Study Links Autism with Industrial Food, Environment | Civil Eats

Study Links Autism with Industrial Food, Environment

The epidemic of autism in children in the United States may be linked to the typical American diet according to a new study published online in Clinical Epigenetics by Renee Dufault, et. al. The study explores how mineral deficiencies—affected by dietary factors like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—could impact how the human body rids itself of common toxic chemicals like mercury and pesticides.

The release comes on the heels of a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that estimates the average rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among eight year olds is now 1 in 88, representing a 78 percent increase between 2002 and 2008. Among boys, the rate is nearly five times the prevalence found in girls.

“To better address the explosion of autism, it’s critical we consider how unhealthy diets interfere with the body’s ability to eliminate toxic chemicals, and ultimately our risk for developing long-term health problems like autism,” said Dr. David Wallinga, a study co-author and physician at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).

Commander (ret.) Renee Dufault (U.S. Public Health Service), the study’s lead author and a former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) toxicologist, developed an innovative scientific approach to describe the subtle side effects of HFCS consumption and other dietary factors on the human body and how they relate to chronic disorders. The model, called “macroepigenetics,” allows researchers to consider how factors of nutrition, environment and genetic makeup interact and contribute to the eventual development of a particular health outcome.

“With autism rates skyrocketing, our public educational system is under extreme stress,” said Dufault, who is also a licensed special education teacher and founder of the Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute (FIHRI). As part of the current study, the authors found a 91 percent increase in the number of children with autism receiving special educational services in the U.S. between 2005 and 2010.

Key Findings:

  • Autism and related disorders affect brain development. The current study sought to determine how environmental and dietary factors, like HFCS consumption, might combine to contribute to the disorder.
  • Consumption of HFCS, for example, is linked to the dietary loss of zinc, which interferes with the elimination of heavy metals from the body. Many heavy metals like mercury, arsenic and cadmium are potent toxins with adverse effects on brain development in the young.
  • HFCS consumption can also impact levels of other beneficial minerals, including calcium. Loss of calcium further exacerbates the detrimental effects of exposure to lead on brain development in fetuses and children.
  • Inadequate levels of calcium in the body can also impair its ability to expel organophosphates, a class of pesticides long recognized by the EPA and independent scientists as especially toxic to the young developing brain.

“Rather than being independent sources of risk, factors like nutrition and exposure to toxic chemicals are cumulative and synergistic in their potential to disrupt normal development,” said Dr. Richard Deth, a professor of Pharmacology at Northeastern University and a co-author of the study. “These epigenetic effects can also be transmitted across generations. As autism rates continue to climb it is imperative to incorporate this new epigenetic perspective into prevention, diagnosis and treatment strategies.”

We’ll bring the news to you.

Get the weekly Civil Eats newsletter, delivered to your inbox.

The picture of how and why a child develops autism is a complicated one influenced by many different factors. The authors of this study have given insight into the complex interplay between several of the factors that may lead to the development of this debilitating neurodevelopmental disorder. In order to curb the epidemic of autism in the U. S., continued analysis of the impact of the industrialized food system and exposure to environmental toxins on ASD must be key areas of research moving forward.

The Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute (FIHRI) is a non-profit organization devoted entirely to food ingredient safety, education, and research. foodingredient.info

Originally published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. IATP works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.

Photo: bbaltimore

Today’s food system is complex.

Invest in nonprofit journalism that tells the whole story.

Katie Rojas-Jahn is the coordinator for Healthy Legacy, a statewide coalition representing over one million Minnesotans, of which IATP is a founding member. She has a bachelor's degree in Chicano studies and Spanish with a minor in American studies from the University of Minnesota. Before coming to IATP, Katie worked at Centro Campesino, a grassroots organization concerned about the well being and the empowerment of migrant workers and year round immigrant Latino residents of south-central Minnesota. Read more >

Like the story?
Join the conversation.

  1. Regan Wilson
    "Consumption of HFCS, for example, is linked to the dietary loss of zinc, which interferes with the elimination of heavy metals from the body. Many heavy metals like mercury, arsenic and cadmium are potent toxins with adverse effects on brain development in the young."

    This quote is actually taken from another (secondary) source that either misquoted or misinterpreted the primary source. The primary source very clearly states in its abstract that ingestion of fructose led to those dietary mineral losses but that the consumption of HFCS did not show the same losses.

    It took me five minutes to research it and find the primary source; the author should do the same.
  2. Nina Sadjadpour
    Right idea to focus on diet, but wrong hypothesis in my view.  Why keep looking for toxins rather than simply looking at epigenetic modifiers, including supplements?  If you take mice and deplete zinc, or pump them full of HFCS or pesticides, you still don't create an autistic mouse.  But if you give a mother mouse HDAC inhibitors or maternal methyl supplements, you can make autistic mice.  It's fine for them to focus on those things, but they should not neglect to look at the so called "good" junk in processed foods.

    On Apr 13, 2012, at 03:57 PM, Nina Mincy wrote:

    https://civileats.com/2012/04/11/study-links-autism-with-industrial-food-environment/


    Sent from my handy little iPhone...

More from

Nutrition

Featured

a female farmer stands in the field with her organically raised sheep and looks off at the distance, wondering why congress would try to kill the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards rule.

GOP Lawmakers Move to Block New Animal Welfare Standards in Organic

In this week’s Field Report, the organic industry fights back against Congressional efforts to halt the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards, the global food system is moving in the wrong direction on hunger and climate, and more. 

Popular

This Oregon Farmer Is Building a New Model for Indigenous Food and Agriculture

Spring Alaska Schreiner walks in her greenhouse at Sakari Farms. (Photo courtesy of Spring Alaska Schreiner)

Op-ed: Big Ag Touts Its Climate Strengths, While Awash in Fossil Fuels

Farming in Dry Places: Investors Continue to Speculate on Colorado Water

cattle walking to a water trough in douglas county, colorado. Photo credit: thomas barwick, getty images

Supermarket Food Waste Is a Big Problem. Are Strategic Price Cuts the Solution?

avocados are on sale to prevent food waste using dynamic pricing at a supermarket