CNN: New Autism Study

Dan Weiner (1919-1959)
Children in a Supermarket, Park Forest Illinois, 1953
American Photojournalist; shot mostly for FORTUNE magazine showing how Americans worked

I don’t know if you guys saw this on Monday on CNN, but “a new study by the Journal of Pediatrics indicates about 1% (1 out of every 100) of children ages 3 to 17 have autism or a related disorder, an increase over previous estimates.”

As you all know, one of the most efficacious treatments for Autism, when used in conjunction with other recommended therapies, is to place that child on a gluten free diet.

We must help protect and preserve our future now!!!!! This is entirely my own theory, but I firmly believe that if you are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, PLEASE CONSIDER EATING GLUTEN FREE FOR THE DURATION OF YOUR PREGNANCY! It could PREVENT your child from being born with Autism!

Let’s think about this together. I have Celiac disease, which is a genetic disorder. While I was pregnant, I ate a gluten free diet and gave birth, thank goodness, to a very healthy, vibrant boy. But the whole time I was pregnant, I worried like a nervous nelly about the possibility of my child suffering from Autism because in 2006, it was really beginning to reveal itself as a new national health crisis.

So I began to think. If a gluten free diet can bring a child back from the brink of autism, what if, just what if, the mother took the pains to follow a gluten free diet while she was pregnant? Could this decrease the chances of having an autistic child?

Hypothetically speaking, let us suppose that gluten is the culprit for causing autism (which is an auto-immune disorder, as is Celiac). Even if the mother herself does not test positive for a gluten or wheat sensitivity, what is encoded on her genes? Or the genes of the father? What if the combination of genes from both parents just so happened to result in a child that does in fact have the disorder? Therefore, if the mother continues to consume gluten products, would she be, quite unknowingly, feeding the autistic fire that would ultimately consume her unborn child?

This and many other questions must be addressed through vital research and development so that pregnancy can be a completely joyous time. Life will always be filled with unknown pains and disruptions, but if we can prevent these pains, then our suffering will become less and less.

Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo Allori), (1503-1572)
Don Garzia de’Medici, 1556
Oil on Canvas
Galleria Uffizi, FLORENCE, Italy
Italian Mannerist Painter

To read the CNN article in it’s entirety, go to: CNN.com