The Podcast about Autism, the Brain, and Infant Formula…
May 9th, 2012
by Sean Croxton
I couldn’t imagine having a child with autism.
Just the thought of it gives me a bit of anxiety — the unpredictable behavior, the tantrums, the head-banging.
If I had it my way, I’d have two kids — a boy and a girl. But knowing that — according to the latest figures — one in 54 boys is affected by autism, kinda scares the bejesus out of me.
It should scare the heck out of you, too. Because even if autism does not impact you directly right now, you’re not human if the statistics don’t make you wonder what the heck is going on here. Statistics like…
* One in 88 children are diagnosed with autism by age 8.
* The rate of autism increased 23% between the years 2006 and 2008. (I wonder what the 2012 numbers are!)
* Autism has increased 1000% in the past 40 years.
To give you more understanding as to the magnitude of this issue, the rate of obesity has increased 300% in the past 30 years. Again, autism is up 1000% in the past 40.
We have an epidemic on our hands, folks.
Unfortunately, although the rapid proliferation of autism may very well be one of the most pressing health issues of our time, the national conversation has taken on the tone of a whisper rather than the bullhorn it deserves.
Maybe this has to do with the fact that there is no poster child for autism, as last Thursday’s UW Radio guest Dr. Cate Shanahan suggests.
Then again, it could have to do with the fact that it is such a frustrating and emotionally charged issue — for both parents and researchers — that any discourse on the subject leads to very little progress, just bickering and ad hominem attacks, as exemplified by the vitriolic emails I receive in my inbox EVERY SINGLE TIME I do a show on the topic.
I don’t have the answers on autism. I admittedly haven’t spent a ton of time studying it. All I do is interview those who do — those selfless individuals who spend their free time scouring the research in hopes of uncovering another critical piece of what seems like a very large puzzle. The ones who have the courage to share their findings with the 30,000 people who listen to my show.
But since it seems like sooooooo many people want to know, my take on autism is this…
I really have no idea what the heck causes autism. If I did, I promise you’d be the first to know. What I do know is that at no point in the history of the world have people eaten such shit (pardon my French) and experienced such shitty health, while at the same time expecting to produce healthy offspring.
Can you tell how much this bothers me? If you want to know how I really feel, read the Mindless Procreation blogs I posted last year.
Before now, when has a pregnant woman eaten low-fat processed food throughout her entire pregnancy and expected to make up for her nutritional shortcomings with her prenatal vitamin?
When has a man expected to make a healthy baby out of his sugar-drunk sperm?
And when the eff did it become acceptable to build a baby’s BRAIN with infant formula made out of hydrolyzed soy protein (which contains neurotoxic MSG), vegetable oils (half of which are toxic trans fats), and corn syrup solids?
Like the rappers say, “What part of the game is this?”
As adults get sicker due to their increasing state of malnourishment, children seem to get more autistic.
No, I’m not suggesting any causal relationship between autism and the fact that our dietary guidelines — and actual real-life diets for 90% of the country — lack the nutrients to build a healthy newborn brain. Nope, not me. That would be, uh, quackery.
These are just my observations. No science. Just my thoughts.
If you want science, listen to people to like Dr. Shanahan, who on this episode discusses matters of autism including…
* How MRI technology is finding that the gray and white matter in the brains of autistic children differs from that of normally developing children.
* How excess white matter and insufficient gray matter in the autistic brain may be the cause of sensory overload often experienced by autistic kids.
* What diffusion tensor imaging has found regarding faulty connections in the autistic brain.
* How the raw ingredients for proper development of the gray and white matter are often missing from the adult and infant diet. No bricks. No brick house.
* The startling research showing that regressive autism occurs TWELVE times more often in formula-fed infants whose formula has insufficient long-chain fatty acids for brain building, as compared to breastfed infants.
* Dr. Cate’s interesting take on the gluten-free, casein-free diet.
* A hidden source of aluminum commonly found in the infant diet.
Click the PLAY button below to listen to the show in its entirety. Or watch the video clip for a teaser.
Thanks for putting up with my foul language!
Out.
Sean
One Lucky Similac Baby
by Sean Croxton
