Chasing the Link Between Gut Bacteria and Autism

I have been planning to do the same type of investigation here in Turkey. I see this as a big data problem. You don't have to be a medical doctor to match gut flora to diseases. This is a database problem.

I contacted several microbiologist here in Turkey to ask their support but none replied. Academics and professionals do not like to talk to non-professionals.

Anyone who is interested in this subject and would like to discuss please contact me.

I consider this discovery of the microbiome and its role in the human body to be the greatest revolution in human history. And There is a lot we can do as citizen science projects.

A short talk covering the paper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWT_BLVOASI

A longer talk about the field of microbes and behavior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY_fRFjteAw

The actual paper "Microbiota Modulate Behavioral and Physiological Abnormalities Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders": http://www.cell.com/abstract/S0092-8674(13)01473-6

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1440-1819.1984....

(The HPA axis is one of the main modulators of bowel motility).

So basically there is already research showing that the brain is influencing the gut in autism, but the idea that the gut might be influencing the brain in autism is speculative.

What it came down to was diet. Obviously, but the tone of this article. Gut Bacteria is what I was missing most I found. Between forgetting what I thought was good three days later(early age dementia) and not creating a food log. I knew I was having trouble in my mid-twenties.

In my early twenties, I bought into the Drinking Culture. I'm not going to talk much about that here, but I can assure you that It was not a good phase of my life. ( As a disclaimer, didn't do anything that hurt anyone, I was that guy that would listen to everyone. Jesus people, wake the fuck up and move on with your lives. )

After I was spent, I missed the days of being able to work out for two hours every 4 days with an off day on the 5th. It was a great routine that I got myself into, but I feel out of when I deadlifted 275lbs incorrectly. I was on my back for 3 days after that. It wasn't until years later that I learned the reason why I was so off on my deadlifts was because of the type-of-food/nutrition that displaces my organs within my body. - Growing up, I was taught that I needed to eat as much as possible as I wont be guaranteed a meal in the coming days. Thing is, I always had a meal in the coming days. The concept of fasting was so alien to me that I was not only appalled by the idea of losing a meal, but I felt like I want have lost something of myself if I did miss a meal.

After spending sometime hanging out with 'really healthy people', I was introduced to the Raw Food Diet. I started training myself to follow the Diet. There was a 4-5 week period where I was able to stay 100% raw. Over the course of 6-8 months, I lost nearly 70lbs and increased my biking range from 10 miles to 60 miles three times a week. ( Riding a $320 diomondback bike. It was awesome. ) I was considering buying a real bike for the 2016 Olympics.

My work-place changed bosses and my entire life destabilized as I couldn't handle someone who didn't have an apparent objective, yet had a political goal. The man further insulted me by ignoring me and not really asking me what the problem was. I realized that I had to leave the company in order to understand why people act they way the act. For my entire life, people had protected my when I hadn't asked for it and I was at the end of my patience with groups of people protecting me. - I moved to Chicago. In between quitting that job and moving, I found my now Wife.

When getting to Chicago, I was in love with the idea of getting back to my half centuries, but all I could do was Bike the Coast of Lake Michigan or the streets of Chicago. Immediately, the first people I meet were not only proud to be meat eaters, but they tried to convert me from a vegetarian back into an omnivore. It's annoying, having people promote their eating style yet not listening to what your dietary conditions are...and so begin my natural reluctance to the Chicago mentality. Over the next ten months, I was slowly mentally beatin down by the boy who hired me and the community that I thought I needed to be a part of. - I moved to L.A.

After a three month sabbatical and an additional $30,000 in debt to re-jult my diet and workout routine, I relocated to L.A. with the mentality to make money. Within a 12 month I make my way back up the developer foodchain into a position that can finally finance me and it all begins again. Once I got bake into the elite-circle, I start to experience the mentality that I need to eat what others offer me. The misconceptions that sugar and coffee is good for you go deep into the mentality of the elite. There is one difference between me and the others that they don't get. They begin to resent me because I'm eating an orange rather than poisoning myself with sugar coated cookies. After a while, I succumb to the peer pressure(Probably only in my mind at this point, thank you Chicago.) and start downing multiple cups of coffee and eating a ton of sugar. I eat the sugar to keep my body temperature up and the coffee is to keep me focused. As a result, it kills my sleeping cycle and my eating cycle. Months later, after the company doesn't give me any work, they 'lay me off'. - Luckily I saw it coming and had a backup plan.

Right now, my focus is working off the debt. I've found a job that pays me well and allows me to work remote. As a result, I've lowed my cost of living by moving out of LA. My next house will be next to a trail so I can get into my half centuries again.

How does fermentation mix in with this book I just wrote? Fermentation is my current culinary pursuit. Maintaining a raw food diet is a lot of effort. You have to make mental decisions every day and spend large sums of money for food that you use for just the water within. With fermentation, you can ferment rice, beans, fish, cabbage, anything. Store it in a mason jar for days, weeks, or even months. The cost of food goes down from $50/day to $10/day. You're no longer 'gluten intolerant'. Your brain is 'always on' when you want it and you can 'always turn it off' when you want to. ADD, ADHD, all that is just another way of saying 'to much sugar' for me. This coming from someone who has been labeled with Autism, Tourettes, ADD, ADHD, Aspergers, and Dyslexia. - It wasn't until I took the initiative and spent years understanding how my body reacts to diet.

Living in America, I'm starting to find hints of Isolationism in everyday situations. A nation protected by water, we've instilled this into our culture. The belief that we need to build a group of friends, a cliques, a group of fellow thinkers. Rather than learning how to communicate with others. If someone had taken the time to explain to me that diet is about finding the right fuel for your body and not a selfish endeavor of pleasure, I would have been able to communicate with others better.

-- How to measure ones self --

Programming, as my primary source of income is helpful. It allows me to count the keystrokes I make on a screen and the corrections of said keystrokes. I do this mentally, as it helps me slow down my mind and I've yet to take the time learn how to write a VIM plugin.

How much time does it take you to write a story? If it takes longer than avg, you're probably not getting enough sleep or you're eating to much sugar inducing a higher ADD state.

Energy drinks help you focus, but you have to eat dense food so that it doesn't kill your liver. Sugar without fiber is the worst for you. It'll destroy your liver the fastest.

Do you just read short articles? When was the last time you finished a book? It's not because you can't, it's because you haven't yet balanced your diet. Decrease the amount of meat/sugar you consume and increase plant-fiber intake. You'll notice a change within days.

When you do this for the first time, the plants will not taste like anything. I spent 3-4 weeks forcing myself to eat food that tasted like cardboard or sawdust. Kale, spinach, roman lettuce, cilantro, parsley. It all tasted the same to me. I spent a considerable about of time re-training my taste-buds. I now enjoy steamed veggies more then something fried, sauteed, or prepared in some other kind of sauced-uniform fashion.

The pace of me writing this book as recently slowed from this point.

Lastly, at the start of this book, I woke up very mentally balanced. While writing this, I have consumed one Blueberry Coffee Cake and two Cappuccinos. I anticipate that my grammar and writing has become worse while writing this book. Confidences is not a mental feat, is the result of a proper diet.

- Hope this helps in your research, if you have questions, feel free to ask. I will answer in more detail in a private session then I would in public.

- For anyone with the same struggles, I started here(This book cites research/studies for all of it's assertions.): http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Sports-Nutrition-Enette-Lar...