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I have some exciting news to share with you about the relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and autism. A new research study from Sweden found that low levels of 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D was almost 100% linked to an Autistic Spectrum Disorder diagnosis.
This is very exciting! This study explains very clearly that Vitamin D deficiency has a direct relationship to autism and autistic spectrum disorders.
WARNING: Please do not run out and buy your child a Vitamin D supplement. Doing that could be dangerous for your child. I’m going to explain why.
Why would an autistic spectrum child or person have low levels of Vitamin D?
One way that it happens is prenata development.
Low levels of Vitamin D in the mother are really low levels of Vitamin D for the developing child. This can cause abnormal brain development. Vitamin D is what we call a "neurosteroid." It has hundreds of different functions, but it is directly related to brain development. There’s been a couple of good studies done on that. If an expectant mother wants to prevent autism (decrease the risk of autism) she needs to make sure she has adequate levels of Vitamin D.
But again, if you’re pregnant and reading this, I suggest that you get your Vitamin D levels tested first.
So mom has low Vitamin D...the baby has low Vitamin D.....now the baby has a dis-regulated immune system because Vitamin D is one of the main players in keeping your immune system coordinated.
Nearly 100% of children that I diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder have low levels of 25-hydroxy Vitamin D; almost every one of them.
So that’s one scenario. It starts prenatal.
Now here’s the other scenario--Post-natal.
The other way that a child can develop Vitamin D deficiency is through malabsorption.
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin (it’s really a hormone.) It’s got to be absorbed through the G.I. lining. If the G.I. lining is not appropriately permeable, it doesn’t allow things through like it should, then it’s clogged. That clogging of the absorption process means the child can become Vitamin D deficient. I’ve seen this many times in kids diagnosed with autism, Asperger's and PDD.
In fact, I have a child whose story I’ll be putting up pretty soon; it’s a pretty long story. All we did to help this child was correct his malabsorption and his Vitamin D levels went up along with some supplementation. His whole neurological picture changed.
What would cause this malabsorption, this clogging of the gut? The number one thing is gluten.
The number two cause is intolerance to other food proteins that cause an inflammatory reaction. Mucus is formed. This clogs the gut.
Other causes are yeast overgrowth, bacterial overgrowth (dysbiosis).
If your child is not being tested for these with the most sensitive technology,,,your doctor is not leaving every stone unturned. You’ve got to turn over rock, so to speak. You’ve got to look for it. And the best test to do is a stool DNA PCR test.
Once the child has a clogged gut, they don’t absorb the Vitamin D and that’s probably due to inflammatory actions to gluten, casein, soy or gut infections.
Then all heck breaks loose because then they’ve got a disordered immune system and they can develop autoimmune attack against themselves. And that’s how the neurodegeneration cascade happens.
Now, I know you’re thinking about supplementation. Don’t do it!
Your child needs to have their 25-hydroxy Vitamin D tested. They need to have their 1, 25-hydroxy Vitamin D levels tested.
If your child’s 1, 25 Vitamin D is too high and you give them Vitamin D supplements, you’re going to make them much, much worse.
That’s all I have time for today, but just remember, there’s a huge link between Vitamin D and autism. You can not and should not ignore the Vitamin D - Autism connection. Your child's future depends on it.
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New Research-Autism and Vitamin Deficiency
© 2010 Dr. David Clark
THE PLACE FOR ANSWERS™
Dr. David Clark
Functional Neurologist
Diplomate College of Clinical Nutrition
Functional Endocrinologist
Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist
Vestibular Rehab Specialist
214-341-3737
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