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The GFCF Diet…  Does it really work?

Our man Brady has a wheat allergy.  That’s one of the fun facts we’ve learned through his insane amount of biological testing since his diagnosis.  So for Brades a Gluten-free diet makes sense, of course.  But we didn’t know about the allergy before we started that diet.

I’d read about GFCF in a couple of books and online, and practically all of the evidence for its usefulness is anecdotal (just like practically every other therapy).  Here’s what we know for sure.  Many children on the spectrum have very weak guts.  They don’t process food correctly, suppress illnesses, and their bodies don’t get the nutrients from their food to support brain development.  This was certainly the case with Brades.  Since many autism kids have similar wheat allergies and are lactose intolerant, the GFCF diet makes sense for their general health, thus if a child feels better their development should improve. 

I know this for sure… IT’S EXPENSIVE!!!  Whole Foods, Raisin Rack or Trader Joe’s—just drop off your whole paycheck there because that’s what it will cost.

I know many families on both sides of the fence…. any success or failure you’ve seen?

JEROD

I started my son on GFCF diet November 2007(at 2.8 years old) and he showed immediate improvement in behavior (tantrums) and communication. In fact, just two days after starting the diet, he was going into his crib with no problems at all (previously a major battle to get him in). We saw an improvement in speech as well. His word count was 115 words when we started GFCF. Within 2 months he had added 50 words and started letting us read him books before bedtime. We began biomedical detox at 3 years old. He just turned 4 and has an amazing vocabulary (can spell and write words too). I can tell if he gets something at pre-school that is non-GFCF because he bounces off the walls.

“Gluten/Casein Free Grocery Shopping Guide” is a great book to help you find things at Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc. that are GFCF and not as expensive. Kroger is good at marking their store brand products as GF.

Raisin Rack is great place to start to “test” items to see if your child likes them. Then you can buy them in bulk (and much cheaper) via Amazon.com.

I have a list of favorite GFCF foods if anyone wants me to email it to them - just contact me at

GFCF was definitely step one in getting the “fog” to lift.

I would like to learn as much as possible, but for some reason I can’t send a email to you.  Please respond to

Thanks!

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I’m the mother of a five-year old boy named Kai who is recovering from the symptoms of Autism.  (I will explain later.)  My husband and I suspected at 12 months that something wasn’t quite right, but our well-respected pediatrician felt things were progressing normally—stating that boys sometimes take a little longer.  With your first child your pediatrician is, in your mind, omnipotent.  This only prolonged our search for an official diagnosis as the signs and symptoms became more prominent.  Limited vocabulary, expressive-language delay, sensory issues, tantrums, cravings for gluten laden foods, constipation, diarrhea, febrile seizures, perseveration on lights and objects, stacking and aligning, loss of fixation, avoiding eye contact, etc.  The list goes on and on.  By two and half, we began with a hearing test and went from there while waiting to get in somewhere for confirmation of our concerns: Autism.  During this time, my mom happened to see Jenny McCarthy talk about a ‘special diet’ in and amongst her “Green Vaccine” campaign on the Oprah show.  She suggested I look it up online, but I bought the book and read it in one day.  The same day, I began with Stan Kurtz’s (http://www.StanKurtz.com) research to make myself more aware of what exactly was going on within my son’s body.  I watched his August 2007 conference, informing myself on the cause and effect of gluten and casein proteins on the gut and brain, viral infection, and toxins.  This definitely explained his cravings for plain oatmeal, plain bread, unsalted crackers, etc.  A week later, while just starting into the GFCF diet, Kai received his official diagnosis and we immediately sought a DAN! doctor.  We waited four months, still trial-and-erroring our way through the GFCF diet, sometimes giving up completely.  At our appointment with Dr. Philip DeMio we realized that even the smallest contaminant (of gluten, casein, “allergen”, etc.) would hinder Kai’s recovery.  We began with eliminating milk and through various substitutions, we found a winner with Blue Diamond Almond Milk (Sweetened, in various flavors).  With my son’s food texture issues, we had to be careful not to stray from foods he WOULD eat while eliminating gluten for fear he’d starve.  We began with substituting things he already liked such as chicken nuggets, french fries, baked beans, bread, ice cream, cereal, etc.  I found the list on TACA’s (Talk About Curing Autism) webpage extremely useful (http://www.TacaNow.org).  As a full-time, professional working family with three children, our family lives off of Ian’s frozen GFCF products (Kroger Market, Whole Foods, Raisin Rack), Ore-Ida frozen french fries, Bush’s baked beans, Good Karma ice creams, Hebrew National Hot Dogs, Envirokids cereals and Rice Crisp Bars, Trader Joe’s Fruit Leathers, etc.  Please feel free to email me if you want some simple ideas that don’t cost a fortune from your local whole foods stores.  Advice:  Read the labels carefully and look for hidden sources even on items you’ve bought a million times.  The diet must be adhered to strictly and not all children are the same, likewise not all children with Autism will benefit.  Some, like my son, have additional sensitivities besides gluten and casein.  We limit Kai’s exposure to sugars, yeast, complex carbohydrates, dyes, pesticides, hormones, steroids, as well use mostly organic meat and produce.  We also use a lot of all natural, homeopathic supplements including methocobalymin (vitamin B12-nasal spray), Folinic Acid, Fish Oil, Oil of Oregano, Olive Oil Extract, etc.  (again from research by Stan).  We did not have to use digestive enzymes although I know a lot of families that do and have great success.  Immediately from the time we began to faithfully follow the diet’s guidelines, everything improved.  His speech in clarity and complexity, expressive language, eye contact, the perseverating, his bowl movements, his mood, EVERYTHING totally did a 180.  Then it seemed like things got worse for a period, about six to eight weeks and then he was making leaps and bounds again.  I can’t tell you how sweet “Mommy, I love you” sounded in my ears the first time I heard it at two and a half!  Stan Kurtz calls this process a healing regression.  Just like when someone has the flu, it seems like they get worse just before they start to feel better, the end result: a dissipation of flu symptoms.  Kai’s ‘autistic symptoms’ began to lift just like the “fog” comment blogged earlier.  The diet, along with the other provisions mentioned and intense Speech and Occupational Therapy have made it hard to differentiate Kai from his peers so much so that this year moving forward in the school system (Pickerington) for kindergarden, they almost didn’t feel he needed any special education services.  The change is nothing short of a miracle.  I never would have thought something as simple as a diet could have the effect it has had on my child while the world preaches pharmaceuticals and coping for Autism.  I will shout my story from the rooftops if it helps ONE child.  Like I said, I don’t believe the diet works for every Autistic, PDD-NOS, ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s child, but everyone can benefit from a healthier diet restricted in these hard to digest additives in our over processed foods these days.  I mean, if you let your kid eat sugar and play video games all day, it’s no wonder they are bouncing off the walls and can’t pay attention.  I feel that perhaps children who have ‘environmental’ autism as opposed to ‘genetic’ autism will benefit more from this diet, as well.  Anyone who would like more information on how I recovered my son, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE contact me (with Mr. Smalley’s blessings, I pray).  And on a final note:  Don’t let great ambitions overshadow small successes in your recovery process.  -JC

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According to people I know that also practice GFCF Diet, they really claim that it works.
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I know a GFCF diet is expensive, not to mention it’s too much of a hassle to prepare but if you want what’s best for you child then then you should be willing to sacrifice.

I tried it spent 300 on food and it was ok in the beginning. One day I forgot to hide the yoplait yogurt and my son saw it and when I refused him he ended up hurting me badly. I gave it up then I couldnt risk that behavior when I had a newborn in the house though I do still give him so gf foods, but he typicals intakes milk, cheese and bread daily it’s hard to make him give up the only things he will tolerate.

Is Gluten free food hard to find.I have a party coming up soon, and one of my friends can’t eat gluten. I was planning to make it a gluten free party, food wise, but I’m wondering how hard it is to find gluten free food, and is said food nice enough for a 14 year olds party
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I have 2 children with Autism and many friends have their children on the GFCF diet. It sounds pretty tough. But I was looking at some of the symptoms I am thinking I want to go to a doctor to get myself checked out

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