The first step here is getting a handle on what you regularly eat.  Let me use myself as an example.  Before the ECD we ate fairly well; a low wheat diet without much added sugar.

A typical day looked something like this for me:

• Breakfast:  A smoothie made in my blender (3 raw eggs, ½ cup of whole milk unflavored yogurt, ½ cup of frozen blueberries, stevia to taste, added water to thin the consistency)
• Snack:  None
• Lunch:  Salad greens with roast chicken, peppers, avocado, and grated parmesan cheese.  Dressing typically either balsamic vinegar and olive oil or a prepared garlic-parmesan dressing.
• Snack:  An apple, or a piece of cheese.  Sometimes both.   Often a small handful of dark chocolate chips.
• Dinner:  A protein portion (chicken, protein, beef, fish) and a side of vegetables topped with butter, a sweet potato a couple of times per week.  A side salad with bleu cheese crumbles, balsamic and olive oil.
• Snack:  A coconut ice cream bar
• Fluids:  Mostly water, green tea, glass of kombucha with a few ounces of pomegranate juice added.

As you can see my standard diet was low in wheat and high in dairy.  Before you think I’m anywhere near perfect, we tended to eat out 1-2 times per week depending on the week.  This could range from relatively healthy food to pretty “junky” food like pizza, burritos, hamburgers, and ice cream cones.  I admit to a special fondness for donuts (about once per month; I highly recommend Top Pot donuts here in Seattle, if you’re going to eat a donut make it a good one) but I did draw the line at sodas, Twinkies, Slurpies, and potato chips.

So looking over my average day, it’s important to see what’s going to have to come out.  The biggest thing coming out for me are eggs for breakfast, and dairy in general.  It’s important to see what needs to come out and then even more importantly what is going to replace it.  Some people who aren’t prepared for an ECD do a kind of hunger strike for 2-3 days where they simply abstain from eating reactive foods but don’t put anything in its place.  This is a recipe for disaster.  One suggestion is to find two new foods to take the place of every food that is going to come out.  This may seem like a lot of work, but the effort you put in on the front end is going to make a huge amount of difference in the 3-4 weeks you are on the ECD.

I recommend you come up with 2 options for breakfast, 2-3 options for lunch, and 5-7 options for dinner, then plan to repeat these options for the 3-4 weeks of the ECD.  I used the Garden of Eating, a wonderful, highly recommended cookbook to plan out most of the recipes we’ll be using.

If at all possible, I highly recommend staying away from ‘faux’ foods.  That is, don’t replace milk with almond milk, cheese with a processed “no cheese” cheese, bread with rice bread, etc.  Simply removing the reactive foods will give you a huge boost in your health and well-being, but I recommend taking it a step farther, and at least for 3-4 weeks, purge fake food from your diet entirely.  I recommend you focus on: Meat, Fish, Fowl, Natural fats, Vegetables, Fruits & Nuts.

What are your thoughts?  Feel free to share them with us in the comments section below.

This is not a pretty story, prepare yourself…

Excluding gluten from your diet unfortunately is much easier said than done however.

Here is how you go about it:

1. Remove bread, pasta, and baked goods.  Most people think this means they’ve gone gluten-free, sadly it doesn’t.
2. Then you must also a label reader.  Many prepared foods (in boxes, bags, or cans) contain gluten in them.  A list like this will help you keep an eye out for gluten containing ingredients.
3. Sadly, you’re still not done.  Next you must check your medications and supplements as many contain gluten as a filler ingredient.  If your supplements do not say they are free from gluten you must assume they contain it.
4. Do NOT buy from the bulk aisle of grocery stores (bummer).  They keep wheat flour at one end, and by pouring it into the bucket, and people scooping it out, it gets all over the other bins and food in the other bins.  You must assume these foods are contaminated with gluten.
5. Rice is often contaminated with gluten, so just switching to rice is often not sufficient.

Even more.  Depending on your sensitivity to gluten you must go further.

1. Unless the product says CERTIFIED gluten free, you cannot assume that it is gluten free.  McCann’s steel cut oats for example, a staple many health conscious folks buy, was shown to be contaminated with wheat.  This is not unusual, MANY foods either contain or are contaminated with wheat.  It is everywhere in our society!
2. If wheat and gluten are used in your household you should have a separate set of pans, plates, bowels, and utensils that are kept strictly gluten free.  Does this sound utterly ridiculous?  Yes it does.  It sounds obsessive, and it is, but it can be necessary.  Even the tiny bit of contamination on a cutting board used to cut bread, wiped off and then used to prepare a gluten-free meal has been shown to activate immune reactions to gluten.  It is THAT significant.

Here are a few cases given at the conference.

1. A young woman had been vomiting for two weeks anytime she ate food.  She was diagnosed with an eating disorder before seeking alternative care.  After an extensive workup it was found that the gluten in her chewing gum (the white powder that is used to keep the gum sticking to its wrapper) was causing the reaction.  She went completely gluten free and the vomiting stopped.
2. A young boy with autism was put on a gluten free, dairy free diet and had a remarkably positive reaction.  Three months later the boy put on lip balm and had a strong return of symptoms.  It was found the lip balm contained gluten (not listed anywhere on the label) and when he licked his lips the tiny bit he ingested was enough to trigger a return of symptoms.  After going back to the gluten free, dairy free diet his symptoms disappeared.
3. An older man with ulcerative colitis had the disease in remission using a gluten free diet.  Suddenly he started having 16 bowel movements per day.  After a workup it was found that he had started eating non-breaded roasted chicken at Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Some research found that although the chicken was unbreaded, it was marinated with soy sauce.  Soy sauces are made with wheat and do contain gluten.  When he discontinued the food and went back to a gluten free diet his symptoms disappeared.

Unfortunately, no good news for wheat and gluten.  Gluten, yes, it’s that bad.

More posts will be upcoming on gluten in the future.

What are your thoughts?  Have you tried a gluten free diet?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you don’t feel like you have strong willpower be sure you have eaten before going anywhere there is going to be food, and try to cancel out of all the obligations you can for the 3-4 weeks you are on the ECD.  When you’re on the ECD is not a good time to have business lunches, dinners, parties or other celebrations.  DON’T plan on doing the ECD around birthdays or the holidays.

More on the ECD coming soon.

What are your thoughts?  We’d love to hear them.  Please post them in the comments section below.

Let me give you an example.  A woman had severe seasonal allergies, she dreaded pollen season with a passion.  She was on the maximum doses of all the allergy medications and was still barely keeping her allergies under control.  Blood allergy testing showed that she was very reactive to wheat, dairy, and eggs (the big 3).  She cried a little bit at hearing this because it meant that virtually everything she ate on a regular basis was out.  But she took to the challenge with relish, and decided that this was going to be her chance to get back into the kitchen and experiment, finding tasty foods that she could eat and enjoy.  Within a few weeks her allergies were gone completely.  She stopped all of her allergy medication and has had no sign of her allergies, unless she eats some dairy, wheat, or eggs.  She is thrilled with her results and couldn’t be happier she took the plunge and did an elimination diet.  And for those who worry about giving up groups of foods forever, I expect over time as her gut heals and her immune system normalizes she will be able to reintroduce most of those foods back into her diet.

Before undertaking an ECD it’s important to determine your motivation.  What is going to give you the drive to persist through the early cravings?  What is going to allow you to say no when you get in situations where it would be so much easier to simply say yes?  Unless you plan to be a hermit for the 3-4 week duration of the elimination part of the diet, you need to have motivation.  One strong source of motivation is others.  Most of us don’t tell anyone about any diet or lifestyle changes we’re trying to make, that way if we fail, no one knows.  Turn that around, and tell all your friends, tell your co-workers.  Enlist their help and let them hold you accountable.  That way when you are tempted to reach for that food you know you others are going to know.

For me, I have three sources of motivation.  The first is simply curiosity.  As mentioned in my previous post when we saw the changes a change in diet caused in our pets, I became curious.  What changes would I see in myself if I did the same?  So this is an experiment to see what happens.  The second source of motivation is my desire to have experienced the therapies I ask my patients to go through.  It is a belief of mine to, whenever possible, try the therapies out on myself that I recommend to my patients.  That way I know what the therapies feel like, and it helps me understand what my patients are going through.  The ECD is one that I have held out on, because without any major health problems I simply did not want to give up the foods that I enjoy.  The third source of motivation is others, when my wife and I first came up with the idea, the first thing I did was quickly post the idea to my blog and to my mailing list.  That way, many people know about this, and are going to hold me accountable for completing it.

If possible, get your friends or family to join you on the ECD (often easier said than done).  It’s especially important to have the help of people you are living with.  If you can all go on the diet together it creates a shared camaraderie and helps to keep the foods that have been removed out of the house.

Stay tuned as this series on the ECD will continue.

Do you have any thoughts on the ECD?  Have you tried one?  We’d love to hear your comments, please post them in the comments section below.

We had been told by our vet that one of our dogs would need bilateral hip replacement (due to hip dysplasia) at around age 6 and who was very unlikely to survive past 9.  She is now 11 years old with both natural hips intact.  One of our cats who was on the road to having teeth removed due to periodontal (gum) disease has all his teeth and his gums are in great shape (and truth be told we have never brushed his teeth).  The vet was absolutely shocked at the change.  Our other cat lost his behavior problems and has become a much more mellow, friendly cat since stopping the junk food.  And here’s perhaps the least and most important change: their poop does not smell.  The difference in the odor of their feces from kibble to raw meat is night and day.  Most noticeably our 2 litter boxes used by our 2 indoor cats only begin to stink after a week or so (versus 2 or 3 days when they are on kibble).

That’s the good news, a dramatic improvement in physical and mental well-being for our four pets.  The bad news, like any therapeutic eating plan, a raw meat diet is a pain in the butt.  We order 50 lbs boxes of turkey and chicken necks special order from our butcher, usually ordering 2-3 months worth at a time.  Then we defrost the boxes and re-bag the necks into gallon freezer bags and refreeze them in a garage freezer we keep for the purpose, transferring them to the fridge for daily feeding.  It’s a lot of work, and every once in a while my wife and I look at each other and really question whether it’s worth it.

Recently we ran out of raw meat and our butcher was backordered so we transitioned back to kibble.  Within a few days the litter boxes stunk, the dogs themselves began to smell noticeably ‘doggy’, both the dogs and cats fur began to lose its shine, and one of our cats began manifesting behavior problems again.  Even for a Naturopathic doctor, someone who knows the tremendous difference food can make, the change was shocking.

Over dinner a week ago my wife and I were talking about the huge changes we saw in our pets.  If a change from a junk food to a high-quality diet could make such a tremendous change in our pets, what changes would we see in ourselves if we did the same thing?  We both are in a good health, and eat a pretty good diet.  But we were curious,  and so we decided to do just that.

In the month of March I will be transitioning to a diet free of sugar, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, and citrus foods (the five most common reactive foods I see in my practice are: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy and citrus).  In future posts I will be talking about making the transition, and detailing my experiences on this therapeutic eating plan.  I invite you to follow along to any extent you wish.  If you would like to join me through cyberspace, I invite you to post your experiences in the comments section through the month of March.

For those of you in the Seattle area who are interested and would like more intensive support, I will be offering a series of support classes over the month of March.  This is a prototype in design, and is currently 4-5 thirty to sixty minute group classes where we meet weekly to share information and support one another.  Because this is the first class and we will be working the bugs out, we are discounting the cost to $100 for the series.  A minimum of 5 participants are required for the series to go forward, so if you are interested or would like more information please email us right away at info@aspirenaturalhealth.com.

Stay tuned for future posts in the next 10 days as I lay out my planning for the month of March.

Do you have any thoughts or opinions?  We’d love to hear them.  Please post them in the comments section below?

This condition is a spectrum with a wide variety of dysfunctions ranging from relatively mild to very severe.  There are many theories about what causes autism and what is fueling the dramatic increase in incidence we have seen over the past 20 years: from the genetics and better screening theory of the conventional community, to vaccine damage, toxicity (heavy metals as well as other pollutants leading to neuron damage and death), to autism as an autoimmune disease of the nervous system.  My personal belief is that there is no “one single cause” of autism and that likely all of the factors above plus more play a part in autism to varying degrees for different children.

Along with the many theories of what causes autism there are many treatment options for autism, from behavioral and special education, to detoxification and chelation of heavy metals and other toxins to homeopathic treatment.  All of these work to varying degrees for different children.  What is almost universal is that because of the poor care most autistic children receive from the conventional system, the typical parent of an autistic child has spent a huge amount of time and money educating themselves and trying various therapies in an effort to help their children.

In my option the two most broadly effective therapies to start with are:

1. A Therapeutic Diet - A great number of autistic children have dysfunctional digestive systems and are reactive to the foods that they are eating.  Most respond well to the removal of gluten and dairy from their diet and some have an almost miraculous turn-around when gluten and dairy are removed.  I use and recommend the GAPS diet which is a gluten and dairy free diet with a strong emphasis on rebuilding the digestive system (and in particular the beneficial gut flora).  The GAPS community is friendly and helpful and important for those who do not have an “enlightened” health professional around to help them implement and tweak the diet to meet their needs.
2. Vitamin D – I have recently begun recommending Vitamin D supplementation as the first step in working with children with autism.  Dr. Cannell of the Vitamin D Council has put forth the compelling theory that a severe vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and early life can trigger autism in genetically susceptible kids (for more on this, read here).  He has compiled some interesting case histories of autistic children who have been greatly helped by Vitamin D.  If I had an autistic child, before I went to the trouble of implementing a therapeutic diet, my first step would be to supplement them with adequate amounts of Vitamin D, which is typically far greater than the paltry 400 IU recommended by most health authorities.  In the best case scenario, the child would experience a dramatic improvement.  I do not personally believe all autism is the result of just vitamin D deficiency but, in the worst case, having adequate vitamin D levels would ONLY help with proper bone development, long-term prevention of cancer and autoimmune diseases, all good things!  Vitamin D is cheap, easy to use, and virtually non-toxic so long as it is not abused.  I have attached a copy of the latest newsletter of the Vitamin D council to this post which contains the story of an autistic boy who was dramatically improved with adequate vitamin D supplementation.

If you have a child with autism, please do not accept the prognosis that it is hopeless and that nothing can be done.  Start with using adequate doses of Vitamin D first, and strongly consider implementing the GAPS diet.  From there seek out a knowledgeable health practitioner to help you continue.

From the Vitamin D Council’s newsletter:

Dear Dr. Cannell:

At age 2.5 years, between December 2007 and January 2008, my son experienced a fairly dramatic onset of symptoms that led to his diagnosis of autism. His symptoms (many of which we did not even know the terminology for at the time they first occurred) included:

–The inability to sleep at night, we would put him to bed at 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. following his normal bedtime routine

–Development of anxiety and refusal to leave the house even to do preferred activities

–Obsessive-repetitive questions and monologuing/run-on speech

–Sensory issues (refusal to wear jeans or any fabrics other than fleece, screaming hysterically at bath time, complaining and covering eyes in sunlight, covering ears for everyday noises that had not bothered him before (toilets flushing, pulling pots and pans from cupboards, etc.)

–Toe-walking

–Flapping and self-stimulating behaviors (repeatedly tapping his cheeks and eyes with all ten fingers, continually twisting up his fingers in pretzel-like configurations, holding objects in his peripheral range of vision and straining to see them from the corner of his eyes)

–Development of an unusual pattern of stuttering/vocal tic at the end of words,he would repeat the last sound/syllable,”I don’t want to go to the store-or-or-or-or-or-or. It won’t be fun-n-n-n-n-n-n-n.” He would make sounds even in his sleep “n-n-n-n-n-n” or “s-s-s-s-s-s-s”

–Loss of muscle tone (stopped walking up and down stairs and began crawling/sliding instead, decline in balance and motor skills)

–loss of handedness (began switching left to right hand, after seeming predominantly left-handed)

–Marked increase in hyperactivity

–Frequent spacing out/unresponsive episodes

Our son and his twin sister were born at 36 weeks, 5 days on March 17, 2005 after four months of bed-rest. As early as their 8 week appointment, I mentioned to our pediatrician that we had concerns about our son’s eye contact and social responsiveness (in comparison to his sister). I felt that I was having more difficulty bonding with him. We were told “don’t worry, but don’t wait” and were referred to our state’s Early On intervention program. At the end of June a physical therapist and speech pathologist from our intermediate school district came to our home to evaluate our then 3 month old son and told me that he was doing just fine and that I was worrying too much. I agreed that by the time they saw him he had begun smiling and making better eye contact.

We didn’t worry again about our son until fall 2006. He had walked just before his first birthday, but by 18 months+ he still seemed clumsy and prone to falling compared to his sister. We took him back to the intermediate school district for evaluation and were told that all of his development seemed to be in the normal range and that we shouldn’t worry. We were advised that we could take him to music and gym classes to work on his coordination and told that we could pay for private physical therapy if we elected. We followed all of the recommendations.

For a year, we didn’t notice any other changes until the sudden onset of symptoms listed above when he was 2.5 years. With the sudden onset of symptoms above, we took our son to see a number of specialists during the winter of 2008 including a neurologist (who diagnosed him with Asperger Syndrome), a psychologist (who diagnosed with autism), and a second psychologist who specialized in the treatment of autism (who diagnosed him with Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not-Otherwise-Specified). All three diagnoses are on the autism spectrum. He also began seeing an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, a behavioral specialist, and a DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor for dietary interventions. We saw a dramatic improvement by April/May of that year. Nearly all the symptoms on the list above had resolved. We assumed the improvements were due to diet but he started to go into the sun around that time. Our son slept well and spent many peaceful, happy and anxiety-free months during the spring and summer after turning three.

In mid-November 2008, I sent the following e-mail to the DAN doctor who had been helping us with our son.

“You saw our son Jonathan Switzer a few times regarding his autism diagnosis and diet issues, etc. He had a regressive period last winter from about December through April when his autism was diagnosed, then did pretty well all summer. Nursery school started off okay, too, but now he seems to be having another regression.

Main symptoms:

–Great difficulty getting to sleep (fidgets for 2 plus hours most nights while he had been falling asleep easily for several months prior to that)

–Marked increase in anxiety (again refusing to leave the house even to do things he loves, frequently shaking/clenching and telling us “I’m scared)

–Onset of OCD-like behaviors (afraid to get hands dirty, get extremely upset if he gets even tiny drips of water on himself)

–Increase in self-stimulatory behaviors (flapping, fidgeting, noise-making)

–Frequent crying jags and telling us he’s just giving up on everything

We have had other parents tell us that their kids on the spectrum have a worsening of symptoms during the winter months and we feel like we are observing this same pattern. We’ve done some reading about light therapy for depression/anxiety and to help correct disturbed sleep patterns and would like to give it a try for Jonathan.

Wondering if you have ever prescribed a light therapy box for pediatric patients before. Our insurance told us they will cover it with a diagnosis of Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I don’t even know if that is something that can be diagnosed in children. Guess we’re willing to try anything at this point. Do you know much about this type of therapy?”

Neither the DAN Doctor nor our pediatrician would write a prescription for a therapy light, so we purchased one on our own and found it made no discernible impact on his symptoms.

By December, our son’s symptoms had worsened further and we decided to put him in a very expensive and intensive autism treatment program through our local hospital. He made slow progress during his participation in the program from January through April. He was also involved in speech and occupational therapy during the winter months. At his IEPC meeting at school in March, we were encouraged to put him in the district’s program for children with developmental delays. We instead elected to register him for regular pre-school for the following year.

During that winter, I was crying to some friends about my son and describing his seemingly seasonal pattern of symptoms. We had just seen a second neurologist searching for help, and I was extremely frustrated when, after listening to my son’s symptoms and history, he told me bluntly, “There is nothing seasonal about autism,” then suggested that we put our son on an anti-depressant. We refused the medication. One of the friends I was crying to is a research librarian and the other is a medical researcher. After our conversation, they located and e-mailed me a few journal articles they thought might help, one of the articles was by Dr. Cannell and discussed his vitamin D theory of autism. Reading the article was one of those “Aha!” moments and I felt hopeful that Dr. Cannell was on to something.

By June our son was released from both speech therapy and occupational therapy and we were told that he no longer showed any delays for his age. When he had begun occupational therapy in January, the OT had been astonished at our son’s lack of muscle tone. She recommended that he also receive Physical Therapy services, so we went on a long waiting list. Our initial OT was in a car accident, and in May we were transferred to a new OT. When the new OT first saw our son, she said could not believe he was the same child described in the notes. By May the low muscle tone, hyperactivity and distractibility noted in his file, were no longer evident. His turn came up for physical therapy and we were told he no longer needed it.

Our son has always spent a lot of time outdoors in the summer, without sunblock. He had a happy and relaxing summer. As fall/back-to-school approached, I began to fear the onset of another regression and again read the article by Dr. Cannell my friend had sent. I visited his website and decided we would try a vitamin D supplement. Our pediatrician did not encourage any dose higher than 400 i.u. (that found in a typical multivitamin) but did write a script to have his 25-hydroxy level tested. In August his level was 37, so we started him on 5,000 iu daily and had his level retested on October 21st. By October his level was 96. The pediatrician was concerned that this was too high and told us he should not have more than 400 iu per day.

Knowing that Nov-March are typically his worst months, we reduced the dosage down only to 3,000 iu from October through mid-December. At an appointment in December our son was doing wonderfully (none of his usual fall/winter symptoms yet evident) and the pediatrician told us 3,000 iu was too much and that we should be giving no more than 400 iu. In mid-December we reduced the dose to 1,500 iu. By the beginning of January we noted a marked loss of eye contact. We also noted that our son was again interchanging his right hand for writing and eating (after using his left hand exclusively for 8+ months). We increased his vitamin D level to 4,000 iu daily in early January. On January 11 we had his 25-Hydroxy level checked on January 11 and found that it was 89. By the end of January, we and his grandparents noted improvement in his eye contact.

In January 2010 we attended his preschool conferences. The teacher had marked cards with the following code (1=age appropriate, 2=developing, 3=area of concern). Our son received 1s in all areas with the exception of hopping on one foot and balance beam where he received 2s. We were told that he is on par with or ahead of his peers in all areas (academic, fine motor, etc.), and that his teacher had noted no unusual symptoms or concerns.

During the fall/winter 2009-2010 our son has been free from nearly all of the most troubling symptoms that plagued him the previous two winters. The following example may demonstrate the improvement in his daily life since last winter.

One of our son’s low points was a Christmas party we attended in December 2008. Before leaving the house to attend the party our son screamed and yelled about having to take a bath and because we would not let him wear sweatpants to the party. He then begged us not to make him leave the house. During the 40 minute trip to the party our son asked us repetitive questions and talked incessantly. Upon arriving at the party, he immediately walked into an unoccupied room adjacent to the room where the party was occurring, and put his face into the corner. Despite much coaxing by my husband and me, he refused to come out of the corner.

After approximately 45 minutes of standing in the corner we managed to get him out through the promise of some food rewards. He proceeded to walk around and around the perimeter of the living room where all of the other kids were playing. He rubbed himself along the walls and covered his ears as he walked. He finally settled into playing alone in a corner of the room. All of the kids at the party participated in a book exchange. Our son refused to come to the area where the other kids were gathered. We coaxed him over only to have him throw the book he received and refuse to thank the parent who had purchased it for him. He spent much of the evening in time-outs for that and other inappropriate behavior.

In June of 2008, after playing in the sun for several months, we met for a picnic with the same group of friends at a local park. Our son ran up to the other children and joined right in playing bulldozers in the sand with them. He behaved and interacted in a completely appropriate and typical way during the picnic which lasted several hours.

This year (2009) we attended the same Christmas party at the same house. Our son got ready and left for the party without anxiety or incident. He chatted normally during the drive to the party. He walked into the house, said, “Hey, check out my new train,” to some of the kids already playing and settled in to playing happily with the other kids. During the book exchange, he received a book, smiled and gave a big hug to the person who gave it to him.

In December of 2008, I took a leave from my job so I could get my son to the intensive behavioral treatment program he was in and to all of his other therapy appointments. I dedicated 40-60 hours per week to my son’s various appointments and home therapy program.

This winter (January 2010), a former colleague asked me what Jonathan’s current therapy program consists of. I told her I spend about 30 seconds each day opening the jar of vitamins and giving him his chewable vitamin D. In my opinion, the 3 minutes or so I spend each week giving him his vitamin D have been much more effective, and much less expensive, than any other treatment we have pursued.

Thank you.

Jeannette, Wisconsin

Dear Jeanette:

You’re welcome. Several things need comment. First, the symptoms are typical of autism. Second, the seasonality of symptoms suggest a vitamin D deficient disease. Third, the treatment in the spring of 2008 seemed effective but, in hindsight, it was simply due to spring sun exposure. Fourth, as you may now know, light boxes for seasonal affective disorder make no vitamin D. Fifth, your pediatrician knows little about Vitamin D other than what committees tell him; your decision to ignore his advice probably saved your son’s brain from further injury, as autism is a progressive inflammatory destruction of brain tissue. Sixth, the fact that you needed bed rest and gave birth prematurely suggests you were Vitamin D deficient during your pregnancy.

Seventh, his twin sister has never had autism, despite the same intrauterine environment. This is consistent with my theory, that autism is caused from a quantitative, not qualitative, variation is one of the enzymes that metabolize Vitamin D. That is, there are no structural differences in these enzymes in autism, only a genetically determined difference in the amount present. These enzymes are responsive to estrogen; estrogen protects the brain from being damaged by low Vitamin D, probably by increasing the amount of activated Vitamin D present, explaining why boys are four times more likely to have the disease.

The report that your son deteriorated when his dose was reduced from 3,000 to 1,500 IU suggests autistic children need adult doses of Vitamin D. When you reduced the dose from 3,000 to 1,500 IU/day he worsened although his level on 1,500 IU/day was probably still greater than 50 ng/ml. This makes me think that dosage needs to be stable and suggests that Professor Reinhold Vieth’s theory of a detrimental seasonal resetting of the intercellular metabolism of Vitamin D may even be true at levels above 50 ng/ml, where the body is storing the parent compound, cholecalciferol, in muscle and fat.

His current dose of 4,000 IU per day is perfectly safe and will give him a level of 80-100 ng/ml, inside the reference ranges of American laboratories. Toxicity (asymptomatic high blood calcium) begins somewhere above 200 ng/ml. Generally speaking, autistic children should take 2,000 IU per every 25 pounds of body weight for six weeks, then have a 25(OH)D blood test and adjust the dosage to get into the high end of the reference range, 80-100 ng/ml.

Although I first published the Vitamin D theory of autism theory 3 years ago, few autistic children are currently treated for their Vitamin D deficiency. This is due to several reasons. One, those who think, correctly, that autism is a genetic disease, stop thinking after that, reasoning that genetic diseases are untreatable. Such thinkers do not understand epigenetics (upon the genome). Vitamin D is probably the heart of epigenetics, as nothing works upon the genome like vitamin D.

Secondly, the “all autism is caused from vaccinations” crowd cannot accept the Vitamin D possibility as it threatens their core beliefs. They simply cannot change their minds.

Finally, as you now know, organized medicine would say you should stop the vitamin D and watch your son deteriorate, which is why slavery to evidence based medicine is fine for scientists and unethical for practitioners.

John Cannell, MD

Executive Director

Vitamin D Council

What are your thoughts and experiences?  Have you seen Vitamin D help a child with autism?  We’d love to hear your thoughts, post your comments below.

Celiac has been getting a lot more attention lately, but I find in my practice there is still a lot of confusion about what celiac actually is.

What is celiac (briefly)?

Celiac is an autoimmune disease triggered when a susceptible person eats gluten.  Celiac is not a “wheat allergy”; it is possible to have an allergy or reactivity to wheat or other grains and not have celiac disease.  What makes celiac different from other problems with wheat, grains and gluten is autoimmunity, in celiac disease the body is attacking itself.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a family of proteins found in wheat (gliaden & glutenin) and wheat relatives such as spelt and kamut, triticale, barley (hordein), and rye (secalin).  There is conflicting information on whether oats contain gluten (avenin).  Most of the gluten in oats appears to come from contamination with wheat during harvesting, storage, and processing.  Certified gluten-free oats seem to be tolerated by many people with celiac disease.

What happens in celiac disease (briefly)?

Gluten is an irritating and mildly inflammatory substance to all humans.  In susceptible individuals (with celiac disease) inadequate digestion of gluten leads to inflammation and damage of the cells of the small intestine.  This allows gluten proteins to enter the damaged cells where they are exposed to enzymes (tissue transglutaminases) which modify them and make them more inflammatory.  This sets up a vicious circle of inflammation leading to the formation of autoantibodies (antibodies against the body) which leads to the characteristic destruction of the intestines in celiac disease.

This damage to the small intestines can severely damage the body’s ability to absorb nutrients leading to significant nutrient deficiencies.

Celiac & Osteoporosis – Nutrient deficiencies

In order to form healthy bone the body needs calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin K, sufficient protein and a host of other vitamins and trace minerals.  In celiac disease  the damage to the intestines can prevent the body from absorbing enough of these nutrients.  Over time the body is not able to build bone and this can lead to early and severe osteoporosis.

Celiac & Osteoporosis – Autoimmunity

A recent study by scientists at the University of Edinburgh found that in 20% of celiac patients tested, they found antibodies to a protein called osteoprotegerin which is important in maintaining bone strength.  The antibodies prevented osteoprotegerin from functioning effectively and are thought to be an additional reason for osteoporosis in at least some patients with celiac disease.

How to prevent osteoporosis?

While the study authors were quick to propose a drug to block the antibodies interfering with osteoprotegerin as an answer to celiac induced osteoporosis, there are far more effective therapies that you can do now.

1. The most important is the avoidance of all gluten.  This is much easier said than done as gluten is widely used both as a food in the form of breads, pastas, pastries and other flour containing foods.  More difficult to detect is the fact that gluten is widely used as a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent in virtually all processed foods.  The celiac patient must become an expert at label reading and understand all of the names that gluten goes by.  Here is a good place to begin educating yourself on safe and unsafe gluten containing foods.  Gluten can also be found in dietary supplements, pharmaceutical drugs, and health and beauty aids.
2. The person must ensure adequate nutrients to build healthy bones.  The levels of these nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and vitamin D may need to be substantially higher than for a normal person without celiac disease.
3. The person should engage in regular weight-bearing exercise.  Putting stress on our bones is the single greatest stimulus to make and keep them strong.
4. From the perspective of a Naturopathic doctor, I also incorporate the following additional strategies in the treatment of celiac disease
   1. Modulation and normalization of the autoimmune response.  By reducing the inflammatory load on the body and using broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory and immune modulating herbs and nutrients, we are often able to reduce or normalize the autoimmune process.  This may help in the newly discovered autoimmune process in celiac disease with osteoprotegrin noted above.
   2. Gut repair.  Using a variety of nutrients and other substances such as glutamine and probiotics we are able to restore normal gut function and structure.  This can help those with celiac disease absorb nutrients from their diet more effectively.

What are your thoughts? We’d love to hear them. Feel free to post them below.

Our society tends to be germ-phobic.  And we have good reasons.  In the past most of the things that killed people were infections; infected wounds led to loss of limbs and lives, and epidemic diseases like fevers and plagues have swept through societies killing untold millions.  Plus today we face a new wave of antibiotic resistant diseases created through the overuse, improper use, and abuse of antibiotics such as MRSA.

But many scientists and doctors, myself included, feel that our germ phobia has gone too far.  The hygiene hypothesis states that exposure to bacteria both good and bad is necessary to develop a properly functioning immune system.  The hygiene hypothesis is one attempt to make sense of the sky-rocketing rates of allergies and auto-immune diseases in children.  Keeping children excessively clean does not give their bodies and immune system sufficient exposure, and thus education to learn to function normally.

The role of good bacteria in the maintenance of health is becoming increasingly understood.  New studies are showing that every exposed part of our body, every square inch of our skin, and our digestive tract from our mouth to our rectum are home to a huge diversity of bacteria.  In fact the Human Biome project is setting out to map the genetic code of bacteria that live with us in a similar way the Human Genome project set out to map our genetic code. Far from being simply passengers we are gaining greater and greater understanding that bacteria are necessary for our health and well-being.  They protect us from pathogenic (‘bad’) bacteria and parasites, help us digest food, and help our immune system to function properly.  If you are interested in learning more about the role of good bacteria, here is an interesting article, and here is a TED talk on it (see my post on TED).

A recent study published last month in the scientific journal Pediatrics has shown that using probiotic supplements (‘good’ bacteria) can dramatically reduce the chance that your children will get the cold or flu.  And with tremendous concern over Swine Flu this year, using natural methods to strengthen our immunity can alleviate fear and help keep us healthy.

In the double-blind, placebo-controlled study 326 kids aged 3-5 were assigned to take either placebo, a single strain probiotic (containing 1 type of bacteria; L. acidophilus) or a double strain probiotic (containing L. acidophilus and Bifidobacterium) twice a day for 6 months.

The results were dramatic.  Compared to kids on placebo (not taking probiotics), kids taking probiotics:

• Fever incidence – 53% less for kids taking the single strain, 72.7% less for kids taking the double strain
• Coughing incidence – 41.4% less with the single strain, 62.1% less with the double strain
• Runny nose incidence – 282.% less with the single strain, 58.8% less with the double strain
• Duration of fever, coughing and runny nose were decreased 32% with the single strain, and 48% with the double strain
• Need for antibiotics was reduced by 68.4% with the single strain, and 84.2% with the double strain
• Days absent from day care were reduced by 31.8% with the single strain, and 27.7% with the double strain

Bottom line:  Giving your kids a quality multi-strain probiotic with at least 10 billion cfu (colony forming units) every day as was done in the study can reduce their risk of getting a fever, cough, and runny nose by about 2/3.  If they get a cold it would be reduced in duration by ½.  Their need for antibiotics would be reduced almost 85% and the number of days they would need to miss day care would be reduced by 1/3.

This is a huge benefit for a generally moderately priced supplement that is virtually without side effects.  While many supplements are as good over the counter as through practitioners, probiotics are one supplement I do highly recommend you purchase from a practitioner.  Studies have shown that many over the counter probiotics are poorly manufactured and do not contain the levels of beneficial bacteria stated on the label, and some even were found to be contaminated with harmful bacteria.  The practitioner brands Naturopathic doctors use as well as other practitioners tend to be a little more expensive but are produced with very stringent quality control, making them safe and therapeutically effective.

If you would like to look up the study yourself it is:

Pediatrics. 2009 Aug;124(2):e172-9. Epub 2009 Jul 27. Probiotic effects on cold and influenza-like symptom incidence and duration in children. Leyer GJ, Li S, Mubasher ME, Reifer C, Ouwehand AC.

What are your thoughts?  Should we be so germ phobic?  We’d love to hear your thoughts.  Please feel welcome to post below.

Allergies

Allergies are caused when the immune system reacts to a harmless substance (most commonly dairy, wheat, citrus, soy, or eggs) as if it were harmful.  These reactions range from mild to very severe, such as peanut allergies that can cause anaphylactic reactions (where the airway closes up).

We have begun to measure allergic reactions using IgA, IgE, and IgG (proteins produced by the immune system), but the technology is still developing and is not always accurate.  Our experience with the skin prick testing commonly used by allergists is that it is inaccurate.  Things that your skin registers as allergic do not necessarily match up with things that your digestive system is allergic to.  We also suspect that there are a whole class of immune-caused reactions (allergies) known as delayed-hypersensitivity (type IV) reactions, in which other immune cells cause reactions hours or even days later which are not recognized by current allergy testing.

Wheat allergy vs. Celiac disease

We are finding more and more people specifically having issues with wheat and other gluten grains.  Many people have allergies or other reactions, and we are finding a growing number with Celiac disease.  Wheat allergy and Celiac disease are different, however.  In someone with a wheat allergy, their immune system has identified wheat as a harmful substance and is reacting against the wheat.  In someone with Celiac disease, this immune response to gluten has crossed over into an auto-immune condition where the body is attacking itself.  This results in damage to the small intestines and a decreased ability to absorb nutrients, along with a variety of other issues.

Intolerances

Intolerances are caused by a lack of enzymes.  For instance, in lactose intolerance the person does not have enough lactase (enzyme) to break down the lactose (milk sugar) in dairy products.  This undigested lactose is then eaten by our gut bacteria resulting in gas, bloating, cramping, and diarrhea.  Intolerances are not well categorized beyond lactose intolerance.  NDs have come to see more fructose intolerance emerging, and it is likely there are others.

In a similar way, hypochlorhydria (too little stomach acid) and achlorhydria (no stomach acid) result in a general malfunction of digestion.  Without enough acid in the stomach, protein digestion does not occur properly and the next steps in digestion, like the release of bile and pancreatic enzymes to continue the digestion of food, do not occur correctly.

Reactions

We use the word reactions for all the other responses people have to food that we do not understand yet.  We see that eating a food causes a bad reaction for that person, but it doesn’t seem to be an allergy or an intolerance.  Hopefully science will continue to unravel the mysteries of people’s reactions to foods, but in the meantime we continue to treat that person and help them recover their health.

One other type of reaction that we are beginning to understand more about involves our gut bacteria.  We know now that there are more bacteria in our digestive tract than there are cells in our body.  We are gaining a greater understanding that these bacteria, known as gut flora, play a critical role in our digestion and health.  When these bacteria are out of balance or when bad bacteria have taken over our digestive system, both conditions called dysbiosis, we have problems with both our digestion and our health.

The Good News

While there are many ways foods can hurt us, the good news is that NDs and other nutritionally oriented health practitioners can do a great deal to help.  I commonly see problems with food resolve and the person go on to live a happier, healthier life.  If you suspect your food might be impacting your health, please get the support you need.

What are your thoughts?  Have you had reactions to foods?  We’d love to hear your thoughts.  Please feel welcome to post a comment below.