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Pediatricians Deny Link Between Food and Autism
Filed under: Medical Conditions, Development/Milestones: Babies, In The News, Special Needs, Nutrition: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Nutrition: Big Kids, Nutrition: Tweens, Nutrition: Teens
Doctors are finding no link between autism and food allergies. Credit: Corbis
Jenny McCarthy is wrong, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic.
Diet does not contribute to autism.
The autism activist who started her career as a model and Playboy playmate has made a crusade out of her belief that food allergies and childhood vaccines are major contributors to the rising number of children diagnosed with the neurological disorder.
However, Mayo Clinic researchers tracked 124 kids with autism for more than 18 years and compared them with "typical" children. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC News' senior medical editor, was emphatic in reporting the researchers' conclusions.
"These findings are very conclusive," she said on the "Today" show following the release of the study Monday in the journal Pediatrics. "There is no link between illnesses of the gut and the signs and symptoms we see in children with autism."
This is good news for parents, she told viewers. "Because its means if you're putting your child on a restricted diet, or if you're doing colonics (which is a type of enema), if you're using extra vitamins and nutrients, and you're spending a lot of money and putting your child through that, there is no reason to," she said.
Children should only be put on wheat- or dairy-free diets after undergoing diagnostic tests, Dr. Samar H. Ibrahim told The New York Times. She is a pediatric fellow in gastroenterology and an instructor in pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic, as well as one of the principal authors of the report.
"There is actual no trial that has proven that a gluten-free and casein-free diet improves autism," she said. "The diets are not easy to follow and sometimes cause nutritional deficiencies."
Physicians listed with the advocacy organization Defeat Autism Now stick to their belief in the link between food and autism.
Dr. Rochelle Neally, a chiropractor at the Long Beach Autism Center in California questions large-scale medical studies. They are often backed by the big money of monolithic pharmaceutical companies," she said.
"What they call 'scientific' are these expensive double-blind tests," she said. "I tend to believe what I see in my office and what I've seen at the autism conferences I've attended for the past 10 years."
What she sees, she said, are often dramatic improvements in children's behavior when they are placed on a special diet. "The proof is in the pudding," she added.
The gluten-free pudding, that is.
However, she said parents with autistic children are increasingly unsatisfied with science that comes without answers. "Parents are rebelling against traditional medicine," Neally said.
Dr. Eileen Comia, M.D., in Bloomfield, Conn., is another physician allied with Defeat Autism Now. She said smaller-scale studies are needed. "Any doctor who says there's no link between diet and autism hasn't read a single article on the subject," she said.
Actually, believers in the link between mind and tummy have read too many articles -- inaccurate ones, Dr. Patricia Manning Courtney, medical director of the Kelly O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told US News and World Report.
"A couple of highly publicized cases of autism and loose stools in the 1990s led to an impression that children with autism had a higher rate of GI [gastrointestinal] dysfunction," she said. "It wasn't well characterized, but that got the story onto the national scene."
There is a link between diet and autism, Ibrahim said The New York Times, but not the one McCarthy and Defeat Autism Now physicians believe. Children with autism are often picky eaters. With limited diets, they often have more cases of constipation.
Restricting their diet choices even more than they do themselves only makes the problem worse, she told the paper.
"We did find that two specific problems -- constipation and feeding issues -- were more common in children with autism," Ibrahim told WebMD Health News.
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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 7)
7-31-2009 @ 12:32PM
Inkling said...OF COURSE the Mayo Clinic is going to insist that vaccinations that are mandated by the government are not contributing to Autism or ADHD. HOW does the Mayo Clinic make their money? Is this an idependent survey? NO! Is it a biased survey? YES! Does anybody believe this garbage? YES, too many I am afraid... I recently took my 13 year old for a well check up because we moved to a different state and I had to establish a new health care provider. I had asked his previous doctor if it was necessary to get a vaccine against Meningitis and I was told "No" because the chance of contracting it was rare. When I took my teen to this new clinic they told me that it was needed. I protested it, and they actually convinced me that it was necessary even though the risk of the shot was higher than the risk of contracting Meningitis. Doctors and clinics are paid to convince parents to give their children unnecessary innoculations. My child is not even in the public school system and is home schooled. The risk of contracting Meningitis is ZERO, and they knew that.
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7-31-2009 @ 12:05PM
T. Burniston said...Doctors want to sell drugs. Period!! And if you don't want to take them, they tell you there's something wrong with YOU! I got colon cancer from a blood pressure drug called Verapamil. It's a calcium channel blocker. It has been established that calcium channel blockers cause colon cancer, My doctors didn't tell me this. I found out 2½ years after I lost 14" of my transverse colon to a humdinger of a tumor. By the grace of God they got it before it spread. But when I found out what caused it, I went back to the doctors and raised hell. I backed two of them into a corner and they both admitted it. Doctors get a huge kickback from the pharmaceutical houses for pedaling their toxic junk!!!
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7-31-2009 @ 2:51PM
Scott H said...My son is on the Autistic scale, he was diagnosed about 3 years ago, So for the lady Dr. from the Mayo, the amount of ignorance put forth from someone of that stature and position surprises me. Being of the naturalpathetic mindset, I have learned that everyone that is EVERYONE is different, yes many people are affected by many of the same things that create maladies that sectioned and cataloged, but the bottom line is that everyone is different. Yes I think that vaccines have created issues, I know the food processes have, particulary in the direction to which foods ahve gone in the last 60 years, faster, quicker, cleaner, more expensive, and oh yea DEADLIER.
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7-31-2009 @ 12:24PM
E. Reese said...Live with science and die by science. Lack of belief in anything does not diminish its truth. Every anomily in all tests are characterised as insignificant and only the majority outcome is probed. Understand the reason for the results of each outcome and unlock the door to the universe.
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7-31-2009 @ 12:34PM
Linda said...I think Jenny used the yeast free diet which seems okay to me. I have to do that diet because I have one of those illnesses that most doctors don't know how to treat. There are many illnesses that doctors and the science still are behind in the times. Especially environmental illnesses. Doctors are usually not trained in environmental illnesses. I am ill from indoor mold and now have chemical type asthma, get migraines, vomiting when near everyday products such as any fragrance, detergents, soaps, etc. It has already been determined that our food, water, soil, products have a lot of chemicals that are not safe for us. Our government knows these problems. They have already said they can't guarantee our pharmaceuticals, food, etc. are safe. So if Jenny or any parent can see a big difference in their child when they are fed safer foods without all that sugar, etc. then go for it.
It is pretty bad that a soda has about 15 teaspoons of sugar. I use to give my daughter juices of all kinds and I heard not long ago that you shouldn't give juices because they have so much sugar. Instead of orange juice, eat an orange.
I would even watch what products you use because they do not test the chemicals that are in most of our cosmetics, soaps, cleaning products, fragrance which is in everything. You would not believe what is in most of our products. Even other countries have started regulating their products but the Bush Administration did not want our products tested for safety. You have to do whatever you can these days to stay safe. Most people don't know until something happens in your family and you start investigating and learn they are not looking out for us like we all thought. Linda
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7-31-2009 @ 12:37PM
Xenitelis8888 said...YEARS AGO I WAS TOLD TO STOP ALL HI-C DRINKS WITH DYES IN THEM AND CERTAIN FOODS THAT MADE MYCHILD HYPER ACTIVE. SO YES I DO BELIEVE CERTAIN FOODS CAN EFFECT PEOPLE.
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7-31-2009 @ 12:39PM
Bill Bowen said...I think Jenny is doing one heck of a job. If the so-called Doctors would put as much effort into their research as they do trying to debunk concerned people who have had to research all of the garbage put out by those doctors perhaps we could see an end to the diseases that make life so difficult for our children. Assuming that what kids eat doesn't affect them is as stupid as assuming that all of the answers will come in little pills.That makes the companies that manafacture those drugs rich and the research doctors who are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their "unbiased opinions" keep making their money.Ritalin is safe, remember, only now it's not. Thorazene (unsure of spelling) is safe only now they know it destroys your liver. Prozac, per an FDA study has sexual side effects that never go away. Mercury can't hurt your child, but anyone knows it is a deadly poison so how could it have no effect on children who ingest it or have it injected into their blood system when it is used to preserve vaccines? I'll give the doctors a big B.S. on that one. Why is the rare form of mercury that is used to preserve vaccines banned in California if there is no connection to autism or other serious health problems? It is also in the flu shots those same doctors want us to take every years and the rates of older patients who develop memory loss and children who become autistic are increasing all the time. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm? Makes you wonder just a little. Those who doubt this should just keep giving their kids those drugs only to be fair why don't you take them first. Give the kids a fighting chance to survive in a world that already tough enough. is increading every year. BTW, these are the same doctors who want to make it where we have to get a prescription from them to purchase vitamins and minerals. I don't think so.
Jenny, you are a fantastic mother and activist. The more these quacks attack you, you have to know you are getting closer to over turning their scared cows. They probably disagree but our children are more important than their scared cash cows.
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7-31-2009 @ 1:05PM
Marybeth said...The problem with Jenny McCarthy--and now Jim Carrey--being the celebrity face for autism is that she has an extreme and definitive opinion on diet and lifestyle choices for children with autism based solely on her son's response to both diet and therapy. I am happy that her son is extremely high functioning, and wish her family well. But she needs to understand that autism is a SPECTRUM--something that she just does not quite comprehend yet. Everything that comes out of her mouth is based on Evan. I'd love to watch her preech on television, in front of a parent of a child that is profoundly affected by autism (absolutely no eye contact, non-verbal, inappropriate noises, stimming, etc), and have her get an earful from that parent in regards to the gluten/casein free diet. And now, just b/c Jim Carrey is sleeping with her, he is not the authority on autism as well? I would respect them if they went back to school and pursued the medical field or something, not just put their pretty faces on Larry King and make statements that they do not even have the knowledge to back up.
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7-31-2009 @ 2:20PM
Jdoggie said...Jenny has experience working with hundreds of kids that have Autism. She talks about her son becuase that is her day to day expereince. If you think her knowledge is limited to only her child, then you need to do alittle research into what Jenny does everyday.
7-31-2009 @ 1:31PM
jonnysheen said...Yes...but a whore wth a cause. fuktard
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7-31-2009 @ 12:52PM
vickie said...Even now I can tell when i eat too much chocolate.....I feel weird.....so yes i believe that diet can help the kids.......Packaged foods if you look at the ingredients are filled with preservatives .....not good for anyone....I have a problem with cooking pans with teflon coating....Some of that has to come off in your cooking.....
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7-31-2009 @ 1:34PM
Brian Lee said...If you actually read Jenny's book you would know that she stated this diet does not work for everyone, but it HAS worked for some. There are also different degree's of autism. It is undeniable that Food we eat has an affect on the body, have your kid eat a box of candy and see what happens, your saying the sugar is not going to have any affect on them at all? Why can food be linked to diabetes but not autism? Everything you put in your body has some affect in one way or another.
Part of Jenny's arguement is SOME children with autism can't process wheat and/or dairy and the gluten and casein put the child in a drug like state. This is exactly how children with autism appear to others. Most children with autism are picky eaters and only eat foods that contain gluten or casein because it acts like a drug, they become dependant on it, and only want things that contain these. Its like telling someone who's addicted to heroin to have a bananna instead.
Jenny's not asking to have Pedetricians tell every parent with autism to go on the gfcf diet, because it has shown to not work for everyone. Her point is it does work for some, and she wants scientists and doctors to study why it works for some and not others to try and find a link and hopefully a cure. She also wants them to not rule it out. If it has worked for some it can work for others, and by telling people not to do it your taking away from curing a child. More research and testing needs to be done and provided by healthcare to determine if a gfcf diet would work depening on the results.
There is not always one signle answer to a problem, I look at autism like a fire that a child is trapped behind with no way out. If the child is surrounded by wood then water (gfcf diet) will put it out, but if its a grease fire water is not going to work. Still in both cases something got hot enough and ignited the fire. Lets all work together to find not only the cure but even more so the cause, becuase if you find the cause you find the cure.
7-31-2009 @ 1:05PM
Amy B said...I have been treating my son for a mood disorder (bi-polar) that was diagnosed when he was only 3 years old. The tantrums that lasted for 6 hours straight, the irrational thoughts, hallucinations, and violent, self-destructive behavior were unbearable. He suffered from sensory-integration issues and speech apraxia. As any mother would, I sought a reason that my son was acting this way.
His pediatrician said it was pure genetics and he prescribed heavy anti-psychotic and anti-seizure drugs to get him under control. Since then, we have seen the doctor every 3 months for a meds check, adjusting the meds/dosages as "needed." I never got a clear answer as to the origins of this diagnosis or ways that we could modify his behavior in any other way but with drugs.
My son is now 8 1/2 years old, and about 3 months ago, we started seeing a chiropractor to help with his posture and gait. Dr. Jen glanced at his chart, noticed the mood disorder diagnosis, and recommended that we immediately remove all dairy products from his diet. We did, and we are SO thankful to her! My son is a totally different child! His speech is clear, his whole demeanor is calm, respectful, and rational. As he says, "I can just think faster. My brain isn't full of gunk anymore!"
We discussed the changes with his pediatrician at our last meds check, and we will be weaning him off the meds. So to any of those who deny the link between diet and neurological issues, I offer to loan you my son for a week on an all-dairy diet! Surely you will change your minds.
Congratulations to the families who are brave and committed enough to seek out and implement these life-changing dietary measures, and immense thanks to the doctors (of whichever discipline) who put their opinions and recommendations out there despite the criticism!!!
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7-31-2009 @ 1:23PM
Jennifer said...I agree 100% with Jenny. Its not that doctors CAN'T tell you this it's that they wont tell you this because they prescribe medication for EVERYTHING and if people like us take our kids off or dont put them on the stuff to begin with then they are out of money. why do you think they try to give people the most expensive namebrand of everything. they are money hungry. I would love to be able to afford to keep my son on the diets like jenny to see if it helps my son.
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7-31-2009 @ 4:09PM
Kevin H. said...As a physician, my reiumbursement from insurance companies is not dependent on the meds I prescribe (none, generic, or brand name). Have any of you actually found that your physician gets paid more by prescribing an expensive brand name drug? And paid by who? (However, we can't deny that the marketing of drug companies does influence physician prescribing patterns. But thankfully there is more regulation of this relationship now.)
7-31-2009 @ 2:45PM
medreb said...How sad that people with the same concerns and frustrations are being pulled apart by the so-called experts. The doctors are being fed a lot of misinformation from skewed research and drug companies don't want to lose the megabucks they are bringing in from keeping the truth hidden. Wake up, people! The answers to improve your child's condition is right here in this comment section. Every child is different and you're going to have to try a lot of things before you see improvement. Every child's autism was caused by a different combination of circumstances and every child's autism can be improved by a different combination of remedies. Read every entry here and see what other people have tried. As long as it is not dangerous, why not try it on your child? Every little bit of information is important. Don't knock out someone else's idea as useless just because it doesn't work for your child, it just might work for someone else's child. Drug companies are not helping your child, so get together with others with the same problem and help each other.
I don't have an autistic child. I have fibromyalgia and doctors will not let me help myself. They insist on prescribing lots of expensive medications. I don't take any of their meds, instead I go online and look for info from others who have tried a variety of things to help this condition. Some have worked and others haven't. That doesn't mean that what didn't work for me isn't going to work for someone else. By the way, I only try things that are not drugs or questionable and do not come with a pricetag. Good luck to all of us who have to travel this very difficult road.
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7-31-2009 @ 4:58PM
jean said...big pharma, big medicine, big profits and they like the money vaccines bring in to their wallets. that alleged "research" needs alot more investigation than what is listed here. so much "research" depends on who is paying the research bill these days. cdc and nih have a vested interest in protecting big pharma and big medicine. they have no interest in protecting the american public.
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7-31-2009 @ 1:43PM
karenlj said...You should all read Dr. Mark Hyman's Book "The UltraMind Solution".
Dr. Hyman has healed kids with autism. He gives you step by step direction so you can help yourself and your kids.
A lot of what Jenny says, Dr. Hyman agrees with, but there is more than just putting your kids on gluten free or dairy free diets. They need to have the metals removed from their systems. Dr Hyman will tell you how to do this. Just read the book. It's well worth it.
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8-01-2009 @ 9:15AM
Rachelle Skylar said...One thing that I do know for sure is that NATURE will always take care of itself...look back billions of years and the only thing that is constant is that nature will rid itself of what is harmful. Humans who are supposed to be the smartest beings that have ever walked the Earth, right? We are killing ourselves by all this so-called "science". Who in their right mind if you seriously thought about it would think that it is a good idea to shoot your child with Mercury and Formaldehyde? They use Formaldehyde to preserve things...we don't #$%&ing drink it! Yet, we keep on injecting our children with them. Yes, that is what is in all those vaccinations that your doctor thinks is great. There is a reason that the number of cases of autism has gone from like 1 in 200,000 to 1 in 250. This number grow daily...not yearly. I understand that in the 1950's there was a need to eliminate Polio and some diseases, I do. But I DO NOT think that the government or RX companies are looking at the facts or the long term effects of all these vaccinations. IT'S ALL A BUSINESS. And if you don't believe it then you're a fool! Just think about how much money the RX companies would lose if all of a sudden doctors didn't recommend these childhood vaccinations? Billions and billions. These same drug companies support and fund most of our lovely politicians too don't forget. I do believe diet has a lot to do with helping Autism. Just use the common sense you were born with? Your diet affects everything! If you don't believe it, look at the stats of chronic disease in the country since the 1950's and processed and fast food has dominated and people stopped cooking hommade food that came out of their gardens! Boy, guess what? Chronic disease has dramatically risen. If you don't have control over your own body or if you don't have your health, you don't have anything.
"The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."
--Thomas Edison
We obviously have a long way to go...........
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7-31-2009 @ 1:46PM
Jennifer said...Ooohhhh.... This article.... First of all, it is NOT the diet that CAUSES autism, it AGGRAVATES autism... An in this article it states:
"There is no link between illnesses of the gut and the signs and symptoms we see in children with autism."..... Foods don't just affect the GUT... They affect the whole nervous system, the whole BODY. Dairy and gluten are BIG stressors to the nervous system. There are plenty of yummy gluten-free products out there and as far as dairy..."How is my child supposed to get calcium??" Supplements... Vitamin D, calcium supplements... Leafy greens.. We really shouldn't be drinking cow's milk anyways, but that's a whole other topic...
There is so much evidence supporting the theory behind foods and the nervous system... It makes me so sad that the doctors aren't doing the proper research... Ask the doctors too, what exactly they put into the vaccines... Do the research.. It's horrifying the chemicals and garbage that are pumped into our babies' bodies..
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