Gluten-free, casein-free diet

When I lived in London, yes. The water was undrinkable. I don't use one now as I'm back home in Plymouth.

Stranger ~ Good suggestion,, even as a back up system with my mineral water Does the filter take out the Chlorine ?  Do you use filtered water ?

hohner - have you tried a water filter, instead of bottled water?

I have found coming of milk and also soft tap water and drinking Badiot/evian a heavy mineral water has helped me. I find my Bowels are regular now.

You can get lots of gluten-free and casein-free recipes from here: www.parentsown.co.uk/recipe_centre_home 

You can also buy gluten / casein free foods from here: www.freefromforkids.co.uk/ and they have foods for xmas including Chocolate Santas and advent calendars. 

This is very encouraging to hear and adds a good arguement to what seems to be a bit of a contentious area.  Our Pediatrician dismissed our suggestions to go Gluten Free/Casein Free.  (she is close to retirement I think and perhaps is a little turned off to these sorts of ideas).  However, because our boy (3yrs) seemed to be putting on a bit of weight I thought we should reduce the amount of milk he consumed throughout the day.  In the end We managed this no problem (moved to natural juices), and who can say if this was the reason his behaviour has dramatically improved over the last 12 months. Maybe it was his interventions/therapies or maybe just maturity, but we no longer have the meltdowns or uncontrollable behaviour we had when he was 3.  Things are going ok for the moment, but in the future I will be careful to look at his diet if we need to work on any behaviour issues.  Good luck with your new way of eating. Maybe you should publish your recipes.

Hello

I have been on a gluten and casien free diet for 5 months now and have really noticed a difference. I am less hungary more focused and my over all well being has improved so much that i would like to come off my anti depressants. Allthough its not proven i really think this diet is worth a try. Its really not diffiicult it just requires a bit of thought and creativity. I have become so much more independant and self sufficient because ive had too.  Dont go buying expensive gluten dairy free produce just go back to nature. Veg fruit and home bake bread etc. Just give it a try

Hi there. We are on the point of trying a GF/CF diet to see if it can calm our 3 yr olds outbursts.  How did you start Welshmum?  Did you do both GF/CF at once or cut out each element seperately?  Did you do it gradually?  What were the significant differences that you found with your little girl?  Have you any tips/favourite products?  Lots of questions I hope you will find time to answer.  We are willing to try anything which may help. Thanks.

Hi, my little girl is on GF/CF diet and we found a big difference and really glad that we changed her diet! I don't think I would ever put her back on a "normal" diet! 

Hi,

I used  a similar diet with my son when he was younger, coincidentally well before he was diagnosed with AS. I did have him tested first and it did show that he had many intolerance's to not only foods but thinks like perfumes, felt tip pens and chemicals in cleaners etc.  We excluded everything on the list and it made a big difference to his behavior. I could always tell if he had something at school that he shouldn't off because his logic skills would deteriorate. Over the years we started adding things back into his diet as you do build up a tolerance level. by the age of 10 though he resented his diet and now at 17 I cant force him to stick to his diet it has to be his choice.

sam

x

i was thinking of putting my son on this diet, his eating is very poor, his poo really smells, when he eats he puts it all in his mouth and spits it out, every were, he will eat chocolote for breakfest, the prof told me to cut it out, but thats all he eats in the morning, he refuses cereal, he will not drink milk, all he drinks is coca cola, they told me not to give him this but thats all he drinks he refuses to drink anything else, this as been going on for months with my 4 year old son, i have got so meny issues with my autistic son, no were to turn to, ive spoken with profs, but they tell me not to worry, but i cant help but worry, my son is getting worst not better,

I personally don't believe that any diet can help a child with autism, unless they already have an intolerance. If they do have an intolerance, then the foods concerned are likely to make the child's condition worse, so removing the offending foods would be advised, as it would with any neuro-typical child. But for a child with autism whose behaviour is not made worse by eating certain foods, then it is pointless trying to remove them. The best way to know if your child is intolerant is to watch their behaviour after they have consumed milk, bread, eggs etc (these are often the worst culprits). But only a doctor, through doing certain tests, can give a definitive diagnosis of intolerance.

Diets have not been empirically shown to ease the symptoms of autism in the vast majority of cases, and there is no evidence that certain food stuffs can cause autism.

Symptoms of an intolerance can include:

A rash

Tummy upset

Gastrointestinal symptoms

Stuffy nose

Congestion

But as I said, these physical symptoms can  have many causes

THe symptoms of autism can include tantrums, irritability, sleeplessness. THese symptoms are endogenous to the autistic condition, and in most cases they are not due to an intolerance.