gluten-free casien-free diet?

[tonysmomndad]

Hi everyone. this is my first post. My wife and I are trying to find some insight to starting our son on a gluten-free casien-free diet. there are a few specific questions that I would like to ask someone who has more experience with this than we do. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Mike and Danielle.

 

[TerryJ2]

Hi, welcome!

Try the Natural Remedies bb here.

There are some threads on this bb where we talk about it too but I'll have to look and find the subject headings.

In re: to insight... you mean, does it work? For us, yes. We're not consistent but we are working toward that goal.
When my son eats wheat, within 20 min. he's like a wind-up toy (unfortunately, I can never seem to find the part that turns him off... well, except for medications, and we're working toward a stricter diet so we can avoid the medications).

Lots of people here have experince with it here. You've come to the right place.

 

[Got2Sleep]

We are totally gluten free...B has celiac disease and has not had wheat(other than through accidental cross contamination) in almost 4 years.

We tried to go casein free as well, but he was tube fed and all the formulas had a casien base to them, so we havent made that switch. Now that he is off the tube feeds, he basically only eats cheese, yogurts, and very few other things, so to take away the milk would leave little choices for us.

Hope it works for you...my advise is to go all the way or not at all. The effects on the body and mind linger and trace amounts can cause affects.

~S

 

[Josie]

My children and I have been totally gluten/casein free for almost a year. The diet completely cured my difficult child from all of her defiance and rages.

I agree you need to do the diet completely. Even trace amounts of either one will cause problems for us. For me, the effects linger for weeks.

What specific questions do you have?

 

[skeeter]

My oldest is allergic to cow's milk, so no casein either. He's suffered everything except shock from milk at one time or another in his life - hives, hyperactivity, nausea, vomiting, subcutaneous acne.
Baked goods are the worst for "hidden" milk, but if you are going gluten free, that won't be such a worry. Another is deli-meats - just ask if they are kosher. And do NOT go with something that says it's dairy free - they often have casein as a thickener in them.

 

[tonysmomndad]

Thank you all for the encouragment. My wife and I are having a difficult time figuring out what Little A can and can't have. We have done countless hours of research on the computer, and read every label on the shelves in the grocery store, but there are still some things that have gone unexplained, or are still in a bit of a gray area. For instance, some web sites say that corn is ok, while others say no.....why? Is corn syrup an ok ingredient? Which nuts are ok? why not penut butter? Is regular sugar ok? I'm sure that more questions will arise, but we are so new to this. Also, about how long did it take before (everyone else who has done this diet) saw improvement? Are there any drastic changes to look for? Again. thanks to all.

 

[Josie]

Thank you all for the encouragement. My wife and I are having a difficult time figuring out what Little A can and can't have. We have done countless hours of research on the computer, and read every label on the shelves in the grocery store, but there are still some things that have gone unexplained, or are still in a bit of a gray area. For instance, some web sites say that corn is ok, while others say no.....why? Is corn syrup an ok ingredient? Which nuts are ok? why not penut butter? Is regular sugar ok? I'm sure that more questions will arise, but we are so new to this. Also, about how long did it take before (everyone else who has done this diet) saw improvement? Are there any drastic changes to look for? Again. thanks to all.

If you are just doing gluten-free/casein free, corn and sugar and nuts are ok. All the peanut butter I have looked at was ok.

You do have to read the label on everything and make sure there is no milk or gluten in it. By law, in the US, it has to clearly say milk or wheat if they are ingredients. Gluten also includes barley, rye, and most oats in addition to wheat so you have to read the label to make sure that is not listed. Gluten can also be hidden in natural flavorings so you have to call the company if it lists natural flavor to make sure there is no gluten. Malt almost always is from barley so you have to avoid that.

Some companies that clearly list gluten are Kraft, Unilever, Sara Lee. So if it is a Kraft product, and you don't see wheat, rye, oats, or barley listed, you don't have to call even if it says natural flavor.

I saw results in myself by the second day. For difficult child, it was also very quick, probably within 3 days. I was already very aware of gluten because my other daughter was gluten free so we didn't have any hidden gluten right from the start. It will take a while, if you are just starting out, to get all the gluten out so you may not results as quickly.

 

[TerryJ2]

Corn and all those are simply very common allergens. Try an elimination diet and see what works and what doesn't. That's all you can do. (And you have to do it for more than a couple days... sometimes 6 wks. I cannot tell you how many people do it for a day and think that's good enough!)