Useful Hints And Tips

Suffering From an Autism Food Allergy?

Posted in Health & Fitness on September 13th, 2008

An autism food allergy is a very serious problem. In fact, autism induced by allergies has recently been identified and occurs when a child’s diet influences his or her autism symptoms. The children who are at the highest risk of an impact from an autism food allergy are those who have regressive autism. Regressive autism is the form of the disorder that occurs when the child’s first symptoms appear at around the age of two after having developed normally until then. Other autistic children at risk are those with behavioral and neurological problems in conjunction with serious digestive problems.

Kids with an autism food allergy struggle to digest essential food proteins such as gluten and casein. Gluten is a protein found in many kinds of grains, such as wheat, and is frequently added to food products during the manufacturing process. Casein is a protein found in milk and is also added to other foods as they are manufactured.

Some children with food allergies are unable to properly digest gluten and casein. These proteins are digested only partially and leave a byproduct to which the children react in a very similar way to the drug morphine. This substance is able to slip through the wall of the digestive tract, a condition known as ‘leaky gut syndrome’, and circulates through the bloodstream and into the brain.

When a child has an intolerance to gluten or casein an altered protein can also be found in the urine after the child consumed food containing these two compounds. It is believed that this occurs as a result of the creation and absorption of the morphine-like chemical created by the body of the child when trying to digest gluten or casein. The child may then behave in a “spaced out” way. Furthermore, it can create somewhat of an addiction in these children, causing them to crave foods containing gluten and casein.

Because children with an autism food allergy struggle to digest food properly, they are also unable to remove toxins and chemicals as efficiently as they should from their body. This can include not only waste in the traditional sense of digestion, but also fertilizers, pesticides, cleansers and detergents, pollution, artificial flavorings and colorings, preservatives, chemical food additives, and other forms of chemical that can build up and become toxic over time.

Symptoms of an autism food allergy usually appear within an autistic child at around the age of three. Though the symptoms may come about as a result of intolerance to pollutants in the food, others will react to chemical additives, and again others will react to the basic composition of the food. Though reactions can be caused by essentially anything, the most common allergies are to foods such as corn, citrus fruits, wheat, dairy and sugar.

Though the symptoms of an autism food allergy may not be obvious to those around the child, medical testing and observation shows frequent diarrhea, bloating, low blood sugar, excessive sweating, redness in the ears and face, rhinitis (runny nose), the inability to regulate the body temperature, and dark circles under the eyes are common.

The only way to treat an autism food allergy is to pinpoint the food of foods that are causing the problem and then eliminate it from the diet entirely. It is important to note that this won’t cure autism, however symptoms will often improve substantially when a diet free of those items that cause a reaction is followed. Parents will still be faced with the same issues in socializing and communicating with autistic children even after an altered diet is introduced, and change will still need to be carefully managed.

To discover which foods your child reacts to, an exclusion diet is a good way to determine what items are potentially contributing to their autism symptoms and digestive issues. However, before starting an exclusion diet ensure you consult a qualified health professional to ensure your child continues to receive adequate nutrition.

Once you have the go ahead, start by eliminating the common culprits i.e. wheat, dairy, sugar, corn and citrus fruits for a two to four week period and then slowly reintroduce the removed items one at a time and monitor behaviors and digestive changes carefully.

This process can help identify those food items that are problematic for your child. An alternative is to have blood testing done to look for antibodies that are produced when an allergic reaction takes place. Your doctor should be able to arrange this for you or refer you to the appropriate professional.

There is currently a study about to get underway being carried out by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston that will be scientifically studying the effects of gluten and casein on autistic children which should help to answer the autism food allergy question.

Grab your free copy of Rachel Evans’ brand new Autism Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you and your family find out about autism food allergies and for more information on allergy induced autism please visit The Essential Guide To Autism.

Comments Off

Is Your Favorite Drink Causing Your Gout Attack?

Posted in Health & Fitness on August 15th, 2008

If you want to do everything you can to prevent a gout attack, then you may want to look into your favorite beverages to make sure that they’re not increasing your chances of a gout recurrence. A recent study published on BMJ.com in January, 2008, called “Soft Drinks, Fructose Consumption, and the Risk of Gout in Men: Prospective Cohort Study”, by Hyon Choi and Gary Curhan showed that men who regularly consume foods and beverages containing fructose have a notably higher risk of a gout attack.

Gout levels in the United States have doubled throughout the last few decades. This increase in gout attacks mirrors the increase in fructose consumption through soft drinks and other sugary foods. Fructose is a simple form of sugar that is now known to increase the production of uric acid in the body.

Though patients who suffer gout attacks are typically instructed by their doctors to cut alcohol, organ meats, and legumes from their diets, as they are high in purines – organic compounds that encourage uric acid production in the body – it is rare for patients to be told to limit their consumption of fructose-filled foods such as soft drinks.

American and Canadian researchers examined the relationship between the intake of high-fructose foods such as soft drinks and the risk of a gout attack. They looked into more than 46,000 men who had no history of gout attacks, and who were aged 40 or older. They followed these men for 12 years, compiling data on food consumption regarding more than 130 different beverages and foods including both regular and diet soft drinks, as well as fruits and fruit juices which are also naturally quite high in their fructose levels. From the start of the study, the researchers collected weight, medication use, and medical condition data. During that time, there were 755 new cases of gout attacks diagnosed within the participants.

The major findings of the study included the following:

- The more sugar-sweetened soft drinks were consumed by the participants, the higher their risks of a gout attack would be.

- When men who drank fewer than one serving of soft drinks in a month were compared to participants who drank over five or six servings every week, the risk of a gout attack was increased by 29 percent.

- The participants who drank two or more servings of soft drinks daily increased their risk of a gout attack by a significant 85 percent when compared to those who consumed fewer than one serving of soft drinks every month.

- Participants who consumed only soft drinks did not increase their risk of a gout attack.

- Fructose-rich foods such as fruits and their juices also increased the risk of a gout attack. However, the study’s authors caution that the interpretation of the impact of fruits and fruit juices on the risk of gout should be interpreted with care as eating some fruits and vegetables is important for the prevention of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and some cancers, and should therefore perhaps be considered more beneficial than hazardous.

The study’s results occurred independently of other gout attack risk factors, such as age, body mass index, blood pressure, diuretic use, alcohol consumption, and the rest of the diet of the participants.

One thing to remember from any study is that they are generally conducted based on statistical analysis… and you are not a statistic.

Gout is a complex metabolic imbalance, where too much or too little of some a foods or beverages in the diet can “tip the scales” and encourage Uric Acid build up or conversely reduce the levels of uric acid.

It’s of course important that this study is taken in context. Generally fresh fruit is good for our wellbeing overall in the right amounts, and as part of a gout friendly diet. However, an excess of any food or beverage, making the diet unbalanced can have a detrimental effect.

In order to minimize the possibility of uric acid build up replace beverages with water where possible as this has effect of hydrating the body and “flushing out” uric acid.

Also, if you are having fruit, try to eat the whole fruit as there are many other beneficial compounds in them and the fruit sugars are usually less concentrated than in fruit drinks.

If you are currently taking cherries or cherry juice and it is helping, just be aware of and perhaps reduce other fructose consumption in your diet.

Grab your free copy of Lisa McDowell’s brand new Gout Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you find out about preventing gout attacks and for information on gout prevention diets please visit Cure Gout Now.

Comments Off

Gout Pain Relief Through Ayurvedic Medicine

Posted in Health & Fitness on July 18th, 2008

Gout pain relief is available not only through conventional western medicine, but also through alternative medicines such as the ancient form of ayurvedic medicine. In ayurvedic medicine, gout is referred to as vatrakta.

Vatrakta is indicated biochemically of:

- An augmentation in the concentration level of serum urate.
- Recurrent acute pain attacks within the joints, which may become persistent and chronic in nature.
- Occurrence of monosodium urate mono hydrate crystals within the fluid spaces inside the joints at the time of an acute attack.

Ayurvedic gout pain relief is not a generalized form of treatment and is therefore not the same for everyone. The recommended treatments vary from person to patient depending on the physical and psychological health and status of the individual. However, there are certain single and compound formulations that are used for gout pain relief as well as to minimize other symptoms of the condition. Some of the more commonly used formulations are:

- Guduchi
- Manjisth
- Punarnava
- Yashtimadhu
- Mahamanjishthadi kwath
- Shilajitwadi vati
- Panchitkta churna

Diet is very important to Ayurvedic gout pain relief methods, as everything that will increase the production of uric acid is to be eliminated from the diet. Foods that are considered to be purine-rich should therefore be avoided as they encourage uric acid production, these commonly include:

- Yeasts
- Legumes (peas, dried beans, lentils, etc)
- Beer and other beverages containing alcohol
- Oil-packed sardines, anchovies, roes from fish, herring
- Organ meats (kidneys, liver, sweetbreads, etc)
- Meat extracts (gravies, consommés, etc)

Foods that are often recommended during Ayurvedic gout pain relief treatments may include the following:

- Dark skinned berries such as cherries as they contain substances that act within the body to reduce levels of uric acid as well as minimize inflammation.

- To eat tofu in place of meats.

- Foods high in certain fatty acids (such as omega 3), for example, olive oil, flax oil, and certain nuts. These fatty acids contain important anti-inflammatory properties that help to ease inflammation in the joints.

Another level of gout pain relief in the ayurvedic style can include panchakarma, which can involve either a form of massage using medicated oils or snehana therapies, which have shown very beneficial results when treating gout.

If you are considering ayurvedic treatments for gout pain relief, you should first make sure to speak to your doctor or another trained health professional in order to assess your unique health needs and determine whether ayurvedic medicine is the right choice for you.

You may find that there are also other treatments available for gout pain relief that may work better or in conjunction with ayurvedic methods. These may include techniques such as uric acid manipulation through the pH level of the body. The only way that you will be able to make this decision is by speaking to your health practitioner and learning about the various techniques and treatments for gout sufferers before coming to a decision on the best approach for your individual situation.

Grab your free copy of Lisa McDowell’s brand new Gout Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you find out about gout pain relief and for information on how to get rid of gout naturally please visit Cure Gout Now.

Comments Off

How Much Do You Know About Gout and Diet Prevention?

Posted in Health & Fitness on May 19th, 2008

Recently, a gout and diet prevention study was published in by Dr. Hyon K. Choi and Gary Curhan in Arthritis Care & Research’s June 2007 issue which examined the fact that, contrary to popular belief, coffee may not be as bad for gout sufferers as previously thought. Although gout patients have been told to stay away from coffee, there may be an ingredient in the beverage that can actually help to lower the uric acid levels in the body.

Though it is not yet known what part of coffee is responsible for lowering the uric acid levels in the body, it is known that it is not just the caffeine content, as the same results were not found from drinking caffeinated tea. Whatever the cause, when participants drank one to two cups of coffee every day, the levels of uric acid in the blood reduced dramatically. Furthermore, as coffee consumption increased, uric acid levels decreased.

A similar study in Japan looked into the same concept, but used decaffeinated coffee. Similar, though not equal, results were witnessed. This is why it is now thought that components of coffee other than soley caffeine are responsible for lowering the uric acid levels in the body.

Considering that until this study, gout sufferers had been discouraged from drinking coffee, many gout sufferers may now be wondering what other gout and diet prevention beliefs may soon turn out to be disproved. For example, though tea has not been found to reduce uric acid levels in the body as has now been demonstrated with coffee, tea is often thought to be unacceptable as a part of a gout and diet prevention strategy. Instead, tea can indeed be a part of a gout diet as long as it is consumed in moderation and as long as its dehydrating effect is compensated for by taking in additional water.

It was also believed at one time that eating rich foods was the root cause of gout. Indeed, some rich foods are high in proteins and purines and therefore may contribute to gout flare-ups, however low fat dairy products have now been shown to have a preventative effect. Also Gout is believed to be caused by many factors, including being heredity.

A similar belief was once applied to alcohol. It was thought that spirits, wine, and beer were the true cause of gout. Indeed, drinking to excess can be harmful to gout sufferers, especially due to the resulting dehydration of the body. Hydration is especially important to gout sufferers as it allows the body to flush the uric acid out of the blood, preventing its buildup as crystals on the joints. However, drinking alcohol is not a direct cause of gout.

It is important to speak with your doctor and dietician about gout and diet prevention and what you should be eating to help to control your gout. However, it is also wise to keep up with the latest research, as the “truths” that we know about gout diets are always changing.

Grab your free copy of Lisa McDowell’s brand new Gout Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you find out about gout and diet prevention and for information on getting rid of gout through natural means please visit Cure Gout Now.

Comments Off

Are You Getting Frequent Hiccups? Acid Reflux May Be Why

Posted in Health & Fitness on April 3rd, 2008

If you are experiencing hiccups, acid reflux could be a contributory factor and you may need to find a remedy to find relief from this non-serious, yet distressing symptom.

Hiccups, also called hiccoughs, result when the diaphragm suddenly contracts. The diaphragm is the thin muscle located under the heart and lungs that separates the chest from the abdomen and assists with inhaling. After the diaphragm contracts, the top portion of the windpipe known as the glottis, immediately closes which creates the characteristic “hic” sound of hiccups.

A hiccup is a reflex you have no control over and can be hard to stop. That being said, the interesting fact about hiccups is that unlike other reflexes (I.E. sneezing, coughing, etc.), a hiccup does not appear to have a useful purpose.

What is the hiccups acid reflux connection? Most people have a case of the hiccups every once in a while, and in many of these instances, the spell of hiccups is brief, and there is no apparent reason why it was experienced. However, if hiccups are related to acid reflux, it is not uncommon for hiccups to be persistent and last for hours, this could be because of:

- Temporary swollen stomach – This could be caused by eating too quickly, overeating, drinking carbonated beverages, swallowing air.
- Alcohol – This is more common with fizzy alcohol drinks such as beer, sparkling wine, and mixed drinks. Too much air may also be swallowed while drinking alcohol.
- Excessive smoking – taking in too much air
- Emotional stress – when stressed many people tend to overeat, eat too fast, drink alcohol, smoke excessively, and are more prone to gulping air.

How can you treat hiccups? In many cases, there is no need for treatment because hiccups will typically disappear as quickly as they occurred. However, the following are some remedies you can try to treat mild hiccups:
- Drink a full glass of water
- Sip ice water
- Suck on an ice cube
- Hold your breath for 30 seconds
- Breath rapidly
- Breath into a paper bag
- Pull your knees into your chest
- Gasping from sudden fright
- Distract your mind from thinking about the hiccups

The above hiccup remedies will usually only work with short bouts of hiccups, and will not cure persistent hiccups that last for longer than 24 hours, or hiccups that recur frequently throughout the day. If you have persistent hiccups, they could be the cause of acid reflux, in which case you should be experiencing other acid reflux symptoms aside from the hiccups including heartburn, belching, regurgitation, coughing, etc. Therefore, try the following to remedy your acid reflux hiccups:

- Avoid drinking alcohol and carbonated beverages
- Stop smoking
- Eat and drink slowly. You should also eat small portions of food to prevent overeating.
- Reduce stress. Find ways to relax or release bottled up energy through exercise, meditation, or taking