I want to put my son on Atkins

[Lia]

hi.. all... I am motivated to put my 17 year old son on Atkins.. he has autism.. very mild and a great kid.. he is 5' 6" and a whopping 234 lbs... he eats anything that is not nailed down.. which is great considering he only ate french fries for year and minimal other foods due to sensory issues. When he hit his teens he turned around and is a joy to watch him sample anything. now.. he is on lexapro and now geodon... an antipsychotic for mood swings and this has a slight gain in weight... I wonder if this will counter act atkins???????? geodon works like abilify and risperdal. except not as much of a weight gainer... thanks.. Lia

[pipee_pl]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

i would do it- if only to see how is body reacts to the higher fat intake and if his appetite is decreased. Interesting- but definately eating less sugar and crap carbs should help any behaviour issues or any kind of difficulty concentrating that he may have- let us know how he does.

[steady as she goes]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

that would be so great! I hope my nephew gets to the point where he'll try other things. he eats a lot, but not a huge variety.

from what I've read, eliminating gluten greatly helps autism symptoms as well. so atkins would be great for your boy!

[Lia]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

hi.. gluten.. EXACTLY and the casein.... hmmm.... i have to wait until school is over... where I can watch him like a hawk...he loves bacon and eggs... celery .. cream cheese... lol...loves salads.... veggies.. this will be easy for him... Lia

[sadie147]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

I saw Jenny McCarthy in an interview about her Autistic son where she had mentioned that she tried an elimination diet and found removing both dairy and wheat had improved his issues significantly.

Her book may be worth reading as well? Amazon.com: Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism: Jenny McCarthy: Books

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

I don't know anything about autism - but I HAVE read / heard a lot about how low carb diets have been what's always "prescribed" to kids that have epileptic seizures (look it up and you should find a lot of info) - and how, while i don't think it 'cures' their seizures it seriously helps. Now, again - not knowing anything about autism or epilepsy - i just know that what i've read is that low-carb diets ARE the healthy way to go for our bodies.

think about it as far as this goes..."low fat" diets were the RAGE in the 80's and from what i've read/heard - low fat diets can make you depressed...and well - after the low fat rage, all of a sudded we had an INFLUX of self-help/depression books...link there?
just an example of why bodies biologically need fat and NOT carbs.

plus - people lived for thousands of years without processed carbs and yet it wasn't until AFTER processed carbs and grains and oils and whatnot came into existence that we had more and more disabilities and heart disease and and other issues...that right there is something i keep thinking about and it seems to me that that's a VERY convincing reason to put ANYONE on a low-carb/high-fat/atkins-like diet.

so - after that little bit of info...i'm just saying that as far as our bodies go - biologically speaking - low carb diets are what our bodies were made to eat - so yes, I would definitely put your son on atkins.

[eclectikat]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

Hi Lia, welcome to the boards. I hope you do follow through with changing your sons diet.

I worked as an autism specialist with Autistic Adults for 12 years. They all had varying degree's of autism from very mild to very severe. While I was never able to institute a low carb approach, I can tell you that there was an absolute corelation from ingesting high carb meals and behaviour outbursts. I knew then that feeding a high fiber high protien diet almost always guaranteed that the behaviour outbursts were minimized. I wish I had known then what i know now about a high fat approach... to quell cravings. Be sure that when you begin this way of eating with your son that you do not scrimp on the fat... good fats like butter and olive oil. His cravings initially will be difficult to manage... they are for everyone who does not have the issues of Autism to deal with. I cannot imagine how difficult it might be for him to deal with the induction blues.

I sure hope your son loses weight... but more importantly I bet you will see a HUGE difference in the difficulties he has due to his autism. I think you could bank on it! THAT alone is enough reason to change his diet. Not to mention he will lose weight if you do it properly!

Please keep us posted.

[Lia]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

thank you so much.. I have to wait until school is over.. so I can watch him for the 1st two weeks... it is HARD.. he will be going to a summer camp and I will pack him lots of devil eggs.. tuna salad.. water... celery with cream cheese.. but they go out for pizza and the staff is not going to moniter him... he has a lot to loose... if I could just get 20 lbs off... we would be on our way... I am glad you posted on here...Lia

[Lia]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

hi... it is called the ketogenic diet... something about putting the body into a fast for the first 48 hours.. does something to the brain... then.. high fat and proteins... something about ketosis has an anticonvulscent property to the brain... they use this diet where every single anti seizure med fails... later .. in the write up from johns hopkins.. they say .. many go off the strict keto gentic and do a modified atkins... so credit is given to atkins by johns hopkins.. Lia

[judyintn]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

I recommend a book called "The Specific Carbohydrate Diet" by Elaine Gottschall. My husband has brain and neurological injury and eating by this book makes him feel more well and improves his behavior. I think the website is breakingtheviciouscycle.info and you can probably find the book used on amazon or ebay

[julirama723]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

I think the thing of main importance is to start him on a gluten-free and casein-free diet. (The Specific Carbohydrate Diet and Paleo diets are both naturally GF/CF.) Atkins can also be GF/CF if you are careful.

Gluten and casein are proteins found in certain grains and dairy products, respectively. These proteins can wreak havoc on the body in a multitude of ways, if a person is sensitive or intolerant. A GF/CF diet has been found to lessen or eliminate many symptoms of autism spectrum disorders.

Gluten and casein can hide in many places. You will need to be aware of hidden sources of these two proteins. You said your son eats french fries; if they are from a fast food restaurant, those can be dangerous for a couple of reasons. One, they might not be made in a dedicated fryer, meaning that other breaded items (like onion rings, cheese sticks) made with flour are also cooked in the same fryer. This is cross-contamination. French fries might also be dusted with flour or mystery "seasonings" to prevent sticking or clumping.

Other non-obvious sources of gluten include, but are not limited to: soy sauce, salad dressing, meatballs, chocolate, flavored potato chips, shampoo, chapstick, hand soap, hair gel, dog food, envelope glue, etc. It's not just what your son will be eating, but ALL products he will use or encounter.

Casein is the protein found in dairy. Butter and cream, though Atkins-legal and very high in fat, still contain small amounts of casein. You also mentioned cream cheese--all cheeses have quite a bit of casein in them. Casein-free means finding dairy alternatives. For a butter substitute, try Earth Balance, coconut oil, spectrum shortening, or ghee. Soy milk, rice milk, and almond milk are casein- and lactose-free, though many people who have intolerances to gluten and casein also have difficulties with soy protein. Many dairy-alternative cheeses contain casein, but I believe there are a few out there made from almond and rice milk that are casein-free.

Casein can hide in many places too, just like gluten.

Some manufacturers are VERY good about listing the top 8 allergens. Kraft, McCormack, ConAgra are a few that will clearly list any of the top 8. Of course, you still have to check ingredients, but many companies will list the sources of natural flavors and ingredients.

[julirama723]

Re: I want to put my son on Atkins

Here is a very helpful link about SCD, GF/CF diets and autism. This site has wonderful info and wonderful recipes. You are NOT limited by any means, on a GF/CF diet!

Pecanbread