Research summaries for autism therapy: diet

definition of diet: Diet is the use of food and drink to nourish and heal the body. Nutrients that are only obtained from the diet are called, essential nutrients.
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Representations of Autism: Implications for Community Healthcare Practice, Summarized Dec 11, 2009

People with autism participate in online discussions, and reveal how they think and feel about autism.

This study was designed to try to understand how people with autism, Asperger’s, or other autism spectrum disorders (ASD) view themselves and their autism. The article also discussed the language and wording that was common in the online discussions. The authors said that people in these discussion groups see themselves as a separate group from neurotypical people who don’t have autism. The authors hope that learning how people with autism communicate with each other may help other people communicate with them.

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Commentary: Potential Neurobiologic Mechanisms through which Metabolic Disorders Could Relate to Autism, Summarized Oct 21, 2009

Scientists are beginning to understand how some gene defects and metabolic problems can lead to autism symptoms.

Metabolic problems are defects in specific proteins or enzymes that make energy from food in the body. The author describes how these defects may cause brain problems in two ways. One way of causing problems is by changing specific steps of normal functions as the brain does its job every moment of every day. The second way of causing problems is by changing brain development, causing lifelong changes in how the brain works. The first type of problem may be quickly fixed with a metabolic therapy such as diet or vitamin therapy. The second type of problem may be difficult to correct if the stage of development has already passed and the brain is mature.

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Metabolic Approaches to the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Summarized Oct 20, 2009

Diet and vitamin therapy may help people who have metabolic problems and autism symptoms.

Metabolism is the way your body breaks down foods to make energy. Some people with autism have metabolic problems or disorders. They may lack certain proteins or enzymes that are important parts of the metabolism machinery. This article discussed some examples of metabolic syndromes such as phenylketonuria, histidinemia, and adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency. Diet therapy can be very helpful for people with metabolic syndromes, and a specific diet may be tailored to the specific metabolic problem. Vitamin therapy, including pyroxidine (vitamin B6) therapy, may also be helpful for some metabolic disorders.

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Food Allergy and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Is There a Link?, Summarized Sep 15, 2009

Probiotics may help to relieve gut problems in children with autism.

This review article describes proposed causes of gut problems in children with autism and describes the risks and benefits of treatments. There are a lot of data to support that children with autism have a chronic immune response in their gut. Many parents treat the gut problems with the gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet even though there is not a lot of data to support the use of the diet. While there is some concern that the GFCF diet may not provide all needed vitamins to children, this concern is not backed by data. Treatment with probiotics makes sense, but it has not been proven to work in scientific studies of children with autism.

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Showing 9-12 of 68 results

Synonyms for diet include: autism diet, autistic diet, diet therapy, diets, essential nutrients, nutrients
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