Is gluten-free best for your kids?

I want to go gluten-free at my house. I don't know if I can actually accomplish that right now, but I would like to try it in the future. Some people are claiming a link to great things like less bloating and fatigue-even weight loss. And some are claiming less ADHD symptoms with a gluten-free diet for kids.

This article from the Washington Post looks at the fact/fiction associated with gluten-free diets. I am all for trying it to see if I feel better. At the very least, it would lead to less processed foods. I want to do that anyway. I would love to have some other benefits as well. Have you gone gluten-free? Did it make you feel better?


Here's the link from the Washington Post:
There’s still some gray area, but some studies indicate that a growing number of people do have a problem digesting gluten, says family medicine and chronic pain specialist Gary Kaplan, director of the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine in McLean. He notes that this number includes everyone from children with wheat allergies to the estimated 1 percent of Americans who have celiac disease — a serious autoimmune disorder that interferes with absorption of nutrients, causing wide-ranging health problems — and can’t tolerate even a picogram of gluten.

Some in the field remain skeptical. “Many people will feel better when they cut out processed, refined carbohydrates, including gluten-containing foods — they might have better regulation of blood sugar, fewer fluctuations, when they’re not eating starchy food, and they might lose weight or have less bloating — but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have a disease,” says Chevy Chase gastroenterologist Robynne Chutkan. She contends that the booming, $2.6 billion gluten-free foods industry has a lot more to do with the trend than true health issues do.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Mom & child with autism kicked out of Chuck E. Cheese's

A mom from Bloomington, Illinois was escorted out of Chuck E. Cheese's last week. I got an email from the McLean County Autism Society letting me know what happened. The mom has two sons with autism. They are on the Gluten Free Casein Free Diet. So the mom usually brings a sack lunch for them when they go to a restaurant because most restaurants do not have GFCF Diet options. That is what she did when her sons went to a field trip at Chuck E. Cheese's. Things did not go as planned.

HOI 19's Ashley McNamee drove to Bloomington this week to find out the rest of the story. Here is the verbatim. The video is now on HOINews.com:

Living with autism can make some everyday activities, like eating out with your family, difficult.Susan Perez has two sons diagnosed with autism. Like many children diagnosed with autism, they're on a medically prescribed diet filled with supplements and free of everything from gluten to casein.

"That's usually the typical, gluten and casein, but they also can't have soy, corn, potato, or yeast, so there are multiple things they can't eat." The Perez family brings their own food to restaurants or the restaurants help them meet special dietary restrictions. Normally, it isn't a problem.

But earlier this month they went to Chuck E. Cheese in Bloomington with a local school district's autism camp. "They actually confiscated the food as soon as we walked in the door," said Perez. Perez says she spoke to the manager, but was told Chuck E. Cheese has a strict policy not allowing any outside food into the restaurant, except some birthday cakes. "She wouldn't budge, I pleaded with her," she said.

When Perez and the manager were unable to reach an agreement, the Bloomington police department was called and Perez was forced to leave. In a statement to HOI 19 News, Chuck E. Cheese says they made several attempts to accommodate Perez and her family.
"Our manager offered to refrigerate their food until they left and tried to show the multiple products available that would be suitable for the needs of the individual," the statement said. Perez says that isn't true.

"No they didn't offer any alternatives, there was no discussion about any alternatives," said Perez. She says the whole experience was frustrating because it prevented her child with special needs from doing what normal kids do. "He can't eat the food provided at the restaurant but he still wants to be able to play with his friends, sit with his friends, and eat with his friends," she said.

What she wants is simple. "I think they need to change their policy," said Perez. She wonders when restaurants will be able to accommodate kids with special dietary needs so they can feel just like everyone else. Experts say autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States. They say it affects more than one million people.

When I arrived at work this afternoon, I was surprised to see there are already several comments on the HOI website against this woman, blaming her for what happened. I wasn't there, so I cannot judge, but I did just interview a mom who has a child with peanut allergies. As I watched Ashley's story, I wondered what children with food allergies are supposed to do when their school has a field trip to Chuck. E. Cheeses. They just can't eat all day? They have to sit in the bus while the others eat? I don't know. It seems like there has to be a better solution to this problem. We all know more and more kids are being diagnosed with autism and with severe food allergies.

-NewsAnchorMom

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