Gluten/Casein Free diet?

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

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!

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.