Does One Gene Hold the Secret to the Rise in Autism?

Jul 29, 2016 by

A study of 168 children diagnosed with autism demonstrated that 98% of children diagnosed with autism share at least one of the various MTHFR gene mutations 1.

What does the MTHFR gene do? The MTHFR gene creates the MTHFR enzyme, which enables methylation.

What is methylation? Methylation is a vital metabolic process occurring within every cell of your body, billions of times per second. It is a cycle that is responsible for creating crucial substances like neurotransmitters as well as the primary antioxidant in our bodies: glutathione

What happens when the MTHFR gene is mutated? When there is a mutation within the MTHFR gene, it results in distortion of the MTHFR enzyme’s shape. Enzyme function depends on shape, just as a key depends upon grooves to work in a lock. A dysfunctional MTHFR enzyme distorts the methylation cycle, and may lead to a host of health problems.

What kind of health problems? Among other things, dysfunctional methylation impedes production of glutathione and inhibits detoxification of the body. Observable health problems in people with MTHFR gene mutations include diseases like autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, Alzheimer’s, depression, anxiety, and other cognitive/behavioral issues.

What Causes Autism?

The issue of what causes autism is one that continues to polarize parents, experts, doctors, and regulators. In spite of many parents strong feelings of the correlation between immunizations and the onset of autism symptoms, the CDC and National Institute for Medicine investigated, and state there is no proof to support the claim. There are numerous other theories about the cause of autism, including genetic predisposition, trauma, viruses and illnesses, poor nutrition, overexposure to toxins like mercury and lead, along with various other theories. The common link of almost all these causes is that all of those conditions reduce the primary detoxification agent in the body: glutathione.

There is a direct connection to those diagnosed with autism having a clear genetic link to weaker methylation, which is responsible for producing glutathione. When these individual’s face too much toxicity, regardless of the source, the body is unable to effectively remove the toxins. It is therefore no surprise that as our world has rapidly increased in toxicity, so too have the number of children diagnosed with autism.

What is Glutathione?

Glutathione is widely accepted by the medical community as a primary antioxidant and intracellular detoxification agent in the body. In fact, there have been over 89,000 studies on the critical role of glutathione in the body 2.

Mark Hyman, Director of Functional Medicine at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic and Medical Editor for the Huffington Post stated this about Glutathione:

“It’s the most important molecule you need to stay healthy and prevent disease — yet you’ve probably never heard of it. It’s the secret to prevent aging, cancer, heart disease, dementia and more, and necessary to treat everything from autism to Alzheimer’s disease. There are more than 89,000 medical articles about it — but your doctor doesn’t know how to address the epidemic deficiency of this critical life-giving molecule. What is it? I’m talking about the mother of all antioxidants, the master detoxifier and maestro of the immune system: GLUTATHIONE.”

The challenge with increasing glutathione levels in the body has been that oral supplementation has previously proven ineffective because the glutathione is destroyed in the digestive tract before being absorbed 3. Consequently, increasing glutathione levels has been largely limited to expensive and painful IV treatments (over $1000 a treatment), or supplementing with oral glutathione precursors such as whey protein and NAC.

Glutathione and Autism

The body produces Glutathione through a process called methylation. Dr. S. Jill James of the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute is a leading researcher on autism, and her studies have shown that 90% of children diagnosed with autism, as well as at least one of their parents, have impaired glutathione production. 4

Dr. James has stated, Glutathione is the major antioxidant present in cells and is responsible for detoxification and elimination of environmental toxins. It’s active form is reduced by 80% in kids with autism. Impaired glutathione production puts children at greater risk of environmental toxicity from substances like heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs and other harmful chemicals which may explain the high correlation between children being exposed to toxic substances such as mercury, other immunization preservatives, landfills, and other frequently cited “trigger” events that occur immediately before the onset and diagnosis of autism.

Research shows that children with autism have difficulty detoxifying their bodies of heavy metals, pesticides and chemicals, whereas children not suffering from these conditions are able to effectively clean toxins from their body.5 While there is no conclusive evidence demonstrating low glutathione production is the cause of autism, there is a clear and well documented connection of low glutathione levels and oxidative stress (unprocessed toxins) in children with autism when compared to children not suffering from these conditions 6.

In addition to the studies Dr. James performed, Stanford University 8 and the Journal of Nutrition & Metabolism 9 published similar findings. In fact, the Stanford study demonstrated that by increasing the body’s glutathione levels by supplementing with the glutathione precursor NAC 9 reduced irritability scores by 80% when compared to the control group taking a placebo, showing even more conclusive connection between glutathione and autism.

Supplementing With Nano Glutathione

This past January, Colton an 8-year-old boy from Houston, Texas was suffering from the challenges faced by all too many children today who have been diagnosed with autism disorder. He couldn’t focus in school. There were regular mood swings and awkward emotional outbursts. And he struggled to communicate and be understood socially among his peers. But by the end of January something incredible had happened.

Even Colton’s doctors could not explain the abrupt and dramatic changes.

Colton’s condition improved so dramatically that he was moved from a special education classroom back to his regular grade and standard classes among his peers. Colton’s special ed teacher even commented “In all the years I’ve worked with autistic children, I’ve never seen such a turnaround or as much improvement in any other child as I did with Colton”. His tantrums and outbursts had all but disappeared. His focus and attention span increased and he was socializing normally with friends and peers.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Colton’s results were dramatic and remarkable and since there is strong evidence showing the connection to impaired methylation and glutathione production, Nano Glutathione may benefit a large number of people including those diagnosed with Autism, but people’s individual results will vary.

Colton’s early story is like so many other stories you hear from autistic parents. His troubles emerged immediately following his first vaccination. The night he got home, he broke out in a rash and fever, and in the following days and weeks, he stopped responding and became listless. As time passed he stopped hitting development milestones. He became sensitive to light and sounds, and prone to tantrums.

Why is Nano Glutathione Different?

Colton was one of the early recipients of a new breakthrough supplement from Nanoceutical Solutions called Nano Glutathione. This supplement uses revolutionary technology to dramatically reduce the particle size of the glutathione molecule causing an amazing absorption rate of nearly 60% within seconds of oral ingestion 10 . This allows these molecules to pass straight through the lining of the mouth and straight into the bloodstream. By comparison, a study by Bastyr University Research Institute and the University of Washington on the effect of taking traditional oral glutathione found no significant changes in the biomarkers of oxidative stress, including glutathione levels. 3

Time (in Seconds) % of Glutathione Delivered to the Bloodstream
30 51.60%
60 54.10%
90 58.7%

Within the same initial group of sample recipients of Nano Glutathione, several other children suffering from autism spectrum disorders experienced similarly incredible improvements. Mary, a 6 year old from Richmond, VA that also suffers from autism, also participated in the initial product test program with Nanoceutical Solutions. After taking the product just a few weeks, Mary also saw a drastic reduction in tantrums, improved sociability, and a reduction in sensitivities. Mary’s mom, Sara told us, “We’re just so happy to see our little girl doing so much better. Thank you so much.”

Try it For Yourself

Keleigh (Colton’s mom) and Sara (Mary’s mom) both received their Nano Glutathione direct from the manufacturer Nanoceutical Solutions. Nanoceutical Solutions manufactures their Glutathione in San Antonio, Texas in an FDA registered facility and they manufacture all their supplements with pharmaceutical grade ingredients. The company is a also a member of the BBB and they stand behind their products by offering a 90 day money back guarantee on first time purchases, and a 30 day guarantee on any repeat purchases. You can try it for yourself by clicking this link or the link below. And please come back and let us know how it worked. We’d love to share your experience. And as with all supplements, everyone is different and results may vary.

1 Comment

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