TPV Podcast, Episode 82: Autistic Spectrum Disorder

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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 82, Autistic Spectrum Disorder

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 0:47 – News & Views
  • Welcome everyone!
  • And welcome to this week’s guest Kelly from The Spunky Coconut – Stacy learned about Kelly at the very beginning of her Paleo journey and her site was one of the main two sites that Matt and Stacy used as they were evolving into the Paleo lifestyle
  • Kelly has written multiple cookbooks, Stacy’s favorite is her Dairy Free Ice Cream cookbook and that is one of the first cookbooks that featured recipes with gelatin
  •  (this book is out of print until later this year when an expanded version will be released through Victory Belt) 
  • In 2013 Kelly released The Chocolate Lover’s Cookbook – read The Paleo Parents review of that cookbook here
  • More on Kelly
    • The Spunky Coconut began in 2008 and was created so she could show how her family was eating gluten-free and dairy-free
    • The site evolved as they took away grains from their diet, not knowing about the Paleo movement
    • As Kelly found out about Paleo they removed the few items that weren’t Paleo
    • Her recipes are known for very low amounts of sugar
    • The Spunky Coconut site just got a facelift to be a little more user friendly
  • From Sarah & Stacy’s weekend of book signing fun
    • Sarah flipped a 350 pound tire three times while training with Stacy, she also did a 300 pound farmer’s carry
    • The book signings were a lot of fun – Russ, The Domestic Man, hosted Stacy and Sarah on Saturday night and they had a wonderful evening, he even made recipes from The Ancestral Table
    • On Sunday they all went up to Philadelphia for another book signing and fell in love with the restaurant Pure Fare
    • The fans who showed up for the two book signings were awesome – thank you to all who came out!
  • Kelly recently did some book signings, road-tripping from Southern California to Seattle and her entire family had an amazing experience – meeting the readers and seeing their well-loved books was very rewarding
  • On this week’s show Kelly will be chatting with Stacy and Sarah about her experience with autistic spectrum disorder and how diet and lifestyle have impacted her daughter’s specific case
• 26:45 – Science with Sarah
  • One of the most common questions that Sarah gets is whether or not autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is an autoimmune disease – and the answer is that there is some intriguing research that there may be a link, but we don’t really know right now for certain if it is an autoimmune disease
  • There is a strong association between kids with ASD and a mother who has celiac disease or rheumatoid arthritis, and there is a very strong link between ASD and any family history of type 1 diabetes  – these associations are why people think ASD may be an autoimmune condition
  • When Kelly’s daughter Ashley was a young toddler she had severe autism symptoms and severe sensory processing disorders – the situation was bad, and the minute they put Ashley on a gluten and casein free diet most of the symptoms vanished over night
  • They took Ashley to a doctor in Pennsylvania to get additional help, and when they did a blood test she was tested for MTHFR and they found an enzyme mutation that showed  that Ashley wasn’t properly detoxifying
  • Since then they have struggled to help her detoxify and to understand how best to assemble her diet to support her body and her development
  • Through additional testing they found out that Ashley’s lead and mercury levels were so toxic that it was a surprise that she could communicate at all – they then did their first round of DMSA and handled the process as gently as they could and the results after three months of treatment were impressively shocking
  • After that point they began supplementing Ashely’s diet with glutathione, but at first didn’t get a response and returned to DMSA, but experienced a regression so went back to the supplements, doubled up on those, and within a week she returned to her previous progress point
  • At that point they switched to OSR (no longer available) and that worked well
  • Since Ashely has gone completely grain-free she has responded to glutathione in such a significant way and they are seeing her body detoxify
  • Sarah shared her thoughts on why the removal of grains from Ashely’s diet impacted her body’s response to the glutathione
  • Sarah also shared information on why ASD is labeled as a spectrum disorder, and why there have been varied results on how autistic children are impacted by a gluten-free and casein-free diet
• 52:29 – Questions & Answers
  • Edson – do you think any of the really restrictive diets would help our son’s autistic disorder? He is very resistant to trying them.
    • Kelly notes that from personal experience, Ashley’s symptoms were reduced when gluten, casein and grains were removed
    • Test an elimination dieting process to see if your son reacts negatively to any individual items, like nuts, seeds, etc.
    • Sarah recommends adopting a Paleo diet and focusing on nutrient dense foods
  • (1:00:57) Julie – tried putting her twin daughters on a gluten-free diet, but things got stressful and they stopped. However, they want to go gluten and ceasin-free. What should they do, specifically how to remove dairy?
    • Kelly suggests getting Three Phase Paleo
    • Kelly also recommends that you check out her many dairy replacement recipes (yogurt, yogurt drink, frozen yogurt, cheese) on her site
    • Stacy shared her feedback on concerns regarding nutrient needs not being met when dairy is removed – the reality is that you can get way more nutrients from super foods like liver
    • Stacy also recommends checking out the many dairy-free recipes available on the Paleo Parents site
    • Instead of thinking about how to replace foods with items that look and taste like what it is you are removing, look at how to replace the nutrient profile of the food you are removing
  • (1:09:10) Jennifer – does Paleo address the yeast overgrowth that so many autistic kids deal with?
    • Yes, Kelly did see positive results from a Paleo diet
    • Sarah confirms that yes it is very good because Paleo naturally supports a healthy balance of gut bacteria – some may have to dabble in additional dietary modifications to drive results and propel gut healing
    • Kelly’s daughter Ashley has been able to stay yeast free through a Paleo diet
    • Sarah explained additional information on what feeds overgrowth
  • Thank you so much Kelly for coming on and for sharing your story and recommendations that will greatly help others!
  • Don’t forget to check out Kelly’s site and her amazing recipes and books
  • Thank you to all who have left iTunes reviews – they are amazing! If you haven’t left one do so here!
• 1:21:09 – Outro