Gluten/Casein Free diet?

Twins2007

Good morning,

This isn't weight loss related but we are embarking on the GFCF diet as my boys, who haven't been diagnosed with anything but possible ADHD and a language delay, fit the profile of being "intoxicated" by the foods we eat.

- Unable to sleep at night
-Hyperactivity
-"Always on the go"
- "Glue" ear
-dark shadows under the eyes
-more...

Note: I specialised in Autism for 8 years and used to think dietary interventions and Vaccine connection were BS...But when you see your own kids struggling so much...You are willing to do look more into it. This is not a debate post...Just curious to see if anyone out there is implementing this...Even if you are a celiac, I would love your input!

Happy New Year,

E

AnneliesaMarie

Good morning,

This isn't weight loss related but we are embarking on the GFCF diet as my boys, who haven't been diagnosed with anything but possible ADHD and a language delay, fit the profile of being "intoxicated" by the foods we eat.

- Unable to sleep at night
-Hyperactivity
-"Always on the go"
- "Glue" ear
-dark shadows under the eyes
-more...

Note: I specialised in Autism for 8 years and used to think dietary interventions and Vaccine connection were BS...But when you see your own kids struggling so much...You are willing to do look more into it. This is not a debate post...Just curious to see if anyone out there is implementing this...Even if you are a celiac, I would love your input!

Happy New Year,

E

AnneliesaMarie

Our family is just beginning to explore gluten free. I have 3 children: ADHD, Dyslexia, ODD & Oral Processing issues still being diagnosed. I recognize a certain amount of genetics, but my middle child has enuresis problems. I fortunately stumbled upon information connecting Gluten in diet to this condition, and it just led from there. I honestly didn't know what Gluten was until I starting reading about it. We tried a new Gluten Free chocolate cake last night & the children love it!! We openly discuss each of their conditions & are now discussing all the foods we are choosing & putting into our mouths. I have also heard associations of autism with food. Let's face it...the food industry is producing" food...we really don't know what that is in so many cases. And with the feeding of convenience, that has multiplied the problems. We are taking a simple approach to address from hand to mouth...does it come from the earth. We examine from there. We are becoming HUGE farmer's market patrons & actually getting to know these farmers. So many welcome you to their farms to see for yourself their organic practices. I know that a gluten laden diet has not benefited either of my two oldest children academically or behaviorally. It was more gradual of a change, but now that I'm looking at things differently, even in myself, I can see the effects. I don't know if this helps, but hopefully its supportive.

Twins2007

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Friend request sent

E

veganbaum

I am not celiac, but I am vegan so I do not consume casein and I have in the past limited gluten (if I eat too much I get bloated/uncomfortable - I still try to avoid it a lot, but I will eat bread with wheat more often than I used to). I also used to work at a natural foods store where a lot of shoppers ate gluten free. There are many gluten free breads out there, which is what a lot of people have trouble replacing. I think if that's something you want to do you just have to try different ones because some of them are not very good. I actually think it's easier just to not eat bread. For instance, instead of toast for breakfast have gluten free oatmeal (oats do not themselves have gluten but are often processed on equipment where there can be cross contamination. Not a big deal if there's a minor gluten intolerance, but I would imagine true celiacs probably buy gluten free). There are things like brown rice tortillas, pasta, and flours to use in place of flours with gluten (which is most). Brown rice pasta is pretty easy to find. If you have a Trader Joe's they sell some (and label products with a symbol for gluten free). Casein is present in dairy, so that means avoiding anything with dairy in it, and lactose free products still have casein. As another poster mentioned, if you go with more whole foods and fewer processed foods, it's pretty east to avoid gluten and casein.

Good luck. I think it's great you're trying to take control at home and not just treat the symptoms with medication. I really hope it works for you, even if it only lessens symptoms I'm sure that will be a relief for you and your children (and teachers!). If nothing else, eating more whole foods will improve overall health anyway.

ahavoc

I have multiple food sensitivities and have to watch everything I eat. My top problems are wheat, cow milk, peanut butter, strawberries, but I had a reaction to 43 of the 49 things I was tested for.

Here's what I've learned. Sometimes it's not just gluten, it can be wheat. Mix up the grains. Use corn flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, chick pea flour, etc when cooking. Get the gluten free baking mixes, they are the only thing that works for baking, but the rest can be used when doing regular cooking. Rice flour doesn't tolerate high heat very well, but makes for a good thickener. Oat flour can tolerate heat, but some people who need gluten free can't tolerate the oats.

In regards to milk, I use goat and sheep's milk products exclusively. The cattle/milk industry has been pushing cow milk down our throats for years, and that too is in everything. Casein, a milk protein is even in products marked "non-dairy" so watch out! Goat milk is much better tolerated by humans, even those with cow milk allergies. Listen, for centuries most of our ancestors were shepherds, and we are better suited to goat milk than cow milk. Cow milk is for a 300 pound animal, goat milk for a 100 pound animal. It's a bit more expensive and hard to find, but it SHOULDN'T be. That's just the cow industry blocking out everybody else. But truly, try it! It will help. Goat milk yogurt, milk, ice cream. Goat and sheep's milk cheeses.

Lastly I have to say, read the ingredients on EVERYTHING. Some things don't say they are gluten free because they aren't made in a facility that is separate from where they do use wheat or peanuts, etc. So be careful. But keep a diary of what the kids are eating and their behaviour. Some reactions take up to three days before you see them. And for a while, rotate the food every three days. So you don't eat the same thing for three days. So, chicken one day, pork the next, then beef, then back to chicken. Do corn products one day, rice the next, potatoes the next, then back to corn. Same for veggies and fruit. This way you can best see what the kids might be sensitive to. You'll have to do this for a couple of weeks, so strong meal planning is necessary, but it will be a great guide for you.

I cook everything from scratch so I can control what's going into the food I and my family eat. I know it's not easy, but I and my family are much the better for it.

Good luck and God be with you!

lkenn67

My household is working on a much cleaner, healthier diet. I have suffered my entire life with digestive, sinus, and headache issues. This year my doctor and I finally diagnoised a number of food sensitivities, including gluten, dairy, seseme, garlic, yogurt cultures, safflower, and yeast. My oldest daughter is vegan and my middle daughter is vegetarian. We work at cooking for the common denominator, therefore we cook vegan without my food sensitivities. It is a challenge. But we enjoy finding new foods to explore.

I do believe that many foods we put into our bodies are posioning us. I try as much as I can to find foods as close to nature as possible. The convience processed foods are full of chemicals. So I would not just eliminate the gluten and casein, but really focus on clean healthy foods. The gluten free market is really expanding, but I'm not sure they are the healthiest option. Many of them are full of chemicals too.

The biggest key to being successful is to do your research and buy some good cookbooks. Don't expect to replace certain foods with gluten free options that taste the same you will be disappointed. Explore and find new foods that your family enjoys. Also focus on eating a balanced diet. Good luck on your journey.

Twins2007

WOW

Thanks everyone!

Will keep you posted

E xo

karenwill2

one It word.... Udi's. They make the best GF bread. Pamela's make the best pancake/waffle mixes. I am highly gluten intolerant. I get psycho if exposed and physically, there is a lot of blood loss and etc. It is not pretty. I am NOT a Celiac as I refuse to pay for the DNA test to get graced with that title. I let my kids eat gluten out in the world because they seem to be fine until they have too much of it. It is a double edged sword. Usually you are either born with it or physical stress activates it in your body. For me it was pregnancy. I do find gluten to be evil but it is a hard road to travel. I am so sensitive that I don't eat unless it is prepared at home. Be careful about mixes that you can buy as gluten free is not a regulated label so it can be contaminated. Cross contamination is a real big time issue. I know that Betty Crocker's GF line is made in a GF facility. Do your research and watch out for modifies food starches and anything that says malt. I love rice and rice pasta.

Add me if you want. And good luck to you.

TheGlen

My family and I are now following the primal blueprint lifestyle. We have modified it slightly for the kids to eliminate the dairy/casein as well (basically our modifications put our kids within the "Gluten/Casein Free diet").

Our 11 y/o son is diagnosed with ADHD and tourettes (with some undiagnosed OCD tendencies). He takes an adderall & strattera combo to help with the ADHD and is now able to concentrate enough in school to get above average grades (mostly "A"s). On the days his medication is missed, we almost always get a message from his teacher saying that he was out of control all day, unable to concentrate and distracting the rest of the class. Last year he started picking at his arms, legs and face compulsively (to the point of bleeding/scabbing). The doctor we see regularly to monitor his medications and symptoms said that the medications might be aggravating the ticks/picking. He suggested that we put him on an additional medication to try help (it's a medication that is sometimes used as an anti-psychotic). We decided to continue trying more natural methods, and stumbled across an article discussing the "Gluten/Casein Free" diet and heard some really good results.

For health reasons, it was suggested that we limit our daughter's (5 y/o) dairy intake as well (long story).

Another point of interest, is that both of our kids are very skinny (within healthy ranges, but visibly skinnier than their peers).

Since the family has started the diet (around 4 months now):
- My son has gained weight, his "picking" has almost entirely stopped, he has had a reduction in his other ticks (subjective) and we have been able to reduce his current medication dosages (without any noticeable negative effects with school/concentration).
- I've lost 25lbs and my Wife lost 15lbs (we haven't added any additional exercise...YET!).
- My daughter has gained weight and she appears healthier (obviously the "healthier" is subjective, but we weigh the kids).

Things aren't perfect, but we've personally seen a huge improvement on this type of diet. With seeing such positive results from diet change, we are continuing to do research and learn as much as possible. We are currently reading up on the "GAPS" diet right now to decide if this is something we want to try for our son or not.

It was a lot of work in the beginning, to learn what you can/can't eat, what brands are OK and where to find alternatives, but things have settled into more of a routine now.