Laurie Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 One of the writers at the Age of Autism website writes a lot about the microbiome. Today I was reading her article here: http://www.ageofautism.com/2015/10/parkinsons-autism-and-back-to-the-future.html I wish I had more time to study this subject! It seems like we're doing some of the right things for improving their GI health with dietary changes. Unfortunately we've been slacking off lately where probiotics are concerned. And neither one of my kids likes the dairy-free yogurts. Would anyone like to recommend a good probiotic that's gluten and dairy free? Any good books/resources about the exciting topic of the GI system and its flora? (I've already got books about gluten intolerance like Grain Brain and Wheat Belly...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 If you don't mind a scientifically dense book, The Second Brain provides an excellent explanation of how things work, before moving on to some other books such as Bugs, Bowels and Behavior and The Myth of Autism. There's more, of course. I'm not sure if this is DF, but I recently started a couple of my kids on L. plantarum (this one). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 If you don't mind a scientifically dense book, The Second Brain provides an excellent explanation of how things work, before moving on to some other books such as Bugs, Bowels and Behavior and The Myth of Autism. There's more, of course. I'm not sure if this is DF, but I recently started a couple of my kids on L. plantarum (this one). Thanks for these! I'm spending some time reading at Amazon this evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Campbell-McBride and Biology of Behavior CD by Dianne Craft. The Dianne Craft material are definitely more doable as she uses a much more relaxed approach BUT I would only consider them as a good starting point. We use Jarrow Formula probiotic from the refrigerated section of our local health food store. My ASD goes to a naturopathic doctor who prescribed him HLC Mindlinx probiotic and Green pasture fermented cod liver oil. All of these are gluten and dairy free but the key is they both come from refrigerated sources. Whatever you use I would stick to refrigerated sources as a live culture would be weakened or dead at room temperature and therefore ineffective. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Campbell-McBride and Biology of Behavior CD by Dianne Craft. The Dianne Craft material are definitely more doable as she uses a much more relaxed approach BUT I would only consider them as a good starting point. We use Jarrow Formula probiotic from the refrigerated section of our local health food store. My ASD goes to a naturopathic doctor who prescribed him HLC Mindlinx probiotic and Green pasture fermented cod liver oil. All of these are gluten and dairy free but the key is they both come from refrigerated sources. Whatever you use I would stick to refrigerated sources as a live culture would be weakened or dead at room temperature and therefore ineffective. Thanks for the recommendations! I had always heard that probiotics should be refrigerated so I've been skeptical about buying Culturelle off the shelf in the grocery store. I've used other Jarrow products so I'll look for their probiotic. The Mindlinx one is available from Amazon, but the description includes something about no ice packs used in shipping... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 We use this, which is gf/df and also refrigerated, and has gotten good reviews (and is relatively inexpensive.) Amazon sells it as well, but I use Vitacost because they actually ship it cold: http://www.vitacost.com/natures-way-primadophilus-junior-3-billion-cfus-90-vcaps I also have started making coconut milk kefir, which is a potent probiotic and is supposed to be incredibly good for the gut. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 We use this, which is gf/df and also refrigerated, and has gotten good reviews (and is relatively inexpensive.) Amazon sells it as well, but I use Vitacost because they actually ship it cold: http://www.vitacost.com/natures-way-primadophilus-junior-3-billion-cfus-90-vcaps I also have started making coconut milk kefir, which is a potent probiotic and is supposed to be incredibly good for the gut. ooh may I please have your recipe? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 ooh may I please have your recipe? :D Sure! I use the instructions here: http://wellnessmama.com/54711/coconut-milk-kefir-recipe/ It took a couple of batches to get the grains started, now I've been doing this for a month or so and it's been taking almost a full day to ferment, I start it in the early afternoon and it's ready for a morning snack or lunch...You need to rest the grains in cow's milk periodically, they apparently need to feed on the lactose every batch or two to maintain their shape/potency. So when we're almost done with the batch, I'll rinse the milk from the grains and start a new batch, in time to have it ready. (They'll last for awhile even if you don't let them feed, you'd just need to buy more grains periodically.) I usually add a little vanilla or almond extract (after the grains are drained), but I've also added cocoa, and once I blended it up with frozen strawberries and bananas, which was delicious! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Thanks Anna's Mom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I've been making kombucha with Dilmah black tea with rose and vanilla. Much better than straight black tea! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanin Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 On the GAPS diet I believe you're supposed to introduce small amounts of probiotics (like a spoonful of sauerkraut juice, so verrrrryyyy slowly) and work your way up. She recommends BioKult and I've taken those. Do your kids like pickles? Bubbies pickles are naturally fermented and SO delicious. Their sourness comes from the fermentation only... no vinegar added! I found them at Wegmans, Whole Foods, and other natural food stores. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 On the GAPS diet I believe you're supposed to introduce small amounts of probiotics (like a spoonful of sauerkraut juice, so verrrrryyyy slowly) and work your way up. She recommends BioKult and I've taken those. Do your kids like pickles? Bubbies pickles are naturally fermented and SO delicious. Their sourness comes from the fermentation only... no vinegar added! I found them at Wegmans, Whole Foods, and other natural food stores. I love Bubbies pickles and sauerkraut!!! Unfortunately, I'm the only one in the house who does. I'm going to have to read more about GAPS. Both of my kids' digestive problems improved so much just by going dairy and gluten free. The low FODMAP diet has also helped my dd, and it has helped me understand why certain foods bothered her so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black-eyed Suzan Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 It's not exactly what you are looking for, but I found this Ted talk (Minding Your Mitochondria) and Dr. Wahl's book very interesting. http://terrywahls.com/minding-your-mitochondria-dr-terry-wahls-at-tedxiowacity/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanin Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Ah, too bad nobody else loves Bubbie's at your place. They're pretty hard to sneak into other food! :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Ah, too bad nobody else loves Bubbie's at your place. They're pretty hard to sneak into other food! :laugh: Now you've reminded me of a cake my mom made when I was a kid...chocolate cake with sauerkraut! I don't remember where she got the recipe; adding the sauerkraut wasn't her own idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Do any of these books talk much about the effects of the mind on intestinal health? I used to read a lot about this subject, but got frustrated because the emphasis was all the other way. Knowing what we do about the mind and body, it just seemed like common sense that there would be a back-and-forth interaction. And there have been some recent studies that show effects of the person's psychological state on intestinal flora. But the popular books I've seen have mostly skipped over this -- with the result that good health starts to seem less holistic, and more like a mechanical job of maintaining the Gut Cooties that Secretly Rule the Universe. ;) ---- ETA a related study on some poor little mice that were scared by a cat: :svengo: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15800998 and two on baby rats that were separated from their mothers: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17339238 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17510196 & link to a review article (PDF) with more references and discussion of possible mechanisms (which I haven't gone through yet). I think this is really important to keep in mind, as putting a lot of stock in simplistic theories such as GAPS (hee hee, GAPS and stock... inadvertent pun ;) ) can often lead to increased stress for the mother -- and, by extension, for the children -- which can obviously interfere with the desired effects. So we need to consider all areas of life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.