Should you or Your Child try the GFCF (Gluten-free Casein-free) Diet?

Merely Me Friend/Family Published Writer with an M.Ed in Special Education and Mother My most important job in the world is to parent my two boys. My... Send Message Subscribe: Merely Me

Monday, May 18, 2009
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I am sure that you may have heard about the Gluten-free Casein-free diet by now. It has been in the news. There are now special cookbooks specifically geared for special populations to try this diet including the "Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism cookbook." And there are whole blogs devoted t...

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Healthy skepticism
Paul
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 01:22 PM

I think that if diet can be linked to other serious conditions in the body, then this can be one more. Certainly diet plays a large role in heart disease, obesity, diabetes and many more not coming to mind at the present.

There is so much unproven. Empirical facts are long and hard to establish. It's a minefield of well-meaning, and some not well-meaning, professionals, family friends, acquaintances and charlatans we walk through in life, while looking for answers.

Skepticism is healthy both ways, looking outward and inward at science and our knowledge of this utterly complex machine we live in. I have no personal experience with a GFCF diet; reading yours is enough to reinforce my beliefs in personal research and not giving up.

re: Healthy skepticism
davek
Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 03:46 PM

Hi Paul,

I have a 10-year old grandson with ADHD who was on a variety or meds and was under the care of a well-known child psychiatrist with a specialty in ADHD. My daughter was unconfortable with the meds and heard about the gluten-free casein-free diet. She tried the diet and had positive results within one week. It is now two years later and he is totally med free. He is an honor student in school and no longer reports that his brain is "foggy." Here is a link to an excellent article on the diet if you wish to look into it further, http://www.gfmeals.com/Articles.asp?ID=158.

Gluten free- coincidence?
Annie D
Thursday, June 04, 2009 at 01:30 AM

so here's my story. My daughter (21 & ADHD- diagnosed @ 13 & bipolar- diagnosed @ 20) started having really bad eczema around age 14. We bounced back & forth between the dermatologist and the allergist for years, with neither providing a cure. Finally found a solution by cutting out wheat, glutin, & dairy. Now the eczema is under control, and coincidentally, her ADHD symptoms seem to be much less severe. In fact, she has not been using her ADHD meds at all? I don't know if the meds for bipolar have been helping with the ADHD, or whether her gluten free diet is a factor. Draw your own conclusions.

Before you try a GFCF diet...
Denise
Friday, June 19, 2009 at 11:39 AM

If you suspect Celiac Disease (CD) and are considering the GFCF diet or even just a GF diet, it is very important to stay on the regular diet with gluten in it. To accurately diagnose CD, it is very important that gluten still be in the system. If the person doesn't have gluten in the system and gets tested for CD, the test may show that CD isn't the issue.

Just because one has no gastrointestinal issues doesn't mean they don't have CD. Many who have CD are asymptomatic, and can show no symptoms for years. However, since nutrients don't get into your system properly, CD can cause short stature, and you want to get it diagnosed before puberty if at all possible.