The quickest way I know to health and well being
My top diet tips
I know we all hate to be told what is good to eat and I’m sure we all know what is good for us and what is not. But what I can honestly say is that diet has had one of the biggest impacts on my mental and physical state.
Eating healthy has enabled me to stay more focused and in control of all my emotions. Some great tips were mentioned previously in the book “Emotional Mastery For Adults with Asperger’s” but I thought I would follow up with some diet and supplement tips that I use to keep optimal.
Super greens and the alkaline diet
There is growing evidence of how an alkaline diet helps us be more happy and allows our body to operate in a more optimal way. This involves eating more green alkaline plant-like foods as opposed to the acid foods that the modern diet consists of (french fries, fried food, meat and snacks).
The best way to ensure an alkaline diet is to eat more green foods, but with the modern diet, this is not always possible. What I do to supplement my diet is to take one of the many green super foods into my diet. Although there are many others, here is a link to one of the supplements I use http://aspergerstestsite.com/supergreens.
Omega 3
Omega 3 is one of the supplements we can take to enhance clarity in our minds. It also helps to reduce the effects of depression that many on the spectrum suffer from.
There are many kinds of Omega 3; it can be found in high quantities in fish oil or in flax seed oil. I have experimented with a few different kinds, including fish oil supplements, Udo’s Choice (https://www.aspergerstestsite.com/Udos) and, in particular, Krill oil https://www.aspergerstestsite.com/krill. The thing I like about krill oil is that it is more readily absorbed by the body than fish oil. Udo’s Choice can be a good choice if one is vegetarian, although it becomes less effective if the body is regularly introducing caffeine into the system.
One thing one needs to bear in mind is the source of the fish or krill oil, because the oceans have become increasingly toxic and, in particular, the Pacific is becoming highly radioactive following the Fukushima radioactive disaster. I try to avoid all fish products from the Pacific. I believe it’s only a matter of time before the serious health impacts of this disaster are known.
Know your blood type
All of our bodies are different and have different needs when it comes to nutrition. I am a big fan of dieting by blood type. I know my body needs to eat meat but that is not the same for everyone. When I don’t eat meat and, in particular, red meat I tend to get quite pale and have low energy levels.
I would advise everyone to find out what blood type you are and structure your diet around that. You can find out more about the diet that is most fitting for your blood type at http://www.dadamo.com/.
Avoid toxic food sources
Many say genetically modified food is responsible for increases in Autism and I personally think there is a lot of truth in this. However, the impact of toxins in our diet is huge, leading to many problems that we cannot immediately see. I know we don’t always have the choice financially to eat organic foods but if you try it for a month you will notice a big difference in your moods.
Avoid comfort foods
Now I know this is going to make a few people unhappy. We all like to eat comfort food, but very often this leads us to being in a bad mood in the long run. Sugar and acid foods give us a temporary good feeling but then leave us feeling worse than we did before. If you have not seen the movie “Super Size Me”, I recommend watching it. The full version can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GA8LnPg4ZA.
Ok thats my top tips for today, I would love to know if you have any of your own that you want to share. As ever please leave a comment below.
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I am having a hard time getting a diagnosis from a licensed practitioner. After 15 years of therapy for anxiety, fear, and sadness, I’ve been told I have PTSD and maybe ADD. My experience tells me It’s Aspergers. My My practicum supervisor from grad school said I was the poster child for it, 2 mental health workers who are friends said they’ve known it for years, and my children diagnosed me trying to help. My daughter expresses frustration with my strange communication. After 4 expensive visits to a psychologist 50 miles away, he still can’t decide. He said it might be something else, but he hasn’t explored enough to make a diagnosis for anything. I think he has a resistance to looking based on his orientation, which I suspect leans towards Psychoanalysis. He asked me to read a book on neurotic styles. I can’t relate to it at all. My former boss said she had to be patient and make adjustments to work with me, because she knew I was different, but I was worth it as I turned out to be her best investigator. I can catch my literal understanding after some feedback mixed with some shaming. I stay anxious and embarrassed a lot. What what what? Can I do to help myself?
Yes I hear that more and more about professionals being unwilling to provide a proper diagnosis. One thing I could suggest would be to contact support groups in your area
I had the same issue last year. I contacted 3 professionals, all of whom said it was “out of the ordinary” to diagnose adults. What I eventually had to realize and settle on is the fact that even a proper, official diagnosis will not cure you or absolve you of any of the challenges you face. Staying focused and diligent, and treating the symptoms may, unfortunately, be the best option available for most of us.
Mary, I had similar trouble getting a diagnosis in SC. Don’t know whether you are even in the USA, but the Austism Society was able to put me in touch with a group that was able to test me. The great part is the person they recommended was a part of that group.
I was advised to give up gluten, and I can honestly say that doing so has changed my life! I’ve experienced too many benefits to list here, but the biggest one is NO MORE brain fog. And my mood is definitely more positive. I’ve been avoiding gluten for 3 years, and I feel like a totally different person.
I have been on the periphery of an asperger’s diagnosis for some time. I have been treated for anxiety for most of my life, though several people, including my mother have thought that I might have a tendency towards an autistic spectrum condition. I take an antipsychotic and antidepressant, though I also take dietary supplements. I was interested in the article on here about diet and think I will take up the gluten free and greens high diet. I take vitamins c, d and e for general nutrition and also to guard against adverse effects of the antipsychotic. I also take copper, zinc,calcium, magnesium and iron, the iron in a multivitamin pill which gives me my other basic vitamins. I also take CLA, conjugated linoleic acid, because I have found it helpful for my digestion and potential liver and spleen problems are it seems eased.
I have taken the Autism and Asperger’s test and come out consistently on the borderline of an autistic spectrum condition. Thanks for reading. I can relate quite strongly to people who have problems with everyday social interactions and sensory overload. I like to play music and write poetry. I am a practising Christian and find that my faith helps me a lot.
Also, as far as green foods are concerned I find green tea very helpful. It calms anxiety yet keeps the mind alert. I will take up the omega 3s again and have just taken a couple of capsules. Thanks very much.
I’ve cleaned up my diet (again) recently and wound up noticing that artificial sweeteners leave me feeling depressed and angry. I’m diabetic, so I was a regular consumer of diet this and that. Now that I quit consuming them, I feel much happier. Also, a good idea is to fast periodically. A day without food helps to cleanse the system.
My comfort foods are pizza and chicken pot pies. I’m a snob regarding both, firmly of the belief that one should never eat a mediocre hot fudge sundae. If I had to forgo them, such as if I had celliac, I don’t know what I’d do!
I don’t like surgery foods and avoid over-processed items like white flour, white rice, refined sugars, etc. I don’t do fake food and would rather not consume than to consume diet junk or tofu dressed up as something other than tofu. My biggest dietary problem now is that if I’m too lazy to make dinner, I won’t; lunch is my big meal.
Hi
Please can someone tell me if you have Aspergers is it present from birth or can it develop later in life. I can relate to some of the symptoms but don’t think they have always been present. I have not been diagnosed as don’t know how to start this.
Aspergers symptoms take longer to appear than those of classic autism, usually by 4 or 5 they become noticeable
My parents started noticing differences in me around 3-4 yrs of age. However, they never pursued it as they felt the stigmatism attached to any mental issues. I am just now getting the official diagnosis at almost 60 years old. And yes it is difficult to find a psychologist or psychiatrist to do the testing and give diagnosis. Most I find do not take insurance for it and the price can be $300-$1,000.
Let them diagnose however they want. I feel that having aspergers makes me very in tune with my own self. I’m highly sensitive to sound smells and touch (fabrics or people). I have often found I’m at my worst when my diet is at it’s worst. I have taken a course called dbt, dialectical behavior training and its core skill is Mindfulness. Being mindful of diet as well as triggers. I recommend this class for sufferers AND their support team/loved ones. I finally feel like I’m going to be ok.
This January I started taking a superfood shake everyday. Came from a weight-loss guy on the internet. Couple this drink with exercise, motivation, etc. for weight loss. Started out with recognizing US people have diets that are too acidic. Need to go alkaline to lose weight, etc. Well, maybe if you didn’t eat healthy before… My family has always been on a healthy diet so losing weight is really difficult. But, this drink helps a lot. The superfoods reduce your hunger so you eat less without too much trouble. So if you’d been over-eating this will definitely help. Plus, the vitamins and trace minerals do wonders with mental facilities and positive mood. Take 1 teaspoon each of: spirulina, wheat grass, cocoa powder and mix it into water, or your favorite smoothie ingredients in the morning, and at night. Doesn’t taste bad, but the color… might never get used to that. Still after 4-5 days it was like “boom!” I was at work and it hit me – I actually felt positive about the day, about life, about lots of things. That permanent “sourness” and/or depression- that daily “eh” feeling was gone. Still trying to make other changes – I drink way too much coffee; which adds to the acidic body chemistry – I should give it up, but… You can buy the above ingredients on line or at healthfood stores. My wife and daughter noticed the benefits much sooner than I did, as did friends.
My son had finely tuned taste buds at birth! Somehow he managed to survive on air for a few days in between breastfeeding and finding a suitable cup at just 3 months old. Later, he progressed to chicken nuggets, Heinz spaghetti products, and endless Thomas the Tank Engine videos. This from someone born to a woman who prides herself on home cooking and a good knowledge of nutrition and who already had a daughter enjoying ‘real food’ from an early age. His teen years were dominated by a constant rotation of pizza (homemade), burgers and nuggets (sometimes homemade as they are fiddly to make). Now at age 22 has survived college and then university having made the transition to real food under pressure possibly by his mates. He now positvely laps up homemade cottage pie. There was a wonderful moment a couple of years ago when I realised we were both eating the same type of a food – a healthy chicken salad roll. I was in heaven.