By now, you will have probably come across the nutritional and dietary approach to autism., It has been in the media many times recently and you may have seen articles such as, “The miracle that cured my son’s autism in our kitchen” or “Autism recovery with the GAPS diet: one mother’s story”. As a mother of a child with autism, what do you think when you see articles like these? Interesting? Impossible? Nonsense? Another garbage? What flashes through your overwhelmed brain? When you are drained and tired from dealing with your special child 24/7 when you are overwhelmed from visiting different specialists and trying different techniques that may work but by no means dramatically improve the situation when you are afraid to think about the future of your child because you are not sure how he/she will cope in this uneasy world by himself when you experience all of these feelings and then somebody tells you that some diet could actually be the miracle treatment for your child… Of course, you may well be very sceptical or even angry towards such opinions and you, probably would not even click on any of the articles listed above to read through. You feel fed up with these ridicules media adverts!
However, nowadays the topic of gut health and its involvement in many chronic disorders, including autism, is very popular and has been presented on different levels on the internet, TV, radio and other media outlets. Since gut health is directly related to what we eat, in other words, our diet, perhaps because of the topic’s popularity, you have started to consider reading a little more about it and have now begun to notice certain recognisable food patterns related to your child. Maybe you even participated in one or two health summits or listened to some health podcasts about how and why diet and nutrition are relevant to conditions like autism. If this is the case, you may have already accumulated certain information about this hot scientific topic and have started to see the relevance of a dietary approach to your child with ASD. Perhaps you are at the stage when you are thinking “YES, there is indeed something in this dietary method and it would be worth trying it out… BUT!”? And here is where all those BUTs start to come along:
- But where and how can I start and which diet should I follow?
- But how am I going to find time for cooking and planning special meals?
- But how am I going to cook if I am not very good at cooking at all?
- But where can I find some free time for cooking when I am so tired?
And so on…. This list can be very long and you would be absolutely right to ask these questions! Deep inside you are still very doubtful: “ Is this even going to work?”
That is why I want to reassure you that yours is the CORRECT WAY OF THINKING and that I support you in this journey! From the bottom of my heart, I want to tell you that all of this is not as difficult as you may think. As soon as you begin to introduce relevant changes, you will see that it is not so scary. You should be able to see that all of your BUTs can be pushed aside and that this journey can be much easier than you may have imagined it in your head! It is always like this, isn’t it? When we do not know something, we visualise it as a “monster”, it seems bigger, scarier and more unpleasant than it actually is in real life. The key here is to learn about it, to get to know this little “monster” and become friends with it. And this is where I can help you! As soon as your plan is crystal clear, it becomes obvious what to do and exactly how to do it!
So, here are the three critical mindsets to have that will lead you to the successful implementation of a dietary approach to help your child improve his life.
FIRST OF ALL, you need to understand why these changes are vital for your child, for you and your whole family. Just imagine the human body is a building. To build a great house we need to use the right, good quality materials and instruments, we need to make sure that our planning is correct and all the groundwork is laid without errors. The same happens in the human body! For our body to function properly and be healthy, we need lots of different, good quality building materials – nutrients, that play a crucial role in the formation and functioning of our cells, tissues, organs and various systems. If our body is missing a certain type of building material, in other words, a certain type of molecule, then a specific reaction or communication between cells or organs will not be complete. Some of these molecules are produced by our body, but some molecules can only come to us through food. In any case, we are directly dependant on what we put in our mouth and on what our body can digest and absorb from this food. Therefore, FOOD IS OUR BUILDING MATERIAL! We cannot perform well if we eat rubbish food that is full of chemicals and toxins, which is why it is vital to provide your child with the best quality and variety of food. Once the body is supplied with better materials, the whole organism will start to perform much better!
THE SECOND POINT is that every one of us is unique. Children with autism, in particular, are especially different from each other and everyone else, like snowflakes. This means that your child has his own unique set of characteristics and symptoms that need to be addressed in a unique and individual way. To implement a dietary strategy well, we need to understand exactly what type of food your child cannot tolerate at this stage. Or, in other words, what type of building material is his/her body not accepting at the moment. And this can be easily done by performing some food intolerance tests and by simply observing your child’s behaviour and his response to the food he is eating. In many cases, a straight forward food diary can help a lot. Therefore, THERE IS NO ONE DIET! You cannot just blindly copy any advice or protocol available to you online or in a book. You always need to understand what this food is doing to your child. Is it appropriate building material for him/her right now?
THE THIRD ASPECT that will empower you is that the most simple, basic, traditional and real food is the best healing tool for our body. Real food cooked or prepared in a certain way provides all the necessary ingredients for your child to be healthy and successful in life. When our body receives all its required materials in the right quantity and combination, it supports itself from the inside out, it becomes healthier and stronger, it heals itself! No medication or supplements can provide this powerful synergetic combination of nutrients for our body. ONLY REAL FOOD CAN DELIVER THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS IN THE RIGHT COMBINATION TO SERVE AND HEAL YOUR CHILD’S BODY! Of course, some medication and supplements may be required along the way as support, but only for a certain period of time. They cannot replace real food and any long term usage of these products will cause further imbalance in the body.
To summarise, here are the three critical mindsets to lead you to successful nutritional changes that will transform your child’s life and, therefore, yours:
- FOOD IS OUR BUILDING MATERIAL
- THERE IS NO ONE DIET
- ONLY REAL FOOD CAN DELIVER THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS IN THE RIGHT COMBINATION TO SERVE AND HEAL THE BODY
The bottom line is that many people have been through this journey. So much experience has been accumulated in this area by now. You do not need to do this by yourself. Success is guaranteed if you master these three mindsets, the rest will just follow on! This I promise you, and I will help you!
Please, contact me to discuss, agree or disagree. I look forward to receiving your ever valuable questions, comments and feedback: irina@liveright.eu
Leave a Reply