Okay now it's getting REALLY weird.. gluten/autism link?

[SoCalDem]

What if the gluten has been "off" for a long time now, and autism is really melamine (or some other toxin) poisoning..

From what I have read, the onset of autism seems to coincide with the time when toddlers/babies are introduced to "foods other than milk"..

What if the "prepared" foods that are on our shelves are the culprits after all? Perhaps the body-weight ratio of toddlers is preventing them from fighting off the effects, and in adults, the steady "poisoning" only weakens the immune systems, and opens us up to all kinds of things??

I am NOT up on science..just thinking about the implications, so that there are admissions of "possibly tainted gluten in the human food chain"..
////////////////////////////////////////////////

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=2659

Can a diet avoiding gluten and milk proteins reduce autism?

Medical Condition News
Published: Monday, 21-Jun-2004




For years, many parents of children with autism have advocated a diet avoiding the proteins gluten and casein, but there had not been a scientific review of evidence about this practice. Today Informed Health Online has published a short report for parents summarising the state of knowledge on this diet for autism.

According to Hilda Bastian, editor of the consumer web site, Informed Health Online,"The jury is still out on whether or not diets free of gluten and casein can reduce autism,but the little evidence that there is suggests it's possible that it could help some children."

Researchers in the UK have analysed all studies on gluten-free and casein-free diets for children with autism. After assessing more than 30 scientific articles,they concluded in a Cochrane review that there was only one small trial of these diets that could be regarded as reliable scientific evidence. The study involved only 20 children between the ages of five and 10.The children had both autism and abnormal levels of proteins in their urine.

Dr Michael Ferriter, from the research team led by Claire Millward, said that,"Unsurprisingly in such a small-scale study, the results for several outcomes did not show a significant result. However, there was a significant reduction in autistic traits in the children allocated to a diet eliminating gluten and casein. This provides some support for the theory that abnormal levels of these proteins may be responsible for some of the effects of autism, but well-conducted large randomised trials are urgently needed."

'Autistic traits' is a measure that looks at a wide range of characteristics including verbal and non-verbal communication, speaking when spoken to, eye contact, repetitive talk and movements, and sharing of emotions. The average level of autistic traits was halved in the children who were allocated to the special diet.

Eliminating gluten and casein proteins from children's diets is very difficult. These proteins are included in wheat, most cereals (but not rice), and milk products. There is no guarantee that the diet will work, and some children could also have withdrawal-like symptoms when these are eliminated from their diets. Dr Ferriter said, "There is not yet sufficient evidence for clinicians to advise the use of such diets in cases of autistic spectrum disorder."

A wide range of web sites and parent support groups exist that provide advice and support to parents trying to follow gluten-free and casein-free diets for their children with autism. These diets are also followed for some other kinds of behavioural problems in children, and Hilda Bastian said parents and children deserved to have better evidence to help them decide whether or not to make this difficult lifestyle change.


snip

[Lorien]

1. Geez. I'm going to have to send this on to the pregnant women I know

scarey stuff. Thanks for posting it!

[SoCalDem]

2. Lorien, send them this link as well

http://www.pregnancy-leads-to-new-babies.com/Baby-Food-Recipe.html

[Lorien]

3. Thanks SoCalDem!

:hi;

[earth mom]

4. Very interesting connection...

so I did a google search, but couldn't find others making that same connection...yet! Did find someone who thinks Autism is caused by trans fats though....don't know if I buy that one! But the wheat connection is extremely possible because I do think Autism for many kids was "triggered" by something. It is very possible it could be the mercury in the vaccinations just as it could be a poisoned food-or wheat-supply. :(

[piesRsquare]

5. Autism Cases are increasing

or rather, exploding (esp here in the SF Bay Area), but if the cause were simply related to packaged foods, there would be many, many more cases (i.e. a huge percentage of the population would be afflicted).

[LiberalHeart]

6. In our family we have triplets -- two normal, one with autism. They eat the same things.

[SoCalDem]

7. Each individual has their own peculiar brain chemistry.. so who knows what

one may tolerate, but another may not?

There is too much about the brain that science just doesn't know yet..

It's just so frighteneing to think that a food additive or a chemical may "set off" a chain reaction in some babies that will forever change the family..and may set the course for their own life.

My friend whose 16 yr old is autistic, still watches the videos of Miles when he was two..he was running, talking, playing all the toddler games he could be expected to..and with a month, he was "gone"..

he cannot walk, talk, feed himself..he's in his own world.

[jbnow]

8. Might not be gluten but with

the huge increase in frequency indicates an environmental toxin of some sort. Not everyone would be affected the same way.
This could be said for many newer disorders and many forms of cancer too...but we really notice when it is our kids being affected this way.
Something's wrong.


(I know some say it is better diagnosis or a broader spectrum being diagnosed but it doesn't explain the huge rise)

[SoCalDem]

9. and it's especially hard to ignore when a seemlingy "normal" toddler

all of a sudden quits talking, feeding themselves, walking, and refuses to make eye contact..

[Rosemary2205]

10. There's speculation that vaccines are involved.

A lot of people are searching for answers and there's just no ONE thing that seems to be the answer. Every single autism case is highly unique.

I have a relative in his 90's who's autistic from birth. Breast fed by a woman who had never eaten anything "commercial". No vaccines involved, before toxic everything everywhere.

On the other hand I have a friend who's son was just fine until age 6. Within 3 months of starting school the symptoms began and now they are struggling with a treatment plan because the symptoms are still evolving.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

11. Everyone knows autism is caused by bad parenting/vaccines/T V/pollutants

There may be something in this story, but I'd treat it, and every other theory about what causes autism, with extreme suspicion.

[WindRavenX]

12. Indeed

Autism is blamed for just about anything under the sun. However, there was a huge research paper that came out a few months ago that instead seemed to suggest a very strong genetic component to the disorder; the question seems to be how the investigated genes are activated, which is certainly open to environmental impacts, and how much of it is hereditary.

[colinmom71]

13. Several years ago, I researched this issue...

I'm typing all this from memory, so please pardon any errors should you decide to investigate further into this issue...

The theory is that some kids with non-specific autistic like disorders have some form of hidden intestinal damage that impedes the body from fully breaking down the gluten and/or casein (dairy) proteins. The resulting unbroken amino acid by-products flood the bloodstream instead of being eliminated, then taint the brain's chemistry and causes alterations in behaviors, like repetative and fixated behaviors (OCD like symptoms, especially related to foods), self-abusive behaviors (hitting, biting self), verbal processing disorders, learning disabilities and processing issues, etc. Some of it may also be due to an immature or inefficient liver function that makes the person more sensitive to the waste by-products...

These issues with gluten and casein cause "hidden allergies" (called hidden since the symptoms aren't anaphylactic in nature) that build up as the supect foods are continued to be consumed. As the child grows, the symptoms become apparent at around age 3 and are usally attributed to autistic span disorders. The kids with these hidden allergies almost always wind up with the PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder of non-specific origin) diagnosis and that label is almost always the death-knell for insurance coverage for therapeutic services.

I went to a two day lecture on the issue hosted by a doctor in nutritional studies (IIRC, not an MD) named Kelly Dorfman. She's worked with many families whose children have these problems and has had good results with placing the children on gluten and casein free diets. The Marcus Institute here in Atlanta has hosted her lectures and appointments for families seeking her services and they also actively encourage that their patients try an elimination diet to see if it helps reduce their symptoms. The diet also uses supplements and certain foods paired together to create more complete amino acid and protein profiles so that the breakdown of the allergen amino acids is mitigated as much as is possible.

I remember Dorfman mentioning one case she'd had where a 7 yr old boy's dietary habits had become so fixated that the ONLY thing the child would eat was Arby's chicken strips - breakfast, lunch, and dinner! If he didn't get those, he went into a complete melt-down mode. It took a long while to get his diet "fixed" but once the elimination diet was in place, his behavior vastly improved, especially at school. Granted, it's anecdotal evidence but I do believe that her nutritional work with these kids is a positive step towards addressing autistic behaviors in some children...

I remember a post about a month or so ago here at DU that talked about an interview with the White House chef who worked during Bush's first term. The chef (sorry, don't remember his name!) had said that Bush himself would only eat certain foods, like grilled cheese sandwiches and other things that are pretty much big no-no's for gluten and casein elimination diets. I'll admit that it made me say "Hmmmm...." and start to think about some of the cases that Dorfman had mentioned during her lectures. I'm probably totally off base, but make of that what you will...

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

14. Nope. n/t

[Ilsa]

15. This isn't news. Parents of autistics have read about this for years

now. I read about it seven years ago and even tried a gluten-free, casein-free diet for our son. It is alot of work, but it yielded no positive results. GFCF diet may be helpful for people with celiac disease, but from what I've seen, autistics do not respond to it.