Coconut Oil/Ketones and Autism... suggestions needed! page 3

[PHaselow]

I have a boy at the "high functioning" end if the spectrum. The only dietary change that appears to have had a meaningful impact was eliminating gluten. That change appears to have lessened his volatility, but honestly, even that is hard to quantify. We have stopped searching for magic dietary bullets and are focusing on behavioral side of things.

Best of luck to you - it's a hell of a journey!

No more behavioral things to tackle unless they rear their head in puberty. His deficits are lack of muscle mass, sugar cravings, gas from gluten, poor focus/attention span, working memory issues (transferring info to long term memory). He is a humorous young man with an appreciation for sarcasm and perfect pitch!

One hell of a journey, it is. A marathon, not a sprint, to borrow an overused phrase. Good luck to you and your child.

[PHaselow]

I myself, am on the autistic spectrum somewhat.
I'm doing almost everything right with my diet and I am a better person for it. But I've never read or seen anything on the subject of ketosis, coconut oil, ect. for helping with autism (though I know it can be extremely useful for epileptics), and I'd say I am pretty much full on with that program already. Unfortunately, no changes have been noticed from my personal experience. But I still encourage you to try! Best of luck.

If anything, you'll know your child is ahead of the game nutritionally and you are at least building a solid foundation for his body's future.

I need to hear the 'mood kill' stories! I don't expect miracles by any means, but I know his dietary fat and protein content is too low. He can't afford to lose any weight, so I hope that isn't the result! I had some amazing results with fish oil supplements for language development (near immediate response), Creon (pancreatic enzyme) for fat metabolism/weight gain and treating for parasites for some behavior issues as a toddler. Gluten free completely quieted his gassy belly, to the point where he can eat it occasionally without noticeable issue after a year of being completely GF.

Thanks again.

[PHaselow]

There are a few good refined MCFA oils on the market. You might look into that as well. But there are some very high quality oils out there too, lots of so-so ones too, so caveat emptor. This, according to my buddy who owns this site & is Hawaiian & a certified coconut nut, is supposedly the best coconut oil there is commercially available, Pangaia Pantree - Raw Foods Products Organic Centrifuge Extracted Coconut Oil

Organic Raw Centrifuge Extracted Coconut Oil is the purest oil available anywhere. Coconut Oil has been said to the "Healthiest Oil on Earth." It is among the most stable of all oils, slow to oxidize and is most resistant to rancidity.

Thank you for the thoughtful, detailed reply! I guess I should have specified, but by saying I cannot get enough into him via supplement, I meant the capsule form. He'd have to take 30+ capsules/day!

I have Tropical Traditions basically in my backyard, and I have ordered from them before. They seem pretty legit.

How to presoak gluten free pancake flour??? So much to learn.

[Lewis]

... sugar cravings ...

Have you seen the GAPS book and tried any of that? If so what did you think?

http://www.amazon.com/Gut-Psychology...dp/0954852028/

Gut dysbiosis seems plausible as a mechanism in at least some cases. One can imagine that sugar cravings might effectively be the wrong type of gut bacteria "calling" for what they want.


Jack Kruse links some interesting data on the gut microbiome of mothers during pregnancy in this post:

BRAIN GUT 7: INTRO TO YOUR GUT MICROBIOME | Jack Kruse


The GAPS approach is to try to "starve out" the bad guys, to reinnoculate with probiotics and to take various gut repair measures, such as feeding soothing gelatine-rich broths. Dr. Campbell-McBride claims a fair amount of success, including with her own son.

Otherwise, and if the gut flora is a factor here, I suppose what's coming in the next 5 to 10 years is fecal transplants.

I nearly forgot -- it seems there's a certain amount of weeding out and maintenance of the gut flora that goes on while we sleep. Anything you can do to improve sleep can only help with that, and much else. That would mean fitting blackout curtains, removing any equipment that has lights from a bedroom, even turning off electrical devices. Robb Wolf has a good brief summary of sleep and its importance. Or the Caveman Doctor just published a good short guide -- his is with reference to cancer, since he's an oncologist, but the practical steps are relevant to us all ... including me as I see the light closing in and recall I have to shut the PC down.

Sleeping Away Cancer - Caveman Doctor : Caveman Doctor

[PHaselow]

Have you seen the GAPS book and tried any of that? If so what did you think?

Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism,Dyspraxia,A.D.D.,Dyslexia,A.D.H.D.,Depressi on,Schizophrenia: Natasha Campbell-McBride: 9780954852023: Amazon.com: Books

Gut dysbiosis seems plausible as a mechanism in at least some cases. One can imagine that sugar cravings might effectively be the wrong type of gut bacteria "calling" for what they want.



Sleeping Away Cancer - Caveman Doctor : Caveman Doctor

I few have mentioned GAPS to me since I've joined this forum. I need to look into it more. I've done several elimination diets over the past 10 years with him. Gluten free has been the best. I 100% need to get rid of his sugar.

It has been difficult to get the 1-2 T coconut oil in him daily. Today I resorted to high sugar 'frosting'. He loved it. I'll try sweetening it with stevia next time, but not sure how to make it thicker and not so runny without adding powdered sugar. Ideas? almond flour?

[AuroraB]

Hi PHaselow,
My sixteen y/o son has high functioning autism also. I too read that article in WBJ. The only few ways that he'll take the oil for me is in a smoothie. I tried drizzling it on popcorn since that seems to be his most favorite snack but he prefers butter (and lots of it). I only bake and cook with coconut oil but I'm sure that doesn't get him a full 2T per day. Almond milk, banana, strawberries, 1tsp honey, 2T coconut oil, blended until creamy smooth and he doesn't even taste it.
Best of luck to you!

[PHaselow]

Hi PHaselow,
My sixteen y/o son has high functioning autism also. I too read that article in WBJ. The only few ways that he'll take the oil for me is in a smoothie. I tried drizzling it on popcorn since that seems to be his most favorite snack but he prefers butter (and lots of it). I only bake and cook with coconut oil but I'm sure that doesn't get him a full 2T per day. Almond milk, banana, strawberries, 1tsp honey, 2T coconut oil, blended until creamy smooth and he doesn't even taste it.
Best of luck to you!

Ah, I know you will get this: he doesn't like smoothies. Can't make him drink it. I melt some in hot chocolate, make the frosting, put on warm pancakes. I am going to try just straight off the spoon tomorrow.

Does your teen eat Primal; and does he have tone or muscle mass issues? Deficits... I cannot put weight on this kid!!!!!

[Knifegill]

Why so much high-carb food with traces of ketones? That's not even close to the diet recommended for autism. If there isn't any fake food around, they can't eat it. Toss all that popcorn and garbage. When they're hungry, they'll eat the eggs and bacon and drink the bone broth with butter and coconut oil. Hunger is the best spice. Kids aren't picky, adults are malleable. Time to get hard. They'll figure it out.

Med rant. Ignore if you want:

I'm an aspie, but I only didn't gain weight when I was on ritalin. My white trash parents just made me take a pill whenever I made noise, so sometimes I was taking 120 mg a day, usually 90. I only got to eat breakfast. After that, food wasn't food. Weighed 82 pounds from the age of 10 to 14, then gained 100 pounds in one year when we dropped the ritalin. My parents actually had the BALLS to get mad that I ate all the food. Even the cans of frosting in the cupboard, and I drank all the cans of tomato sauce and would walk around my city crashing corporate buildings looking for meeting food like cookies and rolls. Part of my school trouble was that I was just HUNGRY no matter what. And I was POOR! So I had to load up on free food. But it got me fat eventually.

So, in summary, pills suck. The end.

[AuroraB]

Ah, I know you will get this: he doesn't like smoothies. Can't make him drink it. I melt some in hot chocolate, make the frosting, put on warm pancakes. I am going to try just straight off the spoon tomorrow.

Does your teen eat Primal; and does he have tone or muscle mass issues? Deficits... I cannot put weight on this kid!!!!!

There are times when I think that he could very easily adapt to primal/paleo eating but his vegetable aversions would make hike have many deficits for vitamins & minerals. He doesn't have any tone or muscle issues. He's 6'2", 151 lbs with suprising strength. He would choose to live on grilled cheese (made w/ tortillas in a sandwich maker), peanut butter & honey sanwichs, waffles and glass after glass of whole milk. The boy is highly addicted to all that stuff! I tried GFCF diet for him in the past and it didn't seem to make any difference.
As for meds, he 's not needed any. He got highly irratible when his MD suggested an ADD med when he was 5 y/o and we stopped it after 4 days.
If your son will eat CO straight off the spoon, go for it. I wish mine would.

[PHaselow]

Why so much high-carb food with traces of ketones? That's not even close to the diet recommended for autism. If there isn't any fake food around, they can't eat it. Toss all that popcorn and garbage. When they're hungry, they'll eat the eggs and bacon and drink the bone broth with butter and coconut oil. Hunger is the best spice. Kids aren't picky, adults are malleable. Time to get hard. They'll figure it out.

Med rant. Ignore if you want:

So, in summary, pills suck. The end.

You are right, and Believe me, I know what food he should/should not be eating! I had him gluten/soy/dairy free for some of his toddler years which I think stopped the downward spiral (he was a child that regressed after a period of normal development). I have done 9+ years of supplements, chelation, behavior therapy (ugh). Knowing what to do, and doing it, are two different things. I have 3 others in the house who are not gluten free so the house is not going to be GF. It can be better and it should be better.

He has always been med free. He will not go on *any* meds unless all other options have been tried and his education is suffering because of his inattention. I am in a constant debate over that with my (physician) husband and the school. What the school wants is not important; what my husband wants is. He will not be vaccinated until he is old enough to decide for himself.

My 11 yr old is maybe 5' and maybe 70lbs. He is so thin, but has a lot of energy! He does not play sports (will not) and does not have a group of friends to keep him busy. It falls on us. We started him rock climbing. He has a full blown Autism diagnosis from age 3.5yrs but has worked his way closer to the Aspie end of the spectrum.

He was so excited to start buying hot lunches this year in 6th grade. I always packed his lunch. I hate thinking I'm going to take that away due to lack of proper choices and the fact that his little pre-teen self is going berzerk with buying fruit roll-ups, soft pretzels and fudgesicles! I wish I could always be there to micromanage his life, but at some point I have to let him sink or swim. We are working together on what is healthy and what is not.

I appreciate your input and know I offer only excuses for his ongoing diet. Tomorrow we will have eggs for breakfast. Oh, too bad you aren't here to get him to eat it! Gagging and complaining predicted!