The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook, Updated and Revised: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet

491 Pages·2009·4.55 MB·English

by  Pamela Compart M.D.

THE KID-FRIENDLY
ADHD &
AUTISM
COOKBOOK
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE GLUTEN-FREE, MILK-FREE DIET
Pamela J. Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake, R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N.
Foreword by Jon B. Pangborn, Ph.D., F.A.I.C. and Sidney MacDonald Baker,
M.D.
This book is dedicated to all the courageous
children and to all who love and serve them.
We are humbled in your presence.
Preface
When I went to medical school over twenty years ago, nutrition was given very
little attention. While I attended a very open-minded, cutting-edge school, my
nutrition training consisted of one week of lectures. This left my colleagues and
me with the impression that, at the time, nutrition was not felt to be very relevant
to the practice of medicine. As I proceeded through my traditional training, not
much happened to dispel that notion. It was only after I completed my formal
training and began practicing in the “real world” of developmental pediatrics
that I realized how critically important nutrition is to overall health and, in
particular, to brain functioning.
Early on in my training, when parents would ask me if they should try special
diets or nutritional supplements for their special-needs children, I distinctly
remember advising them not to waste their time, as there was no evidence to
show that they helped. I wish now that I could find all those parents and tell
them they were right to be thinking outside the box. Parents have always been
motivated to look at all options to help their children, especially those with
special needs. It is only now that science is catching up with what those parents
asked many years ago. Part of the role of this book is to explain the science
behind the diets and why these diets may be worth trying with your child.
I am grateful that I came to an understanding of nutrition via a traditional
medical route. I was not at all predisposed to believing that diets would help
change behavior, development, and brain function. So when I saw diets working,
I knew it was not a placebo effect. Still, I wanted to know why they worked and
have now devoted my medical practice to understanding these nontraditional
approaches. My traditional training also reminds me that there is no one way to
treat children with special needs. Many people in both camps (traditional and
nontraditional) assume that the type of intervention they favor is the right one. I
believe strongly in using all the tools I have at my disposal to help children reach
their potential, whether those tools are traditional (therapy, school placement,
medications, etc.) or nontraditional (diet change, nutritional supplements,
digestive support, etc.). This book addresses some of these less traditional tools,
specifically diet and nutrition.
Dr. Sidney Baker, in his book Detoxification and Healing, outlines a helpful
context for thinking about the role of diet in brain function. In essence, he asks
two basic questions that, for me, form the basic foundation of my approach to
caring for children with special needs. Paraphrased here, these two questions are:
1. Is this child’s body and brain getting all that is needed to perform optimally?
2. Is there something getting to this child’s brain that interferes with its ability to
perform optimally?
Diet and nutrition are clearly involved in answering both of these questions.
An optimized diet, along with nutritional supplements, provides nutrients that
are essential for body and brain functioning. In addition, breakdown products
from certain foods (particularly dairy and glutens) can interfere with brain
functioning. These concepts will be explained further in the chapters that follow.
The recipes in this book are designed to give the body and brain what is needed,
and to eliminate those substances that are most likely to interfere with function.
In medicine, there is a saying that you don’t have to remember everything,
you just have to remember where you filed the article. In the same way, I don’t
have to know everything about nutrition; I have to know who my good resources
are to complement my medical knowledge of health and nutrition; Dana Laake,
my coauthor, is such a resource.
Pamela J. Compart, M.D.
My introduction to nutrition began through a career in dentistry. I learned the
powerful effects of food on the body and mind from Emanuel Cheraskin, a
physician and dentist, who was an internationally renowned researcher and
expert in the field of nutritional medicine, dental health, and the role of vitamins
and minerals in health and disease. While attending a course led by this pioneer,
who would influence my career for the next 25 years, I fell in love with the
fields of nutrition and preventive medicine. Cheraskin opened the first of many
doors in this challenging and rapidly evolving field. His legacy was great, but I
remember him most for the simplicity of his favorite statement, “Man is a food-
dependent creature; if you don’t feed him he will die. If you feed him
improperly, a part of him will die.”
In 1979, George Mitchell, our family physician, invited me to join him in
opening a preventive medicine practice in Washington, D.C. Dr. Mitchell
provided me the opportunity of traveling throughout the country to learn from
the innovators and visionaries in nutrition and alternative medicine.
My first special child presented early on in the practice, when a distraught
mother brought her seven-year-old son for evaluation and treatment. He was a
conundrum to his family, teachers, and physicians. Beginning at two years of
age, problem behaviors had developed. He eventually became physically violent
toward others, including routinely striking his father. He was unable to function
in school because of poor attention span, impulsivity, acting out, and aggression.
He had chronic bowel problems, wet his bed nightly, and was in a constant state
of agitation and unhappiness. Showing the reports from his teachers, his mother
cried as she confessed, “Each teacher tells me that he is the worst child they have
ever encountered.”
A review of his diet revealed that milk products and glutens (wheat) were his
most common and favorite foods. This occurred in the era when there was little
acceptance of the connection between food and behavior. In fact, to suggest this
relationship was considered medical quackery. I had only read about the results
of removing milk products and gluten from diets to achieve improvement in
behavior and function—I had not yet experienced it with a patient. We did not
have the quality and accuracy of testing so prevalent today, but the anecdotal
evidence was abundant. Since a trial of food avoidance fits the medical dictum,
“Do no harm,” I recommended a trial of strict avoidance of milk products and
gluten.
The results elated me as much as the parents. After the first few days
withouth milk products and gluten, the boy became worse. But within a week of
avoidance, he began to improve, and at the end of one month they had their good
son back. He cooperated at school, began to progress in achievements, received
outstanding behavior reports, and stopped aggressive and impulsive behaviors.
His bowels improved, and he no longer wet the bed at night. Most important, he
stopped hitting his father and began hugging again. Thinking he was “cured,” his
parents allowed him to have cake and ice cream at a birthday party, only to have
him relapse into the full spectrum of symptoms. They returned to the diet, and
his symptoms resolved once again. I am eternally grateful for what this child
taught me; he sparked the beginning of my quest to help other children.
Dana Laake, M.S., L.D.N
Foreword
When it comes to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
diet does matter! Children with these disorders suffer from maldigestion, the
inability to completely digest food down to the simple molecules that our bodies
need. Many of those with autism and ADHD produce partially digested and
unabsorbed substances that serve as food for unfriendly and possibly pathogenic
flora in their intestinal tracts. In addition, some of what is absorbed into the
bloodstream acts as false neurotransmitters and as allergens that provoke
inflammatory responses. Of course, the nature of these partially digested
substances depends upon the foods that are eaten. That’s what this book is about
—identifying offending foods and safe foods, and making those safe foods
palatable.
For many years the Autism Research Institute (ARI) in San Diego has kept
track of parent-recorded responses of their autistic children to special diets.
Twice a year, ARI updates these responses on a one-page tabulation called, “ARI
Publication 34.” According to the February 2006 edition, 50 percent of autistics
improved by avoiding milk products (based on 5,847 responses); 49 percent
improved with avoidance of wheat (3,367 responses); and 65 percent improved
on a gluten-and casein-free diet (1,818 responses). Thousands of parents are not
wrong! You can join their successes. Read this book and learn how to determine
if a special diet will benefit your autistic or ADHD child.
One of the most difficult activities that parents can undertake is implementing
a diet that their children may resist. Often, these children become addicted to
some of the foods that actually are troublemakers for them. Also, their peers
don’t have to avoid these dietary goodies, so why should they? The authors help
you with these issues. In this book, Pamela Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake,
R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N. remove the how-to-do-it stumbling blocks that confront so
many parents.
Jon B. Pangborn, Ph.D., F.A.I.C.
Cofounder, Defeat Autism Now!
The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook is appropriately described by it’s
subtitle The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet. This is an
“all-in-one” book that is a combination resource guide and multilevel cookbook.
Other cookbooks that provide gluten and casein-free recipes alone are
insufficient, providing parents with only a fraction of the help that they need.
In addition to being concerned about preparing good, healthy food for their
children, parents are more concerned about the difficulty of feeding their
children who have unusually limited appetites, crave foods that cause them
problems, and have strong food aversions—especially to vegetables.
By offering solutions, the authors present ways to increase the acceptability of
the substitute foods.
Through the “Trojan Horse Technique,” they teach parents how to “hide”
nutritionally healthy foods so they are readily accepted. There are also many
suggestions for overcoming sensory problems with texture, color, and taste. For
busy parents who are also trying to cook special meals, the authors provide two
kinds of solutions: “Quick N Easy” versions of recipes and ways to use
commercially prepared foods” successfully.
Remember, your child is the real expert. Changing his or her diet is only a
way of asking the question, “Will this help?” It is a diagnostic step that cannot be
replaced by any lab test and it simply depends on your child’s response. It
doesn’t become a treatment until you get a “thumbs-up” from changes you
accomplish and the results you observe—followed by surprise and infinite relief.
Sidney MacDonald Baker, M.D.
Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics
Former Director of Gesell Institute of Human Development
Cofounder, Defeat Autism Now!
Contents
Preface
Foreword
Introduction
Why Buy This Book?
What Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
What Is Autism? Why Are They Called Autism Spectrum Disorders?
What If I’m Not Sure If My Child Has ADHD or Autism? Can This Book
Still Help?
Will Diet Alone Be Enough to Treat My Child’s Symptoms?
What Exactly is “The Diet”?
Are There Tests to Help Determine If My Child Needs a Specialized Diet?
How Will This Book Help?
In Their Own Words
Part I Get Ready! Get Set!
Chapter 1
Food Reactions: What They Are and How to Test for Them
Food Allergies versus Food Sensitivities and Intolerances
Food Allergies
Food Sensitivities
Food Intolerances
Symptoms of Food Sensitivities and Intolerances
Causes of Food Reactions: The Digestive Connection
The Dope on Opiates
Lab Tests: What They Tell Us and What They Don’t
Are There Any Helpful Tests to Do Before Starting the Diet?
The Body Doesn’t Lie: The Wisdom of Trial and Response
Chapter Summary
Chapter 2
The Culprits: Glutens, Casein, Soy, and Others
What Are They, Where Are They, and What Are the Substitutes?
Don’t Be a Gluten for Punishment
Milk Products and Casein: Little Miss Muffet Was Wrong!
Soy Sorry!
Eggs, Corn, and Nuts
Chapter 3
More Culprits
Disaccharidase Deficiency and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
Yeast/Candida
Gut Dysbiosis and the Role of Probiotics
Salicylate Intolerance and The Feingold Diet
Phenol Intolerance—Phenol Sulfotransferase (PST) Deficiency
Oxalates and the Low Oxalate Diet (LOD)
Chapter 4
Eater Beware! Improving Your Nutritional IQ and Shooting Down Myths
Garbage In, Garbage Out: Good Nutrition Is Not Optional!
Public Food Enemy #1: Hydrogenated Oils/Trans-Fatty Acids
Jack Sprat Was Wrong: Good Fats to the Rescue
Fishy Facts
Good News about Cholesterol
Low Cholesterol Levels and Autism
The Good Egg
Sugar Blues
Sodas—Don’t!
Salt—Yes! Sodium Preservatives—No!
It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature—Go Organic
Chapter Summary
Chapter 5
Yes—There Is Plenty Left to Eat! Life Beyond Gluten, Milk, Soy,
Hydrogenated Oils, Soda, and Junk Food
The Yuck Factor: Why Children Refuse Foods They Should Eat