Yeast, Gluten and Autism

[Rob]

Hi Everyone -

Just recently I had a very bad experience. What happened was that I had a very bad case of cognitive impairment, much more so than usual. My mentor had to move to a new location because of health problems, so I had to help her move. I frequently misunderstood her instructions. She told me to go and close the garage door, but I did not think that I had to do this after she backed out with her car from the garage. Since I was unclear I ended up going to her car and asked if she needed help unloading her stuff from her car. Yes she knew she needed help, but she was confused at my conduct. Apparently it seemed that I was not thinking logically.

She knows the effects that certain foods have on the body, and we have similar food sensitivities.
I ate some veggie turkey that day, and it seemed that the wheat gluten and yeast extract it contained caused me a bad neurological reaction. From now on I must stay away from anything containing yeast, yeast extract, and gluten.

This led me to check the internet and I found an interesting link.

Autism Diet and Nutrition: How Does it Affect Autism Health? - Autism Parenting Magazine

Any thoughts on this topic?

 

[Fino]

You misunderstood instructions, therefore you must stop eating gluten. Am I understanding right?

If she told you to close the garage door, I don't see it as necessarily logical to figure out she means after the car is out. It means to close the door. So you close the door. I'd do that whether I ate all the gluten in the world or if I had never eaten gluten in my life.

And what's confusing about asking if she needs help unloading the car? Why was she confused?

 

[Apleba]

I have a bad gluten and lactose allergy, I am also intolerant to many other foods (I got tested). I never connected this to my mental performance. However, when you think about it, it is quite obvious that it affects your mental capabilities and health, the same as it affects your other physical health (e.g. digestion). So, thanks for pointing it out.

I was thinking though, can one 'incorrect' meal affect a body so much? Maybe I'm wrong, but I was always thinking that if you eat more or less 'correct' in general and you have one piece of bread once, it's not a disaster. 'Incorrect' eating rather accumulates, doesn't it?

 

[Tom]

I think stuff like that will happen no matter what you eat. Hopefully what your mentor learned is that they will have to be more specific with instructions. I don't know why, but we don't read between the lines or fill in the blanks as easily as they seem to expect.

As far as the food thing, in the broad sense the body is a system with everything connected so improving one area can help the others. There is nothing wrong with improving your diet and overall health.

As far as improving autism symptoms specifically, I don't think the Medical Science is conclusive yet.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Anyone would be better off gluten I can tell you that.

 

[GrownupGirl]

So gluten makes you misunderstand instructions, that's a new one on me. I guess everything wrong with the world can be blamed on gluten. Terrorism = gluten. Climate change = gluten. The eraser on my pencil leaves an ugly pink smear on my paper = gluten!

 

[dragonfire42]

I don't believe that in my case any sort of dietary allergy or sensitivity has anything to do with my autism. I have no GI issues and have noticed zero correlation between the severity of my symptoms and what I eat. I've had days, including several days in a row, where I'm pretty sure I had no gluten (although I didn't check packaging or anything since it wasn't deliberate) and have still had the same level of autism symptoms as I do on days when I do eat gluten. Since gluten is in a lot of stuff I currently eat and so would require a significant diet change, I'm not going to go gluten-free unless I have any reason to suspect that it may cause any kind of issue for me specifically.

 

[Rob]

I googled a possible link between gluten, Roundup herbicide and cognitive impairment, and got this interesting link - it may be that my case is not that unusual. It does not cover Roundup effects but this is an interesting doorway for more interesting research links.
The science does not seem clear yet for a causal link between gluten consumption but I believe my case is not that unique. It is just an abstract but it seems to hold quite a bit of information nevertheless.

Cognitive impairment in celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity: review of literature on the main cognitive impairments, the imaging and t... - PubMed - NCBI

 

[Rob]

Here is a great list of studies done on the same theme, for anyone who is interested in probing the subject more deeply. You can see my query below.

Thanks for all your posts.


https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q...ve+damage&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart

 

[Iamnotarabot]

I feel pretty sluggish when I consume wheat in general , brain fog, bloating, mood swings. And usually it last long.
I always feels worse after eating than before, unless I avoid wheat.

But IMO it's bad for most people, its just that autistic people are more bothered by it. ( But maybe it's also related to worse problem I just dont know)

If roundup is toxic ( and it is ) , I think it's more a problem for the people working with it, living around it, and the soil it's been used on.

 

[Rob]

You misunderstood instructions, therefore you must stop eating gluten. Am I understanding right?

If she told you to close the garage door, I don't see it as necessarily logical to figure out she means after the car is out. It means to close the door. So you close the door. I'd do that whether I ate all the gluten in the world or if I had never eaten gluten in my life.

And what's confusing about asking if she needs help unloading the car? Why was she confused?

After a few days of avoiding gluten and eating unprocessed foods, my mind has been clearer and more able to deal with "unclear" instructions.
It seems that I can get the gist or context of what a neurotypical person says to me, including their brief, often unclear instructions.

From past misunderstandings with my neurotypical sisters and previous employers, I can process this type of communication more completely and correctly with a clear mind - a mind free of offending substances like gluten, dairy and yeast (at least in my experience).

In hindsight, I would have closed the garage door after she pulled out, and gone out the other house door, locked the door and gone into her car to go to her other location to help unload stuff into her new house. Not only I, but she, was confused at my previous response. I could have carried out the above, but instead was extremely lethargic and sluggish mentally due to my sensitivities to gluten. I really felt drugged and out of it!

 

[Rasputin]

Hi Everyone -

Just recently I had a very bad experience. What happened was that I had a very bad case of cognitive impairment, much more so than usual. My mentor had to move to a new location because of health problems, so I had to help her move. I frequently misunderstood her instructions. She told me to go and close the garage door, but I did not think that I had to do this after she backed out with her car from the garage. Since I was unclear I ended up going to her car and asked if she needed help unloading her stuff from her car. Yes she knew she needed help, but she was confused at my conduct. Apparently it seemed that I was not thinking logically.

She knows the effects that certain foods have on the body, and we have similar food sensitivities.
I ate some veggie turkey that day, and it seemed that the wheat gluten and yeast extract it contained caused me a bad neurological reaction. From now on I must stay away from anything containing yeast, yeast extract, and gluten.

This led me to check the internet and I found an interesting link.

Autism Diet and Nutrition: How Does it Affect Autism Health? - Autism Parenting Magazine

Any thoughts on this topic?

One of my special interests is DNA testing and genetics. I was anemic and had numerous food allergies growing up, and now avoid grains, dairy, foods high in carbohydrates, and sugar. In 2014 I became diabetic, and discovered that my type 2 diabetes was caused by my body's inability to metabolize folic acid (a form of vitamin B9), B12, and several other B vitamins. In testing my dna I discovered that I have a homozygous MTHFR Gene mutation named C677T which reduces my body's ability to process foods containing Folic acid by 70%. I also have homozygous MTR and MTRR gene mutations which affect cognitive functions, cause depression, anxiety and other issues. I also have COMT and Vitamin D receptor Gene mutations which cause health issues. To deal with these genetic issues I follow a strict Paleo diet free of many processed foods, and I take around a dozen vitamin and amino acid supplements daily. Through dietary change, nutritional supplements, and exercise I completely reversed or put into remission type 2 diabetes, polyneuropathy, and psoriasis within 18 months. Most doctors are ignorant of genetic mutations and their impact on human metabolism and nutrition. Also, I am not a doctor, but I am knowledgeable of my genetic profile and the health issues that run in my family. Everyone is genetically different, so what works for one person may not work for another. Food sensitivities or intolerances could indicate associations between those foods and health issues. Also, if you are interested there are some research articles online on this topic, e.g. Study of the C677T and 1298AC polymorphic genotypes of MTHFR Gene in autism spectrum disorder.

 

[Aspychata]

One of my special interests is DNA testing and genetics. I was anemic and had numerous food allergies growing up, and now avoid grains, dairy, foods high in carbohydrates, and sugar. In 2014 I became diabetic, and discovered that my type 2 diabetes was caused by my body's inability to metabolize folic acid (a form of vitamin B9), B12, and several other B vitamins. In testing my dna I discovered that I have a homozygous MTHFR Gene mutation named C677T which reduces my body's ability to process foods containing Folic acid by 70%. I also have homozygous MTR and MTRR gene mutations which affect cognitive functions, cause depression, anxiety and other issues. I also have COMT and Vitamin D receptor Gene mutations which cause health issues. To deal with these genetic issues I follow a strict Paleo diet free of many processed foods, and I take around a dozen vitamin and amino acid supplements daily. Through dietary change, nutritional supplements, and exercise I completely reversed or put into remission type 2 diabetes, polyneuropathy, and psoriasis within 18 months. Most doctors are ignorant of genetic mutations and their impact on human metabolism and nutrition. Also, I am not a doctor, but I am knowledgeable of my genetic profile and the health issues that run in my family. Everyone is genetically different, so what works for one person may not work for another. Food sensitivities or intolerances could indicate associations between those foods and health issues. Also, if you are interested there are some research articles online on this topic, e.g. Study of the C677T and 1298AC polymorphic genotypes of MTHFR Gene in autism spectrum disorder.

Very informative.

 

[Chrysanthemum]

Hi Everyone -

Just recently I had a very bad experience. What happened was that I had a very bad case of cognitive impairment, much more so than usual. My mentor had to move to a new location because of health problems, so I had to help her move. I frequently misunderstood her instructions. She told me to go and close the garage door, but I did not think that I had to do this after she backed out with her car from the garage. Since I was unclear I ended up going to her car and asked if she needed help unloading her stuff from her car. Yes she knew she needed help, but she was confused at my conduct. Apparently it seemed that I was not thinking logically.

She knows the effects that certain foods have on the body, and we have similar food sensitivities.
I ate some veggie turkey that day, and it seemed that the wheat gluten and yeast extract it contained caused me a bad neurological reaction. From now on I must stay away from anything containing yeast, yeast extract, and gluten.

This led me to check the internet and I found an interesting link.

Autism Diet and Nutrition: How Does it Affect Autism Health? - Autism Parenting Magazine

Any thoughts on this topic?

I’ve heard of the gluten-free and gluten- and casein-free diet as a “treatment” for people with autism spectrum disorders, I was “tried” on it by my parents though I’m not sure how much I really “tried” it since so many foods have gluten and casein or traces of it.

My thoughts on it are:
1. Some people are actually allergic (sometimes severely) to gluten and/or dairy, and in such a case if the allergy is severe enough then of course gluten and dairy should be avoided for one’s health and perhaps to save one’s life.
2. In any case it is important to get a quality diet with a good quantity, variety and quality of food.
3. I personally don’t see the issue with having a child on a gluten-free diet even if they are not medically found to be allergic to gluten
other than the fact that it may sometimes be isolating (e.g. at social events where food is offered) however I think that if a gluten-free diet has not seemed to provide any physical benefit or improvement in areas I personally don’t understand what is the point of having a child on a gluten-free diet UNLESS they HAVE BEEN TESTED AND MEDICALLY FOUND TO BE ALLERGIC TO GLUTEN.
4. When a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder on a gluten-free diet shows improvement in skills and/or reduction in “autistic behaviors”, how do we know whether it is due to other environmental factors, other “treatment“/“therapies”, or simply a natural part of the developmental process?
5. I am just a recent high school graduate so in no way an expert but personally I think it is OK to allow children with or without autism spectrum disorders to engage in self-regulating/stimulating behaviors (e.g. flapping hands, rocking) as long as it is not injurious to self or others and not overly disruptive (for example if a child is capable of not shouting out during a public performance, religious service etc I think it is reasonable to expect the child to do that (and also maybe it would be a good idea to find out what is making the child uncomfortable if they are overly disruptive in which case maybe solutions can be found)). I’m saying that for other treatments, if a child often publicly participated in stimulatory behavior I can’t understand why elimination or reduction of such behavior should be the goal, however if a child stops such behavior during a gluten-free diet I think it’s OK as long as they are not forced or intentionally or unintentionally pressured into stopping the stimulatory behavior (it might be possible that children with ASD might know the intended purpose of the gluten-free diet and therefore stop some stimulatory behavior because it’s what they think is expected of them?)
7. For adults it is their choice; for children, I’d think it’d be important to know whether they have any physical discomfort associated with a diet with gluten or gluten-free diet and that parents/guardians/caregivers must be observant especially if a child has difficulty or reluctance expressing their needs.

Just my opinions.