if your child is on a dairy-free/casein-free diet!!read this

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Thin Bones Seen In Boys with Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Results of an early study suggest that dairy-free diets and unconventional food preferences could put boys with autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at higher than normal risk for thinner, less dense bones when compared to a group of boys the same age who do not have autism.

The study, by researchers from the National Institutes of Health and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, was published online in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.


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I'm on a gluten diet but I think I eat very healthily. I started to eat a lot more fruit and vegetables because they're one nice thing that I'm free to eat as much of as I want. I have fruit for breakfast, a rice salad for lunch, and maybe use gluten free pasta for my tea? or have a jacket potato or something. I feel just fine.

If you avoid dairy, you have to take calcium supplements. It's not big deal, people with lactose intolerance and true milk allergies have to take them also.

I have lactose intolerance and I don't take supplements.


Once you get older, you need calcium less and less.

Or at least, I was told that.

True in men (although it does no harm to keep taking in calcium anyway), but women need to be pretty rigorous about taking calcium supplements, because post-menopausal bone loss and osteoperosis is a huge problem in older women. Really, to be sure women ought to be taking calcium supplements - regardless of dairy in their diet - for life.

There are various calcium sources aside from traditional dairy. Spinach is a good one. I'm either lactose intolerant (I'm responding to lactase supplements) or milkfat sensitive. But I eat dairy with lactase (yogurt, aged cheeses).
Soy milk has calcium and vitamin D supplements. My son went through a very long period where he drank soy mild almost exclusively.
Don't non-bovine milks also have calcium in it?

And how many people eat spinach and drink soy milk? Yea, there are other sources but they aren't foods most people eat. It's hard to meet the RDA with a typical American diet without consuming dairy.

I forgot about lactase enzymes. They also make DPP-IV enzymes that digest gluten and casein. DPP-IV is the enzyme that's not working in some autistics. They can either avoid gluten and casein or take DPP-IV enzymes. http://www.kirkmanlabs.com/products/enz ... ec230.html

Right, but calcium IS used for muscle action, etc... as well.

im supprised vegans live longer then (which they do) and what damage is the gluten and dairy going to do if you cant process it and its making opioids in your brain? Most people in the east (who also live longer) dont eat dairy. Are you sure this study was not sponsored by the milk board?

The food opioid theory is complete nonsense, actually.

I don't know, many SWEAR by it. It seems to help me. I would LOVE to go 100% GF.

BTW the theory is NOT that it causes damage. The theory is basically that it causes a kind of slight stupor.
When the gluten is removed, the persons faculties slowly improve. Supposedly, it is 100% recoverable. The theory is sound,

There is SOMETHING to it. I went for a few weeks feeling better. My behaviour, etc... improved a bit. Losing a bit of weight, and having a lower blood sugar, didn't hurt either!

It's psychological.

You think it's doing this, but it's really not.

I bought into the theory in November and I never felt worse. It's psychological BS and nothing more.

There are actually dozens of studies to support it. Go to the Autism Network For Dietary Intervention website at http://www.autismndi.com/news/default.a ... ow=Studies and click on Various journal articles • READ MORE and there's like 50 studies related to gluten and casein and autism.

That is a biased website, so I have no desire to view it.

GEE, Aspirin, Ginsing, KAVA KAVA, MILK, COFFEE, etc... DIDN'T affect me like people claimed they would.

Anyway, SOMETHING changed.

There's a big CDC double blind study on Gluten free/Casein free in autistic children due in the middle of this year. I'd just wait for that. The double blind part is going to be the important bit. I'm guessing it'll show that the effects are psychological, but I could be wrong. There hasn't been a good study on it yet, this'll be the first that doesn't rely on anecdote.