Questions and Answers - GFCF Diet
Q: How do I get my child to eat Gluten/Casein Free foods.
A: I started out with offering something that was very much like their favorite food and replaced one item at a time per week. It worked out very well and it only took a month and a half to replace all of the foods he was eating. I began each new item by only putting a very small portion along with what he had on his plate. The secret is to not have expectations about the new food or mention to the child anything about the new item. Just pretend that it doesn't exist unless the child asks about it. Do this every day with the new item for a week. If the child shows no interest at all just stop offering it for a few days then try again. Alternate new items with each meal (breakfast, 1st week, lunch 2nd week, dinner 3rd week, etc.) Make this as easy on yourself as possible, but have patience and try to stay consistent. My son now eats a variety of foods because of this method. Keep trying, your child will eventually investigate this new food item.
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Q: When washing dishes is it possible that dishes and eating utensils my GFCF child uses could cross contaminate with other family members dishes that were used that contained Gluten and Casein?
A: Yes, I believe it's quite possible that if dishes that are not washed and properly rinsed well could contain traces of gluten and casein proteins that could contaminate your child's Gluten/Casein free foods. To solve this problem you could either wash the dishes separately or I use 1/4 cup of baking soda in the dishwater and rinse the GFCF dishes very thoroughly. (Baking soda helps to break down food particles and makes a great rinsing agent.) Also it helps to have specific dishes for only your GFCF child that no one else can use. But you still have to rinse them very thoroughly if you wash them with the family dishes.
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Q: I put my son on the diet once before awhile back and it didn't seem to work. I'm reluctant to try it again, but now that there is more help for the diet I'm thinking I might attempt it again. How would I start?
A: The best way to start the diet is to know everything you can about it before attempting it, there is a lot more helpful information now. You might find a great start at www.GFCFdiet.com. This page has a wealth of information regarding the diet. Also see the ANDI (Autism Network for Dietary Information.) At the ANDI site is a PASS group list with over 200 members and the people are very helpful in their support. I wrote to two mothers for a short while and found it very helpful. Also our Monday and Wednesday evening Chats are always helpful and everyone is always willing to share information.
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Q: What exactly is Organic?
A: Organic foods are grown without chemicals or pesticides. They also don't use growth products to cause them to grow faster as some conventional farms do. You can really taste the difference between conventional and organically grown fruits and vegetables. Also the organic produce does tend to spoil faster because there are no preservatives used on them. Organic produce is really delicious.
