subject: Autism Treatment Curcumin And Phenol Sensitivity In Autism [print this page] Today I want to discuss phenol reactions in relations to the curcumin products like turmeric. In my practice I have seen children on the Autism spectrum who have shown improvements with the use of products like Enhansa and turmeric, both have curcumin as their active ingredients, and one reason for this improvement could be because curcumin has been shown to have both anti-bacterial as well as anti-fungal effects in the body. Curcumin also has been shown to be an effective anti-inflammatory and that could also be very helpful for many children with Autism. In addition, curcumin may also raise glutathione levels, based on mounting evidence. There could be a number of reasons why a curcumin containing supplement would be helpful for children on the Autism spectrum.
Certain children who are very reactive to phenols can show a reaction to supplements that are high in phenols, like curcumin. Phenols, chemicals that can be found in various types of foods, are found especially in artificial flavors and colors. Children who react to phenols do so through a variety of different behaviors. Some children react with irritability or become over stimulated, other become hyperactive and sometimes the reactions are severe enough that even supplements that are higher in phenols need to be stopped. If you are seeing hyperactivity, irritability or over stimulation and you have just given your child a supplement like Enhansa or another turmeric product, you could be seeing a reaction to phenols. It may not be an issue of yeast die off due to the anti-fungal aspects of curcumin. What you could be seeing is an inability for your childs body to process the phenols in a particular supplement. That does not make the supplement bad in any way.
For children who are showing a reaction to supplements with high phenols, I will often recommend stopping the supplement for a few days and watching to see if the reaction goes away, and it usually does. If a parent does begin to see a reaction after starting a supplement with phenols, or maybe the parents know their child is phenol sensitive, they can stop the supplement to give the body a chance to stop reacting and then they can restart the supplement but this time also using an enzyme called No Phenol. Houston Enzyme is the company that makes No Phenol and it helps with the breakdown of phenols in things. For some children No Phenol works very well and for others they may still have to be careful about things with high phenols in them, it is very individualized and every child will react a little differently so you have to try it and see. Adding in No Phenol along with Enhansa or other turmeric products can be very effective for some children. I think they are wonderful supplements and if you want more information on them you can look at my website www.autismactionplan.com where I have a lot of information compiled, especially on Enhansa, or do other research on the internet. I consider turmeric a very effective therapy for many children, I just caution you to understand the possible phenol issues.
by: Dr. Kurt Woeller
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