Free the Butterflies - The Specific Carbohydrate Diet and Autism
http://www.celiac.com/articles/21510/1/Free-the-Butterflies---The-Specific-Carbohydrate-Diet-and-Autism/Page1.html
Carol Frilegh
I am 77 an undiagnosed Celiac, since March 2000. I had chronic sinus infections and fluctuating weight, lost 86 pounds, got pneumonia, and needed antibiotic and Prednisone. I also got MCS and Latex Allergy.
Unable to eat without pain, I started The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).
Things began to improve at once. I am not cured but SCD has been effective in managing the Celiac
and helped improve my damaged immune system.
It is a bit stricter than the gluten-free casein-free diet, but By Carol Frilegh
Published on 12/26/2007
Once people become aware and informed about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and understand how it works they may wish to give it serious consideration as an effective dietary intervention for autism an other behavioral conditions.
Free the Butterflies - The Specific Carbohydrate Diet and Autism
Celiac.com 12/26/2007 - Can children with Autism Spectrum Disorder eat their way out of their cocoons?
Eight years ago I knew little about autism. Fifty years ago I heard that a distant acquaintance of mine had an autistic child. It was extremely unusual at the time. I needed it explained to me and was told that the child was almost totally unresponsive.
Recent statistics show that between one and one and a half million people in the USA are afflicted with autism, making it the fastest growing developmental disability. There has been a thirteen percent increase in autism since 1990.
The term "autism" was first coined by Eugen Bleuler a Swiss psychiatrist, and the term was also applied to those with adult schizophrenia. Initially parents were blamed and psychological rejection was cited as a possible cause, but over time a greater understanding evolved and an analysis of symptoms and protocols for their treatment developed.
If we examine the history of dietary intervention for celiac disease, according to Elaine Gottschall's Breaking the Vicious Cycle, initially the Specific Carbohydrate Diet was widely favored . Only later on did the gluten-free casein-free diet begin to eclipse the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for the management of celiac disease, following a small study published in Lancet in the U.K., and the diet gained enormous popularity which has been maintained to the present. Researchers published results of their work with the gluten-free casein-free diet for autism. Many people with autism noticed improvements once gluten and dairy products were removed from their diets. According to some estimates 60% of people with autism experience positive effects from the diet, and there are some reports of people recovering completely from Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, there is a subset of children who do not respond to the diet and get stalled or plateau at some point, and these people must often seek other treatment avenues.
Less than ten years ago a few adults reported that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet was fostering encouraging progress in their Autism Spectrum Disorder children. Gottschall believed that in addition to gluten starches and certain sugars were at the root of digestive disorders. A small support group formed which followed the Specific Carbohydrate Diet to treat Autism Spectrum Disorder, and this group has grown from a handful to several thousand since its inception. The majority of its members transitioned from the gluten-free casein-free diet. Some people were told incorrectly that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is an extension of the gluten-free casein-free diet, or that it is only suitable if the gluten-free diet fails. The protocols about food restrictions and contamination differ. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is, however, a unique stand-alone diet.
Although children with autism who are on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet are in a statistical minority compared to those on the gluten-free casein-free diet, anecdotal reports indicate that their success rate is nearly 80%. It often turns out that some of those who initially fail have not followed the diet correctly, and they fare quite well when they start it over and do it correctly. In several small studies the Specific Carbohydrate Diet outperformed the gluten-free casein-free diet in the treatment of autism. A large scale formal study could cost up to one million dollars and therefore has not been conducted. In the absence of such studies mainstream medicine has bypassed or dismissed the Specific Carbohydrate Diet as inconclusive, but some doctors have commented that since it is a healthy and balanced diet it is worth a try. One concern is that people will abandon their medication, but this idea is not advocated by the support group.
I became interested in the autism-Specific Carbohydrate Diet connection when Elaine Gottschall invited my support on the Internet list called "Elaine's Children," which was renamed subsequently renamed pecanbread@yahoo.com (www.pecanbread.com). When I began to read the stories of improvement, progress in behavior and digestion, and of some who recovered from Autism Spectrum Disorder, I literally got chills . I began to archive those stories and combined several in a piece which I submitted to a parenting magazine. The editors were very interested but insisted on having a gluten-free casein-free diet author comment and counter my story. Since I do not view dietary intervention as a competition the article was withdrawn.
I am not sorry. Dietary intervention must not be a contest. The diet that WORKS is the diet to choose. That choice may affect the entire future of a young human being and of their family. It is critical for parents to explore, research, connect with others and become informed so they can select the best option to fit their needs.
If you want to read more about Elaine Gottschall be sure to read "All Her Children" at Pecanbread.com, and decide if this is a diet that could help your family.
Editor's Note: Celiac.com supports the idea that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is gluten-free and can be very helpful for many people, depending on their situation. We disagree, however, with the assertion that Elaine Gottschall makes in her book Breaking the Vicious Cycle that people with celiac disease can be cured by the Specific Carbohydrate Diet after being on it for a certain time period.
Eight years ago I knew little about autism. Fifty years ago I heard that a distant acquaintance of mine had an autistic child. It was extremely unusual at the time. I needed it explained to me and was told that the child was almost totally unresponsive.
Recent statistics show that between one and one and a half million people in the USA are afflicted with autism, making it the fastest growing developmental disability. There has been a thirteen percent increase in autism since 1990.
The term "autism" was first coined by Eugen Bleuler a Swiss psychiatrist, and the term was also applied to those with adult schizophrenia. Initially parents were blamed and psychological rejection was cited as a possible cause, but over time a greater understanding evolved and an analysis of symptoms and protocols for their treatment developed.
If we examine the history of dietary intervention for celiac disease, according to Elaine Gottschall's Breaking the Vicious Cycle, initially the Specific Carbohydrate Diet was widely favored . Only later on did the gluten-free casein-free diet begin to eclipse the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for the management of celiac disease, following a small study published in Lancet in the U.K., and the diet gained enormous popularity which has been maintained to the present. Researchers published results of their work with the gluten-free casein-free diet for autism. Many people with autism noticed improvements once gluten and dairy products were removed from their diets. According to some estimates 60% of people with autism experience positive effects from the diet, and there are some reports of people recovering completely from Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, there is a subset of children who do not respond to the diet and get stalled or plateau at some point, and these people must often seek other treatment avenues.
Less than ten years ago a few adults reported that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet was fostering encouraging progress in their Autism Spectrum Disorder children. Gottschall believed that in addition to gluten starches and certain sugars were at the root of digestive disorders. A small support group formed which followed the Specific Carbohydrate Diet to treat Autism Spectrum Disorder, and this group has grown from a handful to several thousand since its inception. The majority of its members transitioned from the gluten-free casein-free diet. Some people were told incorrectly that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is an extension of the gluten-free casein-free diet, or that it is only suitable if the gluten-free diet fails. The protocols about food restrictions and contamination differ. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is, however, a unique stand-alone diet.
Although children with autism who are on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet are in a statistical minority compared to those on the gluten-free casein-free diet, anecdotal reports indicate that their success rate is nearly 80%. It often turns out that some of those who initially fail have not followed the diet correctly, and they fare quite well when they start it over and do it correctly. In several small studies the Specific Carbohydrate Diet outperformed the gluten-free casein-free diet in the treatment of autism. A large scale formal study could cost up to one million dollars and therefore has not been conducted. In the absence of such studies mainstream medicine has bypassed or dismissed the Specific Carbohydrate Diet as inconclusive, but some doctors have commented that since it is a healthy and balanced diet it is worth a try. One concern is that people will abandon their medication, but this idea is not advocated by the support group.
I became interested in the autism-Specific Carbohydrate Diet connection when Elaine Gottschall invited my support on the Internet list called "Elaine's Children," which was renamed subsequently renamed pecanbread@yahoo.com (www.pecanbread.com). When I began to read the stories of improvement, progress in behavior and digestion, and of some who recovered from Autism Spectrum Disorder, I literally got chills . I began to archive those stories and combined several in a piece which I submitted to a parenting magazine. The editors were very interested but insisted on having a gluten-free casein-free diet author comment and counter my story. Since I do not view dietary intervention as a competition the article was withdrawn.
I am not sorry. Dietary intervention must not be a contest. The diet that WORKS is the diet to choose. That choice may affect the entire future of a young human being and of their family. It is critical for parents to explore, research, connect with others and become informed so they can select the best option to fit their needs.
If you want to read more about Elaine Gottschall be sure to read "All Her Children" at Pecanbread.com, and decide if this is a diet that could help your family.
Editor's Note: Celiac.com supports the idea that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is gluten-free and can be very helpful for many people, depending on their situation. We disagree, however, with the assertion that Elaine Gottschall makes in her book Breaking the Vicious Cycle that people with celiac disease can be cured by the Specific Carbohydrate Diet after being on it for a certain time period.