Do people with Aspergers really have GI issues

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Ive heard it said that aspies have a higher incidence of GI issues. I dont think this is true as I think it is entirely neurological. What are your thoughts.

EDIT:GI means gastrointestinal.

Also do they tend to have gluten sensitivity issues?

Last edited by GoofyGreatDane on 09 Apr 2015, 4:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Do you mean Gluten Intolerance? Yes, many do, - and autism and bowl problems are closely connected.

Gastrointestinal.

I've read that 90% of those on the autism spectrum have GI issues.

In my experience, it's either the cause of or exacerbates ASD symptoms.

I've treated my GI issues via diet, intestinal cleanses, and probiotics over the last couple of years & the neurological benefits have been nothing short of miraculous. I've reduced my ASD and other symptoms by ~95% and am living a second life for it.

Too Many Sensory Neuroreceptors = Overwhelmed Nervous System/Social Deficiencies = Elevated Anxiety Levels = Gastrointestinal Dysfunction

Its pretty logical, really, just a series of falling dominoes. My mother used to call it "nervous stomach."

^Basically this. But I'm not even sure if anxiety has to be a factor...maybe the digestive system itself has more sensory receptivity in autistic people? I feel like my digestive tract gets overstimulated by certain foods, or certain seasonings or food additives, the same way my skin feels overstimulated by certain kinds of hand soap or clothing textures.

All of this.. maybe. I don't have the answers, but I do wonder if the enteric nervous system of Autistics is also wired differently like the brain is - or hyperconnected with extra synapses. Again, I don't have the scientific answers, only my experiences, but it's as if some gut bacteria hinder signals from the enteric nervous system to the brain, causing ASD symptoms, while other probiotic bacteria act as neurotransmitters in the digestive system and aid in the enteric nervous system functioning well enough to send the signals to the brain that it needs to in order to get the brain firing properly & minimize ASD symptoms.

That's why eating the way I do, doing high volume herbal enemas to cleanse the large intestine, and using probiotics both orally & anally has resulted in reducing my ASD symptoms by ~95% while simultaneously turning on the socially intuitive circuits of my brain that allow me to live the second life I'm living for having figured this out.

I have no gastrointestinal issues.

I have many. It's annoying. I love food so much but so much of it hates my guts.

But it seems like autism has multiple genetic/environmental pathways, so it's very likely that there is a gene or cluster of genes tied to GI issues that leads to ASD...and several more ways to have ASD that don't involve those genes.

So I don't think it matters if other people with ASD have GI issues. If you don't, yay for you! And I am jealous.

Yeah, malabsorption issues. My GP said to completely cut out fast food as that ruined my gi track, and weight isn't really a problem.
Apparently my body needs a complete overhaul of almonds, fish, olive oil, dates, pecans, oats and probiotics

I have problems almost every day, I stopped with wheat and lactose and it helped a lot. But my intestines are still not normal, but a lot better. I think I have some sort of spastic intestines, sometimes it feels like they are working extremely slowly and make me feel sick and other times they cramp so hard that I have to lie down.

I have GERD and IBS, which are both made much worse by anxiety (which is a fairly common issue).
Anxiety tends to cause me rapid gas buildup in both the upper and lower parts of my digestive tract.

I'm sensitive to ceratin foods (or maybe food ingredients) but not sure which, and completely unable to digest many vegetables (even cooked), but gluten is not an issue for me. I cut gluten out of my diet entirely for a few weeks and saw no differences.
Dairy products bother me sometimes, but most of the time they don't.

somewhat; depending on stress, many factory foods give me 'rumbling stomache', some of the expiration date chemicals i suspect.
diary is only a problem (for me) if it's untreated; yoghurt and its ilk have no problems, but normal milk in coffee or cereal gives me the runs and cramps. i need to use pasturised in those cases (which i still don't, as i dont like the taste of that one, but that is unrelated)

I have the same problems as you. I also started with cutting gluten out of my diet and I was better, so I thought it was gluten but then I bought other gluten free products and these were based on wheat starch unlike the others and not long after eating it, my stomach started swelling up like a balloon. So it turned out that wheat is the real problem for me. Maybe this could be a problem for you as well?

Sorry, I just realized I didn't list my issues:
-- celiac disease (gluten-free oats act similarly in my system as gluten)
-- casein intolerance
-- problems with some FODMAPS (especially high fructose foods and mushrooms)
-- problems with brown rice, as well as most gluten-free flours (such as coconut flour)

Things that I tolerate:
-- soy
-- white rice (and white rice flour) and cornmeal
-- tapioca flour
-- potatoes
-- most nuts, if soaked
-- cooked leafy green vegetables
-- small amounts of tomato sauce, eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, and onion
-- meat (though not too much animal fat)
-- olive oil

Things I am not yet sure about:
-- beans
-- fennel, zucchini, etc. (other low-fructose vegetables)
-- squash
-- eggs (seems OK if it's just every so often)

If I eat casein, my GI tract becomes inflamed for about two months and I tolerate a lot less. If I keep all traces of dairy, even ghee, out of my diet, then I can tolerate more foods over time. Gluten seems to affect things for several weeks, too, although I haven't completely identified the pattern yet (and hopefully never will, though I get an opportunity every time I accidentally eat some). If I keep gluten, oats, and dairy out of my diet, then I seem to gain more ability to eat other foods, such as fructose-rich foods, over time.

Soy gives me a gigantic mood lift -- without it I actually become depressed. I seem to be very dependent on food opiods to maintain a good mood, since gluten and casein also lift my mood to different degrees. I think I'm a bit weird in extreme responsiveness my body has to these opioids, but there is a lot of research to suggest that they affect most people to some extent.

I have no GI issues, but if statistics are correct, then there is a higher incidence. That doesn't mean that you can't have Asperger's without GI issues. They are not the same thing, even if there is some link, genetic or otherwise.

Some have found cutting out gluten to help, but unless you are experiencing symptoms more directly related to gluten intolerance, that is quite like throwing a stone in the dark. My parents tried it with me and it had no effect whatsoever, because -- as I already said -- I don't have GI issues to either cause or exacerbate difficulties associated with my ASD. There are so many differences within the spectrum; for me and a fair proportion of others I think it is entirely or almost entirely neurological.

I'm still doubtful about it, given that GI issues are common in NTs, too, and I'm not sure there's enough evidence to show it's much more prevalent with autistic people.

But it would make sense. Evolutionarily, the earliest precursor of the brain is thought to be a mechanism regulating gut movement, and then our ancestors evolved neurons doing other stuff as well. So there's probably some genes involved in the formation of both the brain and the gut.