autism

Women, alcohol and mental health; autism and propionic acid; toxic farmed salmon

July 19, 2019 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

Today I’m sharing some interesting and popular Facebook posts for you to either just read the article or come and join the Facebook discussion:

#1 Women who stop drinking alcohol improve mental health, study finds

Glad to see this research! I see way too much social drinking to de-stress, even by women who lead otherwise healthy lives

“Many women drink alcohol to relax, feel good and take the edge off life, but new evidence suggests skipping that daily glass of wine is a better way to boost their mental health.

Women who quit alcohol improved their mental well-being, researchers reported this week in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The study comes as many Americans are trying out an alcohol-free life as part of the “sober-curious” movement.”

Where are you with this? Do you “self-medicate” with alcohol in order to get through your week?

And there is no judging here…just educating and creating awareness.

Here is the Facebook discussion

#2 Spike In Autism May Be Linked To Preservative In Processed Foods, Study Suggests

Very interesting connection – if it’s a possible factor in autism then it’s very likely a possible factor in anxiety, depression and other mood and neurological disorders too. You can read more about propionic acid here and how it’s found in most baked goods! Here is the Facebook discussion

#3 Farmed Salmon = Most Toxic Food in the World

Farmed salmon is a big no-no!

Do you look for the “wild” label and ask about the source before buying salmon and other fish? This applies to canned fish too!

Unfortunately, there is often not any real awareness here in Australia. Labeling is deceptive here – “farmed” or “wild” never appears on any labels, instead you see “sustainable”

And you can’t tell if it’s farmed by just looking at it!

Here is the Facebook discussion

Feel free to comment and/or post questions directly on any of the above Facebook discussions or here on the blog.

Additional Anxiety Resources Click on each image to learn more

GABA for Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Insomnia, and Addictions at IMMH 2019 conference

June 26, 2019 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

I’m proud to be presenting on “GABA for Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Insomnia, and Addictions: Research and Practical Applications” at this year’s Integrative Medicine for Mental Health (IMMH) conference (a practitioner-only event)

I’ll be sharing the newest research on GABA and practical ways to use GABA with your clients/patients, as well as how to trouble-shoot when you’re not getting expected results.

Here is one of the many new studies I’ll be discussing (plus how to translate the animal study dosages for a human population): GABA and l-theanine mixture decreases sleep latency and improves NREM sleep

The use of GABA/l-theanine mixture rather than GABA or l-theanine alone restored to normal levels sleep time and quality in the arousal animal model.

The 10th Annual IMMH Conference will be held in San Diego, at the beautiful Hilton San Diego Bayfront! This four-day international conference gives practitioners a holistic approach to successfully diagnose and treat underlying issues contributing to the manifestations of neurological, behavioral, and psychiatric disorders.

Research has revealed that many disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, and autism spectrum disorders often have biomedical causes that contribute to symptoms, from nutritional deficiencies to chronic infections. Patients have better outcomes when these causes are addressed and treated through a combination of specialized testing and nutritional therapies, even in combination with traditional approaches.

CME, CE, and CEU credits available!

It’s my favorite integrative mental health conference and this year the speaker line-up and topics being addressed are excellent!

2019 CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
BRIDGET BRIGGS, MD SURUCHI CHANDRA, MD KABRAN CHAPEK, ND BILL CODE, MD MARK FILIDEI, DO FELICE GERSH, MD JAMES GREENBLATT, MD ANN HATHAWAY, MD GRACE JACKSON, MD HEATHER KING, PhD LESLIE KORN, PhD JULIE MATTHEWS, CNC	NEIL NATHAN, MD JAMES NEUENSCHWANDER, MD SANFORD NEWMARK, MD JOSEPH PIZZORNO, ND MATTHEW PRATT-HYATT, PhD SCOTT SHANNON, MD KENNETH SHARLIN, MD WILLIAM SHAW, PhD RICK SPONAUGLE, MD ELISA SONG, MD KURT WOELLER, DO

A few of the conference topics include:

Solving the Brain Puzzle: Recovery Potential for Neurodegenerative Disorders
It’s Not All in Their Heads: Treating the Gut-Brain-Immune Triad
Brains on Fire: An Integrative Approach to Healing Childhood PANS/PANDAS
Integrative Therapies for Suicide Prevention
Reversal of Cognitive Decline: The Science, The Tools, and the Transformation
Concussion Rescue: A Comprehensive Approach to Traumatic Brain Injury
Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Lyme Disease and Associated Co-Infections
Non-Pharmacological Treatments for Chronic Pain
The Integrative Treatment of ADHD
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement for Mood and Cognition
New Frontiers in Mental Health: CBD and Beyond

IMMH CLINICIAN REGISTRY

Attendance at this conference qualifies you to join the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health (IMMH) Clinician Registry, making you accessible to potential patients. Each entry searchable by zip code in the U.S. and provides the medical professional’s specialty and contact information. In keeping with the integrative approach, the registry includes all professionals who have attended an IMMH conference and completed the IMMH registry application.

Details and registration here (Use promo code TRUDY50 to save an additional $50 on your registration). Early bird rates expire after June 30th.

If you are coming, please comment below and let me know! And be sure to come and say hi after my presentation and at my booth! If there is enough interest, I’ll be arranging a gathering/dinner one evening so let me know.

This is a practitioner-only event so if this doesn’t apply to you please consider sharing it with your practitioner. I’ll also be bringing back information to share with you via blog posts after the event so stay tuned. In the meanwhile, feel free to post questions in the comments below.

The healing properties of camel’s milk for autism (and anxiety)

July 16, 2018 By Trudy Scott 8 Comments

Kaalya Daniel, PhD covers the very interesting topic of camel milk in her interview on The Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit

How You Can Use the Healing Properties of Camel’s Milk for Autism

Camel’s milk is like no other milk. You’ll learn the unique and powerful immune system properties and nutrient benefits of this milk, from an animal known to endure extreme conditions. And how it helps with autism, even when you can’t tolerate other milk.

I don’t have access to the interview transcript yet but since this is a new topic I haven’t yet blogged about I’ve decided to highlight this interview as one I’m really interested in exploring for mom’s in my community with children on the spectrum, with ADHD or other developmental disorders.

In case you’re new to camel’s milk, a paper published in 2015 – Nutritional and Therapeutic Characteristics of Camel Milk in Children: A Systematic Review, shares the following:

Camel milk is the closest to a human mother’s milk. Camel milk is different from other milks, however, having low sugar and cholesterol, high minerals (sodium, potassium, iron, copper, zinc and magnesium, and vitamin C). The milk is considered have medicinal characteristics as well.

The study concludes that there is evidence denoting the importance, usability and benefits of camel’s milk:

Camel milk as a supplemental treatment seems less invasive and costly than specialist care, medications, alternative treatments, and behavioral interventions. Based on our findings, camel milk is safer for children, effective in the treatment of autism, improves general well-being, promotes body natural defenses, is a good nutritional source, and can helps the daily nutritional needs of humans.

Given the many overlaps we see with autism/ASD and anxiety/depression, it’s clear that camel milk has wide applications given the benefits we see has for immunity, the gut and inflammation, as well as providing nourishment when dairy cannot be tolerated. As you can see in the above study below camel milk consumption has been shown to improve general well-being.

I’m not sure if anxiety and GABA is covered in the interview but I did find some interesting research reporting that both camel and goat milk have significantly more bioavailable GABA than cow and human milk – which may be another beneficial mechanism.

Here are just a few of the other speakers and topics I’m really looking forward to hearing:

James Adams, PhD: The Scientific Evidence Linking Nutrition and Autism Improvement
Dietrich Klinghardt: Understanding Lyme, Infections, Mold, and Heavy Metals and the Effects on Autism
Chef Pete Evans: Food is Medicine, Inspiration from a chef
Dominic D’Agostino, PhD: Is the Ketogenic Diet Right for an Autistic Child?
Susan Owens, MS: The Inflammasome, Oxalates, Autoimmunity and Autism
And of course, Julie Matthews, CNC: When GFCF Diets Don’t Work – BioIndividual Nutrition for Autism (I’m actually going to interview Julie on this topic)

In my interview we go into anxiety, OCD and aggression in great detail, discussing the amino acids GABA and tryptophan, plus gluten issues and when and how to use inositol.

This summit provides you with information and tools that address the root causes of autism, ADHD and many other conditions including anxiety.

The Summit runs July 30 to August 3 and is hosted by my dear friend and colleague Julie Matthews, whose work you’re probably very familiar with. In case Julie’s work is new to you, in my eyes, she is THE autism nutrition expert. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing her a number of times on the Anxiety Summit, I endorse her Bioindividual Nutrition training (special diets) for practitioners, I highly respect the work she does and I adore her!

Register here for The Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit to learn more! It airs online from July 30 to August 3, 2018. Hope to see you online!

I’d love to hear your camel’s milk experiences. If you have questions please post them in the comments below.

Little evidence for SSRI use in anxiety and compulsions in ASD: my interview on Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit

July 2, 2018 By Trudy Scott 2 Comments

One of the reasons I’m so passionate about participating on summits like The Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit and sharing the powerful nutritional interventions is due to the fact that medications such as antidepressants and benzodiazepines are frequently prescribed in ASD – and the research and clinical evidence shows that children and adolescents with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) are more vulnerable to the side effects.

This paper, Psychopharmacological interventions in autism spectrum disorder, makes the following conclusion:

Psychopharmacological treatment of core and associated symptoms in ASD is challenging, in large part because ASD presents in many different ways. Furthermore, children and adolescents with ASD are more vulnerable to the side effects of psychopharmacological intervention than their age-matched, typically developing counterparts.

This paper, Pharmacotherapy of emotional and behavioral symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents, supports this, stating there is little evidence to support the use of SSRIs in ASD:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are often used in clinical practice to target anxiety and compulsions; however, there is little evidence to support its use in this population. There is a great need for further research on the safety and efficacy of existing psychotropic medications in youth with ASD.

And this paper published a few months ago, An update on pharmacotherapy of autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents, concludes that

Overall, the evidence is limited for pharmacotherapy in children with ASD, and side-effects with long-term use can be burdensome.

Much of this also applies to adults with ASD and in my interview I talk about the psychiatric medicine concerns within the ASD community and the high incidence of anxiety, aggression, irritability and OCD in this population.

We also discuss the following nutritional solutions in my interview (appropriately titled: How to calm anxiety, and eliminate aggression and OCD) –

the role low serotonin plays in anxiety, aggression and OCD/obsessions and the use of tryptophan and when to avoid 5-HTP
the low GABA type of physical anxiety and how to effectively use GABA for results
how to use inositol for OCD and some wonderful success stories
lead toxicity and increased anxiety and the protective role of tryptophan and ascorbic acid
phenols and oxalates other special diets (and my story with oxalate issues)

Our interviews are always fun, science based and practical – and in this one we even shared some of our personal results (both good and bad) with some of these nutrients.

Here are just a few of the speakers and topics I’m really looking forward to hearing:

James Adams, PhD: The Scientific Evidence Linking Nutrition and Autism Improvement
Dietrich Klinghardt: Understanding Lyme, Infections, Mold, and Heavy Metals and the Effects on Autism
Chef Pete Evans: Food is Medicine, Inspiration from a chef
Kaalya Daniel, PhD: How You Can Use the Healing Properties of Camel’s Milk for Autism
Dominic D’Agostino, PhD: Is the Ketogenic Diet Right for an Autistic Child?
Susan Owens, MS: The Inflammasome, Oxalates, Autoimmunity and Autism
And of course, Julie Matthews, CNC: When GFCF Diets Don’t Work – BioIndividual Nutrition for Autism

This summit provides you with information and tools that address the root causes so medications such as the above do not even have to come into the picture!

The Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit runs July 30 to August 3 and is hosted by my dear friend and colleague Julie Matthews, whose work you’re probably very familiar with. In case Julie’s work is new to you, in my eyes, she is THE autism nutrition expert. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing her a number of times on the Anxiety Summit, I endorse her Bioindividual Nutrition training (special diets) for practitioners, I highly respect the work she does and I adore her!

The focus of this summit is clearly autism and Julie is THE expert so you’ll learn a ton from the experts she has gathered.

But do keep in mind that those with autism or Asperger’s are often considered the canaries in the coalmine and even if you don’t have a loved one with ASD many of the interviews have wider applications for anxiety, ADHD and other developmental and learning disorders.

Nutritional and Dietary Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder – a new study

June 29, 2018 By Trudy Scott 3 Comments

The research confirms how effective nutritional psychiatry is for anxiety and depression (the SMILEs diet depression trial) so when a 12 month randomized trial reports the benefits of nutrition for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) we celebrate this too. Many of the same mechanisms that contribute to anxiety, can also play a role when it comes to ASD – such as food sensitivities, poor gut health, heavy metals, fatty acid imbalances and so on. Also, many children with ASD experience anxiety – 34 to 47% depending on whether you ask a parent of a teacher. Many adults with autism and Asperger’s syndrome also experience anxiety and overwhelm too. In one study 50% of adults with ASD experienced social anxiety.

This paper was published in March this year: Comprehensive Nutritional and Dietary Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder-A Randomized, Controlled 12-Month Trial and was

a randomized, controlled, single-blind 12-month treatment study of a comprehensive nutritional and dietary intervention.

Treatment began with a special vitamin/mineral supplement, and additional treatments were added sequentially, including essential fatty acids, Epsom salt baths, carnitine, digestive enzymes, and a healthy gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free (HGCSF) diet.

Here is the year-long protocol for the study participants:

Day 0: Vitamin/Mineral supplementation begins.
Day 30: Essential Fatty Acid supplementation begins.
Day 60: Epsom salt baths begin.
Day 90: Carnitine Supplementation begins.
Day 180: Digestive Enzyme supplementation begins.
Day 210: Healthy, casein-free, gluten-free diet begins.
Day 365: Final assessment of autism severity and overall functioning status. Final blood draw and urine collection.

And these are the guidelines for the dietary changes for the study participants:

Adequate intake of a variety of vegetables (including leafy greens) and fruit (preferably whole fruit).
Adequate protein quality and intake.
Adequate, but not excessive, caloric intake.
Minimal consumption of “junk” foods and replacement with healthy snacks.
Healthy, gluten-free, casein-free, and soy-free (HGCSF).
Avoidance of artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives.

Parents of participants reported that the vitamin/mineral supplements, essential fatty acids, and HGCSF diet were the most beneficial. And when asked at the end of the study which treatments they planned to continue at the conclusion of the study, over 85% of parents said the vitamin/mineral supplement and the essential fatty acids were the most likely to be continued, 70% planned to continue the Epsom salt baths, 63% planned to continue the healthy HGCSF diet, and 44% planned to continue using the carnitine and digestive enzymes.

I’m really pleased that they mentioned the following limitation because we really do need to address the nutritional needs of each person:

all participants received all treatments, whereas probably only a subset are likely to benefit from any single intervention (for example, only participants with low carnitine are likely to benefit from carnitine supplementation)…. future studies could try to determine which treatments were most beneficial, using the results of this study to guide those future studies.

Despite the above study limitation, the treatment group saw the following improvements:

Improved nonverbal intellectual ability
Significantly greater improvement in autismsymptoms and developmental age
Significantly greater increases in EPA, DHA, carnitine, and vitamins A, B2, B5, B6, B12, folic acid, and coenzyme Q10

Many of the study participants saw improved communication skills as well as improved daily living skills and social skills – all of which can lead to reduced anxiety and social anxiety, and improved overall happiness.

The authors do mention that the combination of all of the above treatments is feasible for most families and that there were minimal adverse effects. They conclude that:

The positive results of this study suggest that a comprehensive nutritional and dietary intervention is effective at improving nutritional status, non-verbal IQ, autism symptoms, and other symptoms in most individuals with ASD [both children and adults].

Julie Matthews, one of the nutritionists supporting the study

My good friend and colleague, Julie Matthews, was one of the nutritionists supporting the study and is one of the co-authors on the paper. I’m so proud of her contribution to this research which further supports prior studies and the work she does clinically.

Julie is the author of Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition and Diet Guide for Healing Our Children and the founder of the Bioindividual Nutrition Institute. She is hosting the Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit running July 30 to August 30 and she interviews lead researcher, James Adams, PhD, Director of the Autism/Asperger’s Research Program at Arizona State University. The interview is titled “The Scientific Evidence Linking Nutrition and Autism Improvement” so be sure to tune in if you’d like more information on this study and other dietary and nutritional interventions for ASD. (You can register here).

Shamus diagnosed with moderate to severe autism at age 2

Julie shares Shamus’ success story on her Nourishing Hope blog. He was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism at age 2.

When they began him on nutritional and biomedical protocols, his parents had no expectation of improved speech or ever “mainstreaming” their son. They just wanted him to sleep so they could cope with him being autistic.

Within 3 days of starting a gluten and casein-free (GFCF) diet his projectile vomiting stopped and his meltdowns reduced from 20 per day to just 3. The next step was the GAPS diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) which included broths and fermented foods, and did lead to worsening symptoms for a short time. Later on overgrowth of the harmful bacteria Clostridium difficile was addressed and other biomedical/nutritional interventions were included.

Today at age 10, Shamus shows no signs of autism and has been classified as “fully recovered!” He’s in a mainstream classroom at school, his teachers love him and he has a great group of friends. Shamus is great at team sports, and exhibits no problems in the classroom whatsoever.

I’m horrified that the doctor told this mom that she was over-anxious, had post-natal depression and needed to take an antidepressant (but that’s another entire blog post).

Both children and adults benefit from dietary changes

I find it very encouraging that the study participants were both children and adults with autism spectrum disorder and their ages ranged from 3 years to 58 years. Julie shares this inspiring and hopeful comment in the press release:

The study also shows that no matter the age of the individual with autism, diet and nutrition intervention can help. It’s never too late to be nourishing hope!

I agree, it’s never too late to make changes. This wonderful success story about an older gentleman with autism is just one example. Carolyn Gammicchia, mom/wife/autism advocate/ disability activist, shared the following on Facebook shortly after the study was published:

I have spoken to many people across the country who implemented this in older individuals, one man was 51 from TX who had been institutionalized and had not spoken. He was in very poor health when a wonderful lady took him in and somehow got my number and called me. She had seen a presentation I had done about five years ago about this and she weaned him off multiple medications, cleaned up his diet (went GFCFSF i.e. gluten-free, casein-free and soy-free) and supplemented with vitamins and minerals, plus exercise. He started speaking, lost 50 lbs, and is able to work now. It works!

Diet reduces anxiety and depression and helps with bipolar and schizoaffective disorder too

I mentioned nutritional psychiatry at the start so here are a few blog posts that highlight how diet reduces anxiety and depression and helps with bipolar and schizoaffective disorder too.

Going back to the study limitation – what this all means is finding the right combination of dietary and nutritional interventions for each person. There is no one-size fits all and bioindividualized nutrition is key – for ASD, anxiety, depression and any other condition.

We’d love to hear what dietary interventions you’ve used with success with a loved one with autism or Asperger’s syndrome. Have these changes also reduced anxiety and improved other mood symptoms?

If you’re a practitioner, feel free to share a success story about one of your clients/patients with ASD.

Do also share some tips that you have found make this dietary transition easier and some challenges you have faced. Feel free to post your questions too.

Associations between Parental Anxiety/Depression and Child Behavior Problems

June 10, 2018 By Trudy Scott 2 Comments

In my interview on the Autism, ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder Summit (June 11 to June 20, 2018) I discuss Self-care strategies for parents that are stressed out, anxious and depressed – without using medications.

You may think “why do I need research to show what I already feel and know?” but I can share that many of the moms I’ve worked find this validating and almost a relief to know they are not alone in this.

The paper, Associations between Parental Anxiety/Depression and Child Behavior Problems Related to Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Roles of Parenting Stress and Parenting Self-Efficacy reports that

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have been shown to experience increases in stress, depression, and anxiety, which are also associated with child behavior problems related to ASDs.

The paper lists some reasons for the increased parental stress, anxiety and depression:

First and foremost, the realization that there is no cure for the disorder may serve to increase parenting stress.
Aspects of the child’s behavior, specifically socially inappropriate and aggressive behaviors typically associated with ASD, have been found to be associated with increases in parenting stress… due to a lack of understanding of ASD
Additionally, raising a child with ASD typically involves allocating extra time to meet the needs of the children.

This event addresses all of the above and more by providing you with insights and tools on how to recover your child using a biomedical and nutritional approach together with traditional behavioral models (#1 addressed). This event also helps you understand what some of the underlying causes of socially inappropriate and aggressive behaviors may be – like pyroluria and low serotonin and gluten issues (#2 addressed). And finally, the planning resources that Tara offers via her coaching program help you manage your time while you’re figuring all this out (#3 addressed).

And as an added bonus you get my nutritional advice to help make you more resilient and better able to handle the stress and worry that comes with parenting a cild with ASD or other developmental disorder.

As always, I share about the amazing amino acids that provide anxiety-relief and end the overwhelm, spinning mind, second guessing from day one while you’re figuring everything else out.

In my interview (which airs on day 1), I share:

How amino acids can provide instantaneous relief to symptoms of anxiety
Low serotonin anxiety, what are the symptoms, and what nutrients can help
Low GABA anxiety, how to identify and how to help
How to trial amino acids to see if they can help you (and your child)
How caring for a child with a neurodevelopmental disorder can be equivalent to combat and result in a form of PTSD
B vitamins and adaptogenic herbs for PTSD nutritional support
The benefits of a ketogenic diet for caregivers and our children
How collagen can actually make anxiety, depression and insomnia worse.
EMFs role in our health and how they are contributing to our stress.

This event brings together 30+ of the leading doctors, nutritionists, and researchers working to help parents by sharing the latest information and strategies for achieving recovery for children with Autism, ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder.

Having a child with Autism, ADHD or Sensory Processing Disorder is challenging. Figuring out what to do to help them is just as challenging. Join us for 10 days of eye-opening information into the root causes of your child’s neurological dysfunction. Imagine learning about what may have caused their symptoms and how to address them with nutrition and biomedical approaches and leverage the power of positive neuroplasticity to improve function, health, and their lives.

Anxiety, stress, depression and PTSD-like symptoms are common in any caregiver situation, so even if you don’t have a child with a neurological disorder, this may be of interest to you if you are taking care of an older parent, a sibling, a spouse or expect to in the near future.

Hope to see you there.