Gluten-Free, Casein-Free for Autism

Guess what we are trying at our house? Yup, gluten-free, casein-free. Gluten is a protein found in many grain products--barley, wheat, oats, etc. Casein is a milk protein. We have long known that Little Bean can't handle milk products, so the casein part is already partly taken care of. He hasn't had cheese, milk, yogurt, or ice cream in ages. Now we are going a step further to remove casein from all products that he eats, including cooked dairy in things like cheese crackers, and also butter, which we had never removed. And then we will tackle gluten. It's in a lot of the food and sauces he eats now, so that will be harder.

Why? Well, some people have found that a gluten-free, casein-free diet helps individuals with Autism. I know removing milk (quite out of necessity) helped Little Bean's behavior a lot too. So I'm hoping going even further with removing both milk products and gluten will help even more.

I am a total newbie when it comes to this, so I will let you know what I'm learning as I go. Hopefully what I'm learning will help others too. And if you know a lot about gluten-free, casein-free eating, please pipe up and share with me. I'm all ears!