We all have been taught that foods are meant to provide us with healing but also to deliver esencial nutrients for our body to function properly. However, in the real life the things are more complicated since there is not an unique diet for everyone. Gluten, casein, and soy free diet (GFCFSF) has been shown to be a good way to start with for children diagnosed with Autism. GFCFSF diet has been linked to improve symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, sleep problems, eczema, attention span, cravings and more. Moreover, some patients may feel worse when adding healthy food since they cannot break down the specific food chemical such as Oxalates in the fruits, vegetables or nuts.
That’s why healthy stuff such as kale, broccoli, or spinach don't go well for some children diagnosed with autism. And I know, it is so annoying!
Im talking about Oxalates. Have you heard about OXALATES? Oxalic acid or oxalates, is the most acidic organic acid in body fluids which may cause damage to various tissues, they are described as sharp crystals due to their physical structure and produce inflammation. Unfortunately, they could be found in saint foods such as kale, broccoli, tomato, berries, and more. A low oxalate diet may be indicated for those children who are still struggling with inflammation even after they have implemented a GFCFSF diet.
Where do the oxalates come from?
Oxalates come from three different sources:
Candida: as a consequence of antibiotics overuse!
Diet: foods high in oxalate
Metabolism
The first 2 are the most common.
How could I know if my child has high oxalate levels and what to do next?
- First, get your child tested with the organic acid test to check the presence of oxalates. I work with The Great Plains Laboratory which not only checks for the presence of candida to be an indicator that correlates with oxalates but also checks for genetic diseases that may produce more oxalates and vitamin C levels which can also be converted to more oxalates.
- Once with the results, a complete nutritional assessment and questionnaire should be done where the dietitian will be reviewing the reason (s) of the high levels. Healing the gut is a priority! Probiotics are a must for some patients! And sometimes natural antifungal treatments along with an elimination diet.
- The last is: the food elimination list: this is the most annoying part since some “healthy food” are going to be removed but I promise it would be temporary.
Because the list is so long, you can get access to it by clicking https://www.upmc.com/-/media/upmc/patients-visitors/education/unique-pdfs/low-oxalate-diet.pdf
As you can see the list is kind of long and inflexible BUT not everything is that bad, I have also good news.
You can reduce significantly the oxalate level of your food by cooking them for a period of time within a range from 5-20min. Therefore, after meeting with your Dietitian you will go through all the possible foods your child eats with high oxalate levels and get from there which ones you could cook and make this easier!. Not so bad right?
Well mommies, I hope you find this information very helpful and I would like to invite you to see my first live, next Monday February 11th where i will be sharing with a mom of twins on a low oxalate diet!
See you there!.
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Siempre hemos escuchado que una dieta sin gluten sin caseina y sin soya (GFCFSF) es uno de los primeros caminos a seguir para los ninos que han sido diagnosticados con Autismo. Y tambien es verdad que adicionar mas frutas, vegetales, y leguminosas como mani, es muy saludable. Lo que lamentablemente no sabemos es que a veces muchos ninos no tienen la capacidad de degradar o metabolizar los quimicos como Los Oxalatos que se encuentran en ciertas frutas, vegetales, y leguminosas.
Has escuchado hablar de los oxalatos?
Los oxalatos son pequeños cristales que producen inflamación y daños a los tejidos y que pueden ser encontrados en alimentos tan santos como el brocoli, las coles, espinaca, tomate, fresas y mas. Una dieta baja en oxalatos es indicada para ninos que continuan mostrando sintomas de inflamacion a pesar de seguir una dieta GFCFSF
De donde provienen los oxalatos?
Los oxalatos provienen de tres fuentes:
Sobre población de candida: la candida es un hongo que se produce como consecuencia de uso y abuso prolongado de antibióticos
Alimentos: alimentos con alto contenido de candida
Metabolismo
Como puedo evaluar a mi hijo para saber si tiene los oxalatos altos?
- El Laboratorio de The Great Plains Laboratory ofrece un test de orina para evaluar el contenido de ácidos orgánicos en el cuerpo. Es una excelente herramienta debido a que no solo me verifica la presencia o no de candida sino que además evalúa si hay algún problema genético y de metabolismo así como los niveles de vitamina C que podrían estar involucrados con los altos niveles de los mismos.
- Una vez obtenido los resultados, se hace una evaluación nutricional completa en donde se obtiene información de interés para elaborar las recomendaciones. Sanar el intestino es mi prioridad, agregar probiótico al régimen es prácticamente mandatorio para ciertos pacientes.
- Por ultimo, nos apoyaremos en la lista de eliminación que nos ayudará a guiarnos hacia qué alimentos podemos incluir en la dieta. Esta para mi es la parte más difícil ya que muchos de esos alimentos son considerados saludables y muchos seran eliminados. Pero les prometo que será temporal.
La lista es muy larga asi que por aqui se las dejo: https://www.upmc.com/-/media/upmc/patients-visitors/education/unique-pdfs/low-oxalate-diet.pdf
Mi último tip: hervir ciertos vegetales podría reducir significativamente el contenido de oxalatos, así que cocinar ciertos vegetales de 5-20min podría hacer de nuestra dieta un poco más flexible!
Bueno mamis espero que les haya servido de mucho la información que les dejo por aquí. Las invito a mi primer live el lunes 11 de febrero en donde tendrás a una mama de morochos con dieta baja en oxalatos.
Los quiero!
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