Diet a religious dilemma?

I think at this point I could write an opera script about diets. Or a soap opera. It probably wouldn't get very good ratings, although there would be a fair amount of drama associated. Hm, perhaps reality TV is the way to go on that.

OK, if you follow my blog at all since my passionate post about the GAPS diet and how every parent of an autistic child should immediately do it, you know that although the diet has helped us get our kids eating a greater variety of food and we have healthier options, this diet has not been working for us. Ezra's behavior is getting more and more difficult. I read through all the FAQ on the gaps diet website to find answers, I contacted the clinic of the author to schedule an appointment, and they told me that she's no longer taking patients, and to read the book and the FAQ on the website. GREAT! That was helpful...NOT.

Anyway, I still think the theory about the gut flora being out of balance is a good one, and research definitely shows that the intestinal tracts of autistic children are severely compromised. So clearly something must be done to heal and seal the gut. But I'm starting to doubt, and always have that consuming massive amounts of meat, eggs, and animal fat are really the solution. To be fair, of course Dr. Campbell-Mcbride doesn't recommend "massive" amounts, but still, that's pretty much all the kids will eat. It makes sense that the bad bacteria needs to be starved of it's nutrition source (i.e. complex carbs). But on the other hand if the body is fighting chronic inflammation, how can consuming meat and fat, which are supposedly inflammatory going to make that any better, even if they are organically raised and grass fed?

I guess my real dilemma comes from my religious conviction. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints. I believe God reveals truths to prophets today just like he did in times of old. In 1833 a prophet called Joseph Smith received a revelation regarding the health and well-being of members. It's a code by which I live, called the word of wisdom. It counsels people to abstain from tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea (black tea) and drugs (by the way one of the reasons we are counseled to abstain from them is not only because they can cause addiction and are bad for the body, but because of evil conspiring men. How true is that considering drug cartels, tobacco industry etc?) It also counsels people to eat liberally of plants and grains (wheat being especially good for man), use moderation on fruits, and eat meat of animals and fowls sparingly, only in winter and times of famine. This revelation isn't entirely new. The same kind of dietary suggestions can be found throughout the Old and New Testament. Now if you know LDS people at all, you know that they stick pretty well to the "don't" part, but do whatever they like with the "do". In fact, it's fair to say that sugar is the Mormon drug of choice. There is practically no social gathering that doesn't involve food. Anyway, getting off track here. 

SOO, my issue has been, if wheat is supposed to be good for us, then why is my kid allergic to gluten? Or what about all the other allergy sufferers, celiacs, etc? Of course, this revelation was given in 1833 and back then wheat was still soaked, fermented, and ground in a way to make it easily digestible, not like the highly processed stuff they have today. Our environment has changed a lot since then and we have so many more pollutants and toxins our body has to deal with. And who knows that the amount of exercise and fresh air they got back then didn't fortify their immune system in a way to never bring up digestive issues. I do believe God wants us to use common sense, and our brains to figure out what is right for ourselves. After all, the word of wisdom is a guideline. But now I'm really at the point where I just can't get any further. 

There are so many diets out there and they all claim to help, and often they advocate the exact opposite of each other. In fact, I think the one thing they all agree on is that all the chemical additives, food dyes, pesticides, and so on should be avoided at all costs. Which one is the right one? Feingold, GFCF, TCM, HDN, anti-histamine, GAPS, SCD, Body Ecology, Paleo, South Beach, Atkins, Vegan, Vegetarian, Macrobiotics? 

I need a revelation!

How Diet causes autism, and why the Gluten Casein Free Diet is not the answer

OK, I admit, the title is purposefully sensationalistic. I don't actually know what causes autism, but after reading Gut and Psychology Syndrome from Doctor Natasha Campbell-McBride I'm 150% convinced that diet is one of the main factors in what causes autism.

I'm not a Doctor, or medical expert, just a mom who does a lot of research. However, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is not only a mother of a successfully recovered autistic child, she is also a trained medical doctor (Neurologist, and brain surgeon), as well as having specialized in nutrition after finding out her son was autistic. So if you don't believe me for my lack of training and titles, then read her book. No need for me to re-invent the wheel. It's pretty easy to understand, and it will give you all the details and explanations of what I am about to summarize below, with research and scientific studies quoted to back her up.

I found myself chanting mentally on every page "Why didn't anybody tell me about this? Why didn't I know?" (and if I'm honest with myself, I did have a friend who told me about this, and at the time I thought it was too extreme, and that I didn't have the guts to do it, because I myself was addicted to carbs). In my previous post about what to do when you suspect your child is autistic, I said that if I could go back and know then what I know now, I would have started a GAPS or a SCD diet immediately. I constantly think of all the things I could have done differently but after reading this book, I would prioritize this as the MOST IMPORTANT INTERVENTION ALONGSIDE ONE ON ONE EDUCATION.
So here is why I tell you: don't shy away from the work. You will soooo regret not doing this. I'm convinced that this diet is 50% of the solution (with the other 50% being training the brain through one on one intensive education and something like Brain Balance or Neurofeedback).

After reading below explanation, jump to the bottom of the page, where I give you an update on how it worked for us after doing it for 6 months, and what I have learned from it. It isn't what I thought it would be. 

OK here is the explanation of why I recommend you do this diet summed up as simply as I can:

Our gut is the first line of defense to foreign objects, bacteria, toxins, etc. and a very important part of our immune system. Normally the gut is populated with good and bad bacteria. They are in balance and take care of anything that doesn't belong in our body. In children and adults with Autism, ADHD, ADD, Dispraxia, etc their digestive tracts are out of balance (omitting explanation why, for brevity but it's in the book), and therefore their immune system is compromised. When there are too many bad bacteria and not enough good the body can't handle the toxic load. Foods and toxins get into their blood stream and into the brain that shouldn't and cause heaps of damage (This condition is called Leaky Gut). And on the other hand important nutrients that the body and brain need for normal development do not make it to the brain because food isn't digested right, thus the brain doesn't develop the way it should, making it all worse and compromising the immune system even more. 

The idea of the diet is to replenish the good bacteria with pro-biotic foods like fermented vegetables (and perhaps some supplements), and at the same time starving the bad bacteria of it's main source of nutrition: starches. The foods allowed on the diet are very nourishing and simple to digest, thus giving the stomach a chance to repair itself and supplying the body with nutrition. Essentially this diet is a complete sugar free, grain free diet (although fruits, and honey are allowed, just fyi). You do that for about 2 years or until your child has been symptom free for at least 6 months. Now before you throw your hands up in the air and say: no way, that's too hard, let me tell you what it looks like after you've waited a few years and tried other stuff first (like the GFCF diet, Feingold, etc).

1. Autism doesn't go away or get better by doing nothing and waiting it out. In fact it gets worse and the gap to catch up to peers widens (which -you've guessed it- means more work for you, mama, or daddy)
2. Trying easier things first only works for a little bit, because the root of the problem is still there. Only GAPS, or the SCD diet address and cure the actual problem in the gut.
3. No matter how finicky of an eater your toddler is now, when he's older he'll be stronger, more verbal, and more finicky, and the tantrums and control battles are more aggressive and louder. 
4. Two years of work are nothing compared to the work you'll have to put in if you don't do it. You're child will develop more food allergies, more intolerances, and refuse anything besides starch. Every meal is a battle.

Now what about the Gluten and Casein Free diet? I did that for 3 years now. At first we saw a huge improvement, and so will you, but it won't last long. Here is what Dr. Campbell-McBride says about that:
"If you transfer this child to the GFCF diet, processed carbohydrates containing gluten are replaced with gluten free processed carbohydrates, made with rice, sugar potato starch, tapioca flour, soy, buckwheat flour etc. This sort of food will feed the abnormal flora in the child's gut just as much as the previous diet did, perpetuating the vicious cycle of a damaged leaky gut and toxicity escaping from this leaky gut into the blood and brain. Of course the fact that out of dozens of various toxins, flowing from the gut into the body, two toxins have been removed -gluteomorphin and casomorphins - does some good."

It does help a tiny bit, and I can testify to that, but it hasn't solved his picky eating and carb addiction, and his gut flora is still a mess. In addition to those problems the gluten free products are very high on the glycemic index, even higher than the gluten containing ones (because gluten is a protein which slows down digestions, i.e. requires less insulin). High glycemic foods cause inflammation in the body. Children with autism already have chronic inflammation in their bodies and brains, so when you give them GFCF diets it doesn't abate the inflammation, it makes it worse, and the bad bacteria are still fed.

Here are some resources to help you get started with a GAPS or SCD diet (by the way SCD stands for Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It has been around since the 1920's with 90 years of scientific evidence to back up it's effectiveness. However it wasn't specifically created for autism. The GAPS diet is based on the SCD diet, but was specifically altered for patients suffering from autism, ADD, ADHD, etc.)

Book Gut and Psychology Syndrome
Cooking class to reverse food allergies
Meal Plans
FAQ from the Gaps Site
Dr. Campbell-McBride on youtube.
SCD Recipes and help


Update April 28, 2012: We did GAPS with Ezra for six months. It did not yield the results we hoped for. He got better at first, but then started eating mainly meats and fruits. I have learned in the meanwhile that meats are actually very hard on the digestive system, as are fats. We have done further research and are currently favoring Dr.Fuhrmans' recommendation of eating 95% plant foods. His recommendations are not specifically for autism, but they make enough sense and present solid scientific research for general health, that it made sense to follow it for the whole family. Plus the Chinese Medicine Practitioner that I consulted said that the best thing for a kid like Ezra is very little meat (or none), and lots of steamed vegetables, things that are warming to his middle and require very little digestive juices. We now also know that he has a candida overgrowth, so really he should be taken off most fruits. That's where we saw the major difference on the GAPS diet during the introduction phase where no fruits were allowed. He really calmed down, spoke clearly. It's just so hard to pull off that kind of diet when you send your kids to school. So to sum up I've taken a lot of information from the GAPS diet, but I think Dr. Campbell-McBride is wrong about the meat consumption. With any dietary intervention the key is to get kids to eat lots of green vegetables (and yes, you can imagine that that is easier said than done). If you do a GAPS diet and they end up eating only what Ezra ate, it will be better than eating just carbs, but it's only the first step in the right direction.