I have a four year old son who has mild autism. I've been hearing alot about this leaky bowel syndrome and how some children have turned completely around after changing their diet. I know its not true for all cases but I would hate my self if I didn't look in to it and that is what my son's problem was the whole time.
My question (not a pleasent one) is how bad is the bowel movement? I can count on one hand how many times in my son's 4 years of life he has had a some what solid movement, on the other hand it's not watery. What are we talking about. I want to be somewhat informed when I take this idea to his doctor.
I need to learn more information before I attempt this he is a very picky eater to the point where some new foods make him gag just from the sight. I can't imagine taking him off the few things he does eat which is limited to chicken nuggets, fish sticks, PB&J, pizza and toasted cheese, the only fruit I can get him to eat are bananas and raisins. Thats it! But if this is what his problem is and it can help him I'm willing to try. Please Help! Sorry for the unpleasent question. Thank you
Megan

Megan,

Chronic inflammation and damage to the mucosal mambrane of the intestinal tract results from overgrowth of pathogens leading to a condition described as "leaky gut" or intestinal permability. This results in the the development of microscopic holes in the intestinal membrane that allows substances to penetrate the barrier and travel into the systematic circulation provoking a number of adverse responses. The impact of leaky gut is that it triggers a cascade of health problems including: Absorption of significant amounts of food antigens with resulting delayed hypersensitivities, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OF THE GUT RESULTING IN BOWEL PROBLEMS, depression of the immune system and/or activation of the immune response leading to autoimmunity, incomplete digestion of proten peptide from casein & gluten leading to the formation of opiate peptide, chronic fatigue and finally heavy metal toxicity and other symptoms found in children with autism spectrum disorders.

I have to tell you that my son has been on the diet for over a year now. And is doing very good. He is 5 now. We work very closely with a nutristionist and allergist. He is allergic to a number of things which we have eliminated from his diet. So not only are we doing the gf/cf diet we also have to eliminate corn, tuna, carrots, potatoes (twice a week) and others. It is very difficult. My son was alot like yours when I started the diet. He ate only a few things and I considered him a very picky eater. Now he is eating more things but just very limited due to allergies and the gf/cf diet. I cook alot of fresh things especially for dinner.

The bowel problems can go either way. They can have either very watery bm's or be constipated. My son has always been the later. The nutritionist has helped alot with this problem. They can run tests to see how their body is functioning. I just spoke with my sons nutritionist yesterday and he has added a few more things to his diet due to the recent test results. Bacteria (yeast) seems to be a big issue with our children. He was on nystatin (prescribed by the allergist after running a test) for a good while. Finally got the candida under control and now a new parasite is trying to take over. SO now the nutritionist is reccomending things like grapefruit seed, cranapple seed and some others. He has been taking probiotics for a while.

I hope that you have a knowledgable doctor in this area. Many pediatricians that don't specialize in autism know nothing about the diet and don't believe in the help that a gf/cf diet can bring. I would reccomend seeing and allergist. Sometimes when kids crave the same foods over and over they are allergic to them. My son is a real good example. Another real good person to hire would be a good nutritionist. I surely would reccommend the diet. At least try it for a while and see if he will benefit from it. It is not easy to do. But after a while you get the hang of it and it is not so bad.

Good luck!!

Rachel K

[This message has been edited by RachelK (edited 08-06-2002).]

Rachel,
Thank you for your input. I have had sever allergies since birth. Most of mine are environmental, but I have one food allergy. I do think my son has environmental too but I haven't looked into the food yet.

Do you, or anyone else, know of any books related to the subject? Thanks so much again!

Megan

Megan,

A very good book is "Is This Your Child" by Doris Rapp.
It is amazing what allergies can do to behavior as well as health. This is the only book I have read on the subject of allergies and this book is what promted me to see an allergist. I highly reccomend it. Just out of curiousity has your son had ear infections? My son did from about 2 to 3 months old until about 3 or so. Two sets of tubes. I remember talking to his pediatrician about this and I was told that he was fine. Come to find out 5 years later that he is allergic to milk. Perhaps, if I knew what I know now back then I could of saved him from alot of pain and two operations to insert tubes.

Rachel K

Rachel

Yes my son had eight ear infections in one year. He has given up milk on his own and we got rid of our dog, since then he has been without an ear ache.

Thank you so much for your quick responses. I will be purchasing that book shortly. Thanks again!
I would still like to hear from anyone else who has experienced the leaky bowel, and or who has tried the diet with good or bad results.
Megan

[This message has been edited by MeganPa (edited 08-06-2002).]

Hi, My son did not have unusual bowel movements prior to the diet - just excessive aggressive and hyperactive behaviors, avoided eye contact and touch and emotionally was less than age 2 though cognitively he was only a couple of years delayed at age nine and in some areas a couple of years advanced at age nine with a low verbal and average non verbal IQ but his behaviors were so severe and his learning disablilites so difficult to differentiate from behavior issues that he was restrained refrequently! 33 times the year he began the diet!. Now more than two years after diet- he is doing incredibly well, and now when he eats inappropriate foods he gets diareah because his system is no longer shut down- it responds to substances it can not break down or tolerate. His verbal IQ is average, his nonverbal IQ tests high wnd his language skills tests 3 years advanced- (which isnt to say that he doesnt still struggle to use them in emotional situations) I saw results from diet within 3 days! Instead of whooting and howling at 5 am, he was up and building 4 foot 'priosoner escape pod' out of legos he previously had been too rigid to build with more than once and only as per the enclosed instructions in each box. The escape ship was to go through a 'black hole' (tile on the floor) to escape. ( talk about subconcious ideas!) I was speechless when I found him (scared he had impulsively gotten into something dangerous instead of waking me with the hoots at 5 am!) I said look what you did! He smiled up at me and said "Hey I remeber how to play this way!" Scince then I get hugs and kisses and cuddles and my once reticent child simply does not shut up- talk talk talk hes making up for all those years of silence and his beutiful blue eyes demand you attention while hes talking! -Meme

Megan,
You might find some useful info on the Allergy Induced autism sites. There is a big surge in this area in the UK at the moment. You could also try checking Paul Shattock at the Autism Research Unit, Sunderland University in the UK. He is doing alot of research into this area.
It might help support you with your local doctor if you had some scientific data to back you up.

Good luck
Kevin

Leaky gut syndrome is a name given to a fairly common health disorder in which the intestinal lining is more permeable (porous) than normal. The abnormally large spaces present between the cells of the gut wall allow the entry of toxic material into the blood stream that would, in healthier individuals, be repelled and eliminated.

The gut becomes leaky in the sense that bacteria, fungi, parasites and their toxins, undigested protein, fat and waste normally not absorbed into the bloodstream in the healthy state, pass through a damaged, hyperpermeable, porous or "leaky" gut. This can be verified by special gut permeability urine tests, microscopic examination of the lining of the intestinal wall as well as the bloodstream with phase contrast or darkfield microscopy of living whole blood.

To reverse the leaky gut syndrome the diet must be completely changed to one which is as hypoallergenic as possible. Sugar, white flour products, all gluten containing grains (especially wheat, barley, oats and rye), milk and dairy products, high fat foods, caffeine products, and hidden food allergies determined by testing must all be eliminated for long periods of time (several years in the more severe cases).
Treatment might also include the use of natural antibiotics: (echinacea, colloidal silver, garlic), antiparasitics http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gifcloves, wormwood, black walnut) and antifungal (taheebo, caplytic acid, grapefruit seed extract) depending on the type of infection which shows up on objective tests. It is rare that victims require prescription drugs for these infections and they should be discouraged. The drugs are usually expensive, have unpleasant side effects and are best reserved for life threatening conditions. Leaky gut syndrome patients respond well to broad spectrum plant based digestive enzymes, broad spectrum probiotics, and flaxseed oil. An excellent book is "The Detox Solution".