paleo/SCD diet

I have been making so many connections between autism and autoimmune diseases (M.S., fibromyalgia, celiac, Crohn's, food allergies, etc.). Aside from the inflammation factor, intestinal candidiasis seems to to be a common problem. All of these conditions seemed to be healed and/or greatly improved by going on no/low carb, no sugar diets (sounds miserable, i know).

The two most popular are the Paleo diet and the SC Diet. I have read many accounts of people recovering from M.S. by going on the paleo diet. Here is a personal account. The SC Diet was pioneered by Elaine Gottschall. She discovered a diet that completely healed her daughter's ulcerative colitis, and wrote a book that has helped many people recover from crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, celiac, diverticulitis, autism, cystic fibrosis and other ailments rooted in the digestive tract. Her story is amazing, read it here. THe SC diet is supposedly one of the most effective for treating ASD children, and many parents who don't see results with the GFCF diet often find them with the SCD. The SCD children's site is here: www.pecanbread.com.

I'm not ready to give up non-gluten grains. But I have been taking precautions to make them more digestible. Information on soaking grains here. And I made this for dinner last night. It was delicious!

Inflammation leads to...

I can't stop reading about inflammation. Inflammation is connected to many health problems such as food allergies, cancer, autoimmune disease, autism, acne, heart disease, arthritis, asthma, IBD (crohn's, celiac, U.C.), spinal disc problems, hypertension, infertility, etc.

Here are some great articles from one of my new favorite blogs:

Cure Acne, Tendonitis, Back pain, Depression
Menstrual Pain is Inflammatory
Inflammation Causes Disease
Allergy, Asthma, Autoimmunity Start the Same Way
A Paleolithic Perspective on Biomedical Literature

Here is an "Anti Inflammation Zone" book review that discusses how inflammation relates to infertility.

Inflammation and Autsim

In all of the reading I have been doing about food allergies, autoimmune disease, digestion, and ASD (autism spectrum disorder), there seems to be a common denominator: inflammation. Inflammation of the gut and brain are present in ASD. Between 6 months and 2 years, ASD kids experience fast brain growth, which gives way to unusually large heads in that time period. A five-year-old with autism has the same size brain as an average 13-year old. This inflammation leads to decreased blood flow/oxygen to certain parts of the brain.

Here is an article from the NY times that explains these abnormalities. Here is an article about neurological inflammation and autism. Here is a VERY interesting article about hyperbaric oxygen therapy used to treat the inflammation and decreased blood flow to the brain. It is also used to treat other autoimmune diseases. Lance Armstrong owns a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and uses it to enhance athletic performance.

Gluten and Celiac Disease

There has been an explosion of celiac disease and gluten intolerance in the past 10 years. The sale of gluten-free food has become a billion dollar industry. For some reason I can't stop reading about gluten and the ill affects it has on health. Celiac disease/gluten intolerance is often the first step in developing autoimmune disease. According to the University of Chicago, any person who experiences persistent infertility/miscarriage should be tested for celiac disease. The most common sign of celiac disease in adults is iron deficiency/anemia that does not respond to treatment.

Here is the fact sheet from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center. Here is the list of symptoms. Here is an article I just read from Columbia University. Here is an interesting post I read on a cardiologist's blog.

epsom salt

I have been trying to give my children regular epsom salt baths to help them detox. Just found this article that explains that espsom salt bath can help with phenol processing. This is very exciting news.

Fish Oil

I started taking fish oil during my second pregnancy because I read that it reduced one's risk of developing postpartum depression. It has worked like a charm in two pregnancies. Zero postpartum tears and no baby blues. In fact, I feel very happy and emotionally stable whenever I take fish oil. I have noticed that it really helps my children as well. My latest reading on fish oil here:

Taking fish oil...

prevents allergies: here
helps reduce inflammation/autoimmune disease: here
Helps autism/ADHD: here, here, here
helps pregnancy/fertility: link

We use this fish oil. It is pharmaceutical grade and tested for contamination (mercury, etc.).