Chocolate for Autism
Raw chocolate, that is, as someone on Craigslist suggests as an autism treatment; someone else, the mother of two adopted autistic children, writes about a specific product on an autism board. Why raw chocolate? This site lists a few “health benefits”; apparently raw chocolate is an antioxidant and has an ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) superior to that of prunes, blueberries, strawberries and spinach. I know “the other Orac” (over at Respectful Insolence) has had his hands full fending off anti-vaccine woo-mongers and putting the Post-Modernists in their place, but Orac on ORAC: That could be worth a box of See’s Candy. Will sugestions for novel autism treatments ever wane?
Tags: antioxidant, asd, asperger, autism, candy, chocolate, diet, food, nutrition, parents, pdd-nos, postmodern, vaccine, wooRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Food and Diet, Junk Science, Treatment
21 opinions for Chocolate for Autism
Eleanor
Sep 11, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I think my son would be first to volunteer for the clinical trials of this particular treatment!
Sullivan
Sep 11, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I’d be in as a control subject, but I’ve tasted really (really) high cocoa content chocolate.
David N. Andrews M. Ed. (Distinction)
Sep 11, 2008 at 2:59 pm
“I’d be in as a control subject, but I’ve tasted really (really) high cocoa content chocolate.”
I have…
I buzzed for about 20 mins and then felt sick … :/
Regan
Sep 11, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Will sugestions for novel autism treatments ever wane?
(Hazard a guess on the short answer?)
[rueful grin]
If you have baking chocolate in the cupboard, get it out and take a bite–it ain’t your Mama’s Whitman’s sampler. Antioxidant properties, I’m sure there are some–tasty–well.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Sep 11, 2008 at 3:43 pm
I’m sticking to See’s!
laurentius-rex
Sep 11, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Can’t disagree with that can I as a chocoholic :)
Patrick
Sep 11, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Well it’s not quite as radical as the last new natural treatment I read about here. (The Marijuana one.) And my own testimonial for chocolate (even if not Raw) would be positive, in the extreme, but again it only has temporary effect. (But a much nicer effect than stripping the elecrolytes out, like another supposed therapy.)
Now if some kind person with a biochemistry background could confirm that the endocannibinoids, and chocolate ones, and Marijuana ones are similar in function with (neuro) receptors then maybe we could get something better than the SSRI/SNRI/MAO neurotransmitter ’support’ that antidepressants provide.
Patrick
Sep 11, 2008 at 4:05 pm
(oops) But there is a potential drawback to chocolate, and that is Lead content.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Sep 11, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Maybe coffee will be next………
Kassiane
Sep 11, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I could go for coffee or chocolate “for autism” if it means medicaid is buying it. Heck yes! Heaven knows my consumption is high enough already that if it changed anything, it already would have.
Bonnie
Sep 11, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Funny you brought this up. My sister is really into Acai berry supplements right now and is begging me to try them on Casey. They too are a very strong antioxidant or contain antioxidants.
Why don’t all these “cures” come up for Downs or CP? Are we the easier target.
Casey eats M&Ms a lot, his favorite candy. Does that count?
anon
Sep 11, 2008 at 6:37 pm
CP is curable don’t you know?
It’s called conductive education and it makes ABA look like a picnic
Speaking Aut
Sep 11, 2008 at 6:37 pm
All I have to say is:
OM NOM NOM.
(Am I cured yet?)
Cait
Sep 12, 2008 at 6:28 am
Raw chocolate is NASTY. I think I’d rather eat coffee grounds! Yuck!
OTOH, 85% cacao dark chocolate with expresso bean crunchies and cacao nibs? DELICIOUS.
sharon
Sep 12, 2008 at 7:21 am
Hmm…well my sons who loves chocolate and will only drink chocolate milk has progressed to a regular classroom. Yet, my other son who will no longer eat his favorite cookies because they changed the design is still in a separate autism unit. Looks like proof to me. ;)
ebohlman
Sep 12, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Bonnie: probably the reason you see more woo claims for autism than for other developmental disabilities is that the course of autism is highly variable, with lots of ups and downs and plateaus. That means that any “therapy” will appear to “work” if it’s initiated during a downswing or plateau which is then, by chance, followed by an upswing. It’s the same reason so many woo claims are made about MS; it’s got a more variable natural history than most neuromuscular diseases. With autism the situation is even worse, because its long-term trend is one of improvement, as compared to deterioration with MS.
Another reason might be that the support communities for autism are relatively new compared to those for DS or CP, and thus haven’t learned some lessons that the more established groups have. They also primarily formed in the Internet era and thus don’t have a tradition of using only vetted sources for information.
Marita
Sep 13, 2008 at 6:05 am
The crazies just never stop.
Chocolate Alchemist
Sep 21, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Oh boy, the things to respond to.
First off, the guy on Craigslist is just spinning for his own benefit IMO. That listing is just chock full of lies/untruths. The one that jumps out at me is that ‘all chocolates out there (except his) have fillers, are high processed, made with cocoa powder etc.’ ad nauseam Just plain untrue spin. Dagoba, Scharfenberger, Theo’s and many, many other small chocolate makers start from the bean and keep it simple. What else is he wrong about I wonder?
I will grant (magnanimous of me isn’t it ;) ) that traditionally processed (note, not raw) dark chocolate has a variety of health benefits that he lists, but I don’t know any studies that show raw chocolate does. Just because it is raw and less processed doesn’t mean it is better for you. Just look at soy beans - inedible and indigestible raw, but not the case once cooked or processed.
Patrick, I agree that studies are needed including biochemical reasons. OTOH, don’t jump on lead. That was an old problem and I know of no chocolate currently produced (and I do keep up on it) that contains lead. Dagoba had an issue years ago, traced it to equipment (not the cocoa itself) and that took care of it.
Great, this raw stuff has huge amounts of ORAC. So what? Where is the direct link between that and autism? It sounds good (oh looky, I have a hugh number so it must be better), but that isn’t proof. It’s spin.
Regan: Not to defend raw chocolate (I really hate the taste of the stuff), but unsweetened bakers chocolate is made from the worst of the worst highly processed chocolate and tastes 1000% worse than raw chocolate. Not a good comparison.
Bonnie - M&M’s don’t count in regard to any health benefits. Highly processed, not dark chocolate, specifically milk chocolate, which studies have shown to not have the dark chocolate’s health benefits.
Cait - yep, my take too.
Sharon, I am glad something worked for you, but there is pretty conclusive evidence that milk chocolate shows none of the health benefits of dark chocolate. What you saw is commonly referred to as circumstantial evidence. Not conclusive evidence.
Marita - no, they never do.
Regan
Oct 2, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Chocolate Alchemist,
Never let it be said that I’m not keen to let my illusions be dispelled.
I got a bar of Dagoba 100% cacao chocolate–no sugar. It’s…different, certainly…not unpleasant, but not something that I can see myself chowing down on a regular basis without some getting used to. It is better than baking chocolate…but I can’t see that it’s orders of magnitude better.
Now the dark chocolate with lavender and blueberries…[smile].
Kristina Chew, PhD
Oct 2, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Still glad for an occasional piece of See’s candy here!
Ethan
Nov 19, 2008 at 11:29 am
hooray raw chocolate!
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