Asperger’s Syndrome Diet, Nutritional Supplements

Asperger’s syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction, odd speech patterns, obsessions, and other strange mannerisms. Children with Asperger’s syndrome usually find it difficult to read another persons body language and have a limited range of facial expressions. A key element to treating Asperger’s syndrome is the right nutrition and diet plan. A casein-free, gluten-free diet is recommended for children with Asperger’s syndrome. Simply start by eliminating one group of your choice, and then move over to the next. If you are happy with the results on eliminating one group of foods, there is no need to move to the next.

Children suffering from autistic spectrum disorders are usually found to suffer from gastrointestinal problems such as constipation, reflux, vomiting, hiccups, and diarrhea. The proteins found in rye, oats, dairy products, and barley are not totally broken down in those suffering from autistic spectrum disorders. These proteins leak into the patient’s bloodstream and could have an opiate-type of effect on the patient’s system. It is therefore recommended that children suffering from Asperger’s syndrome (part of autistic syndrome disorders) follow an Asperger’s syndrome diet that is casein-free and gluten-free.
So what outcome can an Asperger’s syndrome diet and nutrition plan produce? Parents of children with Asperger’s syndrome report a number of outcomes such as improved communication and speech, improved sleep patterns, improved attention span, improved personal hygiene routine, improved social skills, improved motor skills, increased affection, improved intestinal function, and reduced irritability and tantrums. If you are planning a diet for an Asperger’s syndrome patient, you can start by eliminating either gluten or casein at a time. Once you get comfortable without dairy or wheat products, move on to the next element. One effective action you can take is to use gluten-free flour in all your recipes. If you find it difficult to find a gluten-free alternative to bread, simply exclude it from your meals. You could also check with all the major snack foods distributors for their gluten-free products.

Asperger’s Syndrome Food

Children with Asperger’s syndrome are sensitive to temperature, smell, texture, and taste, and are very “picky” eaters. Some Asperger’s syndrome children develop certain fetishes like insisting on eating creamy texture foods or eating beige-color foods. Some like spicy and sour foods. It is often a challenge for parents to ensure that their child gets proper nutrition. One trick that works is changing the texture of the food they despise. For instance, you can serve a pea soup if your child doesn’t like peas or an orange juice instead of an orange. For children with Asperger’s syndrome the right food can have positive results. In children and adults with Asperger’s syndrome, food allergies can aggravate the condition. A connection has been made between autism spectrum disorders and food intolerance. People with disorders such as Asperger’s syndrome are unable to digest casein and gluten. These Asperger’s syndrome food issues can be tackled by eliminating casein and gluten from the diet. Casein is found in dairy products and gluten is found in rye, barley, wheat and oats. Avoiding gluten would mean that your avoid foods such bread, barley, pasta, rye, oats, all types of flour, biscuits, food starch, cakes, cereals, pie, donuts, pizza, and croutons in your meals. You can substitute all this with gluten-free products. You also need to eliminate dairy products such as cheese, milk, ice cream, puddings, margarines, and goat milk from your diet. Certain “trigger foods” such as food colorings, chocolate, caffeine and peanut butter should also be cut out from the diet. You need to find some good Asperger’s syndrome food sources such as food products, cookbooks and DVDs.

Asperger’s Syndrome Nutrition

Many parents try special diets and use nutritional supplements to treat Asperger’s syndrome symptoms. Casein free and gluten free diets are the most common Asperger’s syndrome nutrition treatments used. All traces of casein (dairy) and gluten (wheat) are eliminated from the child’s diet. In addition to following an Asperger’s syndrome diet, you can purchase Asperger’s syndrome nutritional supplements of herbs for your children. Certain vitamins supplements are also specifically made for treating Asperger’s syndrome. These supplements include fish oil, calcium, omega 3, 6 or 9, HNI enzymes, vitamin B-6, and DMG or dimethylglycine. Cod liver oil supplements that are high in Vitamin A are also beneficial in treating the symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome. If you use these Asperger's syndrome nutritional treatments, it is best that you keep a record of your child’s tantrums or erratic behavior. By doing this, you can figure out if the treatment is working. It is also recommended that you contact a clinical nutritionist and fix any problems that you may have identified with your child’s diet. There is not much research available about the success of vitamin and diet therapy at this point. Nevertheless, many parents go ahead and try them.

Submitted on January 16, 2014