RAQ Training

Americans spend about $2 billion per year on gluten-free products that assist not only individuals that have an allergic reaction to the protein that is in wheat, barley, oats, and rye, but also those individuals that have been diagnosis with such mental health diseases as autism and ADHD (attention deficient hyperactivity disorder). Over the past year or so, manufacturers in the US have sold over $2 billion worth of products with “gluten-free” claims according to Nielson Co.

As posted previously, gluten is found in everything from commercial baked goods to pastas, to medications and lipsticks, to kids toys such as Play Doh. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease of the small intestines caused by the body’s reaction to the gluten protein gliadin. The only treatment is a diet free of gluten based ingredients.

We will shift gears a little today and look at how a gluten-free diet assist those with autism.

Proponents of the gluten-free diet say that many children with autism have gastrointestinal difficulties that make it hard for them to digest certain grains properly. There are different possibilities for ways in which this could affect children with autism. The most studied theory is that eating gluten leads to high levels of protein by-products, called gluteomorphines, in some children with autism. These by-products may then affect behavior like a drug would. Specifically, in these children, gluteomorphines could reduce their desire for social interaction, block pain messages, and increase confusion. If gluten is taken out of the diet, the idea is that this will reduce the level of gluteomorphines, and behavior will improve as a result.

What is the theory behind it?

Gluten is broken down in the intestines into several by-products, including one called gluteomorphine. These by-products are much more common in the urine of children with autism than in children without autism. Some scientists have concluded that they are leaking from the intestines into the blood of these children. Many research studies report that children with autism often have gastrointestinal problems, including intestinal leakage. The argument is that, if gluteomorphine is being absorbed into the general circulation in children with autism, then it could affect behavior. In support of this theory, there is evidence that blocking at least some of the action of gluteomorphine improves the behavior of children with autism. Moreover, recent evidence of a genetic mutation common among children with autism has been traced to a gene involved in gastrointestinal function

Does it work?

The effectiveness of elimination diets in improving the behavior of children with autism has only recently been scientifically researched. This research has almost always examined diets that are both casein- and gluten-free.
One well-controlled study focused on children with autism who had abnormally high protein by-products in their urine, and therefore were more likely to be sensitive to casein and gluten (see What is the theory behind it?). One group of these children was fed a strict casein- and gluten-free diet for 12 months. This group had significantly fewer autistic symptoms than the remaining children, who were not fed this diet. Another well-controlled study of casein- and gluten-free diets focused on children with autism regardless of the level of protein by-products in their urine. Overall, the study found no significant differences in behavior between children on the elimination diet and children on regular diets, although individual parents reported behavioral improvements. This overall lack of effect in the second study could be because the elimination diet only lasted 6 weeks, or because the children were not pre-selected according to the level of protein by-products in their urine.

Regardless, in both cases, the tested diets were casein- and gluten-free, so it is not clear whether it was the elimination of casein, gluten, or both that resulted in any improvements. A third study that did examine the effect of a gluten-free diet on the behavior of children with autism did not compare children on the elimination diet with children not on the diet. Therefore, even though there were improvements seen in the behavior of children on the diet, these may also have occurred over the 5 months of the study without the elimination diet.

The current thinking is that there is at least some evidence showing that a gluten-free diet, when combined with a casein-free diet, can help improve the behavior of some children with autism. Although the casein-free diet combined with a gluten-free diet is popular, there is little evidence to support or refute this intervention and reviewers have determined that meaningful conclusions cannot be drawn from the existing literature.

Is it harmful?

The major health concern for a child on a gluten-free diet is whether the child receives adequate nutrition. A recent report showed that the protein and nutrient intakes of children with autism on casein- and gluten-free diets were not different from those of children with autism on standard diets, but there was a trend towards lower calcium and copper intake in children on elimination diets (11). As a result, some researchers suggest that all children on elimination diets should be under the care of a nutritionist or physician (1).

Resources

Cookbooks as well as casein- and gluten-free diet starter kits for children with autism can be found at: http://www.gfcfdiet.com/.

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network provides many resources to help children live with a gluten-free diet: http://www.foodallergy.org/.

Several books that might be helpful in understanding the casein-free diet approach are:
Diet Intervention and Autism: Implementing a Gluten Free and Casein Free Diet for Autistic Children and Adults: A Guide for Parents by Marilyn Le Breton and Rosemary Kessick. 2001. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

How to Eat Well Again on a Wheat, Gluten and Dairy-Free Diet by F. Crosthwaite. 2006. Merton Books.

Special Diets for Special People: Understanding and Implementing a Gluten-Free and Casein-Free Diet to Aid in the Treatment of Autism and Related Developmental Disorders by Lisa S Lewis 2005. Future Horizons.

The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet by P. Compart and D. Laake. 2006. Fair Winds Press.

article taken from this website http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy/gluten-free-diet

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the pleasure to get to know some wonderful people that have given me the opportunity to work with them on their fitness goals and dreams with regard to becoming healthier individuals for this new year. As a result, I recently met a woman who wanted to hire me as her fitness professional through a program that I offer called the Virtual Trainer’s Program. This program is neat in which it is an online personal trainer service design specifically for the person’s needs that still gives them the benefits of having their own personal trainer. However, when we started to converse she told me of a condition that she had called Celiac Disease or commonly known as gluten intolerance. This was the first I had heard of such condition and so as we started to work alongside of each other and began building a good healthy working relationship, she started to educate me on this condition. There isn’t a lot out there about this condition that I knew of in comparison to such disease like cancer, diabetes, and hypertension (the 3 Amigos as I like to call them). Likewise, yesterday, I went into the store to get a couple of items and to see what products are out in the market to accommodate someone who has Celiac Disease. I was amazed at how painstaking it was to go on this safari, as it felt, and how frustrating a person must feel if they don’t already know what foods are out there that are gluten-free. Yesterday in the time that I spent at my local grocery store, I only found 4 foods that were marked “Gluten-Free”. They were two margarine products and two bread-type products (one muffin mix and another brownie mix).

As a result, this month in honor of my client, I will be doing my own research and education on this disease and how individuals with it cope and try to live a normal healthy life. So I guess this is the first of many in this series. I hope you that find it informative and as well enjoyable.

Today I wanted to just give some general information about the disease and a website that people can go to to read more about Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease is also know as gluten intolerance and is a genetic disorder that affects 1 in 133 Americans. There is an estimated 2.18 million people in the United States with this condition.

Though the disease affects mostly people of European descent, there are cases of the disease seen in Hispanic, Black or African American, and Asian descent as well. Celiac Disease is cause by the damage of the villi in the intestines when a person eats specific food-grain antigens that are found in wheat, rye, and barley.

Celiac is difficult to diagnosis due to the broad range of symptoms that an individual may occur. Again these symptoms include chronic diarrhea, progressive weight loss, abdominal bloating, weakness, and bone pain. Studies show that if a person with Celiac Disease continues to consume products that have gluten in them, they will increase their chances of gastrointestinal cancer by 40 to 100 times.

Diagnosing someone with Celiac Disease includes blood testing for antigliadin (AGA) and endomysium antibodies (EmA) and/or performing a biopsy on the areas of the intestines.

Treatment for Celiac is pretty simple in theory, but can be hard and frustrating in application. They must adhere to a 100% strict gluten-free diet for life. Likewise, they must avoid any products with wheat, rye, and barley or any of their derivatives.

We will continue this series with helpful strategies (i.e. recipes, shopping, and other helpful information) to inform and educate you on how people with Celiac Disease should and can make their lives as normal as possible. Until then keep moving.

Here is a helpful website if you want more information on Celiac Disease and ways to deal with it.
www.Celiac.com

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Taking a brisk walk several times a week for exercise appears to reduce black women’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published this month in the American Journal of Epidemiology, Reuters Health reports. Few studies have been conducted on the benefits of exercise among black women, according to Reuters. For the study, Julie Palmer of Boston University and colleagues used data from the ongoing Black Women’s Health Study that followed 45,000 black women from 1995 to 2005.

Researchers found that those who said they walked for a minimum of five hours weekly for exercise were one-third less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not walk. The risk of being diagnosed with the disease was significantly lower among women who said they regularly took a brisk walk even when taking into account possible contributing factors such as age, income and diet. The study included a large number of obese women and they too appeared to have a lower risk for developing diabetes if they exercised regularly.

Palmer said, “This is important, because it suggests a way to reduce diabetes risk even among the women who are at highest risk of the disease,” adding, “The finding that brisk walking for a few hours a week or longer reduces diabetes risk may be the most important finding of all. This is something almost all women can do in the course of their daily lives.”

Researchers also found that women who watched television for five or more hours a day were 86% more likely to develop diabetes than those who watched less than one hour per day (Norton, Reuters Health, 12/18).

An abstract of the study is available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC