Exclude gluten & lactic acid
Do you feel that excluding gluten & lactic acid will help the autistic child? The theory is that excluding these things help with an overtaxed immune system that is not able to absorb nutrients from foods properly thus causing a dysfunctional brain.
I believe one way to tell this is by the 'toilet situation'. When 'rotting' is occurring in the stomach or digestive system then your toilet times tend to be a very awful smell. This could be a sign of the yeast turned to fungus situation that leads to a buildup of acids and congestion that prevents the nutrient absorption. Perhaps a flush of a system and then excluding gluten may help. Question is what foods will a child actually eat after that?
Experts say 8 in 10 children with autism will benefit in a gluten free diet. It's all a matter of educating yourself as to what your kid can eat or not. The internet is full of recipes for kids that need gluten-free diets.
Some benefits:
https://www.glutensolutions.com/autism.htm
You will really have to be creative since in our son's case he is very particular with what he eats. Is it affordable or will we have to get 'special' things? How will he feel if we eat one thing and he eats something different?
Additionally, if we go down this route I do feel a flush of the system is good first. A day of fruits for instance to clear out what he may have 'stuck' inside him.
Gluten is presented in almost all products (hidden and not hidden), it is challenging. You may have to get special things if you want him to eat the substitutes of what he normally likes to eat. The Autistic Network For Dietary Intervention highly recommends that parents try the gluten-free, casein-free diet for at least 3 months. You MAY NOT cheat at any point during that time to see results.
Interesting:
QUOTE |
Some children, after being on the diet for several months, will actually know if they accidentally ingest gluten or casein. One parent reported that her son, accidentally eating a wheat-containing cookie, told her, "The bad person is inside of me, Mommy." You can see how profound the implications of accidental gluten or casein ingestion can be. |
I have a 6-year-old autistic brother and my mom has my brother on somewhat of a diet that she finds has improved his behaviour. When I babysit, I notice that he is far more relaxed and goes to the bathroom easily. He used to not poop for nearly a week at a time and my mother had to give him enemas. Now with the change of diet, he goes for a #2 frequently. My mom has been feeding him home-made foods cooked from scratch, and only pre-cooked/packaged foods for special occasions. For instance, my mom will make a vegetable stir-fry with some meat (not very much meat) or have a large plate of spinach or broccoli, accompanied with a side of a little bit of noodles. Now, my brother loves all sorts of vegetables and will USUALLY eat a nice-sized meal, but more frequently, he eats very little. It is actually incredible that he will eat as much as he does now. When he was a baby, he would refuse to eat and my mom would have to hold my brother in the kitchen for hours to make him eat dinner.
I have always ignored this because to do away with gluten means taking away a lot of things children want to eat PLUS it is so expensive! One of my sons is really battling going in and out of his world so I have to look at this more closely: