2.03.2010

You gluttonous pig!

I am a tad gluttonous at times, but that isn't what this post is about. We're going to talk about gluten.

I've been seriously considering doing something that's going to make a huge impact on my life. Well, quite a few things, but today we'll talk about the diet aspect of my life overhaul.

Many members of the Autistic community have had great success with moving to a Gluten Free diet. I hear reports of  better temperment and all around improvement, many saying 50% improvement. That's huge!! I'm sure not every single person has such astounding results but everything I'm reading is positive. 1% is better than 0, right?

Gluten is the protein found in wheat and most processed foods. This is anything from bread, to pasta, cookies, milk, ketchup, french fries, and even alcohol...you get the picture. Most people who are GF are Celiac, a completely seperate disease and has absolutely nothing to do with Autism. It's deals a lot with digestion, absorbtion of nutrients, etc. It's quite a complex disease. Anywho, many Auties have gastroentestinal problems and I'm beginning to think Vincent may be in that category as well. I think that may be the reason GF diets are beneficial for Auties--the gastroentestinal issues.

Gluten Free foods are available, but of course they come with a higher price tag. Doing this is a huge lifestyle change because V and I won't be able to eat out as much and I will have to do a lot more cooking. This wouldn't prove to be a problem if I was a SAHM, but like I said earlier, that's another post.
If V is GF then I will be too. This means I'll be eliminating my 3 favorite foods from my diet: dairy (cheese!), pasta, and alcohol. Yes, alcohol is a food group. Don't judge.

Anyway, if I do this, I'm going to do it all the way. All or nothing.
Damn, I sure do love me some cheese. And wine. And ice cream.

I can do this!

What do you know about being Gluten Free? What's your take on the change?

3 comments:

Faith said...

My coworker raises her autistic grandson and went gluten free in the past year. She said it's made a HUGE difference. I have a friend that just found out she has celiac's and have been finding her different resources (she can't cook at all!) Here's one I sent her yesterday: http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/
All of Crockpot 365's recipes use gluten free products. She's pretty good at noting when something she used in the past is not longer certified as gluten free as well: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
You may also want to invest in a bread machine if you're going to go full on gluten free. Good luck Michelle!

Lauren said...

I know @fidgetblogs is gluten free (she may have some stuff in her blog - http://findingyourself.net/.

Hang in there mama!

Ashley said...

I'm so proud of you! You can do it.