Gluten Sensitivity

I recently posted a note looking for help for celiac. Look for it in the read requests/responses. (I think it was last week.)

As a mom w/celiac (baby doesn't have it), I can tell you it's much easier for everyone to be gluten-free; especially w/kids who will want to eat what bro/sis is eating.

Hi R.,

You need to be very careful about vaccinations now with your child(ren) and yes all of them can and very likely should be fed Gluten Free - Casein Free (GF-CF). There is a very good site to go to with so much information on the 'diet' and how to get started, recipes, shopping, substitutes, what to look for with infractions, .....

www.tacanow.org GF-CF Diet is a pull down menu at the top.

While you are there, take a look at the Medical section, Vaccines. Our children are having sky rocketing rates of asthma, allergies, autism, add and with the rise in the number and types of vaccinations YOU need to do the research to see which ones and when they should be administered for EACH of your children. They are different and yet the same.

Never vaccinate a baby/child/adult when you are sick, have been on antibiotics, there has been a previous reaction to a vaccination to the child or family member, have allergies to eggs, wheat, yeast and it is best to not use Tylenol as it puts the immune system to bed for up to 48 hours and depletes the glutathione levels that are needed when an attack is made.

Hope this is not too much being thrown at you but it is important for you to know that there is a problem developing in your youngest and you need to be aware of it.

Regarding the diet, my daughter has to be very strict on it and I should be following it as well so I cook for the whole family gf-cf and sometimes add in something else for the boys.

You can always contact me about the diet. Good luck and the best way to keep you on course is to think of those ingredients as being opiates/drugs to your child. When they have that food, it converts it to a drug when it reaches the brain, which it does in a lot of kids on the autism /add spectrum. My daughter cannot have casein, gluten, soy, eggs, yeast, some beans, pineapple, cantelope and when she stays off of them, no asthma and behaviors are good (well, as good as they can be for a teenager). When she has had something on the list she becomes Mr. Hyde (dr. jeckell), split personality.

So go to www.tacanow.org and follow the 10 weeks to GF-CF. My family did it cold turkey so you decide what is best in your case.

Hi R.,

I have 3 kids and one on the way and we do the GF/CF diet for my 9 year old. I pretty much cook and provide every meal GF/CF but I let the other kids have milk or wheat inbetween or other wise. It is easier then being a constant short order cook. There are lots of Recipes on the TACA website www.tacanow.org as well as ideas for how to make the big change. Be careful of Soy products lots of kids are sensitive to them too plus they have alot of estrogen in them and they do NOT need that! We use Almond milk and coconut milk. You can pretty much find a replacement for all of their favorites.

With your kids ages it may just be easier to be totally GF/CF. If you would like anymore help I love to correspond with you! We GF/CF mom have to stick together! ____@____.com I wish you all the best it is not an easy life style but well worth the healthy kid!!

Smiles,
Steph

Yes, it is much easier to have the whole family go gluten free, especially with little kids. They will learn to like the gluten and casein free foods, and you will only have to cook once. Get rid of all the non-diet foods in the house, too, then you won't have to deal with "accidents" where someone gave the wrong food to the wrong child. When you and your husband go out on dates you can splurge on ice cream and bread instead of a glass of wine. Don't keep it in the house, because when the kids first go off it they will crave the offending foods, and you will find yourself starting over again and again. Both my boys, now 17 and 19, are gluten and casein intolerant. (Not celiac disease) The older on is now not restricted, he was on the diet about ten years, and took himself off it during middle school with no ill effect (if one truly has celiac disease you can never go off). The younger one has autism, and is doing very well. He is also off corn, eats mostly root vegetables for carbs, and rotates carbs, veg, fruit, and meats (potato on Monday, Buckwheat on Tuesday, Rice on Wednesday, sweet potatoe on thursday, and potato again on Friday.) We also use Cassava (tapioca flour) and yam. He is approaching the ten year mark on this rotation diet, but he is doing so well, at what point do I want to risk behavior regression, academic regression, loss of speech? The answer is, never, so he will be on it until he is 21, or tells me, Mom, I want to try going off diet. He has been eating this way (gluten free) all his life, because originally his brother was suspected to have celiac disease, and he eats healthier than any kid I know, because they don't make junk food out of Cassava, etc. Just eat simple fried or roasted meats and sauteed, steamed, or roasted veg. and fresh fruits, and you'll be fine. You can save the ready made gluten free foods for parties and celebrations. Aunty Candice (google her) makes really good tasting things that look like regular snacks (oreos, fish crackers, pretzels). I wouldn't use them all the time becaus most have corn, and it is really hard to digest and easy to develop a sensitiviy to, so save it for an occasional treat. Karen Seroussi's Book Special Diets for Special kids, is both a story book and a Cookbook, and has some great from scratch cookie recipes. Good luck, and welcome to my world.B.

My mom and I are both wheat sensitive so we have to eat wheat-free/gluten-free. There are many cookbooks that you can get and a lot of health food stores sell wheat-free/gluten-free items. It is more expensive then "normal" items. If you go on to amazon.com under gourmet foods you will find wheat-free/gluten-free items to buy and these are usually in bulk.

As for feeding all of your kids a gluten-free diet is up to you. If you can afford to do so then you should do it. It would probably be a better diet for everyone and you wouldn't have to fear your son getting something that has gluten in it.

If you have any questions or just want someone to talk to send me a message.

I have recently switched to a wheat free/gluten free diet.

Here are some of the brands of packaged items that I buy:
Ians, Pamelas, Namaste, Enjoy life, Glutino, Rice Dream, Amy's, Muir Glen, Gluten Free Cafe, De Boles Gluten Free Rice Pasta.

Namaste and Enjoy Life brands are strictly wheat/gluten free and mostly allergy free. I think they have eggs in them, but no dairy or nuts for sure.

I have a lot of these items on regular order through amazon.com's Subscribe and Save program. They give you 15% off their price plus free shipping so it usually ends up being cheaper than store sales.

Places like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Henry's Marketplace, Sprouts, and Wild Oats have a website where you can print a list of all the allergy free/gluten free items that they sell in their stores.

For most of the packaged items I buy, the best deals come from Amazon.com and Henry's Marketplace. Trader Joes and Wholefoods are a bit pricey for me, but they generally have a better selection of items.

There are a number of books out there about the gluten free diet. The one that I like best so far because it's easy to read and gives you a good list of foods you can eat and foods that you have to avoid is called "Wheat Free Worry Free". It's written by a Mom who has a son with Celiac Disease.

And to save money, sign up on all the websites of the products that you like to get coupons sent to you. Every little bit helps.

R., how blessed you are to find out now. My Mom spent the first 40 yrs of her life not knowing and thinking that diarrhea was "a normal bowel movement". We have been around the block a few times finding newer and better ways, better foods, etc. The good news is a lot of foods today are gluten free. Most foods can go across the board for all of your family, but I would not suggest eliminating it from all as you might later have a reaction - so don't start a problem that isn't already there. You can find a lot foods, cookbooks,etc at your nearest Seventh Day Adventist food store. If you are near Riverside, La Sierra Natural Foods is an excellent store, and I am sure there is a bigger store close to Loma Linda. They are vegan so you wont find real meats there but they have a ton of stuff that is gluten free. Also, Google gluten free recipes and you will get a lot of ideas. http://www.celiac.com/ has shopping lists and good/bad lists to give you ideas too. At first it is a pain in the bootie to switch over and you will hit and miss with good and yucky stuff but after you get the swing of it, it is quite easy. Remember to watch out (not till later) for other people offering food to your child and when school comes the party stuff. Most kids today that are raised to know they are allergic do very well educating others (Helpful Hint: if you use the word allergic people UNDERSTAND - otherwise they seem to think it is ok to take a chance). Go figure???
K.

You might want to check out books/info from Linda Coss in Mission Viejo. She has a long history with this and knows her stuff. Try Amazon.com
M.

I know of three adults that were able to overcome this disease. If you would like more information, please let me know. God Bless! J.

Hello! I have a degree in natural health, and much of the focus is on nutrition. I read a book by Dr Shari Leiberman caled, "The Gluten Connection" and it was a valuable resource. I would definitely suggest trying to feed the kids mostly the same things, or you will be in for a battle! I wish you the best - feel free to email me any time if I can help more. Here are some websites from the book;

www.godairyfree.org
www.soyfoods.com

www.gfco.org
www.clanthompson.com
www.onguardsolutions.com
www.triumphdining.com - this one offers cards that list hidden ingredients at restaurants.

H.
____@____.com

You might want to talk with an NAET certified doctor about curing your child's allergies. My grandchildren (and I) go to Dr. David Karaba at East West Medical Group in Fullerton and love him. Gwen used to be allergic to milk, animals, pollens, trees, metals, etc., but no more. What a difference in her life.

Best wishes,

M.

Yes - we had to deal with this as well. My son loves the Trader Joe's gluten free pancake mix, brownie mix and he eats a lot of meats and veggies. I also use sprouted ezekiel bread and buns. We use goat cheese and Alta Dena has a great cheese that you can grate onto your gluten free pizza crust. His favorite pizza crust is by Chebe.

Checkout www.bluedominoes.com. There is a recipe section with kid friendly recipes and then more family recipes. Also, the celiac sprue is a wonderful organization and they even have info on which lotions, etc., contain wheat products.

R.,

I have a similar (but different) issue. My 2 year old is allergic to both dairy and soy. We've basically gone to a mostly "whole" food diet. The closer it is to nature the less likely there is something in it he can't eat. We primarily eat things like grilled meat, potatoes, rice, veggies and fruit. It is way easier than trying to sift through all of the processed/convenience foods he can't eat. I've also started cooking a bit extra when I cook. Whatever I make tonight will go with my son for lunch tomorrow (I work full time and I send all of his food to daycare with him so I don't have to worry about what they feed him). Sometimes I'll make enough to have dinner tonight and then again tomorrow. I've also gotten good at "repurposing" leftovers. We have chicken kabobs on Monday and then I serve them as chicken fajitas (with refried beans and tortillas) on Tuesday. It makes the leftovers less boring. I also use the crock pot a lot. Anything to make the evening easier. I have two children. It would be way easier to serve the same thing to everyone and for the most part, my husband, my self and my food allergic child eat the same meals. My older child is autistic and has a very limited list of things he'll eat so I typically feed him seperately than the rest of us (all of the things he will eat have dairy or soy in them...go figure).

A few resources you might find helpful:

www.tacanow.org - this is an autism website but they have tons of info on gluten and dairy free diets (which are extremely popular in the autism community).

and

www.glutenfreefrugal.blogspot.com the lady who writes this blog is really funny. Even though she's dealing with different food allergy issues than I am (her children are gluten but not dairy intolerant), it is nice to feel like there are others dealing with the same things I am.

I belong to this group:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/allergicbabies/

it isn't very active but the members are extremely helpful if you need advice or encouragement. If you ask a question, they will answer. And all of them are dealing with food allergic kids.

I can probably come up with some other resources for you if you are interested.

T.
teralee999 at hotmail dot com if you want to email me. I know my kid's issues are different than yours but to a certain extent, there are a lot of similarities between dealing with any sort of food issue.

I'm not dealing with this personally but I have a friend who's gluten sensitive. There are now a lot of foods that are gluten free. I've seen quite a few at Trader Joe's. Good luck!

We have several children at our kid's school who have the same allergies. One mom started her own bakery business called www.sweetalexis.com (her daughter is in my daughter's class). You may want to check her out for future food (she sells cookies and breads which are probably not what you're looking for at this point).

And what a great mom to take off 2 years to be with your children! Go you!