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tific proof that a GFCF diet will bring benefits, they note that it’s possible, especially in people suffering from celiac disease.


Parents have also observed that


Addressing Autism Families Have Reasons for Hope


by Brita Belli P


arents of autistic children are encouraged when they witness improvements after eliminating gluten (wheat) and casein (dairy) from their kids’ diets. Now a parental study supports the correlation—for some kids on the autism spectrum, the gluten- and casein-free (GFCF) diet appears to be connected with remarkable changes. Laura Cousino Klein, associate professor of biobehavioral health and human development at the Penn State College of Medicine, helped lead research that surveyed 387 parents or caregivers with affected children. For those diagnosed with combinations of autism and gastrointestinal issues or food sensitivities, the GFCF diet brought marked improvements in their autism spectrum disorder (ASD) behaviors— reducing hyperactivity and tantrums; minimizing constipation and seizures; and improving social behaviors. Klein says scientists are still working to understand the interaction between the brain, gut and behaviors, but recent findings suggest that sig- nificant links exist. “One hypothesis is that by eliminating dietary triggers in the presence of food allergies or gastrointestinal distress, you’re reduc- ing inflammation or irritability of the immune system, and that’s affecting the way the brain is functioning,” she says.


22 Hudson County NAHudson.com Dietary Turnaround


One Racine, Wisconsin, mom, Cindy Schultz, a tireless advocate for her au- tistic son, says, “As an infant, he either had constipation or diarrhea. There was never a happy medium.” The GFCF diet has improved his health and his ability to communicate. Shauna Layton, in Clinton, Indiana, says her son experienced similar bowel problems and she also saw a remarkable turnaround in his language abilities and social inter- actions as they adhered to a GFCF diet and eliminated sugar and yeast. Other parents from her online sup- port group, Together in Autism, report similar success. “Some children have never talked, and now they are saying ‘Mom,’ ‘Dad,’ or ‘I love you,’ for the first time,” Layton says. A definitive gut-brain link with autism has yet to be identified. Some scientists suggest that kids with autism are more likely to have leaky gut syn- drome (intestinal permeability), which allows peptides from gluten and ca- sein to escape from the digestive tract, cross the intestinal membranes, enter the bloodstream and go to the brain, causing the neurobehavioral symp- toms known as ASDs, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. While the AAP knows of no scien-


food dyes can exacerbate hyperactivity in children, a connection unconfirmed by the federal government. In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Advisory Committee suggested further testing, while voting against ad- ditional food labeling requirements for potentially problematic dyes. Meanwhile, some parents affirm that eliminating such dyes has helped them better manage their children’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A 2011 study taking into account 35 years of research found that many ADHD children showed significant improvement after elimi- nating dyes from their diets; it also registered that greater than 70 percent were positively influenced by vari- ous dietary changes. The results were promising enough for researchers to conclude, “A trial elimination diet is appropriate for children that have not responded satisfactorily to conven- tional treatment.”


The Role of Vitamin D


A 2012 study in the Journal of Neuroin- flammation found that autistic children had significantly lower levels of vita- min D than control subjects. Vitamin D, the study notes, regulates immune function and thus autoimmunity; when the immune system is disrupted and the body attacks itself, it may play a role in the development of autism. Dr. John Cannell, founder of the


nonprofit Vitamin D Council, remarks that fear of sun overexposure has led to the deficiencies. “Vitamin D is not a vi- tamin,” Cannell clarifies. “It’s a steroid hormone system that begins in the skin. If children aren’t getting any photons of UVB light, they’re not making any vitamin D.”


He notes that the rise in autism rates during the last 25 years tracks with increases in 50-plus SPF sun- screen use, more time spent indoors and a rise in breastfeeding. Because breast milk contains low amounts of


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