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.***

Tasty Tuesday: Gluten Free King Cake

Okay, so I hate cooking. But I love to bake. I figure if I must slave in the kitchen, sugar should be involved, right?

Well one thing I miss terribly since going Gluten Free over 6 years ago, is King Cake. Our family doesn't even celebrate Mardi Gras but I LOVED king cake.
So, I wanted to attempt a GF version.

Now, if you eat GF you know, what you make GF is never EXACTLY like the original. I've accepted that and a new level of dessert contentment helps me accept that!

(Please excuse my photos, it was an overcast day and the lighting in the kitchen is awful)

This is ONLY GLUTEN FREE. If you have other allergies, you'll have to make your substitutions.


Ingredients:
Chebe Cinnamon Bread Mix and required ingredients for basic recipe (on box)

Cream Cheese Filling (optional):

8 oz Cream Cheese
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp lemon zest (I didn't have this and it was fine)
1 tsp vanilla

Icing:
3 TBSP soft butter
4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4-6 TBSP milk

Now there are other icing recipes that involve only powdered sugar and lemon juice, but I had no juice, so I found this one. Worked for me.

DIRECTIONS:
Make cinnamon chebe (which is delicious by the way), as directed on box. I doubled the recipe to make two separate king cakes. If you want a larger king cake you could double the recipe and roll the dough, intertwining it like you would a bread.

But I digress, make the chebe bread as directed to the nearly last step about rolling it and cutting. This is where you decide how you want to design your king cake. You can make 'mini' king cakes by continuing in their directions and basically making a cinnamon roll with king cake toppings. I rolled mine flat as directed then cut it in half. Then I rolled each piece into a 'log' and connected it to make a circle (traditional king cake shape).

The dough was a little skinny, but that was fine with me.

(by the way, it is NOT pretty by any stretch of the imagination)

IF you want the cream cheese filling, make the filling then insert it in the dough BEFORE YOU ROLL IT.  To make the filing just beat the filling ingredients until smooth.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.


Once out of the oven, I prefer to let it cool a bit. I left the blue/green cake cool, I did not let the red/yellow cake, and you can see the difference when you pour on the icing.

To make the icing:
Beat the butter until softened. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and continue to beat, gradually adding milk until a glaze consistency is achieved.

Okay, I'll be honest, I totally didn't do it this way because I didn't read the directions first....I just put the butter, vanilla and milk in one bowl and added it straight to the powdered sugar. When I started beating it, it didn't glaze up well so I just put a bit of milk in it until it reached glaze consistency. Still worked out okay.


Pour icing on top of king cakes and then add colored granulated sugar on top.

Enjoy!!

VERDICT: No, it's NOT the same as Randazzo's or Rouses's king cake, but until they make a GF version, it's better than others I've tried. I DO NOT KNOW how it will turn out if you change anything for allergy reasons. I'm hoping the cream cheese one is better after it sets up a bit because the cream cheese still tasted warm when I tried it, and I'd rather it be cooler. I'll be sure to try it again tonight just to check :)

 

Pin It