Autism and the Gluten Connection

We don't have children, and that was a conscious decision Jeff and I made together. If I did have a child and he/she had Autism, I know I would be beside myself with worry for that child twenty-four seven.

There is -- sadly -- a decent chance that our child could have/would have suffered from Austism. Autism, like Celiac's Disease, is on the rise. Autism Spectrum Disorder affects 1 in 150 children today with a new diagnosis being made every 20 minutes. Read this blog, get up and make yourself some hot tea, let your dogs outside, check in on Facebook and 20 minutes have gone by before you know it. And in that time, another child will receive the diagnosis of Austism.

Celiac's Disease is increasing as well. And how. A study from the Mayo Clinic (and several other partners) concluded that young people today are more than 4 times more likely to have Celiac's Disease than were young people in the 1950's.

What else is on the rise for unlucky kids today? Fatness. Super fatness, actually. Obesity rates for all of us, but particularly for children, are increasing by the moment.

Yet scientists still scratch their collective brain and say they can't say for sure tell us why any of the above is happening. I will give them a hint:

OUR FOOD IS UNHEALTHY

Do we really need years and years of study to figure this one out?

We can feed more people cheaper on the front end of food production now more than ever. Only problem is, on the back end, more and more of us are suffering from debilitating immune disorders.

I feel for parents with children who have Austism, Celiac's or who are obese. I feel worse for the children themselves. I wish I could scoop them all up and feed them whole foods with no gluten, dairy, corn or any of the other top food allergens.

I wish some parents would stop waiting for "a miracle cure" and act now for the health of their children. I wish restaurants would wake up and realize that there are millions of us with immune problems and special diets with cash on hand to eat out. We would flock to your restaurants if you made us safe food.

I wish most of all that the medical establishment would WAKE UP and look at food as a primary starting point of so very many autoimmune diseases.

I guess today is a day of wishful thinking.

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Breaking News: New Study Points to Gluten and Dairy as Causes of Autism

I just caught this information on the evening news. I will research and post what I learn.

If you have a child who is autistic -- or know someone who does -- please STOP feeding them gluten and dairy products.

You have nothing to lose and possibly everything to gain.

More to come . . . . now back to my dinner prep. Gluten free stuffed baked sweet potatoes and fresh peas! I am boiling eggs as a back up in case I ruin the potatoes.

I can't really cook!!

PS: I believe I have found a link to the study referenced in the evening news tonight.

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Gluten and Dairy Free Restaurant Comes to Austin!

Okay, technically this restaurant is in Cedar Park but close enough to the "big city" to call it an Austin establishment. I heard about it from a Facebook friend and we went to the restaurant on the very day we heard about it.

It is worth the drive.

The owners' son was given a diagnosis of Autism at a very young age. The couple researched and researched and decided going gluten-free and dairy-free was one of the best ways to help their son. IT WORKED!

Their son is now making high marks and attends public school. If that isn't an outstanding testimonial about how harmful gluten and dairy can be to some of us -- as well as a testimonial for how great we can feel off that junk -- then I don't know what is.

Here is a link to their restaurant. They have delicious TV-style dinners that taste amazing:

Jeff and I both immediately went for some Italian food. He had a peperoni pizza and I enjoyed spaghetti and meatballs. It was seriously delicious!!

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