Guidelines on Treating Autism through Gluten and Dairy Free Diets

By Lindelwa Maseko in Health on March 18th, 2008

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by Lindelwa Maseko

The Gluten free diet consists of removing any foods from your Autistic child’s diet that contain Gluten. This can seem hard at first because so many foods do have Gluten in them. Gluten is found in most prepared foods. Foods containing wheat, barley, oats, or rye need to be eliminated from the diet. Gluten can also be found in some vinegars and sauces. Artificial flavorings often contain Gluten.

Often people following a Gluten free diet will remove all dairy (Casein) products from their diet as well. You can find out if your Autistic child has an allergy to a certain food by having allergy testing done. The doctor can arrange for this testing.

You should know that gluten free diet is not a cure for Autism. But it is used to help lesson the symptoms of Autism.

Dairy free diet to treat autism

If you are going to try the dairy free diet with your child you will need to make sure they are getting enough calcium. This can be done with vitamin supplements, or milk substitutes. Many types of food are including calcium.

It is thought that the Casein reacts in the Autistic child’s body causing the unwanted behaviors. They think if the dairy products are removed some of the behaviors will leave. It should take a few months to know if the diet is working for your child. If you are considering removing Gluten from the diet too it is advised to try removing dairy first. The dairy is removed from the body much faster than the Gluten. Gluten can take ten months or more to be completely removed from the body.

A Casein free diet might be helpful in treating your child’s Autism. It is not a cure for Autism though. It will only help treat some of the symptoms.

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