USDA Nutrient database

Use the USDA Nutrient database to get details on all the stuff that you eat. For example, "healthy foods" are dangerous to people with kidney disorders or patients with Renal Tubular Acidosis as the Phosphorus in whole grain cereals leaks into the body and causes considerable damage. Phosphorus is typically low enough not to be listed in the label, but high enough to cause considerable damage to kidney patients. Here is an example for Milk and Soymilk as listed in the USDA nutrient database.

Milk, lowfat, fluid, 1%, fortified with Vitamin A - Contains Phosphorus and Potassium

Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	142	0	0
Iron, Fe	mg	0.06	0	0
Magnesium, Mg	mg	16	0	0
Phosphorus, P	mg	111	0	0
Potassium, K	mg	180	0	0
Sodium, Na	mg	58	0	0
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.45	0	0
Copper, Cu	mg	0.010	0	0
Manganese, Mn	mg	0.002	0	0
Selenium, Se	mcg	2.5	0	0

Soymilk - Does not contain Phosphorus and also lower Potassium. The Std Error on Potassium (last column) is quite high, so it may have the same amount of Potassium as regular milk.

Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	140	4	24.47
Iron, Fe	mg	0.49	4	0.125
Potassium, K	mg	141	4	29.953
Sodium, Na	mg	50	4	5.739
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.24	2	0
Copper, Cu	mg	0.123	1	0
Selenium, Se	mcg	2.3	1	0

The database has all the food items you find at stores too. So you can check most of the store items. Below is an example.

Puddings, rice, dry mix, prepared with whole milk

Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	103	0	0
Iron, Fe	mg	0.37	0	0
Magnesium, Mg	mg	13	0	0
Phosphorus, P	mg	85	0	0
Potassium, K	mg	128	0	0
Sodium, Na	mg	108	0	0
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.38	0	0
Copper, Cu	mg	0.020	0	0
Manganese, Mn	mg	0.059	0	0
Selenium, Se	mcg	1.8	0	0

Phosphorus is an extreme example in that it is found in just about anything. But if you substitute milk with Soymilk here, you provide an enormous improvement in Quality of Life for kidney and RTA patients. Your kryptonite mineral may be something else depending on your ailment; the database gives you a great starting point to figure out what to eat and what to avoid.

You can also get a PDF file of Phosphorus content for all items, but it does not seem to be as accurate as a specific lookup and does diverge quite a bit from the specific lookup. So the PDF file is good if your primary focus is what to take, but not good if your primary focus is avoidance.

Link to many Newsweek articles on Autism

Here's the link to all Newsweek articles on the subject.

Temple Grandin presentation

Temple Grandin

Legal decisions as a medical reference?..nah!!

If you are a smoker and die of lung cancer, good luck proving it. Big Daddy tobacco will throw the kitchen sink at you and eventually settle in a no fault fashion if the opposing party does not tire out. Which has in turn has created an entire breed of trial lawyers just designed for taking on Big Daddies.

Big Daddy government has just indicated that vaccines did not cause autism in three kids. But that conclusion was done with existing evidence. And as we know, as per existing legal evidence, lung cancer is not caused by smoking.

The "innocent until proven guilty" theory works well for the vaccine industry in these cases. As it does for innocent civilians and "hell yeah" guilty tobacco industry. So the burden of proof is on the scientific community to keep moving towards finding the cause.

I will get back to reading my copy of "To kill a mockingbird" now.

Avoid bankruptcy while caring for autism...

The threat of bankruptcy while caring for an autistic child is real. Here is an audio explaining the issues and precautions that need to be taken to ensure financial stability.

Alternate vaccination schedule

Here's an alternate vaccination schedule if your are justifiably paranoid about vaccination. Click on the photo to get an enlarged image and to get a printout of the schedule. Also note that you should avoid vaccination even if the kid has something as normal as a common cold. It gets really tough, but that is one way of avoiding the danger of autism.