Just another reason it’s important your kids have a healthy diet, HollyMoms!
According to the UK’s Daily Mail, a study found that large numbers of children with autism and related conditions such as Asperger’s syndrome were deficient in zinc. The mineral can be found in foods like turkey and other meats, bread and dairy products. Will this finding help autism treatment and prevention?
British experts say firm conclusions can’t be drawn from the study, but it did show a ‘considerable association’ between zinc deficiency and autism. According to the researchers, it seems infants need zinc for growth and development more than older kids. Lack of it in early life might be what causes the development of autism.
“A nutritional approach may yield a novel hope for its treatment and prevention,” they concluded.
Professor Dorothy Bishop from the University of Oxford told the Daily Mail it might just be a reflection of dietary abnormalities. “Many children with autism will eat only a restricted range of foods and some have a habit of chewing on inedible objects,” she said.
HollyMoms, what are YOUR thoughts? Whether zinc prevents autism or not, kids should still have a healthy diet!
— Anna Moeslein
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Autism Mom
Posted at 4:37 PM on November 8, 2011
I do not believe mineral or vitamin deficiencies “cause” autism. Not at all. My daughter has autism, had a well-rounded diet as an infant, took Vitamin D supplements as a baby, (we live in a mostly sun-less rainy city) and only now does she have a very limited diet. She was 2 when we noticed early signs of autism, and at 3 was diagnosed and was pickier than ever in her eating. This study merely proves that children with autism lack minerals and vitamins because they become VERY PICKY EATERS.