I was reading a blog that looks at scientific research and autism and came across these 2 posts regarding autism and the GFCF diet.  In fairness, they look at the proposed underlying hypothesis (“leaky-gut”) and try to discern if there is any merit to the idea.  Both papers, as well as others I have read (you can look here for more), indicate that there is no evidence of leaky gut from their trials.  It is then easy to make the inference that by extension there is little reason to try a GFCF diet.

I have posted before on the subject, and my position has not changed.  Getting K on a GFCF diet was one of the 2 best things we did for him (the other was starting his anti-seizure medication).  The change was quite profound and that is why we tell others our experience.  We do not try to indicate that they too can/will see such improvements, but that this is what has worked for K.  In many cases we have had other people tell us that the diet change has had significant, positive impacts on their children too.

In reading the research it is important to consider that the researchers are trying to answer a very precise, limited question and inferences and extensions beyond that question should be made carefully.  I did not read the full articles, just the above reviews, but in many cases the researchers do not comment on any changes, if any, that the participants had regarding their behaviours or autistic traits.  These points are outside the scope of the question being asked and therefore are not deemed relevant to the discussion.  For parents, these are the most relevant points and the underlying mechanism is secondary and this is likely one of the main reasons why average parents rely on anecdotal evidence over scientific research.  I’m afraid that on this particular topic I’m with the average parent.  If we were to follow the research K may not have been able to make such significant improvements over the last 3 years.  This is of course an unanswerable question as we don’t have a time machine to turn back the clock and try it all over again, but we are pretty secure in our supposition.

It is interesting to me that despite the bulk of the research in this area indicating that the GFCF diet has no impact on autistic symptoms and the leaky-gut hypothesis is flawed (in the studies I have seen to date) yet it is a very widely talked about and tried “treatment”. Our old documents repository tracked the number of times articles were downloaded and this was the most downloaded by a margin of 3.5:1 over the next most active article.  Obviously parents aren’t reading the research or they don’t believe it and, like us, decided to try it anyway because it is so frequently discussed with many good results- anecdotally of course.

Some final thoughts. “The diet” can be difficult at first and is definitely more expensive, but once a routine is established and you become familiar with what products are “safe” it is not hard to manage and has become second nature for us.  My last point is just to ensure that you are meeting your child’s nutritional requirements.  We worked with a dietician to ensure we were giving K everything he needed to thrive and that the GFCF diet was not going to have a detrimental impact on his health and development.

Related posts:

1. What, we’re not crazy? At last a brief glimmer of hope that families that follow the GFCF diet may not be foolishly wasting their time and money.  I found...
2. Research vs Parental Experience. There is a listing on the US National institute of Health website about currently recruiting studies that focus on different aspects of autism. I only...
3. Immunocal Presentation I recently attended an information session regarding a nutraceutical product and some of the research behind it and its benefits. I must say that initially...
4. Toe-walking: The next installment This is an update to a previous post and will include more personal experiences, though I do include some links and resources towards the end....
5. A Brief Jenny McCarthy book review I recently finished reading Jenny McCarthy’s new book about her son and his recovery from autism. As I’m sure this book has been talked about...