Nutritional and Metabolic Status of Children with Autism vs. Neurotypical Children, and the Association with Autism Severity

"The autism group had many statistically significant differences in their nutritional and metabolic status, including biomarkers indicative of vitamin insufficiency, increased oxidative stress, reduced capacity for energy transport, sulfation and detoxification. Several of the biomarker groups were significantly associated with variations in the severity of autism. These nutritional and metabolic differences are generally in agreement with other published results and are likely amenable to nutritional supplementation."  Click (here) for the full study

Bacteria rears its ugly head

Oh how I hate you evil bacteria. You have messed up my kid’s head too many times and it is driving me crazy to keep you under control. I am beginning to realize that my kiddo really can’t eat any rice, bread, pasta, etc. I think it is the only way to keep this under control while we chelate.

For the last few months I have stayed on top of giving Aidan natural antibacterials and tons of probiotics, while cutting back on his carb intake (but not eliminating it completely) this no longer seems to be working.

A few months ago, it was attack of the killer Aidan. He scratched up my throat, screamed in my face, and could not be calmed. Once I put goldenseal back into the rotation and upped the Culturelle, he was back to normal…until now. I had to take him off of all of his supplements including all natural antifungals and antibacterials for an entire week in order to complete a new urine analysis and stool analysis. He seemed fine all week but for the last two days he became extremely ADD like. I could not keep his focus on any one thing, and he was perseverating on certain phrases. That was when I started to suspect bacteria, but this morning it was confirmed. From the moment he woke up he was “stuck” on a few different phrases and became aggressive with me over the smallest things. Last night when picking my car up from the shop, he had a complete meltdown because he wanted to get in the car parked next to ours. It took me about fifteen minutes to get him into our car. I tried to explain over and over that we would be riding in our car and that the other car did not belong to us. Of course explaining did not help and he was screaming and crying so hard he could barely breathe. I finally wrestled him into the car and he stopped crying about two minutes into the drive home. Like I said, I HATE YOU BACTERIA!!! Even two weeks ago, I know this wouldn’t have happened.

The thing that makes this so hard is seeing your kid when things like this are not effecting his body, and then watching it take hold of him. It is an awful feeling. Unfortunately it is an experience that you can’t really explain to others because while you have done the research and seen the specific changes in your child when treating things like bacteria, no one else would ever believe that bacteria could effect your child’s behavior that dramatically. But it does!

Seventy percent of our immune system is found in the gut. When we interrupt that delicate balance, it shows up physically and mentally. The analogy I have always loved talks about how we feel after we have a beer or a glass of wine, different, right? I know people who can get downright evil if they have had too much to drink.

Everyone keeps telling me that by round 50 of chelation, bacteria and yeast should be a bit more under control, but it can’t come soon enough!! We are currently in the middle of round 19, and 50 sounds so far away! Looking at the bright side, his gut would not go through these periods of imbalance if we were not moving metals.

Back to increasing the antibacterials and removing all grains this time around. Wish us luck!

Got a fever? Don’t use Tylenol.

The other day I received a call from Aidan’s day camp to inform me that he had a fever and fell asleep in the middle of circle time. When I arrived, I heard him whimper, “Mommy is here.”  It was so pitiful. He could barely sit up and was on fire when I touched his forehead. When we got home, I checked his temperature and it had reached 102 degrees. So, I drew a cool bath, put him in, and took his temperature again 15 minutes later. It had gone down to 101.4.  Then, I wet a pair of cotton socks, and put them on his feet for 5 minutes (this was all he would tolerate). That brought his temperature down to 100.7.

So why didn’t I just give him Tylenol? Well, I found out for the first time about a year ago that Tylenol depletes glutathione. Glutathione is a crucial antioxidant that defends the body from toxins (mercury, lead!), disease, viruses, pollutants, radiation and oxidative stress. A deficiency in glutathione can cause a lack of coordination, mental disorders, tremors, difficulty maintaining balance, and has been linked to several degenerative disorders (Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s).

Giving Tylenol after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination has also been associated with a much greater risk of autism. Click (HERE) for a link of the study and (HERE) for an interesting article about the findings.

When I gained this valuable piece of new information, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I (along with tons of other mothers) was a total Tylenol abuser, from Aidan’s infancy through the age of 3. Our pediatrician would recommend we give it to him with EVERY round of vaccines, and every time he got even a mild fever due to teething, I would give Tylenol. I thought that I was being a good Mommy when in reality I was killing Aidan’s chance at building a stronger immune system. I made his immune system vulnerable to any viruses, infections, and heavy metals he would need to fight off in the future. I feel this played a huge role in Aidan ultimately being diagnosed with Autism. 

I need to start a list on this blog called, “The things I would NEVER do the second time around!”

Here is a great presentation from the AutismOne conference on the role of glutathione in Autism and brain injuries

Video streaming by Ustream

Here is a short video by Holly Riley (Chapter Co-coordinator of TACA) talking about vaccines and the use of Tylenol. When I watched this video, I nodded my head in agreement the ENTIRE time so I had to share…

Hidden Toxins

One of the first things that the Nurse Practitioner at the Thoughtful House mentioned to us was the importance of “cleaning up” Aidan’s environment. This was honestly something that I had not even considered. I hadn’t taken in to account that the non-stick pans we used were releasing toxins into his food, or that our drinking water contained trace amounts of lead and chlorine. After our first appointment at the Thoughtful House we took a hard look at what toxic exposures we could limit for Aidan. 

Cleaning Supplies

The first step we took to remove toxins from the house was easy and affordable. We removed all standard house cleaners and replaced them with natural alternatives. Here is a great site that outlines the effects that certain cleaning supplies can have on our health: http://www.mamashealth.com/doc/cleanprod.asp
A great book for cleanser recipes: Make your Place: Affordable, sustainable, nesting skills by Raleigh Briggs.

Kitchen

We tossed all of our non-stick pots and pans, and now use only stainless steel or cast iron. This was a great excuse for me to round out my collection of LeCrueset cookware : ) Natural News ran a good article outlining some of the concerns about us teflon pots/pans http://www.naturalnews.com/026678_Teflon_iron_cookware.html

Food

Luckily my husband and I had just watched Food Inc. right before we changed Aidan’s diet, so we already understood the importance of buying everything organic. I use gluten free flours here and there that are not organic, but other then that everything else we eat is organic. 

Water

Have your water tested for chlorine, lead, bacteria, etc. May companies will come out to your house and do this for a small fee. There are also test kits that you can purchase on Amazon. We have awful water where we live, so we went ahead and bought a whole house filtration system. Many parents I have chatted with online came to find that their water had higher than safe levels of lead. Lead poisoning can cause major behavioral issues and learning difficulties. This is outlined beautifully in the book Turning Lead into Gold by a Nurse and mother who found out that her twin boys had lead poisoning. 

Bedroom

This weekend we finally got around to putting Aidan into a HEALTHY organic bed. I had no idea about the awful flame retardant chemicals that are used in our mattresses. If you have a typical mattresses, you are literally sleeping on a chemical plant. Organic (and even natural) mattresses are really the best option.

No more vaccines!

I know that this is a HUGE topic of debate for many people. While I am not anti-vaccine, I AM for cleaning up all the crap that goes into the vaccines. Here are links to both the FDA and CDC reviewing what is found in vaccines (just so that you don’t think I am a crazed Autism Mamma making it up!)

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm

http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/ucm187810.htm

There is absolutely no reason to inject a child with a vaccine containing thimersol, aluminum, formaldehyde, etc. The CDC says, “Some parents are concerned that aluminum in vaccines might be harmful to babies. However, healthy babies quickly eliminate aluminum from their bodies without harmful effects." Hmmmm…really? Well, what if your baby is not healthy? I know that we gave Aidan vaccinations during an appointment where I brought him in for a cold. We were reassured this was ok because "you want him to avoid getting anything else, right?!" Unfortunately, he received several vaccines that day. So, in theory maybe (and this is a BIG maybe) most children can naturally eliminate these toxins when given in small amounts, but many of these kids are given vaccines when their immune system is already down (compromising their ability to detox) and then they are not given just one vaccine, they are given anywhere from 3-6 vaccines in one visit.

And Thimerisol…don’t even get me started. No amount of mercury is safe! Dentists follow extremely stringent guidelines when disposing of amalgam fillings. Flu shots containing thimersol CANNOT be disposed of in a landfill, they have to be disposed of as hazardous waste because their mercury content exceeds the EPA safety standards by 250 times. Yes. You read that right. So how on earth is it safe enough to shoot into my child? Watch the video below to see what mercury does to the brain.

Formaldehyde is known to cause cancer, and according to Sanofi Pasteur may cause Autism. I came across an insert for Sanofi Pasteur's DTaP vaccine, Tripedia (which contains formaldehyde) and it has Autism listed under possible adverse effects. Click (here) to see. Gee, too bad more doctors won’t tell you that before you vaccinate your kiddo.

Still makes me sick to my stomach all of the research that my husband and I thought we did before vaccinating Aidan. At least now our next child will benefit from all that we’ve learned.

Gut Bacteria Influences Brain Chemistry and Behavior

You can read about the study by clicking (here).