A: Although parents have been reporting a connection between autism and diet for decades, there is now a growing body of research that shows that certain foods seem to be affecting the developing brains of some children and causing autistic behaviors. This is not because of allergies but because many of these children are unable to properly break down certain proteins.
Q: What happens when they get these proteins?
A: Researchers in England, Norway, and at the University of Florida have found peptides (breakdown products of proteins) with opiate activity in the urine of a high percentage of autistic children. Opiates are drugs, like morphine, which affect brain function.
Q: Which proteins are causing this problem?
A: The two main offenders seem to be gluten (the protein in wheat, oats, rye and barley) and casein (milk protein.)
Q: But milk and wheat are the only two foods my child will eat. His diet is completely comprised of milk, cheese, cereal, pasta, and bread. If I take these away, I'm afraid he'll starve
A: There may be a good reason your child "self-limits" to these foods. Opiates, like opium, are highly addictive. If this "opiate excess" explanation applies to your child, then he is actually addicted to those foods containing the offending proteins. Although it seems as if your child will starve if you take those foods away, many parents report that after an initial "withdrawal" reaction, their children become much more willing to eat other foods. After a few weeks, most children surprise their parents by further broadening their diets.
Q: But if I take away milk, what will my child do for calcium?
A: Children between the ages of one and ten require 800-1000 mg of calcium a day. If the child drinks three 8-oz glasses of fortified rice, soy or potato milk per day, he would meet that requirement. If he drank one cup per day, the remaining 500 mg of additional calcium could be supplied with one of the many supplements available. Kirkman Labs (800-245-8282) makes flavored and flavorless calcium supplements in various forms. Custom-made calcium liquids can also be mixed up by compounding pharmacies using a maple, sucrose syrup, stevia or water base.
There are some very good calcium-enriched milk substitutes on the market; check for varieties that are calcium-enriched. Soy milk contains protein and is a good option for some, although many children with this disorder are intolerant to soy. Rice Dream is processed with barley enzymes, there is some concern over whether it will cause a reaction in individuals highly sensitive to gluten. For a gluten-free diet, look for other brands of rice milk, such as Pacific Foods nondairy rice beverage, at your natural foods store. Darifree, a pleasant-tasting potato-based milk substitute that is lower in sugar than rice milk, is available by mail-order (1-800-497-4834).
Q: Is this diet expensive?
A: There is no denying that some of the gluten-free ingredients you will want to keep on hand are more costly than the staples you are used to buying. However, when you order by the case, the above milk substitutes cost about the same as cow's milk. Some parents report that their autistic children were drinking over a gallon of cow's milk per day (about $60/month!) but these same parents were reluctant to switch to rice milk at $1.30/quart.
As with all foods, convenience products such as frozen rice waffles are expensive, but making these from scratch is easy and inexpensive. Bulk rice flour is about 45c/pound, and there are several good gluten-free cookbooks. You'll find yourself making rice and potatoes more often, instead of ordering out. You might even save money.
Q: Isn't milk necessary for children's health?
A: Americans have been raised to believe that this is true, largely due to the efforts of the American Dairy Association, and many parents seem to believe that it is their duty to feed their children as much milk as possible. However, lots of perfectly healthy children do very well without it. It’s not milk that children need, it’s calcium. Cow's milk has been called "the world's most overrated nutrient" and "fit only for baby cows." There is even evidence that the cow hormone present in dairy actually blocks the absorption of calcium in humans.
Be careful. Removing dairy means all milk, butter, cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, etc. It also includes product ingredients such as "casein" and "whey," or even words containing the word "casein." Read labels - items like bread and tuna fish often contain milk products. Even soy cheese usually contains caseinate.
For more information on dairy-free living, there's a very good book called Raising Your Child Without Milk by Jane Zukin. There is also a very good little book called Don't Drink Your Milk by Frank Oski (the late head of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins and author of Essential Pediatrics). This book cites the results of several research studies that conclude that milk is an inappropriate food for human children. It is available for $4.95 from Park City Press, PO Box 25, Glenwood Landing, NY 11547, ISBN #0671228048.
Q: I might be willing to try removing dairy products from his diet, but I don't think I could handle removing gluten. It seems like a lot of work, and I'm so busy already. Is this really necessary?
A: What you need to understand is that for certain children, these foods are toxic to their brains. For some, removing gluten may be far more important than removing dairy products. You would never knowingly feed your child poison, but if he fits into this category, this is exactly what you could be doing. It is probable that for this subgroup of people with autism, eating these foods is actually damaging the developing brain.
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