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The research confirms how effective nutritional psychiatry is for anxiety and depression (the SMILEs diet depression trial<\/a>) 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 \u2013 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<\/a>. Many adults with autism and Asperger\u2019s syndrome also experience anxiety and overwhelm too. In one study 50% of adults with ASD experienced social anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n This paper was published in March this year: Comprehensive Nutritional and Dietary Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder-A Randomized, Controlled 12-Month Trial<\/a>\u00a0and was<\/p>\n a randomized, controlled, single-blind 12-month treatment study of a comprehensive nutritional and dietary intervention.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Here is the year-long protocol for the study participants:<\/p>\n Day 0: Vitamin\/Mineral supplementation begins. And these are the guidelines for the dietary changes for the study participants:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n I\u2019m really pleased that they mentioned the following limitation because we really do need to address the nutritional needs of each person:<\/p>\n 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)\u2026. future studies could try to determine which treatments were most beneficial, using the results of this study to guide those future studies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Despite the above study limitation, the treatment group saw the following improvements:<\/p>\n Many of the study participants saw improved communication skills as well as improved daily living skills and social skills \u2013 all of which can lead to reduced anxiety and social anxiety, and improved overall happiness.<\/p>\n 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:<\/p>\n The positive results of this study suggest that a comprehensive nutritional and dietary intervention is effective at improving nutritional status, non-verbal IQ,\u00a0autism\u00a0symptoms, and other symptoms in most individuals with ASD [both children and adults].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 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\u2019m so proud of her contribution to this research which further supports prior studies and the work she does clinically.<\/p>\n Julie is the author of Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition and Diet Guide for Healing Our Children<\/a>\u00a0and the founder of the Bioindividual Nutrition Institute<\/a>. She is hosting the Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit<\/a>\u00a0running July 30 to August 30 and she interviews lead researcher, James Adams, PhD, Director of the Autism\/Asperger\u2019s Research Program at Arizona State University. The interview is titled \u201cThe Scientific Evidence Linking Nutrition and Autism Improvement\u201d so be sure to tune in if you\u2019d like more information on this study and other dietary and nutritional interventions for ASD. (You can register here<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Julie shares Shamus\u2019 success story<\/u><\/a>\u00a0on her Nourishing Hope blog. He was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism at age 2.<\/p>\n When they began him on nutritional and biomedical protocols, his parents had no expectation of improved speech or ever \u201cmainstreaming\u201d their son. They just wanted him to sleep so they could cope with him being autistic.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n 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)\u00a0which 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.<\/p>\n Today at age 10, Shamus shows no signs of autism and has been classified as \u201cfully recovered!\u201d He\u2019s 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.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I\u2019m horrified that the doctor told this mom that she was over-anxious, had post-natal depression and needed to take an antidepressant (but that\u2019s another entire blog post).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I find it very encouraging that the study participants were both children and adults with\u00a0autism\u00a0spectrum\u00a0disorder and their ages ranged from 3 years to 58 years. Julie shares this inspiring and hopeful comment in the press release<\/a>:<\/p>\n The study also shows that no matter the age of the individual with autism, diet and nutrition intervention can help. It\u2019s never too late to be nourishing hope!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I agree, it\u2019s 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:<\/p>\n 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\u00a0and 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!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 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.<\/p>\n Going back to the study limitation \u2013 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 \u2013 for ASD, anxiety, depression and any other condition.<\/p>\n We\u2019d love to hear what dietary interventions you\u2019ve used with success with a loved one with autism or Asperger\u2019s syndrome.\u00a0 Have these changes also reduced anxiety and improved other mood symptoms?<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a practitioner, feel free to share a success story about one of your clients\/patients with ASD.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[511,1351],"tags":[46,1435,253,1442,408,1441,1440,251,1444,1443],"class_list":["post-7612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-autism","category-diet","tag-anxiety","tag-asd","tag-autism","tag-casein-free","tag-diet","tag-gfcfsf","tag-gluten-free","tag-julie-matthews","tag-nourishing-hope-for-autism","tag-soy-free","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/em>Day 30: Essential Fatty Acid supplementation begins.
\n<\/em>Day 60: Epsom salt baths begin.
\n<\/em>Day 90: Carnitine Supplementation begins.
\n<\/em>Day 180: Digestive Enzyme supplementation begins.
\n<\/em>Day 210: Healthy, casein-free, gluten-free diet begins.
\n<\/em>Day 365: Final assessment of autism severity and overall functioning status. Final blood draw and urine collection.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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Julie Matthews,\u00a0one of the nutritionists supporting the study<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nShamus diagnosed with moderate to severe autism at age 2<\/h3>\n
Both children and adults benefit from dietary changes<\/h3>\n
Diet reduces anxiety and depression and helps with bipolar and schizoaffective disorder too<\/h3>\n
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