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Anyone doing a GFCF diet?
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We started this with my daughter (well, the gluten free part anyway) and was wondering if you had any website recs for general information/forums with other parents. I'm thinking of going casein free as well but to be honest I'm not really familiar with what foods contain hidden casein/good substitutions to make sure she gets the nutrients she needs.
Thanks!
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Re: Anyone doing a GFCF diet?
We are easing DD into a GF diet. DH and I are off of gluten for the most part.
Just for recipes I like :
https://www.againstallgrain.com/
I am researching the casein free but we are starting with the gluten first.
My DH has aspergers and ADD/ADHD and this has helped him so much. He seems able to focus more, his emotions are steadier. Just a major improvement so I am hopeful for DD (who has ASD).
Olivia Kate is almost 4!
Diagnosed with autism this year and doing great!
That site looks awesome! I was salivating at some of the pictures. lol!
We've done the gluten free for about a month now and have noticed some major changes. A huge reduction in stimming (went from doing it pretty much all day to very seldomly), more language, and she seems to be coming out of the fog and is more responsive to instructions. She still has some tummy troubles (though a million times better than before)/limited attention to non-preferred activities so I'm wondering if I should go all the way with it. I'll probably give the gluten free another 2 months before deciding to do casein free too but I'd like to prepare myself for the possibility. Going gluten free was pretty easy--I eat gluten free since I have celiac and since DD only ate cereal/crackers/pasta that contained gluten those were easy substitutions especially at her age. Casein free will be a lot more challenging.
In some instances-- yes if the child has a difficult time processing gluten.
There's also some antecdotal stuff out there that diets like removing food dyes/additives can improve developmental/behavioral issues.
In some instances-- yes if the child has a difficult time processing gluten.
There's also some antecdotal stuff out there that diets like removing food dyes/additives can improve developmental/behavioral issues.
In some instances-- yes if the child has a difficult time processing gluten.
There's also some antecdotal stuff out there that diets like removing food dyes/additives can improve developmental/behavioral issues.
We eat Paleo because that's just what seemed left over after all of my sons' food allergies. I use a ton of recipes off of PaleOMG's website.
This is one of my favorites: Bacon Alfredo | PaleOMG - Paleo Recipe
Good luck!! We love eating like this. But, I will warn you that since changing our lifestyle, the boys have really bad tummy bloating when they eat any gluten now. Not that this will absolutely happen to you/your kids, but it sucks!! MIL/FIL babysat last weekend and aren't careful about what they feed the kids.
We did wheat free, casein/all dairy free, egg free, nut free, soy free for a while for ds1. He had severe allergies. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes it's tough, but there are so many wonderful foods and recipes out there. Feel free to check out my sons blog. I haven't updated in a bit but if u look at the very early ones there are food ideas and recipes.
I will say that once he could tolerate gluten from an allergy standpoint and began eating it-- we actually saw a huge change in his behavior. I was about to take him back off but after struggling for so long we dealt w it. But definitely impacted behavior. IMO.
So his blog is www.matthewsfood.blogspot.com
My new "mom" blog: http://realityofamommy.blogspot.com
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Notes:
"Still, the effectiveness of a GFCF diet for autism has not been supported by medical research; in fact, a review of recent and past studies concluded there is a lack of scientific evidence to say whether this diet can be helpful or not." (WebMD)
Science has not yet proven that there has been a link between the GFCF diet and decreased symptoms of ASD. There has been a link though, for children who have been found to have an intolerance to gluten or dairy (makes sense, having a belly ache all the time must elicit some behaviors).
In my experience as a BCBA at a private school for kids with ASD, I have not seen the diet to be effective unless an allergy has been found.
I can't blame any parent for giving it a try though! We try to ask parents to not try the GFCF diet at the same time as starting a new therapy, or more intensive ABA, because you won't be able to tell for sure what worked (the diet or the therapy).
It's not the bellyache causing the behaviors. It's tough to develop typically if you're not receiving adequate nutrition. There's definitely a link with celiac and neurological symptoms and the research is just too new to see if long-term if a gluten free diet does help though there is a lot of antecdotal evidence suggesting decreased symptoms. Also, many kids with celiac can present without "typical" symptoms like abdominal distress. I have celiac and had no symptoms at all. I got tested when a family member was diagnosed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15173490 https://americanceliac.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Kids-and-GF-Diet-Sharrett-Cureton.pdf
The reality is gluten is a hard protein to digest which makes a sensitivity to gluten (even if not celiac) not uncommon. The overwhelming majority of people who have celiac disease are undiagnosed due to false negatives/asymptomatic. Diagnosing at a young age is difficult since there are a lot of false negatives especially in younger children.
I don't think it's a terrible idea to attempt a gluten free diet (with the help of a nutritionist, of course) if your child is presenting with developmental delays and/or learning disorders.