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ANRC Comprehensive Nutritional Support Protocol - Feb 28 2023 Revised

The document provides guidelines from the Autism Nutrition Center (ANRC) for comprehensive nutritional support for individuals with autism. It includes guidelines for vitamins/minerals, essential fatty acids, L-carnitine, and a special diet. The guidelines are based on clinical trials finding benefits of these interventions, such as improved IQ and development. The guidelines describe supplement dosages that gradually increase over periods of 4 weeks or less and note it can take 2-4 months to observe full benefits.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

44 views

ANRC Comprehensive Nutritional Support Protocol - Feb 28 2023 Revised

Uploaded by

yusita

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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ANRC Guidelines for

Comprehensive Nutritional Support

The Autism Nutrition Center’s guidelines are designed to provide optimal nutritional
support for most children and adults with autism. It includes a comprehensive set of
vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, l-carnitine, and a healthy allergen-free diet.

The ANRC Guidelines are based primarily on several major research studies and clinical
trials conducted by Prof. James Adams at Arizona State University, as well as studies by
many other researchers around the world.

In just 120 days, the ANRC Guidelines will provide comprehensive nutritional support,
to maximize brain and body function.

A previous 12 month clinical trial of an earlier version of this set of guidelines found that
it resulted in a 7 point increase in non-verbal IQ vs. no change for the control group, and
an 18 month increase in developmental age, vs. only 4 months for the control group.

The 4 key parts of the ANRC Guidelines include:

ANRC Essentials: provides comprehensive vitamin and mineral support, as well as

several other key anti-oxidants and mitochondrial support

Essential Fatty Acids: provides omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids

L-Carnitine: provides carnitine, a key factor for supporting mitochondrial function

(energy production)

Healthy special diet: a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, and protein, and free of gluten,
casein, corn, soy, artificial colors/flavors, artificial flavors/colors/preservatives, and
excess sugar/junk food.

Note: These general guidelines are not intended as individual medical advice. We
advise all families to also discuss these recommendations with their physician and/or
nutritionist.
Detailed ANRC Guidelines
Day 1-28: ANRC Essentials: Follow ANRC guidelines for bodyweight and for gradually
increase dosage over 4 weeks.

Note that 2-3 months is usually required to observe benefit.

Day 29-42: Essential Fatty Acids: We recommend the following, where each capsule
contains approximately 800 mg of omega 3 fatty acids (primarily as EPA).

30–50 pounds (14–23 kg): Day 29-35: 1 capsule/3 times a day;

Day 36 and beyond: 2 capsules/3 times a day

51–100 pounds (23–45 kg): Day 29-33: 1 capsule/3 times a day

Day 34-38 2 capsules/3 times a day
Day 39 and beyond: 3 capsules/3 times a day

100+ pounds (45+ kg): Day 29-32: 1 capsule/3 times a day

Day 33-36: 2 capsules/3 times a day
Day 37-39: 3 capsules/3 times a day
Day 40 and beyond: 4 capsules/3 times a day

We recommend ProEPA Xtra by Nordic Naturals (www.nordicnaturals.com), which

contains 820 mg of omega 3 per capsule (mostly EPA), because that is very similar to
what we used in our 2018 study. If you want to try other brands, we strongly
recommend you smell them to check for rancidity.

Note that it takes about 2 months for blood levels to significantly increase, and about 4
months to reach peak level and provide maximum benefit, so be patient.

Day 43-56: L-Carnitine: Gradually increase dosage over 2 weeks.

Day 43-49: 25 mg/kg bodyweight (so about 750 mg for a 30 kg, or 65 lb, child)

Day 50 and beyond: 50 mg/kg bodyweight (so about 1500 mg for a 30 kg, or 65 lb,
child). Maximum of 2 grams.

Note that one study (Fahmy 2013) used 2x this dosage and found even better results.

We recommend L-carnitine instead of acetyl-l-carnitine since we found L-carnitine was

better absorbed. Now Foods is one reputable supplier (www.nowfoods.com), and we
used their carnitine in our 2018 study.

Carnitine supplementation is most likely to help participants who have low energy or
fatigue easily (since carnitine helps make ATP, a primary energy source for the body and
brain). It is also most likely to help people who do not regularly consume beef or pork (2-
3 servings/week), since the primary source of carnitine in the diet is beef, and somewhat
in pork.
Note that about 3 months is required to observe benefit.

Day 57-120: Healthy special diet: Begin with the ANRC Diet Self-Assessment (found on
our webpage www.autismnrc.org under the “Nutrition Assessment” tab) to assess current
nutritional status, and then work on improving the areas with the lowest scores. The 6 major
principles of the diet are:

1) High intake of a variety of vegetables (including leafy greens) and some fruit
(preferably whole fruit).
2) Adequate protein quality and intake.
3) Adequate, but not excessive, caloric intake
4) Minimal consumption of “junk” foods and replacement with healthy snacks.
5) Healthy, gluten-free, casein-free, corn-free, and soy-free (HGCCSF).
6) Avoidance of artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives.

Note that it can take 1-3 months to observe benefit from improved diet.

Hints:

In the rare cases that one of these supplements is not tolerated, reduce the dose to a level that is
tolerated, or eliminate it.

Evaluate benefits at day 120.

If results are positive, continue all treatments. If you suspect a treatment is not necessary, you
can gradually reduce it over 2-4 weeks, and then see if there is any effect due to removing it over
the next 1-3 months.

Additional Testing:

If possible, ask your physician to measure levels of iron and vitamin D.

Iron: Iron is not included in ANRC Essentials, because most males do not need extra iron, and
excessive iron can be harmful. However, young children under 5 years, females who have
reached puberty, and children with “restless leg” syndrome are at greater risk of low iron, and
should have their levels checked, and provided with additional iron if needed. Discuss with your
physician.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D is primarily obtained by direct sunlight exposure to the skin. Many
people do not have adequate exposure to sun, and hence need extra vitamin D. A measurement
of your levels of vitamin D levels (25-hydroxyvitamin D). If results are low, discuss additional
supplementation with your physician.
Research behind the ANRC Nutrition Guidelines:
The major nutrients that humans need are vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, carnitine, and
protein. The ANRC guidelines are designed to provide all of those nutrients, at safe and effective
levels, to maximize nutritional support and optimize brain and body function.

The ANRC Guidelines are based primarily on the results of the following research studies and clinical
trials of children and adults with autism.

You can click on the weblink to learn more about each study.

Comprehensive Study including vitamins, minerals, carnitine, and a healthy

special diet

A 12 month clinical trial of an earlier version of the ANRC Guidelines found that it resulted in
a 7 point increase in non-verbal IQ vs. no change for the control group, an 18 month increase
in developmental age vs. only 4 months for the control group, and many other benefits. The
ANRC Guidelines are an improved version of the guidelines used in that study, and we
believe it will be even more effective.

Comprehensive Nutritional and Dietary Intervention for Autism

Spectrum Disorder – A Randomized, Controlled 12-Month Trial
James B. Adams, Tapan Audhya, Elizabeth Geis, Eva Gehn, Valeria Fimbres, Elena L.
Pollard, Jessica Mitchell, Julie Ingram, Robert Hellmers, Dana Laake, Julie S.
Matthews, K. Li, Jane C. Naviaux, Robert K. Naviaux, Rebecca L. Adams, Devon M.
Coleman, David W. Quig. Nutrients 2018, 10(3), 369;

http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/3/369

Vitamins/Minerals:
The latest study (Adams et al 2022) found that 73% of 161 people using ANRC
Essentials Plus reported moderate, good, or great benefits. The other papers provide
more information on earlier studies of vitamin/mineral supplements for autism.

Vitamin/mineral/micronutrient supplement for autism spectrum

disorders: a research survey.
Adams, J. B., Kirby, J., Audhya, T., Whiteley, P., & Bain, J. (2022). BMC pediatrics,
22(1), 590.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-022-03628-0

Vitamin/Mineral Supplements for Children and Adults with Autism.

Adams JB (2015) Vitamins Minerals 3: 127.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15673999
Effect of a Vitamin/Mineral Supplement on Children with Autism
Adams JB, Audhya T, Mcdonough-Means S, Rubin RA, Quig D, Geis E, Gehn E,
Loresto M, Mitchell J, Atwood S, Barnhouse S, Lee W BMC Pediatrics 2011, 11:111

https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2431-11-111

Nutritional and Metabolic Status of Children with Autism vs.

Neurotypical Children, and the Association with Autism Severity, Adams
JB, Audhya T, Mcdonough-Means S, Rubin RA, Quig D, Geis E, Gehn E, Loresto M,
Mitchell J, Atwood S, Barnhouse S, Lee W Nutr. Metab (Lond) 2011 Jun 8:8(1):34.

https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-8-
34

Pilot study of a moderate dose multivitamin/mineral supplement for

children with autistic spectrum disorder. Adams JB and Holloway C, J Altern
Complement Med. 2004 Dec;10(6):1033-9.

Carnitine
Two studies have found that carnitine supplementation is helpful for some children
with ASD.

A prospective double-blind, randomized clinical trial of levocarnitine to

treat autism spectrum disorders.
Geier DA, Kern JK, Davis G, King PG, Adams JB, Young JL, Geier MR. Med Sci
Monit 2011 Jun;17(6):PI15-23.
https://www.medscimonit.com/download/index/idArt/881792

L-Carnitine supplementation improves the behavioral symptoms in

autistic children
Sarah Farid Fahmy, Manal H. El-hamamsy, Osama K. Zaki, Osama A. Badary.
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 7 (2013) 159–166

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1750946712000827

Essential Fatty Acids

This meta-analysis of many studies found that children with ASD generally benefit
from supplementation with fish oil.

Relationship between Long Chain n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of
Case-Control and Randomised Controlled Trials.
Mazahery H, Stonehouse W, Delshad M, Kruger MC, Conlon CA, Beck KL, von Hurst
PR. Nutrients. 2017 Feb 19;9(2).

http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/2/155