These days it seems there are new diets making the headlines every other day. Admittedly, a great deal can be achieved by adjusting your diet, but we also have to bear in mind that many diets can be harmful to your health as well. For example, one particular diet may work wonders as far as weight loss is concerned, but is it really benefiting your health as well, or is it actually damaging your health?
The human body is a complex piece of machinery, and in order to function at full capacity, it requires a broad range of vitamins; minerals and etc. More often than not, a diet which calls for you to stop eating certain types of foods will result in your body not getting all the nutrients it requires. Vegetarians for example are at risk of not consuming an adequate amount of protein.
Diet And The Autistic Child
Researchers have long since believed that there is a link between diet and autism, and many have stepped forward to explain the link between a gluten free diet and autism. In a nutshell, some studies have shown that many autistic children are unable to digest gluten in the same way regular kids do. This has led some researchers to believe that gluten might have a negative impact on the overall behavior of children with this particular disorder.
Many parents who have placed their autistic kids on a gluten free diet have reported positive results, often saying that they noticed an improvement in behavior shortly after the diet was started. On the other hand, many studies have revealed that if this diet does deliver results, those results are often short lived. The reason for this being that a child will be deprived of some of the nutrients they would otherwise have obtained had they remained on a regular diet.
Tailoring Your Child’s Diet
The human body requires 90 different nutrients in order to function properly. This figure can be broken down into the following:
* 60 minerals
* 16 vitamins
* 12 amino acids
* 3 essential fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6 are an absolute must)
Now, I am certainly not saying that there is no connection between a gluten free diet and autism. In fact I support the idea, but I also think parents of autistic children need to ensure their kids are getting all of the 90 nutrients they need. If they can’t get that from their diet, then parents should consider using a high quality health supplement in order to compensate for any deficiencies. I’m not an expert on health supplements so I can’t recommend one, but whatever you do, focus on quality rather than on quantity.