AUTISM AND FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE
The functional Medicine approach for autism is to integrate the patient’s story with advanced biological insight.
Though there is no specific medical test for diagnosis, the basic diagnostic criteria for Autism include repetitive patterns of behavior, interest, or activities and deficits in social interaction and language.
It’s important to look not only at the surface signs and symptoms but to look beneath the surface at the underlying mechanisms.
Every child with behavior problems, like autism, is unique. By addressing functional impairments, abnormalities at many levels, including hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalances, cellular oxidation-reduction imbalances and problems with energy metabolism, the metabolic state of immune cells, cellular inflammation, and alterations in cellular membrane structure and function can be of great help.
How can one be benefitted?
1. Fixing Gut: The first most step to fixing the gut is by taking away gluten from the diet, killing off the toxic bacteria in the small intestine with special antibiotics, and replenishing healthy bacteria with probiotics.
2. Replace the Missing Nutrients: The nutrients that get deficient in the body due to poor gut health and compromised absorption of the nutrients are replaced.
3. Getting rid of the over-growing fungus in the body: Fungal growth is tackled by dietary guidelines, nutritional supplementation, lifestyle modification, and intravenous detoxification
4. Reduce Oxidative Stress or free radicals activity: Free radicals that cause the brain to be inflamed and further make more free radicals are to be reduced by various means.
5. Detoxify: Once the gut is fixed, the nutrients are replenished, detoxification is done by removing accumulated heavy metals and thus the oxidative stress is reduced.
6. Overcoming incapability to detox: This can be done by balancing Sulfur and glutathione levels, which are the body’s main antioxidants.
7. Eliminating food sensitivities: Removing the food items that one is allergic and is intolerant to, is significant.
8. Nootropic supplements : It has beneficial effect on brain function and helps in eliminating inflammation and protect the brain from further damage.