Aspergers and Diet

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Hi,

I want to get as much information about aspergers and diet as possible.
I found out I was AS a couple of years ago.
Ive been speaking to a few other Aspies about the issue of diet.

The main substances that have issues seem to be Wheat, Dairy, Sugar, Caffine and Alcohol.

First Id like to share my own observations....
I got allergy tested by a GP a few years ago and the test came back with no know allergies.

Dairy....
I have an instant reaction to all forms of dairy. I get a runny nose, My throat and nasal passages
constrict and I get a ball of mucus in the back of my throat which is sometimes big enough to spit out. It takes a few hours after an ice cream for this to fully wear off.
I have noticed that some forms of dairy like yogurt and feta cheese only give a mild reaction compared to Ice cream and milk which are the worst offenders.

Wheat...
I get a little bit of a runny nose but nothing like dairy. If eat allot of wheat like a whole pizza seems to slow my whole body down physically and mentally. I have also noticed I seem to get very oily skin.
That being said a small amount of wheat like a piece of toast or a salad sandwich doest seem to have any noticeable effect.

Sugar..
I sometimes get cravings for sugar and after eating it I get a small high and a felling of deep satisfaction (especially chocolate). The after effects which seem to kick in a short time later are terrible mood swings. Thoughts race through my mind. I feel unable to focus. I get agitated and frustrated by the smallest things. My ability to resolve conflict is severely reduced. I can be prone to angry fits of rage.
If I have a chocolate bar at say lunch time and dont eat all day I will feel its full negative effects quickly and very strongly.
If I have a small square of chocolate at the end of a solid meal on the other hand I notice no real effects.

Caffine.
It has similar effects on my as sugar. Except it makes me jittery and over energetic for a while and then my energy levels fall off a cliff and I get depression and mood swings.
It destroys my ability to focus
Tea doesnt seem to effect me but coffee/coke does.
Lucky for me Im not a big coffee or cola fan. I can take it or leave it.

Alcohol.
I love to drink. It feels great and makes me forget my social inhibitions. The down side is I get terrible hangovers which make me feel like ive got the flu for up to 24 hours after a heavy drinking session, Plus depression and mood swings. Anything more that two drinks and im in hangover territory.
I can get away with a half a glass of beer or wine with a solid meal and not feel anything.


Also......

I have constant bags under my eyes from my sinuses not draining properly. Every second thing I eat seems to make my nose run. Say I miss dinner one night and then have a long sleep the next morning after not eating for 20 hours my head is always really clear and my nose has stopped running down the back of my throat.

Other aspies ive taked to complain about digestive problems but I dont seem to suffer from those.

Ive been trying to exclude all wheat dairy and sugar from my diet but its nearly impossible. I go for a few days and then find some sauce I just ate had sugar or wheat gluten in it.
I havent been able to do it long enough to see the full effects it has on my eye bags, Mental state and physical energy levels.

I also really suffer by not eating nice foods. Life may be too short to miss out on Pizza, ice cream and glass of good scotch despite the side effects.

So.......

How does diet effect other people ?

When I was a kid dairy used to cause me a lot of problems, although at the time I didn't know that dairy was the issue. I constantly had a runny nose and persistent sinus infections. My lungs would get fluid in them (apparently related to the sinus infection) which caused me to cough and gag quite a bit when I tried to lay down.
Now I'm a vegan and obviously have none of these issues anymore.

I'm fine with wheat, caffeine and alcohol. Although I don't drink alcohol anyway.

I have issues with most of those foodstuffs. I did a series of short fasts and went on a clean diet for a while, and now I seem to cope with them better. I can now eat small to moderate amounts of those foods without noticeable side effects. Also my allergy to pets and pollen went away.

I don't go on any special diet. I'll eat anything and if its delicious but unhealthy, I find myself going for those things anyway. I occasionally have stomach pains. I would fart a lot for 10 minutes and then its all over.

I eat the majority of my lunches, at my clubhouse, and I ask the server not to put a bun, on my plate. I also ask for no sour cream, or processed cheese.

Anything fried will make me rush in the bathroom, as will most any dairy. Hence I don't eat any fried foods, and I seldom eat dairy. I don't think any of that is AS-related, but I'm mentioning it in case it might be.

Also not sure if AS-related, but I hate mixing food. I eat each thing separately and in order. Not in any particular order, but for instance with a typical meat, potato, and vegetable meal, I will eat all the potatoes, then all the meat, then all the veg. Not a bite of this and a bite of that. If I do try to do it that way, I get a "white noise" of flavor that cancels itself out, and becomes unpleasant tasting. Other people make fun of me for doing this, but nobody's told me it's rude or anything. I also like WILDLY hot spices and sauces on everything.

Charles

I had crazy GI symptoms (GERD, chronic constipation and diarrhea) and eczema and I itched all over, all the time... until I went off gluten. Now, I'm much better.

i always feel like i have a cold to some degree so i MUST have allergies, but I have no idea what i'm allergic too. tbh i don't even care much.

similar. i've been off gluten several years. i still itch but the GI stuff has resolved itself.

Looooove sugar... because it tastes so good. Mom is always telling me it's because of a chemical imbalance that I "crave" sweet things, but I don't "crave" anything, sweet decadent foods are one of the finest things in life, generally harmless so long as you're otherwise healthy, and I like to indulge in them as much as possible. My sweet tooth is definitely one of the reasons I prefer to be alone... I hate when other people bug me about my eating habits and they always do.

kx250rider, I used to be like that too! One of my recent triumphs was eating a hamburger with the vegetables on it. (I've always been able to handle one or two things, if they go very well together. Of course, it has to be done right, because it's just a sin to cook vegetables.)

DMark, craving sweets is normal. Not knowing the extent to which you feel it, I can't say if your cravings are normal. Of course you could go over and above what's normal, but most people crave sweet to some degree. It's healthy because most of the sweet things available in prehistoric times were foods you would want to eat as much of as possible. Mostly just fruits, known for being calorie-dense (way back when, that used to be a good thing) and nutritious.

I have gastro-intestinal problems with some foods. I used to be able to eat anything, but in my thirties I started to get loose stools when I drank too many sodas. If I stopped for a while I could drink a few without problems. But as I got older I got where I cannot drink them at all without getting loose stools.

I have found it hard lately to go without completely. I'll get a craving even if I haven't had one for weeks. Particularly if I am at work. I do take a pill to help harden up and drink no more than one a day, sometimes I can't resist, and keep the problem to a minimum.

Also I started drinking lactose free milk. That helps. I seemed to be able to drink milk when I was young, now I know I have a problem, or the problem developed.

The lady who diagnosed me thought it was significant that I get migraines. I learned that caffeine withdrawal can cause migraines. I avoid caffeine, but might drink one coke a day. But that might even be too much. I might have a very high caffeine sensibility.

Bread might be a problem. I limit how much I eat.

I hated it when different foods touched when I was young. I think that is an aspie thing. And I also used to eat one item at a time.

I seem to have no problem with alcohol, in fact I must have one beer a day.

Dairy often causes excessive muccus in my nose and throat, Whole milk and ice cream are the worst, 2% milk and non-fat yogurt not so much, skim milk hardly anything. Wheat is a frequent offender, homemade is much better than store-bought, whole-grains not nearly as much as dead-white; but my bread-maker kicked the bucket just as I was going to try making an albino whole-wheat bread to see if that was any better. Beef goes right through me, especially if I over eat, which I usually do with my beloved beef. I've found Buffalo and Beefalo don't and statisfy my beef cravings as well as being much healthier.

If you can afford it, you might try grass-fed beef. Some people have a reaction to the corn-based feed that is given to standard production beef but can eat buffalo, beefalo, or grass-fed beef.

Like many aspies, I have GI problem. I've tested positive for gluten intolerance. I also can't eat a lot of dairy without problem.

It's my personal belief that these GI problems may be linked to the biological cause of autism/AS at some point in the future.

No reaction to any of those foods but I love the sweet stuff especially chocolate. The main way AS affects my diet is that I'm a very fussy eater and therefore my diet is somewhat limited.

Vanilla_Slice