Vitamin D and Autism

Vitamin D deficiency is rampant in the United States.  Approximately 75% of the population has low levels of vitamin D.  The list of associated illnesses is growing; heart disease, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis etc.  One more disease on the list may be autism.

There is nothing near conclusive data on this, but many researchers recommend higher doses of vitamin D for affected individuals.  Maintaining healthy vitamin D levels is good counsel to all of us, but considering the often aberrant immune response in autistic kids, this may be especially relevant.

While autism and something like multiple sclerosis may seem to be dramatically different diseases on the surface, there is a common thread.  That commonality is the fact that the immune system may be overzealous in response to poor nutritional/biochemical modulation, environmental insult, or some combination of the two. 

Supplementing with vitamin D is not likely to be the 'cure' for autism.  But it may play a significant role in the prevention and the reduction of symptoms.

Brain and Cholesterol

In the old days, high cholesterol was a very scary thing.  High cholesterol meant that your arteries had a very good chance of getting plugged up down the road.  With that, a heart attack or stroke was not far behind.  As scientists learned more about physiology and realized that half the people who died of heart disease had normal cholesterol, we learned that there's more to the story of heart disease than just cholesterol.

It's important not to throw our understanding of cholesterol completely out the window.  Does it play a major role in heart disease?  The safe answer is probably, "in some people 'yes'...but in others, 'not as much.' "  With that, a new study shows a direct link between the brain and cholesterol levels.  In fact, they authors quote,

"Our data suggest that a neural circuit in the brain is directly involved in the control of cholesterol metabolism by the liver."

To put it in perspective, a statement to the media said, "We have long thought that cholesterol is exclusively regulated through dietary absorption or synthesis and secretion by the liver.... our study shows for the first time that cholesterol is also under direct 'remote control' by specific neurocircuitry in the central nervous system." 

Pretty remarkable stuff; I think it's time that your cardiologist, nutritionist and neurologist (at the very least) get together to figure out the best way to keep you healthy.