Carbohydrate as the pyramid of Cheap Nutrition…

Let me tell you a big hidden truth that IS the Number 1 reason why most diets fail and why This one will not…..Are You Ready?

Your enemy is not GLUTEN!!!

Say whatttttt???

I say your enemy is not JUST Gluten but STARCH and CARBOHYDRATES !!!

Now you tell me You neverrr heard so and in school you were taught that carbohydrates were supposed to be the base of your diet!! Well my friend the truth is Carbohydrates from GRAINS are the hardest to digest and for those who have an already compromised digestive system they will be even harder. To make matters worse we are eating refined grains laden with chemicals and pesticides and are being highly processed making it pretty much absolutely different than what our bodies knows to digest! Let us take a simplified comprehension at why it is so in the most scientific way possible:

Digestion and Absorption of Carbohydrates…

 Absorption of digested food occurs mainly in the first two parts of the small intestines called duodenum and jejunum. The wall of these parts form tiny finger like projections called villi which are nature’s way to increase the surface area of the absorption. These villi are lined with cells called Enterocytes. These enterocytes absorb the food and pass it on to the blood stream. These cells are born at the base of the villi and slowly rise up as they mature. By the time they reach the top they die. Now the process of renewal of these enterocytes which are doing absorption depends on the good bacteria which live on them. The wellbeing and performance of the absorption is hence connected to the efficiency and availability of the good bacteria. When there are more harmful bacteria than beneficial, the enterocytes cannot function properly.

So now let us look at why carbohydrate is so hard on the gut…

 Carbohydrates are complex structures made up of about 3 types of building blocks called saccharides or sugar. The single units are called mono-saccharides, the double molecule units are called di-saccharide and multiple units called poly-saccharides. Our body produces enzymes specifically targeting these sugars to digest them. Monosaccharides are glucose, fructose and galactose. Glucose and fructose are found greatly in fruits and vegetables while galactose is found in soured dairy products. Since these are simple and easy to digest these should make up the majority of our carbohydrate intake. Although we don’t consider fruits and veggies as carbs but rice, pasta, biscuits, cookies, cakes etc. . Next we have the di-saccharides like maltose (digested starch), sucrose (table sugar) and lactose (milk sugar). The disaccharides need some more help, from the enterocytes, to be digested. Enterocytes themselves are covered in tiny hair or microvilli that is called “brush border” which produce the enzyme called disaccharidase which helps digest disaccharides. When individuals, such as autism, have compromised enterocytes due to disbalance they can’t produce enough of these enzymes and hence can’t digest them properly. Which is why the dairy and starch are often the leading food range that has to be avoided as well as starch since disaccharidase is needed to digest dairy and starch!  Since these disaccharides cant be digested they are then unfortunately left for rotting in the gut which breeds even more pathogenic bacteria, fungi and yeast like Candida. Deficiency in disaccharidase almost always accompanies many digestive disorders.

Starch, the ubiquitous carbohydrate…

It is the main form of carbohydrate we consume coming from ALL Grains and some root vegetables such as potato, cassava, sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke, yams. Grains such as wheat, rye, barley, spelt and sometimes oats have gluten so we lean towards gluten-free grains such as amaranth, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, and quinoa also known as ancient grains. These grains are gluten-free but are still rich in Starch which is not easily digested by the individuals with low disaccharidase! This is why even changing to gluten free doesn’t lead to much recovery and changes which disheartens the parents. It is not their fault as they are none the wiser. You have to accept and understand something. The times we are in has trickled to being globally manipulated by the agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. These are the world rulers and they are also often the funding sources of many “scientific research” that we honestly and blindly belief in! We don’t know that scientific teams are funded to sing their song. Someday one industry will blame the other. The next day? Vice versa. All these information bombardments confuses us even more.

Before sugar was made the enemy, fats were painted as the evils! Not all fats are created equal in nature and to make the public accept fat free packaged food the industries exchanged fats with various kinds of sugars like corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, etc. These food are extremely addictive creations of Industrial Food Scientists and we just cant let them go!! We are not immune to all the buzz and misconceptions. It’s very easy for a non-scientist to accept any scientifically researched paper to be accepted without understanding the grounds. So I invite you to do a little experiment. Try going starch free for a month or more and see the difference in your child’s mood, behaviour, tantrum, and meltdown. I bet you will see the same miracle as I saw in my previously non-verbal son!  

The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota is influenced by a variety of environmental factors, including geographical region, presence of pets in the household and dietary factors. It has been estimated that more than 50% of microbial changes can be attributed to diet. In some researches, Short-term changes of dietary intake over a 5 day period have shown to change the composition and function of the human GI microbiota, while habitual dietary patterns are thought to be more notable associated with long-term stability of the gut microflora. These researches have previously demonstrated that habitual dietary patterns are associated with a distinct microbial profile and microbial stability over a 6 months period in 4–8 year-old children.

This boils down to proofs that what we and our children eats have Direct link to how their gut is functioning and as that is connected to the brain than it leaves no doubt that for healthy brain we need healthy gut. More and more researches are emerging proving that nutrition and autism are linked and also discrediting the facts that we think autism is what a child is born with and is Non-changeable like skin colour! Should you need an experienced guide on how you can shift your child’s diet and nutrition game than feel free to contact me. Follow me on Instagram @the-neurodiverse_nerd or find me in Facebook @dr.tasnuvatunna. leave me a message that you are interested to learn more and I will get back to you, promise!

References:

Campbell-McBride, N. (2018). Gut and psychology syndrome: natural treatment for autism, dyspraxia, ADD, dyslexia, ADHD, depression, schizophrenia. Chelsea Green Publishing.

Zhang, C., Zhang, M., Wang, S., Han, R., Cao, Y., Hua, W., et al. (2010). Interactions between gut microbiota, host genetics and diet relevant to the development of metabolic syndromes in mice. ISME J. 4:232. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2009.112

Wu, G. D., Chen, J., Hoffmann, C., Bittinger, K., Chen, Y. Y., Keilbaugh, S. A., et al. (2011). Linking long-term dietary patterns with gut microbial enterotypes. Science 334, 105–108. doi: 10.1126/science.1208344

Berding, K., Holscher, H. D., Arthur, A. E., and Donovan, S. M. (2018). Fecal microbiome composition and stability in 4-to 8-year old children is associated with dietary patterns and nutrient intake. J. Nutr. Biochem. 56, 165–174. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2018.01.002

Berding, K., & Donovan, S. M. (2018). Diet can impact microbiota composition in children with autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in neuroscience, 12, 515.

Williams, B. L., Hornig, M., Buie, T., Bauman, M. L., Paik, M. C., Wick, I., … & Lipkin, W. I. (2011). Impaired carbohydrate digestion and transport and mucosal dysbiosis in the intestines of children with autism and gastrointestinal disturbances. PloS one, 6(9), e24585.

Kushak, R. I., Winter, H. S., Buie, T. M., Cox, S. B., Phillips, C. D., & Ward, N. L. (2017). Analysis of the duodenal microbiome in autistic individuals: association with carbohydrate digestion. Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, 64(5), e110-e116.

Gotschall, E. (2004). Digestion-gut-autism connection: the specific carbohydrate diet. Medical Veritas, 1(2), 261-271.