One of my online friends has asked me to do a web article on the GFCF diet. It will be featured on Tuesday, December 9th on her web blog: http://www.themombuzz.com/
Please stop by and read my article. I know she would love to have all of you stop by and please leave us a comment.
thanks,
Maryann
Lately Thanksgiving has been a tough time for my family. I’m sure most families with sick children (or other stressful situations) understand what I mean. Holidays are tough. They make you reflect on the things you have, AND even more so on those things you don’t. That is what we have dealt with over the last several years. When Matthew started really showing signs of Autism our holidays began to be very stressful. It was so very hard for us to watch his cousins developing normally and know that our little boy was not. He couldn’t do practically anything that his cousin (who is very close to him in age) could do. He would get overwhelmed and begin to flap his hands. He didn’t know or care that people brought him presents. He would yell and spin, and break our hearts. Just last year, after the holiday party was over and my husband and I were driving to the house we were staying at, well we just cried. We cried because of what we didn’t have, and we cried because of what we did have. It was a very hard holiday.
But fast forward to Thanksgiving 2008! Oh, now I know what it means to have a family gathering where your child has fun with the other people at the party. Matthew amazed us this year. He flat out amazed us. He played with the same cousin and at the same level; they pretended to talk to each other on the phone. This little gem was Matthew’s idea; he initiated it! He even played with her Barbie Dolls. His imagination was there and it was shining through. He even let us take him to the Children’s Museum where he slid down the winter wonderland slide which goes from the second floor to the first floor of the building. He did this by himself; no need for Mommy! He rode the carousel, he even sat on a horse. This was a major accomplishment for him. Not more than a month ago he wouldn’t even consider sitting on a horse and six months ago he wouldn’t even get on a merry go round. The Children’s Museum has a small play house built by Eli Lilly (irony much?) for his daughter and Matthew absolutely loved it. He couldn’t get enough of this play house. And the best part of all was he was actually playing in it. He didn’t stim, he played.
The only rough patch came on Sunday when he just couldn’t calm down. He had had a very full week which included but was not limited to a ten hour drive, new surroundings, seeing and playing with his cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles, going to a Thanksgiving/Christmas party, my in-laws family reunion party, the Children’s Museum and just general fun. On Sunday he and his cousin were playing and he just couldn’t calm down. But the amazing part was that he looked at me and said “Mommy, I can’t calm down.” My husband and I were shocked. He could tell that he was overloaded and he could tell us. What a major breakthrough. We then tried some deep pressure/ proprioceptive movements such as log rolling, deep pressure hugs, jumping and joint compression. Within ten minutes he had calmed down and was playing nicely with his cousin once again.
I certainly know who put the Thank in Thanksgiving this year. My husband and I. We put the Thank in Thanksgiving, becaue God is putting Matthew back into our son.
Today I will review a lecture given by Jon Pangborn, Ph.D. at the 2008 DAN! conference in San Diego. If this is your first time reading my blog, please note that I am not a doctor. If you have medical questions please contact your own doctor or better yet find a Defeat Autism Doctor! (DAN!) in your area so they can fully explain and/or implement the protocol for your child and their needs. Again, I am not a doctor and I am not dispensing medical advice.
To help digestive issues you must first – Clear the Decks!
get rid of junk food, impure water, food with artificial colors and flavors, scented products, be careful of laundy products, no cigarette smoke, fumes from the garage and sprays, volatile yard/garden chemicals.
Overview of Food Issues
. Fats, carbs and proteins are digested differently.
. ASD individuals can have problems with all three.
. Maldigestion can lead to –
nutritional deficits
increased allergic responses to foods
dysbiosis and immunologic responses
pain and inflammation
increased mucosal permeability
uptake of toxins and false neurotransmitters
metabolic disorder
Food Reactivity Issues
specific food allergies (IgE, IgG-mediated) can be assessed by lab or dermal testing.
Metabolic problems are harder to identify
– toxin uptake from dysbiotic flora
– peptide and/or toxin binding to active enzyme or transport sites
– undigested food tying up nutrients, or nutrient deficiency allowing increased toxicant uptake.
Subgroups of autistics have measured deficiencies in food digestion
– activity of a peptidase, “DPP4” responsible for digestion of many opiate-like peptides
– activity of enzymes that process starch and complex sugars, esp disaccharidases
– activity of lipase: fat to fatty acids or glycerol
DPP4 = Dipeptidylpeptidase IV = CD26 = Adenosine Deaminase Binding Protein
– Digests B-casomorphins, morphiceptin, gliadinomorphin
– lymphocyte receptor involved in signal transmission
– assists ADA in processing adenosine
– impaired by : Hg, Pb, Cd, too much Zn, milk allergy, organophosphates, streptokinase
stopping here, will finish later.
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