ADHD and Autism

Julia Rucklidge PhD (43 minutes)

Published by: New Brain Nutrition - May, 2020

(10 minutes)

Published by: The Diary Of A CEO Clips - 27 Jan 2024

(Steve Moderator) I've had so many parents message me about autism and ADHD. Many concerned parents messaged me specifically on Instagram saying, "Please Steve, I've had a child diagnosed with autism, we are trying to understand it they're trying to get good information on it."

Dr Palmer, you've used the word autism and ADHD as we've been speaking about metabolism what is the link in your view?

(Dr Palmer) Everything; the link is everything. The mitochondrial theory of autism actually was first proposed in 1985 and since then we have had an explosion of research linking mitochondria and mitochondrial dysfunction to autism. Specifically, the rates of autism have gone through the roof in the United States they've quadrupled in the last 20 years.

People are scratching their heads, "Where's all this autism coming from; I thought autism was genetic."

"If autism is genetic it shouldn't quadruple in 20 years. Quadrupling in 20 years means something in the environment is causing it."

So people are thinking, "What does that have to do with diet, those kids haven't eaten a diet yet. But their parents have."

"To provide just one piece of evidence to support what I'm saying.""

If a woman has obesity she has double the risk of having an autistic child if a woman has both obesity and diabetes she has quadruple the risk of having an autistic child.

Look around in the population are the rates of obesity going up are the rates of diabetes going up the answer is unequivocally yes and that is a reflection how our society is. I don't want anybody to hear that and wag their finger at fat people and say oh you're causing autism because you're overeating. It's not that simple; that's not the way it goes.

People with obesity have a metabolic or mitochondrial problem. Obesity might be caused by the foods they're eating. Usually they think it's just about calories, but there's more to food than just calories. It might be those chemicals in the food that you're eating or something else or it might be chemicals in our environment, it might be pesticides or microplastics the forever chemicals that are becoming more and more ubiquitous. All of these things disrupt metabolism and mitochondrial function.

So when I talk about obesity and diabetes increasing risk for autism it's not about fat shaming it's about understanding it's about understanding that the parents have a metabolic problem already that means that they have a problem in their cells with their mitochondria and they then pass those on to their children and in some cases it may not show itself immediately.

If you see signs of autism in your child, if you see signs of metabolic or mental health conditions in your children, if we intervene early enough we can probably do something about it."

For 75 years, mental health issues were largely viewed as “chemical imbalances” best treated with medications. While these medications have helped many, their efficacy is often limited, and they come with common side effects like fatigue, weight gain, and sexual dysfunction.

Enter metabolic psychiatry—a groundbreaking new approach that reimagines mental health challenges as issues rooted in brain metabolism. This fresh perspective is revolutionizing how we perceive and address mental health conditions, offering powerful, practical, and safe solutions that are accessible to everyone.

The most exciting discovery of our time? Robust mental health is deeply connected to robust metabolic health—and achieving metabolic health starts with a brain-friendly diet. For those struggling with mental health, understanding how dietary changes can provide benefits that no medication can is critical. However, the key lies in making the right changes—ones that go beyond conventional dietary advice.

David Perlmutter and Georgia Ede (66 minutes)

Published by: DavidPerlmutterMD - 7 Jan 2025