Find a Specific Carbohydrate Diet Support Group Near You

Local support groups for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) are popping  up. Check the following link to find one in your area, or start one in your area: https://www.scders.com/scd-support.html

The SCD has been helpful for many with Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac Disease, autism, ADHD, autoimmune diseases.

2012 and Interesting Article on Gut Flora and Rheumatoid Arthritis

One of my favorite 2011 photos, my son and my mom

I did not mean to take an unintentional blog hiatus. I was accidentally glutened at Thanksgiving. It was only slight, somehow I ingested a crumb. I only hurt for a couple of days but was a little off and brain foggy. I think it would have passed quickly but it was the holidays.... If I had stayed away from sweets I would have been fine. It was not the time for "just a little won't hurt thinking". Our dry windy winter weather had me in and out of a couple of sinus infections that had me dragging. Then I had a nasty bout with food poisoning. When the day of body aches went away I woke up feeling so clear headed, something I had not felt in a couple of months. The next day I got up and felt draggy again, dreading that the sinus infection had returned and feeling a bit defeated. When I stepped outside the sky was an orange grey hazy color. So I was happy to know it wasn't just me, I was responding like everyone else to the lovely dust bowl that blew in... I'm ready for Spring. Usually I do a post at the beginning of each year looking behind and looking ahead. This one is a little late, but better late than never.

I am hoping to do a few interview posts this year. There are more and more grain-free cookbook authors and SCD stories coming out, it's nice to get to know the people behind them. My husband and I own a small business, which is slow and struggling at the moment. I thought I could take advantage of the slow time and I am attempting to put my own research down into a book. It's so daunting, we'll see how far I get. If I don't get a book done, at least I'll have some great stuff to post here, so either way it's a win-win. Since I will be spending more time researching, I hope to come across more articles to pass on to you. On today's hunt, when I googled "THE GUT AND RHEUMATIC DISEASES" a whole mess of interesting stuff came up including this one, The Microbiome and rheumatoid arthritis. I haven't had time to muddle through all of it, but I was glad to see they making more connections with RA and gut flora. There is a connection with maternal RA and autism and now both are starting to show abnormal gut flora. Maybe this will move us more in the right direction than just blaming genes.

To ring in the New Year (a bit late I know) here's a photo of a bulletin board project I did in 2011:

Dr. Ayers on Jimmy Moore's Low Carb Show

Jimmy Moore did an interview with one of my favorite non-foodie bloggers, Dr. Art Ayers' of Cooling Inflammation. His Anti-Inflammatory Diet recommendations are very similar to the SCD. When we first started the SCD diet I thought of it as temporary, until we were healed. After more research I now think it has it's advantages even in the absence of GI issues. Dr. Ayers blog has been full of information on the role of dietary inflammation on gut flora. In his interview with Jimmy Moore here, he discusses the role of starches and antibiotics on gut flora in allergies, autoimmunity, and constipation, and much more. The interview is 39 minutes into the podcast.

Gut Flora, Nutrition, and Immunity

He's a fascinating article on the importance of gut flora: Human nutrition, the gut microbiome and the immune system. I saw a link to this gem on Paul Whiteley's blog Feed Me Research. It's been said they you can't fully discuss nutrition without the role of the gut flora. This article discusses some of the nuts and bolts of this, and for the most part it is easy to follow for us laypersons. The article makes several points worth mentioning:

"During the past 30 or so years, the North American diet has also shifted in terms of the relative contributions of different foods to total energy intake. Since 1970, two dietary 'epochs' can be distinguished based on the contribution of grains to overall calories (the mean increase in daily carbohydrate intake for men and women during this period was 62.4 g and 67.7 g, respectively). The consumption of other food items has also changed: Spearman's rank correlations between food availability and time, followed by adjustments of P values to reflect false discovery rates, show that the representation of 177 out of 214 items tracked by the USDA has increased or decreased significantly in US diets since 1970. For example, Americans now eat less beef and more chicken, and corn-derived sweeteners have increased at the expense of cane and beet sugars. Furthermore, methods of food modification and preparation have changed."

I find this interesting because chronic autoimmune and digestive diseases are on the rise. As a SCD'er I can't help but wonder if the drastic uptake of grains and sugar are a factor. A fun look at this change can be seen by Tom Naughton here and here.

"The intestinal microbiota can synthesize several vitamins involved in myriad aspects of microbial and host metabolism, including cobalamin (vitamin B12), pyridoxal phosphate (the active form of vitamin B6), which is involved in several enzymatic interconversions in amino-acid metabolism, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), niacin (vitamin B3), biotin, tetrahydrofolate and vitamin K. In addition to vitamin B12, gut microbes produce a range of related molecules (corrinoids) with altered 'lower ligands', including analogues such as methyladenine and p-cresol. More than 80% of non-absorbed dietary vitamin B12 is converted to these alternative corrinoids. There is preliminary evidence to suggest that syntrophic relationships among members of the human microbiota, and the fitness of some taxa, may be based on the ability to generate, use or further transform various corrinoids."

I found this one interesting because those of us with gi issues also tend to be lacking in these vitamins. Vitamin B6 has also been found to help in autism, again pointing to a possible gut issue. As well as anemia in both populations:

"Likewise, iron is an essential micronutrient for bacteria. Given the low solubility of Fe3+, microbes have evolved the capacity to produce several high-affinity iron-binding siderophores. Microbes take up soluble Fe3+–siderophore complexes by several active transporters. Early studies in gnotobiotic animals showed a link between the gut microbiota and the development of iron deficiency. Germ-free but not conventionally raised rats become anaemic when fed a low-iron diet. The germ-free rats also show increased loss of iron in their faeces compared with their conventionally raised counterparts54. The iron balance that exists between host and microbiota is disturbed in a mouse model of Crohn's disease in which tumour-necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expression is dysregulated: oral (but not parenteral) iron supplementation in these animals causes a shift in the gut microbial community composition, as defined by 16S ribosomal-RNA-based surveys, and exacerbates their ileitis."

This article also discusses the role of gut flora in obesity and diabetes. I was curious about which type of fat they used in this study reference: "Mice fed a high-fat diet have increased serum levels of lipopolysaccharide".
It turns out the researchers used corn and lard for the 72 percent fat diet for the mice. (I suspect a lot of corn and corn oil in the modern diet may not be a good thing).

When the Belly is the Beast-The Gottschall Autism Center Conference

The Gottschall Autism Center is having their second annual "When the Belly is the Beast" conference on Friday, April 1, 2011. What caught my eye was Dr. Allessio Fasano will be speaking on "Gluten, Leaky Gut, and the Autism Spectrum Disorder: How to Connect the Dots". Dr. Fasano has done some really fascinating research on the role of intestinal permeability "leaky gut" and autoimmunity. I was excited to see another researcher of this caliber looking into the autism and gut connection.  Dr. Martha Herbert, a pediatric neurologist from Harvard will also be speaking. Oh to be a fly on the wall at this conference....way too cool!

Here is a nibble of Dr. Fasano's research:

Physiological, pathological, and therapeutic implications of zonulin-mediated intestinal barrier modulation: living life on the edge of the wall. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2570116

Tight Junctions, Intestinal Permeability, and Autoimmunity Celiac Disease and Type 1 Diabetes Paradigms www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2886850

Zonulin and its regulation of intestinal barrier function: the biological door to inflammation, autoimmunity, and cancer. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21248165

Gliadin, zonulin and gut permeability: Effects on celiac and non-celiac intestinal mucosa and intestinal cell lines. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16635908

Gliadin induces an increase in intestinal permeability and zonulin release by binding to the chemokine receptor CXCR3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2653457/?tool=pubmed

Bakers Yeast Allergy (ASCA): Lesser Known but Just as Nasty

It's Curious Role In Crohn's, Behcet's, Celiacs and Autoimmunity

As with all of my posts, if you want to get right to the research and skip my babble, just scroll down. I am not a doctor, I draw stuff for a living. This blog is my interpretation of the research. Please research these things on behalf of your health that of your loved ones, and discuss them with your doctor or nutritionist.


It seems as though Gluten and Casein are getting alot of attention these days. This is great news. Many folks have been suffering months, years, decades with mysterious afflictions only to find out it was something they ate. There are many reports that children with Autism and ADHD seem to have trouble with at least one of these. Both of these have also been known to be genetic in some families, but not always.

For years the traditional medical community has strictly considered "allergies" to consist of hives, redness, swelling of the face or throat, and involve something called IgE antibodies produced by the immune system. Allergists would usually use skin prick tests to find these allergens. Researchers, however, would sometimes wind up scratching their heads (no pun intended). Some foods, or other items, where clearly causing a negative reaction in some people, but they were not able to get a response to a skin scratch test. They knew something else was going on. We now know that IgG antibodies were probably involved. They are an immune response with a different type of antibody, and tend to can cause more internal grief that can sometimes take a few days to develop, making them difficult to track down, or even suspect. IgG responses can cause a runny nose, chronic inflammation, migraine headaches, reflux, joint and muscular pain, digestive problems, canker sores, behavior problems, and the list goes on.... and you can develop IgG allergens to almost anything. They cannot be detected on a typical skin scratch test, but IgG's to food can be detected with a very simple blood test called an ELISA IgG Food Panel. One vial of blood can be run against 80 to 120 foods, depending on which labratory is used.

In 2007 Austrian researchers studying metastic renal cell carcinoma, a.k.a.kidney cancer, wanted to see if any cereal grains may be causing problems for these patients. They did an ELISA IgG Food panel for 113 foods and found one ingredient that stood out from the rest, and it wasn't a grain at all. Those with anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannan antibodies (ASCA), a.k.a. bakers yeast allergy, had their median survival rate cut in more than half. The study concluded that ASCA alone was a source of "immune deviation and impaired immunosurveillance in predisposed RCC patients".

Although it does not have the notoriety of casein and gluten, bakers yeast allergy, known as anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannan antibodies (ASCA), justly deserves a spotlight all it's own. In 1999 the commercial test for IgG ASCA became available. Since then researchers have been finding it in lots of places, especially in autoimmunity, and it's not always an innocent bystander. ASCA can be especially destructive in the GI tract. Just as a banana allergy can cross react and cause an allergy to latex, ASCA can cross react and make an individual allergic to yeast found in their own intestinal flora. ASCA appears to be one of the markers for Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease. While not all Crohn's patients have ASCA, studies have found up to 65 to 80 percent of them do. What's more, numerous studies have found that early age of onset plus having ASCA makes a patient at high risk for a severe course of the disease and a high chance of surgery. A 2003 study from John Hopkins School of Medicine, found that "ASCA titer was significantly associated with stricturing and penetrating CD".

ASCA has also been showing up in other bowel disorders as well, including Ulcerative Colitis and Celiac's Disease. Many researchers have come to the conclusion that anytime blood work reveals ASCA,and the patient has any gi tract issues, further testing for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, needs to be done.

Behcet's disease, an autoimmune disorder with chronic canker sores, vasculitis, and sometimes gi tract involvement, also tends to have ASCA. Another condition also plagued by canker sores is called Reccurent Aphthous Stomatis (RAS). Unlike Behcet's and Crohn's patients, RAS folks typically have canker sores and usually no gi involvement. Researchers, looking for a way to distinguish between Behcet's and RAS looked into ASCA, but found it in both. What's interesting is that Crohn's and Celiac's patients can be prone to canker sores and throat ulcers as well. Anyone plagued by frequent canker sores may want to consider the possibility of a bakers yeast allergy (or just get an ELISA IgG Food Panel to find any other food culprits).

ASCA is also showing up in other areas, although it's role may not be as clear: cystic fibrosis, acute myocardial infarction, autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, ankylosing spondylitis, infertility. It can also show up temporarily during a bacterial or viral infection in healthy individuals.

There are different ways folks can acquire a bakers yeast allergy. In Celiacs disease it seems to go hand in hand with the amount of intestinal damage one has acquired, and it seems to lessen on a gluten-free diet. A Finnish study noted "that serum levels of ASCA correlated with the grade of mucosal morphology, as the ASCA serum levels declined in accordance with mucosal healing". Researchers have also found that infections from another strain of yeast, Candida albincans, can also cause ASCA, perhaps due to cross reaction. Candida is normally present in a healthy gi tract in small amounts, but can become pathogenic when given the opportunity. Modern day diet and medications have contributed to thriving Candida. The healthy bacteria in our intestines keep the Candida in check, but when antibiotics kill off these bacteria, there is nothing to stand in the way. Combine that with the modern high sugar and processed diet (a buffet for yeasts) and liken it to feeding stray cats...they multiply and poop all over your flower beds.

ASCA can also be inherited, much like a gluten allergy is inherited in Celiacs. There appears to be a genetic predispostion in Crohn's and Behcet's disease. There have been several studies finding ASCA in healthy relatives of these patients. What's more, the genetic mechanism that may be responsible is something called Mannan Binding Lectin (MBL) deficiency. Mannan Binding Lectins are a part of the Innate Immune System. They look similar to bouquets of tulips. The tulip portion is designed to latch on to the carbohydrate surface of yeasts and certain bacteria. Once latched on they can sweep the particle away or call out to other components of the immune sytem to help with disposal. Roughly 55 percent, or so, of the population has adequate MBL, about 40 percent of so are lower on MBL and roughly 5-10 percent are deficient. When an individual is low, another part of the immune system steps in to take up the slack, and it's usually antibodies that do this. And if I understand correctly (again, I just draw stuff for a living) this may also put one at a higher risk for autoimmunity. MBL sweeps the particles away, where as an antibody may just charge on the spot, also attacking the tissue (again, I might not be getting the correct jist, just my interpretation). MBL deficiency is found in Crohn'patients and their healthy relatives. Swiss researchers concluded "enhanced mannan exposure stimulates specific immune responses in a subgroup of CD patients with genetically determined low MBL concentrations. This enhanced exposure contributes to the generation of ASCA."
Low MBL is also found in Lupus, otitis media, and a slew of other health issues. (I will devote a future post to MBL's).

Research points to avoidance of Bakers Yeast as a good thing to do for those with ASCA's. But as with most food allergies, you may have to read between the lines to find out where it's hidden. First of all it's in most yeast breads. Sourdough breads, however, can have different strains of yeast, which some folks with ACSA can tolerate and some cannot. Bakers yeast also tends to show up in crackers and many other "flat" baked goods ( I found this list). Many broths, gravy and sauce mixes, marinades, frozen dinners, etc will also have yeast extract as an ingredient, this has been shown to cross react with ASCA's. There is also another source of bakers yeast that, surprisingly enough, even some doctors are not aware of: the hepatitis B vaccine given to newborns, and at six weeks of age and again at six months. The two brands of hep B vaccines used are Merck "RECOMBIVAX HB"! and the GlaxoSmithKline "ENGERIX-B" While it is not my intent to discuss vaccines, from a food allergy stand point it does raise some cause for concern, as ASCA seems to play a curious role in autoimmunity. There has also been some interesting research on untreated Celiacs and a non-response to this vaccine. Here's an interesting article link atCeliac.com I have a few links at the end pertaining to the Heb B virus.

Sometimes just avoiding Bakers Yeast is not enough and one can have problems with many yeasts. Avoiding sugars that feed intestinal yeasts and avoiding fermented foods that harbor other strains of yeast might be required. This is often known as a Yeast-Free diet. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is highly recommended for rebalance of intestinal flora.

Research:

Serum antibodies against Saccharomyces cerevisiae : a new prognostic indicator in metastatic renal-cell carcinoma

Antibodies to Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Crohn's disease: Higher titers are associated with a greater frequency of mutant NOD2/CARD15 alleles and with a higher probability of complicated disease

IBD serological panels: Facts and perspectives


Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in patients with Crohn's disease

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody (ASCA) positivity is associated with increased risk for early surgery in Crohn's disease.

Serologic testing with ANCA, ASCA, and anti-OmpC in children and young adults with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis: diagnostic value and correlation with disease phenotype.

Diagnostic role and clinical correlates of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (p-ANCA) in Italian patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies, and specific IgE to food allergens in children with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in inflammatory bowel disease: a family study.

Clinical significance of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody (ASCA) in Korean patients with Crohn's disease and its relationship to the disease clinical course.

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies status is associated with oral involvement and disease severity in Crohn disease.

Predictive value of serologic markers in a population-based Norwegian cohort with inflammatory bowel disease.

Familial expression of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannan antibodies in affected and unaffected relatives of patients with Crohn's disease.

Seroreactivity against Saccharomyces cerevisiae in patients with Crohn's disease and celiac disease

Diagnostic value of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies for inflammatory bowel disease: high prevalence in patients with celiac disease.

Elevated serum anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae, anti-I2 and anti-OmpW antibody levels in patients with suspicion of celiac disease.

Serological responses to microbial antigens in celiac disease patients during a gluten-free diet.

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in coeliac disease.

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in Behçet's disease--a familial study.

Comparison of Behcet's Disease and Recurrent Aphthous Ulcer According to Characteristics of Gastrointestinal Symptoms

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies - A novel serologic
marker for Behçet’s disease

Frequency of ASCA seropositivity in children with cystic fibrosis.

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in acute myocardial infarction.

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae IgA antibodies are raised in ankylosing spondylitis and undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy

Yeast Antibodies Predict More Severe AS

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae as unusual antibodies in autoimmune hepatitis.

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis.

Autoantibodies and prediction of reproductive failure.

Autoantibodies in nonautoimmune individuals during infections

ASCA: genetic marker, predictor of disease, or marker of a response to an environmental antigen?

Candida albicans is an immunogen for anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody markers of Crohn's disease.

Colonization of mice by Candida albicans is promoted by chemically induced colitis and augments inflammatory responses through galectin-3.

Candida albicans is an immunogen for anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody markers of Crohn's disease.

Microbial mannan inhibits bacterial killing by macrophages: a possible pathogenic mechanism for Crohn's disease.

Pathogenic agents in inflammatory bowel diseases.

The dyspeptic macrophage 30 years later: an update in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease

Association of Deficiency for Mannan-binding Lectin with Antimannan
Antibodies in Crohn’s Disease: A Family Study

Food-induced immune responses as origin of bowel disease?

Serum mannose-binding lectin levels are decreased in behcet's disease and associated with disease severity.

Association of HYPA haplotype in the mannose-binding lectin gene-2 with Behçet's disease

Association of mannose-binding lectin gene variation with disease severity and infections in a population-based cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Genetic variants of the mannan-binding lectin are associated with immune reactivity to mannans in Crohn's disease.

Mannose-binding lectin deficiency is associated with early onset of polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: a cohort study

Concurrent HLA-related response factors mediate recombinant hepatitis B vaccine major adverse events.

The development of rheumatoid arthritis after recombinant hepatitis B vaccination.

Humoral response to recombinant hepatitis B virus vaccine at birth: role of HLA and beyond

Chapter 2: Pretty little bows...all in a row. Christmas 2007 and Omega-3

As with all of my posts, if you want to get right to the research and skip my babble, just scroll down. I am not a doctor, I draw stuff for a living. This blog is my interpretation of the research. Please research these things on behalf of your health that of your loved ones, and discuss them with your doctor or nutritionist.

When we brought up the idea of trying Omega-3 with our pediatrician he seemed interested. Although he was not familiar with the research with learning disabilities, he had read much about Omega-3 and it's role in many other health conditions. His reply was that it might, at least, be beneficial from a health standpoint even if it did not help with the ASD or speech. We received an ok for Omega-3 and a referral to ECI services to get our child, "G", evaluated, but he was not sure where to go from there. We really didn't know either.

I wondered if Omega-3 might be benificial for me as well, I had suffered mysterious autoimmune issues most of my life. It was worth a try. So on November 1, 2007 we purchased some Omega-3 fish oil capsules from Sam's. I would put 1/2 of a 1000 mg capsule in his sippy cup with is juice (by all means, get a dosage from your doctor if trying this for your child). By the end of the week G's dull, dry hair began to have a gloss to it...mine was still a dull frise. By week two his nails were less brittle and the rough dry skin on his back was gone...my face was still a flaky mess. By week three his babbling had turned from a robotic "Da, lk tk ga la" to a normal babbling sound. He had begun saying "Uh-oh". He began to drink from a straw, showed more interest in playing with his toys and we could swear his eye contact was getting better. His day caretaker thought she noticed it too. Soon he could say tee-tee and doo-doo and was excited to tattle on our chihuahua every chance he could. His temper tantums were drastically reduced in quantity and length. Tantrums could last for hours at a time, now they were 45 min - 1 hour tops. He was also starting to sleep about six hours a night. By Christmas he could be responsive to adults and show a playful side. Strangely, children still seemed mysteriously invisible to him, even when playing near them.

During this time we found out we were pregnant with identical twins (the other one was missed on the first ultrasound and not seen until the second). I was exhausted but hopeful, finding the Omega-3 was helping G. He still had autism but he was noticeably better. It was to be the first in a series of miracles, although we had no idea at the time. We began working on his play skills. I had found several articles on the importance of play for children. Play is how children apply the knowledge they learn, without play the knowledge is not of much use. Helping a special needs child learn to play is vital!!! I remember my brother as a kid, he would sit in the middle of a pile of toys and not play with them. He loved science fiction and had every "Star Wars" toy, but he never really seemed to play. Another unusual thing, he was obviously bright and reading on college level by fourth grade, but it was like he could'nt really do anything with his knowledge. He sat for hours in the middle of his pile of toys, rocking or watching T.V. So I came home from work and played with G every night. Eddie focused on motor skills and speech while I focused on playing with toys. I had found some helpful videos called Teach to Play!, produced by Jenny McCarthy. They gave ideas on how to build play skills and he was responding well.

The week after Christmas we found out we had lost the twins. But that same week something amazing also happened, G began hugging again! We had not had his hugs and goodnight kisses in so long, it was wonderful. I think that's the one thing a mother misses the most, whether your child's hugs are lost to illness, seperation, death, or autism. We spent a whole day on the couch cuddling and watching cartoons. We still do that every chance we get.

By January I had noticed something in myself too, I didn't take nearly as much allergy medicine. I used to depend on it to sleep at night(I did without it during my pregnancies and suffered through the allergies). I also wasn't using up a box of kleenex every couple of days. It had taken a three months but I was starting to get benefits from Omega-3 as well.

Now I was even more fascinated with Omega-3 and continued to find information on it. In what other areas was the deficiency hurting? In what other ways was Omega-3 supplementation helping? I thought of all of the people around me suffering with allergies, inflammation, behavior problems, autoimmune problems and wondered how much could have been prevented? How much money had we spent on allergy medicines and prescriptions? How many times could we have enjoyed our lives more if it were not for these conditions? Our quality of life and our pocket books have both taken a hit! I wondered how the Omega-3 deficient modern diet may affect our pets. If corn fed beef was hurting us, what about dogs, they eat beef too. As it turns out, they are suffering many of the same ailments we are dry skin, allergies, agressive behavior, and inflammatory responses.

One could spend a lifetime researching Omega-3. It appears that if it our diets weren't so defficient in Omega-3 half of the medical and psychiatric communtiy would be unemployed. You can find it tied to just about anything: brain development, aging, dry skin, PMS, and the list goes on. It's role in cancer is still controversial. Some studies point to benefits while others don't, but the research will probably continue for this. If you ever have time on your hands to kill and need entertainment, just Google "Omega-3". What you learn may improve your quality of life.

I found tons of information on the role of Omega-3 supplementation and fish consumption and reduced risk cardiovasculer disease. We've been told to eat a high grain (and thus high omega-6 diet) to prevent heart disease. It seems for some of us, whether we eat a junk diet or "healthy" according to the food pyramid we can wind up with a similar response: Inflammation. I was beginning to think what was taught as a healthy diet was not all it was cracked up to be. If I wanted to take better care of my family I needed to learn more. It all started with a mind blowing chapter in a book on Omega-3, but that's not where it stopped...

Omega-3 fatty acids!

Medline Plus: Omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil, alpha-linolenic acid!

Effects of n-3 fatty acids on autoimmunity and osteoporosis.!

Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases.!

Dietary lipids and risk of autoimmune disease.!

Role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in diet of patients with rheumatic diseases]!

Cod liver oil (n-3 fatty acids) as an non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sparing agent in rheumatoid arthritis!

A meta-analysis of the analgesic effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for inflammatory joint pain.!

The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases.!

Omega-3 Kills Cancer Cells!

Omega-3 Fatty Acids!

Effects of nutrients (in food) on the structure and function of the nervous system: update on dietary requirements for brain. Part 2 : macronutrients.!

Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in children with autism: a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study.!

[Omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatry]!

Omega-3 fatty acid treatment of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.!

Amounts of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Autism!

Correlation between changes in blood fatty acid composition and visual sustained attention performance in children with inattention: effect of dietary n–3 fatty acids containing phospholipids!

EFA supplementation in children with inattention, hyperactivity, and other disruptive behaviors.!

Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Autism and other Neuropsychiatric Disorders!

Roles of unsaturated fatty acids (especially omega-3 fatty acids) in the brain at various ages and during ageing.!

Dietary omega-3 fatty acids for women.!

[Lipids, depression and suicide]!

Dietary supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid, but not with other long-chain n-3 or n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, decreases natural killer cell activity in healthy subjects aged >55 y.!

Omega-3 fatty acids' relationship to canine aggression!

Association of inflammatory markers elevation with aggressive behavior in domestic dogs!

The Effect of Omega -3 Fatty Acids On Canine Atopic Dermatitis!

Dietary fatty acids and cardiovascular disease: an epidemiological approach!

Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids!

Dietary fat and cardiovascular disease risk: quantity or quality?!

Dietary fat consumption and health.!

Omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease.!

n-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease.!

Risk stratification by the "EPA+DHA level" and the "EPA/AA ratio" focus on anti-inflammatory and antiarrhythmogenic effects of long-chain omega-3 fatty acid!

Long-chain n-3 fatty acids and mortality in elderly patients.!

Blood concentrations of individual long-chain n-3 fatty acids and risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction.!

Chapter 1:It all began with a chapter on Omega 3.....

As with all of my posts, if you want to get right to the research and skip my babble, just scroll down. I am not a doctor, I draw stuff for a living. This blog is my interpretation of the research. Please research these things on behalf of your health that of your loved ones, and discuss them with your doctor or nutritionist.

"Honey, get a load of this", I said to my husband, and then read word for word the entire chapter of the book to him. I had read it several times to myself, thinking "Hmmm...is this real? How could that be?". The title of the book was "The Late Talker, What to do if Your Child Isn't Talking Yet" (Agin, Geng & Nicholl). Eddie listened and replied "What the hell, it's worth a try".
We had discussed the possibilities of having an autistic child before we had even become pregnant. My brother, age 40, has autism, and my mother has a touch of it as well. Even though our little fellow had a rough time from one week age with his gi tract, there was clearly no signs or reasons to worry about autism. He loved attention and knew how to get it. He figured out very early that strangers couldn't resist his smiling face. He would "work the room" everytime we went out to eat. He tried to make eye contact with other diners and loved the reactions he got in return. Sometimes people would come over to let us know what he was up to. This started at about five months of age. Speech started at six and a half months, although he seemed to babble almost from the beginning. At eighteen month of age he had about 10 words he could use. When he wanted something he would look at you and say "This". He spent his entire eighteenth month sick with sinus infections and strep throat. It seemed to hit from out of nowhere. He took three prescriptions for antibiotics that month, which produced butt scalding diahhrea. His appetite slowely decreased from there, and so did his sleep scheadule. He could scream all night, and then fall asleep from exhaustion at about 7 a.m. and sleep until 9 a.m. His speech disappeared too. It started with him going into the kitchen, looking towards the fridge and letting out a blood curdling scream, followed by a complete meltdown. We thought the terrible twos had shown up with a vengeance. Meltdowns became a frequent part of our life. But he still enjoyed getting smiles from strangers and crackers, magnets and other objects were played with as though they were cars. There was still no reason to suspect autism.
One year and several prescriptions of antibiotics later, the speech was still not coming back. I had purchased some books on late talking toddlers hoping to find out what we could do to help the process. The book "The Late Talker, What to do if Your Child Isn't Talking Yet" (Agin, Geng & Nicholl) was just what I was looking for. It discussed when you should seek therapy, what kind of testing to expect, etc... very basic stuff. The first thing that got my attention was warning signs they listed for autism: staring at lights, lining up objects, lack of eye contact, any loss of aquired skills, etc. Our child had slowely drifted that direction in the past year. Then it included a chapter that totally blew my mind. It was about something called Omega-3. Scottish researcher, Gordon Bell,! father of an autistic child, had noticed that almost all autistic children had signs of omega-3 deffieciency...dry skin, brittle nails, etc. His study and several others found a noticeable reduction in autistic symptoms when supplemented with EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid. Parents with non-autistic speech delayed children had heard about the study and tried it on their own children. Many of the children began speaking, some within days, others took longer. We decided to discuss this with our doctor at the next visit. In the meantime I delved into online research, trying to understand how this could work. My first stop was wikepedia.com! which I would recommend to everyone to at least read what they have on Omega-3, even if you and your family are healthy. The more I read about Omega-3's and how important they are to our immune systems and how lacking they are in the modern diet, I thought "Holy Crap" everyone needs to know this stuff.

Omega-3's and Omega-6's are called EFA's(Essential Fatty Acids). The "essential" means that we desperately need them AND we are unable to produce them ourselves, so we must get them from our diet. The immune system uses Omega-3's for an anti-inflammatory response and Omega-6 for inflamation. If you cut your finger then your body uses Omega-6 to provide some swelling to stop the bleeding. It uses Omega-3 to keep you from swelling too much. You need the right balance of EFA's in your diet to keep you immune system in balance. Omega-3s are found in some fish, walnuts, flaxseed, some beans, grass fed meat, winter squash and olive oil(small amount). Omega-6's are found in grain oils, especially corn oil. The American diet has made a huge shift from animal based fats to vegetable fats, upping our Omega-6 consumption. At the same time our Omega-3 consumption has drastically dropped. One category has almost been eliminated completly from our dinner plates: grass fed beef.

Here's what happened. Grasses have Omega-3's in them. Cows eat the grass and then we eat the cows, getting a dose of Omega-3 for ourselves. Since the 1940's commercial beef has shifted completely over to feeding the cows a high corn, and thus high Omega-6 diet. And the cows? They are worse for the wear as well. Cows were designed to eat grass, not to be penned into feedlots and stuffed full of corn. Most of the cows would not survive this diet even if they were not made into steaks. The same is true of poultry who are now on high grain diets. We now get lots of Omega-6 from the vegetable oils and meat we eat and almost no Omega-3's. This means we are eating our way into inflamation. Heart disease, auto-immune problems, allergies, ADHD, autism, depression, even common hayfever have all been rising in epedemic proportions since we switched our eating and agricultural habits.

Research and Articles
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Fatty acid tied to depression and inflammation1

Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases!

Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in children with autism: a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study!

Omega-3 fatty acids as treatments for mental illness: which disorder and which fatty acid?!

Allergic sensitisation and allergic rhinitis are associated with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet and in red blood cell membranes.!

Dietary modification of inflammation with lipids!

Omega-3 fatty acids: a comprehensive review of their role in health and disease.!

Functional foods for health: focus on diabetes.!