Helloo! I promised I would share both our reasons behind being keto and how it has gone for us so far. I previously shared our keto on a budget post to guide you through our nutritionally balanced meal plan and I also want to give an update on how that went for us.
Why Keto?
Imagine, a small child losing their mind and holding their breath until they pass out because you cut them off their apple stash. My poor toddler didn’t grow out of her terrible twos, she just got worse and worse as time went on. I wish I could say the answer was easy and obvious but it took me years of research and consulting before deciding keto was the right step for my family. My daughter is autistic, has sensory processing disorder, and obsessive compulsions. She is incredibly high functioning, so much so you wouldn’t think she has any neurological differences. . . except when she does. It would come in bursts, lasting who knows how long from minutes, to days, to months and we never knew what would set her off. She was in so much pain and we wanted to either find a solution or figure out what was setting her off and contributing to her suffering. It was obvious she has been suffering from brain and body inflammation, and we were told that keto would be a great step for her health.
We already ate healthy, limited processed foods, organic, whole grains, no dyes, limited sugar or only maple syrup/honey, everything home made, etc. etc. Keto would stabilize her blood sugar and reduce intense crashes related to her insulin levels. I had tried other methods, although she eats well she has compulsions around food that lead to battles that have lead to most methods and only serving balanced meals to not hit their mark. Next, her gut bacteria would alter and her signaling would be less clouded by the dopamine cycle she was going through. I had been studying gut health for years on account of my auto immune condition, so theres really a lot to say about this that wont fit here. All I want to touch on is that diversity in the microbiome is important, but for someone with interoception issues and sensory sensitivities, eating the same foods and having the same predictable responses is amazingly regulating. The gut diversity doesn’t change much and the burning of ketones helps bring the brain into balance and heal imbalances. Finally, myself and my husband could benefit from the physiological and mental health benefits as well.
How It’s Gone so Far
We all adjusted amazingly, on account of our healthy diet before hand and tapering of carbs we didn’t have the keto flu which had happened to me in the past when giving it a solo run. I once again started with myself to make sure the diet was appropriate and manageable and then got the family involved. We saw immediate relief in my daughters system, her autistic related behaviors and symptoms VANISHED. After a calm month we had pretty much acclimated, the diet was going well although we were getting bored of chicken. No matter how delicious it was it felt like there was no escaping the “Here’s more chicken” loop every time someone wanted a snack. I admit that keto on a budget sheet could use some work. However the following month hit differently.
My husband lost some much weight he’d been trying to lose since his knee surgery in 2018! He’s committed to staying on keto until its all off because it is the only thing that has worked for him! Unfortunately my boys were suffering, no matter how much fiber they ate they needed fruits for gut motility and I had to get htem off of keto right away. Bowel issues are common on keto, mostly for men/boys because their gallbladders can’t handle the high levels of fat. I am very sensitive to fructose so I was worried that I also would rely on it for motility but to my surprise my daughter and I had no constipation or other stomach issues.
Although she adapted to keto amazingly and it did offer some amazing benefits, after the first month was up and her inflammation was down her OCD and ADHD symptoms went sky high. She does not have official diagnoses for these because her doctor wanted to wait to see her progress during ABA, but it became apparent to all of us during this time. She used food as a regulator and coping mechanism like many people with autism do. Although her sensory overload was down, her intense need for control was unbearable and she was suffering as much as ever. Seeing her especially hyperactive was also so hard, she would struggle occasionally in the past but now she was uncontrollable even when she wanted to stop she couldn’t. This may or may not happen to other children. For my daughter we’ve realized that food, although a crutch and not the best coping mechanism, gives her stable and predictable dopamine hits, and when she can control types and portioning her mind feels in control and she doesn’t spiral out. The hyperactivity is likely all the inflammation going down and her no longer dealing with the heaviness and malaise she had felt most of her life.
Finally for me, I felt amazing and better than ever, and right around the month mark I had the same response as my daughter. First, my psoriasis and arthritis symptoms came back for the first time in 6 years. While it could be argued that the increase in oxalate and histamine foods caused this, I didnt change my diet at all except cutting out non keto foods. I didn’t increase the amount of food I ate or anything. The only change was in my stress levels. I realized that although I have benefited from exercise, yoga, breath work, journaling, and other forms of self care to remain in balance over the years; food was the true regulator of my stress. I thought I was just addicted to sugar and would go on binge cycles, but this was really eye opening for me. When I couldn’t regulate enough through all of my therapeutic means, food was what held me together.
The Next Steps
To sum it up, the diet plan went generally well, my husband and I feel great enough to continue, but I need to work on my emotional eating patterns. I was so looking forward to having a life long solution to all our problems, but at least we learned more about ourselves and can move forward with greater understanding of our internal needs. My children are all off of keto as of the third month. For better or worse, my daughters symptoms will return with slightly more inflammation. We hope that implementing a highly regimented menu and visual schedule for her will give her the control and predictability that keeps most of her overwhelm under control. We will continue pursuing other methods of lowering inflammation, and may get sensitivity testing done in the future. I think Keto is a magnificent choice for many people, we are so blessed to have found a diet that can cure people of severe neurological disorders! I think that with time and practice with other coping mechanisms my daughter may go back to this diet as an adult. For now we will make sure to provide balanced meals and timing. At this time I believe her only food related issue is inflammation, and it isn’t caused by one food or food group alone. Her ability to eat foods she loves with consistency reduces her stress levels enough to warrant this change.
What do you think about managing mental health through diet? I would love to hear your thoughts! Stay tuned for a free set of visual schedule cards coming soon!
Rooted Mamas Muse 
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