20. 3 Reasons Why Nutrient Deficiencies are Common in Autism
Do you suspect that your child’s limited diet is leaving them lacking in specific nutrients? Nutrient deficiencies are extremely common in children and adults with autism, but that does not mean that this statement deserves a one size fits all approach.
Join Brittyn as she digs deeper into the top 3 reasons your child could be suffering from a nutrient deficiency and how to fix them!
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IN THIS EPISODE
How the MTHFR gene could be affecting your child’s ability to absorb nutrients
Why gut health impacts deficiencies
Which nutrient deficiencies are most common in children with autism
LINKS
Join the Autism Nutrition Library
Follow @AutismDietitian on Instagram
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to the Nourishing Autism Podcast where you take a deep dive into the research on autism and dietary changes, nutrition supplements, and lifestyle modifications. Every week, we break down nutrition topics and an easy-to-understand way for you to feel less overwhelmed and feel confident on your nutrition journey with autism.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Nourishing Autism Podcast. I'm your host Brittyn Coleman, the autism dietitian, and I'm excited to talk about nutrient deficiencies in autism today. It's a really interesting topic and there are a few different reasons as to why individuals on the autism spectrum may be more prone to nutrient deficiencies.
The first, and most common reason, the reason why most people think that we have nutrient deficiencies is that we're not eating enough nutrients, make sense. So if we have a very limited diet, And we're not getting a wide variety of foods in the diet. It seems very reasonable that we would not be getting the nutrients that we need. If you think about it, it is easier to get the nutrients that you need from 20 different foods than it is from three different foods. If you're only eating three different foods, every single day, you are limited in the number of nutrients and the variety of nutrients that you have access to.
You only get access to those nutrients. Now, if you're eating 20 different foods, you have such a wider variety of different nutrients, different vitamins and minerals, and the possibility of fiber in your diverse diet. And we have talked about this a lot on this podcast before, but individuals with autism are more likely to have sensory processing disorder since sensory processing difficulties, which can cause picky eating and make it very difficult to expand their diet.
If you do have a child with a limited diet, I highly encourage you to check out some of my previous episodes that talk about picky, eating and autism and different approaches that are more likely to be successful because a lot of the traditional picky eating approaches are not successful. So I have a, an episode specifically on that, that I think that you would really love.
So the first reason for nutrient deficiencies is simply that we are not eating enough of the nutrients that our body requires. Number two is that we may not be absorbing the nutrients that our body requires. So you could technically be eating all of the nutrients that you need, but if your gut is not in a good place to absorb those nutrients, or you have something blocking absorption, like some underlying gut issues, maybe you have chronic diarrhea that causes you to lose those nutrients very quickly. Maybe you have an imbalance of bacteria or you have a yeast overgrowth, or maybe you're not breaking down your food very well so you can't absorb those nutrients. There are a wide variety of reasons why you just may not be absorbing those nutrients.
Now, if you have a child who has gut issues on top of also having a limited diet then you have a double whammy where we're not absorbing the nutrients that they are getting in, even though those nutrients are very limited. So it's so important to look into gut health, no matter who you are, whether you're on the spectrum or not. Gut health is so foundational to our overall body health, our mental health. There's so much there. And there's something called the gut brain connection, which is, you know, if you have a healthy gut and healthy balance of the bacteria in your gut, you can also have a healthy brain and vice versa. When I say healthy brain, I mean, a reduction in anxiety or mental health issues. It's really incredible the link between the gut and the brain. And if we're not absorbing all the nutrients that we. Get inside of our gut. Well, it makes sense that we'd end up with some nutrient deficiencies as well.
So, not only do you need to be looking at the nutrients that your child takes in on a daily basis, but you also need to be thinking about their gut. What is going on in their gut? Do we have a healthy diet to support healthy bacteria in the gut? Because what can happen if over time you're consistently eating a diet that has low fiber and low nutrients you're not having a diet to support the growth of the good bacteria. So then it becomes this cycle where you're not eating the nutrients that you need, that can't even feed the gut bacteria or your gut health in order to absorb those nutrients really well. And then you continually have this cycle. So it's really important to look into absorption in the gut too if your child is diagnosed with a nutrient deficiency.
The third reason for nutrient deficiencies is that your body is not activating those nutrients in order to be absorbed. What I mean by this? There's a few different things.
Let's start with B12, just to give you an example. So B12 has to be activated by your stomach acid and something called intrinsic factor. Now, if you have low stomach acid or you don't have enough intrinsic factor, your body cannot activate that B12 in order for it to be absorbed later in your intestine. This is in fact why a lot of people who are older have to have B12 shots because as you age or you know, stress, there are many different things that can cause a reduction in your stomach acid, but aging is one of those things where it naturally decreases your stomach acid. If you are older and you have a lower stomach acid you need to bypass your digestion because you don't have the stomach acid, you need an order to activate that B12. So you ended up having to get a B12 shot, which bypasses your digestion.
So this can happen in anybody. I've worked with kids who have low stomach acid and have a hard time activating certain nutrients. B12 is the biggest one to be worrying about there. But there's also other factors in which your body activates nutrients, which isn't just your digestion or your stomach acid. In fact, we have many genetic mutations that can impact the way that you absorb and activate different nutrients. So for example vitamin D, vitamin D needs to be activated by some of your genes. And if you have a genetic mutation in one of these genes that doesn't activate vitamin D well, then you can't absorb it as well as you would need, so this can run in families. So if you notice that your family chronically has low vitamin D even after getting outside or taking a supplement, this could be a reason why there could be a genetic predisposition to not activating that nutrient well. And this is not just vitamin D. There are other nutrients that are involved here like folate is a great example. There is a genetic mutation called the M T H F R gene and the MTHFR gene can influence your body's ability to activate folic acid and turn it into the form that your body needs in order to use it, which is this form of folate called methyl folate. Same with B12. So if you have a genetic mutation, especially one of the MTHFR genes, then you may not be able to activate that folate or other , nutrient called methylating, in order for your body to use it in the form that it needs. So, this is a really complex topic. Methylation is a really complex topic, but just in a few words, this is what that means. So if you did have a mutation on the MTHFR gene, what that would mean is that you should take a form of full late instead of folic acid you take it in the form of methyl folate, so that it's all ready, activated.
In the supplemental form there are many supplements that are already activated, like this methyl folate, like methyl B12, where it's already activated. Choosing vitamin D 3 instead of vitamin D 2. So there are many ways that you can help your body absorb those nutrients better. If you do have some kind of predisposition to not activate those nutrients very well.
If you want to learn more about this complex topic of the MTHFR gene, we do have an entire note inside the autism nutrition library, all about MTHFR, what to consider, the supplements that may be helpful what to think about from a diet perspective, which is the most important piece of MTHFR is getting your diet in a great place. We have all of that information and more inside of the autism nutrition library. We do see that there is an increase in the MTHFR mutation in individuals on the autism spectrum. So it's definitely something to look into and potentially test for and rule out.
So if this resonates with you, definitely look into that and ask your doctor about possible MTHFR testing. And then consider all three of these different reasons why your child could be deficient in certain nutrients. If your child already has a limited diet, it could be worth testing these different nutrients, taking a food journal and seeing which nutrients that they're more likely to be deficient in, and doing that testing alongside your pediatrician or a functional medicine pediatrician or dietitian to support you on that journey and help you make those individualized recommendations on how your child is going to thrive.
Because the nutrients that they may be lacking, another child on the spectrum may not be lacking and vice versa. Everybody is so individualized that it's important to treat everybody as their own individual and not just lump under the autism spectrum, that individuals are deficient in these nutrients all the time, because that's not necessarily true. There may be nutrients that they're more likely to be deficient in, but it doesn't mean that every single person will.
It really depends on their diet, their digestion, their absorption, their genetics. There's so many different factors that impact this so I definitely recommend that you look into this with your healthcare provider to support you and guide you on this journey.
Well, I could talk a lot longer all about nutrient deficiencies. I will definitely have to create another episode more on the common nutrient deficiencies that we see in autism that you may look into. But for now you can find that information inside my membership, the Autism Nutrition Library. Thanks so much for joining me on today's episode and I look forward to seeing you next Friday!
This podcast is brought to you by the Autism Nutrition Library, a one-stop hub and community for all things autism nutrition created to help you explore evidence-based nutrition approaches that have proved to be effective to help individuals with autism feel their best, do their best, and be their best.
Join now by clicking Autism Nutrition Library or by stopping by my Instagram @AutismDietitian. See you next week.
Transcribed by Descript
ABOUT Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD, CLT
I’m a Registered Dietitian, Autism Nutrition Expert, and the Creator of the Autism Nutrition Library.
I work with parents of children with autism to optimize their child’s diet, supplements, and lifestyle based on their unique needs. I help expand accepted foods for picky eaters, improve digestion and gut health, find the root causes of many symptoms, and ultimately help them feel their best so that they can do their best and be their best.
Not only do I relate to families on a professional level, but also on a personal level. I have been a part of the autism community for over 20 years, as my younger brother was diagnosed on the spectrum at a young age.
I look forward to working with you to uncover the root cause of your child’s symptoms and help your child be the best version of themselves!
