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With Mayo Clinic nutritionists Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Autism diet: Are claims true?
Autism has been in the news again — bringing to mind the many questions of why has it increased in prevalence and what can be done to prevent or treat it.
As a parent, family member or friend of a family who has a child with some degree of autism spectrum disorder, you know the reality of living with this disorder. And as someone who cares for the affected child, the inherent thought is to find a treatment to improve the life of the child.
There are a range of therapies around the topic of autism diet that have been proposed to improve or even cure the disorder. Several autism diet strategies have been suggested as possible treatments, including: restriction of food allergens; probiotics; yeast-free diet; gluten free casein free diet, and dietary supplements such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and magnesium, folic acid, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, various minerals among others.
Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence to conclusively support or deny the claims that these autism diet interventions can or will make a significant improvement in the functioning of the child. However, it is recognized that some parents report improvements when dietary therapies are used. Among the most popular of dietary therapies is the gluten free casein free diet.
As a dietitian, I feel my place in this debate is to inform an interested parent or family member of the complexities of the gluten free casein free diet. It is neither easily introduced nor easily followed long term. In fact, as any diet that is restrictive in nature, I worry that a child may be limited in food selection and miss substitutions that would ensure appropriate nutrient intake. Another important consideration — any child who has food texture and/or color aversion(s), selective eating or other behavior issues will likely have a difficult adjustment with changes to their diet.
If you wish to try such a diet with your child, please keep the following in mind:
- Discuss a plan of care with your child's doctor.
- Meet with a qualified, registered dietitian.
- Expect that you will need routine appointments with your dietitian to work through the challenges of introducing and following a specialized diet.
- Work with other qualified healthcare professionals to assist in behavior and social issues. Employ the assistance of a speech or occupational therapist who specializes in eating behaviors.
- You may or may not see any improvement in your child's condition.
The good news is ongoing research, some of which includes research to sort out the details relating to dietary practices and autism spectrum disorders.
To your health and that of your children,
Katherine
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For more information about the GFCF diet, parents and professionals may consider this resource: http://www.asdpuzzle.com/index.shtml
One other note, yes the gfcf diet can seem very complex but dealing with autism is much more complex. I do concur, you must see a doctor, I would recommend a DAN (Defeat Autism Now) dr. Do the research and start slow. If you are going to have testing for gluten sensitivity (not always do children show as allergic but may still have reaction)you must have it done prior to taking them off gluten. I know most, if not all, parents of children with autism are great researchers and advocates so are up to the challenge of getting the tools they need to implement this diet. There are many websites and products available to help transition. Best wishes to each of you and your precious children. One thing that stood out to me was what the DAN dr. said when I asked if I should just finish off the cheese and milk I had in the refrigerator for my son. He said that he preferred I stopped right now and to think of it as feeding my son poison each time I gave it to him as this is how his body viewed it. That really helped me with not feeling guilty over not giving him what he literally went through withdrawels (angry, crying, yelling he wanted cheese now) for.
I am a mom with a nine year old son who has Aspergers. He was diagnosed at 6. I went to a DAN dr. after seeing Jenny McCarthy on Oprah and wanting to do something about his diet. You see, with my son (and many others) all he wanted to eat were dairy and gluten products. He wanted it constantly (exactly like a drug fix). My research showed that many times persons with food sensitivities crave that which they are sensitive to. My son has been off casein for over 2 months - has had only 1 migraine (that was after eating a rice (dairy free)cheese. I didn't read the ingredients (casein) was in it. His head no longer has a sour milk odor. He now is eating more fruit and has even expanded to (rice) spaghetti with homemade sauce and meatballs. The DAN dr. did put him on supplements right away including a probiotic to combat yeast, calcium/magnesium, vitamin/mineral, and cod liver oil - these we ordered through emerson ecologics laboratories. He has just gotten urine and blood testing to see about gluten as well as metal toxicology issues and I should get the results next week. After testing, I started him on the gluten free portion of the diet and so far things look good. He's having better bowel movements and appetite is expanding to try new things. I know it is hard to produce scientific evidence but when you are talking about your child's life, sometimes faith and hope are what you turn to. What I have found is working for my son and I would encourage any parent to do the research
I am reading this blog with great interest and also great concern. I am a Registered Dietitian and worked in pediatrics for 20 years, the last 5 devoted to kids with special needs, particularly autism. For those moms and family members that think that healthcare professionals don't get it and don't care, I have to say that many of us really do. Granted, it is hard to get out of our "evidence based" mentalities and really look for answers outside the box, but we do care and we wish we had answers. Parents often told me "why isn't anyone doing research to prove this theory?!", and the answer is that some people are, but this research is VERY hard to do. Remember that this is a spectrum, no child is the same! And "research" means quantifiable outcomes, and measuring behaviors is oftentimes hard. Not to mention, "blinding" providers is even harder (the parent/caretakers and researchers should not know which diet the child is getting- hard to do when speaking of gluten and casein!) But some studies are happening, from what I hear, and I am with you, anxiously awaiting results. I do want to encourage you to seek a registered dietitian that is willing to work with you and analyze your child's diet for adequacy, it is really hard to do on GFCF. Also, there IS such a thing as "too much of a good thing" (speaking of supplements). Let me end by saying, hats off to all you moms and caretakers who advocate for your precious chil
I am the parent of an ASD child, as well as a professor of nutrition. While some parents may perceive that the GFCF diet is helping, they are often not aware of the potential long-term issues. Research studies have shown that boys on GFCF diets have lower bone density and poorer nutritional status. This may add up to health consequences in adulthood that are not apparent in childhood. Any parent who wishes to place their child on a GFCF diet should consult a dietitian to be sure children are getting adequate nutritional intake and that a full assessment for ALL health issues (not just immediate ASD issues) is addressed.
I am continuously amazed at how mainstream science refuses to listen to THOUSANDS of anecdotes of hands-on research and results. I have been a part of the ASD community for 2 years and have yet to encounter a single ASD family that has not benefited from some form of dietary or supplemental change. Why would you suggest that taking out those foods and additives that can be possible irritants might be anything but good? I think that Mayo Clinic must take us (and by us I mean the ASD population) for complete idiots if they think that we might walk blindly into such a HUGE venture as helping our most precious treasures - our children.
So I ask you Mayo Clinic... Why don't YOU find out if these diets are based in science? Quit condemning the things that you know nothing about and educate yourselves in something other than Pharma funding!
My son was diagnosed on April 9,2007 at the age of 2. We started the diet on April 12, 2007. We were amazed at the results in just two-weeks - eye-contact, shorter tantrums, decreased stimming... When we went to our neuro-development doctor she discouraged the diet and suggested that we contact a nutrionist for fear of poor diet. Well being that he only ate Cheerios, goldfish crackers and yogurt - how can it be any worse?!?!? After one year on the diet, my son eats edamme, salmon, turkey, broccoli to name a few- his snacks are pineapple, apples, bananas. Everything is all natural and unprocessed and for the most part organic. What 3 year old eats like this????? Please stop discouraging parents to give this a try. Recovery is possible for our children!!!
My son can not tolerate food coloring or pigments or he becomes aggressive. More color more aggression. 5 years Kintergarden thru 3 rd grade no education due to aggression (the culprit - color in the hand soap) No one believed me then but my son went into regular classroom in 4 th grade on grade level as I homeschooled him while the local school only put him in a room by himself with teacher looking in the door the last year. Ivory soap our savior at school. I did not have the bahaviors at home because My home was colorfree. He was able to use the computer to learn. He has completed 5 thru 9 grades on grade level and in the regular classroom earning towards a regular diploma as well with an A and B honor role. I and my community have witnessed the recovery of my son from an environmental allergy to color. In 10th grade he made all A's last 9 weeks. Observation can be a powerful tool in recovery of a child. My question is how many other children are having the same problem as my son? MOM
As a mother of fraternal male twins both diagnosed with ASD at age 5, now age 19, and a dietitian for > 25 years, I know of no medical evidence other than diagnosed allergy that supports the elimination of casein and gluten from a child's diet. Anecdotal reports abound; I cannot speak to the validity of them. Each person living on the ASD spectrum is in a unique situation and there is no "one size fits all" approach. As for my experience, the only food/beverage substance that exacerbates my sons' challenging behaviors is caffeine.
In response to DBurbank, can there be harm in avoidance of gluten and casein? From a nutrition professional standpoint, yes for casein because with the removal of casien, one of two primary proteins in milk (the other is whey), dairy intake is essentially eliminated and with it, calcium & supplemental Vitamin D for bone growth and strength - essential for a child and teen. This can be replaced by fortified rice or soy beverage that is gluten free. There is virtually no potential harm in the avoidence of gluten assuming a variety of alternative grain sources are provided.
My final comment is that for parents who do choose to pursue a CF/GF diet for their child on the ASD spectrum, please do so with the assistance of a registered dietitian to assure that the child's growth needs of all essential nutrients are met.
EYB, R.D., L.D.
I have been teaching young children for several years. I inherently believe that we're dealing with a completely NEW kind of human on the planet with abilities far more advanced than we can measure with our current scientific methods. Our world is not made for them, and the US government(at large) knows that these children are very powerful, and so they must be dumbed down. What better way than to create a myriad of debilitating foods and poor social systems that weaken the youth.
Yeah, children can be picky eaters... especially those who have neurological differences/// talking food up, modeling eating these foods yourself, talking about where the food comes from, trying something more than three times, involving the child in the cooking or preparation process... experimentation.
Another fantastic resource is www://HANDLE.org (Holistic Approach to Neuro-Development and Learning Efficiency) Judith Bluestone is the founder, she has accomplished SO much as a woman living with developmental differences
I think, as a society we need to recognize that we have more political power in being champions for our food (and kids) than maybe we do in voting for the president. Read the Omnivores Dilemma and you might see what I'm talking about here.
I mean, TRANS FATS is not new information... 1 molecule away from being plastic? I have a movie from the 60's where a few beatniks made reference to trans fat being diastrous... 40 years? come on!
GF/CF + essential oils=helpful
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