Study adds to evidence that autism has genetic basis

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http://www.physorg.com/news192000285.html

Aspergers is genetic? Yes, my family has been considered eccentric for a couple of hundred years, and typically successful in our endeavors...
But, we do not carry a disease, We are simply different.

Very interesting, although I would like to say to them that I'm not ill and don't have a disease.

Very interesting, although I would like to say to them that I'm not ill and don't have a disease.

just because it is genetic does not mean it is an illness. genes have also been found for certain traits such as shyness, yet shyness is not a disease.

It would make a lot of sense if autism were indeed genetic--my mom has some characteristics of it, even though she hasn't ever been diagnosed.

Which is why Whole Foods should stop using National Autism Week as a marketing platform by subtly implying they are environmentally friendly and thus reduce all those horrid environmental things that might cause autism.

Let me tell you all something. I LIKE GLUTEN.

I think it's coincidental that many kids with autism also have Celiac Syndrome, which destroys the body's ability to process gluten. I really don't think there's any relation. Celiac in its worst forms can kill, and it was virtually unknown until 30 years or so ago, so I think that with Celiac patients cutting out gluten is good and obviously necessary. And let me tell you, my nutrition teacher in college said only 20% of Americans can properly process cow milk. In Mediterranean diets, anything that comes from a cow is a BIG nono. That includes meat and gelatin (ground cow hoof, ick). Cows make some Americans EXTREMELY rich, so we get cow products shoved down our throats at every opportunity, but some people just can't eat it. Most Asian people can't, and some can even die.

There are severely autistic individuals who do have food intolerances and allergies and experience discomfort from food that causes negative behavior, and there are indeed those who are unable to handle gluten, and it's certainly true that many individuals are lactose intolerant, however most people, Asians included, can eat beef and beef products such as gelatin.

Lactose intolerance is not prevalent in all Asians, only east Asians. Mongolians are pastorolists and dairy products are staples of their diet. In fact I would say the majority of people who inhabit the Asian continent and subcontinent are not lactose intolerant.

But this is a bit off topic. I certainly don't blame the parents of autistic individuals for trying to find ways to improve their childrens lives, or eliminate factors that detracts from the quality of it, but there tends to be this propensity for people to, in the face of enigma, to default to a convoluted version of the philosophy of Occam's Razor.

Example:
Gluten causes autism.
Vaccines cause autism.
Mercury exposure causes autism.

None of which have been proven or dis-proven, and in light of that fact I see no reason why these three things should be at the top of the list. Why not implicate hydrocarbons? Why not implicate free electrons from TV sets? Why not implicate a hidden virus?

They seem a reasonable hypothesis don't they?

They are not implicated because people jump on the spin band wagon. And the crux of my annoyance is companies like Whole Foods exploiting such things, and thus perpetuating them for profit under the guise of being socially responsible.