In my last post I shared with you that Jordan was now on another supplement. By the way this makes supplement number 25. Anywho the supplement is phosphatidylcholine. "Pho", for short, is used by the body to make a brain chemical called acetylcholine. "Pho" is likely to be used to treat "brain-centered" conditions like memory loss, Alzheimer's disease and manic-disorders as well as eczema and circulation problems. I have also read that the nutrient can boost memory, enhance intellectual skills and increase concentration. However, like with any other nutrient, many don't get enough in their diet. So you can image how little the picky children with Autism get, if any.
The addition of this supplement was prompted because of an email I received from my daughter's optometrist. Every so often I would receive something via them that had nothing to do with vision at all. The information that was in this email wasn't really new to me. I had a ministry member come to be about it because she heard that Jordan was doing the same thing she was trying to do with her daughter and needed a little help. Turned out to be two different things but because of my previous run in with the subject I looked into the email about the Ketogenic diet. This is a very limited diet, but it truly packs a punch. The purpose of the diet it the change your body's fuel source from glucose to fat which is called being in a state of ketosis. When the body is in a natural state of ketosis it allows hormones and blood sugars to balance out which produce more ketones. Having more ketones allows for better performance and healing. Getting into a state of ketosis can take 2-5 weeks and you can measure your levels like you can your blood sugar through an over the counter monitor. You have to be in between .5 and 5 millimolar range to remain in ketosis and you have to avoid too many carbs, sugars and proteins and make sure you are getting enough fat. This diet is very limited, but the benefits seem so great.
As I researched further about the ketogenic diet and how it related to Autism, I found there are a lot of components to how it can help. When we use nutrition as an intervention we need to look at the gut microbiome. The diet we have influences it and determines our behavior. By that I mean it makes us crave certain foods and suppress the appeal to eat others. Sweet and starchy foods feed gut bacteria which is why most children with Autism tend to love french fries, breaded nuggets and candy. The ketogenic diet would extremely limit these foods and deprive the bacteria of what it needs to live and therefore restore the balance in the microbiome. The article that I got this information from led me to another article that went more in depth about Autism, the gut microbiome and a common antibiotic. This parent had two kids, one with Autism, that had come down with strep. While the son was on the course of antibodies his symptoms related to Autism improved such as eye contact, speech, energy levels and less routines. A clinical study in Chicago showed that 8 out of 10 children given an antibody called vancomycin experienced marked improvements. The authors speculated they were do to the changes in the gut microbiome. No other studies were found by this parent on the 'antibody effect' in Autism. Reading this article reminded me Jordan was just on a course of antibodies for his infected finger starting the day before his birthday, 7/17. From my notes I put that Jordan wasn't as disobedient during bible study (7/12), vbs (7/18-22) or the morning of buddy break (7/23). The last day of bible study was before the medication but everything else was after. I also made a note that when Jordan is usually at his worst, left alone with his sisters, his behaviors were good enough they made it a point to tell me. Could there be some truth to it. Jordan still has a lot of the medication left, I may consider it to calm his behaviors at school. Especially if it will help with the gut.
We are going to observe how the "pho" works in Jordan before we decide to move on to the ketogenic diet. First to make sure that it will benefit him, which I think it will because his diet as always been something that I have felt was an issue with him. Second because there are labs that need to be drawn to make sure his body can handle such a change. There are metabolic deficiencies that could be present that could possibly do more harm than good because this diet affects the glucose transporter GLUT1 that transports glucose to the cells from the blood or other cells. When GLUT1 leaves the brain cells starving for energy from the lack of glucose, it gets its fuel from the ketones. But if the process of making energy from the foods you eat doesn't work properly, the diet will not be able to do it's job. I don't think we will have a problem there at all but you never know. In the meantime we added the "pho" and I am also able to give him coconut oil as well. It can help with boosting his metabolism while increasing energy and ketones. I may need to rethink that.
I still find it so amazing how God manages to work things into your life. I definitely would not have taken a second look at that email had I not been approached because someone mistook chelation for ketogenic. I wouldn't have gotten all the information I just learned the past couple days and especially the important things I just found out about this morning. There's a reason behind this madness after all. So many times I wonder why is this process taking so long? After 7 years many would have given up, as I sometimes want to do. But God. He doesn't just want to fix things for you, He wants you to learn from it and teach others. What I am learning will help Jordan, but this information isn't just for me.
Hebrews 13:16 "But do not to forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." This information is for the parent who wants to go down this road but doesn't know where to start. This information is to help people who know nothing about Autism to understand that this is not a neurological issue but something much more. This information is for anyone who can benefit from my findings, whether autistic or typical. I know I wish I would have had everything that I have learned readily available and able to read on my lap like I am typing. Therefore I don't keep it to myself. I share whatever I learn to make it easier for others who don't have the resources or just don't even know where to look. I love that He uses me for this. I am humble, yet proud He chose me for this task. Look at God being all God and stuff.
In my last post I shared with you that Jordan was now on another supplement. By the way this makes supplement number 25. Anywho the supplement is phosphatidylcholine. "Pho", for short, is used by the body to make a brain chemical called acetylcholine. "Pho" is likely to be used to treat "brain-centered" conditions like memory loss, Alzheimer's disease and manic-disorders as well as eczema and circulation problems. I have also read that the nutrient can boost memory, enhance intellectual skills and increase concentration. However, like with any other nutrient, many don't get enough in their diet. So you can image how little the picky children with Autism get, if any.
The addition of this supplement was prompted because of an email I received from my daughter's optometrist. Every so often I would receive something via them that had nothing to do with vision at all. The information that was in this email wasn't really new to me. I had a ministry member come to be about it because she heard that Jordan was doing the same thing she was trying to do with her daughter and needed a little help. Turned out to be two different things but because of my previous run in with the subject I looked into the email about the Ketogenic diet. This is a very limited diet, but it truly packs a punch. The purpose of the diet it the change your body's fuel source from glucose to fat which is called being in a state of ketosis. When the body is in a natural state of ketosis it allows hormones and blood sugars to balance out which produce more ketones. Having more ketones allows for better performance and healing. Getting into a state of ketosis can take 2-5 weeks and you can measure your levels like you can your blood sugar through an over the counter monitor. You have to be in between .5 and 5 millimolar range to remain in ketosis and you have to avoid too many carbs, sugars and proteins and make sure you are getting enough fat. This diet is very limited, but the benefits seem so great.
