GETTING STARTED GUIDE I WANT TO CHANGE THE WAY MY FAMILY EATS NOW WHAT!?

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Austin Tyler
5 years ago
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1 GETTING STARTED GUIDE I WANT TO CHANGE THE WAY MY FAMILY EATS NOW WHAT!? When my son was first diagnosed with autism and I started learning about how foods can affect our health, learning and behavior, I decided it was time to change the way we ate. But.I didn t know where to begin! I was so overwhelmed by the terms gluten free, casein free, soy free, good fats, bad fats.and the thought of my child eating anything other than grilled cheese and pizza was incomprehensible! Here, I have put together a little guide to help you get started and hopefully, take away a little of that stress. Making these changes will benefit the whole family and once you get started it will become second nature. Making all of the changes at once can be even more overwhelming for some people! Ideally, we want to eat whole foods with no processed foods and no artificial anything. However, making small changes progressively will go a long way and before you know it, it will become so much easier and you will see such remarkable improvements that you will want to keep improving your whole lifestyle! Let s Get Started! Stop eating Junk! This is really and truly the number one thing to stop doing if you want to improve your family s health. What is junk? Glad you asked. It is anything artificial; preservatives, colorings, additives. Anything that comes from a drive-thru, vending machine or package. If it is in a package and has an ingredient list of more than 10, toss it. If you are going to eat foods from a package you will need to become an expert on food labels and how to read them so you know that the foods you are choosing are good options. Artificial ingredients are highly toxic and very difficult for the liver to breakdown. They have been linked to

2 hyperactivity 1, asthma 2,3, depression, anxiety 4, aggression, irritability, headaches and sleep disturbances. 5,6 Here is a list of food additives which should be avoided at all costs: Artificial colors- Red #40, Yellow #5 Artificial flavors- Vanillin Preservatives- BHA, BHT Monosodium Glutamate- MSG, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Autolyzed Yeast, Yeast Extract Artificial Sweeteners Trans Fats So, what do we eat? Real Food. Think back to how our grandparent s/great-grandparents ate. Food that comes from the ground or trees are the best sources. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish and meat are examples of REAL food. From here, if there is a specific problematic condition with an individual, a dietary plan may need to be individualized. Specific food allergies (IgE) and sensitivities (IgG) may need to be addressed as well as specific nutrient deficiencies. Many parents report that when problematic foods are removed, symptoms improve. Gains in overall health, learning, behavior, and language can be seen. Once we get nutrient deficiencies addressed even more gains are seen.

3 What is gluten, casein, soy, good fats and bad fats and why should I care? Gluten- protein found in grains such as wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, and most commercial oats. Several studies have shown improvements in certain autistic behaviors, such as social isolation, communication, and overall behavior, with the use of a gluten-free diet. Gluten has been linked as problematic to many autoimmune 7 conditions such as Hashimoto s, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis. Gluten has been shown to cause inflammation in the intestinal lining leading to a condition known as leaky gut 7. This can result in reduced good bacteria and increased bad/problematic bacteria. Casein- a specific protein found in dairy. Casein has also been shown to cause inflammation in the digestive tract leading to systemic inflammation in the body. Removing casein from the diet can lead to a reduction of inflammation and therefore a reduction in problematic symptoms. Soy- Most of the soy found in our foods today is overly processed and comes from Genetically Modified (GMO) sources. (GMO foods have been banned in over 40 countries and linked to many issues and diseases. I will add a separate source breaking down the issues with GMO.) Again, this can lead to inflammation. All of this inflammation in the digestive tract also leads to inability to breakdown and absorb nutrients as needed which leads to many nutrient deficiencies which leads to diseased states. Good Fats- Good fats typically come from nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fish. Healthy fats are liquid at room temperature and consist of monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Good sources of monounsaturated fats are olive oil, canola oil, avocados, and most nuts, as well as high-oleic safflower and sunflower oils. Just make sure these come from non-gmo sources many oils (especially canola) are mostly GMO. Polyunsaturated fats are essential, meaning your body cannot make them on their own and you must get them from your diet. Omega 3 and Omega 6 are the two main sources of polyunsaturated fats. This can get complicated because our typical diets get many Omega 6 but not so many

4 Omega 3. The ratio is what is most important. Since our diets are so high in Omega 6, omega 3 should really be the focus. Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include fatty fish such as salmon, flaxseeds, and walnuts. Read more about Omega 3 s here. In-between Fats- Saturated Fats Solid at room temperature. One of the best sources is coconut oil. Other common sources of saturated fat include red meat, whole milk and other whole-milk dairy sources. A diet high in saturated fats can drive up total cholesterol, and tip the balance toward more harmful LDL cholesterol, which prompts blockages to form in arteries in the heart and elsewhere in the body. For that reason, it is recommended limiting saturated fat to under 10% of calories a day. Several studies have linked saturated fat and heart disease. One meta-analysis of 21 studies said that there was not enough evidence to conclude that saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease, but that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat may indeed reduce risk of heart disease. Coconut oil, however, seems to have many heart protective qualities. Bad Fats- Trans Fats are the absolute worst and should be avoided at all costs. They have no health benefits and there is no safe level of consumption. Trans fats are known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and are found in many commercial cookies, pastries and fast foods.

5 Nutrient Dense Foods to Include Vitamin A: Cod liver oil, butter/ghee, liver, and egg yolk. Vitamin C: Sweet potato, winter squash, broccoli, leafy green, liver, Citrus (if tolerated) Vitamin B6: Sunflower seeds, pistachios, walnuts, lentils, grains and beans, rice bran, blackstrap molasses Vitamin B12: Liver, eggs, fish, lamb, beef Folic acid : beans, rice germ, liver, asparagus, broccoli, bananas Omega 3:Fish/cod liver oil, egg yolk, butter/ghee, flax seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts Iron: blackstrap molasses, liver, pumpkin seeds Zinc: Pumpkin seeds, nuts, legumes, ginger, oats Magnesium: Sweet potato, winter squash, broccoli, leafy greens, seaweed, nettles, whole grains, nuts, legumes Calcium: Broccoli, leafy greens, winter squash, seaweed, nettles, nuts

6 References 1)McCann D, Barrett A, Cooper A, Crumpler D, Dalen L, Grimshaw K, Kitchin E, Lok K, Porteous L, Prince E, Sonuga-Barke E, Warner JO, Stevenson J. Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9- yearold children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Nov 3;370(9598): ) Chafee, Francis H., and Guy A. Settipane. Asthma caused by FD&C approved dyes. Journal of Allergy 40.2 (1967): ) Moneret-Vautrin, D. A. Monosodium glutamate-induced asthma: study of the potential risk of 30 asthmatics and review of the literature. Allergie et immunologie 19.1 (1987): 29. 4) Kamel, Mervat M., and Heba S. El-lethey. The potential health hazard of tartrazine and levels of hyperactivity, anxiety-like symptoms, depression and anti-social behaviour in rats. J Am Sci 7.6 (2011): ) Ozol, Duygu, and Emin Mete. Asthma and food allergy. Current opinion in pulmonary medicine 14.1 (2008): ) Reichelt KL, Knivsberg AM, Lihnd G, Nodland M: Probable etiology and possible treatment of childhood autism. Brain Dysfunction 1991; 4: ) Jyonouchi H, Geng L, Ruby A, Reddy C, Zimmerman-Bier B. (2005) Evaluation of an association between gastrointestinal symptoms and cytokine production against common dietary proteins in children with autism spectrum disorders. J Pediatr. May;146(5):582-4.

Be a Food Label Detective!

Be a Food Label Detective! Elyse Kontra Kara Kelly Total Fat Type of fat is more important than total fat Limit total fat intake to 25-35% of your total calories Fat-free Caloriefree http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-ieat/taking-a-closer-look-at-labels.html