Definition
Antiyeast therapy includes diets that restrict intake of sugar and yeast as well as supplements and drugs to eliminate yeast from the body.
Historical Background
Candida albicans is a form of yeast and is known to cause human infections. In works published from 1978 to 1981, C. Orian Truss was the first to propose the idea that the natural yeasts in the gastrointestinal tract can cause a variety of symptoms (Edwards 1988). In 1983, William Crook popularized this idea with his book, The Yeast Connection, in which he coined the term “Candida syndrome” to explain a host of psychological and neurological syndromes, including learning disabilities. He offered anecdotes as evidence for this syndrome, notably an account of “Candida drunken syndrome” that involved a boy with autism who was said to improve after antiyeast interventions. The popularity of antiyeast therapies for the treatment of autism increased after Shaw et al. (1995) reported abnormal metabolites in the urine of...
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References and Readings
Buie, T., Campbell, D. B., Fuchs III, G. J., Furuta, G. T., Levy, J., Van de Water, J., et al. (2010). Evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders in individuals with ASDs: A consensus report. Pediatrics, 125, S1–S18.
Edwards, J. E. (1988). Systemic symptoms of candida in the gut: Real or imaginary? Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 64, 544–549.
Levy, S. E., & Hyman, S. L. (2008). Complementary and alternative medicine treatments for children with autism spectrum disorders. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 17, 1–15.
Lord, R. S. (2003). Urinary markers of intestinal yeast. Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, 245, 96–97.
Shaw, W. (2008). Biological treatments for autism and PDD (3rd ed.). Lenexa: William Shaw.
Shaw, W., Kassen, E., & Chaves, E. (1995). Increased urinary excretion of analogs of Krebs cycle metabolites and arabinose in two brothers with autistic features. Clinical Chemistry, 41, 1094–1104.
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Pilato, M. (2017). Antiyeast Therapy. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_1286-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_1286-3
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