Re: gluten and casine free diets

July 15, 2004

Hi Polly,

I, too, am interested in what eliminating these things is supposed

to accomplish. I had thought it was mainly used for kids w/ADHD? Or

if there is evidence of a food allergy. What prompted your husband

to suggest trying this diet? Does your daughter eat a lot of foods

containing these ingredients?

All my pediatrician would say is that it's a fairly low-risk thing

to try if you suspect a problem with food allergies. Well low-risk

is relative as my child eats pasta 3x week. I know there are gluten-

free versions of a lot of stuff, but she's so picky about brands of

food, that there are only certain types of pasta she will eat. Any

way I'd love to know if anyone's had success w/this diet and what

behaviors it affected.

Thanks,

Traci

PS My AS daughter did have dairy allergies as baby after I weaned

from breast milk. It only lasted about 18 months and has not come

back since.

> My husband is very interested in trying this with our daughter.

She

> is almost 3 and is getting assessed for PDD. I'm a little

sceptical

> about this diet. Does anyone know what behaviors this diet is

> supposed to eliminate? Has any one tried it? I have done research

(

> although I admit I get a little overwhelmed ) and it seems that

> there is so many foods that end up being eliminated. Just what

can

> they eat? My daughter is not badly behaved, she mostly has a hard

> time with routine changes and tends to scream but I sometimes

think

> this is also frustration on her part because she does not have the

> language to tell me that she doesn't like what is happening. She

> fully understands the word NO. She also does not seem to have any

> problems with food alergies either. She is a very good eater. She

> does not get an upset tummy from milk or other dairy products and

> she does not suffer from diarreah. So, how do you know when or if

> you should try special diets? I hope someone out there can give

me

> some answers.

>

> Thanks,

> An Overwhelmed Mommy

> Polly

July 15, 2004

TRY the diet, NOW. Don't ever look back one day and wish you'd

tried it NOW. It will never be easier than NOW. If you don't see

changes, then stop.

We are one of the families who saw HUGE HUGE differences on the

diet, and we've been on it for 3 years (we're soy and peanut free,

too, and were egg and corn free for over 2 years).

Alyssa was a good eater, didn't crave milk or breads, and didn't

have bowel problems. We didn't think she was a good candidate for

the diet, but I never wanted to look back and wish I'd tried it, so

I decided to rule it out early (she was 22 months old when we

started). OH MY, what an incredible difference it made!

PennY in MI

> My husband is very interested in trying this with our daughter.

She

> is almost 3 and is getting assessed for PDD. I'm a little

sceptical

> about this diet. Does anyone know what behaviors this diet is

> supposed to eliminate? Has any one tried it? I have done research

(

> although I admit I get a little overwhelmed ) and it seems that

> there is so many foods that end up being eliminated. Just what

can

> they eat? My daughter is not badly behaved, she mostly has a hard

> time with routine changes and tends to scream but I sometimes

think

> this is also frustration on her part because she does not have the

> language to tell me that she doesn't like what is happening. She

> fully understands the word NO. She also does not seem to have any

> problems with food alergies either. She is a very good eater. She

> does not get an upset tummy from milk or other dairy products and

> she does not suffer from diarreah. So, how do you know when or if

> you should try special diets? I hope someone out there can give

me

> some answers.

>

> Thanks,

> An Overwhelmed Mommy

> Polly

July 15, 2004

The GFCF diet has N O T H I N G to do with allergies. NOTHING. It

has to do with a defective or missing enzyme, (researchers are

calling it DPPIV, if you want to google it). Here's the

oversimplified version: Gluten and casein convert to opiates during

digestion. The enzyme DPPIV is needed to break down the opiate into

individual amino acids. If the enzyme is missing, the opiate-like-

substance can escape from the gut and the blood takes it right to

the brain, where it plugs into opoid receptors.

Think about morphine. It dulls the senses, makes some people

lethargic, some sick-to-the-stomach, some hyper. Pulling the gluten

and casein away means different things to different kids. There's

no one thing it does, except it brings calmness and clarity to these

kids who were just stoned before.

go over to gfcfdiet.com

and the yahoo group GFCFkids

for more information.

> Hi Polly,

> I, too, am interested in what eliminating these things is supposed

> to accomplish. > Thanks,

> Traci

July 15, 2004

The GFCF diet has N O T H I N G to do with allergies. NOTHING. It

has to do with a defective or missing enzyme, (researchers are

calling it DPPIV, if you want to google it). Here's the

oversimplified version: Gluten and casein convert to opiates during

digestion. The enzyme DPPIV is needed to break down the opiate into

individual amino acids. If the enzyme is missing, the opiate-like-

substance can escape from the gut and the blood takes it right to

the brain, where it plugs into opoid receptors.

Think about morphine. It dulls the senses, makes some people

lethargic, some sick-to-the-stomach, some hyper. Pulling the gluten

and casein away means different things to different kids. There's

no one thing it does, except it brings calmness and clarity to these

kids who were just stoned before.

go over to gfcfdiet.com

and the yahoo group GFCFkids

for more information.

> Hi Polly,

> I, too, am interested in what eliminating these things is supposed

> to accomplish. > Thanks,

> Traci

July 15, 2004

Hi Polly--

It is an overwhelming decision to make, but once you make it and get

started it seems much more manageable. My daughter was on the diet

for 4 months, with no results. she seems, from your description of

your daughter, to have a similar temperment. She had a pretty crappy

diet at the time, but no worse that my other kids.

I've heard so many dramatic results to this diet that I was SORELY

disappointed to find no change in my daughter's behavior despite my

effort to be very strict. Pretty much everything she put in her mouth

for two months was completly homemade.

Keep in mind that there are lots of stores and internet order sites

that cater to people on the GF/CF free diet. Although an expensive

option, it can make it LOTS easier.

Despite our disappointing results, I am glad I tried the diet and was

able to say, " well it didn't work, but it was worth a try " Imagine if

it had gone the opposite way and we never tried it though it could

have helped? I shudder at the thought.

Also remember that there are so many substitutions for products with

gluten! (And casein) Your child doesn't have to say good-bye forever

to bread and pizza and chicken nuggets.

I do sympathize with your hesitation to eliminate, eliminate,

eliminate. There were people telling me when I decided to take Ellie

off the diet, " Wait! Try eliminating eggs! Soy! Corn! " The list is

endless and I wasn't willing to serve her boiled chicken and steamed

broccoli all the time. It is a very tough line to draw in the sand.

My advice is follow your gut! (no pun intended) I suspected that

Ellie, too, would be a poor candidate for the diet but I wanted to

give it a shot, hoping hoping that I was wrong. Don't let anyone

emotionally intimidate you to make a decision--every child is

different and I think that people who say that this diet works with no

exceptions has some kind of agenda to push.

Sorry for the long rambling post but this is an issue that hits close

to my heart!

Sharon

mom to Ellie, 4 1/2

> My husband is very interested in trying this with our daughter. She

> is almost 3 and is getting assessed for PDD. I'm a little sceptical

> about this diet. Does anyone know what behaviors this diet is

> supposed to eliminate? Has any one tried it? I have done research (

> although I admit I get a little overwhelmed ) and it seems that

> there is so many foods that end up being eliminated. Just what can

> they eat? My daughter is not badly behaved, she mostly has a hard

> time with routine changes and tends to scream but I sometimes think

> this is also frustration on her part because she does not have the

> language to tell me that she doesn't like what is happening. She

> fully understands the word NO. She also does not seem to have any

> problems with food alergies either. She is a very good eater. She

> does not get an upset tummy from milk or other dairy products and

> she does not suffer from diarreah. So, how do you know when or if

> you should try special diets? I hope someone out there can give me

> some answers.

>

> Thanks,

> An Overwhelmed Mommy

> Polly

July 15, 2004

Polly and Traci, Allie started speaking for the first time 5 days

after removing dairy. When gluten was removed her poops were better

formed, lower odor, she had wonderful eye contact and her language

continued to improve. She didn't stim as much and all around seemed

much happier.

I will also say that we let her start eating g/c 1.5 yrs after being

completely gfcf. We now give her Houston Enzymes and she's been

fine, been eating " real " foods for a year. I think her gut needed

that time to heal, and she did test moderate for IgG to gluten, was

already off casein to get an accurate test.

Sometimes the only way to know if a food might be causing a problem

is to temporarily eliminate it. For example, once we went gfcf Allie

would have bouts of diarrhea and screaming fits all afternoon. I

realized it was fruit juices, but it wasn't until I did gfcf that it

became obvious, as I was giving her fruit juices every day. I

realized it was a salicylate issue and only give her koolaid, pear,

or mango juices. I've also found this with my 22 mo old NT daughter

and juices.

HTH,

Debi

> Hi Polly,

>

> I, too, am interested in what eliminating these things is supposed

> to accomplish.

July 16, 2004

-

Polly,

I didn't think my daughter had many issues either but she did. She

also was a good eater and I too said what can she eat. We'll you may

change the stores that you buy your food at but you'd be surprised

how many food subsitutes they have in gluten and casein free versions.

My daughter use to slam herself against the sofa, had no eye contact

never had a firm BM, and was often in her own little world so hard to

reach.

It has made such a remarkable improvement and yes it turns out she

does have many allergies that I was unaware of. She is very happy

and all those things I mentioned are greatly improved. She is only

gluten intolerant.

-- In Autism_in_Girls , smallteadrinker

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