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Autism, Excitotoxins & Glutamate Hypothesis
20 Dec 2021
Disclaimer
I learnt about the glutamate hypothesis for autism from Dr Peters Rogers' video below. It mentioned Katherine Reid's TED Talk which I found interesting. Her hypothesis is that the glutamate pathway, and excess glutamate in our diet is a significant contributory factor in autism (and other conditions). Turns out that in research papers on brain biochemistry in autism, GABA & Glutamate is mentioned as an important pathway. For example,

Katherine Reid's protocol: See REID Protocol, Nourished Blessings and FaceBook support group.

Personal stories: (2013) Avoiding Monosodium Glutamate: One Family's Story and (2017) How I discovered that some foods were messing with my son's brain.

(10 mins, 2021) Can Autism Be Reversed | Dr Peter Rogers

A fast-paced video by Dr Peter Rogers that mentions Katherine Reid's TED talk.

(16 mins, 2013) Unblind My Mind: What are we eating? Dr Katherine Reid

Katherine Reid is a biochemist who shares her personal story in this TED Talk. She was able to reverse autism in her youngest daughter through adoption of a diet that she calls 'REID Diet' (Reduced Excitatory Inflammatory Diet). In the article About REID Diet, she mentions:

The ideal REID plate: 75% Raw & Cooked Vegetables, 15% Protein and Fats (<10% from animal meats), and 10% fruits and other fiber sources.

Reduce consumption of animal meat. While REID is not a vegan diet, the food lifestyle does stress the importance of avoiding over consumption of animal meat and eliminating dairy. Over consumption of animal protein increases toxins produced from microbial fermentation. Protein fermentation in the gastrointestinal tract contributes to increased inflammation, glutamate and other inflammatory byproducts like increased ammonia, phenols, amines, hydrogen sulfide and increases microbes that thrive on amino acid metabolism like Clostridia. Maintaining proper proportions of food in the diet is nearly just as important as the removal of inflammatory food sources.

(76 mins, 2018) Unblind My Mind - We Are What We Eat | Katherine Reid

A long detailed presentation followed by Q&A.

(2010) Update on MSG | Dr Greger

(1 min) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "The reactions attributed to monosodium glutamate do not appear to hold up to scientific scrutiny."

In other words, Dr Greger believes that MSG is harmless.

Excitatory Foods

See Dr Greger's videos in ADHD & WFPB

(19 mins, 2022) MSG & MfG — How To Recognize & Avoid | Dr Peter Rogers
(13 mins, 1991) MSG on 60 Mintues

A short documentary from 1991.

Dr Russell Blaylock

Dr Blaylock is a neurosurgeon who has written extensively about excitotoxins and their impact on brain health, especially autism.

Research papers: A 3-part paper series on excitotoxins and autism in 2009: Part 1 Part 2 and Part 3.

Book: Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills (320 pages, 1996) by Dr Russell Blaylock.

Book chapters: The book Cellular and Molecular Biology of Autism Spectrum Disorders (233 pages, 2010) by Anna Strunecka has two chapters by Dr Blaylock.

(66 mins, 2011) Excitotoxins - The Taste That Kills

YouTube video description:

A talk on compounds called excitotoxins. Excitotoxins such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and aspartame are being added to almost all processed foods. There is a substantial amount of evidence that excitotoxins play a critical role in the development of several neurological disorders.

(3 mins, 2010) Food Additives

A scene from the documentary "The Beautiful Truth". Dr. Russell Blaylock discusses food additives like monosodium glutamate (msg) and their side effects.

(23 mins, 2014) Excitotoxins
(4 mins, 2009) Brain Repair Part 1
(3 mins, 2009) Brain Repair Part 2
(4 mins, 2009) Brain Repair Part 3
(3 mins, 2009) Brain Repair Part 4
(24 mins, 2013) MSG and Brain-Damaging Food Additives & Excitotoxins - An Interview
(38 mins, 2013) Excitotoxins, Neurotoxins & Human Neurological Disease Lecture
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