An outreach of New Vision Children’s Services, a California Public Benefit 501(c)(3) Corporation

The GFCF Diet

 

If you are on this web page, you’ve probably heard something about a diet that is supposed to help children with autism or AD(H)D. Actually there are several diets, including the GFCF, SCD, Body Ecology, and others.  The GFCF diet is the most popular and most widely used in the autism community.

 

What is it?

 

GFCF stands for gluten-free, casein-free diet. Gluten is the tiny protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Casein is the tiny protein found in dairy products. A GFCF diet involves removing all gluten- and casein-containing products from the child’s diet.

 

How does it work?

 

The GFCF diet works on many levels. First of all, many children with autism have excessively food allergies. Gluten and Casein are among the five top allergens for children, along with peanuts, soy, and corn. If your child has a classic allergic reaction to gluten and/or casein and are still eating it, that means that their immune systems are constantly in “on” mode. This can cause immune dysfunction and a multitude of health problems, including asthma.

 

Secondly, gluten is very irritating to the intestinal track. Many children on the autism spectrum have a decreased lining in their intestinal track, making it much for susceptible to irritation.  An irritated “gut” can cause behavioral issues, constipation, diarrhea, sleep problems, and other health issues.

 

Finally, many children with autism suffer from what is called “Leaky Gut”. Basically, that means that there are tiny perforations in the wall of the intestinal track. These perforations allow tiny particles to actually slip through the gut and out into the blood stream. Not only does the immune system go haywire trying to attack all of these “foreigners” in the blood stream, but gluten and casein have the unusual ability to cross through the blood-brain barrier and connect to places in the brain that were meant for other substances. These areas of the brain are associated with speech production and socialization, including eye contact and reciprocity.  Leaky Gut Syndrome is an umbrella term used to refer to all types of leaky gut, including Celiac’s and Chron’s Disease.

 

Removing gluten and casein from the diet allows 1) the gut to heal; 2) inflammation to reduce; 3) bowels to return to normal; 4) reduces the immune reaction; 5) removes the possibility of gluten and casein in the brain. 6) some parents report an improvement in speech, behavior, and attention.

 

My son/daughter had allergy testing and he/she is not allergic to wheat or dairy.

Should I try this anyway?

 

Let’s talk about the difference between an allergy and an intolerance.  What your child was tested for are classic allergies, like we remember from being a kid. If you had a strawberry allergy, your mouth would get red bumps, if you bumped into poising ivy, you would get a rash, and if Aunt Martha wore the lilac perfume, you would sneeze for two days straight. Some people do have a class gluten or casein allergy. When you eat or drink something you are allergic to, your body releases an IgE antibody response. These immunoglobins connect with mast cells, and the next time you eat or drink that particular thing, the mast cells release histamine. This causes symptoms such as runny nose and eyes, a rash, and purple under the eyes. Other symptoms of a classic allergy response are eczema, nausea, and swelling of the hands, lips, tongue, or fingers.

 

The other type of reaction people have is a sensitivity or intolerance. In this instance, the body releases different antibodies, IgA and IgG. An intolerance is an inability to digest or process a certain food. This immune response is actually more dangerous to the body as it is a prolonged immune response and can last for days or weeks. In this case, eating gluten or casein actually damages the mucosa (the lining) of the intestinal track, thus deceasing nutrient absorption and intestinal function. A sensitivity or intolerance may be characterized by loose bowel movements or constipation (or both); swelling of the abdomen; nausea; vomiting; eczema; and a constant “flu-ishness”.  

 

Okay, but my kid is ADDICTED to cheese. Take it away?  Are you KIDDING?

 

One of the first questions I ask parents is what their child’s favorite foods are. Almost always, they are: milk, macaroni and cheese, cheese sticks, pizza, and goldfish. Do you notice a trend? Wheat and dairy, wheat and dairy, wheat and dairy. Remember when we discussed how kids with an intolerance can’t fully digest gluten and dairy? Well, this incomplete digestion leads to the break down of gluten and casein into several by-products, including gluteo-morphine and caseo-morphine. Yes, morphines. These morphines attach in the brain at places called opiod receptors. Thus, these chemicals have a morphine-like affect on the brain. It’s a bit like the child gets a little “high” every time he/she eats one of these substances. So, really, you will be breaking a bit of an addiction taking gluten and dairy out of the diet. They will eat, though, honest. If you are concerned about their health the first couple of days, you can supplement with super-nu thera by Kirkmann labs (available on-line at Kirkmannlabs.com or at our center).

 

Okay, I understand why I should do it. But HOW do I do it?

 

Going gluten- and casein-free can be a little challenging at first. Our society is incredibly dependent upon preservatives, fillers, additives, and artificial ingredients. Most of those are wheat-derived. When I went GFCF with my girls, we did dairy first, because it was easier. There are far fewer products with dairy than there are that contain wheat/gluten.  

 

Click here for a list of ingredients that contain casein: Ingredient list

 

Good substitutions for milk are rice milk, coconut milk, and almond milk. Both are slightly sweet and tasty. For a handy subsitution list, visit the TACA website here:

 

http://gfcf-diet.talkaboutcuringautism.org/substitutions-gfcf-recipes.htm

 

If you are scared and/or your child is addicted, begin gradually. You can start adding rice/almond/coconut milk to your child’s regular milk a little at a time, gradually weaning him/her off of it. Start serving one dinner per week that doesn’t have dairy on it and work up from there.

 

Remember, it will take THREE WEEKS for the last ingestion of dairy for the body to get rid of all of the casein in the body. You can speed this process up by adding a digestive enzyme into your routine. Choose one with DPP-IV activity. Kirkmann Labs makes an excellent enzyme called ISOGEST w/ DPP-IV. Take it with meals and it will help your child properly digest what he/she is eating. Take it between meals, and it will actually vacuum up gluten and casein that is floating about in the blood stream.