A Link Between Gluten and Autism?

Autism is a disorder that is becoming a major concern amongst parents,
pediatricians, and even educators. Because this disorder seems to be
becoming more common, it has sparked a great deal of debate and
research into the reason behind its development. New studies, especially
those that have been based in the alternative medicine field, have found
that there could be a potential link between food allergies and autism,
especially a link between gluten and the condition.
This new data suggest that gluten may create allergies that either cause or
worsen autism.

Autism is a disorder that affects children’s cognitive development and
cognitive function. This can cause problems with communication abilities,
behavior, and social interaction. While it was thought that autism may be
genetic, recent studies have found that environmental factors may actually
be cause of, or influence the disorder.

The studies that tracked autism with gluten allergies found that the food
proteins in these foods were broken down into small proteins known as
peptides. This then functioned as a narcotic would in autistic children,
causing outward symptoms to worsen.

Since allergic responses to gluten can affect the body on the whole, causing
a variety of mental and physical symptoms, the consequences can be far
reaching. “Brain fog” is considered to be a mental symptom of autism, but
is also often mistaken for other psychiatric conditions.

Gluten intolerant adults are often plagued by physical symptoms of
consuming gluten foods, while children tend to suffer more from mental
side effects, such as brain fog.

Just as the remedy for a gluten intolerant adult is a gluten free diet, parents
with children showing symptoms of mental impairment may want to
consider eliminating gluten in the daily diet. Once parents cut out gluten,
mental changes are often reported in a very short period of time. Cognitive
problems, abnormal behavior, antisocial tendencies, and problems with
communication have completely disappeared in many cases.