Manganese

Empty-calorie foods don't just weigh down your backside--they push critical nutrients out of your diet, according to a recent 2-year USDA study. Although Americans are taking in more calories than ever before, we're becoming dangerously low in these essentials.
5 nutrients you're missing

NUTRIENT: Fiber
% WHO FALL SHORT: 96%
TOP FOOD TO FILL THE GAP: Lentils, cooked, 1/2 cup (7.8 g of fiber)
RDA: 22-34g

NUTRIENT: Vitamin E
% WHO FALL SHORT: 93%
TOP FOOD TO FILL THE GAP: Almonds, 23 (7.3 mg of E)
RDA: 15 mg

NUTRIENT: Magnesium
% WHO FALL SHORT: 56%

Here's news for young women. Skimping on manganese-rich foods may cause a heavier menstrual flow and an increased loss of critical minerals, including iron, copper, zinc and manganese.

"It's the first time research has turned up any kind of dietary effect on menstrual flow," says Dr. Phyllis Johnson at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, N.D.

She put 15 young women on a low-manganese diet for 5.5 months. They ate a mere 1 milligram of manganese per day -about half as much as the national average.

One of several studies that now support the use of B6 and magnesium for developmental disorders. Abstract

This study explains why B6 is useful for many with autism. Abstract

Omega-3 fatty acids improve symptoms for children with autism: a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study.

A six-week trial with omega-3 supplementation improved hyperactivity and stereotypy (repetitive movements). Abstract

Incidence of tics in autism

Four years ago, Shauna, our second eldest daughter, began having blackouts. Over the next three years she went from short blackouts to full seizures -- some so severe that they left her with bruises.

The medical professionals were little help. They threw diagnoses of behavioral disorder or stress at us time and again. After several letters from Shauna's teachers at school describing her behavior and personality over the years, as well as our persistence that there was something physically wrong, they diagnosed her as epileptic.

The article offers information on brown rice which is considered as the right rice for nutrients, fiber and flavor. It stated that both brown rice and white rice are very low in fat and sodium an...