The Gluten Free Diet
A gluten-free casein-free diet is believed by some parents of autistic children to aid in reducing autism's symptoms. According to the theory, some children are unable to digest the protein in many cereals (gluten) or in milk (casein) completely.
More About The Gluten-Free Diet:
Theory
The molecular structure of the partially undigested proteins, known
as peptides, resemble opiates. It is thought that such peptides have
an effect much like opiates in the brain and nervous system. From
this premise it follows that long term exposure to these opiate
peptides can have many damaging effects on the developing brain and
also affects behavior, just as any narcotic would.
The opioid peptides involved are identified as casomorphines from
casein, and gluten exorphines and gliadorphin from gluten.
Reported effects
Many parents report that removing casein and gluten from their
child's diet increases eye contact, attention span, and general mood
while decreasing problems like tantrums, self-stimulatory behavior
(such as hand-flapping and rocking) and aggression. Many find that
providing a diet free of casein and gluten aids children in
successfully learning daily living skills like dressing, using the
toilet as well as improving coordination and imaginative play
activities. In a small number of cases, such dietary changes have
resulted in dramatic improvements, enabling the child to attend
mainstream educational programs in a matter of months.
Gluten-Free
Beginning the diet can be difficult but not impossible. Gluten is
most commonly found in wheat, rye, and barley and may sometimes
contaminate oats grown nearby or processed on the same equipment as
gluten-containing cereals, and casein is found in dairy products;
wheat and dairy frequently make up a large proportion of the Western
diet. One of the biggest obstacles parents face is that individuals
needing gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diets often crave these
foods much the same as an addict. In fact, parents often report
withdrawal symptoms when gluten and casein are eliminated that are
similar to addicts experiencing withdrawal from narcotic drugs.
Many parents worry about removing wheat and dairy because these
foods are the only ones their child will eat, and because prevailing
attitudes in Western culture consider them an essential staple.
However, children who eat only or mostly wheat and dairy products
often show remarkable improvement once a GFCF diet is underway. Many
families have found from experience that their children's menu
options actually increase after the effects of eating gluten and
casein have subsided.
Some people experience immediate improvement although it may take as
long as six months for gluten to clear out of the system and one
month for casein to clear. Advocates of the diet recommend trying it
for at least a year as it can take this long for some children to
show improvement. The diet affects changes in the body at a cellular
level and promotes healing of the stomach and intestinal lining,
both of which can take time.
Although this diet has been questioned by the medical community,
many doctors and university research centers are advocating the use
of this intervention for autistic children, especially after seeing
results first-hand. Doctors who work with DAN! (Defeat Autism Now)
are supportive of interventions such as the GFCF diet.
Prevalence
Although food sensitivites have been known about for decades they
are rarely given consideration in diagnosis, therapy and recovery
efforts. The specifics of the GFCF diet were introduced to the
general public through the combined publications of two women who
researched interventions and crusaded for autism recovery.
Information about the GFCF diet has since spread around the world
and has helped thousands of families cope with this puzzling
disorder.
The GFCF diet has been supplemented with a number of new
innovations. These include incorporation of the Feingold diet, the
Specific Carbohydrate Diet, diets with reduced salicylates and
phenols, etc.
There are as yet few studies that prove or disprove the GFCF diet or
other diets, but there is growing acceptance in the medical
community that restrictive diets affect pediatric and adolescent
behavior.
Other indications
Those suffering from celiac disease and/or dermatitis herpetiformis
are instructed to avoid all forms of gluten, though their metabolic
disorders are apparently distinct from the autism-related metabolic
disorder hypothesized by GFCF proponents. There are anecdotal
reports of this diet also being beneficial to sufferers of multiple
sclerosis, schizophrenia, Tourette syndrome, chronic fatigue
syndrome and attention deficit disorder.[citation needed] However,
in some of these cases (e.g.; Tourette syndrome), there is no
evidence that a gluten-free diet has any impact upon symptoms.