
Only the parent of a child with autism
knows how extremely difficult and
frustrating it can be to get a child with
autism to eat nutritiously. For 15 years,
food was a daily struggle in my house.
Jake would only eat a handful of foods;
chicken nuggets, French fries, and other
dry, crunchy foods. Doctors and
bystanders would tell me "Just feed him
what you feed everyone else, eventually
he will eat." This was hardly the case. I
once watched my young son go without
food for almost four days before I
realized that he was just not going to eat
the foods I was offering. On one
occasion, a doctor told me to tie Jake to a
chair and force feed him. I was outraged!
If you would have told me back then that
Jake would now be eating salmon,
vegetables, salad, fruit, and virtually
anything I put in front of him; I would
have told you that you were crazy.
Before his treatment, Jake had tried a
piece of fruit once. He had never eaten a
vegetable other than a potato. Never.
The first step in changing Jake's diet was
to switch to organic foods. I took the
foods that he already ate, and either
made them from scratch organically, or
purchased them organically and pre-
made. This immediately boosted the
nutritional value of what he was eating,
and eliminated many chemicals and
additives.
Once he got used to the way "real" foods
tasted, Jake's food choices began to
broaden. Little by little, he began to try
new foods. Upon implementation of his
detox and supplement program and
implementation of the gluten free diet,
the variety of Jake's food choices went
through the roof; and his health and
body began to completely transform.
Remember, that every small change you
can make in your child's diet is also a
small victory. The small changes will add
up, and your child will eventually be
eating foods you never imagined!
Nutritional Information
Autism Angels Network
"Diet changes often result in rapid
improvements in both neurological
and GI function, leading to better
absorption of nutrients, decreased
GI inflammation, and decreased
immune system activation;
subsequent improvement in sleep,
bowel function, mood, and
immunity follow."
~ Bryan Jepson
from the book: Changing the Course
of Autism
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies commonly found in children with autism spectrum disorders:
- Biotin
- Essential Fatty acid
- Folic acid
- Selenium
- Taurine
- Vitamin A
- Vitamins B1, B3, B5
- Vitamins B6
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin C
- Zinc
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Children with autism struggle with completely digesting foods and breaking them down in order to be correctly absorbed by the body, as well as converting the nutrients in food into a usable form, so they can be used at a cellular level. This is why the digestive system needs to be healed, along with changing the diet.
Healing the digestive tract can happen with changes in diet, adding the correct supplements, as well as through modalities such as acupuncture, acupressure, and yoga.
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cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” -Thomas Edison