GFCF

Post Reply New Topic

Hey everyone, I'm just starting the GFCF diet and I'm going a wondering about various foods. What alcohol is GFCF (I'm 24!!)? I know beer has gluten in it so that's out I think wine is processed with casein, but does it actually have casein in it? What about vodka? Cocacola? Chocolate? Oh I live in the UK, I know sometimes food is processed differently in different countries. Thanks!

I don't think there's any casein in wine, coca cola or vodka. Some dark chocolate is casein-free, but some isn't. If you find something that is kosher, and it's pareve (neither meat nor dairy), it will be casein free. In the USA, lots of "regular" foods are marked kosher, so it can be very helpful for finding casein-free foods. Gluten-free is harder to identify.

What is this diet supposed to do? Why is it that I see stuff being sold for it, but very little in the way of scientific info backing it up?

Can anyone explain?

I'm not sure of the science behind it, but I do know that food is chemistry and some people may have alergic reactions or IBS that is triggered by certain food/chemicals. I seem to be able to eat some diary with out any negative effect(a little butter or cheese) but milk give me bouts of painful gas and diaria(sorry for TMI). Like any kind of "being ill or hurting", that can take energy away from my function level and make me mre sensitive to over stimulation...even cloud my thinking process.

I think some believe that wheat products ferment(are not properly digested) in some autistics..missing some enzyms to break it down completely? The theory is that it is like they are "drunk" from this internal fermintation. I don't know about the validity of this but I do know the same thing can happen for people who crave suger, (me) and have systeatic yeast over growth.

I'm not a proponent of .....diet, enzymes, vitamens can cure autism...but I don't think it should be ruled out as something that can help some people with some of the negative sensory issues. I did try a low carb diet once and noticed no improvement in my over all function level and it certainly didn't "turn" me NT. AS or NT, food is still a chemical that can effect your over all health and function level.

Most supermarkets now stock a good selection just ask them.
there are rice flour pasta alternatives.
but if you stick to plain foods you can't go wrong.
alcohol should be ok unless its brewed from grain
Choc has to be expensive stuff with no milk solids in.
we also avoid Soya (which is in EVERY processed food)

gfcf works well on my boy, his self harming has gone to nothing and he is able to concentrate much better. and attend regular school.
anymore questions please ask!! !

...

Last edited by 0_equals_true on 23 Apr 2008, 12:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Why do you avoid soya? Is he allergic to soya? Soya is some of the best brain food there is up their with fish.

Granted you want fresh soya bean (which are green in colour) that have been dry frozen as soon as it has been picked due to the half like of some of the compounds.

Most soy sauce contains wheat. A wheat free soy sauce will be labeled accordingly.

Coca cola is very likely not GFCF. There are so many ingredients that are derivative of gluten especially in cheap junk food/drink. Anything that has 'caramel' potentially has casein unless you can identify the ingredients individually.

kosher an GFCF are not the same. CF is not the same a kosher either.

*vodka is not ok* it has gluten. Most vodka is grain biased with some potato. Pure potato vodka is few and far between.

Alcohol that is safe: pure rums(not mixed drinks like Malibu), cognac, sherry,port,wine, cider*, perry, gluten free beer, spirits that are elusively fruit based.

*some contain barley which is gluten

check this resource:
http://gfkitchen.server101.com/GFAlcohol.htm


Basically I just drink wine or rum with a squeeze of lime and ice. You can share a bottle of wine between friends, or you just sip some rum maybe mix it pure fruit juice. It is actually nicer than the crap most people drink and is less likely to make you feel crappy afterwards.

One thing you'll notice about GFCF is if you buy fresh ingredients you aren't that limited except for time, however pre-prepared stuff is harder to find. The 'free from' sections don't hold all the secrets. Unless you are going to a specialty shop they try and kill ten birds with one stone so they are vegan, gluten free , diary free, soya, etc. So that can actually make it less palatable. There are many other products that happen to be GFCF but they don't advertise as such because that is not their selling point. They tend to get lost amongst everything else so it will take a while to find them. For instance most sausages contain wheat. However there are CF sausages, from poor to the some of the best I've very tasted. However this thing of putting wheat flour in sausage is especially Anglo-Saxon. Our idea of a sausage is meat that holds together more when you cut it. Gluten does that. However I found a Sicilian sausage that is not advertised as gluten free, but they use potato instead of wheat. It is a much more rustic sausage, but it is pretty tasty. Another example is my cornflakes, much cheaper not in the 'free from' section. Most cornflakes contain wheat so they are an exception.

Also buy from independent grocers especially ethnic ones like south Asian as their diet is low in gluten and often caesen. Plus those places have amazing fruit and veg that you wouldn't see anywhere else.

*edit* I missed some out

OK, thanku v much. If I can still have a glass of wine I'll be happy. I also drink vodka soda water lime so I guess I could switch that to rum to be safe. I will look for some good quality chocolate too. I have green and blacks dark choc at the mo. It says suitable for vegetarians and vegans so that rules out casein, yay. I hope there's no gluten in shop bought hummus!! ! Maybe I'll get a blender and make my own! The reason I want to try it is because my diet mainly consists of bread and cheese ie gluten and casein. Who knows?! Thanks people.

Some chain restaurants do GF menus here in the states. Outback Steakhouse and Spaghetti Factory. A few of the others do as well. I think people are getting more sensitive to food allergies and stuff like that in general.

Just FYI, I do gluten free for the most part and I drink tons of Coke. I'm a caffeine addict. But it doesn't seem to bother me. Other stuff does, though.

Really? I never heard of one in the UK. It would be nice to know. However I'm pretty doubtful about the ability of a mixed kitchen to serve gluten free food. Contamination is an issue if they don't eat the diet themselves, I'm not talking about trace amounts either. Ok we are not talking about Mc Donald's but they are still a chain restaurant they would have to put up their prices overall to ensure the food is really gluten free.

No, this is not the case at all. Outback is already pretty much gluten free and they offer the option of salad with no croutons that they make especially. Also, Spaghetti Factory has gluten free pasta and it's very obvious when they bring it out that it is. It has a completely different texture and look to it.

I have taken to asking when I'm given a menu if they have gluten or casein free options on the menu. The waiters will usually be able to point these things out. Lots of people ask these days, so it doesn't seem like a weird question at all.

I know I asked for the GFCF menu at Outback and compared it to the regular menu and except for the bread options, it was pretty much the same. It can't hurt to ever ask!

Rum, lime and soda is the classic mix. Or you can have mojito if they/you know how to make it properly. Banana daiquiri and Piña Colada are favourites in hot climates (make sure they only use fresh fruit and rum). Most commercial vodka doesn't taste of anything... There is some really nice rums out there like Appleton Estate, which you might have to search a little to find. White rum doesn't have to be overproof either. Red rum is nice too, depending where you are often they only server 'navy' which is the dark rum. If the bottle looks a bit of a joke like it has pirates, etc on the label assume they are putting other things in their to make the rum darker in colour. Dark rums are worth double checking.


Most people don’t drink them but any liqueurs do your home work. Like for instance Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge ("Red Ribbon") is fine because they use cognac, but Cordon Jaune ("Yellow Ribbon") is not because they use grain alcohol. Though yellow is pretty rare especially in North America.

Alco pops are not even worth doing the homework for.