Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Autism Group Urges More Diet Studies

Interesting report from ABC News this morning. But was I the only one annoyed by the report featuring Jenny McCarthy on ABC's World News with Diane Sawyer on Monday evening? Don't get me wrong, I think parents will do whatever it takes to help their child with autism, but why is she considered an expert, disputing a study in Pediatrics journal which found there was no link between diet and autistic behavior? Wouldn't it have been a stronger segment to have one of the authors of the study or a gastroenterologist who works with children and adults on the spectrum?

An autism support group has called for more research and more help treating the gastrointestinal issues of autistic children after an expert panel published a report saying there is currently no evidence that special diets help autistic behavior.
A panel of autism experts published a report Jan., 4, 2009, saying there is currently no evidence proving whether children with autism have more gastrointestinal problems than other children, or any evidence that the common casein-free gluten-free diets work.
For years, parent support networks and celebrity activists have endorsed restrictive diets to combat the so-called "leaky gut" symptoms and behavioral problems of children with autism.
But the expert panel came to a consensus statement that "available research data do not support the use of a casein-free diet, a gluten-free diet, or combined gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet as a primary treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorders."

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