Don’t really know exactly why I’m posting but I feel I have to put it out there. The latest in my medical journey is a 6 food elimination diet. Will reintroduce to see what my trigger foods are. Today is day one. It’s hard. It’s expensive. It’s going to take some getting used to. But I can do it. It will get easier. My taste will adapt. Does anyone have any tips or favorite recipes? #diet #Glutenfree #Dairyfree #eggfree #soyfree #seafoodfree #nutfree #FoodAllergies
Over the last 2 decades of my professional career working in this feild and interacting daily with special needs parents and other professionals along with all the research and information available on the internet, I repeatedly see the benefits of a controlled diet especially with children who have autism aand those on the spectrum.
Having said that I also know how insanely difficult feeding these children is. They have too many issues with taste, texture etc.
And because we are so busy managing time we usually resort to whatever is quick and easy. Often times we give in to the availability of processed foods like chips and biscuits that can quickly satisfy your child or even prevent meltdown from happening especially when we are out and about running errands.
Why I'm bringing this up is because under the current circunstances we are experiencing lockdowns all over the world. This is a very unique opportunity to actually control your childs exposure to external factors. Therefore for those who can, this is a unique opportunity to try and use this time to go gluten and dairy free as those are the 2 types of food that have been known to lead to many types of behavior issues and does affect the brain in different ways for different kids on the spectrum.
Most of the research shows that fruits vegetables meats nut seeds are better than anything processed and luckily those are the most abundant resouces we have in our surroundings.
1. Try to purchase gluten free products. As the word gluten is actually derived from 'glue' (to hold together). Which actually ends up keeping toxins in our intestines instead of eliminating them.
2. Try to replace milk with coconut, oat or camel milk. Or overall limit dairy intake. Calcium is found in green vegetables so dairy is not the only source.
3. Try to limit products that have more the 5 ingredients and avoid sugared drinks or anything with the ingredients ending with 'ose' ie fructose sucrose etc. These are chemical that directly affect the brain.
Use this time to do your own research on how diet affects children on the spectrum.
Here are some links to recipes, as the internet is an amazing resource.
Some resources are....
Forks over Knives
The Paleo Mom
Amy's Kitchen - www.amys.com.
Bob's Red Mill - bobsredmill.com.
Enjoy Life Foods - www.enjoylifefoods.com.
GFN Foods - www.glutenfreeeasy.com.
Gluten-Free Mall - www.glutenfreemall.com.
Gluten Solutions - www.glutensolutions.com.
Orgran Foods - www.orgran.com
Dont worry about buying fancy ingredients rather try and avoid these foods all together.
It may be extremely difficult and if it doesnt work than at least you've tried. My only hope is to help and am I in no way trying to make your life more stressful.
But For those who did ever consider it there is no time like the present to try this.
Best wishes
Saima Haq
Special Children's Educational Institute. (SCEI)
Karachi, Pakistan. #COVID19 #Glutenfree #Dairyfree #Autism
Good news = after going gluten and dairy free I don’t feel constantly exhausted and hurt so much that I sleep the pain away any chance I get.
Bad news = my body doesn’t know how to sleep when it feels good. It is currently 3 am.
I have spent the past 10 years finding ways to distract myself from constant exhaustion and pain. All things considered, I think I did a pretty good job of it! As Dory would say, “Just keep swimming”. And that’s what I did.
What is currently tripping me up is the need for constant self observation. I learned a few months ago that my pain, exhaustion, anxiety and depression may be food related. If I felt like crap previously, I would curl up in a blanket and distract myself. Now I’m trying to figure out what I ate that did it to me.
I’ve given up gluten and dairy for the past four months. I don’t worry about cross contamination, but sometimes I wonder if I should. That has been a fun roller coaster of feeling great one day and eating something that should not have given me and reaction, and still feeling like crap again. A couple weeks ago, I’ve tried giving up added sugars. I live for sugar so that hasn’t been a walk in the park. I’m getting more testing done soon, but going from ignoring the pain to constantly trying to figure out what caused it is fucking with my head right now.
I recently went dairy and gluten free for my POTS, IBS and migraines. I had great results and know I need to continue to eat this way but have really struggled in the last week. I came down with bronchitis last week which gave me horrible fatigue and I am slowly getting over this week. I can’t figure out how to make me planning easier. I am exhausted from being sick, working full time and going to grad school to even have the energy to meal prep. Any ideas?
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