Nourishing Hope for Autism

Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition Intervention for Healing Our Children, is a book written by one of the foremost researchers of solutions for autism, Julie Matthews. Julie provides evidence about how proper diet and supplementation can effectively help recover those who suffer from autistic spectrum disorders (ASD).

Matthews provides all the guidelines you'll need to get started implementing this major breakthrough for treating autism. Nourishing Hope for Autism helps you understand the connection between autism and diet and assists you in customizing an approach to bring about the desired effects. Matthews explains in laymen's terms how nutrients affect the digestive system and the brain of the autistic person. Proper nutrition can bring about dramatic results, such as improvement in areas of physical pain, rashes, speech, aggression and more.

Julie Matthews wrote Nourishing Hope for Autism not only to teach you about how proper nutrients can have a positive effect on autism, but also to inspire you to explore the many food and cooking options that you can use on a daily basis to meet the needs of your entire family.

You'll learn how to become a creative cook and put into practice Matthews' nutrition guidelines that will improve the symptoms of autism. The connection between autism and nutrition is critical. If you're the caregiver or parent of a person with ASD, you'll want to use Nourishing Hope for Autism as a reference guide that you can refer to again and again as you follow Matthews' path for autism recovery.

Julie Matthews, author of Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition Intervention for Healing Our Children , helps parents and caregivers for persons with ASD (autistic spectrum disorders) learn how to recover from symptoms of autism by providing the patient with proper nutrition and supplements.

Through scientific research, Matthews has discovered overwhelming evidence that elements involved in nutrition can have a positive effect on behavior, cognition issues and general health for those with autism. In her book, Matthews offers remedies such as the Gluten (wheat) and Casein (dairy-free) diets, which have a 65% rating for improving symptoms of autistic behavior. In fact, practitioners in Defeat Autism Now (DAN!) advocate that autism diets definitely have an effect on relieving some of the symptoms of autism.

Nourishing Hope for Autism offers several dietary options for those on the autistic spectrum. The best one for you is dependent on issues such as digestive capacity, family history, bioindividuality and others, Matthews walks you through the process of finding the one you should use and then provides guidelines for specific diets, plus cooking tips that will please your family.

To learn more about cooking for those with autism, Matthews offers a DVD, Cooking to Healä Autism Nutrition Education and Cooking Class. Her four-hour nutrition and cooking class is the perfect companion to Nourishing Hope for Autism. You'll learn how to actually implement the healing food options that are contained in her book and cook creative meals that your entire family will enjoy and that will help in your quest for recovery from autism.

In her inspiring new book, Julie Matthews introduces hope for those with symptoms of autism and parents and caregivers. Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition Intervention for Healing Our Children was written by Matthews to provide caregivers and parents with the tools needed to offset the effects of autism and offer hope for the future.

Matthews is a Defeat Autism Now (DAN!) practitioner as well as an autism diet and nutrition specialist who teaches her methods in autism conferences worldwide to more than 10,000 parents and clinicians. Nutrition intervention for autism has been the object of Matthews' research during her entire career. She also counsels parents one-on-one as they plod through the available behavioral and conventional treatments for autism.

Scientific evidence that Julie has gathered during her determined efforts to find a cure for autism definitely points to the fact that persons suffering from autism benefit from nutritional complements to their diets because of variations in digestive systems and how those variations affect the brain. Matthews' book should be read by anyone who deals with autism, including pediatricians, autism researchers, autism support groups, parents and caregivers to discover how nutritional options can have an incredible effect on autism.

Julie Matthews's book is the answer to prayers for those who deal with autism on a daily basis. Autism specialists state that Nourishing Hope for Autism is: "one of the single most important pieces of literature to have on hand if you are a parent or physician serious about understanding and implementing biomedical autism diets."

By now you have heard from other parents in your support group, at school and online about autism diets. These diets are helping to relieve autism symptoms, often when implemented alongside autism pediatrician recommended behavioral and medical treatments. Parents are noting improvement in behavior, eye contact, sleep, digestion, body aches, stimming, and rashes as parents change the foods they feed their children.

If you are beginning to research autism diets, there are a number of diets that are used by parents, autism nutritionists and pediatricians. They include the Gluten-Free Casein-Free (GFCF) Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Diet, Low Oxalate Diet, Body Ecology Diet, Feingold Diet and the Weston A. Price Diet.

Most parents and nutritionists begin with the GFCF Diet-removing all gluten and casein from the foods they serve their children. These ingredients tend to be problematic for many children on the spectrum. With the help of your autism pediatrician and well trained autism nutrition specialist, selecting and implementing an appropriate diet can be a helpful step toward feeling better.

When implementing diet keep an open mind, imagine the many positive possibilities and take simple small steps to work toward full implementation. Here are ten simple, yet powerful, things you can do today to help your child feel better as you serve them food on a daily basis:

1. Remove all artificial colors: Such as Red #40 and Yellow #5
2. Remove artificial flavors: Vanillin
3. Remove all preservatives: Specifically BHA, BHT and TBHQ
4. Remove Monosodium Glutamate: MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, other hydrolyzed items, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract
5. Remove Artificial Sweeteners
6. Avoid Trans Fats: Partially hydrogenated oil found in many commercial mayonnaise, margarine, and peanut butter products, fast foods and fried food, and baked goods
7. Serve organic fruits and vegetables: Avoid pesticides and chemicals
8. Serve organic dairy products: Avoid hormones and antibiotics
9. Serve grass-fed meats: Avoid hormones and antibiotics
10. Limit sugar and avoid high fructose corn syrup use: select organic juice

Autism is a whole-body disorder. The foods and substances that are fed to children directly impact what happens in their brain. In the child with autism, this gut-brain connection is important for parents to understand. Foods and nutrients can impact the symptoms of autism. After you become comfortable with the first ten simple healthy eating steps, remove foods from your child's diet that have wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, commercial oats (gluten-containing foods) and all dairy products. Your nutrition counselor or a good GFCF diet book will guide you with food alternatives and substitutions along with tasty recipes so cooking can become fun and your child will eat. If you need help with diet, seek a nutrition practitioner to help ensure your success. You may learn aspects of the other autism diets as needed-choices that will be based on your child's own food allergies and needs.

Don't get frustrated with the idea of choosing and implementing an autism diet! Healthy cupboards and refrigerators create healthy kids and it's as simple as that. Start changing your family meals by creating simple meal plans for several weeks that include a variety of fresh vegetables, fruits and meats. Do not purchase or serve quick-fix meals in cans, freezer packages and boxes.

The road to healing literally begins in the shopping cart at the grocer, in the garden and back home in the kitchen. It is important for anyone, and particularly true for a child with autism, healthy diet is important. The foods parents choose and feed their children with autism matter. The old saying is true: We are what we eat!

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Julie Matthews, a leading autism nutrition specialist, helps parents successfully apply healing autism diets to support their children. As a Certified Nutrition Consultant and Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) Practitioner, she educates parents and professionals on diet and nutrition for autism and is the creator of "Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition Intervention for Healing Our Children" (Book) and "Cooking to Heal: Autism Nutrition and Cooking Classes" (DVD). Visit www.NourishingHope.com to study autism diets and view video presentations.

The road to health and healing begins with diet-this is as true for autism, as it is for any condition. That is, making calculated omissions and additions to food choices is the first step to improving children's health and well being. When certain food substances (most notably gluten and casein) are known to be problematic, they should be avoided. Other foods, rich in healing nutrients, are beneficial when added to children's diets. Attention to these factors is intended to balance biochemistry, affect systemic healing, and provide relief of autism symptoms. In simple terms, these are the underlying tenets of diets for autism.

There are many "autism diets" to choose from and deciding how to begin nutritional intervention can seem overwhelming. Ten years ago, it was a simpler choice-do diet! And, "do diet" meant do the Gluten-free Casein-free Diet (GFCF). Eliminating gluten (the protein in wheat) and casein (the protein in dairy) was the primary focus of diet for autism for many years, and provides many positive benefits. Since then, significant advances in nutrition research and mom-centric anecdotal data have resulted in broader dietary strategies for autism.

Now, one has to decide which diet to do. This can inhibit even the most recovery focused parent from getting started. Parents hear "You need to do this diet," or "my son improved on that diet." Because each diet has its group of supporters, parents whose children did well with a particular diet aptly tout it. How can there be so many varied opinions? It's because every person is different-each has unique biochemistry, genes, environment assaults, and eating preferences. A diet that helps one child, may not be the best for the other.

My clients are relieved to learn that I do not spout the dogma of any one diet. As a Nutrition Consultant, I practice nutrition intervention focused on improved systemic health and relief of physiological and neurological symptoms. Autism diets are food-based strategies employed toward this objective. I help parents choose the best initial diet for their child and then work to customize that diet to further to meet their specific needs.

In my book, Nourishing Hope for Autism, I discuss thirteen different diets that are recommended for autism. While each diet has merit, some include advanced components that are best supported by an experienced practitioner and not necessarily required to get started. In this article, I will explain the top three diets for autism - they include the most immediately helpful dietary principles and practices and there is much literature and community support to help aid successful implementation. It is important to get support when you implement a new diet to ensure proper nutritional needs are met, such as calcium, protein, and other nutrients.

The most popular autism diets are:
Gluten-free and casein-free diet (GFCF)
Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD
Body Ecology Diet (BED)

Gluten-Free Casein-free Diet (GFCF)
Does your child crave milk?
Does your child only eat wheat and dairy foods?
Does your child seem spacey after consuming gluten or casein, and agitated before?
Are you just beginning to look at diet for the first time?

When parents decide to "do diet," they typically begin with GFCF. There are many good books about it, and the food marketplace is increasingly GFCF friendly. This diet entails the removal of all gluten and/or casein containing foods. Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, and commercial oats, and casein, the protein found in dairy.

When ingested by children with a compromised digestive tract and weakened immune system, these proteins can cause gut inflammation, pain, and digestive problems. If the protein is not properly broken down during digestion, it can form opioids (opiate or morphine-like compounds). The properties of gluten and casein can lead to digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, as well as foggy thinking and inattentiveness for many children with autism.

According to parents (Autism Research Institute survey), a gluten- and casein-free diet is helpful for 65% of children with ASD. Therefore, I typically recommend a gluten- and casein-free trial period-often beginning the diet by removing first one, then the other.

Most of the foods containing these offending proteins are easy to identify. While following the GFCF Diet, you'll need to avoid any breads, crackers, pasta, or bakery items made with wheat and other gluten grains, and all dairy foods such as milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, and cream. Some sources are not that apparent:

Soy sauce (except gluten-free soy sauce)
Potato chips and fries (often dusted with gluten during processing and not listed on label, ensure they are gluten-free by checking with the company in the ingredient list)
Malt (derived from barley)

When beginning the GFCF diet, be careful not to introduce a bunch of GFCF junk foods such as cookies, candy, and chips. Even though they don't include gluten or casein, the sugar can feed yeast, imbalance blood sugar, and disregulate energy. Remember, diet is more than just the removal of offending foods - attention must be placed on ensuring healthy and nutritious food intake, as well as adequate calcium.

GFCF is a great diet to consider when beginning nutritional intervention for autism.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

Does your child have chronic diarrhea?
Does your child have an inflamed gut?
Have you tried GFCF to no avail?
Does your child have trouble digesting grains?
Does your child have dysbiosis (pathogenic yeast or bacteria)?

The SCD diet involves the removal of all complex sugars: everything except honey and fruit sugar, including the removal of maple syrup, cane sugar, agave nectar, brown rice syrup and more. SCD also removes all starches and all grains, including potatoes and sweet potatoes. This diet allows: meat, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, certain beans, all non-starchy vegetables, and fruit. This is not a low carbohydrate diet but a specific carbohydrate diet that focuses on non-starchy vegetables, fruit, honey, and certain beans for carbohydrates and avoids other sugars and starches. When following SCD, make sure you are getting enough carbohydrates and meeting nutritional needs - professional support is recommended.

SCD is the second most commonly applied autism diet, and 66% of parents say it is beneficial for their child (ARI ratings). It can be helpful for those who have inflammatory bowel conditions and chronic diarrhea, although it can often help constipation too.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet aims to reduce gut inflammation and aid healing by "starving out" the bad gut bugs and avoiding foods that require carbohydrate digesting enzyme that are often in short supply. By eliminating problematic foods, the pathogenic yeast and bacteria can't feed. Because it is more restrictive than GFCF, parents don't usually begin dietary intervention with SCD. However, some parents prefer to go straight to SCD.

SCD is often applied when doing GFCF is not enough and digestive problems still remain, or if someone needs to further evolve the diet to see any additional benefits. A variation of SCD is the GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome) diet, created by Natasha Campbell-McBride, M.D. It includes the essentials of SCD, plus the addition of wonderful principles such as fermented foods and homemade broths.

While SCD diet is not inherently casein-free, I recommend that SCD be done casein-free until someone is certain that casein is not a problem. Remember to seek support when starting a restrictive diet.

The Body Ecology Diet (BED)

Does you child have persistent candida?
Does your child have harmful bacteria in the gut?
Does your child have bad smelling stool or gas?
Does your child sometimes act drunk, spacey or have maniacal laughter?
Does your child seem itchy or yeasty in any "moist" areas of the body like elbows, knees, or groin?

The Body Ecology Diet is an anti-candida diet focused on clearing up yeast and dysbiosis (imbalance of bad bugs in the gut). BED is often called BEDROK (Body Ecology Diet Recovering Our Kids) in the autism community. BED incorporates the principles of proper food combining, acid/alkaline balance with low acid-forming foods, low/no sugars and limited starches, easily digestible foods, fermented foods, and other solid nutrition recommendations to clear up candida overgrowth and support health beginning in the gut.

BED allows only a few grains such as quinoa, millet buckwheat, and amaranth (when properly soaked)-restricting more starches and grains than GFCF. In addition to being gluten-free, BED is rice-free, corn-free, and soy-free. Foods such as rice bread, gluten-free pretzels, and rice pasta are not allowed on this diet. BED allows casein, but can be done casein-free. I always recommend going casein-free (on any healing diet) until you are certain that dairy is not an issue.

If you child has candida, BED may be for you. Though it requires that the child eat vegetables as the food combining aspect allows meat with vegetables and starches with vegetables but not meat and starch together. BED may be challenging if a child is picky and does not have a varied diet.

Like SCD, this diet is beneficial for helping for restoring good flora balance in the gut. However, these two diets conflict with each other as they rely on very different underlying principles. SCD removes certain sugars and all starches, while BED removes all sugars and certain starches. Even if someone chooses a different diet, many of the Body Ecology principles can be also be applied, such as the inclusion of fermented foods, soaking grains, and consuming more non-starchy vegetables full of minerals and alkalizing to the body.

Getting Started

Now that we have discussed three effective autism diets and problematic food substances, where does someone start? Typically I recommend GFCF or SCD. Sometimes, based on the diet of the individual, I may suggest BED instead-for example if a child has significant yeast over growth and is currently on GFCF (which may filled with too many sugars and starches), but the child will eat vegetables, I may suggest BED. Additionally, I may suggest just adding fermented foods, soaked grains and nuts, and more vegetables-several BED principles, but not the full Body Ecology Diet.

The most important dietary principle is to start. It sounds simple, but start somewhere - even with the most simple thing - such as getting rid of all artificial ingredients - and then progress.

You Can Do Diet.

I know what you are thinking, "My child is picky and very inflexible with eating new foods. I'm never going to be able to get him to eat anything other than wheat and dairy, and never mind anything "healthy."

I appreciate this concern. I have had some very picky eaters in my nutrition practice-many children ate only bread and dairy, others subsisted on just pancakes and fries. However, there are solid reasons why these children are so one-sided in their food choices, primarily cravings. When the body creates opiates from foods, one can become addicted to them and thus crave nothing but those foods. Children eventually narrow their food choices to include only those that make them "feel better" (in the short term). It's worth trying diet because once the child gets passed the cravings (a few days to a few weeks), they often expands food choices dramatically and it becomes much easier to do. Many parents report that as their child's diet improves, food choices expand. However, always seek the help of a feeding specialist if a child has feeding problems and a nutrition or medical professional to ensure nutritional needs are being met.

I know that any child's diet can change. It may take time and require great patience, but you can succeed. I've never seen a child's diet that did not improve eventually-increasingly so as the body heals. It's crucial that parents believe that it's possible for their child to change and improve. By envisioning the changes, you project a positive image that is important for your child and the success of your overall efforts.

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Julie Matthews, a leading autism nutrition specialist, helps parents successfully apply healing autism diets to support their children. As a Certified Nutrition Consultant and Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) Practitioner, she educates parents and professionals on diet and nutrition for autism and is the creator of "Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition Intervention for Healing Our Children" (Book) and "Cooking to Heal: Autism Nutrition and Cooking Classes" (DVD). Visit www.NourishingHope.com to study autism diets and view video presentations.