Complex brain disorder diet for children:

Sir, my son is 31/2 years old he has mild autism and what type of food I should give to him, please advice me and help me.

Autism is a complex brain disorder which sadly has no one specific treatment, but it can be treated in different ways.



One of the ways parents choose is some alternative treatment options like a diet therapy for their little ones. An autism diet is successful in many children with autism, but many specialists are still skeptical to recommend an autism diet as a treatment mode because the researches are still sketchy. The most popular specialized diet found for children with autism is gluten free and casein free diet; these diets seems to lessen the symptoms like impulsive behavior, speech problems and lack of focus in many children with autism.



Before starting any specialized diet for your son, it would be wise to consult a registered dietician or a specialist who masters in autism. This is because a gluten free and casein free diet may sometimes cause nutritional deficiencies if the child is a poor eater.

Gluten free and casein free diet is eliminating all the foods containing gluten and casein from your child's diet.



This can be done gradually like eliminating gluten foods first and then eliminating casein foods after sometime or eliminating both gluten and casein food together. This diet is not as simple as it sounds because gluten and casein are found in a wide variety of foods and food products, especially the ones which all children tend to love. Thus to practice a gluten and casein free diet is not only difficult and challenging but also expensive to administer. Removing gluten and casein is not just removing wheat and dairy from your child's diet. Gluten is present in a variety of foods like rye, oats, barley, spelt and products and derivatives of these grains like malt grain starches, soya sauce, malt wash, hydrolyzed vegetables or plant proteins, grain vinegar and natural flavoring. Gluten can also enter your child's system via skin through adhesives on stickers and stamps, and many other hygienic products. Casein is present in all the dairy products and dairy products are used in a variety of recipes a major or minor ingredient like ice creams, shakes, other kids' foods and snacks. Although there are a wide variety of food products available in the market that are gluten free (due to high incidence of celiac diseases) it is very important to read all the ingredients on the label thoroughly before giving anything to your child. If you choose to keep your child on this diet then there are many foods which you can include in his diet, these include - fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, chicken, poultry, fish, eggs, and other foods that contain no gluten or casein.



Make sure to read labels on food products minutely because gluten and casein are often hidden ingredients in many packed products. Also inform other people or members (family members, teachers and specialists) about the diet changes in your child.