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Need Gluten Free/Casein Free recipes


JennyC

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Ive decided to try taking Isa off of gluten and see how she reacts. For those of you who took their children off of gluten, how long did it take for you to see results and what kind of results did you see?

 

Also, if anyone has some good and inexpensive gluten free/casein free recipes and wouldnt mind sharing I would be greatly appreciative.

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JennyC,

 

We saw results after the first two weeks. It was a gradual improvement that really required regular vitamin doses and probiotics to keep the tics down in the beginning. Now that he has been on the strict GF and MF diet for nine months we can skip the vits and not see a surge in tics (although we still do supplement, especially over the holidays when he has eaten his share of allergy friendly sweets. Probiotics are necessary for good gut flora. We use Threelac. It is expensive but worth it in my opinion. We do not do the chewables--too much stuff in them (corn for one). I have a blog that has quite a few recipes on it, some that are gluten and casein free as I am supposed to keep the dairy at a minimum so as not to cause a dairy allergy to develop. Many of my recipes are interchangeable as far as making them dairy free. I have learned quite a bit as time has rolled along and have gone back and updated all recipes with specific info as needed. Of course they are all free. I get recipes from other parents on different allergy forums I belong to and will post their ideas from time to time.

http://healthy-family.org

I forgot to mention that tomatoes, apples, grapes, pineapples, and oranges are high in salicylates. If your daughter seems to be 'bouncing off the walls' after eating them she could be sensitive. They tend to cause hyperactivity in chemically sensitive kids. My tigger goes coo coo when he overindulges. I have to watch he doesn't get more than one serving in a single day. As a rule, cooked is better than fresh (tomato sauce over fresh sliced tomato, canned pineapples over fresh (although we don't do canned--corn issue). Also, green grapes and green apples have less salicylates than the red versions. I want to put this out there in case you want to experiment a little with it. I gave partial info the last time I posted.

 

Check out:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FOODALLERGYKITCHEN/

It is one of my favorite forums. There are over 1000 members. I ask a question and within minutes I usually get an email response. Everyone there is really helpful and there are so many with some cool, creative recipes.

 

Caryn

 

P.S. The longer a gluten intolerant person goes without gluten the more the body heals. One way to test gluten intolerance on your own is to abstain (really be sure the person is not getting ANY gluten) for at least a week, preferably two, and then reintroduce the gluten with gusto. You should see a marked spike in symptoms. Once the healing begins the body becomes more markedly sensitive to gluten and will react more strongly against it to rid itself of the 'toxin'. After being gluten free for six months my little guy actually puked after getting cross-contaminated food at a fast food restaurant. Once his stomach was empty he felt fine. I panicked, but senior members on the celiac forum reassured me that this was normal and that it was a 'good' reaction, as he recovered much more quickly than he would have if it had passed completely through his system. Now this doesn't mean that he will puke every time he eats gluten or corn, but it is a possibility that it could happen again. I am encouraged that the longer we eat this way the stronger his immune system will get. He is doing fantastic since we changed our diet in our house. We have not had one trip to the doc for antibiotics. He has escaped the usual fall cold and flu season with ease. (I got sick this fall as did his two little brothers, but he did not.) He used to be the sickest of the bunch!

 

I will add my disclaimer again, in case anyone is reading this post for the first time and not following my previous posts: Gluten Intolerance is a genetic condition in which a person does not produce an enzyme necessary to break down the gluten protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Not everyone is gluten intolerant.

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I can always count on you for great information, thank you so much!

 

Yesterday she was SO hyper and we were trying to figure out what she may have had to eat. She had been eating homemade rolls ALL DAY, seriously she had like 8, they had eggs ( which she doesnt react to) soy milk (so no milk) sugar, and lots of flour. Can gluten cause hyperactivity?

 

I never thought of cutting it out and then reintroducing it, I was only thinking of looking at her behavior off of gluten so thank you so much for that tip!

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JennyC,

Yes, new studies have come out that point to neuropathy and gluten intolerance/celiac disease. I wrote an article summarizing the ones I was able to get full text info on for free. (Most medical studies require a fee, sometimes $40-50 an article.)

Here is an excerpt from one study that I quoted:

Zelnik et al concluded that, “the spectrum of neurologic disorders in patients with celiac’s disease is wider than previously appreciated and includes, in addition to previously known entities such as cerebellar ataxia, epilepsy, or neuromuscular diseases, milder and more common problems such as migraine headache and learning disabilities, including ADHD” (1675). Excerpts taken from: “Range of Neurologic Disorders in Patients with Celiac Disease” Pediatrics, Volume 113, June 2004.

If you haven't heard about Doris Rapp, she has a couple of interesting books out that talk about cerebral allergies. Is This Your Child?, I believe, is the title of her first book. Check to see if your library carries it or any of her other books. It was in her first book that she wrote about a child with a corn allergy, his reactions to it, and how dramatic a change he made when he got off the corn. I initially thought it was far-fetched, but when I finally took my Tigger off of the corn I saw a dramatic reduction in his off the wall behaviors. It was like a light bulb went on in his head finally and I no longer had to repeat myself to him sixteen million times only to get him to forget half of what I said-- he stopped having those annoying 'be-bop' sessions where he would make goofy weird noises almost all day long and just literally bounce off the walls, knocking my cushions to the floor and tearing apart the house for no reason--throwing his toys instead of playing with them. He was like a new puppy completely unbroken, running around my house destroying it. I kid you not. In her book Doris included a picture of the corn allergic boy's handwriting and artwork both on corn and corn-free. There was a dramatic difference. I see the very same thing with my Tigger. I KNOW when we have had an infraction based entirely on his handwriting. It is like there is a complete inability to concentrate, attend to task. He cannot stay in the lines, write legible words, and drawing scenes, forget about it! Off corn he will spend 30 minutes drawing beautiful scenes: a house with a yard, several windows and doors, trees, kids playing. He uses multiple colors and stays in the lines when he fills his drawings. On corn-- I will get a sloppy circle with stick arms and legs, circle feet, and major scribbles, often covering what he originally drew. He always colors with just one crayon while on a corn 'high'. We had such an episode last weekend. My husband and I went to a wedding and before we left he asked to have some muenster cheese. I should have said no, because I didn't know if the product was corn free. Well, he pigged out on it and was fine for the next hour and a half before he went to bed (according to the sitter). The next morning it was obvious he had eaten corn and we literally had to wait until today (four days) before he told me that he finally feels like himself again. (It is common for major manufacturers to sprinkle cornstarch on their block cheeses before packaging so that their products don't stick to the plastic.)

 

I see more irritability and physical sickness when it comes to the gluten, spaciness, and 'naughty' behavior; but that doesn't mean that gluten would not cause hyperactivity in another gluten intolerant child. Tigger initially tested positive for pyroluria; I believe this was due to the high gluten diet he was originally on. When a celiac/gluten intolerant person eats a lot of gluten it can act as a laxative and just wash the nutrients out of the body before they can be properly absorbed. This is why they are usually always vitamin deficient, especially in Bs, are usually anemic, and lack zinc. (White spots on the fingernails is a sign). Over a long period of time these deficiencies can cause a whole host of problems including depression. Also, when you feed your child fortified foods or vitamins that include gluten you can be sure it is not properly absorbed. This is why I believe that my son's gluten intolerance must have lead to the onset of his tic disorder. He was deficient in so many things even though I was providing chewable vitamins to him almost daily and providing enriched whole wheat breads.

 

The research shows ADHD to be a possible side effect of a high gluten diet for a gluten intolerant individual. But there is not enough out there to give a definite claim that tics can in fact be a direct result of a high gluten diet by a gluten intolerant/celiac child. I found one reference to date. My second reference is my son. Call it a hunch, but I do think that for a small minority of us there is a connection. Just as MSG is considered an excitotoxin, so is gluten in the genetically susceptible. What I will say is that my ds has recovered tremendously on his new diet and he has NO interest in knowingly eating anything with gluten or corn, and he is only five years old next month. So he must feel a strong difference himself. We have a really good handle on the gluten free diet as the labeling is so good and companies are forthright in their packaging. Corn is another story as it is not officially recognized as an allergen in the U.S. and most companies do not disclose as they are not required by law. It's a shame, as the lack of labeling makes my job as detective a full time one!

 

Hope this helps.

The rest of my article is at: http://healthy-family.org/caryn/289

 

Caryn

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I think I asked this question before so please forgive me if I did. Im just getting so much info (which is great!) but I have trouble absorbing and remembering it all. Isa tested negative for celiac and other allergies, do those test not show sensitivities?

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I think I asked this question before so please forgive me if I did. Im just getting so much info (which is great!) but I have trouble absorbing and remembering it all. Isa tested negative for celiac and other allergies, do those test not show sensitivities?

Many parents say that a RAST test does not find food intolerances, or delayed reaction allergies. I'm not sure what kind of test Isa took, but if it was a skin prick test it would not measure delayed reactions. We have never done a RAST test for Tigger, however I did do one years ago myself and found it very uncomfortable. The RAST test I took never found a wheat or gluten 'allergy'-- ;>)

Tigger took the ALCAT test, which measures the white blood cells. They claim to have an 80% accuracy rate. The ALCAT found gluten intolerance but did not find Celiac. We went gluten free after the results and later learned that it would be impossible to get a positive celiac dx once the gluten intolerant/possible celiac stops eating the gluten. (Many celiac blood tests require daily ingestion for at least 30 days prior to testing. I don't know any gluten intolerant person on a gluten free diet that would be willing to do that!!!! )

I have heard of a company called Enterolabs that does genetic screening and stool tests which are much more highly sensitive than the typical blood test. We plan to do the genetic testing for our family next month. IMHO I think it is better to be safe than sorry, at least for us. Our youngest has been thriving on the GF diet (he is 18 months old) and suffered from eczema and bloody bums before the switch

 

So for us, right now we cannot definitively say Tigger is or isn't celiac. All I know is that the gluten free, corn free diet has definitely made all the difference.

Caryn

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Here are some glutten free wensites that a friend sent me

 

www.everybodyeats-inc.com

www.marthasglutenfree,com

www.thegrainlessbaker.com

www.legardenbakery.com

www.mrritts.com

www.dietspec.com

www.celiacspecialties.com

www.glutenfreebakehouse@wholefoods.com

www.sunshineburger.com

www.againstthegraingourmet.com

www.latotillafactory.com

www.foodsforlife.com

www.foodsbygeorge.com

www.sillyyaks.com

www.bubbiesicecream.com

www.celiacchicks.com

www.glutenfreemall.com

www.glutino.com

www.outsidethebreadbox.com

www.sorellabakery.com

www.usmillsinc.com

www.glutenfreepantry.com

www.kinnikinnick.com or 1-877-503-4466

The Soy Nut Butter Co. at 1-800-288-1012, excellent corn flake crumbs to make chicken tenders, etc.

www.lundberg.com

www.ricepasta.com or www.tinkyada.com

www.barbarabakery.com

www.biaglut.com

www.schar.com

www.maplegrovefoods.com

Pomi’ Sauces, produced by Parmalat are excellent as a base and they have a marinara version.

www.edward&sons.com

www.sheltons.com

www.pereg-gourmet.com

www.pacificfoods.com

Westbrae – 1-800-434-4246, carry GF cans of different kinds of beans

ww.ener-g.com

I don’t care for this company, their breads are horrible, but you never know they may have improved.

www.kariout.com

GF soy sauce packets and can order very cheap at this one place called: Minore’s Meats Inc. at 1-800-421-6623, 100 packets for $10.90 whereas if you get packets at other places, they are charging as much as $1.00 per packet!

www.organ.com

www.thninkproducts.com

good health bars that are GF.

www.iansnaturalfoods.com

Wonderful new line of French bread pizza’s….end of list for now.

 

Annalise Roberts, chef and author of Gluten-Free Baking Classics, is interested in providing a gluten free cooking demonstration geared toward children and their families. If your child is interested in attending a cooking demonstration, please respond to this email and indicate the ideal amount of time for the demonstration (e.g. 1 hour, 1 ½ hours, etc.). I’ll forward your feedback to Annalise. If you are interested in learning more about Annalise, you may visit her website at: http://www.foodphilosopher.com/

 

Hope this helps!

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