Okay, so what's up with this no gluten or milk diet thing?

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Yes. Apparently I need gluten to be able to focus properly. Like many Aspies, I tend to hyperfocus, but unlike the majority, I actually NEED that "symptom" in my field of study, so it might actually be a bad thing to try and avoid it. (And, of course, it's more fun when I'm able to pursue my special interests intensely.) Being more communicative is simply not worth it for me, especially since I'm quite extrovert for Aspie standards anyway. Might be different for people with more severe communication issues, though. So yeah, a gluten-free diet will in some cases alleviate some of the symptoms, but it seems like my life is more fun with them than without, haha. (And it didn't help against my sensory issues that are the only symptoms I'd really like to be rid of.)

Coconut milk - if you like it - is a great source of fibre.

There is some truth to what your G'ma says... it's known as post-prandial alkaline tide, as well as being a daily biorythym. Watch animals... they all take naps in the afternoon; it's pretty hopeless trying to train dogs or horses after lunch, they just don't want to work. In Latin countries there is a strong tradition of the siesta... a culture of napping. In Spain the work schedules are even built around siesta... which means folks work till 8 pm or something, because they have 2-3 hours off in the afternoon. It's not wrong, it's normal for our bodies to want to rest in the afternoon. What's wrong is the 8-5 work schedule... it's imposed by our economic culture, not our body's natural rythyms.

Diet has nothing to do with autism. Eat whatever you wish, op.

a bold statement of opinion

Update! EPIC SCORE! My acne seems to have gone away almost completely. Same with that f***ing rash. I stopped gluten, but not milk. I've eaten small amounts of gluten since I stopped, but no bread or pasta or anything like that. I'm a little sad because I do like bread, but at the same time I'm totally psyched, because I was getting pretty pissed that my acne hadn't gone away like they tell you in health class that it will when you get older, LOL. *23* Unexpected side effects 4TW!

Great! I got rid of manic-depression/mood disorder with a gluten-free diet. And I also tend to avoid dairy/casein because it makes me too spacey, gives me feelings of unreality, and I can't stop thinking.


I have experienced that everytime I have given up gluten; it lasts a few weeks or more, feeling less mentally acute etc, but it must be withdrawal, ( from the food opioid in gluten probably ), because afterwards I find I actually find myself thinking more clearly, more calmly, and able to pursue things more effectively.

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It's not withdrawal. It's your body re-adjusting to a different diet.

OK, here's the thing. Your body is designed to react to changes in the environment by tweaking a lot of the little things it does. Simple example: You get a construction job. It involves a lot of swinging hammers and carrying things and it puts stress on your arm muscles. First couple of days, you're sore and tired. Then you start to adjust to it. Your body has been changing itself to adjust to the construction job by making the muscle fibers in your arms bigger, by up-regulating your appetite (via hormones and brain) so you eat more food, by making your heart and lungs more efficient, making more red blood cells to carry more oxygen to your muscles, and probably storing more glycogen in your liver. After you quit the job, your body reverses all those changes, and you start eating less again because your appetite is lower now, and all the extra bulk in your muscle fibers gets broken down because you don't need it anymore.

When you change your diet, your body may be better or worse off after the readjustment, depending on the diet; but you aren't getting "withdrawal" effects--you're simply trying to run a body optimized for one kind of fuel on another kind of fuel altogether.

(That is assuming the new diet is nutritionally balanced. Malnutrition can easily cause initial tiredness, followed by euphoria. There are actually theories that state that this is what anorexics are addicted to. GF/CF can be a balanced diet, but if it isn't, it will be bad for you in the long run. If you're not gluten or lactose intolerant, of course, chances are you are better off switching to a healthy normal diet instead; that helps you maintain variety.)

I don't know if a link has ever been proved without a doubt... well no, It's not... But there are some people with AS who also have an intolerance to gluten or casien or both. I have a lactose intolerance, but I am okay with gluten. Again, it could just be a coincidence that I am lactose intolerant because my Dad is too and he is not Aspie AT ALL!! ! Anyway, whatever you try, make sure to cut the 'offending' ingredients out of your diet COMPLETELY for 2 weeks (as reccomended by my doctor) then VERY SLOWLY re-introduce them. Note any changes you feel when you are off the gluten and then make more notes when you are back on it and just weigh up how bad the symptoms are. Trust me, you don't want to restrict your diet if you don't need to! I know. I am lactose intolerant AND vegetarian (I was veggie before I found out about my intolerance). Symptoms of an intolerance to a particular ingredient often include the general 'fuzzy' feeling many have already described, bowel/stomach problems (sometimes severe), irritability, a tired or pale look to your face and a tendancy to eat more things with the ingrediant (I for example, ate loads of cheese and yoghurts). It is true though that 'withdrawal' can occur. I got the shakes and felt awful for a few days!

I think, in general, that gluten or lactose intolerance is unrelated to autism. It's just that if you have it and you are autistic, it will affect you more strongly than it would a non-autistic person because you are that much more sensitive.

lots of people are allergic to gluten and casein, and they do tend to feel bad and then have some behavioral issues as a result. But unless the genes involved tend to occur more in people with asd's then there's no real link. If you are allergic to either you will have physical symptoms. Gluten-gut reactions. Casein- nasal congestion that allergy meds won't clear up. And you can find out with a simple allergy test.
It's not a diet to undertake without guidance. You need to replace missed nutrients in other ways, and understand that there will be a downturn while the body adjusts. Gut bugs die off, you feel like crap.
Most doctors and nutritionists recommend that you go off casein first, then gluten. Gluten is harder to avoid and you will crave it much more. And if you're only allergic to one, then you only eliminate one.

If you personally have not experienced food intolerance, which very frequently involves addiction, you probably would not know just how much a person can be addicted to a food, ( unless it is a special interest of yours and something that you have read a great deal about ).

If you have come across a scientifically reliable study which shows that the food opioid peptides in gluten are definitely not significant factors in at least some people's reactions to wheat/gluten I would be interested to hear about it, as I am currently preparing my presentation on the links between diet and mental health for Autscape, and gathering as many up to date references, papers, etc as I can for it.
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Last edited by ouinon on 28 Jun 2009, 2:49 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Bingo.

So can you direct me to any studies showing that food opioid peptides do not have anything to do with gluten intolerance reactions? It would obviously be useful to know before my presentation.

So far I just have several links/references to studies/papers which show that food opioid peptides can and do ( under various physiological conditions, including those of auto-immune-system hyper-reactivity to gluten and/or casein ) penetrate the gut barrier in their opioid state, can and do reach the brain, and play a significant role in certain neurophysiological reactions, ( appetite/cravings, slower pain-avoidance reactions, neural pathway formation/behaviour, etc ), and addiction, with withdrawal, is going to be part of this.

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