celiac and autism

***I'm reposting my facebook rant here, should anyone need to bookmark it for information***

FINALLY!!! I have said this for YEARS! Real research is coming out saying, "hey guess what, we're probably misdiagnosing a lot of kids with autism and add/adhd who really have Celiac!!" March/April 2013 Issue of Simply Gluten Free Magazine, by Dr. Vikki Peterson of www.healthnowmedical.com authored the article. There are multiple studies listed but the main thought is, "Research shows the actual condition creating ADHD or autism-like symptoms is factually the presence of celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. In other words, gluten intolerance can so mimic ADHD and autism that a misdiagnosis can occur."

We've come a long way in progress for children with Autism and spectrum disorders. But we still have a long way to go. What if we are missing a huge chunk of children, who really only need the GF diet? Maybe they don't need countless hours of therapy or invasive testing and evaluation? What if they really just need the GF diet?? I'm not saying every child diagnosed with Autism is really Celiac. But why not test? Why not TRY the GF diet, because if it's Celiac, it's going to work fast.

We've long known for years the connection of leaky gut to autism, the gut brain connection. I've said for years there will one day be such a thing as Celiac Induced Autism. Eli is living proof, once gluten was removed, he developed completely normal. If I reintroduce it, he completely regresses. This is not a coincidence. This is a connection, a REASON he was so developmentally delayed and so fast (within months of introducing gluten at age 12 mos). If you know a child with autism, have a child with autism, TRY THE DIET! IF you have a child with ADD, ADHD, why not TRY the diet? Versus incredibly toxic meds for life? Why not try a natural change of eating?

Here are the things I commonly hear about GF diet: "My child is so picky already! What will he eat?" Yes, guess what, my child ate NOTHING. It was the biggest thing we battled with. It took years but he eats now. Guess what, if they have autism, they will likely be picky whether you eat GF or not. So let them be picky with GF food.

"Gluten free food is so expensive! What will we do?" How much do you spend on docs? Therapies? How much does your MENTAL ANGUISH cost you at your child driving you insane? Isn't the price of food worth that? Shop around, buy in bulk, buy with other GF people! Join a Celiac support group or Autism support group and buy in bulk with them! Each foods NATURALLY GF like fruits, veggies, meats, rice, etc.

"What if it doesn't work?" It might not. It really, truly might not. If your child has Celiac, whether with or without and ASD diagnosis, the GF diet will heal their body and help their mind. If your child does NOT have Celiac, but DOES have Autism, it MAY help. Many kids with autism but who are not Celiac, do benefit from the GF (and often Casein free diet). But many do not. We don't know all the whys and hows. But why not TRY!?

 I don't say all this to minimize the reality that there are far too many children with Autism around. I say these things to encourage anyone to TRY the GF diet if you or someone you love may be a good candidate for it. I say these things to encourage you to think outside the physician imposed box and ponder, "What's really good for my child?" What worked for us, may not work for you. But what IF, what IF, your child with Autism is really just a severe case of Celiac. That one diet change could alter his or her life FOREVER. Because guess what, the GF diet is not a prison sentence. It's not the END of eating certain things, it's the beginning of health, energy, vibrance and a new life. Yes, it stinks to not always eat what others eat, but there are SO many good choices out there and so much improvement in the GF lifestyle, it's NOT THAT BAD!

Eating gluten free versus a lifetime of the hell I went though pre-diagnosis of Celiac? Hands down, GF food all the way.

You will never, ever know, until you try.

~~Amy

***These are MY Opinions! While I do chair the local Celiac Sprue Association, these are my personal thoughts. Please feel free to ask me anything about Celiac, even the gross stuff, and please refer to http://www.csaceliacs.info/ for more information about Celiac Disease.***

I think we need a change...of diet...

I have a bad case of the blah's. No energy, EXTREMELY limited patience with my children (more limited than my usual short fuse), general grumpiness, and just MEH. I think it's the heat, the kids being out of school, the stress of having a house on the market that no one seemingly even wants to LOOK at....but I suspect a huge underlying cause is my diet.

I've been Gluten Free for over 7 years now and it's been quite a journey. But before that I definitely had an unhealthy diet. I was raised on sugary, fried, high fat, high calorie foods. Greens? Hah! Veggies?? HAH HAH! I come from the land of "if it moves, kill it and fry it.". My mother showered me with sugary snacks and treats rather than deal with me. (When she went into the hospital before she died her blood sugar was over 600....it was obviously an addiction for her.)

I too have a rampant sweet tooth. Now, my diet is LIGHTYEARS ahead of where it was as a kid. Now I WILL eat fruits and veggies, in a variety of forms. But I live with three very very picky eaters, one big and two little.

We've had a major food battle here for years. Our oldest is slightly better than the younger, but the youngest, E, eats very little. Nothing much healthy and we can use his Autism excuse all day long, but in the end, it's been that I don't want to deal with the epic battle that will ensue when I cut off his normal snacking and force healthy food. It's going to be uuuuuuuuuuuuugly.

What I'm thinking is, the only way for me to do this is to drastically change what is IN the house for us to eat. Now I'm not one who thinks you can't ever have dessert, sodas, etc. Even the great "health gurus" say if you want to lose weight to not cut out your faves ENTIRELY. Then you will feel extremely deprived and gorge.

But if the unhealthy food is IN the house, you will eat it. Therefore I am vowing to cut out some things from our diet. I'm sure this will be a process. I am not throwing out food we already have, because I don't have the funds to just toss food. But I made a small victory today when I refused to buy the kids the fruit chewy gummy treats they suck up like crazy. Yes they were 1.99 on sale, but NO, I walked away!

I found this site and it seems much more manageable. 100Days of Real Food. I want to look at food as God intended. If it has 8 thousand ingredients, put it back. If I cannot pronounce or explain where the ingredient comes from, put it back. Check out her Meal Plans here: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/our-free-meal-plans/

So here's the foods I'd like to change out:


NO MORE:                                                 INSTEAD EAT:
"fruit" gummy treats                                        Natural, organic gummies, in less amount
Candy at home                                              Fruit, Organic Gummies
Soda at home                                                Soda only bought while "out" (church, out to dinner, special
                                                                     treat)


Daily Must Eats: (adapted from site linked above)

• 2 Different Fruits/Veggies with EVERY meal (this will be hard and vary depending on how often I go to the store)

• Only coffee, water, and 1 serving of juice allowed for me. Water may be sweetened with Crystal Light Pure to make it easier on me. Coffee is stevia and light creamer.

• For kids: Limit 2 milks per day, for E slowly cutting back the amount of Nesquik until A) we run out B) he's off it completely, whatever comes first. 1 Juice per day for each boy, water the rest of day.***NOTE, since I wrote this blog post, E now drinks WHITE milk with NO Nesquik!***

• As much as I'd love to only buy locally raised, organic meats...it's just not available or in the budget. So I will instead: Make 2 red meat meals, 3 chicken/poultry meals, and the rest meatless or fish.

• No fried foods. This is fairly easy for us as the only thing I ever deep fry is sometimes chicken nuggets, so we'll limit that to a monthly meal. Being gluten free, makes this one easier.

• Fast food once per week. (Soda can be consumed this night.)

• No low fat, reduced fat versions of food. We already do that, I found most of the "light" versions of foods are full of chemicals. I'd rather reduce the amount of the full fat item than eat a subpar substitution. Don't get me started on margarine...

• 100% Whole Grain, this is a harder goal for us, being Gluten Free.  I will say this, whenever possible, if there is a high fiber/high grain gluten free version of a GF Item (i.e. bagels), I will choose that one when possible.

• Stop eating when full, very doable. I hate that "oh my God, I ate way too much" feeling. Blech. For my husband, not so easy.

• Limit refined sugars. I'm not saying "no refined sugars" as this blog does. I just think that's too much to ask. I think stevia, agave, honey, and even good ol' sugar are fine in small amounts.

• Limited food dyes. Just by cutting the fruit gummies this will help alot. I have KoolAid mixes on hand for emergencies but mostly they are used for my yarn dyeing, so no worries there! LOL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think if I can implement these suggestions, we will all feel a lot better. Will we slip up? I'm sure. Will we have days where we still feel bad? Of course. But I know that for example, both my boys have digestive issues on top of our need for the Gluten Free diet. How much better would that be if they ate better? I can't blame it on them, I am the one putting food on the table. I am the one stocking the fridge and pantry. So if I DO NOT stock certain items, then they will have no choice but to eat what's there.

My new motto...."Eat it or starve."

Here's to better health! I'll let you know how I do!
~~Amy