Diet and Autism

I read the Atkins diet book with an open mind before I started my weight loss diet in 2002. I based my diet on it, but adapted it to be less restrictive and more suitable to me - for example, adding All Bran cereal and yogurt. Some people think it's a high protein diet but done properly it's not. You just need to have a normal amount of protein and swap starchy carbs for vegetables, salad, nuts and berries. Only the first two weeks should be very low carb to kick start the weight loss, then you can gradually reintroduce foods such as yogurt, bananas and high fibre starchy carbs in small quantities. 

When I was on the low carb diet I was being monitored by my doctor as I had high blood pressure when I was overweight, and as I lost the weight I got healthier. I saw a documentary some years back that did a study with groups of people wanting to lose weight, which concluded that it was fine for people to use whichever diet suited them as long as it led to sustainable weight loss.

We are all different and some of us do better with more carbs, some do better with less.

Oh, I'd never heard that, although when I was going through my diet & nutrition special interest phase in the early 2000s there wasn't as much knowledge about autism as there is now.

However I know that a crap diet can make us feel crap - both physically and mentally, so yes a balanced diet is needed by everyone.

Pixie, I think that a poor diet has effects on autism, maybe more so than for NT's, maybe not, but a good balanced diet is needed by everybody. There is some evidence to suggest that ND's may need higher quantities of Omega's in their diets, but that could be because so many people eat an inadaquate amount generally?

 I've never done a carnivore diet, but I did a low carb diet in 2002 to lose weight. I had bran cereal for breakfast, then for the rest of the day I ate as much as I wanted of cheese, nuts, salad, vegetables, meat, fish and eggs, plus one portion of fruit yogurt. I did feel better physically - with more energy - but I can't remember it making me calmer.

Humans are not carnivores, we are omnivores. A diet of meat, eggs and fat is lacking in vitamin C and fibre. If you don't eat fruit or veg or take a daily vitamin C supplement you will get a disease called scurvy. If you don't have fibre in your diet you will at the minimum suffer from constipation, and at worst possibly get bowel cancer. Our hunter gatherer ancestors did hunt and fish, but also ate all sorts of plants, nuts and mushrooms. They ate the fat that was part of the meat or fish they consumed - they didn't add fat.

The problem with very restrictive diets is not only a lack of required micro or macro nutrients - if it's a voluntary decision, after a time you may crave things not in your food plan and then end up bingeing on them, like you now have.

It's good to want to cut out foods that are less nutritionally good for us, but it's best to keep a balance and ensure you get everything your body needs. So the best diet includes two or three portions of protein a day (meat /fish /eggs /nuts /beans/ veggie protein) plus two portions of dairy or dairy alternatives (milk /yogurt /cheese) two or three portions of starchy carbs (wholemeal bread / potatoes / high fibre cereal /rice or pasta) one or two portions of fruit and as much salad or vegetables as you like. Sugar should be kept to a minimum and a small portion of dark chocolate is ok as it contains iron, antioxidants & fibre.

I do not believe that diet has any effect whatsoever regarding autism.

I think if you are going to go on such as protien heavy, Atkins type of diet then you should have your heart, BP and Cholesterol measured before and during the diet at least for a month or so. THere have been some studies done and some people have had to come off it this sort of diet after a few days because it's made them so ill.

I don't think there's a one size fits all diet, I think it's highly individual, for myself I cannot digest meat or fish, my body seem to need a fairly low protein diet, with lots of carbs and veg, I can eat one or two eggs, but more than that will really upset me. I've know people who swear by the food combining Hay diet and theres probably as many diets as there are dieticians.

Also consumption of red meat seems to significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer’s.

(I’m not a vegan or vegetarian but can’t ignore the evidence)

I have read repeatedly that the carnivore diet severely increases risks of heart issues such as cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.

For example:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10380617/ 

For me, the physical effects would not be worth the mental ones

Just in case you’re not yet aware: “NICE rule out a number of biomedical interventions for management of the core characteristics of autism, including: 

• exclusive or restrictive diets including gluten-free, casein-free or ketogenic diets”

From: NAS - Strategies and interventions