The popularity of the gluten free diet has grown dramatically. More and more parents are turning toward a gluten free diet to help alleviate symptoms of autism and other learning disorders in their children. To a large degree, many in the medical community have ridiculed this, stating that diet and the autistic spectrum have nothing to do with one another. Medical research and anecdotal evidence however shows that thousands of people have had improvement with diet alterations.
What does diet have to do with behavior?
The food we eat is comprised of carbohydrates, fats, protein, nucleic acids, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, water, and other nutrients necessary to sustain the healthy function of the body. It is the basis of how our internal biochemistry works. Ignoring the possibility that food contributes to disease is a cardinal mistake. Food is a drug and therefor can have drug like properties. One person's food is another person's poison. That being said, it goes to say that investigating the potential for a person to react negatively to food should be a primary tool in the "tool-belt" of all physicians.
In the research study below, a case is presented of a 5-year-old boy diagnosed with severe autism at a specialty clinic for autistic spectrum disorders. After initial investigation suggested underlying celiac disease and varied nutrient deficiencies, a gluten-free diet was instituted along with dietary and supplemental measures to secure nutritional sufficiency.
The patient's gastrointestinal symptoms rapidly resolved, and signs and symptoms suggestive of autism progressively abated. This case is an example of a common malabsorption syndrome associated with central nervous system dysfunction and suggests that in some contexts, nutritional deficiency may be a determinant of developmental delay. It is recommended that all children with neurodevelopmental problems be assessed for nutritional deficiency and malabsorption syndromes.
Another research study found a strong correlation with autism and intestinal permeability - AKA leaky gut syndrome. The conclusion of the study is below:
CONCLUSIONS:Source:
The results obtained support the leaky gut hypothesis and indicate that measuring IPT (intestinal permeability)could help to identify a subgroup of patients with autism who could benefit from a gluten-free diet. The IPT alterations found in first-degree relatives suggest the presence of an intestinal (tight-junction linked) hereditary factor in the families of subjects with autism.
- J Child Neurol. 2010 Jan;25(1):114-9. Epub 2009 Jun 29.
- J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2010 Oct;51(4):418-24.