Can a good diet really ease your symtoms?

Post Reply New Topic

some autistics have allergies to certain things in food and they need to eat more organic stuff ,but as far as i'm concerned I need to cut more fat out of my diet .

The stuff practically cooks itself

Starchy things like rice and potatoes tend to dampen flavour rather than hold it. That is ok, sometimes you want that. It you want to something that really holds flavour try lentils, or chickpeas. You might think of them as uninteresting on their own but if you add enough flavours you can use them to thicken things, instead of using unhealthy options. They also have a good dose of protein.

Monty mentioned quinoa. That stuff is amazing. The Incas called it 'mother of all grains'. It is not a true cereal but a seed. It contains a load of protein and it can hold flavour really well.

The GFCF diet in the past 4 months has removed practically 95 percent of my Asperger symptoms. Frankly it is a miracle.

Diet that is a big question. I have found that I am intolerant to wheat, dairy and sugar in excess. A few years ago I tried a strict anti-candida diet which involved cutting out sugar, fruit, dairy, yeast all of lifes pleasures. The resulting depression was pretty foul. I now realise there is a certain pleasure factor with food and to cut some things out completely is difficult and can cause low moods. For the last few weeks I have been trying to reduce my wheat, dairy and sugar intake. The most difficult food to cut out I find is my morning wholemeal toast and butter!

Although candida causes infections, you need it for your gut fora.

I agree with your sentiment. If you get to the point where you are cutting out several food groups, you start to lose pleasure in food. Whereas if you eat fairly healthily and exercise, your taste becomes more attuned to different subtle flavors rather than the taste perception been hijacked by calorific foods.

Having said that, a person like me needs calories, but there are better sources of calories then junk food.

I have found that eating a better diet and little exercise has reduced the frequency and impact of meltdowns.

GFCF probably would work on me in general but I don't want to try it because I like different food and cooking. I'd be annoyed if I couldn't have these things.

I always make a special trip to the Chinese market in my neighborhood, for their mung bean noodles, (which have only to be submerged in hot water a few minutes) and my teas. I like tea, so I usually get green, white and red tea. And these same teas sell for so much more in mainstream supermarkets, with all kinds of pretty packaging. I can get a box of 100 teabags for almost the same price as a small, fancy box of about 16 at the supermarket. They also have nice teapot and cup sets.

I believe that good food has contributed to the good level of functioning I have enjoyed in my life, despite some real difficulties. I rarely eat fast food, only occasionally have sweets and make sure I have a good balance of everything.

Ah, food! My favorite subject!

I have noticed a direct correlation between eating well/poorly and good/bad moods. When I was a kid, I would sometimes cry for no apparent reason. Eventually, I worked out that eating junk food, or an unbalanced diet had a negative effect on my mood.

Occasionally, I will try some new restaurant, and if the food is not high quality, it can start to affect me within the hour. At best, I will become apathetic, just staring at the walls. At worst, I become depressed. The cure is simple. I eat some healthy food, and the weird mood goes away. It never occurred to me that this might be an AS symptom. (Does this syndrome explain everything, or what?)

We always tried to eat healthy food when I was growing up. We made stuff from scratch and only went to quality restaurants (no fast food). This could be why so many of my symptoms seemed to reduce or disappear as I grew up.

Now, I still make everything from scratch, avoid processed food, and spend big bucks on high quality food. I refuse to return to any restaurant that leaves me with that apathetic/depressed feeling mentioned above. Also, I cannot eat dessert unless it is after a complete balanced meal. Dessert without dinner sends me into that bad state.