Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Tuesday, April 04, 2006 - 11:12 pm
Source: Ivanhoe.com Reported May 9, 2005 Alternative Advances: Brain Food for Autism TUCSON, Ariz. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Autism affects one in every 166 children. It's the most common childhood developmental disorder. Now researchers say changing your autistic child's diet could change his life forever. The faces of autism -- young boys and girls stuck in a world all their own. A world Lin Schwarzkopf has come face to face with. Her 3-year-old Trevor was born with autism. It's a developmental disorder that's difficult to treat. Lucky for Lin, she ended up in the right doctor's office. Psychiatrist Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D., who received his medical degree from Stanford, has worked with autistic children for decades -- not only using traditional medicine, but also trying alternative approaches. His treatment for Trevor wasn't a drug -- he changed his diet. "Trevor's been on a wheat-free, gluten-free, organic diet," Lin says. And it's working. "I could see that he was responding." When Trevor stopped eating gluten, found in wheat products, and casein, found in milk, he started walking and talking. "I really don't know how to explain that, but it's common when you eliminate these particular substances from the diet," Dr. Mehl-Madrona, now of University of Arizona in Tucson, tells Ivanhoe. One theory is that foods containing wheat and milk may actually work as a narcotic and cause some of the behaviors of autism. Dr. Mehl-Madrona says, "Really the most frustrating thing about working with autism is, for the most part, we don't have a clue what to do. We just have to try different things." Susan Haubrock is trying a different approach for her daughter. When Reanne was 4, she refused to wear clothes and was just starting to talk. Then Susan started Reanne on vitamin therapy. "We were on the vitamins for maybe two weeks and we noticed all the sudden she started cooing," Susan says. Today, Reanne is 7, home-schooled, and learning her three R's.
Dr. Mehl-Madrona says vitamins B-12, B-6, folic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, and magnesium have all shown a strong effect on autism. "When you super-saturate the brain with nutrition, you can override some defects." Dr. Mehl-Madrona admits this therapy does not work for everyone, however many studies have shown the benefits of these nutrients. In fact, 18 studies that have looked at vitamin B-6 for autism have all shown positive results. If you would like more information, please contact: Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D. University of Arizona (520) 722-9787 mehlmadrona@aol.com http://www.healing-arts.org
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