Top 10 Therapeutic Diets and How They Can Help Your Child

October 20, 2016

There are many dietary approaches you can use to help your child with autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Today I am going to reveal the Top 10 Therapeutic Diets and How They Can Help Your Child, and discuss a few of them in detail.

Diet is the first intervention by physicians and other practitioners who specialize in working with our children. Proper diet is fundamental to correcting the underlying causes of neurological symptoms. Often, parents see “miraculous” results when implementing dietary interventions which focus on removing inflammatory foods which are actually part of our Top 10 Therapeutic Diets that provide nutrients that support gut healing and detoxification.

As I mentioned in one of my earliest articles, I took the “all or nothing” approach to dietary change with my daughters and dove head first into the GAPS diet. But my path may not be right for you—each child is different, and there are many variables to consider before choosing how to proceed with your child. In addition to the brief discussion below of the Top 10 Therapeutic Diets to consider, download my Top Ten Therapeutic Diets Cheat Sheet for an overview of your options.

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• Studies and clinical evidence show that therapeutic diets are an essential element to addressing the underlying medical issues in our children.
• The top ten diets for our children are not in any particular order. They all work in different ways..
• Focus not just on foods removed from the diet but also on the quality of the foods/nutrients that must be added back in.
• These diets can be overwhelming, but to get a good grasp on the basics, grab the Top Ten Therapeutic Diets Cheat Sheet I created for you.

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Top Ten Therapeutic Diets to Help Your Child Address Autism, ADHD, and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders (in no particular order):

• Gluten-free/casein-free diet (GFCF)
• Specific carbohydrate diet (SCD)
• Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Diet
• Ketogenic diet
• Low oxalate diet (LOD)
• Feingold diet
• FAILSAFE diet
• Body Ecology Diet (BED)
• Autoimmune paleo (AIP) diet
• Elimination/rotation/food sensitivities diet

Here I will briefly discuss three of the above Top 10 Therapeutic Diets: GFCF diet, GAPS Diet and the elimination/rotation/food sensitivities diet.

Gluten-Free/Casein-Free (GFCF) Diet

What Is the Gluten–Free/Casein–Free Diet (GFCF)?

Most parents start with the GFCF diet first. A study of children with autism, based on parent reporting, found that the GFCF diet resolved symptoms over 65{4537a52abafa24f75931b694e3f6d1d9b0beb5896e18e49b3141987b78b41d96} of the time. ¹ This diet is focused on the complete elimination of all gluten- and casein-containing foods from the diet.

Gluten and casein are proteins found in certain grains and dairy products, respectively. Complete elimination of these proteins is required in order to adequately assess the diet’s impact, as even small exposures through cross-contamination can trigger symptoms in children, reducing the efficacy of the diet.

How Does the GFCF Diet Work?

Many children test positive with IgG antibodies to gluten and casein, indicating a sensitivity to these proteins which can result in impaired cognition and focus. One theory is that the peptides created by the breakdown of gluten and casein are known to mimic the peptides of opiates, creating a “morphine-like” impact on the brain.

A more recent study has shown that the opiate peptides mentioned above impact the methylation cycle, resulting in increased inability to effectively detox, and increased inflammation in the gut which in turn impacts the function of the brain.