Glutamine: Brain Food For Autistic Children

Antioxidants are known to help prevent diseases such as cancer and heart disease, but the presence of the antioxidant glutathione is gaining popularity in helping to fight autism.

Glutathione, a protein and natural antioxidant defense against free radicals, acts on toxins such as pesticides, lead, dry cleaning solvents and others to transform these toxins into something the body can excrete more easily.

Unfortunately, glutathione is not absorbed into the system when taken orally.  But by taking other supplements, such as Vitamin C or Glutamine, you can raise natural glutathione levels in the body.

Glutamine, in particular, does so many good things in the body that is being used to treat various conditions, such as preventing infections that often follow endurance exercise, reducing symptoms of overtraining syndrome, improving nutrition in critical illness, alleviating allergies, and treating digestive problems by fueling the cells of the intestines.

Particularly in autistic children, glutamine has had some success in improving health and language processing by acting as a “brain food.” Those with learning and developmental disabilities use this “smart drug” to help manage inflammation and readily cross the blood-brain barrier to stimulate alertness, improve intelligence, sooth erratic behavior, aid in memory recall and most importantly, helps with behavioral problems and autism in children.

To determine if glutamine will work for someone with autism, a 30-day trail period is recommended.

For young children, under the age of 9, try up to 1,000 mg.  Older children can take up to 1,500 mg.

Glutamine occurs naturally in high protein foods such as raw meat, fish beans and dairy products.  However, cooking destroys glutamine, so try recommended Glutamine supplements.