The general public often doesn’t realize what parents of autistic children are keenly aware of: It is a physical condition as much as a mental one. Research shows that more than 50 percent of autistic children have gastrointestinal problems such as Crohns Disease or colitis. Some scientists theorize that autism begins in the gut, with the gastrointestinal walls being damaged and allowing toxins to leak into the bloodstream and affect brain activity.
For this reason, parents of children with autism must monitor not just their children’s behavior but their eating habits, too. In particular, products containing gluten (found in wheat, barley and rye) and casein (found in dairy products) seem to exacerbate autism symptoms, apparently because the person’s body cannot digest them properly and the incompletely digested (and therefore poisonous) proteins are leaking into the circulatory system.
A gluten-free, casein-free diet, known as GFCF, has become very popular among parents of autistic children. Some members of the medical community continue to be skeptical of it, but other doctors and organizations — including those working with Defeat Autism Now (DAN) — wholeheartedly support the GFCF diet.
Many parents report remarkable improvements in their autistic children after removing gluten and casein from their diets. They find their children having longer attention spans, making better eye contact and in general behaving less aggressively and more “normally.”
The difficult part is implementing the diet. Cereals and dairy products comprise a major part of the typical American diet. People with gluten allergies already know how hard it is to find gluten-free products; adding dairy to the list of prohibited items makes it that much more inconvenient.
In addition, many autistic children will latch on to particular foods they like and refuse to eat anything else. Since so many foods have gluten or casein, chances are good that something on your child’s “favorites” list will be an offender. Also, because gluten and casein foods act as opiates, autistic children may crave them in particular — the very foods that are doing them the most harm!
So weaning your child off these foods can be difficult. To start with, many parents find it best to eliminate dairy. A lot of people are lactose-intolerant, after all, and dairy products don’t make up nearly as big a part of most people’s diets as gluten products do. It’s fairly easy to replace casein foods with other things.
Gluten is trickier. Not only is it in a lot of foods, but even foods that don’t have it are often contaminated with it, due to having been processed in the same facilities. You’ll need to examine ingredients lists carefully, and check with the manufacturer directly if you’re in doubt.
Often, parents say their autistic children won’t eat anything else, and they worry they’ll go hungry if these foods are taken away. It is necessary to be loving but firm, and not to give in if your child behaves badly in response to having his or her favorite foods taken off the menu. Within a few weeks, you’ll probably see a change in your child’s behavior, and you may be surprised at what he or she will eat that previously was unacceptable.
Rachel Evans
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/overcoming-food-obsessions-85159.html
January 19th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
how does someone overcome binge eating and food obsession?
because when it is taking happiness away from my life. and its not easy at all.. so dont just say well then don’t eat.. its not like that. food addiction is the hardest of all bc you can just stop doing crack or ciggarettes.. but you can’t just stop eating all together..
i also play sports..
volleyball.. cross country.. and i do kettlebell lifting on the side.. so i have things to keep my mind off food but i still think about it
January 20th, 2010 at 2:07 am
Take a lot diet drinks like slim fast or something like that……it knocks your hunger right out!
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January 20th, 2010 at 2:09 am
I wish I could eat in front of others any fast food or sweets, but I feel so giulty and I hide. I am obsessed about when and how will I eat again. And I do not have a weight problem, cause I eat 2 times a week these max. But I like it so much and am so ashamed.
So do not be ashamed of what you like, try eating less, but savure every bite.
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January 20th, 2010 at 2:11 am
Like any other obsession it’s all a mind thing. You have to overcome it yourself. You can try slim fast but curving your hunger isn’t the problem it’s your complex of eating. When trying to relieve such a fixation you must get over the case with self. Ask yourself, why do I eat, why am I hungry, am I really hungry or is it my obsession. Catch yourself. Do not give in to the fixation and you will overcome it. If you can’t overcome the obsession on your own, which you can, but if you just let yourself wave out of control then counseling can also help.
Best of LUCK:)*
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January 20th, 2010 at 2:13 am
Okay, first off, don’t try to suggest a food addiction being worse than crack or cocaine. While you can’t just stop eating altogether, but you can just stop binging. If you think it’s difficult to give up like that, then I don’t know how you think that something like an incredibly damaging and addictive drug is magically easiest to give up. The fact that you are telling yourself a food addiction is "hardest of all" and even suggesting that it’s more difficult to stop binging than it is to give up crack is you trying to justify your behavior. You’re trying to tell yourself that it’s OMG SUPER MEGA HARD because that way you can feel better about failing.
So, first step: realize that this is all under your control. As soon as you say it’s too hard, the hardest thing ever, or out of your control, that’s when you have already given up trying.
Second, I want to know what you define as binging. It seems you’re an active person and you might actually be eating an appropriate amount of food for your activity level. I’ve seen teen girls post on Yahoo! Answers that they "feel fat" because they ate two apples and a handful of crackers instead of just one apple. So email me what you eat to first make sure that you’re actually binging, and then we’ll go from there.
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vegan bodybuilder and personal trainer
January 20th, 2010 at 2:15 am
if you are binging often, then you have may have a food addiction that is helping you cope with some anxiety or traumatic feelings that you don’t want to deal with. I recommend a therapist or going to Overeaters Anonymous meetings to help you help you conquer this. It’s not about the food–something else emotional is going on and you can deal with this. You are stronger than you realize.
Good luck to you, you can do it.
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