“The Diet” began originally by default after I witnessed my son (literally) wig out after eating macaroni and cheese one day. Since both of my brothers had wheat and dairy allergies as children it made perfect since that he had inherited this genetic trait as well.
However, when I took him in for allergy testing, the skin prick and blood tests all proved to be “inconclusive.” In spite of the tests I read that the most common food allergies among children included wheat and dairy.
As I read about wheat proteins, known as gluten, I learned that they convert into gluteomorphins. As if the word morphine wasn’t enough, I learned that these morphines, like opium, can reduce a person’s desire for social interaction, block pain messages, and increase confusion. The data sure seemed to fit him! He seemed to have a total indifference for social interaction and his pain threshold was amazing. Anyone who could bash his head on the floor (intentionally) without crying had to have a tremendous ability to block pain messages!
Because of the morphines people can experience a type of “mis-firing” of the neurons where not all of the transmitters and / or receptors are hitting their mark.I believed that this situation could be partly to blame for lack his of focus, bizarre social skills and inabilities in many areas to include problems with his sleep, fine and gross motor skills and speech.
I removed everything containing wheat and, within 24 hours, we noticed subtle improved clarity. He was making better eye contact and his speech was actually clearer. I had already begun communicating with others on several online forums for moms with children who had behavior issues and allergies. It was a wonderful way to remain anonymous and learn, first hand, from others who were experiencing the same types of concerns that I was.
Apparently, we were lucky to see such success right from the start. I learned that many others went through a type of withdrawal phase after removing foods with wheat and gluten. Symptoms shared by others included agitation, slurred speech, anger, hyperactivity, inability to focus and more. These symptoms generally diminished within a short period of time although some did not have significant improvement for nearly three weeks. We moms were not only determined but diligent, as well!
Removing wheat and gluten became an arduous task that I hadn’t anticipated. I found wheat and / or gluten in everything he loved! Even most forms of ketchup have gluten! Now we use Heinz Organic only! *It’s incredibly yummy! Who knew? *Find a good deal on large bottles of it at Sam’s Club.
I continued with this “new” approach and soon I grew to love creating foods with amaranth flour (my favorite), brown rice flour, tapioca, potato, bean and quinoa flours. I loved to cook and (mostly) accepted this job like a new adventure.
Cooking without wheat flour isn’t really the overwhelming job that most people think that it is. I have found that experimenting with recipes is the only real way to discover what works and what doesn’t. I tried countless recipes from wheat-free books and on-line sites but I don’t believe I ever used a recipe exclusively as I found it.
For example, my son loves pancakes so I created a pancake recipe simply by changing our family favorite to use amaranth flour instead of regular wheat flour. I already regularly added bananas and a bit of cinnamon so the pancakes tasted like banana bread muffins. Amaranth flour has a smooth consistency and he ate them right up. *He still loves them to this day.
Chicken nuggets became healthier, too. I cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts and then cut them into strips. I dipped the strips in beaten egg and rolled them in corn flakes that I had pureed in my food processor and added to an equal amount of amaranth flour. As they cooked I dusted them with a bit of onion powder, salt and pepper. He ate them right up, too.
My recipes (PDF files)
- GF / CF Pizza
- GF/CF Tropical Muffins
- Homemade Coconut Milk
- Sesame Chicken Salad
- Homemade Aluminum Free Baking Powder
- GF / CF All Purpose Flat Bread
- GF / CF Granola
- Homemade Popsicles