Autism, ADD, ADHD, Depression, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia & Schizophrenia - Diet

Autism, ADD, ADHD, Depression, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia & Schizophrenia - Diet

We were fortunate enough to attend the Wise Traditions conference in San Francisco last year. Having looked at the programme we were keen to hear Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, our very own nutrition specialist from the UK. Probably a household name for anyone dealing with the above issues.

We learned so much in the full day of lectures that we attended. It all made complete sense but had never occurred to us before.

Good health starts long before conception, the mothers health is crucial for giving a child the healthiest start in life. In a world that encourages C-sections and other forms of induced labours, several Immunisations before a child turns 3, and less and less mothers breastfeeding, babies are becoming more and more vulnerable at a very young age. As a baby is born the natural way, it's first mouthful is fluid taken from the birth canal on exit. This fluid contains very important bacteria. Each baby delivered by C-section is deprived this essential fluid. Therefore, babies delivered into this world via C-section pick up bacteria from the doctors and delivery team before they are even touched by their birth mother.

Breast-feeding is also essential, it protects the baby and mother from infections and diseases in the future and in the baby's early stages of life (See: http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk). This isn't to say mothers who missed the opportunity to breastfeed should feel guilty. Ideally babies should be put straight to the breast after birth. Some are lucky enough to have been blessed with a good midwife on the ward who is patient enough to sit with a new mother and spend time encouraging the baby to latch. If new mothers were not so body shy, still remaining modest while feeding, then there may be a higher number of breastfed babies.

It is possible to care for your child's diet now and make up for the lost goodness that they could have received in the first few days and months of their lives. Advice on how to build up a stronger immune system can be followed step-by-step in Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride's book (see image below). She has discovered issues relating to the digestive system and gut where all of these disorders are concerned, they often overlap one another and suffer from some form of physical condition such as eczema or asthma.

Having treated her son off the autistic spectrum, Dr. Campbell-McBride returned to practice in 2000 and runs the Cambridge Nutrition Clinic. She has specialised in using nutritional approach as a treatment, and has become recognised as one of the world’s leading experts in treating children and adults with learning disabilities and other mental disorders, as well as children and adults with digestive and immune disorders. We strongly recommend Natasha's Book:

The following information is Natasha's own work, she is regularly called upon to present to big organisations regarding gut health and modern disorders. See www.gaps.me or www.medinform.co.uk.

Grab yourself a nice glass of fresh unpasteurised milk and settle down for a great read!

We live in the world of unfolding epidemics. Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD), schizophrenia, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression, obsessive –compulsive disorder (OCD or bi-polar disorder) and other neuro-psychological and psychiatric problems in children and young adults are becoming more and more common. 

At the age of 16 and sometimes even earlier the modern mum was put on a contraceptive pill, which she took for quite a few years before starting a family. Contraceptive pills have a devastating effect on the beneficial (good) bacteria in the gut. One of the major functions of the good bacteria in the gut flora is controlling about 500 different known to science species of pathogenic (bad) and opportunistic microbes. When the beneficial bacteria get destroyed the opportunists get a special opportunity to grow into large colonies and occupy large areas of the digestive tract. A modern diet of processed and fast foods provide perfect nourishment for these pathogens and that is a typical diet a modern mum had as a child and a young adult. As a result of all these factors a modern mum has seriously compromised gut flora by the time she is ready to have children. And indeed clinical signs of gut dysbiosis (abnormal gut flora) are present in almost 100% of mothers of children with neurological and psychiatric conditions. The most common health problems in mothers are digestive abnormalities, allergies, auto-immunity, PMS, chronic fatigue, headaches and skin problems.

The first and very important function is appropriate digestion and absorption of food. If a child does not acquire normal balanced gut flora, then the child will not digest and absorb foods properly, developing multiple nutritional deficiencies. And that is what we commonly see in children with learning disabilities, psychiatric problems and allergies.
Many of these children are malnourished. Even in the cases where the child may grow well, testing reveals some typical nutritional deficiencies in many important minerals, vitamins, essential fats, many amino-acids and other nutrients.

 Indeed most children with learning disabilities, psychiatric disorders and allergies present with digestive problems.
In many cases these problems are severe enough for the parents to talk about them first. In some cases they may not be very severe, but when asked direct questions the parents describe that their child never had normal stool, that their child suffered from colic as a baby and that tummy pains and flatulence are a common part of the picture. In those cases where these children have been examined by gastro-enterologists inflammatory process in the gut was found along with faecal compaction and an over-spill syndrome.
The most recent research was performed at the Royal Free Hospital in London by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his team. They found an inflammatory condition in the bowel of autistic children, which they have named Autistic Enterocolitis. Schizophrenic patients were always known to have serious digestive problems. Dr. Curtis Dohan, MD has devoted many years to researching digestive abnormalities in schizophrenia. He found a lot of similarities between coeliac disease and the state of the digestive tract in schizophrenics.

Indeed, in my clinical practice long before these patients develop psychotic symptoms they suffer from digestive problems and all other typical symptoms of gut dysbiosis pretty much from the start of their lives. Children and young adults with ADHD/ADD, OCD, depression and other neuro-psychological problems are very often reported to suffer from digestive abnormalities though there have not been formal studies published yet. For more information see: www.behealthy.co.uk/gaps.pdf.

Natasha's closing remarks at the conference were memorable as she shared an old chinese proverb " Your face is the mirror of your bowel". Certainly makes you think about all those greasy, spotty, grumpy teenagers walking the streets, they just need to stay away from fast food chains and get some good food down their necks!

We hope you found this post useful, Dr Campbell-McBride runs the a clinic in Cambridge and is listed on our health practitioners page. She also supports this website as a Patron, we feel very privileged to have her support.