I had heard from a friend of a friend, who is either Aspie or HFA (he did not specify) that he regulates his diet in a certain way to control his symptoms. I was skeptical, but he seemed pretty adamant that there was an improvement due to his diet. I do not remember what it is he said he did and didn't eat, but I found it and still find it doubtful that a neurological difference could be altered by food types... Then again my knowledge on the subject is minimal, and there is the case of the Ketogenic diet being a widely regarded treatment for eplilepsy.

What information is there on the subject? Is it a rumour or baseless conjuncture?

Particular diets work for some, and not for others.  As far as I can make out, they are only effective if people have specific food allergies or intolerances, and those aren't restricted to people on the Spectrum.

Some folks are allergic to foods.  It may be the resulting pain or discomfort that seems to aggravate Aspie and Autie symptoms.

I'd suggest you check this out with a medical professional -- preferably one that has never heard of Jenny McCarthy.

Seeing as I have no allergies, to my knowledge, it is hard to imagine to what extent such problems would aggrivate symptoms to any significant extent...

Digestive problems, hives, breathing difficulties, agitation (like caffeine) or malaise (just don't feel well).

I suppose caffiene does make me strange, but i think that is usual, and not due to any intolerence.

Ady - you may be interested in "Asperger Syndrome: Natural Steps toward a Better Life" by Suzanne C. Lawton, N.D. [Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881: 2007: ISBN-13: 978-0-275-99178-4] especially Ch.7 "What you eat affects how you act".

Hi, Ady.  If you research only the papers and don't read conclusions, particularly those of studies done by Autism speaks-related people, you can get lots of information.  As a non-scientist, these are my understandings from a few years of studying only this aspect.  Reason:  In my 50s I started getting symptoms of organic psychosis after a lifetime of really good mental health.  

No help from doctors, so I did the research and changed my diet according to what I read in the scientific literature, not according to the autism speaks literature.  Psychosis problem fixed.  My digestion couldn't break down something I needed, brain chemicals got out of control.  I stopped eating foods that contained certain enzyme inhibiting ingredients, learned to take magnesium through the skin instead of the stomach, no more psychosis.  I know it works because I can bring it back any time I want by eaing certain things and not using magnesium.    

My opinion:  We have chromosomal variants that keep us from completing the process of manufacturing our brain chemicals.  The reason we lack the wish to bond socially is because we have problems making oxytocin.  When we have anxiety or ADD we have problems making serotonin and dopamine.  Most of us have problems absorbing the basic chemicals through the food that start the brain chemical and hormone manufacturing.  It's due to our tendency for low enzymes and some other glitches found in autistics.  Some of these glitches get helped with better food absorption.

Many of us get candida, which is what happens when food can't be broken down well.  This causes more difficulty with food absorbtions and eventually brain chemical manufacturing.  Candida causes faulty immune system, which is why many of us had more than the usual infections all through childhood.  The autism diet fixes the candida and your chances for better mental health are better.  You will never get rid of your Asperger's, but if you can solve your own specific genetic glitch with metabolism (getting the chemical building blocks for brain chemicals and hormones) from food, then sometimes you can get less autism symptoms, but only if your autism is extremely noticeable or disabling.  It doesn't really help Asperger's.

   Instead of doing the diet, which is hell, you can just try the specific enzymes which most autistic people have a hard time with, one for wheat and one for milk and one phenols.  (Houston Pharmaceutical makes them.  They are for digestion, not for autism and they send free samples to US including mailing).  Everyone has a hard time with these, and autists have a little worse time, but you won't know if you can't digest wheat, milk, or phenols.  Just that not being able to messes up the digestion further, but you don't feel it from the outside.  

   The phenol enzyme pill can break down oxytocin in some people, which if it's your glitch can let you have social feelings.  I hate it, but it can make you feel like you don't have Asperger's since so many of us associate lack of social intelligence with our autism.  The diet is practically impossible, so at least with the pills you can see for free if the diet would help you if you couldn't afford the pills.

     Mostly the diets are used to bring someone with more severe autism to a milder Asperger's like level, which is what Jenny McCarthy pretends is a "cure" for her son.  For less severe autism, you probably won't find much change, but since we have metabolism problems, it can make a whole lot of little problems go away.  For instance, the autism diet can completely fix asthma.

Interesting post zoey, I could relate to a lot of it.

I couldn't make the oxytocin to stimulate the birth of my children.
They gave me oxytocin via a drip to stimulate birth after the waters broke.

My hypothesis anyway.

I meant Houston Enzymes (US).  It seems it's hard for us to make all the chemicals.  But some of us have too much as well, so it's confusing.

I always skeptical of people claming that a change of diet can heal, recover, or reverse autism in people. I say it is nonesense to think that it can cure autism because it give many people a false hopes, dissaportment & heartache, but I think it can reduce autistic systems. GFCF diet are the most popular one that are helpful in many autistics out there.

I agree with many PPs.  I tried the gf/cf diet with my kids and it was expensive and silly.  I do better with less milk, so I limit it.  I figure they have enough to deal with before having their favorite foods taken away.  

I could see where if an autistic child had celiac disease or lactose intolerance or IBS it would worsen their symptoms, they don't feel good!  But if there is no allergy or bowel issue, then its not going to do much.  

Interesting thought on the enzymes, I'm gonna look that up.

Edited to add:  I think people see what they wanna see.  I don't know of any research on GF/CF actually helping.

This post was last modified: 01-01-2011 09:54 PM by AspieMomma.

I'm what's known as a meat minimizer: I don't cut out meat completely, but I eat as little as possible of it.  This is because, with my metabolic abnormality, meat is just too difficult for me for me to be able to break down properly.  

I need to take massive amounts of iron supplement since I can't get it from my diet; the doctors when I was younger all tried to get me to eat more red meat, but I'd end up fainting from anaemia, and they'd tell me to just eat more meat!  Which only exacerbated the problem, since I couldn't metabolise the iron from meat.

I've learnt over the years, through painful trial and error, what I can and can't eat, and how much, and stick rigidly to that.  

My daughter is also lactose intolerant, and other aspies I know have various gut-related problems.  So perhaps the original poster is onto something, although I'd imagine the severity of the problem and the resultant food restrictions vary from individual to individual.

Alison

This post was last modified: 01-02-2011 01:03 AM by Alison.

When my mother noticed me acting hyper at a young age, she thought I was allergic to milk because my sister is allergic to it and we resemble each other, so my mother fed me some kind of milk-like beverage called "Vitamite".  I kept drinking it until my father let me drink real milk, and noticed that I didn't become hyper, so she was incorrect.

Right now, I usually avoid most food products by popular brands (e.g. Kraft, Kellogg's, Coca-Cola, etc.) and focus on ones from companies that are independent, local, lesser-known or don't team up with companies that serve brands I dislike.  I really disliked when somethings I dislike are being advertised on products, and choosing not-so-popular, but good brands was the best way for me to avoid it.  Another thing that made me gain interest was my sister wanting me to try a food product by a company I've never heard of or hear about much.  I guess lesser-known brands are by people who are like family and/or friends, while popular ones are like your 1-800 number.

zoey's post seems highly informative, albeit not from a scientific source. It seems to fit with what I've experienced, particularly the theory about us having problems breaking down oxytocin, seratonine, dopamine. I personally had experiences where I found symptoms diminished (felt normal) on drugs that help brain generate these chemicals; however, all drugs have side effects, addiction potential, etc., so it would be much better to find fix through food, exercise, or something else healthier / sustainable.

~Ken