Ayurveda Feeding Practices for ASD Kids

A healthy diet becomes one of the biggest hurdles when feeding the kid with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). It can relieve us of all the additional concerns about alternative diets. Nutrition can change the essence of your autistic kids. The good news is that Ayurveda has solutions for multiple problems.

Ayurveda has long used diet as a principal means of creating health within the body and mind. Hundreds of years before Hippocrates instructed, “Let food be thy medicine,” Ayurveda defined principles for making that advice practical.

Choosing foods according to your constitution, paying attention to food and eating as per your capacity are some of the Ayurvedic practices that could bring about a great deal of change in your overall well-being.

Cultivating healthy eating habits is essential for maintaining healthy body weight and the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda has some principles pertaining to just that. Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine that goes back 4000 years. It believes in maintaining the balance of the bodily system through diet, natural herbs and some yogic practices.

A lot of these Ayurvedic practices are being studied in labs across the world and many of these practices have been shown to have scientific backing too. An ideal Ayurvedic diet talks about many eating habits that have the potential to cure so many of our modern and urban woes.

key areas Ayurveda concentrate related to food:

• Digestion – Eating involves sight, smell, taste, chewing, swallowing and digestion. Suitable nourishing diet for each individual need to be set and monitored by the Ayurvedic professional.
• Allergies – Individuals need to be monitored for food allergies.
• Toxins – causes of illness could be related to undigested, unsuitable foods that can lead to the accumulation of toxic material.

Things to remember while feeding kids with ASD

• Try to be a vegetarian maximum. Stay away from shellfishes and meat.
• Maintain a minimum gap of 1.5 hours between food and sleep.
• Ensure an absolute gluten-free diet.
• Wash hands, foot, ears, mouth, and face before food with normal water/cold water.
• The amount of food should be strict as per his/her appetite- not as per the nutritive value or affinity towards that food.
• Food should always be warm and fresh.
• Avoid too spicy and fried food.
• Prefer a calm and quiet place for eating or feeding.
• Ensure the use of an ash guard.

Food & food practices that parents need to avoid

• Microwaved food.
• All refined processed and chemical food (this includes white sugar, chips, chocolates, white flour, legumes other than green and white mung, soft drinks and most anything you would find on a modern supermarket shelf).
• Dairy Products, including tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, peppers, Citrus Fruits, Peanuts. Preservatives, colours, food additives, Leftovers, Old cheeses, Cold foods and drinks.
• If you are lactose intolerant and can’t take organic milk, then make almond or rice milk (do not purchase readymade milk powders).

At Jeevaniyam we have professionals & specialists to guide parents or caretakers to create a food habit like this for the child from a very young age.