Nutritional Risks for Children with Autism, and a new book for that

[Guest guest]

Something that came to me this morning from the Schafer Autism Report that might

be relevant to some of us, especially as it applies to our children as they

mature, as well.

Mike

Nutritional Risks for Children with Autism

From physician-assistant.advanceweb.com. is.gd/1BcdQ

The strong preference children with autism have for certain foods places

them at risk for nutritional deficiencies because their diets lack sufficient

variety, according to research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical

Center presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Baltimore in

May.

The researchers said screening children for the amount of variety of food

in their diets may be a good clinical marker to predict which children might be

at risk for nutrition problems. Children with low food variety scores who are at

risk could then be referred to dieticians or therapists to help them expand food

choices and improve nutrition, said Zimmer, MD, lead investigator and a

pediatrician in the division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at

Cincinnati Children's.

The study is one of two presented by Dr. Zimmer and colleagues at the

meeting that deal with autism. The second study found that the red blood cells

of children with autism have low levels of a fatty acid linked to cognitive

function. This finding, the researchers report, warrants further research into

how the low fatty acid levels may trigger biochemical changes in the brain

linked to autism.

The team found that levels of docosahexanoic acid and total omega-3 fatty

acids were significantly lower in the red blood cells of autistic children than

in normally developing children. Omega-3 fatty acids are nutritionally important

substances considered vital to the normal development of children.

Evidence of abnormal fatty acid metabolism in children with autism runs

counter to at least one previous study that suggested no difference between

normally developing and autistic children. The different results between studies

may be explained by the current research focusing on an older group of children,

Dr. Zimmer said.

" The fatty acid docosahexanoic is linked to other mental health issues,

and this raises questions about whether there are functional issues in neural

cells involving a deficiency of essential fatty acids, " said Dr. Zimmer. " The

main point of the study is we cannot rule that fatty acids are part of the story

of what is going on with kids who have autism. "

Dr. Zimmer said it is possible older children with autism have had more

time to use up their bodies' stores of omega-3 fatty acids and are unable to

replenish those stores. The 21 children with autism in this study were between

the ages of 3 and 18 years, as were the 20 age-matched normally developing

children and 10 if their siblings who served as control subjects.

The research team is conducting a larger study with more children to

verify its PAS findings. Dr. Zimmer said another study is also under design to

give essential omega-3 fatty acids, such as docosahexanonic acid, to children

with autism to see what impact it has on brain chemistry and/or the disorder.

NOTE: See " Autism Diet Book Wins Major Health Book Award " under RESOURCES

below. –editor.

• • •

RESOURCES

Autism Diet Book Wins Major Health Book Award

is.gd/1DDle

Nourishing Hope for Autism, a holistic book that promotes diet as an

effective way to help reduce the symptoms of autism, has been named the Most

Progressive Health Book of 2009 as part of the Independent Publishers Book

Awards.

The author of the book is s, a noted nutritional consultant

from San Francisco, who specializes in dietary intervention for autism, ADHD,

and other disorders on the autism spectrum.

s espouses the belief that autism is not a mysterious brain

disorder, but rather a whole body dysfunction influenced and aggravated by

environmental factors, including toxins, inflammation, sedentary behaviors, food

sensitivities, nutritional deficiencies, and slow digestive development.

In her book, she offers a logical scientifically based explanation as to

how and why diet affects many of the woes so physically obvious in children with

autism, and offers parents a guide to the types of foods that could be

exacerbating symptoms and those that can help eliminate them.

Virtually all kids with autism have some sort of digestive complaint or

complaints, which can include diarrhea, constipation, bloating and stomach

aches. Many get frequent infections and have sleep disturbances. These

symptoms are indicative of a poorly functioning digestive system, or a " leaky

gut, " meaning that nutrients are not being absorbed properly. " This leads to

nutrient deficiencies, which can affect all cellular function, including poor

brain function, " says s.

Substances in food, such as gluten (found in wheat) and casein (found in

milk), that cannot be digested adequately produce symptoms such as foggy

thinking, insensitivity to pain, emotional withdrawal and irritability, says

s. Among her numerous gut-healing solutions, are removing sugar,

starches and yeast-containing foods and adding healing foods, such as

probiotics, fish oil, flax, turmeric and ginger. You can find the complete list

of dietary recommendations on her website www.nourishinghope.com.

Nourishing Hope is an appropriate title for this guide for parents, who,

it seems, are too often told that there is no hope for their autistic or ADHD

child.

• • •

Because I love you so, of the divinely inspired thing, of Communication, of what

you understand? .. . Check out Francis at Reality Sandwich Radio, of,

www.beyondhealth.com, and, Never Be Sick Again, of the real, " Positive, "

thinking? .. . Please do! You can hook up to all that at

www.nourishinghope.com, I believe

I more than wish you would.. .

(Best wishes, Thereof (!

Mike

For Health, Etc..