Anyone Have Their Child on a Wheat/gluten Free Diet?

Look in the back of the book Jenny McCarthy wrote (Louder than Words). I believe there are some websited listed there. I don't have the book anymore or I would give them to you. Sorry about that. It does sound very difficult though. Good luck!

We were wheat free for awhile, my son tested positive for an allergy, we started him back on it and he seemed fine, but then his asthma got worse. We took him to the best doctor ever and had him retested for allergies. He tested positive to yeast, soy, dairy, wheat and corn. We have a nutritional consultation (this doctor really is awesome) on Thursday and they will provide us with menus, recipes and a list of resources for gluten/wheat free products, I would be happy to share them with you.

I just bought a bunch of mixes from VG's for gluten free cakes, brownies and muffins.

Pamela's Cookies rock, especially the lemon shortbread...yum!

there is a little health food store down town Brighton (I forget the name) It is on the same block as the Yum Yum Tree. They have a whole section in the back of the store for a wheat free, gluten free diet. They have a lot of knowledge and resources. I know more and more people with this diet delema. I love to bake and the other day for sort of a challange to myself I made a wheat free gluten free sugar free bread. It was denser then regular, but tasty non the less. There are options out there, just keep looking and asking and you will find them.

Hi Nancy
my son is turned 5 last week, he has been on the g/f c/f diet for 6 months now, it is a hard diet to implement at first, I thought the same thing we were going to be taking away everything he loves to eat, we took out casien firts and slowly weened him off the gluten little by little each day until it was totally removed, there are many web-sites that can help you along the way, we worked with a nutritionist from Fenton her name is Marjie, ###-###-#### she is an exspert on the diet, she too is gluten free and helped us alot, she may be able to help you out over the phone. Nutition Works in Fenton is a health food store they have a lot of products so does VG's they have a large selection of g/f items. I bought a book that listed a lot of products that are g/f so when I first started I made my food list I would use the book as a reference I bought it off line g/f c/f solutions is the web-site I beleive, I may be wrong, I am at work and not too sure what the web address is I think just type in gluten free casien free.com
Have a great day.
L.

Nancy,
My first question to you would be why are you considering going gluten free? Is your child on the autism spectrum or having other developmental issues? Or could he be having gastrointestinal issues that have prompted allergy testing? What concrete improvements would you like to see by doing this?

There is a lot of "antecdotal" research (meaning european studies, this issue is not looked at or generally accepted in western medicine) to suggest that removing gluten and casein can be extremely beneficial for children with Autism and or other developmental issues. There is a man by the name of Dr. Kenneth Bock who has done research and has written a book about what he calls the 4-A Disorder. (Autism, Allergy, ADHD and Asthma). He was on Oprah this past fall I think. Goggle him. He has a website with lots of information that you might find helpful.

It is overwhelming. We ended up removing preservatives, refined sugars and artifical colors and dyes. We have seen improvements and feel that a GFCF diet is not necessary for us at this time.

Good luck to you on this journey.

Nancy,

There are a lot of great products on the market that are wheat and gluten free. We feed our son rice cereal, flax seed cereal, and others. You will have to see what is available in your health food market. Some Meijer stores are also carrying a small selection of gluten free products, but they may be more expensive than the same products in your health food store.

Also double-check the Meijer brand organic products. Their rice milk for example contains soy where the Rice Dream rice milk does not.

Wikipedia is a great place to find more information about specific ingredients. When I find a compound that I don't recognize I write it down and research it when I get home.

Also, you will want to become some type of member of one of the larger gluten-free websites. They can tell you about the hidden gluten that is in many products. If your son is "allergic" to gluten products you will need to know if a specific food is manufactured with a process that uses gluten. Most food companies do not have to list how, or with what, their products are processed and this may affect his allergies.

My recommendation is to start small. Start replacing your pantry a bit at a time as you run out of your staples. This will give you time to adjust and allow you to research specific brands and products without feeling overwhelmed. We went through this process two years ago when our son was diagnosed with seven food intolerances. It was very difficult at first, but is easy now to substitute the foods he can have in most recipes. I even found a replacement for soy sauce! =)

Just remember, going wheat and gluten free will be a sacrifice both in convenience and in your budget, but it may be well worth it. It was for us. If all else fails check with your health insurance and see if they will cover the cost to see a nutritionist. These professionals can help to make sure you are maintaining a healthy diet with enough calories your son needs to grow and stay healthy. They can also give you suggestions about alternatives on the market.

Good luck! If you have any questions drop me an email. I would be happy to help.

-C.

HI Nancy I just got my family wheat free. It's a lot of work. But I'm feeling better all the time! I made most of our food from scratch before that even. Trader Joes has a bunch of gluten free products at good prices.
I use millet flour for pancakes. And blend 1 c each ground oats,barley, brown rice flour and tapioca flours to replace wheat flour. Thats just wheat free though.
Patel's on ford road has millet, and barley flour (great lentils & spices too). I get brown rice flour & tapioca flours from Zerbo's (stark & plymouth).
Theres an allergy free cook book at the library I haven't read yet too. Let me know if you'd like more info. I'm not to far from you. A. H :)

Hi, just want to let you know that as an adult it is hard to see others eating what I would like to eat, so I feel for you and your child.
The only thing is always provide all natural foods not processed the processing has alot of additives and that is where the gluten comes in. Fresh is best. For bread I have sub. corn tortillas.

You can gain more information by checking out sites regarding kids with food allergies, or celiac disease (as another responder wrote). Whole Foods would be a good starting point, also seeing more of the normal grocers (Kroger/Meijer) carrying items which are safe.

http://www.allergygrocer.com/ (this site, you can click on your allergies and they'll show 'safe' products...can also select only 'kid friendly'...very nice!)

http://www.amyskitchen.com/special_diets/gf_diet_plan.php (I've found this line at Kroger's, Whole Foods and Meijer's....this link is a gluten free diet plan, the line has a variety of items available that gluten/wheat free.)

http://www.amyskitchen.com/special_diets/illness.php (this is more specific to celiac disease)

Definitely check out allergy sites, forums and cookbooks and things relating to celiac disease. **If you want a bunch of allergy links, let me know - just send me your email and I can fwd it to you.

Best wishes!

My Sister-in-Law is on a gluten free diet because she has celiac disease. Her kids get a lot of gluten free foods, but they aren't exclusively on a gluten free diet. She says she wouldn't want to limit them as much as she has to limit herself. It's a lot of hard work and sacrifice.