Therapeutic Diets for Autism

Autism Recipes Editor June 26, 2024

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Therapeutic Diets for Autism

Diet is fundamental to good health. Aside from that, not every child will respond to the same dietary intervention. Finding the best diet for your child can take some time and may require trial and error.

Therapeutic diets for autism have emerged as a significant area of interest and exploration within the field of developmental health and nutrition. These specialized dietary approaches are designed to support individuals on the autism spectrum by potentially alleviating symptoms, improving behaviour, and enhancing overall well-being. While research on the effectiveness of these diets is ongoing and results can vary, many families and healthcare professionals are increasingly exploring dietary interventions as complementary strategies alongside traditional therapies.

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The rationale behind therapeutic diets for autism often revolves around addressing potential dietary sensitivities, reducing inflammation, and optimizing nutritional intake to support cognitive and behavioural function. Common therapeutic diets include gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diets, low-sugar diets, and diets focused on specific nutrients or food groups. Each diet is tailored to individual needs and preferences, requiring careful consideration of food choices, meal planning, and potential challenges in implementation.

This introduction aims to provide a foundational understanding of therapeutic diets for autism, highlighting the motivations, goals, and considerations involved in adopting these dietary interventions. By exploring the principles and potential benefits of such diets, individuals and families can make informed decisions in collaboration with healthcare providers to support the holistic health and development of individuals on the autism spectrum.

Why Special Diets Work

It is important to pay attention to what your child consumes. The type of food consumed directly affects a person’s behaviour. Imagine how you would feel after drinking coffee or a glass of wine, or even eating chocolate. The relationship between food and autism is more intense for children with the condition. Many medical conditions can be caused by the food your child consumes. A large majority of children diagnosed with autism suffer from an imbalanced gut flora, also known as microbial dysfunction. This can lead to:

Gut lining permeability
immune dysfunction;
An imbalance in metabolic metabolites, such as amino acids and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other metabolites.

All of these factors directly affect the behaviour we call “autism.” Therefore changing what we feed our kids to accommodate medical issues can have a profound impact on how our children function. Special diets can often lead to improved cognition and behaviour. Changing the food you give your child can indeed have a huge impact.

What Diet Should You Try?

You will see that there are many different types of diets to treat autism symptoms. You may be overwhelmed by the options, especially when you consider that each child has different needs. Once you understand your child’s specific struggles, you will be able to narrow down the type of diet that your child might benefit from. Here are a few tips:

Many people begin with a gluten-free diet, avoiding soy, casein and other proteins.
Investigate other dietary interventions if the GFCFSF does not work or if you experience other symptoms.
Use an Organic Acid Test through Great Plains Lab to determine if there is a problem with pathogenic bacteria.
Talk to your functional medicine practitioner about the options available.
You can check for signs on your child such as rashes, flushing or a rash.
Keep a food diary to identify the foods that seem to trigger your child.
Browse the diets listed below to find the one that is best for your child.

It is important to remember that the goal is to not only identify and remove unhealthy foods but also to replace them with healthy alternatives.

Special Diets Types

Gluten-Free, Casein-Free, Soy-Free Diet (GFCFSF)

Gluten-free, Casein-free and Soy-Free (GFCFSF), or GFCFSF, is a diet that eliminates all sources of gluten, casein and soy.

Gluten is found in wheat, rye and barley as well as some oats.
Casein is found in dairy products.
Soy’s protein structure is similar to that of gluten and casein, so it can have the same effects.
Autism symptoms can be greatly reduced by eating this diet.

Resources for GFCFSF Diet:

Introduction to The Gluten-Free, Casein-Free, Soy-Free Diet
In 10 weeks, you can be GFCFSF!
Top Reasons to Implement a Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet

Specific Carbohydrate Diets (SCD)

Autisme sufferers can benefit from the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, which was originally designed to treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

This diet is free from gluten, soy and most carbohydrates. It also contains no artificial colours or additives.
In the gut, limiting carbohydrate intake helps to reduce yeast and pathogenic bacteria overgrowth.
SCD is still casein-containing, so it must be casein-free when used for autism.
This diet is not suitable for vegans or vegetarians.

Resources for SCD

Breaking the Vicious Cycle
SCDiet
The Best Treatment for SCD
Every Last Bite
SCD Recipes

Reduced Excitatory-Inflammatory Diet

This diet is named after Dr. Katie Reid. It’s a whole-food diet that emphasizes the removal of excitatory, inflammatory foods, especially free glutamate.

This diet is good for complex motor stereotypies, stimming and other problems.
This diet is also helpful for OCD, and a constant fixation with certain topics. These are often caused by excess glutamate.

Resources for REID

Nourished Blessings
Unblind my Mind

Failsafe/RPAH Diet

The Failsafe Diet eliminates all additives such as salicylates and amines and tests your tolerance to them.

Originally, this diet was designed for those with food allergies or sensitivities.
It was later discovered that it can help hyperactivity and ADHD symptoms.
This product is not gluten or casein-free and is therefore often used with a GFCF Diet.

Resources for Failsafe/RPAH

The Failsafe Diet Explained
Six tips on reading labels for the RPAH/FAILSAFE elimination diet
A step-by-step guide to failsafe eating
FAILSAFE diet for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Ketogenic (Keto) Diet

Keto is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that forces the body’s metabolism to burn fat for fuel instead of glucose.

Keto diets can be used to treat seizure disorders.
This diet must be monitored by a doctor.

Resources for the Keto Diet

Ketogenic Diet: Beginner’s Guide
The Mayo Clinic: How to make the Keto diet healthy
Keto for Autism – Can a Ketogenic diet help?

Reverse Elimination Diet

This diet helps identify food allergies and triggers in children.

This is the only reliable and accurate way to identify food triggers.
The diet should be tailored to each individual.
You usually start with four food items: a vegetable, a fruit, a carbohydrate and an oil.
This should help reduce the majority of symptoms. If this does not work, you may have to switch the base foods.
After establishing a baseline, every few days a new food will be introduced to test tolerance.
Some people are so sensitive that an elemental formula is necessary.

Resources for an Elimination Reverse Diet

Elimination diet: relief from delayed food allergies

Low Histamine Diet

A low-histamine diet eliminates food high in histamine that is released as a response to allergies or immune activation.

Reduced histamine can help with a variety of symptoms, such as rashes or flushing. It also helps with behavioural problems, GI issues and headaches.
This diet excludes foods high in histamine, such as fermented food, broths and stocks, aged cheeses or cured meats. It also eliminates vinegar, alcohol, and vinegar-based products.
Histamine accumulates in the body. The body will only show symptoms when there is too much histamine.

Resources on Low Histamine diet:

Healthline: Low Histamine Diet
Histamine Intolerance: 6 Remedies Plus Foods to Eat & Avoid
Histamine intolerance: What you need to know

Low FODMAP Diet

This diet is low in sugars which can cause GI discomfort.

FODMAP is an acronym for fermentable oligosaccharides (sugars), disaccharides (diseases), monosaccharides (sugars), and polyols.
Some people can experience GI distress from sugars, such as constipation, bloating and diarrhea.
You can start by eliminating foods that are high in FODMAPs, and then gradually introduce them to determine your triggers.

Resources for Low FODMAP diets:

Low FODMAP diet: What is it, how to use it, and what are the benefits?
The FODMAP Diet – What You Should Know

Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS).

GAPS is a diet that eliminates grains, dairy products, starchy vegetables and refined carbohydrates.

Start with broths that are not as long-cooked and work your way up.
This diet also emphasizes fermented food.
This diet may be hard for children with glutamate or histamine intolerance.

Resources for the GAPS Diet

GAPS Diet
Gut-Psychology Syndrome + Gut-Physiology Syndrome
Nourished kitchen: What is the GAPS Diet?

Low Oxalate Diet (LOD)

This diet helps reduce excess oxalate that can lead to kidney stones or oxalate crystals in other organs.

This diet is a low-oxalate diet that avoids foods high in oxalate, such as (but not only) berries and citrus fruits, beans, chocolates, broccoli, tomatoes nuts, soya, wheat, dairy, and other grains.
It is important to note that weaning too quickly from foods high in oxalate can cause oxalate dump, which can be painful. Slow and low is the best way to go.
Children with recurring UTI or fungal infections are among the most likely to respond.
Children with high levels of oxalic acids on their OAT might respond well to low-oxalate foods.
This diet does not exclude gluten or dairy, but it can be combined with other diets.

Resources for a Low Oxalate diet:

Low Oxalate Diet
Low-Oxalate Diet Overview, Food Lists and How it Works
Facebook group: Low Oxalates
Great Plains Lab: Oxalate Control

Feingold Diet

The Feingold Diet eliminates artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners and preservatives. It also removes some naturally occurring compounds, such as phenols and salicylates found in fruits and vegetables.

This diet aims to reduce or eliminate ADHD symptoms.
This diet can also be very beneficial for hyperactivity and aggression. It will also help with flushing and poor sleep.
You can purchase the program on the Feingold Website listed below.

Resources for Feingold Diet:

The Feingold Association of the United States
Phenols and Salicylates
The Feingold Recipe Book for Hyperactive Kids by Dr. Ben Feingold & Helene Feingold
Feingold Association of the United States – ADHD DIET Facebook group

Rotation Diet

A rotation diet is designed to reduce the number of new allergies or sensitivities.

This method involves eating foods that are biologically similar on the same date and waiting for at least four more days before eating those foods again.
By eating this way, you can reduce the risk of developing food allergies.
This diet also minimizes the immune response that is constant to food.

Resources for Rotation Diet: