In one of the reports of Time magazine, it was stated that special diets are important for children with autism. However, it is not necessarily a particular diet per se that matters here. What is important is proper nutrition, needless to say. And it is essential to know the difference between the two.
Needless to say, proper nutrition is important for people with autism because, as it is, everyone needs proper nutrition—but autistic children need it more. The reasons should be self explanatory. For one, children with autism have special needs. Many reports and researches have already said how the immune system of an autistic child is not as functional as the immune system of a child without the disorder. Naturally, this makes autistic children more prone to diseases and other disorders. Naturally, one should feed children with autism the right diet in order to supplement their flawed immune system.
Also, the digestive system of autistic children, as many can attest, does not function well. This can be proven by the constant cases of diarrhea among children with autism. The digestive tract of a child with the disorder cannot fully digest the food they intake, hence the diarrhea. Naturally, in this case, their digestive system cannot fully absorb any nutrient from the food they intake. Therefore, autistic children do not get the nutrients, vitamins, and other substances that are essential in any living person, which can possibly worsen their condition. How can a child develop without the proper nutrients? Although this can be remedied by supplements, one way to solve this problem is by giving an autistic child food that would count—which means to say food packed with the essential vitamins and nutrients.
But proper diet can only do so much. This is exactly the reason why many parents turn to special diets.
The casein and gluten free diet is one of the more popular special diets for autistic children. Unknown to many the practice of giving children free of gluten (a kind of protein) and casein (found in dairy) can help alleviate the symptoms of autism. Experts say that casein and gluten, when ingested, produce a substance similar to morphine. And, as everyone knows, morphine can affect one’s brain. There are disputes with regards to how this morphine like chemical is produced in the body (some say it is inherent to gluten and casein, some say it is due to the digestive system of autistic children), but many have claimed how effective this special diet is. In fact, even people without the brain development disorder swears to the effective of the gluten and casein free diet, claiming that it helped them become more focused and energized.
Although it is not exactly sure if gluten and casein can cause autism, many say it can aggravate the symptoms (since autism generally known to have no existing cure), hindering a child’s development.
Expectedly, the medical world is not agreeing on the matter. However, as stated in the report by ABC News, experts are not yet sure if this special diet is indeed helpful, but they have no proof that it isn’t or that the special diet is harmful. In the end, proper nutrition and special diets for autistic children do make sense. If you make sure they are getting the proper nutrition, these tactics to make sure the children can develop better won’t do any harm.
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