index
archives
profile
rings
booklist
reviews
about
links
notes
email
View my guestbook
dland
RP Designs
Rachelskirts


free hit counter

The Autism & ADHD Diet (April 04, 2009 - 9:49 a.m.)

The Autism & ADHD Diet, by Barrie Silberberg is an excellent resource for anyone considering the GFCF (gluten-free/casein-free) diet for themselves or their children.

We have, once again, begun considering this diet for Stephanie, in hopes that it might reverse some of the trends that we have been seing in recent months. Admittedly, we used it partially several years ago, and noticed marked improvements. Why did we stop? I'm not sure we can answer that question. I guess we just got lazy.

I saw this book on Amazon, though, a few weeks ago, and it released late last month, so I ordered it. I took me three days to read it. (That's pretty quick for me, especially for non-fiction.)

Ms. Silberberg has done an amazing job on this book. It's written very well, very intelligently. And it's not boring!! That's a big plus, as books of this type tend toward massive boredom-ness. New word? Heh. Anyway. I believe that she does a great job of breaking down the diet, giving tips on how to start it, and most importantly, where you can go to find food and other resources. I have never seen such a complete and comprehensive (hmmm....don't those two words mean the same thing??) resource on this subject. There are multiple lists of sources in the text of the book, and then, at the end, she provides a TWENTY PAGE list of (mostly single-spaced) web-sites dealing with food and nutrition from all around the world! It's nothing short of amazing.

She also brings out subjects that are frequently forgotten about when thinking about this type of diet, such as personal hygiene products that might contain gluten, etc.

Oh...I probably should explain for anyone not familiar with this..."gluten" is basically wheat, rye and barley flour (she also recommends eliminating oats, due to cross-contamination). "Casein" is dairy protein, usually found in milk and milk products. Most autistic people, for some reason or another have a very hard time processing these food items.

We removed straight milk from Stephanie's diet years ago, because we observed adverse behavior patterns associated with it.

Incidentally, her two favorite things to eat? Bread and cheese. Go figure. Gluten and casein act like drugs to these kids. It's like they are addicted to morphine. In fact, they are described as breaking down into opiate-like substances in their bodies.

Anyway, this book is fabulous. If you are at all interested in this diet, I highly recommend getting hold of The Autism & ADHD Diet, by Barrie Silberberg.

TTFN, y'all!

3 comments so far

last ~ next

Missed anything?
The Beatles--Abbey Road/Alice Cooper--Killer - July 04, 2012
The Beatles Eponymous Album - June 26, 2012
Autism's False Prophets - February 12, 2011
Santana--Guitar God? - November 11, 2010
Tribute To the Red Sox - September 29, 2010