Our "Autism Diet"
- Rebecca (Becky) Alexander
- Dec 31, 2019
- 6 min read
*** This blog was originally written in 2019 when I was contacted by many parents asking about the special food plan I had my daughter on until she was 10 years old and we switched to pharmaceutical meds.
When it came to raising Sophie-Lyn, diet for us was always HUGE.
If I remember correctly, she was younger then 2 when the rashes around her mouth started popping up and we somehow linked the allergy to artificial dyes.
In this day and age it’s fairly common knowledge about how dyes have adverse health effects or how they cause hyperactivity and behavior problems in children. I can tell you that if you are on the line about going dye free then I challenge you to cut them out for only one week, and then give your kid a big ole red popsicle and then sit back and watch the fireworks begin! I promise that you will definitely notice the difference bringing the dye BACK in almost immediately and this will make you a believer in the power of dye!
I remember the pediatrician said to me at one of our first appointments “well if she is allergic to dyes then she is most likely allergic to preservatives. They are basically the same thing". And I thought "hmmmmph. GREAT." Cutting dye on its own was a huge undertaking. Preservatives is another huge one to cut out completely. We were pretty healthy in our eating habits but I honestly could never see myself committing to make everything she put in her mouth from scratch. Life was busy enough! I didn’t really bite that bullet until much later.
One day, after a birthday party, daughter was laying under the table and telling me her whole body was angry - while crying and writhing around. This was honestly the turning point for me. It was the day I knew she couldn’t continue to live this way and that we needed to make some serious changes. And that I needed to do whatever it took to find answers no matter how many people turned me away again.
We found ourselves in the office of a wonderful Naturopath Doctor that does something called VEGA testing. It was no surprise that she found the dye allergies my daughter had right away along with an army of other things I had no idea about. She explained to me that when bodies are too busy rejecting and trying to process foods it cant handle that it will actually effect her body being able to absorb the nutrients it needed efficiently. It turns out that when this happens it often comes out as behavioral problems as it can effect everything in the body including brain chemistry. When I left that office I had a hefty list of preservatives and dyes we needed to avoid and also the foods they tend to be in. On this list there was all the artificial dyes, and a handful of preservatives, msg and SUGAR. It was a huge list. The sugar one was the one that really rocked me and kind of set me into a panic. There is sugar in EVERYTHING packaged or canned or jarred. Its a massive undertaking for anyone to adjust their diet this way and I had no idea how I was going to get my picky 5 year old to eat this way when she has never touched a carrot or salad in her life. And the kicker? It was almost exactly one week until Halloween.
When we got home I sat Sophie-Lyn down and showed her the list.
“Honey, Dr Karin knows why your body is feeling so angry all the time."
She was so sad. What kid doesn't love ice cream and cake? But I told her that even though she couldn’t eat a lot of these things anymore that we were going to find the alternative for everything - that she would just have her own bread and yogurt etc. I promised her we would find new recipes for treats so she wouldn’t ever be left out. I told her it was going to be hard but that we would do this together and I promised her that it was going to help her body and her brain! I enticed her with the idea of always having her own special food.
Together that night we went through everything in the fridge and cupboards and read every ingredient. Other than real fruit, real meat, cheese, pasta and rice there wasn’t much left in our cup boards she could eat. We went shopping the next day at the natural foods store and found the basics we needed - it’s amazing what sugar hides in! We did manage to find cereal sweetened with coconut sugar. $7 jam that had nothing added except fruit. Plain yogurt that we sweetened with only honey. (Amazing when adding frozen berries btw). Chocolate chips sweetened with stevia! Organic rice crackers. Hot dogs that would split open if you cooked them even a minute too long. Coconut bread. The first recipe I ever made for her to eat as a treat was energy bites! We ate them all within an hour and had to make another batch.
Four days later, on a completely clean diet, and I swear to you it was like I had a completely different kid. She seemed more settled and grounded. She was less agitated. She was less antsy. She was sleeping better. She was making jokes and laughing at herself - and in that moment I actually could not recall the last time she had EVER made a joke or even giggled like she was. I was overwhelmed with emotion and GUILT with the fact I should have done this completely healthy eating thing a lot sooner. I knew she was reacting to dyes... and I knew I couldn't feed her complete crap. Why didn't I clue into this sooner? Even the teachers and other parents were commenting at school the change in her. She was also having an easier time regulating back from her melt downs and they were less frequent and were not happening over such minor things anymore.
We attended the school Halloween party prepared with our own snacks that consisted of a can of Zevia, homemade popcorn, a Lily’s chocolate bar (stevia) and some plain potato chips. She sat at the table and had her fill and then went and played games and won candy that she happily gave away to her friends. We could not believe how maturely she handled the situation. When someone asked her about her new eating plan she told them proudly “I have my own special snacks that don’t make my body upset”. I told her how proud I was of her!
On Halloween night she chose to trick or treat for fun. I had found her some naturally sweetened cotton candy from the maple store here in town, a maple sucker and some natural licorice made with raspberry puree. She was happy as pie to leave her candy for the "switch witch" and have her own treats to indulge in. She went to bed that night as one of the only kids in the neighborhood without a sugar-high paired with a calm body and mind.
Fast forward to today, 2 years later, we also have her off dairy and gluten at the recommendations of the same Naturopath. (The first time I punched sugar, dairy, gluten and dye free into google and the “autism diet” popped up I nearly fell off my chair as all of this had happened pre-diagnosis for us. Who knew?!!)
It’s been a huge learning curve. I have also changed my own eating habits after everything I have learned from my kid. What we put into our bodies definitely can make a huge difference as to how it feels on the outside! I have more energy. I have less anxiety. I feel like I have my depression issues in check. I am less bloated! My periods are easier with less mood swings. I cannot believe what a
difference clean eating makes!
The way I see it is this:
Our Autistic kids (and US!) come packed with some huge sensory overloads. They feel every sensation and every vibration to the absolute extreme. Because of this their bodies are over sensitive. If they have a tummy ache from gluten they feel it excessively. If they are over stimulated from a sugar rush their senses are overly heightened and it’s too much for them. If they are reacting to something they literally feel it in their whole body.
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING ELSE- they feel it in their whole body when their body is happy too. And it definitely shows!
Life might be busy but nothing is ever to busy to keep me from making sure her body is able to keep that big ole smile on her face!
Comments