Advice for a family of beginners

[Guest guest]

Dear list,

I am the parent of two children, neither of whom have a diagnosis for ASD or

digestive condition. I came to SCD via my 2-year old daughter, who has been a

cause for concern for us due to 'failure to thrive' and who has been under

observation by a team of gastroenterologists since she was 1 (all tests have

come up normal, and the doctors only want to watch her weight). My 6-year old

son is an 'atopic' child (tendency to asthma and allergies). Neither of the

children presents with any obvious digestive or behavioural symptoms.

We were advised to go on the SCD (by a private consultant nutritionist), and

we are quite happy do to so as a family, since we believe in the rationale

behind the diet and in its general benefits. However, in the absence of obvious

symptoms (and thus of any obvious bettering or worsening), we are finding it

difficult to decide when/how to proceed through the various stages of the diet.

For example: is it absolutely necessary to exclude legal cheese at the

beginning, and if so for how long? We have been on the diet for about 4 weeks

now, feeling generally good. I don't anticipate we would notice anything

getting 'worse' if we introduced cheese now, although it is much earlier than

generally recommended. Is there any reason why we shouldn't?

Many thanks,