfate is insufficient, oxalate (instead of sulfate) can be shuttled into the cell on the sulfate transporter and “gum up” the works of the mitochondria, affecting ATP and energy metabolism.  Could there be a “vicious cycle” at work, where adequate sulfate is needed to produce ATP and ATP is needed for recycling sulfate?  Given the benefits I’ve observed with the low oxalate diet, I’d welcome more research and discussion of this possibility.

Oxidative Stress
Reduced plasma glutathione (GSH) was very significantly lower in children with autism. All three markers for oxidative stress were very significantly higher in children with autism; oxidized glutathione (GSSG), GSSG/GSH ratio, and plasma nitrotyrosine.  NADPH, a precursor to ATP, is needed to recycle GSSG to GSH.  NADPH was found to be substantially lower in the autism group.  These results were also consistent with the work of Dr. Jill James, who found low levels of glutathione in children with autism (as well as positive benefit of certain forms of folate).

Glutathione is imperative for preventing oxidative stress.  In addition to being an antioxidant, it supports proper detoxification, inflammation, pathogen fighting, and more.

Amino Acids in Plasma
Two amino acids used in building neurotransmitters were significantly different from controls. Tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin was significantly lower in the autism group, and glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, was significantly higher.  Low tryptophan can play a role in depression and poor sleep, and glutamate is a factor in hyperactivity. Other differences were possibly significant such as slightly decreased tyrosine and phenylalanine and slightly higher serine.

Dietary Intervention and Supplementation
This study supports the use dietary intervention for autism (individualized to the child). There is much valuable data we can gather from this study on how to apply and adjust diet and supplementation for autism.

Adequate protein intake is crucial for children with autism.  Decreased levels of amino acids such as tryptophan, phenylalanine, and taurine most likely indicate a need for increased protein intake or proper digestion of protein (possibly through the use of digestive enzymes).  Supplementation with individual amino acids, particularly those consistent with signs of deficiency, may be warranted.  For example, tryptophan or 5-HTP supplementation may be helpful with a low tryptophan level and depression.

This study highlights the need for foods rich in antioxidants and antioxidant supplementation for children with autism.  Foods rich in antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E, as well as zinc and selenium are important.  Berries, beans, spices like turmeric and rosemary, nuts, grass-fed beef and pastured poultry are good sources of antioxidants. Foods rich in glutathione and glutathione precursors to include in your child’s diet consist of: broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, garlic, kale, cumin and cinnamon, eggs, and avocado.

Supplementation with biotin, folate, vitamin B12, liposomal glutathione, SAM, lithium, sulfate, and many other nutrients are important (on an individual basis) for children with autism.
The Feingold and Failsafe diets remove salicylates, amines, and glutamates, substances that require proper sulfation (and methylation) for proper breakdown.  For the children with these biochemical insufficiencies, these diets can be very helpful.  I was glad to see further research that supports what I am finding clinically.

The low oxalate diet has been very helpful for many of my clients with autism. More discussion is needed about the role of oxalate in the oxidative stress and low ATP found in this study in children with autism.  For these children, the low oxalate diet may prove particularly helpful.

Benefit to Autism
I greatly appreciate scientists and researchers like Dr. Jim Adams, whose dedication has helped thousands of parents and clinicians to gain useful information about addressing autism.
I’ve spent more than 5 years compiling research and presenting the case for diet and supplement intervention in my book “Nourishing Hope for Autism,” which has nearly 200 scientific references regarding the biochemistry of autism and the use of food, nutrition, and supplementation to ameliorate symptoms. Dr. Adams’ earlier research was instrumental in guiding my query.

The current study by Adams, et al greatly advances our understanding of these factors and further solidifies the case for “Autism is treatable.” It solidifies a foundational understanding of how diet and nutrition intervention benefits autism and helps nutritionists like me address the diet naysayers who deny Hippocrates dictum “let food be they medicine” by asking “is there a double-blind study to support diet changes?”

Yes, there is!

Adams JB, Audhya T, McDonough-Means S, Rubin RA, Quig D, Geis E, Gehn E, Loresto M, Mitchell J, Atwood S, Barnhouse S, Lee W. Nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism vs. neurotypical children, and the association with autism severity. Nutrition & Metabolism 2011 Jun 8;8(1):34.

Here is the link for this article.

Bio medicine, just for the autistic?

I'd like to talk a little bit about bio medicine and something that tends to confuse many parents. Right now, much of the biomedical research being done is on the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) community and the results achieved with biomedical treatments. Why is that? Probably because they are the most effected and we are reversing what was once considered a purely genetic and irreversible condition known as autism. But do I think these are the only people who would benefit from bio medicine? Absolutely not! We are seeing more and more research on bio medicine effecting those with autoimmune disorders like Lupus and Arthritis, Lyme Disease, and they are even reversing cancer! The rise of ASDs is an epidemic, so it's drawing attention and rightfully so. Twenty or so years ago, ASD afflicted 1 in 10,000 kids. Now? 1 in ONE HUNDRED at best! In the UK, it's 1 in 60!

So what is bio medicine, you ask? Well, let's dissect the word, it pretty much makes sense....bio, like biology and medicine, hmmm, ok so here is the medical definition:

bi·o·med·i·cine (bīˌō-mĕdˈĭ-sĭn)

noun

1. The branch of medical science that deals with the ability of humans to tolerate environmental stresses and variations, as in space travel.
2. The application of the principles of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to clinical medicine.

So we are treating illnesses with nature, it's that simple. Anyone, wait no, EVERYONE can benefit from that.

Where we seem to get hung up, as parents, is hearing the term autism used in conjunction with this form of treatment. We conclude that, if we need to use bio medicine to help ourselves or our kids, it MUST mean they are autistic, right? WRONG! I think the only reason we see this connection is, because this disorder is single-handedly bringing bio medicine to the forefront of medicine. When we were first looking for natural ways to address what was going on with Grayson, I would see the word autism and turn around, change my path, just to come back to this dreaded word yet again. I kept saying, " but I don't get this, he's not autistic"....and no, he has never been diagnosed as being autistic, but why do I keep ending up here? Because it's working for kids of ALL degrees. Because it's basic biology people!! Remember, something as common as ADD is actually on the autism spectrum, and I repeat "spectrum".....there are all degrees of illness associated with this particular disorder. Label or no label, what it comes down to is there is a set of "symptoms" that come with the illness we are dealing with and whether they put your child on the spectrum or not is not what is important. What IS important is that you recognize these symptoms as something that needs attention. So is my child autistic? No, he's not. He's social beyond words, he's funny and he reads body language better than some adults I know, he is bright and very aware of his surroundings. Did he have symptoms of an autistic child? He sure did! He hand flapped, he started to loose eye contact at the worst of it (and still does when his health takes a turn for the worse), he has tantrums that aren't reasonable, he used to line up cars incessantly, he was and still sometimes is a sensory seeker (when his gut dysbiosis flares), he bounces off the walls and couches, he traces outlines of our cabinets with his hands, he has moments sometimes DAYS of being highly emotional....does any of this sound like it could be your kid? They sound like normal childhood behaviors, but what really is normal? Are we becoming accustomed to these behaviors over time, because they are more common and because the child isn't "autistic"? And when you clump all of these "behaviors" into one child, do they take on a different definition? Yes, they become symptoms of something that is very hard for parents to grasp. It's not necessarily autism, because what is going on inside of an autistic child's body can also go on inside of a neuro-typical child, which will then cause the very same symptoms that are often seen (to a more severe degree) in autistic children. I truly believe that the severely inflicted children who are at the far end of the autism spectrum are just the most fragile kids alive. Everyone handles things differently. Just think of how you handle a cold, your neighbor might have completely different symptoms with the same cold strain and allergies, you have one to mold and your cousin reacts to dogs, your child might react to milk!....These kids can't handle toxins, they cannot handle the pesticides, the heavy metals, the plastics, the cleaners and bleaches, the injections, the viruses, the EMFs, the radio frequencies, the chemicals in mattresses and fire retardant pajamas, the parabens in soaps and lotions and even TOOTHPASTES.....they are breathing, absorbing, eating....toxin after toxin and what is the one common thread they all have? More than 90% of these kids have low glutathione. This is a naturally occurring peptide in the body, a natural antioxidant. It drives our ability (or lack thereof) to detox these toxins that we encounter increasingly every day. You might be interested to know that Tylenol (our teething best friend at one point, right?) reduces glutathione. So a child who might have already been on the brink of low glutathione, give him or her Tylenol and you have just enabled his or her body to hold onto more toxins. Is it that simple, no it's not, there is a lot more that goes into this vast system, but this is one of the many things we are seeing more and more often with children these days. Do parents realize this when they reach for the Tylenol, because they just want their poor achy child to be comfy, no they don't! Do they realize that the reflux and ear infections are commonly from dairy allergies, probably not! Do they know that colic and loose stools often accompany gut dysbiosis and that their children probably need probiotics, I bet they don't!

So I am going on and on, and it's so easy to do once you get into the biology of it all, because it's all so connected, but my point is that every child could be effected to some degree. I see children in grocery stores and I think...."I wonder, if his parents know that those behaviors mean something more than "he's a boy". Having a child inflicted with a weak immune system that allowed him to accumulate more toxins than he can handle has made me hyper sensitive to those signs. They are universal and I believe that at some point, knowledge will expose the truth about our children's health. I honestly believe that we are at a state of emergency with our kids. If we don't start eating differently, cleaning our homes differently, reading the ingredients we put into our children's bodies, using water filters, washing produce, buying organic meats, we are going to see an incredible increase in autoimmune diseases in this generation and the generations to come. It is a documented fact that babies today are born with over 500 identifiable toxins already in their system, as tested in the umbilical cord fluids. So I encourage you, when you see a behavior that troubles you, or a rash that a doctor can't tie to an illness, or even a continuing sleep disturbance, consider this possibility. It's time to learn what we can do for our kids and their futures.

So now you are probably thinking, ok this is crazy, YOU Are crazy and what do we do about it anyway?! Well there are some really basic and simple things we can all start doing, like always washing your produce thoroughly, even thick skinned produce which will likely infect the protected inside when you slice through the dirty bacteria laden skins, you can shop organic as much as financially possible, you can clean with something as simple as vinegar and water, it's so safe you could drink it! And what about nutrients, get your kids tested for nutritional deficiencies, supplement with things like probiotics (always) and omega 3s. Switch to natural toothpastes without fluoride (you do NOT need fluoride for dental hygiene even though successful marketing schemes will have you believing that), replace your soaps, shampoos and lotions with natural and organic products to avoid the nasty chemicals our bodies don't know how to process (your skin is the largest organ of your body and you shouldn't apply anything to it that you wouldn't be able to eat), eat a healthy wholesome food diet and watch for reactions to foods (which isn't always easy since you can react up to FIVE days after ingesting a food), avoid ALL preservatives and colorings. If you can't pronounce an ingredient, avoid it! These things are simple, they take some time and thought, but the health of your child is a stake. If this doesn't fix the concerns you might have, keep searching for your answers. They don't call us Warrior Mothers for nothing!

Obsession or hyper-focus? Mother Warrior Mode!

If you are reading this and you don't have a child on the spectrum or one who requires biomedicine, you probably wonder what all the hype is about. If you are reading this and you DO have a child in one of these categories, you know where I am going with this, don't you?

I hear this often..."But it's just one, can one really hurt him?" and "Does he really need all of those pills?" The perception of mothers like us is one of obsession, we research and we fill our kids with gobs of supplements daily, we restrict our kids from chlorine in swimming pools, we avoid sugar, artificial colors, preservatives, wheat and MILK,....why? Is this really necessary? Don't kids need milk? No they don't, and yes this IS necessary. The only way to recovery is complete...well, you might like to call it obsession, but I prefer hyper-focus.

Mainstream doctors don't get it, they don't get us, they don't get our kids. And why is that? It's simply, because they haven't studied biomedicine. Would you go to a heart surgeon for GI problems? I think not!! My son has quirks, yes, and so do I, BUT he also has an overgrowth of yeast and bacteria, sensitivities to a plethora of foods, high oxalates, malabsorption, vitamin deficiencies, sensory issues, the list is lengthy and I could go on explaining the symptoms I used to see on a daily basis (in fact, just read the beginning of my blog for that), but I would rather tell you what this hyper-focused mommy-warrior mode does for us. Plain and simple, it turns a very unhealthy child into a healthy one with a bright future. What mother wouldn't do this for her child, if she knew it was possible? I don't see it as anything other than necessary!

The medical community forces us to this, we need to help our kids by researching, talking to other moms, trial and error, meds and supplements. The other thing that drives us is that we are told that there is a window of opportunity when it comes to recovery and we are right in that window with Grayson now. The best and most permanent results are seen when treatment is started between the ages of 1 and 5. Beyond these years and we risk a slower recovery and perhaps a less permanent recovery. This is called "Managed Recovery" in our world. Many of our kids will actually require this and it means that they are healthy, with their previous diagnosis removed (IE-autism, ADHD, PDD-NOS, etc) however, it's the diet, supplements, chelation that are possibly continuously required to maintain this level of health. It has been described as an autoimmune disease and it's believed that it will be renamed in the near future. We wills top calling these symptoms autism and start seeing them for what they are...autoimmune dysfunction.

People who meet my son now think he is just perfect, and truly, I hear that word a lot with him..."perfect". No one is perfect, but to me as a parent, I agree, he IS perfect, however, he is far from healthy and the reason he appears "perfect" to others is because of everything I do. My job as his mother is to make sure he is given the best opportunity at a healthy (and fun) life.

So I repeat, is this an obsession? Perhaps. Is it necessary? Absolutely!

SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder)

So going back to where this whole thing started for us....SPD was how we came to this place in our lives. It indicated something was off with our son and threw me into an OCD (yes, I have it, but generally it just fuels my research, he he he) fit of looking for answers. I was not satisfied with accepting that he just had SPD, I needed to find out why and ultimately, how to relieve him of it. Jenny McCarthy has really shed a lot of light on the biomedical route of recovery for much more severe children and what I noticed is that many of the things we were dealing with were VERY similar to what happens to autistic children, just on a much less severe level. So are we preventing him from being diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome? I don't know, but my gut tells me that, if we let him just continue the way he was going, by the time he got into grade school, there would be some sort of diagnosis like ADHD and/or Asperger's. I believe in my heart of hearts that we are preventing that! And just for the record, ADHD/ADD is in the autism spectrum...meaning they all share in the same neuro-disconnects! The autism spectrum varies considerably.

So what is SPD? And not in medical technical terms? It is not in and of itself an ASD, but it certainly is shared with those who are on the AS. What does that mean though? As far as I am concerned, it's not about the label, it is about WHAT is going on in their little bodies! SPD is a disconnect between the sensory nerves and the brain. So for example, for the average person, a warm food is tolerable, but to someone who is sensory deffensive, that warm food might be HOT and truly feels that way to them. Their brains do not properly organize and read the senses. Most people have some sensory issues, but not to the degree that they effect your everyday life. In the end, what it all comes down to is do these issues consume you or your child? Do they effect your way of living? A child who is bombarded by everything that makes them either sensory "defensive" (feeling a lot of pain all day) or they are sensory "seekers" (needing to bounce, jump and crash), they feel completely disorganized and tend to lash out emotionally. I know that when I have a canker sore, a little tiny painful annoyance that is underlying everything I do all day, I have constant irritation and I become moody in my response to things, it exhausts me. Imagine how these kids feel? They don't feel right either, they are irritated by the world around them and then their parents and teachers are telling them they aren't acting appropriately and they aren't feeling what they feel...."That isn't hot, it's warm!!" Well to them, it's hot and they aren't being justified or understood. Nor are they being taught how to compensate for what they are feeling. Could you see, if your husband constantly told you how you should feel? Or maybe he does and you understand their frustrations?!?! ha ha ha

Since SPD is neurological, I decided to research further into what causes it and found that all of my search results brought up "autism", probably because the more severe cases do involve autistic kids and interestinly, our son shared a lot of similar traits; although he wouldn't be categorized with autistic children, because he is highly social and can read body language. But keep in mind that there are a LOT of layers and overlap there. Just because he is social doesn't preclude him from sharing many traits with an autistic child. It's just not that black and white. The "diagnosis" doesn't need to be there for there to be similarities. When he was younger, I noticed hand flapping and rocking a LOT! While those traits lessened or went away, they were replaced with others, like inscesant lining up of toys, but don't all kids do that?! The constant nagging feeling in me that something wasn't quite right needed to be dealt with and I must say, I wish I addressed it earlier. I let everyone (including doctors AND my own husband) tell me that our son was perfect, that I was over analyzing. Look where we are today....need I say more?

Holy infraction batman!

iJust the other day Dave picked up a baby puff that inadvertently made it's way from baby fingers to the floor and he said that we need to be careful about Grayson getting a hold of one. I thought nothing of it until the next day when Grayson came into the family room and told us he found a puff....and where was it? Yes, you guessed it, in his belly!! Uh oh...oh well, not much we can do now. I gave him a few No Phenols, and upped the enzyme action for the next few meals, to no avail. Let me tell you the havoc that darn little itty-bitty fluff of a puff caused!! Yesterday was like sensory hell. He was on overload, everything bothered him especially his pants and his shirt - he shrugs constantly, pulls on sleeves, stretches his arms, because he can "feel" his clothes, ummm, don't we all feel our clothes?? Yes, but he FEELS them and hates it, on his bad days!! He was an emotional basket-case, crying even when he had to talk to me about anything that wasn't going his way, which was ohhhhh, just about everything!! His attention span was minuscule, he pulled out every possible toy he owns as he was trying to tame the boredom monster within, he was making messes faster than I could conjure them in my wildest dreams, meanwhile I have a 6 month old going through severe separation anxiety who won't let me put him down, that makes for a whirlwind of mess around me! After a nutty and severely emotional dining experience, he actually managed to earn a tv pass which allowed him to watch a show before bed. Can I tell you how much I LOVED these few moments of peace?!! It would be SO easy to just turn on the tv and let him veg, but we all know that would be the easy way out and not so helpful in the long run. Yes, you can call me a glutton for punishment, I never take the easy road. So back to the infraction. you would think he could sleep off something like that - WRONG! Yesterday he was Dr. Jekyl and today, you guessed it, Mr. Hyde! I had a slew of new "symptoms" to cope with today. He was lethargic, slurring and speaking slowly and drawn out, spaced out at times, tracing everything within arms reach with his fingers, literally tripping over his own feet left and right, he said he didn't feel well, his tummy hurt and what really got to me the most was that he was enjoying Gavin's misfortunes. If he bumped his little head with a toy or fell back from sitting, Grayson would laugh hysterically. Grayson has NEVER been anything but encouraging and caring towards his baby brother. My frustration levels were skyrocketing. But oddly, every time I looked Grayson in the eyes, he would grin widely and say, "Are you happy mommy?" How could I not be with that goofy little boy looking back at me. I am reminded of how much he needs us, how far he has come in this struggle, because we seek answers and because we don't take no for an answer. We go against the grain for him. I love this little boy with more heart than I even have, even on his worst days. So I am utterly exhausted today, but tomorrow is another day and I can't wait to wake to their little faces...

Getting started

Backing up a bit, I thought I would explain how to get started on a diet that is often greeted with hesitation and fear. When I opened the envelope from the lab and saw the list of 23 foods we needed to avoid (half of them were his favorite foods) I just about choked! When you take it one step at a time, it isn't as daunting as it appears from the overall perspective. So let's break it down:

Breath first
Big deep breaths!! It CAN be done and it WILL become habit.

Research
Go online and hit all the websites that detail recipes and alternative foods. Read, read, read!

Lists
Make lists of all the foods the child CAN have and there really are still a lot of foods available. Make lists of the foods the child cannot have, including and even more importantly the list of hidden foods/ingredients to avoid and keep those in a bag that is with you always, for the sake of shopping. You will need to refer back to these on many occasions. Make a copy of them to give to close relatives and care givers who interact with your child.

Recipes
Find recipes online, from friends, and in books that address special diets, make grocery lists from there initially, eventually you will just be replacing those items as you run out.  It becomes second nature to shop for these foods.  In the early days I found it helpful to keep a running list, as I ran out of a food, I would write it down.  Now, I have a generic list that I typed up and I just check off the foods I need as I run out, since so many are the same every time we shop =)

Talk with your child through it all.
I am amazed at how well a three year old can really comprehend what this is all about. He knows he cannot eat foods from the "red list" (the color of the reactive foods on the test, lol) and how they effect him. I believe that by feeling better on the good foods, he also gets a true life lesson about the foods he can and can't have. When he has an infraction, he feels the effect more than we do. His outward behaviors are just a sign of what is going on inside.

Journal
Keep a daily journal that not only details foods and supplements, but keep track of good and difficult behaviors, you will start noticing connections to certain things that can further be eliminated. This is also important when choosing to challenge a food. The other great thing about a journal is that you will be able to look back at the progress you are making with the diet. It is easy to forget the difficult behaviors until you are faced with them again. Something that helped me was to use color coding highlighters with one color for improved/good behaviors, one for difficult behaviors and another for the first three times foods were introduced during the diet, so I could watch for patterns. When you have umpteen pages to sift through, this will save your sanity!

Connect

Find a local or internet-based group you can share with and learn from. Yahoo and Google both have great groups you can search through. and Facebook now offers us endless reaches around the globe, instantly.  There is nothing better than having a resource like this. When a question pops up, you can gain knowledge from those who are directly effected by the very same issues you are faced with. It's a two way road, you will learn from others who are more experienced than you and eventually you will help others who are newer at it than you. I find this method of learning to be priceless and rewarding in many ways.

And last - make the switch - go shopping
We went cold turkey, but for some, a gradual approach works best. Either way, just go for it and don't look back. When you offer your child a new food, it becomes the ONLY option. The good thing about children is that they tend to have narrow food interests, so once you find a food to replace a favorite, maintaining the diet is actually pretty easy! Imagine that? Comfort and ease come with repetition. We had resistance, and still do, with two favorites - milk and bread. So basically, we have none! I do keep almond milk in the house (mainly for me, since the baby can't handle dairy either) but for bowls of cereal, it really doesn't taste much different. It's also great for baking and cooking. As long as a child is receiving supplements and eating other foods high in calcium and D, milk isn't even necessary. (note - almond milk is high oxalate, which we no longer use now)  See my more recent blog entry for pumpkin seed milk, if you need a low oxalate alternative to milk. 

Enzymes
At some point, consider researching and adding enzymes to the diet. Generally, food intolerance is related to the lack of an enzyme needed to digest the food(s) which causes a leaky gut, resulting in antibody production. Adding enzymes for a good two months while on the diet may allow you to return some food(s) to the diet, slowly, but possibly even permanently. Check out my enzyme links to the right. There is more information than you could ask for on EnzymeStuff.com.

If any readers have tips or tricks to share here, please do!

**A fabulous GFCF resource is TACA (regardless of whether autism is part of the picture, this source of dietary steps to take are priceless, after all autism is proving to be an autoimmune disease too).

Reality check

You are what you eat....This statement could never be more true in our house! I have always been into eating healthy and living healthy, but having a son newly diagnosed with several food allergies adds new meaning to that theory!!

Our adventure began with a diagnosis of SPD (sensory processing disorder). His sensory seeking behaviors, tantrums and low self esteem was becoming increasingly more disturbing and when the behaviors began to effect life around our household, we knew we needed professional help. So in addition to seeking help for the SPD, we saw a wonderful holistic doctor who pointed us in the right direction. I also read a TON of great books addressing behavioral issues, SPD and even diet. I knew that there was a possibility that something he was eating could be effecting him so with the combination of therapy and diet intervention, I thought we could figure things out. And boy, I couldn't be more right!!

Fast forward to the current status of our household....a three year old who is always sweet to his baby brother, who has impeccable manners, is empathetic, smart beyond his years, glows with happiness and pride!

So what did we do differently you ask? We REMOVED allergenic foods that came up on an IgG blood test. Is it easy, heck no!! But it turns our child into the person he used to be, and I will do anything to keep him happy and healthy including baking, re-baking and baking again when the recipes turn out awful!! So if you thought meals in your house were challenging, try working without wheat, milk, eggs, rice, potatoes, kidney and pinto beans, coconut, cheese, asparagus, all citrus, pumpkin, olive (yes that includes the oil), canola oil, sesame....ugh!! There is at least one of these ingredients in just about everything! Not to mention the HIDDEN ingredients associated with wheat and milk. I have become a scientist, a chemist, a doctor and oddly enough, a chef! I HATE baking!! Luckily he can eat corn, because it seems like everything he DOES eat is from corn, corn chips, corn pasta, corn cereal, corn corn corn. Another great replacement for us has been a grain called quinoa (pronounced KEEN wah), which is actually not really a grain at all, it's the seed of a fruit and contains major amounts of protein. We use it in place of rice, it's so versatile and tasty, not to mention, great for you! Luckily for Grayson, one thing I have going for me is creativity. So while our ingredients are limited, our diet hasn't been quite so boring. I mix it up a bit and amazingly, since we started this diet, Grayson's cravings (a sign of food allergies) have disappeared and he eats everything!! He wouldn't touch meat with a ten foot pole, now he eats steak, turkey, chicken, pork, fish of all kinds, shellfish, he's eating veggies without a fight, imagine that? A three year old eating veggies and saying he likes them? I make creative pestos for him, he loves garlic which is great for him and adds some umph to his foods, he is very interested in spices and cooking with me, so while this has been a challenge, we are up to it and we are learning and growing from it, and with it!