Live Life Team
A gluten-free casein-free diet, also known as a GFCF diet, requires individuals to not consume any types of gluten or milk products. Gluten incorporates a wide array of food which contain cereals such as wheat, rye, or barley or gluten used as a food additive to thicken or stabilise foods. Casein is found in milk and cheese, and also as an additive in many “dairy-free” products.
This diet purportedly helps improve the symptoms of autism and is recommended as a treatment by The Autism Research Institute. Studies which prove a link between autism and casein and gluten have some serious flaws, and are not accepted by most of the scientific medical community.
Testimonials from parents, teachers, and children who feel this diet helped turn lives around abound, and many desperate parents turn to this diet in an attempt to help their autistic child live a fuller life. All of the research studies conducted on this diet have found that the diet has no effect on a child’s cognitive processing, verbal skills, or motor abilities.
A GFCF diet can be difficult to manage since it eliminates most mainstream breads, pastas, and convenience foods from the diet. It means that parents will have to stringently watch their children’s nutritive intact to eliminate products containing casein or gluten as well as preparing a large amount of products at home from fresh food sources. While little scientific evidence exists which proves this diet helps autism, parents might feel that it is worth a try if their children’s needs seem severe. As long as careful attention is paid to protein and other dietary needs, doctors have generally supported this type of diet as benign and unlikely to harm a growing child.
