Here is the advice I gave our Early Interventionist. This diet is intimidating at first and some or all of these suggestions are helpful when starting out. Give yourself some time to get use to reading labels and finding the choices that are out there. You don't have to do it all at once. It took us about 6 months from the time we started removing dairy till we went totally dairy and gluten free. We still saw success. Just start somewhere. I suggest you visit www.allergygrocer.com. They have an advanced search that allows you to mark the allergy you want to avoid (for example you can check off, gluten, wheat, and dairy (or any of the others they have listed) and it will bring up all the products they sell that fit those criteria. Look for the kinds of foods you want. Make a list and see what your local stores can provide. It was nice to be armed with that list of what is out there for any given type of product. I was pleased to find that my local health food store had most of what I wanted to try. If you can't get it at your store, ask them if they can order it. Some times they will start stocking it since they know a customer is interested. Be aware that even items in the gluten free section of your store may contain dairy so you still have to read labels. However, I have found that many products that are gluten free and labeled as such will also plainly state if their products contain dairy.
#1: Start with one thing at a time. For example a big thing for us was how much Cow's Milk our son was drinking. We are talking 3-4 gallons a week! Start there. There is no reason that your child has to have a Milk Substitute as long as he or she is getting enough calcium (if concerned check with their Dr for advice, we did). If he or she does not like rice or soy milk try having them drink calcium fortified juice or look for a calcium supplement (that is dairy free). My son hated soy milk when we tried switching him to it. He liked the taste of cows milk and it does not taste the same. However a few months later he tried it again and found he liked it. We even found chocolate syrup so he can have chocolate milk or hot chocolate (or as he calls it "warm chocolate milk") At some point you will want to try soy or rice milk for cooking/baking (some people are also sensitive to soy so maybe going to rice milk may be better). Just be sure to read the label because not all soy and rice milks are gluten and dairy free. Some contain barley, which contains gluten, and some have casein or whey in them, which are dairy proteins.
#2: What I did next was to start choosing products that were dairy free. Read all labels always. I suggest you visit http://www.gfcfdiet.com/. They have a shopping guide that you can buy that will include a little card to take with you shopping. It lists all the ingredients you should look out for and avoid. There are many ingredients on that last that I didn't think of myself to look out for. In the beginning this is a must because the list is long. I now pretty much know what to look out for and don't need the card as much.
-note: Also stay away from products that say "produced on equipment that produces dairy, wheat or says may contain trace amounts... At least at first, later when you are fulling gluten and dairy free, you may find that trying one of these has no effect. My son on the other hand cannot tolerate even trace amounts and will effect him for 3 days (dairy) up to 2 weeks (gluten).
#3: Now lets think about gluten. If you went to http://www.gfcfdiet.com/ and ordered the shopping guide you are already armed with a list of ingredients to avoid. Switch to rice pasta. I have listed our favorite brand, look under products under the "lists" coll um on the right side of my blog. There you will find all our favorite products.
-you can find gluten free alternatives some times in a specialty isle of your grocery store (more and more this isle is increasing but largely depends on your demographics (will it sell in their store). Specialty stores that are known as either "Health Food" or "Whole Food" stores will have many options available for gluten and dairy free items.
#4: Buy plain potato or corn chips. Popcorn that does not contain natural or artificial butter flavor. Stay away from crackers, cookies, pretzels as most of the ones you get from a regular grocery store will not be gluten and dairy free.
#5: Stop buying traditional breads, flour tortillas.
-buy corn tortillas (most of them are gluten free and some even go as far as to label them as such) Check out the selection of gluten free breads (sometimes you will find them in the freezer section). Yes I have a strong opinion that fresh gluten free bread is far better than anything you can buy. However, it is nice to have the option of just buying bread to make sandwiches. The bagels I have found are good, a bit on the expensive side (see my recipe under "breads"). What you decide will largely depend on your life style.
There are more things to avoid than I have mentioned here but this is a good start. Armed with a list of ingredients to avoid, you will be able to cut out the rest if you read every label of everything you buy. Be aware of candy, sauces, and everything that passes the lips (including tooth paste).
Remember that you can do any of these things in any sort of order depending on what suits you. Over all what I suggest is starting with one major group of foods. Dairy is quicker to leave the body than gluten. We saw results with dairy with in a week, for some people it may be up to 3 months for the full effect. For gluten, we saw that the results were less dramatic but it showed up as better behaviors (less tantrums less sensory issues) and that our son didn't have diarrhea all the time. The effects of gluten slowly emerged over about a month but it could be up to 3 months to see the full effect. Keep up the diet it isn't easy but it is worth it in the end. Truly. We have seen great strides taken by our son. The decrease in sensory issues alone is well worth it. Think about it this way. If your child is always dealing with sensory issues (noise levels, how his/her clothes feel, smells, tastes, etc) then it leaves little room for them to concentrate on other things. This will effect how they function in school, shopping, parties, holidays and every other aspect of their lives. Sensory issues are limiting factors. What keeps me going even now, when I would love to just give it all up for the ease of being able to just buy what ever, make what ever, eat at fast food or any restaurant, is that I know my son is better for it. His quality of life is better for it. Not to mention our lives is that much easier with out fighting tantrums to get dressed in the morning, brushing his teeth, eat at the table with us, join in on parties or family get gatherings and so much more. For us the big thing is it took the fight out of most things. Now most of the "fight" we get is fairly normal age-related behaviors. In the end it is easier for me to worry about what he is eating than the dealing with the stress that tantrums in the middle of a store, at home, or anywhere else, can cause on a regular basis. I am well aware that not everyone has such great success as we have enjoyed, but many people see improvements non-the-less. I offer you support. Feel free to leave a comment to contact me.
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