Elimination Diet questions after reading Doris Rapp

[kimmie-pooh]

After reading Is This Your Child? by Doris Rapp, M.D., we are going to do the Single Food Elimination Diet with my ds.

Ds has a lot of symptoms of a milk allergy. And thinking back to when he was a baby, he's always had a milk allergy. I think he may be allergic/sensitive to other foods as well, but we are going to eliminate milk first.

Even after reading Is This Your Child?, I'm a bit confused. For instance, the sensitivity has a lot to do with the amount of the food your child is given, right?

The way that I perceive it is: Cut out the food for 4 days, then give it to him all day on the fifth day. If he shows a sensitity/allergy to it, then cut it out of his diet.

But since the sensitivity has to do with the amount of the food the child gets, can I give him milk in small amounts still? For instance, muffins made with milk? Pancakes? He loves pancakes and waffles!

I'll probably be asking a lot of questions in the weeks to come.

[Panserbjorne]

Sensitivities really have nothing to do with the amount of food given. Doris Rapp's book is decent, but there is far better research out there now. It's pretty outdated. If your child is reacting to a food you need to eliminate it in all forms COMPLETELY. The four day rotation diet is really more about preventing further allergies once you have established sensitivities. It can be somewhat helpful, but generally it takes several weeks for an allergen to be cleared out. The four day thing wouldn't really accomplish that. Also, very frequently casein allergies (dairy) go hand in had with other allergies. You asked about gluten and I would absolutely say if it were my kid (and it has been!) eliminate them both for at least a month for conclusive results. I should also say there are different types of reactions-IgG and IgE will differ greatly. Some people actually take up to 72 hours to react making it near impossible to identify which food it was on a rotation diet. www.gfcf.com is a place to start. Let me know if you need more info.

[kimmie-pooh]

Thank you so much! I have checked out that website, but not thoroughly enough. Perhaps I will do a gfcf diet to start him out. After a month, do I reintroduce gluton and casein back into his diet to see if it was really his sensitivity? I was also worried about artificial colors, corn, and wheat, but I don't want to eliminate too many things at once. And I am concerned that the only way to know for sure whether there is a sensitivity or not is to reintroduce it and see what happens. What are your thoughts/experience with this?

Thanks!!

[Panserbjorne]

Well you will lose wheat when you eliminate gluten. Gluten is found in many grains (as well as other things!) You will no longer be eating spelt, wheat, rye, triticale, oats kamut etc. So no problem there. I don't think anybody should eat artificial colorings, so I would stop those immediately as well. You can lose corn at the same time and you'd really get a good answer. Then as you begin to introduce things back one by one every two weeks or so you'll know for sure. I took away everything at once and it worked quite well for us. There's still plenty left to eat, so don't freak out! You also want to make sure you're taking measures to heal BOTH your guts as you do this.

[kimmie-pooh]

I don't think I'm "getting it".

What would I reintroduce? Is a GFCF diet not a lifetime thing?

Are you referring to if I eliminated other things? Or would I slowly reintroduce gluten to see if there is a sensitivity?

See how confused I am?

[Panserbjorne]

I am of the personal belief that people can't tolerate casein because we weren't meant to eat it, and following that logic I'd never reitroduce it. But that's me GF is only permanent if you have celiac disease, but again, if after healing the gut you can't successfully reintroduce it then it may be a longtime deal. In theory though, you SHOULD be able to introduce anything and everything back once you tend to the underlying issues. Not everybody agrees on this topic, but the bottom line is you need to do your own research. What I have found is that the allergies that are the most prevalent are to things humans weren't really meant to eat in the first place. I can give you more info on this, but I don't want to overstep any bounds and it really is a personal thing. A quick example is that human cease to produce the enzyme lactase (needed to digest milk) at around the age of four-the natural age of weaning. That is one small reason to question the consumption of milk. Our bodies were never equipped to drink it past the age of weaning and certainly not from another animal. There is plenty more about dairy as well as other foods. It gets confusing, but it's an area of interest to me Does any of this help or make sense?

[kimmie-pooh]

That makes complete sense and does help tremendously! Just so you know, you most likely won't offend me with anything you've got to say. I try to keep an open mind in most instances, and I see most everything as a learning experience.

[kimmie-pooh]

Oh! I also want to add that I am considering this diet for ds, not because of gut problems, but because of behavioral problems (hyperactivity, bed-wetting, speech problems, temper tantrums, fatigue, red ears/cheeks, irritability).

Since I don't know much about gluten to begin with, I have no idea if doing a GF diet will help with these issues or not.

I do know that milk products can attribute to these behaviors and so can wheat. I'm just not sure about gluten.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks again!!

[Panserbjorne]

Behavioral issues are part of a damaged gut. If the gut weren't damaged the proteins couldn't leak into the bloodstram and cause a reaction. Still you are on the right path. It is the gluten IN the wheat that is the problem. Gluten is the protein in the grains (and in wheat) that people react to. When you're saying wheat you're really saying gluten. If you are seeing behavioral issues don't worry. It's very common. Both my kids are extremely reactive but in different ways. Ds it was totally behavioral. Diet resolved all of it.

[kimmie-pooh]

Thank you so much for all your input!

I went to Whole Foods last night to buy rice cheese, rice/soy milk, and flours to make GFCF bread. I also bought some treats for ds and pasta for salad and mac 'n cheese. I think that most of the dinners I make are already GFCF except for the meals I make with cream soups. I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out for substitutions.

Luckily my mom is Philipina, so I know a lot of recipes with just vegetables. I also have the advantage of knowing how to cook with rice noodles!

Thanks again!

[Panserbjorne]

I have never seen a rice cheese without casein. Not saying they don't exist, but I have never found it. It can be called different things so make sure you are clear on all the ingredietns. What kind of flours did you buy? Are they labelled GF? It can be very tricky at first! I find that my kiddos like Tinkyada noodles the best, but the Papadini are great as well. Make sure you are avoiding spelt noodles. Oh, and alot of soups can be made with coconut milk instead of cream-very yummy. My favorite so far is pumpkin coconut soup. Almond butter can also be blended in to give soups a creamier taste.