Spirulina and Autism – Why Spirulina Might Help Your Autistic Child

 

What Doctors Say

Spirulina and Autism – Why Spirulina Might Help Your Autistic Child. Some doctors say (1) that an important part of therapy for autistic children, is to normalise levels of copper and zinc in the blood, which may be due to environmental factors. In one particular study (1), high levels of copper and low levels of zinc were shown to be a factor in autism. Indeed, the study went much further, saying that metallothionein (MT) dysfunction was the primary cause of autism, with high levels of copper and other heavy metals being a key factor.

What you may be asking yourself is. What is metallothionein?

Spirulina and Autism – Why Spirulina Might Help Your Autistic Child
Happy Child

 

 

 

 

 

 


Metallothionein Theory (MT) of Autism

The Metallothionein Theory (MT) of autism (1) relates to Metallothionein Proteins. A study involving 503 autistic patients, showed that the bodies of autistic people do not filter out heavy metals such as copper as efficiently. Blood tests demonstrated that autistic patients had copper levels that were above normal. For this reason, their body’s MT proteins were not functioning properly.


MT protein system & How Spirulina Might Help

Dr Walsh explains (1) what the MT Protein System is in his study (1) and highlights how MT proteins help inter-alia (amongst other things) to detox heavy metals, support the immune system, prevent yeast overgrowth and help to improve the memory. This may help to explain why you find testimonials saying how spirulina helped them with an autistic child*. Looking beyond how spirulina helps nutritionally, known spirulina benefits include helping to prevent yeast overgrowth, perhaps supporting the immune system. And it is thought to help the brain (memory and cognitive) functions.

An unrelated report from 2018 that is discussed in this click through, provides further supporting evidence that spirulina might help in the management of autism.


==>Click Here If You Are Interested In Buying Quality Spirulina Or Chlorella<==


Spirulina May Also Help Academic Performance!

One study in Senegal demonstrated that it improved academic improvement of children. This click through explains more.


Spirulina Detoxes Heavy Metals – The Evidence – Its known to be great for detoxing !

Spirulina has been consumed for many years in Chile (3) where the water table has high levels of copper, other heavy metals, and arsenic (Bangladesh, India, Taiwan too) which fed into their drinking water. Spirulina has been used to help with detoxing of heavy metals in the bloodstream of people in mining areas of Chile (4). In an unrelated animal study involving fish (4), it was shown that spirulina helps to remove copper
from the blood stream.


Recognised To Help Detoxing

Studies have also been shown to indicate that it may be useful for the treatment of chronic arsenic poisoning. Whilst not directly related to autism, spirulina is also known to detox radiation poisoning (it was used to help children in Chernobyl, Ukraine and has been also used to detox people suffering from agent orange from the Vietnam war. The point being that spirulina has long been recognised to help detox the body. And that is before you consider the incredible nutritional benefits of spirulina, which is a great benefit if you have a fussy eater in the family.


Choose Carefully

If you would like to try some spirulina, we recommend you choose carefully. We explain why in our history of spirulina page. You may also wish to check the other conditions that well selected spirulina might help you with.


It Might Improve The Symptoms Of Your Autistic Child

We recognise that suggesting spirulina might be a cure for autism is highly contentious. We understand that each autistic child is unique and different. So, we want to make ourselves clear, we are not suggesting it is a cure. However, it might help you to mitigate or help manage the symptoms of a loved one in your life who has autism. If you conduct a search of the internet, you will find testimonials* from people describing how spirulina has helped them to manage the autism of a loved one:

“How Spirulina Helped Heal My Family Of Autism And Seizures” (5)

“I noticed an amazing difference in Andrew’s memory and communication skills”(6)

The “first change we noticed after giving our son spirulina was a new sign of emotion that we had not seen before. If you are raising a child with autism, you know sometimes the only emotions that are clearly expressed are joy and anger”. (7)

And these potential benefits with autistic children are before you consider the amazing nutritional benefits of this superfood. Just 1 gram of this superfood supplement is the equivalent of 1 kg of mixed fruit and veg in terms of nutritional benefits. A scientist explains why, in this click through.


==>Click Here If You Are Interested In Buying Quality Spirulina Or Chlorella<==

You might wish to try spirulina, both for the nutritional benefits and the potential benefits to managing the autism of a loved one. Please carefully note, that spirulina is a superfood, not a medication, so it’s likely to be a few months before your notice anything.

Whilst spirulina is a superfood, don´t forget to check with your Doctor or Medical Professional.


Affiliate links

You might have seen the “affiliate link” button at the top, that links to a page.  This basically means we could make a tiny commission, if you purchase anything using one of our affiliate links on this page.  It helps to keep us in coffee, making a small contribution, allowing us to research and write articles on the benefits of superfoods. You will not pay more by making a purchase via one of our links.


Where to Buy?

It’s important you choose carefully, the reason for this is explained via this click through.

==>Click Here If You Are Interested In Buying Quality Spirulina Or Chlorella<==


How Much To Take?

If you are looking for advice on how much to take, we have a page dedicated to this which we hope you find useful. We also have some recipes about including spirulina powder in your diet. For a child, this might be easier than taking tablets.


Thank you, For Visiting

Thank you for visiting whyspirulina. We hope you found this information helpful. If you have any comments or questions, kindly leave them below and we will get back to you.


Sources

(1) Disordered Metal Metabolism in Autism Spectrum Disorders by William J. Walsh, Ph. D.

(2) Effect of dietary Spirulina on reduction of copper toxicity and improvement of growth, blood parameters and phosphatases activities in carp, Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton, 1822)

(3) Chile has a long history of mining which is why in mining areas, arsenic and other heavy metals is found in the ground water. Today they do not have the problem they had in the past as much of their water is now desalinated but it used to be a serious problem and spirulina was part of the solution.

(4) Effect of dietary Spirulina on reduction of copper toxicity and improvement of growth, blood parameters and phosphatases activities in carp, Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton, 1822) R James , K Sampath, R Nagarajan, P Vellaisamy, M Maripandi Manikandan

(5) “How Spirulina Helped Heal My Family Of Autism And Seizures” blissedlife (dot) com

(6) “I noticed an amazing difference in Andrew’s memory and communication skills” by Mary in Virginia

(7) jb-ourtriptoparis.blogspot (dot)com


==>Click Here If You Are Interested In Buying Quality Spirulina Or Chlorella<==


Please see our “About” page.

Nothing on this website should be interpreted as personal medical advice. Always consult a qualified Doctor or health care professional before changing anything related to your healthcare.

14 thoughts on “Spirulina and Autism – Why Spirulina Might Help Your Autistic Child”

  1. This is a really interesting connection. It’s one I’d heard about but I wanted to know more. Thanks for the run-through. I’m also interested in your click-through to the article on the importance of sourcing from the correct environment. I wasn’t aware of this so you’ve saved me a lot of trial and error. Thanks so much for your post! 

    Reply
  2. Hello there. Awesome article you have here,  this really dragged my attention I just could not ignore it.  I really did not know much about this Spirulina but your post has really educated me a lot on it.  Now know what it is, I am sure going to try it out, after seeing this. 

    Reply
    • Thank you for stopping by Joy.  You can check out the wider benefits of spirulina by checking our FAQ page via this click through. How much to take?  That is explained here. Looking for simple recipe ideas to add spirulina powder to your juices and shakes?  Try some of these recipes. And if you are interested in knowing more about how it has been used in history, this page explains more.

      Reply
  3. This is a very interesting piece. This could possibly be the cure or help mitigate symptoms for children who suffer from autism . I think in the near future, if this illness can be treated or mitigated using a superfood, it could bring ease to the children and their families . Thank you do much for sharing this. I`m sure many will benefit from the information you provide on this site . Well done sadiki!
    Ali

    Reply
  4. My father used to have all of us take spirulina when I was young, before we travelled abroad. I did not know why but after reading this article I think I have to call and thank him. It was just the side effect of taking it the first few days that can be a bit too much, at least for me. Anyways, thanks for sharing the benefits to us and where to buy. I am going back to spirulina game again, I personally think that anything that can help detox heavy metal is good to me 🙂 

    Reply
  5. Wow! Though spirulina is very medicinal, it actually seems a bit bizarre to me when I saw the headline because I did not know that any drug or plant could help a child with autism. But reading through this here it actually makes sense. My cousin actually has an autistic child and I hope that this might really help them a lot. Thank you for shaging

    Reply
    • Hi Kimberly, yes I agree it initially sounded bizarre to me too which is why we researched further.  But the research suggests that in certain circumstances it seems to help.  I know from personal experience that it has helped my memory and my cognitive health and it has also given me a boost related to occasional mild depression.  Plus it has helped a friend who has medication for her brain and mental health.  And we also know, it helps to clean out heavy metals from the blood stream. So we know from this experience that it does help, so it might also be beneficial with your cousin`s child.  Worst case scenario, is that it will only improve his/her general health with good nutrition, but if if improves his/her health with regards to autism symptoms, please do get in touch again.  We would love to hear from you.  Don`t forget to check out the FAQs and please tell your cousin to select the brand carefully.   Please also bear in mind, spirulina is not a medication, its a superfood, its likely to take a couple of months of taking it regularly, (see how much to take too) before your cousin notices anything.  Your cousin should also check with her doctor on his/her personal circumstances.  

      Reply
  6. Awesome and hello there,  this has gotten my attention as I used to work with individuals with autism. It is my first time to  know about this Spirulina. Your post has educated me a lot on it.  Now I know what it is all about and I am sure that one of these days I will come across it. Thank you for sharing and have a good one.

    Cheers!

    Juma

    Reply
  7. Hi Trevor,

    This post has sparked interest in me to research more about the benefits of Spirulina in Autism.

    My website is about special kids, which includes Autism. I have a nephew who has both Down sydrome and autism.

    I will try to search more studies, if there are, so I will be convinced that Spirulina is really beneficial.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Marita

    Reply
    • Thank you for your comment. I`m glad it has sparked your interest. You are right to be cautious. We too initially were a bit skeptical but led us to find the evidence that in certain circumstances, it appears to help mitigate symptoms – i.e. it is not a cure. The superfood spirulina, may in certain cases, alleviate or help improve symptoms of autism. I would also encourage you to look at the articles on our site about how spirulina helps brain health & memory. The gut and brain connection too. All of our articles are carefully researched with links to supporting studies. One of the challenges we face is that whilst pharmaceutical companies have huge research budgets, small spirulina companies do not. The anecdotal evidence from some Mothers of autistic children using spirulina to mitigate autism is also interesting.

      I suspect one of the biggest challenges will be getting an autistic child to actually take spirulina regularly, tablets might be difficult, but if its in a tasty spirulina juice or smoothie, it might be the way to approach it with your nephew. Key point, it is a superfood, not a medication, so it needs to be taken daily. And check with your doctor to ensure it does not have an effect on anything else he is taking.

      I would emphasise that you must be very careful on the quality of the spirulina that is used. Some supplies from China, India and The Phillipines are not produced in pristine condition. That is why we are so careful on the brands we recommend.

      So just to be clear, we are not suggesting its a cure for autism but it does seem to help mitigate mental health problems as I have witnessed with my own partner, if a quality brand is taken consistently and regularly and in sufficient amounts. Interestingly it also seems to help dementia patients too.*

      We would be interested to learn how your nephew gets on with it.

      Reply

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