Gluten Free Diet

The Gluten free diet consists of removing any foods from your Autistic child’s diet that contain Gluten. This can seem hard at first because so many foods do have Gluten in them. Gluten is found in most prepared foods. Foods containing wheat, barley, oats, or rye need to be eliminated from the diet. Gluten can also be found in some vinegars and sauces. Artificial flavorings often contain Gluten.

When using the Gluten free diet you have to be careful and read all labels on foods. Gluten can be in foods you would not think of, like spices. The theory behind removing Gluten from an Autistic child's diet is that when the child eats a food with Gluten it causes their body to react differently than a child without Autism.

The Gluten free diet can be expensive to follow. Most Gluten free products are sold in specialty or health stores. These stores usually charge a much higher price. Some major grocery stores are now carrying Gluten free products. You can find Gluten free flour, pancake mix, waffles, cookies, snacks, and many other foods. Most parents find out it is cheaper to make their own Gluten free food. Recipes can be found on the internet, or in Gluten free cookbooks.  Some parents go together with another family following the Gluten free diet and buy in bulk. Then they share the foods. This can help lower the costs of the Gluten free items.

Autistic children following a Gluten free diet can eat meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, nut, eggs, and products made with gluten free ingredients. It can be hard to keep a child from eating their favorite snacks, and treats. Some of these can be made by using Gluten free products. Muffins and cookies can be made from Gluten free flour. It just takes some getting used to the new way of eating.

Often people following a Gluten free diet will remove all dairy (Casein) products from their diet as well. You can find out if your Autistic child has an allergy to a certain food by having allergy testing done. The doctor can arrange for this testing.

If you are going to try the Gluten free diet with your child you have to be prepared to follow it for several months to tell if it is going to make any difference. Gluten remains in the body for a long time. Most people do not give the diet a long enough chance to work. Trying it for a week or two will not give the body enough time to remove any remaining Gluten from its system. Some people do however see improvements right away in their Autistic child.

To find Gluten free recipes try searching online using your favorite search engine. The Gluten free diet will not work with every autistic child. The majority of the children that show improvement had sensitivity to the gluten to begin with.

The Gluten free diet is not a cure for Autism. It is used to help lessen the symptoms of Autism.

Dairy Free Diet to Treat Autism             

Parents are turning to their child's diet to when treating Autism. Some believe that Autistic children have food sensitivity. They believe dairy, also known as Casein, is one of the foods to cause problems with Autistic children. Removing all dairy from your child's diet can at first seem very difficult to do. Most kids love cheese and ice cream.

Most people following a dairy free diet also remove Gluten from the diet. The ingredient in dairy that it thought to cause problems is Casein. Casein is a protein found in dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, and some hotdogs. It is very important to read all labels on food the child will be eating.

If you are going to try the dairy free diet with your child you will need to make sure they are getting enough calcium. This can be done with vitamin supplements, or milk substitutes. Many types of food are including calcium.

It is thought that the Casein reacts in the Autistic child's body causing the unwanted behaviors. They think if the dairy products are removed some of the behaviors will leave. It should take a few months to know if the diet is working for your child. If you are considering removing Gluten from the diet too it is advised to try removing dairy first. The dairy is removed from the body much faster than the Gluten. Gluten can take ten months or more to be completely removed from the body.

Following a Casein free diet can be expensive. Most milk replacements cost double the price of regular milk. Not all stores will carry the dairy free products. They can usually be found at specialty or health food stores. You can find Casein free products on the internet for mail order. There are also lots of Casein free recipes available online. To save on the cost of Casein free foods some families find another family in their area using the same diet, and share the cost of ingredients by buying in bulk. They then split the foods.

If you choose to try a Casein (dairy) free diet with your Autistic child remember to allow enough time to see if the diet is helping. It can be helpful to keep a journal while trying the diet. Keep a record of behaviors your Autistic child has. Then you can see if the number of behaviors is dropping. If you have not removed Gluten from your child's diet you may want to consider this if your child is not improving from the dairy free diet.

To find out if your Autistic child has a sensitivity to dairy (Casein) have them allergy tested. This will tell you if you should remove any other foods from the diet. If you want more information about Casein free diets visit your local library. You can find many books that deal with dairy free living. The internet is also a great source of information.

A Casein free diet might be helpful in treating your child's Autism. It is not a cure for Autism though. It will only help treat some of the symptoms.