Chapter Seven
Nutrition
Nutrition has one of the most significant impacts on health. Depending on the source, carbohydrates, fats, and meat affect inflammation differently. Therefore, a generalized negative categorization of food types is too simplistic.
Nutrition is a subject that rarely receives much attention at the doctor’s office. This lack of attention is because only 25 percent of medical schools offer a nutrition course (278). Most graduating doctors felt physicians did not have enough training to advise patients about nutrition (279). This lack of training is a massive problem in modern medical education because correct nutrition is the foundation for good health.
Instead of understanding nutrition and finding the cause of a disease, many doctors simply prescribe medications that suppress symptoms. Rather than hiding symptoms with medications, medicine should focus on improving chronic health conditions by understanding the causes.
Doctors often leave nutritional information to specialized people known as nutritionists, but even they may lack understanding of the many factors involved in nutrition, such as the quality of processed food, carbohydrate/fat ratio, carbohydrate/fiber ratio, easily oxidized fats, glycemic load, omega-3/omega-6 ratio, food additives, natural anti-inflammatories, supplement caution, and meat pollution.
The lack of nutritional awareness combined with other factors contributes to many of the health conditions in modern society. Although people are living longer, this longevity is because of the power of strong medications and technology rather than more years with an improved quality of life. Simply visit the average retirement home, and chronic diseases are everywhere. In contrast, more people lived with better health for most of their lives in the past.
As discussed, some families have more health conditions because of epigenetically enhanced inflammation. This expression of genes can transfer to the next generation of the family without changing the underlying genetic code.
Inflammation itself generates many of these epigenetic changes. Since modifiable factors, such as environment, nutrition, and lifestyle, influence inflammation, then the idea of having a genetic fate is often wrong. Because of the inflammation enhancement in some families, certain people need to be extra cautious about nutrition quality and the many other factors that increase inflammation.
Also known as oxidative stress, inflammation is the main cause of the rapidly rising rates of disease within the last few decades. Therefore, understanding the “relationship between food nutrients and health is very necessary as there are about 25,000 biologically active compounds which have the ability to cope with oxidants working in human body directly or indirectly (280).” Better nutrition is one of the most powerful ways to reduce inflammation.
Cave Life
Humans have come a long way since the days of hunting and gathering. Now a short trip to the local supermarket provides a massive amount of food, much more than was easily available in the distant past. This overabundance of food is a luxury of modern living.
However, the modern food supply has many problems. Most available food is prepackaged, nutrient deficient, full of chemicals and refined carbohydrates, which cause high blood glucose levels. Because big changes in the food system occurred recently in human history, the body has not adapted to these changes. Therefore, the modern food system can cause multiple negative health effects.
As a review summarizes:
“… the transition from foraging and nomadism to agriculture and settlement, spans a fraction less than 1% of human history. Thus, the switch from the “caveman’s diet” consisting of fat, meat and only occasionally roots, berries and other sources of carbohydrate (CHO) to a nutrition dominated by easily digestible CHOs derived mainly from grains as staple food would have occurred too recently to induce major adoptions in our genes encoding the metabolic pathways. This is even more the case for the changes that occurred over the past 100 years, in particular the switch from labor in the field to a sedentary lifestyle and an increase in the consumption of easily digestible CHOs with high glycemic indices (GIs), leading to diseases of civilization that are strongly associated with the so-called Western way of life (216).”
Another significant difference between the ancient and modern way of eating is that hunter-gatherers ate up 300 different foods, whereas the average modern person only eats about 30 different foods (281). This difference in variety is important because most of the 300 different foods were plants that may greatly improve health because of their phytochemical, fiber, and mineral content. Consuming a variety of phytochemicals from plants can have a positive synergy, with amazing healing effects.
People who follow the Paleolithic Diet try to eat like our ancient ancestors. Some people eat more extreme and cut out many additional carbohydrates, following a low-carb diet. Many followers of low-carb diets often reduce total carbohydrate intake without understanding the multiple differences between types of carbohydrates. They remove too many plants, thereby missing out on phytochemicals, fiber, and minerals.
Logically, if glucose comes from eating a plant that has many phytochemicals, then the inflammatory potential is not the same as a glucose source without those additional phytochemicals. This is because certain phytochemicals limit inflammatory damage caused by glucose and reduce inflammation generated by various other factors, such as psychological stress.
Also, some low-carbohydrate followers do not understand the importance of the glycemic load when picking sources of carbohydrates. Many also do not know that most store-purchased meat has a worse health effect than natural types of meat.
Meat and Fat
It is important to know the differences between industry meat sold at the supermarket and naturally raised meat, which is frequently found at the local farmer’s market. This distinction between meat quality is critical because there are many differences in how the animals are raised, which causes many supermarket meats to have negative health effects.
In contrast, naturally raised meat has fewer negative health effects. Future researchers must factor in these differences when examining the health effects of eating meat. Currently, most research on this subject does not distinguish between the various sources of meat. This is a mistake because the source of meat massively changes research results.
Industry meat is a term used in this book to refer to most meat produce by large corporations. This type of meat is especially harmful to ASD people because of the limited detoxification ability and increased inflammation linked to ASD. Industry meat also negatively affects many other people because of its high pollution and omega-6 content.
Chicken is one of the worst industry meats for human health. A study, which followed 477,000 people for about ten years, found a 72 percent increased risk of pancreatic cancer for every 50 grams of chicken eaten daily (282). That is less than a single chicken breast. The many chemicals, such as growth hormones and antibiotics, likely influence this increased health risk. For example, chickens raised conventionally were fed an organoarsenic compound and had higher arsenic content than organic chickens. The research correlated this to a higher risk of bladder and lung cancer (283).
Another factor to consider before buying industry meat is the cramped, unsanitary living conditions found at many industry farms. The cruel treatment of another life is a powerful reason to avoid industry meat.
Pork is another industry meat that damages health. This meat is linked to liver disease and “correlates as tightly as per capita alcohol consumption and liver fatalities (146).” Data indicates eating pork correlates to an increased risk of mortality from liver cirrhosis (284). Pork is also prone to multiple bacterial and viral contaminations. Perhaps this a reason multiple cultures prohibit eating pork.
Shockingly, meat consumption associates with a higher risk of becoming demented (146). This increased risk likely relates to pollutants and hormones found in some meat. Higher levels of chemicals may happen because animals are sometimes fed leftover animal parts from the previous generation of animals. This increases the concentration of pollutants in successive generations of animals (146). The heavy metal lead gathers in animal bones, and mercury gathers in animal protein (285). Both lead and mercury are extremely toxic.
Higher antibiotic content is another problem with most industry meat. Increased antibiotic intake from industry meat has worse effects on ASD people because they often already have a compromised gastrointestinal system and imbalanced intestinal bacteria. Antibiotics may further damage important beneficial bacteria, worsening overall health.
Eating more meat also often leads to higher salt intake. Eating a lot of salt associates with higher blood pressure (286). Higher salt intake also may increase inflammation (287). Research found salt inhibited the activity of the enzyme superoxide dismutase (288). This important antioxidant enzyme lowers superoxide. Interestingly, some ethnic groups are more sensitive to salt (289).
Another issue with eating a lot of meat is meat costs three times more than vegetables and has sixteen times less nutrition. This means vegetables have forty-eight times more nutritional value per dollar than meat (146). This is something to think about when shopping at the grocery store.
Another problem with most industry meat is omega-6 fat. The types of food animals eat affects the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fat. These are polyunsaturated fatty acids that become an important part of cell membranes in the body. Inflammation interacts with these fats to increase or decrease the inflammatory response. Omega-6 and omega-3 fat generally have opposite influences on the inflammatory response.
Omega-6 fat tends to increase inflammation (290). There are associations with this fat and increased inflammatory eicosanoid molecules, which have been found to reduce levels of both serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters that affect brain function (291). Higher levels of arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fat, associates with an increased risk of suicide and depression (292). Research found an increased ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in meat (293).
Most industry meat has a higher ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fat because many animals are fed grains. Eating a lot of grain is an unnatural diet for most animals and creates an increased ratio of omega-6 fat.
In addition to being cruel, stressful living conditions can generate excessive inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species in animals. The increased inflammatory molecules and omega-6 fat then transfer to the person eating the meat, which can worsen many different health conditions.
In contrast to omega-6 fat, omega-3 fat has more anti-inflammatory effects. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fat, inhibits nitric oxide production in macrophages, which associates with an increase of glutathione (294). Also, DHA can benefit brain function by affecting membrane fluidity and receptor function (136). A study found that eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), another omega-3 fatty acid, was as effective as a drug for depression (295). Interestingly, omega-3 fatty acid deficiency may change the dopamine systems of the frontal cortex and cause less branching of neuron dendrites (296). This negatively affects intellect and executive function.
Omega-3 fat also has other benefits. Researchers found daily intake of 1200 mg of omega-3 fat for about 75 days resulted in sixty percent of patients feeling less pain (297). DHA and EPA also have associations with increased fat burning and reduced obesity (298). There are multiple other benefits to maintaining a healthy balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fats that are not mentioned here.
Importantly, a study found significantly lower levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in ASD people (299). Compared to placebo, omega-3 helped to limit the hyperactivity and stereotypy in ASD children (300). Researchers also found that when 10 ASD children were given 1 gram of omega-3 fat for 12 weeks, 8 ASD children showed an improvement of about 33% on the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist, with no children worsening and no side effects reported (301).
The ability of omega-3 to lower inflammation also affects ADHD. This is likely because inflammatory mechanisms impact ADHD (302). The symptoms of ADHD appear to have a connection to inflammatory cytokine levels (303) (304). Also, research found cytokine IL-6 serum levels were higher in ADHD patients compared to the control group (305). Others found the antioxidant status of ADHD children was lower than the control status (306). Also, treatment with omega-3 fat improved symptoms in some ASD people (307). The anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fat are likely the reason for the reduced symptoms.
The ancestral diet contained omega-6 to omega-3 fat in a more balanced ratio than the modern diet, which has an imbalanced ratio of about sixteen times more omega-6 than omega-3 (308). This imbalance increases the power of the inflammatory response. In contrast, a more balanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fat has associations with a reduced risk of health conditions such as cancer and autoimmune disease (308).
Seafood is a nutrition source that has a lot of omega-3 fat. However, the type of seafood is a concern. As mentioned, pollutants accumulate inside of seafood as the pollutants move up the food chain. For this reason, some fish contain more pollution, depending on the geographical location and position of the fish on the food chain. This variable concentration of pollution is why the type of seafood eaten is so important. For example, researchers found farmed raised salmon had more pollution than wild salmon (309). Unnatural treatment and living conditions make farmed fish more polluted.
As mentioned, a big problem with seafood is mercury, a neurotoxic heavy metal. Like other forms of pollution, the concentration of mercury in seafood rises as the mercury moves up the food chain. Larger fish tend to have higher levels of mercury (310) (311). In general, the higher in the food chain a source of food is, then the more likely there is an increased concentration of multiple pollutants.
Given this trend in pollution concentration, a good policy is to eat foods that are lower in the food chain or raised naturally. Eating clams, oysters, and grass-fed meat may be better than eating tuna, shark, and non-grass-fed meat.
Depending on the source, wild-caught salmon is a better choice for getting omega-3 fats without as much potential pollution. Also, most of the daily food plan should be plants because they are less polluted than most meat. Plants also have numerous phytochemicals and health benefits, which are discussed later in this chapter.
If buying omega-3 supplements, then carefully examine the source. This is critical because pollution accumulates in fat. Therefore, a better choice is an omega-3 product made from algae or krill because both are low on the food chain.
In addition to seafood, omega-3 fat is in plants, such as flaxseed. However, eating plant oils in the form of pure oil may cause multiple health problems. This is because extracting oil from seeds often damages the very unstable polyunsaturated fatty acids. Taking oils away from their natural placement is also a problem with the extraction of omega-3 to create fish oil supplements. Once extracted, these oils are much more vulnerable to oxidative damage. This is important to think about when choosing cooking oil since vegetable oils, especially polyunsaturated oils, are easily damaged when heated (312).
A major reason for the increased inflammation in modern society is excessive intake of these refined vegetable oils. Multiple health problems are associated with these refined oils (146). For example, soybean oil was found to be more damaging to metabolic health in mice (313).
Shockingly, most restaurants use refined vegetable oils to cook food at high temperatures. As mentioned, the heat damages these delicate polyunsaturated fatty acids and increases the toxicity. Frequently eating these damaged oils is unnatural for the body and worsens many different health conditions.
Fried food is one of the most damaging sources of harmful vegetable oils. This is because most restaurants reheat the same container of vegetable oil multiple times, which further damages the oil. Rat research found repeatedly heated vegetable oils can generate oxidative stress when consumed and contribute to cancer risk (314).
Another oil, with more obvious negative health effects, is artificial hydrogenated oils, which damage mitochondria, dangerously decrease energy production, and may take up to nine months to clear out of the human body (161). In general, avoid both refined vegetable oils and hydrogenated oils.
However, getting some polyunsaturated fatty acids, from unprocessed food and well-selected seafood, is necessary for good health. This is because both omega-3 and omega-6 fat are essential fatty acids, which the body cannot produce. Still, the amount of omega-6 fat needed to meet this requirement is much lower than most people commonly consume.
One solution to these previously mentioned issues with meat is to purchase it locally. Investigate the source of meat to confirm the animal received good treatment and was not given antibiotics, hormones, pollutants, and a lot of grain. Naturally raised meat such as this may exist in some supermarkets and is frequently available at the local farmer’s market. Specific local farms may sell this meat by request. However, this more natural meat costs more than the typical unnaturally treated industry meat. Many people are therefore unable to regularly buy high-quality naturally raised meat.
One way to handle the cost of higher quality meat is to only eat meat occasionally, such as twice a week. Instead, eating more vegetables, fats, beans, and whole grains can provide great nutrition and help save money.
Be careful when choosing between carbohydrate sources. The rate a meal releases glucose into the blood is critical. As mentioned, high blood glucose concentrations reduce fat metabolism and increase glucose metabolism. Since increased glucose metabolism makes many more reactive oxygen species, then providing healthy fat as an alternative energy supply reduces inflammation.
To help protect mitochondrial efficiency and reduce the inflammation caused by excessive glucose metabolism, a food plan needs to have enough healthy fat, which is not polyunsaturated. The body functions at its best when fat intake is between 30% to 40% of total daily calories. Many hunter-gatherers eat around this amount of fat in their diets.
Interestingly, even multiple animals that eat a diet low in fat and very high in fiber have intestinal bacteria that transform a large portion of the fiber into fat (315). So much transformation happens that a lot of the energy going to the animal’s mitochondria for metabolism is fat.
Unfortunately, humans do not have a similar intestinal arrangement for such a major transformation. Although human intestinal bacteria can use some fiber to produce some fat, the overall fiber-to-fat transformation is quite limited compared to those animals.
Some people avoid fat because of past recommendations by various authorities for a diet that is low in saturated fat. However, as previously discussed in Chapter 6, these past recommendations are incorrect.
One problem with high fat is the combination of high-fat foods with other foods that spike blood glucose levels. As discussed, saturated fats and carbohydrates compete for cell metabolism. Therefore, eating saturated fats causes temporary insulin resistance and higher glucose levels in the blood. High blood glucose has associations with many health problems. Because saturated fats compete with glucose for cell metabolism, is it important to avoid high-glycemic load foods when eating more saturated fats.
All research looking at the health effects of saturated fats should think about the quality of the fat source and if the person is also eating refined carbohydrates because this affects research results. Much of the research linking fat to health problems is not factoring in glucose intake.
Unfortunately, low-fat recommendations by authorities based on the simplistic association between saturated fat and heart problems caused people to eat less healthy fats and significantly more carbohydrates. Even worse, many of these carbohydrates were high-glycemic load processed foods that contained damaged refined vegetable oils. This is a dangerous combination that significantly increases the risk of many health conditions.
As an important side note, because of PPAR gamma, the ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fat requires some consideration. An imbalanced ratio of these two types of fat might cause insulin resistance and harm health. Fats such as coconut oil and palm kernel oil have imbalanced ratios of monounsaturated to saturated fats. These oils have too many saturated fats and not enough monounsaturated fats. However, natural animal fats, such as grass-fed beef tallow, have a more balanced ratio of these fats. A preference for a more balanced fat ratio makes sense, considering humans evolved to eat animal fat.
In contrast, adaptation might not favor primarily relying on turning coconuts and palm kernels into refined plant oils. Interestingly, in people with a Pro12Ala variant at the PPAR gamma receptor gene, a high ratio of saturated to unsaturated fat may lead to increased obesity (316). This ratio of fats can cause the PPAR gamma not to function normally. This is significant because PPAR gamma activation has associations with inhibition of inflammatory cytokines and may “direct the differentiation of immune cells towards anti-inflammatory phenotypes (317).” Therefore, consuming too much coconut oil and palm kernel oil may lead to insulin resistance and other negative health effects.
As mentioned, a big benefit of fat is that its metabolism generates a lower ratio of NADH to FADH2 than glucose metabolism. This lower ratio causes less reactive oxygen species generation at complex I in the electron transport chains of mitochondria.
Fats also assist the absorption of other nutrients, such as lipid-soluble vitamins A, E, D, and K, which are essential for health. Research found eating salads with low-fat dressing reduced absorption of the antioxidants beta-carotene and lycopene, while eating salads with full-fat dressing led to greater absorption of these nutrients (318). As an interesting side note, supplements that use lipid delivery may maximize the bioavailability of vitamins and anti-inflammatory compounds (319).
So far, the focus of this chapter has been meat and types of fats. There is sadness in realizing how many pollutants are in meat and how animals receive terrible treatment. Abusive treatment creates stress, causing more inflammation in the animal. This then transfers to the consumer of the meat.
Perhaps this is a reason some cultures emphasize killing animals humanely and quickly. By doing so, the animal does not have time to produce a powerful stress response, which would contaminate meat with more inflammation.
Hopefully, people will want to eat less meat after reading this book. Fortunately, there are many vegetables, fruits, and whole grains that are beneficial for health.
Plants
Eating more plants has multiple health benefits. One of these benefits is less pollution exposure (320). Researchers found an association between a vegan diet and reduced levels of the pollutant polychlorinated biphenyls (321). This is because many people are eating animal fats and meats from the wrong sources, such as the previously discussed industry meat. As mentioned, eating fat and meat from naturally raised animals leads to less pollution exposure than eating industry fat and meat.
In contrast to the multiple problems with industry meat, eating plants is one of the best methods to reduce chronic inflammation. Since inflammation increases the severity of ASD symptoms, eating more plants may be especially helpful for ASD people.
Plants have phytochemicals that the plants use to protect themselves from various types of stress. Many of these phytochemicals are also helpful for humans. Amazingly, phytochemicals may “induce the expression of genes that encode antioxidant enzymes, protein chaperones, phase-2 enzymes, neurotrophic factors and other cytoprotective proteins (322).” This is important because improving detoxification ability and the control of reactive oxygen species is beneficial for health.
Unsurprisingly then, phytochemicals may help to treat neurodegenerative diseases (323). Polyphenols, a type of phytochemical, may both reduce reactive oxygen species and activate nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which has an important role in cell “protection against oxidative stress and inflammation (324).” Eating a diet that has a lot of polyphenols correlates to a lower risk for many diseases (325).
Shockingly, on average, plants contain up to sixty-four times more antioxidants than animal products (146). This is another great reason to regularly eat more plants.
Increased plant intake is also associated with a greater ability to resist cancer. Adding more plants to the diet may help increase, by eight times, the ability of the blood to fight cancer (326). Research found people who ate five or more servings of green, leafy vegetables a week had about half the risk of getting the cancer lymphoma compared to people not eating as many vegetables (327).
Plant-based diets may also reduce the chances of further major cardiac episodes in people with heart disease (328). Also, eating more vegetables associates with a 62 percent reduced risk of developing depression (329). There is also an association between increased fruit and vegetable intake and improvements in attractiveness (330). Another excellent reason to eat more plants.
Fruit and vegetables also reduce acidity in the body. This reduction of acidity is important because even slightly too much acidity may increase insulin resistance (331). Severe acidity even increases the death of neurons (332).
Even though the body usually maintains acidity levels in the blood at a constant neutral state, it does so mostly by switching out potassium inside cells with hydrogen ions in the blood. This causes a gradual loss of potassium, which has long-term negative health effects.
Importantly, eating more fruit and vegetables may also lead to higher potassium intake (333). This is critical because potassium deficiency can increase stroke risk (334). Potassium deficiency may also reduce insulin release and raise blood glucose levels (335). Also, potassium deficiency associates with Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (336). The production of stomach acid also requires potassium (337). In addition, potassium may help limit the generation rate of superoxide, a reactive oxygen species (338).
Interestingly, potassium deficiency may be one reason for premenstrual symptoms that affect some women. This is because the hormone progesterone rapidly declines right before menstruation. Progesterone helps keep potassium in the body (339). The natural decline of progesterone levels can reveal a potassium deficiency, which has effects that are similar to premenstrual symptoms, such as cramps and irritability.
As mentioned, plants also have polyphenols, which may help health conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. A study found polyphenols protected nerve cells in vitro by limiting formation of plaques that are associated with Alzheimer’s (340). Polyphenols, especially the subcategory of polyphenols known as plant flavonoids, are associated with an increase in glutathione synthesis (341).
Additionally, plant flavonoids may stop specific proteins, known as alpha-synuclein, from clumping together in the brain (342). This clumping links to Parkinson’s disease (343). Inflammation promotes alpha-synuclein clumping, and its misfolding associates with increased reactive oxygen species production (344).
These are just a few of the thousands of examples of plant phytochemical health benefits. In general, eating more plants reduces inflammation and improves many health outcomes.
Spices
Cooking at home using spices, especially organic spices, is frequently beneficial for health because the spices from many plants have some of the most antioxidant content.
Spices are powerful. For example, research found placing the spice cardamom inside a petri dish along with cancer cells increased the ability of natural killer cells to fight cancer cells by ten times (345). The spice ginger was found to help protect against radiation damage (346). Research also saw that 1/8 of a teaspoon of powdered ginger was as effective as 400 mg of ibuprofen for relieving pain (347).
Of the many different foods tested for anti-inflammatory properties, the spice oregano is one of the top five foods (348). Oregano oil is also good at fighting bacteria and fungi (349). One of the most beneficial spices is amla, which is from gooseberries (350).
Interestingly, many countries are currently encouraging their people to eat more spices for the health benefits (351). Besides health benefits, the correct combination of spices adds excellent flavor to meals, which makes food an even more pleasurable experience.
Phenols
Although spices have many health benefits, when health is already severely compromised, salicylates, a subgroup of phenols, have negative health effects. Salicylates can cause problems for people that already have too much inflammation, such as many ASD people. Research saw phenols worsened ASD symptoms because of an inability to metabolize phenols effectively (352).
Salicylates can also bind with magnesium and reduce magnesium levels (353). Therefore, salicylates can increase symptoms of magnesium deficiency. For these reasons, some people may need to avoid high salicylate foods, such as many spices, until health improves. This is unfortunate because spices normally have some of the greatest health benefits. The internet has detailed lists of various other foods that have high salicylate content.
Fiber
Fiber is one of the most beneficial parts of many plants. However, only around 3 percent of Americans get enough fiber in their diets (354). Consuming more fiber may reduce colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, and strokes (146). Fiber also helps prevent gallstones (355) (356). Getting enough fiber may be especially helpful for ASD people since fiber absorbs waste from the gastrointestinal tract, preventing some of the waste from recirculating into the bloodstream from the intestines.
Fiber is also important because some intestinal bacteria use fiber to create short-chain fatty acids. Research notes that these fatty acids have anti-inflammatory effects and help strengthen intestinal barrier function (357). Therefore, eating more fiber may improve intestinal health.
Fiber also feeds beneficial bacteria that help fight other types of harmful intestinal bacteria. This is important because too many harmful bacteria raise inflammation and negatively affect health.
Importantly, various fruits and vegetables have different fiber types. For example, apples have pectin, mushrooms contain beta-glucan, beans provide resistant starch, and onions contain inulin. These various fibers feed different beneficial bacteria. Therefore, frequently eating a variety of fruits and vegetables creates a healthy and diverse bacterial community in the digestive tract, which improves overall health.
A good source of fiber is flax seeds. Researchers found adding ground flaxseeds led to one of the most powerful blood-pressure-lowering effects achieved with food (358). Other researchers compared women with breast cancer who ate placebo muffins to women who ate muffins with flaxseed, and found more cancer-cell death in the flaxseed group (359). Flax seeds might also help to prevent prostate cancer progression (360). In addition, the omega-3 content of flaxseeds may improve ASD by reducing inflammation, while the fiber enhances the removal of pollutants from the body.
Various Plants
Cannabis, also known as marijuana, is another plant that reduces inflammation. Cannabinoids, molecules found in cannabis, have anti-inflammatory effects (361) (362) (363).
Multiple research studies have found an association between cannabis and improvement of ASD behaviors (364) (365). Other research found significant ASD symptom improvement after using cannabidiol (CBD), a phytochemical present in cannabis (366). Cannabidiol also has significant antitumor activity (367). These effects are a great reason for legalizing cannabis.
Coffee is another plant associated with improved health. Coffee has many beneficial phytochemicals (368). Research found drinking 3 to 5 cups of coffee daily during midlife associated with a lower “risk of dementia/AD by about 65% at late-life (369).” Also, coffee might reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease (370). Coffee even has associations to a lower risk for multiple cancers (371). In addition, coffee has connections to reduced cardiovascular mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes (372). Coffee might also reduce the risk of getting type 2 diabetes (373) (374). Furthermore, a study found if smokers drank four or more cups of coffee a day, they had a 92 percent lower risk of dying from chronic liver disease (375).
However, coffee raises the risk of esophageal cancer. This is because hot coffee causes heat damage in the throat. Drinking coffee at a cool temperature is better for throat health.
Mushrooms bought at the grocery store are also helpful plants. Mushrooms may help to lower the inflammatory response (376). They also may have an anti-allergy effect on children with past upper-respiratory-tract infections (377). There are many different types of mushrooms, and some are extremely poisonous. Therefore, do not try to collect wild mushrooms.
Brazil nuts also provide health benefits. These nuts have a large amount of the mineral selenium. This mineral assists with the function of glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme that uses glutathione to transform the reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide into water (136).
However, as with most of Nature, balance is important. If selenium levels are too high, then health problems will happen (378).
Hormesis
Before discussing other plants, selenium brings up the important topic of hormesis. This is the fact that many molecules have the best effects at specific concentrations. A normally beneficial molecule can have negative effects if too much of the molecule is in the body.
An excellent example of this is the health effects of doses of curcumin, a phytochemical in the spice turmeric. There are many studies on the benefits of curcumin (379) (380) (381) (382). However, curcumin has negative effects at higher doses (383). Research found curcumin doses “significantly reduced cell viability” at higher concentrations, but low doses of curcumin reduced reactive oxygen species and limited cell death (384).
Other phytochemicals, such as resveratrol, found in red wine, also have hormetic effects (385). Chart Four in Appendix A shows a graph displaying the bell-shaped curve of hormesis. Hormesis is like the story of Goldilocks, where the medium soup was just right.
The horizontal line of this graph represents the variable of the dose amount. The graph indicates that some stress is beneficial for health. Small doses of stress can increase the natural antioxidant and detoxification enzymes of the body, which help prevent damage to health. In contrast, high doses of stress cause too much damage.
Critically, if someone does not have enough antioxidant defenses, then hormetic stress can create more problems because there are not enough defenses present to respond to the stress. Understanding the importance of hormesis better will hopefully reduce excess excitement about supplements and phytochemicals. Remember that taking more if often not better, but worse for health.
Whole Grains
Whole grains also benefit overall health. However, many followers of low-carbohydrate diets have low opinions of grains. The differences between whole grains and refined grains needs some clarification.
Many grains in modern food get refined, thereby reducing their natural nutritional quality. This refinement process also causes refined grains to increase blood glucose more quickly than whole grains. This fact alone is a big reason for many of the negative health effects caused by refined food.
Refinement also reduces antioxidant content of grains. This is important because whole grains normally have significant antioxidant content (386). Increased intake of whole grains associated with reduced liver cancer risk (387). Whole grains also have more fiber, which, as discussed, has multiple health benefits. Furthermore, many whole grains are also a source of minerals, such as magnesium.
In contrast, refined grains have less antioxidant content, less fiber, fewer minerals, and quickly increase glucose levels in the bloodstream. The resulting rapid elevation of blood glucose causes excessive activation of complex I, which generates too many reactive oxygen species. High blood glucose also causes multiple other problems, such as those discussed in Chapter 6. The lack of antioxidants and minerals limits the ability of the body to control inflammation. This is because the body uses minerals to operate important enzymes that reduce reactive oxygen species and repair cell damage.
Also, the lower fiber content of refined grains allows the harmful bacteria to thrive on the carbohydrate supply. This is because the beneficial bacteria have less support due to the lack of fiber. This permits harmful bacteria to gain an advantage over the beneficial intestinal bacteria in the intestines.
Not Equal
Like the differences between grains, there are also major differences in the antioxidant and phytochemical content of plants.
For example, compare the average restaurant salad and a homemade salad. Many salads at most restaurants are basic, containing mainly romaine lettuce, carrots, onions, and tomatoes. In contrast, a customized homemade salad can have higher antioxidant plants, such as blueberries, broccoli, kale, spinach, apples, and peppers. Someone that eats the restaurant salad can claim they are getting their vegetables. However, they are eating fewer helpful phytochemicals compared to the homemade salad.
The ingredients in the homemade salad are associated with various health benefits. For example, blueberries strengthened the immune system in athletes and doubled the count of killer cells (388). Other researchers found wild blueberry supplementation improved the executive function in children (389). Green leafy vegetables link with radiation protection (390). While some peppers can significantly lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease (391). Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, discussed later, have multiple health benefits. In general, having an awareness of the different healing potentials of plants is important.
Color
Amazingly, color is an indicator of antioxidant content in many plants. The lycopene antioxidant causes the tomato to be red. The beta-carotene antioxidant gives the sweet potato its orange color. Anthocyanin grants blueberries their blue. A more vibrant color often also means better antioxidant potential (146). Interestingly, eating yellow and purple potatoes reduced plasma IL-6, an inflammation marker, more than white potato consumption (392).
As discussed before, removing a plant from the ground causes the phytochemical content to start declining over time. This decline means a more recently harvested plant has a brighter color, and generally appears fresher. At the local farmer’s market, many vegetables and fruits have beautiful vibrant colors, which shows freshness.
In contrast, supermarket vegetables appear less vibrant. This difference in color relates to the loss of antioxidants and various other phytochemicals. This happens because of long-distance shipping and modern farming methods.
Sprouts
Plants that have recently emerged from seeds often have more antioxidants. These young plants, commonly known as sprouts, contain extra antioxidants to increase their chances of survival from a sprout to a fully grown plant.
Sprouts also have greater nutritional density than fully grown plants. For example, radish sprouts have six times more vitamin C and seventy times more vitamin K than mature red cabbage plants (393). Most sprouts have “higher amounts of vitamin C, polyphenol and DPPH radical-scavenging activity than their mature vegetables (394).”
Sprouts also improve detoxification ability. Vegetables from the family Cruciferae and genus Brassica, such as broccoli sprouts, enhance detoxification by increasing the activity and efficiency of phase II enzymes in the liver. Research found significantly fewer carcinogens came out in the urine of test subjects after consuming three cups of broccoli and Brussels sprouts, which is consistent with better liver detoxification ability (395). In addition, other research found broccoli sprouts had 10-100 times more of the important molecule glucoraphanin than do mature broccoli plants (396).
In addition, cutting cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, about 30 minutes before eating releases an enzyme that transforms glucoraphanin into sulforaphane. In Nature, this helps these plants defend against insects.
Regular cruciferous vegetables consumption also benefits many health conditions. For example, a single serving of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, or kale, may significantly reduce the risk of cancer progression (397).
Amazingly, different cruciferous vegetable extracts, such as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and kale, inhibited cancer. The same researchers also found seven vegetable extracts, eggplant, orange bell pepper, carrot, tomato, endive, fennel bulb, and romaine lettuce, all appeared ineffective at suppressing various types of cancer growth (398). Perhaps this is because each of these seven non-cruciferous vegetable extracts has less sulfur content than the cruciferous extracts.
The main point here is that some vegetables provide more sulfur content and enhance detoxification enzymes in the human body. These sulfur compounds activate important pathways, like Nrf2, which are anti-inflammatory. For example, sulforaphane is a known activator of Nrf2 (399). Amazingly, research found sulforaphane, derived from broccoli sprouts, improved behavior in 29 ASD men (400).
Critically, sulforaphane belongs to one of nine classes of chemical Nrf2 activators, and “the only property shared by all inducers is their ability to react with sulfhydryl (-SH) groups (401).” Activation of Nrf2 significantly increases antioxidant enzyme activity, which assists in reducing inflammation. Eating foods to raise Nrf2 activity may be one of the most important steps to healing many different health conditions.
However, as previously mentioned, Nrf2 activation may only be effective if there are enough antioxidant defenses available. This relates to the concept of yin deficiency in Chinese Medicine. Yin is like the defenses of the body. Many herbs and certain healing methods can cause more problems if an individual has a yin deficiency.
An important idea to consider is that the body might be purposefully increasing inflammation to stop the primary source of inflammation, which in the distant past would have most likely been a pathogen, such as bacteria or a virus.
However, in modern society, for most people, the main source of inflammation is the food choices that lead to the generation of too many reactive oxygen species, which causes inefficient mitochondria. The body does not want to waste antioxidant resources when inflammation keeps getting strongly generated.
For this reason, during times of chronic inflammation the body may purposefully reduce Nrf2 and other antioxidant enzyme activities to prevent wasting critical antioxidant resources. Therefore, limiting the multiple sources of inflammation first and then using Nrf2-activators may lead to better health improvements.
In addition to cruciferous vegetables, garlic and onions have sulfur compounds that enhance detoxification and antioxidant enzyme activity. Research found garlic and onions have cancer preventative effects (402). Eating garlic and onions also associate with a significantly lower risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia, a health condition where the prostate grows too large and puts pressure on the bladder (403).
Eating sulfur-rich vegetables raw or lightly streamed is better because cooking can lower the phytochemical content in vegetables. However, consuming too many cruciferous vegetables raw may cause thyroid issues in some people because of the goitrogens in these vegetables. But this problem only happens if there is not enough iodine in the food plan. This is because iodine reverses the negative effects of the goitrogen thiocyanate (404).
As a caution, suddenly eating more foods with sulfur can cause negative effects initially because some ASD people have a lot of heavy metals, pollutants, and cellular waste stored inside their bodies. Sulfur has an affinity for many heavy metals and enhances the detoxification. Typically, this function would be helpful, but the weakened health condition of some ASD people limits the ability to detoxify these newly released heavy metals. Unloading too many pollutants into the bloodstream too quickly has multiple negative health effects and is a reason to slowly increase MSM powder intake or not take MSM at all.
Because of sulfur’s powerful effects, reducing sources of inflammation and strengthening the body with good food may need to happen before significant sulfur intake begins. However, some people can immediately start taking more sulfur. The risk of a strong detoxification effect depends upon individual health.
Organic
Eating organic plants is one way to reduce the number of pollutants requiring detoxification. Organic plants have fewer pollutants and more antioxidants than non-organic foods. A review found concentrations of antioxidants were substantially higher in organic crops and that these crops also had less of the dangerous heavy metal cadmium (405). Also, researchers found organic tomatoes contained more antioxidants and vitamin C than regular tomatoes (406). Organic crops also contained more minerals compared to conventional crops (407).
Organic plants have more phytochemicals because these plants do not have the extra insect defense provided by unnatural pesticides. Without this protection, organic plants must create more defensive molecules. In addition, the soil quality of organic crops is often much better, providing more minerals to the crops.
Supplements
Taking some supplements may be beneficial because of depleted soil minerals and processing of foods. However, eating quality food and reducing inflammation may more than compensate for soil deficiencies. This is because the body would have less stress and waste fewer nutrients. Therefore, supplementation may or may not be necessary depending on other factors. Since many ASD individuals have higher inflammation, then supplementation may provide health benefits.
Although this section focuses on how some supplements might help ASD people, many of these supplements may also improve various other health conditions.
This is because ASD people are like a canary in the coal mine. They are much more sensitive to environmental pollutants, the industrial food system, and many other sources of inflammation. These sources cause noticeable symptoms in many ASD people and less obvious ones in non-ASD people. For example, if chronic inflammation combined with mineral deficiencies remains uncorrected in an individual who simply appears healthy, then a big health problem, such as a stroke, heart attack, or cancer may happen.
The point here is chronic inflammation can affect anyone, but many ASD people are simply more susceptible than most other people. Therefore, everyone needs to be aware of how to reduce inflammation and correct any nutrient deficiencies.
Magnesium and vitamin B6 may both be effective supplements for ASD. Supplementation of magnesium along with vitamin B6 improved multiple ASD symptoms. The research also showed that stopping supplementation associated with a reappearance of ASD symptoms within a few weeks (408). Another study found taking magnesium along with vitamin B6 was more effective for treating ASD than taking magnesium or vitamin B6 alone (409).
Taken together, vitamin B6 and magnesium have added effect upon ASD symptoms because vitamin B6 assists in generating cysteine, and magnesium helps to synthesize glutathione. This combination of additional cysteine and increased ability to synthesize glutathione may lead to more available glutathione. Interestingly, a study found a link between vitamin B6 depletion and increased loss of magnesium in urine (410).
Magnesium is one of the most important elements in the human body and controls over 300 enzymes (411). One of the many ways magnesium may improve ASD is by affecting glutathione production, discussed earlier. A study using mice found an association between pretreatment with magnesium and less glutathione loss. They also found less decline in the activity of glutathione peroxidase (412). Compared to control group, magnesium supplements significantly improved glutathione levels in asthmatic children (413).
Magnesium also affects histamine intolerance because the enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO) uses magnesium to function. DAO reduces histamine levels. The activity of this enzyme was found to reach “half the value of controls on the eighth day of Mg deficiency (414).” People that have histamine intolerance may need to increase magnesium intake. Critically, magnesium is also used to produce the primary energy molecule in the body, ATP (415).
Unfortunately, the modern “refining or processing of food may deplete magnesium content by nearly 85% (416).” Since magnesium influences hundreds of enzymes, a deficiency of this mineral affects the body in multiple ways. Some common symptoms of magnesium deficiency are fatigue, insomnia, increased inflammation, lack of focus, muscle cramps, depression, and anxiety.
Magnesium deficiency also limits efforts to fix a potassium deficiency. Often a magnesium deficiency is present in patients that have a potassium deficiency (417). There are specific ion channels in the kidneys that leak potassium into the urine if magnesium is not there to block these ion channels (418). These important minerals exist in a delicate balance.
Eating foods like potatoes and dark leafy greens may help to keep these minerals balanced. In contrast, taking isolated mineral supplements has the potential to disrupt mineral balance, causing many negative health effects. However, if cautious about maintaining the balance, then mineral supplements can be extremely helpful.
Magnesium also affects the sodium-potassium pump (419). This pump is the most critical ion pump in the body and uses about one-third of the total daily energy. This pump pulls two potassium ions into the cell while moving three sodium ions out of the cell, which increases the electrical charge between the inside and outside of the cell.
Efficient action of this pump makes cells more negatively charged, putting cells in a more restful state. This often leads to fewer cramps, less irritability, and less insomnia.
The skin can absorb some magnesium by taking a bath in Epsom salts. Applying magnesium oil to the skin also leads to magnesium absorption. Researchers found hair follicles aid magnesium absorption through the skin (420). Therefore, putting magnesium oil on skin areas that have more hair, like the forearms, increases absorption.
One of many health conditions that magnesium might help is fibromyalgia. Magnesium oil applied to the skin had potential benefits for patients with fibromyalgia (421). In addition, research found fibromyalgia symptoms have a negative correlation to magnesium levels (422).
However, when supplementing magnesium, the ratio of calcium is important. An imbalanced ratio of magnesium to calcium associates with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and colon cancer (423). For most people, obtaining enough calcium is less of a concern because they may already get more calcium than magnesium from dairy and the unnatural calcium fortification in processed foods.
However, for reasons unrelated to calcium intake, eating these foods may need to stop to reduce inflammation. If consumption of these types of foods stops, then the intake of calcium will be much lower if not enough vegetables are in the daily food plan. Because of the importance of the calcium/magnesium ratio, magnesium supplements throw the ratio out of balance when limiting foods with calcium. Rather than using supplements, these minerals naturally exist in foods such as green leafy vegetables. These natural foods also often have a more balanced ratio of calcium to magnesium.
Vitamin B6 may be one of the most important vitamins for ASD people. Researchers found the behavior of ASD children deteriorated when a placebo replaced vitamin B6 (424). The benefit of vitamin B6 may be because of its role in the transsulfuration pathway, involving production of cysteine and taurine. As previously mentioned, cysteine helps create more glutathione. Whereas taurine assists metabolism and indirectly reduces inflammation.
The transsulfuration pathway makes taurine, an amino acid found in meat, after using P5P three different times. P5P is an active form of vitamin B6. Importantly, zinc and vitamin B2 are needed to transform B6 into P5P (136).
Taurine affects electron transport chain function, and taurine deficiency may lead to an increased generation of reactive oxygen species (425). Also, the body uses taurine in the formation of bile salts, which assist in processing and absorbing fat from food. Taurine is also a significant part of breast milk (426). Taurine is one reason breast milk has associations with better health effects than formula.
Because of the issues some ASD people have in absorbing nutrients, they may need higher amounts of vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 (136). However, excess B6 leads to health problems, such as nerve damage, nausea, and sensitivity to light. Therefore, B6 supplementation requires caution.
Zinc
Zinc is another supplement that may benefit many ASD people. Chronic inflammation depletes zinc, which is an issue because zinc is essential to many processes in the body. Amazingly, zinc affects the activity of more than 300 enzymes (427) (428). Zinc is also important for the process of autophagy (429). Autophagy, which means self-eating, is the purposeful destruction of dysfunctional parts of cells. Autophagy is very important and greatly helps to reduce inflammation. There are discussions on autophagy later.
Zinc also enhances intestinal repair (430). Zinc, in the form of zinc carnosine, may reduce intestinal permeability (431). The activity of a critical antioxidant enzyme was found to increase with higher zinc concentrations (432). Researchers also remark how a zinc deficiency causes “depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors (433).”
Interestingly, zinc deficiency affects enzymes that break down casein and gluten, which are found in certain foods. Both casein and gluten may cause health problems for many ASD people.
Therefore, a zinc deficiency can both increase intestinal permeability and reduce the ability to break down casein and gluten. This allows more casein and gluten into the bloodstream, causing health problems for some people.
Because of hormesis, as discussed, supplements like zinc are harmful in excess. If zinc levels are adequate, then taking more zinc can cause problems. Consultation with a knowledgeable medical professional is necessary when changing a supplement routine.
Melatonin
Melatonin is another supplement that may help. There are associations between melatonin and valuable anti-inflammatory activity (434). Melatonin is a critical hormone that helps regulate antioxidant gene expression (435). This hormone also assists in controlling the sleep-wake cycle and might increase the phosphorylation of vitamin B6 (136).
Parents of ASD children reported that melatonin had the highest benefit score of any single oral nutrient for ASD symptoms (136). This is likely because of melatonin’s effect on antioxidant activity.
Exposure to light limits the release of melatonin into circulation where the hormone is effective. Sleeping in complete darkness releases this hormone much better. Therefore, sleeping in darkness is critical to obtain the health benefits from natural melatonin. Also, not getting enough sunlight limits natural creation of new melatonin released later at night.
Inflammation negatively affects creation of melatonin by reducing the levels of serotonin, which is an important neurotransmitter necessary to create melatonin. There is a discussion in Chapter 8 about a possible reason for this reduction of serotonin levels.
Curcumin
Another anti-inflammatory supplement is curcumin. It is a phytochemical in the spice turmeric. Researchers note curcumin may counteract the pro-inflammatory state (436). The anti-inflammatory effect appears to depend on increasing the function of interleukin-10 (IL-10), one of the body’s natural anti-inflammatories (437).
Research on rats found curcumin limited PPA-induced autism-like symptoms (438). This phytochemical may also help to prevent or treat many health conditions, such as brain disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lung disease, and pancreatic cancer (146). Also, it is important to remember that because of hormesis, negative health effects occur if the dosage of curcumin is too high.
Besides curcumin, turmeric has health benefits because of the many other compounds in turmeric. One compound is aromatic-turmerone. In rats, one injection of aromatic-turmerone led to neural stem cell proliferation (439).
A problem with turmeric is the liver quickly removes turmeric phytochemicals from the body. Adding piperine, found in black pepper, inhibits the liver’s detoxification of these phytochemicals, allowing them to remain in the blood for a longer time. A study found piperine increased curcumin bioavailability by two thousand percent (440).
However, this can negatively impact drug management since piperine inhibits detoxification enzymes in the liver that affect how the body handles drugs. In addition, there are the previously mentioned concerns with hormesis and overall dosage. Therefore, supplement changes involving adding piperine requires the supervision and consultation of a medical professional.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is another supplement that has antioxidant properties which may help ASD people. A research study found an association between vitamin C treatment and reduced severity of ASD symptoms (441). A parent survey of many different supplements found vitamin C has one of the highest benefit ratios for ASD (136).
Vitamin C might also help to maintain the antioxidant glutathione and boost “the overall antioxidant protection capacity of blood (442).” Vitamin C is also a cofactor in the biosynthesis of carnitine, which cells need to use most fat for energy (443). Also, vitamin C assists with creating neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, which affect mood.
Avoid taking supplemental vitamin C if digesting fat in the stomach. This is because when there is ten percent fat digesting in the stomach, then supplemental vitamin C may increase damaging nitrosation (444).
\Vitamin C also helps regenerate vitamin E. Among other useful functions, vitamin E assists in preventing harmful damage of lipid membranes, helps preserve glutathione, and protects many enzymes (136).
Various Supplements
Other supplements might also provide health benefits. Glutamine, an amino acid, associates with less reactive oxygen species, less apoptosis, and more glutathione (445). N-acetyl-cysteine may provide neuroprotection and limit degeneration of specific cells known as OPCs (446). While, pycnogenol improved the ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione in ADHD children (447).
Interestingly, 70% of methylation activity focuses on making creatine, which is low in many ASD people (136). Since methylation is slow in a lot of ASD people, supplementing with creatine may have some benefits (136).
However, because the formation of creatine depends on methylation, which inflammation disrupts, then the body might block creatine production for a purpose. Therefore, it is probably better to reduce inflammation naturally. This improves methylation efficiency, allowing the boy to make more creatine when there is less inflammation.
Calcium is another supplement to consider. Calcium is often lower in ASD people. If avoiding dairy because of casein, then other calcium sources are dark leafy greens, broccoli, and certain fortified food products (136). Milk may not be a healthy source of calcium since milk potentially contributes to anemia, constipation, and hyperactivity (161). Most milk also often has added hormones and antibiotics. In addition, the pasteurization of milk destroys much of the beneficial sulfate naturally found in raw milk.
Stem Cells
Stem cell therapy can also be helpful for autistic people. Mesenchymal stem cells stimulate the repair of damaged tissues, release anti-inflammatory cytokines, and help to restore neural plasticity (448). In particular, the immune regulating capabilities of stem cell therapy benefit ASD people. Stem cells secrete factors, such as the signaling molecules IL-10 and TGF-β, inhibiting the inflammatory immune response (449).
Amazingly, a study found “stem cell transplantation was more efficacious than conventional rehabilitation therapy in improving some features of autism (450).” The most significant effect was in the ASD group that received both umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells and cord blood mononuclear cells.
Probiotics
Probiotic bacteria help their human host by synthesizing various vitamins, such as pantothenate, niacin, B6, B12, biotin, riboflavin, and folate (136). Research notes intestinal bacteria affect “the B-vitamin pool of the gut and that the host can benefit to some extent from the B-vitamin biosynthesis of the microbiota (451).” Interestingly, the colon has specific pathways that allow absorption of vitamins made by the bacteria (452).
Intestinal bacteria composition also affects the immune system. The bacteria lactobacillus rhamnosus, which is a probiotic, raised natural killer cell activity against cancer in vitro (453). Also, probiotics may reduce inflammatory cytokines and increase anti-inflammatory cytokines, as well as positively influence the immunological barrier of the intestines (69).
Probiotic bacteria may also help bind up heavy metals (454). Binding heavy metals reduces absorption, protecting the body from some of the toxic health effects these metals cause.
Besides these examples, there are many more benefits of probiotics that are too numerous to list here.
In contrast to probiotic bacteria, bacterial dysbiosis has multiple negative health effects. For example, dysbiosis reduces the number of probiotic bacteria, which limits the production of vitamins by these bacteria. Therefore, food plans need to especially account for the various vitamins probiotic bacteria usually help to create, such as vitamins B2, B7, and B12.
In addition, dysbiotic bacteria may negatively affect the function of the enzyme biotinidase. This enzyme extracts biotin from food. Research found an association between biotinidase deficiency and ASD (455). Biotinidase happens to be the same protein as lipoamidase, an enzyme that extracts alpha-lipoic acid from food. Lower lipoamidase function may cause the body to receive less alpha-lipoic acid, a molecule with strong anti-inflammatory effects.
A study on rats found supplementation of alpha-lipoic acid increased levels of glutathione (456). Alpha-lipoic acid helps replenish vitamin C, protect mitochondria, reduce insulin resistance, and is important for fat metabolism (161).
Interestingly, the body rapidly uses NADH to transform lipoate into dihyrolipoate, which may decrease the ratio of NADH/NAD+ (457). As discussed, a lower NADH/NAD+ ratio has many health benefits.
However, supplemental alpha-lipoic acid can cause side effects. A better way to get more alpha-lipoic acid is to reduce intestinal dysbiotic bacteria by changing nutrition and lifestyle. Reducing the bad bacteria will help the good bacteria thrive, naturally improving alpha-lipoic acid.
Another problem with dysbiosis is harmful bacteria steal nutrients for themselves, limiting the nutrients the body receives. For example, some bacteria take more cysteine and other amino acids than other types of bacteria (458). Some bacteria also steal sulfur compounds and create hydrogen sulfide gas, emerging as flatulence with a strong odor. This is another reason to keep a healthy bacteria balance.
Overall, maintaining the dominance of probiotic bacteria is critical to both the creation of nutrients by beneficial bacteria and the prevention of nutrients getting stolen by harmful bacteria growth. This especially affects sulfur intake since there are multiple harmful sulfur-reducing bacteria that limit how much sulfur is available for the body. If there is already significant dysbiosis, then sulfur may increase the growth of harmful bacteria. Therefore, healing bacterial dysbiosis is important before beginning sulfur supplementation.
Probiotics may help some ASD people because they often have bacterial dysbiosis. Researchers note more bacterial community alterations in ASD people compared to non-ASD people (459). Some bacteria also produce propionic acid (PPA), a short-chain fatty acid that may cross the blood-brain-barrier and contribute to ASD-like behaviors (460). A research study also found more clostridial bacteria in the ASD people that regressed (461).
Even more concerning is how bacterial dysbiosis might contribute to inflammation of the intestinal membrane, increased intestinal permeability, and entry of pollutants and dietary peptides into the bloodstream (136).
Some ASD people also have an increased presence of the fungus candida (462). The relative abundance of candida is higher in ASD people than it is in controls (463). Although candida is common in the intestinal tract of many people, an overgrowth of this fungus negatively affects health.
The primary way to support probiotic bacteria is eating more foods rich in fiber. In contrast, eating too many refined carbohydrates feeds the harmful bacteria. Therefore, the combination of not getting enough fiber and eating too many refined carbohydrates can create too many harmful bacteria and not enough beneficial bacteria.
However, probiotics may cause health problems in some people if the supplementation occurs when the intestines have excessive permeability. This permeability gives the bacteria too much access to the bloodstream, which may cause problems.
Importantly, research found pro-inflammatory cytokines increased intestinal permeability (464). Therefore, reducing inflammation before using probiotics might be a better option for some people. Once inflammation is lower, then probiotics may not be as problematic. However, this issue might only affect a few people and depend on intestinal health and permeability.
Supplement Warning
In general, taking some types of supplements may cause more harm. Many supplements do not have the complete profile of nutrients and chemicals found in natural foods. Also, unnatural processes of creating many supplements changes the normal molecular arrangements, which may be dangerous, especially in the long-term. In addition, the supplement industry is not well-regulated, which allows some supplements to contain dangerous ingredients.
Another concern is that a supplement can conflict with a purposeful function. For example, the body may reduce a nutrient for the purpose of increasing the inflammatory response. If an individual does not use both nutrition and lifestyle to reduce inflammation, then some supplements might contribute to long-term problems, such as cancer. An example of this is taking digestive enzymes, which are discussed later.
Specific Diets
The probiotic topic brings to attention the fact that some ASD people experience more gastrointestinal issues, like increased intestinal permeability and bacterial dysbiosis. A research study found increased intestinal permeability in about half the ASD people (465). Many more ASD people have less obvious intestinal permeability problems more advanced tests will detect.
Increased intestinal permeability and immune system over activation is a major reason some ASD people have many food sensitivities. Interestingly, people with many allergies tend to have as many as two dozen foods that cause reactions (136). Chronic inflammation is causing an over activation of the immune system, making it easily activated by certain foods. In addition, as discussed, inflammation increases intestinal permeability, allowing harmful bacteria to activate inflammation.
The intestines strongly influence inflammation because the intestines are a critical area of interaction between body and environment. The small intestines have a large surface area of about 30 meters, which is close to the size of a studio apartment (466). This large area, combined with an increased permeability, exposes the bloodstream to attacks, such as pollutants, undigested dietary peptides, and other substances foreign to the body. These attacks repeatedly activate the immune system, which increases inflammation. Therefore, being careful about food intake is important for reducing symptoms of ASD. There are various types of diets that may help with ASD symptoms.
Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Diets that have shown some positive benefits frequently restrict various sources of carbohydrates as a method of limiting inflammation. One of these diets is the ketogenic diet, where carbohydrates are very limited. This diet may have health benefits but also has associations with some negative health consequences, such as constipation, fatigue, and hunger (467).
Amazingly, research found on the ketogenic diet, 18 of 30 children experienced an improvement of ASD symptoms. The researchers found significant improvement in two patients, average improvement in eight patients, and minor improvement in eight other patients (468).
Another study also found the keto diet improved the core autism symptoms in a mouse model (469). Also, a case study reported dramatic improvement in a young ASD girl by using the ketogenic diet (470). Research on mice saw that a ketogenic diet lowered the excitation/inhibition ratio (471). Reducing this ratio is important because ASD is often associated with an increased excitation/inhibition ratio in the brain. There is a discussion about the importance of this ratio in Chapter 8.
The strict limitation of carbohydrates on the ketogenic diet, although unhealthy in the long-term because of the restriction of beneficial vegetables and fruits, does reduce reactive oxygen species generation and inflammation. The ketogenic diet and other low-carbohydrate diets give mitochondria a break from the excessive inflammation associated with carbohydrate metabolism. This break could be especially helpful for someone with low glutathione supply, depleted sulfur levels, and severe inflammation.
However, the restrictive aspect of low-carbohydrate food plans, such as the ketogenic diet, is difficult to maintain long-term. Also, fulfilling all nutritional requirements is challenging on restrictive low-carbohydrate food plans.
As a side note, most research on low-carbohydrate diets lacks consideration of significant points.
The first point to consider is protein has different effects depending on cooking style. Cooking protein using dry heat methods at high temperatures may create harmful advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) (472). In contrast, cooking in liquid, or on lower heat, is less inflammatory.
The second point is fiber consumption is often too low. As mentioned, fiber is important for detoxification because fiber improves waste removal and assists in preventing constipation. Also, fiber feeds beneficial bacteria, which limits the growth of harmful intestinal bacteria.
The third point is most research does not also use natural anti-inflammatory compounds, such as spices. Someone could follow a low-carbohydrate diet and rarely use many spices, missing the multiple health benefits.
The fourth point is these diets may excessively limit plant intake, reducing the number of helpful phytochemicals that often more than compensate for the negative effects of glucose from the plants.
The fifth point is deficiencies of minerals, such as sulfur, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, are more likely to occur on restricted food plans. This is an important point since minerals affect multiple functions, including antioxidant enzymes and metabolism.
The sixth point is many sources of industry meat from the supermarket increase inflammation. Studies often do not adequately distinguish between the health effects of different sources of meat. This is critical because some meat has additional pollutants, chemicals, and omega-6 fat, which drastically affects research results.
Finally, the seventh point is low-carbohydrate diets may use poor quality of fat, which has more pollutants. Also, for previously mentioned reasons, the type of fat makes a difference. For example, refined vegetable oils can cause health problems, especially if these oils get cooked at high temperatures.
As mentioned, another concern with fat is coconut and palm kernel oils. They have imbalanced fat ratios that do not activate PPAR gamma normally in some people. Also, certain animal fats have a much higher omega-6 fat ratio if the animal consumed grains rather than grass or other natural vegetation.
These are some of the factors people often overlook. This must change. By considering all these points, individuals and researchers will have improved success.
Specific Carbohydrate Diet
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is one of the more beneficial diets when measured by the percent of children that improve (136). The SCD restricts many carbohydrates that feed harmful intestinal bacteria.
It is important to realize most parents did not get very beneficial results for their ASD children until about 2 to 3 months after starting the SCD diet (136). Coincidentally, the body takes about 3 months to get a new set of cells (161).
Patience and modification are necessary with the SCD because the diet can cause problems for some children with nut and egg allergies (136). Also, some children on the SCD may have more yeast and bacteria overgrowth while consuming honey and fruit (136). Artificial chemicals, which exist in many processed foods, are another major concern. Avoiding these chemicals is important because some ASD people have limited detoxification ability, which makes them more sensitive to artificial chemicals.
Importantly, the SCD can cause an initial worsening of symptoms because of the death of harmful bacteria that are no longer receiving their carbohydrate food supply. Symptoms may worsen because the content released by these dying bacteria temporarily increases inflammation.
Temporary regression periods with worsening behavior might occur at the 3, 5, 7, 9-month marks into using the SCD (136). These periods of regression may happen because of increased removal of dysfunctional mitochondria and pollutants as the body slowly improves. After making the change to eating healthier foods, the body may gradually begin a delayed release of pollutants, inefficient mitochondria, and other cell waste.
The body waits until overall inflammation reduces, and defenses strengthen to begin this release because then the body is not as overwhelmed with inflammation. A less overwhelmed body is better at managing the release of reactive oxygen species and inflammatory factors during detoxification. The body healing in stages can cause the temporary regressions and worsening behavior.
This process can occur over many months, as the body prioritizes different areas depending on their importance. These healing effects are not just limited to the SCD. Any food and lifestyle plan that reduces chronic inflammation may cause these effects.
Casein- and Gluten-Free Diet
One of the more well-known diets for ASD people is the gluten-free casein-free diet (GFCF). This diet forbids the consumption of gluten, found in products with wheat, and casein found in products made with cow milk.
A 2-year follow-up on 30 ASD children saw that a gluten-free casein-free diet resulted in symptom improvement for those who followed the GFCF diet, whereas those who did not follow the diet got worse (473). The same researchers also saw higher immunoglobulin A antibodies for gluten and casein proteins in the ASD group (473). Other research found ASD children on the diet had better development than ASD children who were not on the diet (474). A review of multiple studies found the diet caused a “reduction of autistic behavior, increased social and communicative skills.” The review also noticed breaking the diet led to reemergence of ASD traits (475).
Interestingly, there are various types of casein, either A1 or A2, in different kinds of milk. Researchers found an association between the consumption of milk that had A2 casein and fewer symptoms of milk intolerance in people with self-reported intolerance to traditional cow milk (476).
Digestion of gluten can lead to opioid peptides, known as gluten exorphins. Researchers found increased exorphins in the urine of ASD people (477). The researchers also noted both gluten and casein may stimulate release of inflammatory molecules (477). Importantly, “both wheat- and milk-derived opiate peptides inhibit the uptake of cysteine, resulting in a decrease” in creation of new glutathione (478). A lack of glutathione supply limits detoxification ability and reduces control over inflammation.
The gliadin protein found in wheat can also cause issues. Gliadin has association with autoimmunity (479). Wheat is also often sprayed with herbicides containing glyphosate and multiple other potentially dangerous co-formulants. These herbicides are inadequately tested for their long-term effects. Because of problems with both gluten and herbicides, avoiding wheat sprayed with glyphosate may be especially beneficial for health.
Gluten and casein also inhibit the function of the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4). Also, lead, mercury, and organophosphates can inhibit the DPP4 enzyme (136).
DPP4 is important because the enzyme helps break apart amino acids during protein digestion. Inhibition of DPP4 impairs peptide digestion, worsening the negative effects of casein and gluten.
DPP4 is also known as adenosine deaminase complexing protein 2 or CD26. In the immune system, CD26 is part of the lymphocyte component critical for communication. In children with an active milk allergy, CD26 activity on lymphocytes was a little as 25% of the control values (480). Research also notes dietary peptides and xenobiotics may lead to an autoimmune reaction in autistic children (481).
For all these reasons, avoiding both gluten and casein may provide health benefits, especially for ASD people.
Digestive Enzymes
On most diets, taking supplemental digestive enzymes helps to control the quantity of undigested food, such as dietary peptides that enters the small intestine. This is important because undigested food in the small intestine promotes an imbalance of bacteria, potentially increasing intestinal permeability and entry of unwanted molecules into the blood (136). For example, undigested peptides, such as gluten and casein, might significantly increase the inflammatory response.
Therefore, improving digestive power may help to reduce ASD symptoms. Research on a specific digestive enzyme supplement saw improvement of all thirteen measured parameters in ASD people and that improvement ranged from 50 to 90% depending on the parameter examined (482).
Critically, low sulfur levels might impair the beneficial release of digestive enzymes (483). Low sulfur also limits the formation of sulfated glycosaminoglycans, which help to create the intestinal barrier. If the barrier is not fully functional, then undigested food can pass by the barrier and into the bloodstream, increasing the inflammatory response.
Although digestive enzymes are helpful, they may cause long-term problems if inflammation continues. This is because digestive enzyme function depends on multiple factors that chronic inflammation depletes. For example, magnesium and zinc are both important for digestive enzyme activity. Research found zinc improved digestive enzyme function (484).
In addition, the body requires potassium and zinc to produce stomach acid used for digestion. The body uses stomach acid to increase the release of digestive enzymes. Furthermore, various signaling processes that stimulate the release of digestive enzymes require sulfur. This is all important because chronic inflammation depletes sulfur, magnesium, zinc, and potassium.
Like various other health conditions, this may be an example of the body purposefully limiting a function. The inhibition of digestive enzymes limits the amount of fat and glucose entering the bloodstream for metabolism. This reduces the amount of inflammation generated by metabolism. However, the original design of this purposeful function was not for the long-term problem of a continually unhealthy food plan often found in modern society.
Therefore, taking supplemental digestive enzymes could lead to some symptom improvements, such as digestive and behavioral. However, if chronic inflammation is not also reduced, then inflammation from metabolism may, in the long-term, increase the risk of health conditions such as cancer.
Food Additives
There are numerous additives in processed foods that are damaging to health. One of these additives is emulsifiers, which are added to many processed foods so fat content does not separate from liquids. Emulsifiers can directly change the gut bacteria and potentially worsen intestinal inflammation (485). A mouse study found “relatively low concentrations of two commonly used dietary emulsifiers” stimulated inflammation and microbiota encroachment by reducing the mucus layer that normally helps to keep the bacteria further away from the intestinal walls (486). The food additive maltodextrin might contribute to intestinal mucus depletion and greater intestinal inflammation (487). Titanium dioxide is another food additive that may worsen intestinal inflammation and decrease the intestinal mucus barrier (488).
Some food additives also limit liver sulfation activity. A study found food additives reduced the sulfation of dopamine and 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2), a xenobiotic steroid (489).
In addition, many processed foods have extra salt, which can be “up to 500 times more than a similar home-cooked meal (490).” This is important because a high-salt diet may “strongly favor a pro-inflammatory immune response with heightened Th17 and M1 activation and decreased Treg and M2 functions (490).” Therefore, limiting salt intake may greatly improve health.
Another food additive is non-caloric artificial sweeteners. These may cause intestinal bacteria changes that affect the development of glucose intolerance (491). As discussed, problems with controlling glucose have multiple negative health effects.
There are many more additives and studies not discussed here. Disturbingly, most additives in processed food are not adequately tested for long-term health effects. Therefore, avoiding processed foods with additives may benefit overall health.
Oxalates
Oxalates are another nutrition concern. Eating certain types of plants may cause health issues for some people because of the naturally high oxalate content in those plants. Too many oxalates cause increased pain in the body, affect the thyroid, and create painful kidney stones. Oxalates might be especially problematic for some ASD people because of increased intestinal permeability and lower sulfur levels. ASD people are potentially absorbing up to seven times as many oxalates (69).
Interestingly, the body may increase oxalate production on purpose when there is a depletion of vitamin B6. This is significant because inflammation depletes B6 (492). This depletion likely happens because vitamin B6 can act as an antioxidant. Researchers found vitamin B6 has antioxidant ability and that each B6 could reduce up to eight hydroxyls, a reactive oxygen species (493). This is another reason vitamin B6 may help ASD people.
Although increased oxalate intake can cause various health problems, natural oxalate production by the body may help reduce inflammation. Perhaps this is because oxalates reduce glycolysis (494) (495). This inhibition of glycolysis limits glucose from accessing the mitochondria. As discussed, this inhibition may be beneficial because excessive glucose metabolism creates too many reactive oxygen species.
Natural oxalate production also affects oxalate/sulfate transporters in the kidney, which waste oxalate to keep sulfate. Oxalates increase sulfate uptake (496). Although vitamin D deficiency increases sulfate loss, the uptake of sulfate by the oxalate/sulfate exchanger may partially compensate for the loss.
Perhaps the oxalate exchange assists in retaining some of the sulfate during chronic inflammation. Of course, although natural oxalate production may have benefits, too many oxalate-rich foods cause problems for some people.
If inflammation increases oxalate production, then males will have more oxalate problems than women since males tend to have more inflammation. Interestingly, research found male rats had higher levels of oxalate and a higher chance of oxalate stones (497).
As previously mentioned, some plants have high oxalate content. Until health improves more, avoiding foods with a high number of oxalates, such as spinach, almonds, and rhubarb, can be important. However, the negative impact of oxalates depends on a threshold effect. A few oxalates might be fine, but if someone with chronic inflammation eats too many oxalate-rich foods, then health problems can occur.
There are certain foods that have high oxalate content. The internet contains many charts showing the possible oxalate content of various foods. Comparing these charts may help to determine which foods could cause problems for an oxalate-sensitive individual.
Glycemic Load
The glycemic index indicates how quickly a food increases blood glucose. The higher the glycemic index score, then the more rapidly that food raises blood glucose. This is important because high blood glucose increases glucose metabolism and reduces fat metabolism. Also, as discussed in Chapter 6, high blood glucose levels have many other negative health effects.
Since high blood glucose causes multiple problems, then keeping blood glucose from increasing too much reduces inflammation, which affects ASD symptoms. Amazingly, a mouse model of ASD found a high glycemic index diet increased “neuroinflammation and brain markers of neurogenesis in a manner” highly reflective of ASD in humans (498).
Interestingly, other research found using a low glycemic diet for intractable epilepsy reduced seizure frequency by 90 percent in half the patients (499). If inflammation causes epilepsy, then a big reduction in seizure frequency using a low glycemic index diet is not surprising.
Critically, the glycemic load (GL) is a better indicator of carbohydrate effect than the glycemic index (GI). The GL factors in the actual amount of carbohydrates in a single serving. For example, watermelon has a high glycemic index, indicating a quick release of glucose into the blood. However, watermelon also has very few carbohydrates per average serving, making the overall glycemic load of watermelon lower than its glycemic index.
Unsurprisingly, a review of other studies found the “GL offers a better or stronger explanation than GI in various observations including body weight, T2DM in nurses, CHD, plasma triacylglycerols, HDL-cholesterol, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and protein glycation (500).” Other researchers found participants receiving the low glycemic load diet improved their insulin resistance, serum triglycerides, blood pressure, and C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation (501).
There are charts on the internet showing the glycemic load score of many different foods. However, the number of beneficial phytochemicals in a food also requires some consideration. This is because the phytochemical content may more than compensate for the glucose effects.
Beverages
Beyond just the type of food consumed, the type of drink matters as well. Some people try to eat healthy and then destroy progress with sugar-rich drinks. Anyone seeking good health needs to avoid all added sugar, including the sugar in many drinks.
Sugar-rich drinks are dangerous. For example, research found an association between drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and a higher risk of heart disease (502). These drinks also affect fat loss. Drinking a sugar-sweetened beverage during a meal reduced energy efficiency and fat metabolism (503).
Added fructose, found in various sodas and processed foods, is another harmful ingredient. Excess consumption of fructose may cause insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (504). Fructose also negatively affects the liver.
Because of the high glycemic load and fructose content of soda, avoid this type of beverage. Instead, drinking water and tea will lead to better health results. Adding a splash of lemon juice or lime juice in water gives the water some flavor. Another way to add flavor is to put cucumbers in the water.
Unfortunately, many people do not drink enough water. There are associations between less water consumption and “a variety of problems, including falls and fractures, heat stroke, heart disease, lung disorders, kidney disease, kidney stones, bladder and colon cancer, urinary tract infections, constipation, dry-eye disease, cavities, decreased immune function, and cataract formation (146).” Not drinking enough water can increase feelings of confusion, sleepiness, and fatigue (505). Research also found drinking 500 milliliters of water increased metabolic rate by 30 percent (506). This means being more hydrated may lead to easier weight loss.
However, like many aspects of Nature, balance is critical. Drinking an excessive amount of water has associations with health problems (507). Eight to ten cups of water per day may be necessary to maintain adequate hydration, which changes depending on physical activity. However, drinking too much when not thirsty removes important electrolytes from the body.
Thirst is powerfully influenced by electrolyte balance. If someone is not thirsty despite not drinking enough fluids, then the balance of electrolytes, such as magnesium and potassium may need to be improved.
Making tea gives water flavor and provides beneficial phytochemicals. There are associations between drinking tea and multiple health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, reducing blood sugar, increasing the ability to resist against various cancers, and protecting against cognitive decline (146). Researchers found cold-stepped white tea was better at slowing oxidation than other types of tea (508). However, tea is high in phenols, which can be a problem if someone is phenol-sensitive.
Water Charge
There is another important fact about water. For most of history, humans drank water that was flowing and in contact with the Earth. The movement restructures the water, while the Earth gives the water extra electrons.
This is significant since water has hydrogen and oxygen atoms that often clump together when water is moving less and loses electrons. This clumping and electron loss creates water that is less healthy to drink.
Interestingly, a process known as electrolysis gives more electrons to water and changes its structure, making the water less clumped together. Adding the extra electrons frees up some hydrogen from their attachment to oxygen. This creates molecular hydrogen and atomic hydrogen, which has multiple health benefits.
There are specific machines that pass an electric current through water to generate electrolyzed water. Of course, water combined with electricity is dangerous. Do not try to make this water using homemade devices.
Research found electrolyzed water limited DNA damage caused by reactive oxygen species (509). There is also a link between electrolyzed water and movement “towards anti-inflammatory gene expression (510).” Amazingly, the antioxidant activity of ascorbic acid dissolved in electrolyze water increased threefold compared to non-electrolyzed deionized water (511). Others found electrolyzed water was able to reduce hydrogen peroxide and superoxide, which are reactive oxygen species (512). Electrolyzed water had activity like antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase, while water bubbled with hydrogen gas did not have such activity (512). Electrolyzed water is powerful because it has extra electrons, which reduce reactive oxygen species.
A problem with electrolyzed water is the machines that make this water are often expensive. Conversely, cheap machines may leak harmful metals into the water during the electrolysis process.
However, purchasing an expensive electrolysis machine is probably worth the cost in the long-term because this type of water might improve health and reduce future medical bills.
Circadian Rhythms
As discussed, an important part of nutrition is time of the day. Eating the day’s food in an eight-hour time window can significantly improve digestion and benefit health in many other ways. Only eating food within a certain time window is intermittent fasting.
This time window is best for health when it is earlier, such as between 8am and 4pm. This is because circadian rhythms affect digestion and metabolism efficiency.
Time of day influences these processes because the body does not want to intake a lot of energy later in the day. This is because digestion disturbs sleep, which a time for autophagy to remove old mitochondria and cells. This is critical since old, inefficient mitochondria create more reactive oxygen species than new, healthy mitochondria. Researchers note removal of the most inefficient mitochondria helps protect cells from associated reactive oxygen species (513). If the rate of autophagy is too slow or too fast, then health problems can occur.
Food intake creates anabolic signals, which triggers the growth of new cells. The anabolic signals of food intake, such as mTOR, conflict with signals for autophagy, which are catabolic and designed to destroy rather than build. These catabolic signals are usually elevated during times of limited energy supply, such as fasting and exercise. Nature designs sleep as a time the body should fast and repair cell damage.
Stopping food intake many hours before sleep lengthens this fasting period, strengthening the autophagic signal and increasing removal of inefficient mitochondria and cells.
In the long-term, increased autophagy will significantly reduce inflammation. A daily autophagic process is very important for improving health and is the primary reason intermittent fasting has so many health benefits.
In contrast, eating food throughout the day limits autophagy, which leads to more inefficient mitochondria and old cells in the body. As discussed, this inefficiency causes inflammation and multiple health problems.
In line with this concept, the body purposefully reduces glucose utilization later in the day to support autophagy. Research notes “there is good evidence to indicate that reduced glucose utilization, decreased insulin sensitivity, and inappropriately low insulin secretion are involved in causing decreased glucose tolerance in the later part of the day (514).” This limitation of glucose utilization redirects glucose for storage as fat on the body.
Therefore, eating more in the morning and not eating at night improves metabolism and limits fat accumulation. Unsurprisingly, research found eating more calories at breakfast rather than dinner has an association with lower fasting glucose and significant weight loss (515). Other researchers note how consuming most of the day’s food earlier linked to improved health and lower weight (516).
Meal frequency is also important. Research found eating two larger meals a day, one at breakfast and one at lunch, was better than eating six smaller meals a day for type 2 diabetic patients (517). Rather than eating multiple small meals throughout the day, eating two larger meals a day is a healthier way to eat.
However, because of limited eating time, meals need to be larger to meet nutritional and caloric requirements. This makes mealtime a more enjoyable experience. This style of eating increases both appreciation for food and strengthens appetite. The meals are also larger, allowing more servings and enjoyment. Also, less frequent meals free up more time to do other activities besides focusing on food.
A major benefit of intermittent fasting is weight loss. As discussed in Chapter 6, weight gain and obesity are often caused by metabolic inefficiency. By increasing the signal for autophagy, intermittent fasting helps to remove many inefficient mitochondria and old cells. This significantly improves metabolism and reduces inflammation, which benefits weight loss.
Some weight loss even occurs if the food itself does not change and the eating time window simply switches from night to morning. But, if nutrition quality and lifestyle habits are also improved, then there will be an amazing amount of weight loss and multiple other health benefits.
Improving autophagy may also help many ASD people because they frequently have inefficient mitochondria and damaged cells. Therefore, simply changing mealtime may have a positive effect on ASD symptoms.
Intermittent fasting and eating with circadian rhythms also improves the many other health conditions chronic inflammation affects. Therefore, many people will benefit by applying this information to eating patterns.
However, beginning intermittent fasting may need to be gradual because the removal of inefficient mitochondria and damaged cells temporarily increases inflammation and reactive oxygen species. This healing process can be uncomfortable depending on current health.
Importantly, the body depends more on fat metabolism during fasting. If someone has been on a low-fat diet for a while, then there initially may be too many variations in blood glucose levels to perform intermittent fasting. Many people on the standard modern high-carbohydrate diets are probably familiar with feeling terrible after not eating for a while. This is because the body has become too dependent on glucose and the insulin rollercoaster.
For this reason, improving overall nutrition by eating low-glycemic load foods and slowly increasing fat intake better prepares the body for intermittent fasting.
Food Combination
Another factor that influences health is the combination and timing of food intake during each meal. Researchers found eating vegetables before carbohydrates reduced elevations in blood glucose after the meal (518). This effect occurs because vegetable fiber slows the rate of glucose digestion and absorption into the bloodstream. Slowing glucose absorption keeps insulin levels relatively lower, which helps the body metabolize more fat.
As discussed, insulin reduces fat metabolism and favors glucose metabolism, leading to increased reactive oxygen species generation from complex I in electron transport chains. Therefore, eating fiber foods before carbohydrates may reduce inflammation.
Different food combinations also influence the growth of harmful intestinal bacteria, which feed on the undigested carbohydrates. Harmful bacteria increase inflammation and negatively affect beneficial bacteria in the intestines. Therefore, factors that weaken carbohydrate digestion need consideration.
Carbohydrate digestion begins in saliva, which contains the enzyme amylase that breaks down carbohydrates so that later digestion is easier. Interestingly, the amylase gene (AMY1) has a different number of copies in different people. For example, individuals from populations with high-starch diets have more AMY1 gene copies, which correlates positively with amylase protein levels (519). More amylase copies generate more amylase enzymes and an improved ability to digest carbohydrates.
However, if the amylase copy number is low, there are fewer amylase enzymes, causing carbohydrate digestion to be less efficient. Undigested carbohydrates may then feed harmful bacteria, which increases inflammation and reduces metabolic efficiency. This affects weight gain and many other health conditions.
Interestingly, research found an association between reduced AMY1 copy number and a higher body mass index (BMI) and obesity risk (520). Low AMY1 copy number is also associated with cardiovascular disease and inflammation in obese or overweight adults (521). Researchers also found a link between amylase gene copy number and a different microbiome composition (522).
The amylase enzyme in saliva gets swallowed along with food. The stomach also produces amylase. Importantly, amylase enzyme activity depends on acidity. The best pH range for alpha-amylase activity is between 4.5 and 7 pH, while decreasing below this range reduces alpha-amylase activity (523).
This range is significant because the stomach produces a very acidic environment, which varies depending on the amount of protein consumed because protein digestion is best in a more acidic environment. Research found meals with higher protein kept gastric contents more acidic for a longer time (524). The increased acidity strongly disables amylase enzymes and reduces carbohydrate digestion. As mentioned, this allows harmful bacteria to grow using undigested carbohydrates. Therefore, consuming protein before carbohydrates may increase the number of harmful intestinal and affect many health conditions.
Although the pancreas also produces some amylase and creates a favorable environment for amylase activity, a lack of amylase activity elsewhere puts a lot of pressure on pancreatic amylase to compensate.
Also, simply eating too many refined carbohydrates in one meal overwhelms the capacity to digest them. Either of these situations affects the growth of harmful bacteria in the intestines.
Therefore, using various food combinations affects health by influencing how quickly carbohydrates become blood glucose and the number of undigested carbohydrates available for growing harmful bacteria.
Eating fiber before carbohydrates slows down the rise of blood glucose, while eating carbohydrate before protein helps digestion, especially if the time between is longer.
Also, since a lot of carbohydrate digestion occurs because of salivary amylase, then chewing food about 25 times per mouthful may improve overall health. This highlights the importance of slow, mindful eating, rather than eating mindlessly while watching a show.
Obviously, some foods combine because of meal structure. These are only general idea to consider. For example, eating a lot of carbohydrates immediately after eating a steak might contribute to harmful bacteria, especially if there is a lack of fiber to feed the competing beneficial bacteria.
Mental Nutrition
Another important aspect of health is mental nutrition. Being careful of information entering the mind is critical because some information increases psychological stress. There is discussion about the health risks associated with psychological stress in Chapter 9.
One stressful information source is social media. Many users of these websites create images of life that do not fully reflect reality. People post images of the best parts of life and rarely post images of the worst. Seeing only the best parts of life can cause other people to feel psychological stress that their lives are not as good in comparison.
Social media also leads to the creation of separate groups that reinforce beliefs and contribute to confirmation bias. Furthermore, social media usage increases the tendency to depend on technology rather than meeting new people in real life. This lack of genuine connection can increase feelings of loneliness, a significant source of psychological stress. Social media can also create a fear of missing out on the fun other people appear to be having.
Research appears to confirm the dangers of using social media. Limiting social media use significantly reduced both loneliness and depression (525). Amazingly, research noted that giving up Facebook™ for five days linked with reduced salivary cortisol, a hormone elevated by stress (526). In contrast, increased Facebook™ use correlated to worse self-reported mental health (527).
Another form of stressful information is news. A study found an association between reading negative news and increased cortisol in women (528). Other researchers looked at the effects of showing 14-minute news bulletins edited to focus on either positive, neutral, or negative material. The groups with the negative bulletins “showed increases in both anxious and sad mood, and also showed a significant increase in the tendency to catastrophize a personal worry (529).” This is important because catastrophizing will intensify psychological stress and inflammation.
One of the most significant sources of mental nutrition is the quality of people in an individual’s environment. As many people already know, some people have a negative attitude and spread negativity to others. Negative people often lack significant accomplishments and struggle with self-doubt. They frequently attempt to use negativity to bring other people down, especially if those people have vision, drive, and success.
People stuck in a victim mentality can also be a source of psychological stress. These people sabotage themselves, waste time, and complain about being a victim. Not being in the company of negative people stuck in self-defeating mentalities may greatly reduce stress and inflammation. Also, beneficial personal traits, such as vision, positivity, productivity, and drive, have a better chance of becoming stronger.
Overall, there are different types of people in the world, some more stressful to associate with than others. This stress can increase inflammation. Meditation and greater awareness can limit this stress, but until this awareness develops further, the best option is to significantly reduce time spent around stressful people. This adjustment may require getting a new friend group or spending less time with family. Limiting stress might also mean getting a new job, even if there is less pay. Personal health is wealth.
Tracking Food
Keeping daily records of food eating patterns and health symptoms is one of the most important habits for better understanding various health conditions. Daily records are especially helpful when making changes to nutrition and overall routine. Keeping track increases knowledge and often reveals hidden patterns. There are associations between specific foods and health symptoms, which daily records may show.
Most significantly, a food journal allows the entering of all the data into an online application that helps calculate daily nutrient requirements. Accurate tracking is one of the best methods to improve awareness of daily nutrient levels, which powerfully affects many health conditions.
This food tracking needs to go beyond basic awareness of fats, carbs, and protein. Tracking needs to also include the requirements for micronutrients, like magnesium, sulfur, zinc, calcium, iodine, selenium, and the various vitamins. There are many more micronutrients than just the ones mentioned, and they all influence health.
Micronutrient deficiency may cause a triage effect, where the body ignores long-term survival functions in favor of functions promoting short-term survival (530). This triage effect may be hard to notice and influence the rate of DNA damage and many other long-term health problems.
Micronutrients are also necessary for the function of liver enzymes that detoxify the body. Therefore, a deficiency of micronutrients can cause there to be too much pollution trapped inside the body.
Also, tracking food intake and using an online nutrient analysis application might identify deficiencies that are unnoticeable on blood tests. For example, potassium and magnesium, two essential minerals, are mostly contained inside cells. Because of their interior location, deficiencies of these two minerals rarely appear on blood tests unless the deficiencies are severe.
For example, serum potassium testing is not an accurate indicator of total body potassium (531). Importantly, “serum magnesium, the most commonly used test, can be normal despite negative body stores (532). Other researchers note, “magnesium depletion cannot be excluded in the face of normal plasma, red blood cell or mononuclear blood cell concentrations of magnesium (533).” These tests can detect extreme magnesium deficiency, but do not determine the total amount of magnesium inside cells throughout the body.
In addition to their multiple other functions, magnesium and potassium are important minerals for the electrical activities of the body. A deficiency of these minerals can increase irritability, insomnia, memory loss, cramps, and confusion. Many other health symptoms may simply be a hidden magnesium and potassium deficiency. However, remember that natural balance is important. Taking too many supplements can cause health problems.
A concern with nutrient trackers is the software must have accurate information about the nutrient content in a specific food. Therefore, tracking food may be more accurate when eating whole foods instead of eating processed foods, which have less reliable data. An eating plan based around whole foods is important anyway for the various reasons discussed in this book.
The website cronometer.com can be a helpful tracker for nutrients but may have some inaccuracy depending on the type of food. As with any application that tracks food intake, cross-checking the food tracker with other data sources helps to verify the nutrient content is accurately represented.
In general, tracking food may reveal where a nutrition plan needs improvement. Fixing various micronutrient deficiencies can lead to significant health benefits.
The Phases
Because of the health challenges for some ASD people, adjustment phases are important. Starting a supplement or food too soon may cause multiple health problems.
There are three phases described in this section. The idea behind the phases is to first support the body by reducing the sources of inflammation and providing better quality food. In addition, the balance of intestinal bacteria and intestinal permeability need improvement. The last stage is hopefully when an individual can begin eating a wide variety of foods without those foods making symptoms worse. However, refined carbohydrates, processed foods, and sugary drinks should be avoided forever. Critically, these phases may also help many other health conditions.
Phase 1: Protection
The first phase focuses on increasing protection. Some ASD people have weakened health from years of incorrect food choices, deficient nutrients, intestinal permeability, epigenetically enhanced inflammation, stressful people, and exposure to environmental pollution. The intention of this phase is to establish a shield of protection against many different sources of inflammation.
This phase begins by removing the inflammation sources. For many ASD people, a primary cause of inflammation is refined carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta, sugar, and processed foods. Refined carbohydrates lead to increased reactive oxygen species generation, which worsens many different health conditions, including ASD. These foods also have fewer beneficial phytochemicals and fewer micronutrients, which further worsens inflammation.
Remember from an earlier discussion that whole grains are anti-inflammatory because of their phytochemical, fiber, and mineral content. Do not confuse whole grains with refined grains, which have less of these beneficial nutrients. However, avoid wheat products for reasons discussed earlier in this chapter.
Removing dairy products may also be necessary because of the sugar and casein. Also, avoid products with gluten. Avoid most industry meat because of the pollutants and high omega-6 fat levels. This type of meat includes most meat at the grocery store. However, a small amount of this meat can be eaten if finances do not permit buying naturally raised meat.
Many unnatural chemicals also increase inflammation. Such potentially dangerous chemicals are found in many healthcare products, cleaning supplies, and shampoos. Removing these and other unnatural chemicals from the living space benefits overall health. In addition, avoiding the unnatural chemicals and additives found in many processed foods greatly reduces the risk of health problems, especially in the long-term.
Another health concern is living in a city with a lot of pollution. If living in a polluted city, then moving to a cleaner city or the country may reduce the inflammation associated with air pollution and a stressful city life.
Better quality nutrition is the most important part of the protection phase. A way to simplify healthy shopping is to not purchase anything in a box or anything with a long ingredient label. This is because these products are often processed and have many unnatural chemicals.
Shopping along the edges of the grocery store is better for health because whole foods are typically found near the edges of many grocery stores.
However, most of this food requires cooking. Therefore, learning how to cook, or living with someone who can, is important for healing most health conditions. Since life is often too busy, knowing how to use a slow cooker is helpful because the food can cook overnight and be ready in the morning. Fortunately, there are many slow cooker recipes and videos available on the internet that are easy to follow.
Reducing stress is also important during the protection phase. Avoiding negative people can significantly reduce psychological stress. The difficulty with this is often some of the most negative people are already a big part of daily life, such as some family members and friends. Therefore, getting space from certain people requires temporarily difficult adjustment periods.
The second step of the protection phase is to reduce the intestinal permeability. One reason for continued inflammation is foreign substances can slip past the intestinal barrier when there is a lot of permeability. Importantly, inflammation itself can increase intestinal permeability.
Therefore, reducing inflammation will assist in reversing the permeability. One method of healing the permeability is to drink bone broth, which has multiple nutrients used to repair the intestines. For reasons mentioned earlier, animal bones need to be from a natural source.
Low sulfur levels also impact permeability, since a lack of sulfur leads to less sulfated glycosaminoglycans, which affects the intestinal barrier. However, extra sulfur may have negative effects if taken before the third phase. This phase happens after removing the possible inflammation sources and strengthening overall antioxidant defenses. Still, how sulfur supplementation affects the individual depends on personal health.
The third step of the protection phase is to include more fiber in the food plan. Many vegetables are good sources of fiber. As previously mentioned, fiber helps to remove waste from the body. Fiber also feeds beneficial bacteria in the intestines. Increasing the population of beneficial bacteria improves the body’s overall nutrient profile and reduces inflammation.
However, some ASD people may not respond well to fiber because of extreme bacterial imbalance in the intestines. In these situations, perhaps refined carbohydrate intake needs to be limited for a while before starting to eat more fiber. Limiting refined carbohydrates may help to starve many pathogenic bacteria that would otherwise battle with beneficial bacteria suddenly given more fiber. The effect of fiber depends on individual health.
Phase 2: Strengthen
The focus of this phase is to strengthen the nutritional content and antioxidant resources of the body. This will be easier to accomplish after there is protection from the many sources of inflammation. Without this protection, inflammation reduces antioxidant and nutrient supplies.
Eating more foods with high mineral content and taking a few supplements may be helpful in this phase. Vitamin C is one of these supplements and can assist in reducing reactive oxygen species. Another powerful supplement is curcumin. However, curcumin might cause problems for ASD people with a phenol intolerance. Some people can also tolerate small doses of pure MSM powder. However, both curcumin and MSM may only be well-tolerated after other health improvements in sensitive individuals.
Broccoli sprout and other cruciferous vegetable extracts may also provide benefits to some ASD people during the strengthen phase. These extracts stimulate Nrf2, which increases antioxidant enzyme activity. However, these supplements will have a better effect if nutrition is first naturally strengthened. This is because the body requires multiple vitamins and minerals to support the increased enzyme activity.
Like the first phase, the strengthen phase continues the pattern of avoiding inflammatory foods. The strengthen phase should include more vegetable soups with a source of grass-fed fat, such as grass-fed beef tallow. Frequently eating large kale salads with many other vegetables also benefits health.
A significant focus of the strengthen phase is to regularly meet all nutrient requirements. Keeping a daily journal of food and entering this data into an online food tracking program that also tracks micronutrients helps determine which nutrients are low.
The objective of the strengthen phase is to prepare the body for introducing more sulfate intake and food variety in the third phase.
Some other potentially helpful supplements in the second phase are B-vitamins, calcium/magnesium in a 2/1 ratio, and zinc. These nutrients are necessary for the efficient function of antioxidant and detoxification enzymes. Zinc and magnesium are both critical minerals used for hundreds of different functions.
However, the body balances each of these minerals with other minerals. For example, copper has a proportional balance to zinc, while calcium has a specific balance to magnesium, which itself seeks to maintain a certain ratio to potassium. These are just a few of the many mineral relationships in the body.
Because of these multiple relationships, mineral supplementation is quite tricky and possibly dangerous. Therefore, eating naturally mineral-rich foods, such as many vegetables, gives the body with a more natural ratio of minerals.
Although the second phase focuses on introducing more antioxidant and phytochemical content to the body, some people may need to avoid various foods that contain many antioxidants until sulfur levels improve. This is because many high-antioxidant foods contain a large quantity of phenols, which can cause various health problems when detoxification enzyme activity slows because of a lack of sulfur availability.
Interestingly, phenol sensitivity depends on a threshold. A sensitive individual may tolerate some phenols, but not many. There are multiple lists of phenol-rich foods on the internet. Some of these foods may be the hidden reason for various unexplained health issues.
In addition to increasing antioxidant potential, reducing pathogenic bacteria, and healing intestinal permeability continue to be important. These factors affect the ability to use sulfur foods and supplements for detoxification. If the intestinal bacteria balance is not first improved, then sulfur-rich foods and supplements can feed pathogenic bacteria that feed on sulfur. These harmful bacteria may then compete with the beneficial bacteria, causing health problems.
Phase 3: Purification
The third phase focuses on adding sulfate and extra antioxidant vegetables to help remove pollutants, reactive oxygen species, and cell waste. This is also the time to eat more cruciferous vegetables. Depending on individual health and phenol sensitivity, this phase is the best time to start taking curcumin and MSM powder.
As previously mentioned, since sulfur is a binder, then MSM capsules, which often have fillers, will not work as effectively as pure MSM powder. This is because the fillers may bind to MSM, reducing its effectiveness.
Importantly, increasing sulfur, phytochemical-rich food, and antioxidant consumption may improve health so much that the body will release even more inefficient mitochondria and accumulated pollution.
During this release and at any other time during these phases, health issues can temporarily become worse. This increase in symptoms may last for a couple of days and is an important healing reaction where the body removes old mitochondria and cells to generate new mitochondria and cells. These upgrades often create massive overall health improvements, especially if autophagy has been chronically limited by not fasting and a lack of exercise.
However, it may be difficult to know if new symptoms are a bigger health problem or a beneficial healing response. Therefore, working with a skilled medical professional is important.
The purification phase is also the time to begin eating a wider variety of foods. However, certain carbohydrates still need restriction. No matter the health status of any individual, stay aware of the glycemic load of different carbohydrates, especially if they lack phytochemicals. High glycemic load foods excessively raise blood glucose levels, increasing inflammation and worsening multiple health conditions.
Interestingly, after reducing inflammation and increasing sulfur levels, tolerance to high phenol foods improves. Tolerance and reduced inflammation allow ASD people to eat a large variety of foods without as many side effects.
Another part of the purification phase is increasing the power of detoxification. The previously mentioned MSM powder improves detoxification, as does consuming more cruciferous sprouts. Also, a good turmeric supplement may increase detoxification and reduce inflammation.
Critically, detoxification ability depends on having lower inflammation and enough minerals for these enzymes to function. Also, staying well-hydrated helps support the kidneys, another pathway of pollutant elimination.
An important part of the third phase is exercise, which improves the detoxification process by moving the lymph system and increasing blood flow. Exercise also supports this phase by increasing the destruction of inefficient mitochondria and creating new, efficient mitochondria. Exercise also increases the activity of various antioxidant enzymes in the body. In addition, exercise causes sweating, another pathway of pollutant elimination.
However, caution is necessary when beginning any new exercise regimen. This is because overall health can limit the amount of exercise that is safe to perform. There is more information about exercise later.
Following these phases may cause improvements in ASD and many other health conditions. However, a point that needs repeating is sometimes symptoms can temporarily become worse before getting better. This is because of the release of damaged mitochondria, harmful bacteria, and pollutants. Like the familiar tortoise and the hare story, going slow and steady wins the race.
Having the guidance of smart medical professionals is very important. They can run tests and see if anything more serious is going on underneath the symptoms. As a reminder, this book is for informational purposes only.
Nutrition Summary
Maintaining good health depends on nutrition, which is why this chapter is the longest. Everyone, especially ASD people, needs to avoid refined carbohydrates since they increase inflammation. Also, eating grass-fed fat and a more balanced omega-6/omega-3 ratio is critical to limit the amount of reactive oxygen species generated in the body. For ASD people, avoiding the foods that often give other people health problems, such as corn, wheat, soy, and sugar, may also be necessary.
Depending on individual health, increasing fiber intake may also help heal intestinal bacteria balance and help remove waste. Eating plenty of vegetables, whole grains, grass-fed fat, and some grass-fed meats may be the secret to improving health.
When the time is right, then combining this pattern with a turmeric supplement and some MSM powder may cause even greater improvements.
When incorporating new foods into the food plan, avoid all-or-nothing thinking, since that limits the motivation to make the necessary changes. This book contains a lot of information, which can feel quite overwhelming. Being patient and just taking simple steps to improve lifestyle patterns is the key to success. There are tips about habit change in Appendix B.
Gradually adding more healthy foods to the overall food plan makes the transition smoother. Slowly cutting back on refined carbohydrates allows insulin levels and body chemistry to adjust to less carbohydrate intake (136). Also, taste buds and dopamine receptors in the brain change over time, and what wasn’t sweet becomes much sweeter after some time passes (146). Eventually, desserts may taste much too sweet to give the same enjoyment as they did in the past.
Importantly, some people come from families that have epigenetically enhanced inflammatory responses. As a result, certain food choices have more negatively effects. This information is good for everyone to know because informing other people of personal dietary changes often causes reactionary criticism.
However, critics should notice what types of food cause health issues in sensitive people. This is because these same foods might also damage other people, but quietly. Anyone can develop hard-to-detect nutrient deficiencies and hidden chronic inflammation, which goes unnoticed for decades until one day a heart attack or cancer occurs. Therefore, measuring health by obvious symptoms is not a good method of determining the best food choices today.
Overall, keeping an open mind and seeking to know more about nutrition and other lifestyle choices is critical since health effects are serious. Speaking with a medical professional aware of new research and with a passion for health may be quite helpful. Understanding the effects of pollution, psychological stress, and nutrition is important for the health of everyone, especially ASD people.