eliminating gluten + dairy

We are now a gluten-free + dairy-free family. A lot of people have been asking me questions, and I decided the easiest way to provide people with an explanation would be to put it here.

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When Max started smiling at three weeks-old and belly laughing at six weeks, I happily checked "autism" off my list of worries. He was a very healthy baby, and was always off the charts for both height and weight. When I mentioned to my pediatrician that Max was very gassy and a little on the colicky side, he immediately told me to take dairy out of my diet. I thought he was crazy. Max had no visible signs of a dairy allergy (I had no idea eczema was a sign), and I was addicted to cereal, yogurt, ice cream, and cheese and unwilling to make dietary adjustments.

When Max turned 12 months-old, I weaned him. Not long after, he started to have allergic reactions to mac n cheese (which he had been happily eating for 3 months with no problem). Allergy tests showed possible allergies to wheat, dairy, eggs, and nuts. We eradicated them from his diet. His eczema disappeared overnight and he started gaining weight again. I read every book available from the library about food allergies, and quickly noticed that most books claimed there was a link between autism spectrum disorders (including ADD/ADHD and asthma) and food allergies/sensitivities. I considered myself lucky that I only had to deal with allergies.

When Max turned three, we took him in for his annual allergist appt. Testing showed that he was no longer allergic to wheat. I almost exploded with joy. I dusted off my wheat grinder and resumed baking. I added pasta back into our diet. Eating was suddenly much more enjoyable. Bread became Max's favorite food. And his nemesis. I only wish I would have made the connection before now.

Max has always had a touch of anxiety/OCD, but his symptoms started becoming more pronounced. He started biting his nails until they bled, and grinding his teeth. He started having frequent meltdowns and tantrums. He started to growl and scowl. He became very irritable. He was suddenly less empathetic and more defiant. He started to obsess over dinosaurs. He would go crazy if his clothes/shoes weren't perfectly adjusted, or if he didn't get his way. Potty training was an impossible nightmare. I could go on...

I did some research. I didn't think his problems were autism related because he was very smart, very verbal, and did fine socially. I read this article from the new york times, and started giving him fish oil and inositol (vitamin B-8). He stopped biting his nails and his anxiety resolved, but the other problems remained. My mom (a teacher) went to an asperger's conference and called me as soon as it was over to tell me that Max was definitely somewhere on the spectrum. After talking to her, I knew she was right.

Not sure what to do or where to start, I bought this book. I also did a lot of research and decided to put our whole family on the popular gluten-free/casein-free diet, and put max on probiotics and digestive enzymes. It supposedly takes1-6 months for your intestines to heal and nutrient absorption to resume, but we saw drastic results in just two days. And i mean DRASTIC. Instead of pouting and scowling, he was smiling and happy. Instead of pulling away when I hugged him, he wanted to snuggle with me for the first time since BIRTH. Instead of crying for 20 minutes at the dinner table because he didn't get the color plate he wanted, he quietly ate his dinner and said "this is my favorite dinner mommy, thank you...I love you mommy". He was suddenly easy-going and affectionate. I was so happy I cried.

I quickly became obsessed with reading about gluten. My curious mind wondered what other problems gluten might be causing for us genetically challenged folk who don't produce the enzymes to digest it (or casein) properly. I was shocked to see that many of the ailments that have been linked to gluten are things that plague both of our extended families.

Here is a list of some things that gluten intolerance has been linked to (although just because you have one or many of these symptoms does not necessarily mean that gluten is the culprit): Schizophrenia, autism/asperger's, OCD, anxiety/depression, reflux/heartburn, migraines, IBS, food allergies, asthma, ADD/ADHD, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, unexplained infertility, irritability, miscarriages, alopecia, eczema, melanoma, cancer predisposition in children, insomnia, fatigue, cold/canker sores, acne, learning disabilities, bipolar disorder, explosive behavior, PMS, ulcers...

I have spent hours on end reading about celiac disease, and the link between gluten and a whole host of neurological/psychiatric disorders. I have googled every health problem that I can think of on both sides of our family, and every single one has been linked to gluten. I'm not kidding. From kidney stones to insomnia, asthma to infertility, acne to ADD. I was racking my brain to make sure I didn't forget anything. I suddenly remembered that my brother stuttered as a child. I started laughing. Surely stuttering is not linked to gluten! Then I googled "gluten and stuttering" and lo and behold...dozens of people claim that going gluten-free resolved their stuttering issues, dozens of websites claim that there is a link between gluten and stuttering. Here is one of the many:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Food-Allergy-and-Stuttering-Link&id=1235725

While I realize you can't believe everything you read, there are two sides to every story, yada yada...I really think my little family needs to give this gf/cf diet a good whirl. Just to see.