Re: Introducing Gluten to a Toddler

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm new to this group, so I usually shy away from posting. However, this

is an issue that I feel strongly about, so I've gathered the courage to speak

up.

I urge you to consider keeping your children gluten-free. I tested negative on

blood tests for celiac, but I am gluten-sensitive. I had minimal symptoms until

after college when I had suffered through 2 years of clinical depression and my

immune system was so overwhelmed that I could not fight off viruses. I am not

celiac, but after going gluten-free, I lost 25 pounds, I am not depressed, and I

now rarely catch colds, not to mention the fact that my tummy feels much better!

Now, in hindsight, I can see that my symptoms built up very slowly over the

years. However, I would be a much healthier person and would not have had to

deal with the effects of gluten-sensitivity if I had been gluten-free.

Science is still far from understanding the full extent of celiac disease and

gluten-sensitivity. The effects of damage from gluten may not show up until

decades later when it's too late. For example, we know that people with

celiac/gluten sensitivity have higher rates of heart disease, auto-immune

disease, and cancer. In addition, no doctor would tell you that we completely

understand the cause of celiac/gluten sensitivity.

I've discussed with my doctor what the advantages of eating gluten are and they

are really limited to social and cultural issues: we Americans value soft,

stretchy bread and think it's a tragedy if you can't eat it!

I urge as many of my friends as possible to stay away from gluten. I know

several asymptomatic people who have gone gluten-free because they see the

damage it can do to others. We have a son who is almost two as well. We will be

keeping him gluten-free regardless of any test results... until his teenage

years when I'm sure he'll want to try it anyway! I could go on and on, so feel

free to ask more questions, but I urge you to consider staying gluten-free as a

family.

Angie

On Nov 23, 2010, at 8:36 AM, " tunibell " <jessika.welcome@...> wrote:

> I was diagnosed with celiac disease when my second daughter (N) was four

months old. At the time, I was told that blood testing for celiac was unreliable

in children below the age of two; consequently, I decided to keep her diet

gluten-free until she was older.

>

> N is now nearly two. I've had both girls genetically tested, and N carries a

copy of DQ2. I'd like to start introducing gluten into her diet now that she is

old enough to monitor. Has anyone else done this before? I've met with two

celiac specialists (including a pediatric specialist), but both stated that

there are no established guidelines for this sort of thing. Any feedback would

be appreciated.

>

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

Regarding introducing gluten to your toddler and the previous poster's comment

about avoiding it all together I have just one thought on that.

Our backstory is I too was diagnosed when my son was a baby and at the time

decided to stop gluten all together b/c of the unreliability of the blood tests

for very young children. He is three now and we just allowed him to have gluten

for one week so we could take a STOOL sample for the Enterolab gluten

sensitivity test. While that test won't tell us if he has celiac, in my opinion

it will get us closer to a diagnosis from our pediatrician. My son also carries

the Celiac genes and is homozygous for DQ2, which puts him in a higher risk

category. the Enterolab test doesn't require your child eat large amounts of

gluten before collecting a sample, unlike the blood tests. This is the test we

did:

https://www.enterolab.com/StaticPages/TestInfo.aspx#stool_gluten_sensitivity

Anyway, the thought crossed my mind about not introducing gluten to him ever b/c

a) it would be easier since we are a gluten free household and there's no

real benefit to gluten, Celiac or not. But here's the issue with that for me -

when he gets of school age I will have a harder time enforcing the no gluten

rule while he's at school without an official Celiac diagnosis IMO. If it turns

out he doesn't have Celiac I will still have him be gluten free, but if he gets

an accidental cookie at school, or plays with playdough (which has wheat and is

a no no for Celiac kids) the ramifications won't be as severe. If he has Celiac

disease I would be a diagnosed medical disease which would hold more weight with

most schools. (I'm an elementary school teacher myself so I know the process).

Hope this helps,

Kate

[Guest guest]

I agree that it's not urgent to keep other children gluten-free. Our daughter without celiac is homozygous for DQ2 and has a sibling with confirmed celiac, placing her at high risk, and we still do allow our unaffected daughter to have gluten. This allows monitoring of her antibody levels and doesn't impose difficult restrictions on her that she doesn't need. She's very healthy, growing well (tallest girl in her class) and has no health issues including behavioral. There is nothing inherently unhealthy about gluten for those without celiac or a sensitivity to gluten. Hope this helps. ddarcy@...Sent from my phoneOn Nov 24, 2010, at 9:22 AM, "tunibell" <jessika.welcome@...> wrote:

Although I would LOVE to keep my whole family gluten-free (for my own safety), I just don't think it's feasible. In addition to my celiac, we also must grapple with IgE-mediated allergies to shellfish (my husband); peanuts, tree nuts, and fish (older daughter); milk and eggs (N). Unless a member of this family has a clear-cut reason to avoid a particular food item, I'm all for keeping it in the rotation. Having said that, the rest of my family eats little gluten anyhow, since I don't make group meals containing it.

>

> Regarding introducing gluten to your toddler and the previous poster's comment about avoiding it all together I have just one thought on that.

>

> Our backstory is I too was diagnosed when my son was a baby and at the time decided to stop gluten all together b/c of the unreliability of the blood tests for very young children. He is three now and we just allowed him to have gluten for one week so we could take a STOOL sample for the Enterolab gluten sensitivity test. While that test won't tell us if he has celiac, in my opinion it will get us closer to a diagnosis from our pediatrician. My son also carries the Celiac genes and is homozygous for DQ2, which puts him in a higher risk category. the Enterolab test doesn't require your child eat large amounts of gluten before collecting a sample, unlike the blood tests. This is the test we did: https://www.enterolab.com/StaticPages/TestInfo.aspx#stool_gluten_sensitivity

>

> Anyway, the thought crossed my mind about not introducing gluten to him ever b/c a) it would be easier since we are a gluten free household and there's no real benefit to gluten, Celiac or not. But here's the issue with that for me - when he gets of school age I will have a harder time enforcing the no gluten rule while he's at school without an official Celiac diagnosis IMO. If it turns out he doesn't have Celiac I will still have him be gluten free, but if he gets an accidental cookie at school, or plays with playdough (which has wheat and is a no no for Celiac kids) the ramifications won't be as severe. If he has Celiac disease I would be a diagnosed medical disease which would hold more weight with most schools. (I'm an elementary school teacher myself so I know the process).

>

> Hope this helps,

> Kate

>

[Guest guest]

Wow - I was about to post a very similar question. I determined I was gluten sensitive and probably celiac after 5 consecutive miscarriages - I did not realize I should have done blood work prior to going gluten free so the testing I did after that (after a miserable 2 week gluten challenge) was inconclusive for celiac although looking back I know gluten has bothered me to a great degree since I was born. My husband was blood tested and his antibodies were just under positive for celiac (20 meant celiac and he got 18). So our household (me, my husband and our dog) went gluten free at the end of 2007. So fast forward 3 years and we now have a healthy 1 year old daughter and I've introduced all foods to her except for nuts and gluten and she is thriving - off the charts in growth. And I have no idea when to introduce gluten. I was thinking of trying it soon (although it is a hassle since our house is gluten free) but now that I've read via this post that the testing for infants is not accurate, I want to wait until she is talking and better able to tell me how she is feeling, + wait until the blood test and/or Enterolab can detect whether gluten is an issue. I do plan to introduce gluten some time and agree with one of the previous posters that I would prefer if she can eat gluten when she is out of the house if it doesn't hurt her. As well as our family eats (we are definitely not denied any yummy food- I just have to make it myself) I still don't wish this diet on anyone based on how inconvenient it is when one is out of the house not to mention the added expense for my flour stash.At any rate, I will eagerly continue to read any responses to this thread. My pediatrician really isn't well versed in gluten introduction but has diagnosed celiacs in other patients. His take has been that we could introduce gluten anytime after 9 months - but I want to do my own research before deciding what to do.Jean