Link Between Autism and Low Cholesterol Levels
An interesting study in the American Journal of Medical Genetics found that abnormally low cholesterol levels were much more common in autistic children. 19 out of 100 autistic children studied had low cholesterol (< 100 mg/dl), a level lower than that found in 99 percent of children ages 4 through 19.
The researchers also found that the low cholesterol levels seemed to be the result of a reduced ability of the body to naturally make cholesterol (which occurs primarily in the liver), and not the result of low dietary cholesterol intake or a decreased ability to absorb it from the GI tract.
Cholesterol levels that are too low can be just as bad as high cholesterol levels, as cholesterol is used as a building block for:
- many hormones - e.g., sex hormones, cortisol
- bile acids - which the liver produces and helps with both the excretion of toxins and the absorption of fats
- and vitamin D - which is essential for proper immune system function
Perhaps not surprisingly, autistic individuals often have hormone and fatty acid imbalances, difficulty excreting toxins, and immune system irregularities.
