Yes, autistic children tested either had poor sulphate production, or poor sulphate transport. Sulphate deals with amines produced by the nervous system. Dietary amines and phenols are sulphated, and autistic children should not have too much amine or phenol in their diets. Relevant supplements are molybdenum, omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamins B2, B5 and B6. Poor sulphation in the gut may make it too permeable, in which case avoiding casein and gluten makes sense. Boron is excreted with vitamin B2, and so foods high in boron are best avoided. Often there have been many courses of antibiotics, and replenishing beneficial bacteria is relevant. Chlorella and vitamin C may help remove harmful minerals like mercury and aluminium.  Butter and coconut provide fatty acids to reduce gut permeability.

If possible, test plasma elements, red cell magnesium and functional B vitamins.

Relevant articles include:

Murch SH, MacDonald TT, Walker-Smith JA, Levin M, Lionetti P, Klein NJ. Disruption of sulphated  glycosaminoglycans in intestinal inflammation. Lancet 1993; 341: 711-4.

Waring RH, Klovrza LV. Sulphur metabolism in autism. J Nutritional & Environmental Medicine 2000; 10: 25-32.

Whiteley P, Shattock P. Biochemical aspects in autism spectrum disorders: updating the opioid-excess theory and presenting new opportunities for biomedical intervention. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2002; 6(2):175-183.

Harris RM, Waring RH. Dietary modulation of human platelet phenolsulphotransferase activity. Xenobiotica 1996; 26: 1241-7.

Moss M. Effects of Molybdenum on Pain and General Health: A Pilot Study. J Nutr Env Med 1995; 5: 55-61.

Moss M. Purines, Alcohol and Boron in the Diets of People with Chronic Digestive Problems. J Nutr Env Med 2001; 11: 23-32.

Moss M, Waring RH. The Plasma Cysteine/Sulphate Ratio: a Possible Clinical Biomarker. J Nutr Env Med 2003; 13(4): 215-229.

Hello Ahmad,

Here are a few references:

Curtis, L. T., & Patel, K. (2008). Nutritional and environmental approaches to preventing and treating autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a review. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 14(1), 79-85.

Elder, J. H. (2008). The gluten-free, casein-free diet in autism: an overview with clinical implications. Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 23(6), 583-588.

Geraghty, M. E., Depasquale, G. M., & Lane, A. E. (2010). Nutritional intake and therapies in autism a spectrum of what we know: part 1. ICAN: Infant, Child, & Adolescent Nutrition, 2(1), 62-69.

Geraghty, M. E., Bates-Wall, J., Ratliff-Schaub, K., & Lane, A. E. (2010). Nutritional Interventions and Therapies in Autism A Spectrum of What We Know: Part 2. ICAN: Infant, Child, & Adolescent Nutrition, 2(2), 120-133.

Toula

Thank you so much dear Toula Kourgiantakis

I would say that nutrition may help some of the co morbid problems, such as hyperactivity and anxiety, but not the core symptoms. 

Thanks Hannah Belcher, So, do you advice using this type of therapy for children with autism?

Only if problems outside of the core impairments are present. I think especially for school aged boys parents see they are more calmer on a more balanced diet with less sugar. As far as feeding them extra of things, I don't agree with, food can't cure.  

Yes, autistic children tested either had poor sulphate production, or poor sulphate transport. Sulphate deals with amines produced by the nervous system. Dietary amines and phenols are sulphated, and autistic children should not have too much amine or phenol in their diets. Relevant supplements are molybdenum, omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamins B2, B5 and B6. Poor sulphation in the gut may make it too permeable, in which case avoiding casein and gluten makes sense. Boron is excreted with vitamin B2, and so foods high in boron are best avoided. Often there have been many courses of antibiotics, and replenishing beneficial bacteria is relevant. Chlorella and vitamin C may help remove harmful minerals like mercury and aluminium.  Butter and coconut provide fatty acids to reduce gut permeability.

If possible, test plasma elements, red cell magnesium and functional B vitamins.

Relevant articles include:

Murch SH, MacDonald TT, Walker-Smith JA, Levin M, Lionetti P, Klein NJ. Disruption of sulphated  glycosaminoglycans in intestinal inflammation. Lancet 1993; 341: 711-4.

Waring RH, Klovrza LV. Sulphur metabolism in autism. J Nutritional & Environmental Medicine 2000; 10: 25-32.

Whiteley P, Shattock P. Biochemical aspects in autism spectrum disorders: updating the opioid-excess theory and presenting new opportunities for biomedical intervention. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2002; 6(2):175-183.

Harris RM, Waring RH. Dietary modulation of human platelet phenolsulphotransferase activity. Xenobiotica 1996; 26: 1241-7.

Moss M. Effects of Molybdenum on Pain and General Health: A Pilot Study. J Nutr Env Med 1995; 5: 55-61.

Moss M. Purines, Alcohol and Boron in the Diets of People with Chronic Digestive Problems. J Nutr Env Med 2001; 11: 23-32.

Moss M, Waring RH. The Plasma Cysteine/Sulphate Ratio: a Possible Clinical Biomarker. J Nutr Env Med 2003; 13(4): 215-229.

Thank you so much Mrs Moss for your answer and valuable references...

The answer is clearly YES!

http://najms.net/v06i03p158w/

I blog about the connection between food and brain function at:

http://carbsyndrome.com/

Thank you so much for your nice articles Dr Wilson. I’m glad to read them...

My sincere thanks for  you Dr Kucz

Best regards from Jordan !  

;-)

No is the only correct answer.  All the above is complete bull-twaddle.

Children may have strong food preferences that should be acknowledged, but children with ASD are typical otherwise and need the same nutrients as other children do.

Dr Fisch .... I think it will be useful to more clarify your answer in the light of previous evidences. Thank you ! 

Ahmad,

It's Dr. Fisch to you.  As usual, the evidence in matters regarding nutrition and autism are near to borderline fraud as makes no difference.

Yes, especially when combined with Psycho-social stimulation!

Thank you Dr Worku

I still think there is a genetic link here that is being missed. There are some families who have unusual relatives, the odd uncle or aunt who preferred to live alone with the company of animals than people. There are families who have fathers who enjoy to spend time alone and children who enjoy order. It is how these traits are managed that can sometimes cause difficulties and additional challenge. If we ignore them children or indeed adults can become angry and aggressive , if handled with humour and compassion within a family the individual can develop coping ststegies and splinter skills to deal with dilemmas faced in every day life. nature, nurture? Socialisation techniques and interaction, child centred learning and helping parents to accept their child or rlative is unique.

Thanks dear Christine Barker, I am also training parents of children with ASD to effectively cope and apply some mindfulness skills such as "non- judgmental acceptance", "observing negative thoughts" and "distancing from negative thoughts"  to enhance their acceptance of their child. This called "Sabr" in Arabic language.

Our investigations: attached file

Inyerestingly a study published in journal PNAS suggests that premature birth alters the way the brain is hard wired, possibly explaining autism so maybe I am on to something! Scientists at KCH investigated brain connections between the thalamus and cortex and found that of 66 babies studied those born in the normal window of birth showed remarkably similar structure to adults whilst those born prematurely had less connectivity between these areas....which are those supporting higher cognitive function. I think this is to be an ongoing piece of research to examine how these findings relate to learning, concern ration and social difficulties.

Dear Ildiko Endreffy, thank you so much. Is it a published article? I will be happy if you identified its title.

yes dear Christine Barker, for sure you are on to something! I will be happy if you identified the title of the article.

Its pretty certain that nutrition is important to all of us but there is no supporting scientific evidence-base for nutritional therapy as effective treatment for autism. Gastrointestinal/ prematurity complicationsnotwithstanding, international research meta-analysis currently support behavioural intervention (ABA EIBI) as the only effective treatment with a solid evidence-base (see link).

http://www.abia.net.au/images/Larsson-Is-ABA-and-EIBI-an-effective-treatment-for-autism.pdf

Thank you Dr Carol Murphy for the nice article...

Dear Ahmad Rayan, you can see our unpublished data.

Thank you so much dear Ildiko Endreffy

Nutrigenomics for ASD is the perfect combination of all my passions. It is a systems biology science which relies on concepts and technologies of many different disciplines. An exciting relatively new science using food to modify genetic expression. A greater insight into the individuals with ASD responses to the influence and potential impact of inflammation, oxidative stress, fat metabolism, methylation and Vitamin D metabolism on health and wellbeing. Vitamin B6. Iron, Vitamin D, Magnesium, and Zinc are effective combination for improving autism behaviors. Imbalance of amino acids profoundly influences brain function, and is thought to be one of the key players in the pathophysiology of autism.( Afaf El-Ansary, Sohair A. Hassan, Mona Anwar, Ghada Abu Shmais, Ramesa Shafi Aftab, Adel Hashish, Rehab O. Khalil, Laila Al-Ayadhid and Nagwa A. Meguid (2014): Role of amino-acids in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders in Saudi and Egyptian population samples.  Journal of Pediatric Neurology 12, 1–11 

Curtis, L. Patel, K. Nutritional and Environmental Approaches to Preventing andTreating Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder.  THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE. Volume 14, Number 1, 2008, pp. 79–85

Although there is some evidence that there is a connection between autism and diet, this connection is not well defined. We now believe that many children with ASD also have a form of food-induced brain dysfunction that we now call Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. The symptoms of CARB syndrome overlap with other common brain disorders including autism creating a great deal of diagnostic confusion. CARB syndrome seems to be triggered by long term exposure to highly processed food. In other words it seems that diet can change the brain in a predictable way that qualifies as a disease. I wrote this paper describing the confusion when you mix autism with CARB syndrome:

http://najms.net/v06i03p158w/ 

The same is true for other common brain disorders. You end up with a mishmash of people with classic brain disorders combined with some degree of CARB syndrome. The good news is that CARB syndrome is reversible and responds to dietary changes and some targeted supplement.

I know that this concept is unproven but it does explain a lot of what we are seeing on the clinical side. I blog about CARB syndrome at:

http://carbsyndrome.com/

The lead symptom of CARB syndrome is craving sweet and starchy food pushing people to consume the very food that is triggering the disease. If your ASD patient has these cravings then they have more than just classic ASD. The good news is that most ADHD drugs help to suppress such cravings. If you educate them on how to eat a healthy whole foods diet and they don’t have cravings, their symptoms will slowly improve.

It has also been well established that there often is a connection between ASD and ADHD: 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1750946711001036 

In many of these cases we believe it is really a combination of ASD and CARB syndrome. It’s interesting to note that many drugs used to treat ADHD help to suppress cravings for sweet and starchy food.

Thank you so much,

Kind regards...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/gluten-free-diet-has-no-benefit-for-children-with-autism-study-finds-1442244486

Yes, it is true that vitamin B6 is useful in autism, but it needs to be activated by vitamin B2, zinc and magnesium. Lack of B6 activity is usually due to lack of B2. Giving B2 without B6 will often work, by activating the B6 that is present. Giving B6 without B2 only works till the B2 runs out, and then you have a problem making energy, recycling glutathione, and making sulphate.

Thanks, Katja Kucz, for mentioning my publications. I'm open for collaboration on projects related to nutrition and/or environment (medical biochemistry, toxicology, etc.). Check out my profile and see if I may be of some help.

Geir--As you likely know, the connection between nutrition and Neuroscience is a very hot area of research. In this blog post I used Donald Trump as a teaching tool:  

http://carbsyndrome.com/donald-trump-has-carb-syndrome/

Hi,

There have been some studies showing that vitamin supplements were used successfully in the treatment of Pica (ingesting nonfood items) in individuals with autism, and it is well documented that many children with ASD have digestive problems so it seems likely in these cases that dietary arrangements and vitamin supplements may be helpful. Nonetheless, digestive difficulties are not universal in children with ASD, and it may be important to stress that a gluten-free die, for example, may be detrimental to an individual with ASD who does not have digestive problems. It should be noted also perhaps that there is not a solid body of evidence supporting diet-related interventions as successful in treating ASD-related difficulties, and the strongest evidence available supports early intensive behavioural intervention.

William, as for Donald Trump, his behaviour might be more readily understood via his personal history of reinforcement without ever going inside that notoriously nasty noggin!!! Although i admit that explaining his crazy comb-over-quiff is a little difficult in behavioural terms. I mean what is reinforcing that??? Still modern behavioural theory might propose learned equivalence relations such as 'own-hair=leader' entails 'bald head=loser'; also while it is difficult to imagine people around him praising his hair-style they are unlikely to be frank regarding the hideous hair (fail to punish combing-over) and though the media are rightly insulting on the topic, and a lot of famous people don't read their bad press!! thus arranging contingencies to support and avoid punishing their target behaviours :)

Why should a gluten free diet be detrimental? Much of the world seems to manage happily on rice and lentils (India), maize and beans (Kenya), maize and vegetables (Africa), sour milk and blood (Masai), fish (Northern Canada), green bananas and groundnut sauce (Uganda). These people do not suffer from some kind of gluten deficiency.

It used to be that cutting out gluten meant cutting out a lot of processed food, like cakes, biscuits, and pies. It was an advantage to cut out foods made with sugar, hydrogenated oil and food additives. However, with free from foods, gluten free may contain all of these.

Well, when you say they seem to manage happily, thats a subjective impression. It might be interesting to see some data on life span, mortality rates et cetera. Also there is the issue that different groups may have evolved with specific biologies and are adapted to survive within their environments, for example Asian peoples may have greater difficulties processing alcohol than Europeans. I'm not a medical expert but i have been advised by medical doctors that a gluten free diet can negatively impact absorption of nutrients; in the case of Celiac disease it is nonetheless beneficial to avoid this protein, but if it confers no such specific benefit, a gluten free diet may be inadvisable. 

This paper gives a short review of our research on autism spectrum disorder: 

Article Nutritional and Environmental Influences on Autism Spectrum Disorder

Dear Mr. Rayan:

The most common nutritional interventions used by Registered Dietitians in Puerto Rico (USA) include mineral and vitamin therapy and elimination diets such as a gluten-free, casein-free; allergy diets; supplementation with essential fatty acids and megavitamins. Here an article about the topic: Millward C, et al. Gluten- and casein-free diets for autistic spectrum disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 16(2):CD00348, 2008.

Carmen María Pérez

yes

The interventions in autism mentioned by contributors are important, but it is also important to deal with poor sulphate conjugation, using vitamins B2, B6, molybdenum, and zinc, and avoiding the strongest phenolsulphotransferase inhibitors, like spinach, radish and orange. We should avoid giving B6 without B2. Usually poor B6 activation is due to lack of B2. Again, avoid foods with large amounts of boron, like tomatoes and apples, as they cause excretion of B2.

For a variety of reasons, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may not get the nutrition they need for healthy growth and development. Some children with autism will only eat certain foods because of how the foods feel in their mouths. Other times, they might avoid eating foods because they associate them with stomach pain or discomfort. Some children are put on limited diets in hopes of reducing autism symptoms. It is important that parents and caregivers work with a nutrition specialist—such as a registered dietitian—or health care provider to design a meal plan for a person with autism, especially if they want to try a limited diet. Such providers can help to make sure the child is still getting all the nutrients he or she needs to grow into a healthy adult, even while on the special diet. For example, many children with ASD are on gluten-free or casein-free diets. (Gluten and casein are types of proteins found in wheat and milk products, respectively.) Available research data do not support the use of a casein-free diet, a gluten-free diet, or a combined gluten-free, casein-free diet as a primary treatment for individuals with ASD.

regards

agree with @ Margaret Moss

regards

The biggest issue often is ASD provokes strange eating behaviour. From a dietary point of view help or structure is a good thing. Children can be difficult eaters and that freaks out parents. But food won't change developmental problems. ASD is epigentic and a developmental disorder, so food will not help. However some effects can be beneficial. No proof is around that food therapy will be therapy at all.

Epigenetics is interaction between genes and environment. Food is a major part of the environment.

What we eat affects our gut bacteria, which affect health of the brain and body.

Food can be addictive. Children who will only eat one food may start eating other foods, once they are refused the food to which they are addicted.

What we eat affects sulphate conjugation, increasing gut permeability. Lectins in whole grains, nuts, seeds, tubers and pulses can also increase gut permeability.

Food also carries other chemicals, like glyphosate, colourings, flavourings, artificial sweeteners and preservatives.

@ Dr. Ahmad Rayan

The answer is 'yes'. Kindly see the following RG links.

Article Comprehensive Nutritional and Dietary Intervention for Autis...

Article How nutritional status, diet and dietary supplements can aff...

Article Prospects of Zinc Supplementation in Autism Spectrum Disorde...

Thanks!

Adams et al have done a service by their detailed trial on supplements, diet and Epsom salt baths. They suggest the supplements could be improved. I would suggest improving the supplements by omitting boron, as it causes excretion of vitamin B2, thus affecting Krebs cycle, activation of vitamin B6, electron transport, methylation and sulphation. I also suggest omitting n-acetyl cysteine, as cysteine is an excitotoxin, admittedly less intense than glutamate and aspartate, but longer acting. Those with poor production of sulphate often have high cysteine levels, due to poor conversion from cysteine to sulphate.

I also suggest considering Exley's work on aluminium in the brains of those with autism, dementia and multiple sclerosis. He suggests using spring water that is high in silica, like Acilis (Spritzer), Fiji or Volvic. Silica binds to aluminium, causing it to be excreted. Aluminium is used in vaccines, saucepans, foil, antacids and deodorants.

sum type of autism can treatment by nutrition therapy that not have glutamate , aspartate

I wrote a paper on this topic, but it's in Hebrew.

Perhaps these links can help you:

https://www.autism.org/implementing-special-diets/

https://www.autism.org/advice-for-parents/

Article Dietary Adequacy of Children with Autism Compared to Control...