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Usually ships in 1 business days | | | | | | Following the increasing amount of scientific research relating to autism, various dietary approaches are being advocated to help those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). This book provides an introduction to the clinical conditions that can cause autistic behaviour and what can be done to significantly improve many of them.
The book explores the known genetic conditions linked to autism and describes various dietary interventions. For each approach, the author explores the potential benefits; evidence for and against the diet; and information, where available, on relevant publications, web resources and support groups. The author also looks at the Simple Restriction Diet (SRD) in detail, describing how to implement this approach and how to evaluate its effects.
This book will be a valuable resource for families, individuals and professionals wishing to understand and explore the possibilities of dietary interventions and the benefits they can have for those on the autism spectrum. | | | |
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| | Product Details | | Author: | Kenneth J. Aitken | | Hardcover: | 144 pages | | Publisher: | Jessica Kingsley Pub | | Publication Date: | October 15, 2008 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 1843109395 | | Package Length: | 9.29 inches | | Package Width: | 5.83 inches | | Package Height: | 1.02 inches | | Package Weight: | 1.23 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 2 reviews |
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| | Features | ISBN13: 9781843109396Condition: NEWNotes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 The child cannot wait, we need to act now May 30, 2009
After having just recently read Susan Lord's "Getting Your Kid on a Gluten-Free Casein-Free Diet" (see my review), discovering this text by Aitken on a recent visit to the Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine bookstore was a welcome invitation to discover for myself the recent (as of early-2009) research in this field that I had yet to come across elsewhere. Aitken's exploration of the main dietary approaches that have been advocated for individuals exhibiting Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) is superb. The polyunsaturated fat (PUFA), oxalate, and phenol metabolism diagrams were what originally attracted me, due to my chemistry background, but the reason I decided to read this book was to gain the knowledge to understand from a research perspective many of the ASD diets in existence. After discussing diet in general and dietary interventions, the author presents the diets that are currently used with ASDs along with corresponding reasons for doing so: the Mackarness (Low Carbohydrate, High-Protein) Diet, the Feingold Diet, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, the CF-GF Diet, the Low Oxalate Diet, the Low Glutamate Diet/GARD (Glutamate-Aspartate Restricted Diet), the Low Phenylalanine Diet, the Low Phenol Diet, the Body Ecology Diet, and the Rotation Diet. The last main section of the text discusses the Simple Restriction Diet (SRD) that the author, currently an independent consultant and previously Principal Clinical Neuropsychologist at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, proposes. For each of these approaches, Aitken explores the potential benefits, evidence for and against each and its relation to different genetic conditions, and information where available on relevant publications, web resources, and support groups. In his extensive, informative introduction, the author notes that "a number of books are available dealing with specific dietary approaches to ASD", but that "the principal flaw in the literature to date is in being overinclusive - the general books assume that everyone requires the same optimum diet and those which deal with ASD assuming that every ASD person has the same problem with casein and gluten digestion/a fatty acid deficiency/a specific vitamin deficiency/another specific dietary factor and that, therefore, everyone with ASD should be helped by adopting the same diet. Neither conclusion is justified". While Lord mentioned in passing that when considering diet, one needs to "move on past the lame excuse, 'When I checked with the doctor, he said that he'd seen more kids harmed by poor nutrition from the diet than helped by the diet", Aitken addresses this stumbling block head-on: "Despite the popularity of dietary interventions for ASD, there is surprisingly little in the way of adequate peer-reviewed clinical research, and few randomized double-blinded controlled trials exist in this area. This is partly because such research is difficult - keeping people from knowing what they are eating and drinking, then changing their diet, without them being aware, for long enough to see whether there are any effects is hard to do and is not without significant ethical problems. It is also partly because there is far less funding available for such research compared to, say, funding made available to research a new patent medication. Unless there is a very strong incentive, food manufacturers are unlikely to rush to sponsor research on whether cutting down on or excluding their products may be beneficial. This is similar to the slow measured pace at which the tobacco industry tested the claims of effects from smoking on lung cancer, and the way that automobile manufacturers welcomed research on removing lead from petrol, thus reducing engine efficiency". In his conclusion, Aitken writes that "we should not be waiting for the research evidence on the minutiae of why [the adoption of such simple, inexpensive dietary means] works to come in first. For many families, this is happening anyway but is largely being ignored by the clinical and research community. To paraphrase the introductory quote from Gabriela Mistral: 'The child cannot wait, we need to act now'". Very well said.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Overall, a good review of the data Dec 06, 2008
There is a considerable amount of research available showing scientific evidence for the effects of various diets on people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). The problem is, much of this is scattered across various journals and research magazines, and few people have the time or energy to search through the library for these sources. This book provides a good, solid review of which diets have science supporting them, and which ones have yet to have any research studies done, but have been reported to have beneficial effects by parents and/or make sense to those who know biochemistry.
This said, be prepared to wade through more biochemistry than you will have been exposed to, unless that was your major in college. Also a minor problem for the American reader will be the use of some British colloquial language, such as crisps and biscuits.
Aitken's book is NOT a "how to" book for diets. It is a "why to try it, and why it makes sense" book, and does not contain much detailed information on how to actually do the diets, what needs to be removed (in many cases), and contains no recipes. This said, if you have tried diets with your child or yourself, or would like to, this may be a good place to start looking for WHICH of the diets available is most likely to provide benefits.
All in all, the major errors were those of omission: while on p. 187, he mentions that it can take more than 6 months for all gluten to be released from the diet, he fails to follow up with a definitive timetable. Dependent upon the person, tests show that gluten can take 3-9 months completely leave the body of a person. Casein takes between 3 and 5 days for total clearing, which is never mentioned. This means that for a true trial rotation of a gluten and casein free diet, trial period of at least 6 months and more likely one year will be required. Also not mentioned is that besides dietary sources, gluten and casein are likely to be found in personal care products such as lotion and shampoo, and that gluten can be absorbed through the skin during use of Play-doh and other common play products. Parents should also know that, due to the levels of toxin released in some children, it is best not to do the GF/CF diet in one fell swoop, but to remove and reduce levels in the body first. Otherwise, major behavior problems, cravings, and possibly even hospitalization may sabotage the diet from the start.
The other MAJOR omission is the complete lack of reference to soy, unfortunately, this is common in most works on the GF/CF diet. To quote another source, "Soy is known to be a highly allergenic food, and although it is a legume, its protein is structurally similar to that of milk. Soy allergy is common in babies and children with milk allergy." (The Encyclopedia of Dietary Interventions for the Treatment of Autism and Related Disorders, Seroussi & Lewis, 2008) It should also be mentioned that while the pathway for damage by gluten in Autism appears dissimilar to those with Celiac Disease, people with either disorder (or with both, as the case may be) can have an intolerance to gluten, casein, and soy proteins due to the similar nature of these proteins on a chemical level.
This is a particular concern, because Soy milk is usually the first source of a milk replacement parents seek, and often the most easily available. Parents need to know BEFORE they start the diet that replacing casein with soy is a bad idea, and that they should search for gluten-free rice, almond, or potato milk depending upon the needs of the child.
The last error of omission is that the author fails to mention that a child put on a diet may get worse before s/he gets better. This is usually due to toxin release. A major source of diet "failure" is that the child gets as far as the toxin-release phase and has a major melt-down, or develops lesions on the skins and the parents panic and return the child to his or her prior diet. When I went through my gluten release, the toxin release was major and readily apparent - approximately 3 1/2 months after I removed gluten from my diet, I broke out in huge, red, open sores all over my body for a week and a half. Reintroduction of gluten to see what the effects were after a year on the diet brought them back, and minor exposures to gluten since have resulted in the appearance of smaller, scattered red sores on my body.
I do advocate taking supplements and vitamins, however, when it comes to digestive enzymes, it is best to stick to the diet and take the supplements to help with accidental exposures, such as when your child gets hold of a regular cookie at a party. Otherwise, it is similar to taking a poison and an antidote for it at the same time - it probably won't kill you, but it may make you very ill. Avoid the problem by sticking to the diet that benefits you or your child as much as possible, and save the digestive enzymes for when you eat out and get exposed to crumbs.
I should, perhaps, mention that I am diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome as an adult, and work with children on the autism spectrum, many of whom are on special diets. I have seen beneficial results from diet in both myself and my clients. It is worth mentioning that the Feingold Diet, the simplest of the diets that Aitkin covers, seems of benefit to almost every child, regardless of diagnosis or lack thereof.
I may alter my diet further in response to this book and other sources I have read, however, it is unlikely that I will go as far as the full "Simple Restriction Diet" in the long term, although I may try it for a period of weeks to remove remaining toxins as part of my yearly program.
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