diet – ASF Weekly Science Podcasts

September 22, 2024September 22, 2024

Mysteries of the Microbiome

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In the first of a two-part series on digestive health in ASD, Mia Kotikovski summarizes scientific information about what the complicated microbiome is, how it influences physical and psychiatric health, if it is altered in autism, and what causes it to be different in ASD.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8638778/
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.915701/full
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32968276/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002432052300992X
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6079226/
https://childmind.org/article/autism-and-picky-eating/
https://www.choa.org/medical-services/gastroenterology/feeding-and-swallowing/multidisciplinary-feeding-program
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38242089/

August 21, 2022August 21, 2022

No-one who cooks, cooks alone

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As Guy Fieri said “Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.” This week’s podcast produced by ASF intern Mia Kotikovski from Stony Brook University explores how cooking can be not just fun for autistic individuals, but how it can build healthy habits in everyone. She discusses the scientific literature on why cooking improves eating habits and builds confidence.

June 4, 2017

What treatments are lacking sufficient evidence for autism?

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This week two new publications reported on systematic reviews for nutritional and sensory treatments for ASD. This means the existing research was sorted, summarized, scrutinized and evaluated. They found insufficient evidence to show any dietary or nutritional therapy was effective, but sufficient evidence that sensory integration therapy helps people with ASD. In light of new data on heavy metals found in baby teeth, it’s important to remember that chelation is NOT effective and dangerous. While “insufficient evidence” does not rule out these interventions forever and always, lots more needs to be done in these areas to conduct rigorous experiments that don’t have any major shortcomings so they hold up to scrutiny.