Dr. G's views on gluten and

[Guest guest]

Hi Barb -- Dr. Goldberg doesn't restrict gluten at all, UNLESS the child shows

significant gluten sensitivity in the blood work (allergies and celiac disease),

and that most kids, in his experience, do not have this sensitivity to a

significant degree. This is a portion of the DAN philosophy that he disagrees

with. He gave several reasons for this, unfortunately, I don't remember, and

they probably went over my head anyway! lol...So, on the " Do's and Don'ts "

diet, you can give your child white, French, sour dough, egg bread (as long as

there are no egg allergies, of course), bagels, etc., as long as they have no

dairy and are low in sugar. What is absolutely restricted is whole grain

breads, because they are highly allergenic. I also try to find bread that also

has no chemical preservatives. Dr. Goldberg said that you have to look at bread

as a " tool " to get protein into the kids

I think now I remember - and other parents may want to correct me if I'm not

quite getting it right - is that the DAN protocol assumes that the autistic

symptoms and immune problems are caused by " leaky gut syndrome " , and you treat

it with the GFCF diet. Dr. Goldberg said this is wrong...that the " leaky gut

syndrome " is just one part of the larger immune dysfunction and that you must

eliminate the foods that are stressing the immune system, but gluten is not a

stressor in most cases.

Hope I explained that well.

Donna

New Here, and a few questions...

>

>

> I joined this group a few backs, and have been

> " lurking " a bit. We

> have three kids - Chloe (4 and no problems), Ivan

> (3 in October - dx

> autistic last October) and Giselle (7 months...so

> far, so good).

> I've really questioned myself - should I look into

> this for Ivan?

> Should I try ? Right now Ivan is in an EI

> program where he

> receives 10 hours of ABA a week, and we do a lot

> more at home. We

> just started the gf/cf diet - it seems like he's

> going through

> withdrawls or something, is that normal - and I'm

> feeling brave and

> willing to try this. I'm still nervous.

>

> From what I've seen here, many people have hf

> autistic or PPD kids

> who have made great gains. Ivan is smack-dab in

> the middle of the

> spectrum, and is just starting to attempt

> language. He babbles a

> lot, mimics his older sister, loves to run and

> play and play with

> dolls. I'm still worried, though, that maybe the

> protocol won't

> help him. Has anyone else done this and started

> with a non-verbal

> kid? What was it like?

>

> Ivan certainly has immune system problems. He

> always reacted to his

> vaccines (in retrospect, I shouldn't have

> continued), culminating in

> a severe reaction last year to a DTaP which

> required medical

> intervention. He has eczema and red eyes and

> seems to always be

> running a low-grade fever. His allergist says

> he's immune-deficient,

> but that he'll " grow out of it " . I've not placed

> to much stock in

> this idea, since this doctor also insists that

> there is no such thing

> as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or a host of other

> immune-system

> problems.

>

> Ivan's also anemic, and at one point his iron was

> tested at 8 (not

> sure what the unit of measurement is). Does

> anyone else have a child

> with anemia/anemic problems? Does this ring true

> for anyone else?

>

> I'm babbling now, and it's late. I guess I need

> some reassurance.

> My husband thinks I'll try anything, and of

> course, I WILL, but I

> also have a good vibe about this.

>

> Any info anyone has would be most welcome.

>

> thanks,

>

>

>

>

>