EiR Blog

We all crave getting breakfast in bed. Wake up on a Sunday, stretch a little, only to be greeted by a tray of breakfast waiting to be devoured. But as soon as you go to grab the tray, your alarm goes off and you realize it’s Thursday, you’re late for work and you really need to get up and have a heavy and healthy breakfast to get you through the day. On a weekend, the healthy breakfasts of Richmond’s numerous cafes sound wonderful, but on a weekday, it’s highly improbable. Although it can be tempting to rush and down a black coffee on the way to your daily 9-to-5 without anything solid in your belly, once you do actually begin having a healthy breakfast in the morning, you’ll end up waking up a tad early only to get something sufficient in your stomach.  It is impossible to realize the value of breakfast as...

This and last week have been bumper weeks for interesting studies related to autism and ADHD. First, the Lancet published the results of a controlled trial on the use of a few-foods rotation diet on the symptoms of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The link to the abstract for the study by Pelsser and colleagues is shown below: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)62227-1/abstract A break down of the study and the main findings can be viewed here: http://evolutionarypsychiatry.blogspot.com/ In short, a very well conducted and controlled study that showed that diet can affect some cases of ADHD. As to how and why it works is more of a mystery. Second, a review study has been published looking at the connection between gastrointestinal disorders and autism spectrum conditons. The link to the abstract for the article by Chen and colleagues is shown below: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21297509 The results: the studies so far have a number of methodological issues...

A quick update: ESPA Research announces the publication of a new article in the peer-reviewed journal Autism Insights titled: How could a gluten- and casein-free diet ameliorate symptoms associated with autism spectrum conditions? The article is open-access and free to download for non-commercial purposes via the ESPA Research or publishers website (Libertas Academica). www.espa-research.org.uk Building on the various pieces of research attempting to determine how such dietary intervention may work in some cases of autism spectrum conditions, the authors detail the various evidence for a direct or co-morbid link between autism and (i) gluten sensitive enteropathy or coeliac disease, (ii) allergy and atopic disease, and (iii) hyperpermeability of the gastrointestinal membrane (leaky gut) and passage of biologically active material to the central nervous system. Many thanks All at ESPA Research ...

 Christmas is obviously a time for celebration and partying but for those with allergies it can be like a minefield! While most people  generally eat and snack with abandon the millions who suffer from some form of food allergy, sensitivity, or intolerance must be extra wary. It may be easy to tell which foods contain common allergens such as wheat, dairy and eggs when eating the main Christmas dinner but when it comes to snacks and party buffets with lots of pre-packaged foods things get a little trickier. If you are planning your own party you can obviously check labels to make sure the foods you buy don't contain ingredients that you, your family members, or your guests are allergic to. If you are cooking or baking yourself there are also a large number of alternative ingredients to the common allergens that can be substituted. The most common allergens include:...

This week I was contacted by the producer of The Restaurant; a reality TV show made by the BBC here in the UK. For those who don't know, the premise of the show is that couples compete over the series/season to prove they have what it takes to run a successful restaurant. Each week they are set different challenges to test different skills required to be restauranteurs. The overall winners are set up in a restaurant of their own; financially backed and personally supported by Raymond Blanc who has a big hand in the show. The reason I was contacted by the shows producer is because in an episode to be aired on October 22nd in the UK the contestants are to be set the challenge of preparing meals for diners with special dietary needs, with a particular focus on those with coeliac/celiac disease. The contestants must therefore prepare a...