The Autism Miracle in My Kitchen

The Never Ending Yeast Issue

By Shannon Penrod

Some days it seems like my life revolves around yeast.  To someone outside the Autism community that probably conjures up visions of fresh baked bread.  Sometimes my home smells like fresh baked bread but it is because of the smell of my son’s head –not some fluffy concoction baking in the oven.  People think I’m crazy when I first tell them that my kid smells like bread, and then they smell it.  Of course some days he smells like brandy, but usually you can see it on him before you even smell him.  He acts like he’s drunk.  Imagine hanging out with a drunken kindergartener, and trying to teach them how to hold a pencil!  That’s just 68 kinds of fun!

There are lots of theories on controlling yeast, I am a huge fan of attacking and maintaining yeast through diet.  Last summer when we had reached a plateau I agreed to put Jem on Diflucan.  I’m not a fan of putting more things into his body. I personally have a hard time taking even Tylenol, so putting my kid on medicine that has some potentially harmful effects…not my favorite thing.  Still, sometimes you get to a point where you give a little.  I’m glad we did.  It took two courses of Diflucan (along with an antibiotic) and Jem was a different child.  The entire summer was one long die off hell, but about a week before Kindergarten started my child was returned to me in a way that he never had been before.

We have coasted most of the year on the benefits of that de-yeasting, maintaining with a really restricted diet and probiotics.  Now as the summer approaches I am looking at digestive enzymes and it’s making sense, for my entire family.  I don’t know where the money for that will come, but I know that it will. 

I have to remind myself that Jem is doing remarkably well.  I attribute a lot of it to diet and to his ABA therapies from CARD.  But there are sometimes when the Biomedical aspect is also important, I’m trying to find peace with that.  My friends who are into the Biomedical stuff shake their heads at me, I’m an anomaly, I am willing to do whatever I have to diet wise, but I struggle with the supplements.  I guess we all have our comfort zones.  Where yeast is concerned, mine continues to grow – pun intended.