Gastrointestinal support for Autism - Aloe Vera Juice & Slippery Elm

So a hot topic on Dr. Woeller's parent chat forum was about slippery elm and aloe being good digestive supports. In case you don't already know about Autism Action Plan, click here and find out



Anyways, a few parents were talking about digestive healing/support which is huge for most children with autism. But, as I did research on Aloe Vera juice, I realized we could ALL benefit from it. Now the key is to find pure aloe vera juice and find the ones without citric acid and/or sodium benzoate. We like George's brand that we buy from Sprouts or Azure Standard. I also read that aloe vera juice, if given with supplements, increases the digestion of the supplements something crazy, like 2000%. So off we went to try aloe vera juice and slippery elm. Slippery elm gives added moisture to the stool so it is easier to pass. Within 3 days of trying these my son was pooping on the toilet! Hurray! That was huge for us since he was very resistant to any sort of discussion of this. He would scream bloody murder if we tried to get him to sit on the toilet to poop. Now he hasn't looked back. I posted a query on Autism Action Plan about whether the two could have contributed to either his awareness (since we know with sensory issues that my son has often he cannot feel that he has to urinate or defecate, we struggled with that aspect for a long time) or consistency of stool. Obviously harder stools means pain in passing and a resistance to going. Plus there is the general fear that goes into that level of potty training. Dr. Woeller responded on the board to say that it could have been the consistency issue and also a general toning of nerves by the supplements that also helped his accomplishment. The aloe vera juice we give with 2 doses of supplements so he gets about 2 ounces per day. The slippery elm we've kind of slipped on since it has to be given between meals and it is harder to work into the schedule given school and therapy.

So, if you suffer from any digestive complaint, you may think about 1) removing foods that you seem sensitive to and 2) adding in some digestive support like slippery elm and aloe vera juice. From what I read, aloe very juice gives your food "an exit plan" which is always a good thing! But, as with everything I post on here, this is what I read and reasearched, I am passing that on with the hopes that you too do your own research. And, if you find any additional info out, please share it! In the meantime, do a shot of aloe vera juice, it just may do you some good!