Jamie (Green Mammy)

[LaneyBug]

After talking about it the other day, I have been thinking about T's behavior lately, and decided we were going to give GF/CF another go. We gave it a 3 months shot twice. We did see some improvements, and I'm just wondering if we had gone longer or maybe cut out some other things if he would have had even more improvement. One thing I realized today is that Corn Pops are not GF/CF and I had read once that they were, so that was for sure a mistake.
Anyway, just curious if you were thinking about it as well...

[LaneyBug]

[LaneyBug]

[Wicked]

Can I ask... what is GF and CF? I ask because one of my friends is going vegan for her daughter, who has arthritis. I think that dietary changes can make such a HUGE difference.

[Brandi]

I am pretty sure it's Gluten and Casein Free. It's supposed to help with some behavioral issues, and I think Autism, as well.

[LaneyBug]

Originally Posted by Brandi I am pretty sure it's Gluten and Casein Free. It's supposed to help with some behavioral issues, and I think Autism, as well.

Right, it is essentially no wheat and no dairy, though there are exceptions, and gluten can be found in things other than dairy.

[Trey]

Did you decide to do this again Jamie?

We are thinking about it with Riley, but Ryan's cousin is an OT and she suggested some enzyme he can take that helps break down gluten instead of going gluten free first....

[LaneyBug]

Originally Posted by Rileysmom Did you decide to do this again Jamie? We are thinking about it with Riley, but Ryan's cousin is an OT and she suggested some enzyme he can take that helps break down gluten instead of going gluten free first....

I'm for anything that helps symptoms. T has been really off the wall lately, and I think it was because we stopped giving him his probiotics. We put him on the GFCF in August of last year until about December. He made some improvements and looking back, I'm not sure why we took him off. It is very difficult to maintain, but we are trying again. That coupled with fish oil and probiotics does really help him, I just wasn't sure exactly until he stopped the diet and then stopped the probiotics.

[Trey]

I have heard it's difficult, especially when a child is picky in the first place (oh the joys of autism!!). I am really trying to get my parents to try it because my brother is getting VERY violent lately (puberty + autism= ).

What exactly does the probiotics do?

[LaneyBug]

The probiotics put good bacteria back into your intestines. The theory behind GF/CF is that those things feed the yeast in your intestines and cause it to overgrow. Probiotics are naturally occuring in normal people, but theoretically they are depleted in people with Autism because of yeast overgrowth.