HELP...Starting the dietDarnit, just lost a long response. Here goes again . . . Keep in mind that it's also a soy free diet! Remove casein first. It's not used as a additive in as many foods, so it's easier to get rid of. There are plenty of milk substitutes to try, so don't be upset if your DS doesn't like the first one. It actually took my DS 6 months to decide to drink one; I think he had to forget what cow's milk tastes like. We now use both hemp milk and coconut milk, and he loves them both. You can either go cold turkey on the milk or add a little of the substitute to his regular milk every day and gradually increase that until the cow'd milk is gone. I shop mostly at Earth Fare (local version of whole foods) and Kroger. There are some products you can get anywhere, like the gluten free chex cereals (rice and corn that I know of), and most frito lay potato and corn chips are safe for snacks. Fresh fruits and veggies are, of course, all ok, as are unprocessed meats. Be careful about spices - many of the mixes and blends use gluten as a base, so use single spices. Removing gluten can be a long process. It's used as an additive in things you really wouldn't expect, so most processed foods that aren't specifically labled gluten free are out. Look for brands like Nature's Path, Ian's, and Applegate Farms, and Earth Kids. There are others, but those are some of our favorites. Some great websites with recipes, buying guides, etc:
That's just what I could think of off the top of my head - there are tons of them out there. Good luck! And let me know if you're interested in any recipes; we've put together quite a collection of them. After much consideration we are going to try and start our son on the GFCF diet. I started looking through all the posts and I am getting a little overwhelmed. Hopefully someone can answer a few questions for me. 1) How do we start? 2) What are the best places to find food - online, grocery stores? 3) What supplements do we need? Where is the best place to get them Son is very picky eater and is allergic to tree nuts. we are on a very tight income but if this will help him then we are willing to try. I know many of you have had success and I admire all that you have done. I am hoping to receive help from you as we make this transformation Any recipes would be appreciated. Thank you for the info What type of milk substitute can I give him if he cannot have Almond Milk or coconut milk due to his tree nut allergy? I have never heard of hemp milk and I am a little leery of rice milk - but maybe he would like it? He has not had cows milk in over a week. He had a stomach bug and milk was not agreeing with him at all so we stopped giving it to him. What types of vitamins and supplements can you suggest? And where can I get them? Did he specifically test as allergic to coconuts? A lot of people (DS and I included) who have tree nut allergies can have coconut. Hemp milk is made from the seeds of the hemp plant, so no nuts involved. It's actually quite tasty, and it has a ton of amino acids and other nutrients. Rice milk isn't bad either - just be sure not to get Rice Dream; it actually contains gluten. There's another substitute called Vance's Dairy Free that's a mix; it's only available online. Go check out your local health food store - there are others that I just can't bring to mind at the moment. As for which supplements, that's a big question. Definitely a good multivitamin/mineral and calcium - you can technically get them almost anywhere. Just be very careful as to the ingredients. I get most of DS's supplements online at ourkidsasd.com and brainchildnutritionals.com. You really need to do some research into them first though, so that you know what you're giving him and why. The books CHildren with Starving Brains and Healing the 4A Disorders - either one - is a great place to start. I'm REALLY hoping that DS will be able to eat a normal diet one day - what is college without pizza?! If he can't, well, better a restricted diet than sick and autistic! 143hayden - your son being hooked on milk and gluten was actually a sign of the allergy. It apparently happens that way with a lot of kids, and especially with ours, since their bodies may be breaking those proteins down into an opiate-like compound. Basically, it makes them high, so they're hooked and have weird behaviors. I'd joked for months before DS's diagnosis that it looked like he was watching the pretty colors when he stared at his hands and moved them slowly around in front of his eyes - he looked like he was stoned! And if you're looking for an oreo your kiddo can have, try kinnikinniick's K-Toos. We just tried them for the first time last week, and they taste just like oreos. Lots of sugar, of course, but a really yummy treat. I read a good article....http://ryderfoundation.org/pdf/ryderfoundation_childsjourney .pdf I think she ultimately is able to give the children dairy again after recovery. Yeah that would be a good long term goal actually tho i dont think i even follow that lol This is actually kinda sad and great news! So if im thinking right DS could have given the milk and wheat allergies to himself (not really but u know what i mean)? Because when he was younger all hed drink was TONS of milk seriously and hes only eat frozen waffles all day everyday. Then he branched out to string cheese then hotdogs/corndogs. At that time which was all before diagnosis and afterwards he had major gut issues with alot of mucous and some blood streaks and they smelled funky. He also pooped gazillion times a day but i thoght that was the mysterious toddler diarrhea i kept reading about. I dont even want to think what his bloodwork would have been if we got any which we didnt because his pedi shrugged everything off. So there is hope that DS can be reintroduced to wheat and milk oneday along teh road? It makes me sad to think he may never be able to dip his cookies into real milk or even dip OREO cookies into it or have soem ben and jerrys icecream etc. Ok obviously i love food lol I hope he can eat some treats like that 2 or even real bread that is actually soft [QUOTE=143hayden]Im confused! Ive never heard that they shouldnt eat the same thing more then 2 days in a row but I have heard frequently that you need to expand thier food horizons and they need diff choices of foods to eat. BUT i just read a study a week or so ago that said having a large rotation of food is not necessary as long as they are getting the nutrition they need. I will try to find the article. It made me feel better about DS only eating cereal for days but now im not so sure? [/QUOTE] People with food allergies/sensitivities are in danger of becoming sensitive or even outright allergic to anything that they're exposed to everyday. That's part of the reason to expand what our kids eat; it's not just for proper nutrition (though that's important too!). Case in point, my DS loves green peas, and he was eating them almost every day for a while. On his last blood test he came up sensitive to, you guessed it, green peas. It's incredibly rare to be allergic to green peas, but by eating them everyday, DS developed that sensitivity. We're now only allowing them every 3 days - how crazy is it to have to limit a veggie? So yeah, there should be rotation, but 4 days sounds a bit overambitious to me. Certainly a child who eats the same thing all day every day is going to have problems with that food eventually, and he's unlikely to be getting the nutrition he needs. It's not cause for panic, just a wake up call to keep pushing the new foods. A question for folks on special diets....How important is/isn't rotation of foods for you? We struggle so much with my sons oral motor issues and food preferences and allergies (I'm sure this sounds familiar to many) that when his DAN nutritionist dropped the bomb on me that he should never eat the same foods two days in a row I almost cried. This kid only willingly eats about 4 things that he's not allergic to. AHHH! How could I possible go 4 days without repeating a food? Any advice? Thank you! p.s. to Janie...I'd love any recipe suggestions you can make if you have time...he's allergic to all citrus/acid fruits (tomatoes, mangoes, kiwis) and PICKY! :) Thanks! Sorry! Forgot that I said I'd post some recipes - I'll put them in a separate thread; a couple of people have asked recently. We do rotate foods as much as possible. DS drinks the same stuff almost every day, but I try for as much variation as possible among the solid foods. Of course, when he only ate 3 different meals, there was no way to rotate. It that's where you are now, then I'd just keep rotation in mind as a goal, not as something that has to start right away. As your DS adds more foods, rotation happens much more naturally. [QUOTE=missH]p.s. to Janie...I'd love any recipe suggestions you can make if you have time...he's allergic to all citrus/acid fruits (tomatoes, mangoes, kiwis) and PICKY! :) Just got some basic ones posted - hope they help! Im confused! Ive never heard that they shouldnt eat the same thing more then 2 days in a row but I have heard frequently that you need to expand thier food horizons and they need diff choices of foods to eat. BUT i just read a study a week or so ago that said having a large rotation of food is not necessary as long as they are getting the nutrition they need. I will try to find the article. It made me feel better about DS only eating cereal for days but now im not so sure? I really don't know. This nurse that I saw has a recovered son, so I feel like she's pretty credible??? Anyway, what she said to do is a 4 day rotation, where on day 1 he eats, say, chicken, quinoa and brocolli and then shouldn't have any of these items again for 4-5 days. This sounds completely impossible to me, I don't know about anyone else. Like Janie said, this is probably good as a long-term goal. My two cents would be that if I were going to buy just one cookbook, try Special Diets for Special kids. It's very conducive to cooking GF for the whole family, and definitely budget conscious as well. Good luck to you!(also, you can find it used on Amazon for pretty cheap) |
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