Gluten-free, Casein-free Diet

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At the advice of a friend, who is an avid nutritionist, I started the GFCF diet for myself, going on the belief that it would help to minimise my Aspie traits and perform better socially...
I'm at the point now where I'm happy with simply having a highly reduced intake of gluten and dairy; I like to treat myself every so often.

The point is, I'm not entirely sure if I feel different.

I was wondering if any of you have gone on the GFCF diet, and if you've noticed any palpable changes in your behaviour?

Gluten and Casine are hard for everyone to digest so GFCF diets are seen as a good thing. Aspies tend to also have intolerance which exacerbate their symptoms. Just be careful, GFCF "mimic foods" (eg. GF loaf of bread) are insanely expensive.

Is it possible to be a vegetarian and do the GFCG diet at the same time?
without meat and grains it seems like there isn't much left to eat. I wanted to try this GFCF diet but I don't want to eat cows and chickens and the sort

I don't know. I've heard that Celiac disease is a real thing, so too is lactose intolerance, and I know that people can be allergic to grains or milk. Ask your doctor about your likelihood of having these conditions. For people without these conditions I would question whether the supposed benefits of avoiding milk and grans have any medical or scientific basis. I could see that having a laundry list of foods to avoid might itself become a social impediment or even prompt people to pick on you. Unless there is a medically recognized reason for you to avoid these foods, you are probably just avoiding foods you like and possibly getting teased for it too for nothing.

The origins and reasons for seemingly opaque or nonsensical things can become quite transparent when you "follow the money". Could you believe that a nutritionist might have something to sell, too?

Last edited by sgrannel on 30 Mar 2014, 2:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I've never tried going fully GFCF, but I have somewhat cut back my intake of foods containing casein and gluten. It's an extremely difficult thing to do though, especially since I love a lot of foods that contain wheat and dairy, oftentimes both.

I wonder, could an aspie amplify their aspie traits to a much higher level by living on things like grilled cheese and pizza? xD

i have celiacs so that makes it very important that i stay gluten free. when i first went gfcf, i had some serious health issues get better. i didn't notice any change in my autistic symptoms for months. they were much more subtle and slow to change. i does appear to help my sensory issues the most. i still struggle with all my sensory issues but they seem less intense than they use to be. i have an easier time not stimming. i wouldn't say that it has improved my social skills but it's easier to tolerate social situations when i'm not completely overwhelmed by sensory stuff. of course, all this may be because i have fewer serious health issues now.

People who aren't autistic can also have celiac disease.



You changed two things. Omitting gluten will mitigate celiac disease. However, one cannot tell from this information whether also omitting casein has made any additional difference, or whether you omitted casein for nothing.

Having to restrict what you eat is a pain (I had allergies as a teenager) and people might think you're a dork if your restrictions are too conspicuous or prevent you from eating too many of the foods that other people are eating, so you want to be sure that all of the omissions you make are really necessary.

i'm not good with writing on forums.

i mentioned i had celiacs because i wanted to make it clear that i did not know if the slight improvement in autistic symptoms was from a decrease in physical symptoms from the celieacs or if the diet had impacted the autistic symptoms independently. no way for me to know.

i went dairy free long before all of that because of asthma.

i have a restricted diet but i've never noticed it causing any problems. i don't announce my dietary restrictions to most people. i doubt most people i know are even aware that i have these restrictions.

I would suggest Alcat testing. My doctor tested me an I had about 50 food/chemical/mold intolerances and while it doesn't help with Asperger's at all the reduction(one intake ever 4 days) has made me GERD go away. I was allergic to wheat(as well as gluten and gliadin), grapes, artificial sweeteners(all of them...), onions, and so many other things. Everyone's body is different and has different foods that are bad for it.

Indeed, it changed everything for me. However, I learned early, on, that I can tolerate dairy very well, as long as it is not processed in any way, which includes the defatting process. I am highly intolerant of wheat, barley, oats and rye. The only grain that I can tolerate fairly well is rice, however, I rarely indulge in it, even brown rice, as it can cause me to tire more rapidly (due to the carbohydrate content, and not the grain/gluten, itself). I eliminated gluten from my diet 14 years, ago, at the recommendation of the OMD I had been seeing at the time, for newly acquire eczema on the back of my hands which I had never experience in my lifetime, prior to that outbreak, lethargy and a sinus infection that I could not fully mitigate.

In addition to completely eliminating the symptoms mentioned, above, the elimination of gluten (or, at least the specific grains, themselves) has significantly affected the following symptoms:

1. Sensory Processing issues (both hyper and hypo evened out, significantly) - If I veer off of the diet for more than a day or two, I begin to notice my symptoms returning.
2. OCD symptoms much less extreme
3. Anxiety has significantly decreased
4. Less irritability/significant increase in patience
5. Length of time I can work/concentrate at full capacity increased by leaps and bounds
6. Positive almost euphoric mood/emotions after exercise which last for most of the day (even though I was exercising regularly, prior to eliminating gluten, exercise itself, did not affect my mood, as it does in combination with the removal of the gluten).

Much success to you -
_

My Parents are Vegetarian and Vegan. My Mother cooks and bakes everything. She is vegetarian and gluten-free, and my Father is vegan and cannot do without particular glutenous foods. If it helps you to know, you can replace grain flours with Almond flour in almost every recipe. Some people use soy, which, being a vegetarian, yourself, I am sure you know much about. My parents are so focused on food. I could never follow their dietary path. It is very extreme, and the constant time spent in the kitchen, no matter how much I personally love to cook and bake, is insane, IMHO...but...it is one of their special interests all the same, so, blessings to them...

see the link in my sig. it's made a massive difference in my life. gfcf + other foods eliminated & an herbal diet/cleanse protocol + probiotics etc.

I've been GFDF free for 8 months.

I started with a 3 day juice fast to cleanse the system, and I can say that positive effects lasted significantly for a couple of months and then decreased but still much improved.

I am discovering that sugar may have more of an impact than I first realised. And, cutting down on sugar as much as possible, and question how much an impact candida has on AS.

I've been on a raw diet for about a month. I've noticed that my social skills have improved and I don't feel as drained after being social.

I went GFCF for about 6 months and didn't feel much different. Except when I returned to eat large amounts of bread, I could go into a coma-like sleep for hours. So I know it affects me. During that time I met others who were having dramatic results.

One told me that gluten can actually get into the skin and cause irritation, so his skin issues were clearing up. I think it was eczema: http://www.foodintol.com/which-foods-cause-eczema

Another told me that 6 months isn't long enough. It can take 12 months to get residual gluten completely out of your system. So at some point I may be attempting this again, unless I can find a supply of heirloom wheat, because I really do like grain products.

GFCF is only useful if you actually have gluten and casein intolerance or allergies. I cannot have wheat protein (a type of gluten) and milk protein (casein) due to allergies. So I eat rather wheat and casein free.