GFCF diet even when...[/QUOTE] This is a good question. Other than some constipation, my son, who has Asperger's, did not have GI issues either. His favorite foods were mac/cheese, cheese ravioli, chicken nuggets (although he would eat other foods too). Upon doing testing, we found some food intolerances (IgG) and some yeast (although not extremely high). So we have eliminated certain foods (gluten, soy, casein, eggs), eating mostly organic and low sugar. Also added vitamins/minerals, enzymes, probiotics, CLO etc. Although not a huge wow, I can see over the last 6 months he is calmer, physically stronger, fewer tics, more pretend play. He plays with kids at recess now, which he did not do before (he used to go swing by himself). My daughter, on the other hand, had GI issues and she definitely responded to the diet and biomed. Her changes have been more significant. I think it is worth trying even if there are no apparent GI issues. At least get the testing done to find out more information. __________________________ mom to 10 year old boy/girl twins (Asperger's/PDD-NOS) Dairy would be far easier when it comes to foods.. thats for sure! I guess the best thing to do then is wait for his testing and then go from there? If his tests show fine on all levels do you think his DAN! will still recommend a GFCF diet? Just trying to get fully prepared LOL Julie because your sons test came back fine for gluten were you able to just remove casein? Oh and could not agree more on feeding whole foods.. I'm very big on organic and clean eating. my son has no gastrointestinal problems at all, never has. Goes regular poo everyday between 6-8 pm, like clockwork, no diarrhea, nothing. No food allergies either. So is it still recommend that we do a GFCF diet?? If so, why? P/S just starting with the biomedical.. head is splitting in two and dizzy! So thank you very much for all your help! oops never mind found the answer.. "The diet is one of the very first recommendations we make, and consider it to be a cornerstone of the DAN! Approach. The reasons are many: first, many of the children lack the [dpp4] enzyme that allows them to break down the peptides from gluten and casein. As a result, a subset of autistic individuals have these improperly digested proteins which cross the intestinal membrane, travel in the blood, pass through the blood-brain barrier and interfere with neurotransmission. When this happens, Dr. Karl Reichelt, M.D., Ph.D., and other researchers have shown that these opioid-like substances can be responsible for poor attention, odd behavior, a deficit in socialization skills and poor speech. Conversely, when gluten- and casein-based foods are removed, there can be an initial drug-withdrawal phase [when symptoms can worsen], followed by improved behavior, better attention, at times improved speech and an increase in socialization skills." So now I ask... if your child did not have GI issue, did you still find switching to GFCF helped? That's a tough one! I'd be tempted to try it just because you never know. The worst thing that can happen is that he doesn't need the diet and you just drop it, but at least you'd know for sure. Have you had him tested for allergies, or is it just that you aren't seeing typical allergic reactions? I ask because my DS doesn't have typical reactions either; his are behavioral. Essentially, gluten, casein, soy, yeast, and sugar make him more autistic. Boy do I know what you mean abuot your head splitting open! It does get easier though. I still stress about doing the right diet, supplements, etc, but it's so much easier now than it was a year ago. Hang in there! Heh - we must have been posting at the same time! My kiddo had GI issues, but not severe ones like you hear about in the books. His reaction to the diet was dramatic though. I do know one boy through my local support group who didn't have any GI symtoms at all but has made huge gains just going gluten free. No we have not had the tests done yet, DAN! appointment next month FINALLY.. but no outward reg symptoms just behavior I guess. He is 4 non verbal but high functioning. We have come a long way just in the last year with Speech therapy and being in pre-school. We also taught him to sign and that helped TREMENDOUSLY!I was thinking of just trying the gluten free for a while and see. Dairy is really the only thing he just loves... picky eater!! [QUOTE=KrisN]No we have not had the tests done yet, DAN! appointment next month FINALLY.. but no outward reg symptoms just behavior I guess. He is 4 non verbal but high functioning. We have come a long way just in the last year with Speech therapy and being in pre-school. We also taught him to sign and that helped TREMENDOUSLY! It is much easier to remove dairy than gluten, and you see results quicker when you remove casein. Removal of gluten can take up to six months to see full results. The fact that your son loves dairy and is a picky eater is an indicator that he has issues with it. I would try removing that completely and see where you are in two weeks. If you see improvements you know the diet will be a winner for you and can move on to gluten. Also, alot of times IGG food allergies result in behavioral issues... something you wouldn't be able to pinpoint until you've had testing. Our son never had GI issues either but he still had issues with casein. He tested positive on a urinary peptide test (he can't digest the casein- gluten he was fine). Another reason, IMO, that so many kids do well on the GFCF diet is that not only are you removing offending foods, but oftentimes parents are serving their children more whole, fresh foods and tons of preservatives that are found in boxed and prepackaged foods are no longer polluting our childrens bodies. I, myself, react badly to lots of preservatives in common foods. I think its worth a trial of a couple months. Casein and gluten issuescan actually result in situations causing picky eaters. Both of my kiddos were carb addicts prior to the GFCF diet and they ate a very limited diet. After a couple of months GFCF, they can take or leave the carbs (no more chipaholics in the house... well, except for the DH) and are eating a wide variety of foods. They also no longer have issues with gassy tummies and constipation, eczema is much improved, general disposition is better, we have less stimmy/high anxiety/OCD type behavior issues and much less meltdowns. My son's doctor sent him to an allergiest because of his ears. They weren't infected, but he acted like he couldn't hear us. He had no allergy signs. When he was there he tested positive for 43 of the 47 allergies that they test for. The first thing the allergist did was to take him off dairy. I thought the world was going to end because dairy was his favorite. ( He's eat 2-3 cartons of cottage cheese a week. We'd hide his veggies in it and he'd eat like there was no tomorrow.) My son took to it fine. After 6 months my child improved some, but the allergist wasn't satisfied. She took him off gluten and corn also. The allergist took him off corn because corn acts like morphine on the brain of children. This was on top of all the bad things that gluten can do to a child. He's been gluten, corn, and dairy free for 2 years now. He's making significant progress. The worst part of the whole deal was spending hours in the stores reading labels. After the initial month that got better too. BTW we do take calcium supplements and vitamins (prescription vitamins). The whole family didn't take up the diet though. His food sometimes bothered me so I usually eat differently. The kids at the babysitter eat differently than him too. He knows that he's a little different and it doesn't bother him. The other kids actually want what he's having! Don't let a diet stress you. More than likely your child will adjust fine and improve. It's much harder for the grownups than for the kids. |
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