Thursday, June 4, 2009

We all scream for ice cream!

Who doesn't love ice cream? Unfortunately, for some people ice cream does not love them. Some people cannot tolerate casein, a protein found in animal dairy products. There are children and adults with autism spectrum disorders will be asked to abstain to institute a gluten and casein free diet.

Autism spectrum disorders are typically characterized by difficulty engaging in social interaction, marked psychological dysfunction with some developmental delay. There are many different aspects of this disorder.

People are becoming increasingly allergic to dairy products whether lactose (milk sugar) intolerant (can’t digest milk sugar) or casein intolerant. Many people who have celiac disease or gluten intolerance will also have difficulty digesting casein. This may occur because the intestinal lining has been damaged from the inability to breakdown gluten (protein found in wheat/barley/rye/spelt or triticale grains) causes an inability to digest casein as well. These two will sometimes be joined hand in hand. Other reasons may include inflammation from long term undiagnosed food intolerances, lack of enzymes to break down these proteins and/or the processing of food (in case of milk, pasteurization which kills vital enzymes that enable our systems to metabolize the dairy products).

If you have an autistic child who is utilizing biomedical approach (utilizing nutritional and nutriceutical interventions with detoxification of heavy metals) treating their autism then you know how hard it is for a child to give up the simple pleasures of eating certain foods. It isn’t any easier for adults either.

Many people find that removing these two proteins will help improve the symptoms of autism. It is theorized that in autistic individuals that casein and gluten are metabolized into peptides that will fit into the opioid receptors (this is where pain medications, narcotics and illicit drugs such as heroin attach inside of the brain) of the brain, causing dysfunction. Other causes may be brain inflammation from the digestive system's inability to metabolize these proteins effectively resulting in intestinal inflammation and the ‘leaking’ of intestinal contents into the blood stream. The body must then deal with continual inflammation from the over use of the immune system.

Many people who suffer from autoimmune conditions such as myself, must find what foods have adverse effects on our health. I have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and dairy causes increased joint pain. This is true of many who have RA. I do on occasion eat raw milk cheese or eat goat cheese without ill effect. When you have a chronic condition, it takes some time to find out what foods aggravate your condition.


Here is an ice cream that you can easily make for your child that is delicious, gluten and casein free that the entire family will enjoy. This ice cream recipe is easy and is great for those who are not following a special diet. It is low in sugar, has no gluten or casein. It brings quick satisfaction!


Banana Ice Cream

6 ripe bananas peeled and frozen solid
1/4 c. Agave nectar (optional)
1 can of coconut milk, not lite
1 TBS. gluten free vanilla

Remove the bananas from the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Process in a blender or food processor until slightly chunky. Add the Agave, coconut milk and vanilla. Process until smooth. Place in a container and chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Serve immediately. If you can't serve it when it is done freeze it and then take it out 15 minutes prior to serving so it can thaw slightly making scooping easier. Makes 6-8 single scoops.


Resources:

Biomedical/integrative medical practitioner
www.acam.org

Biomedical medical practitioner to treat autism spectrum disorders
www.defeatautismnow.org