Feb 11, 2010
Dr. Kenneth Bock, the cofounder of the
Rhinebeck Health Center and the Center
for Progressive Medicine in Rhinebeck,
New York, is becoming a bit of an international
celebrity on the autism-environment circuit, holding
seminars and giving lectures on the benefits
of controlled diets and supplements
for treating the disorder. That’s
good news for advancing autism
treatments, but slightly more discouraging
for would-be patients
who have to wait six months or
more for an appointment. Still, Bock
must be doing something right—he
draws patients from across the
world who believe his treatments really can turn
autistic behaviors—and discomforts—around.
E Magazine: Tell us about the gastrointestinal
problems you see with autistic kids.
Kenneth Bock: For many of these kids, they
have inadequate treatment, or they have medical
problems, including gastrointestinal problems. Their
symptoms range from significant abdominal pain
to bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, really malodorous,
foul-smelling stools, improper digestion,
the list goes on and on. And malabsorption, so
some of the kids look like they’re from third-world
countries with thin extremities and really bloated
bellies. Many of them have really inflammatory
bowel disease. It’s not Crohn’s, but it’s a distinctive
type of inflammation in their colons—in addition
to reflux. So they really have pain.
Sometimes they have these behaviors that are
thought of as autistic but it’s really because they
can’t speak or communicate. So they press their
bellies and bend over, and do all these weird contortions.
They scream, they bang their heads, they
flap their hands. It’s not because they’re autistic
but it’s the intense pain. You treat their inflammation,
you treat their reflux, and lo and behold,
their autistic behaviors get better.
E: Why do autistic kids seem to be in a
fog—how is that related to diet?
K.B.: The other part is they have this imbalanced
intestinal flora, we call it dysbiosis. We all have
trillions of organisms in our guts. There are more
organisms in our guts than there are cells in your
body. If you have abnormal intestinal
flora, which many of these kids
have, whether it be overgrowth of
anaerobic bacteria, or certain types
of fungi like yeast, any of these
imbalances can create abnormal
behaviors. They can cause cognitive
dysfunction or “brain fog,” they
can cause aggressive behaviors,
mood disorders. The spinning, the flapping, the
hands in front of the eyes, abnormal movements
of the eyes, all that kind of stuff. If you treat that,
they also get a lot better.
E: You’ve found that removing gluten
(wheat) and casein (dairy) can help—but
isn’t that difficult for parents?
K.B.: It’s not easy, I’ll agree. It takes determined
parents. But when you have a kid that’s severely
affected, you will do it. And it’s really doable now.
There are so many more sources of gluten-free
and casein-free foods. Not just over the Internet
now, but even in supermarkets. There are so many
people doing this diet. We have nutritionists and
health practitioners who can help the parents
implement the diet. The truth is, if you’re going to
do it, you have to do it well.
E: What are the nutritional concerns with
this diet?
K.B.: It’s important to take calcium and magnesium
so they’re not going to become calcium-deficient.
And usually you need vitamin D as well.
CONTACT: Rhinebeck Health Center, (845) 876-
7082, www.rhinebeckhealth.com. —Brita Belli


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