We are finishing up our third week of being wheat and dairy-free. It hasn’t been so hard, because I’ve just reverted back to eating more asian-style meals with lots of rice. I bought one $5 loaf of rice flour bread to offset the craving for toast at night and one box of Lundberg’s organic brown rice pasta – neither were particularly satisfying, but luckily the cravings haven’t been so bad either. It’s only been hard when somebody offers me a fresh-baked goodie, which has only happened twice.
I feel better overall. Chad says he feels exactly the same. And Christian, well, his dry spots (probably eczema) have completely disappeared. That may be because we stopped using any soap on him though. The big surprise is that his cradle cap (dandruff-like stuff on the top of his skull) is also disappearing – and that, that has been there practically since day one.
We have not yet changed our laundry soap. I don’t think the laundry soap is a culprit in any of these mysterious ailments – but I noted at the grocery store that all leading brands of laundry detergent now offer a “free and clear” alternative – that’s right, Tide, Cheer, Sun – all of them have a product that is free of perfume and dyes and phosphates, and at the same price as their other detergents. That’s the power of the consumer changing the world right there.
We’ve learned that there is a whole world of gluten and casein-free people out there. I finally understand that wheat is ONE thing that contains gluten and dairy is ONE thing that contains casein. I don’t know if we are going to try to “go all the way.”
My theory: I can handle cheese and yogurt, but I think that I had been eating too much butter for my system. And I think I do better without wheat as well. I’m pretty sure that Christian was/is reacting mildly to either the gluten or casein in my diet (or possibly eggs – but I’m still eating those). Chad’s still getting headaches. My gut feeling is that Chad probably needs to continue on a wheat and dairy-free diet and that we also need to try eliminating processed sugar… maybe for this last week. All the sugar we consume is apparently related to an overproduction of candida yeast in our digestive tracts…
I did just finish Jenny McCarthy’s Louder Than Words, which is a book about treating her son’s autism (recommended by my friend Darlene – who said I should read it before getting any vaccines for Christian). I was deeply impressed by the positive impact that a gluten and casein-free diet made for Evan’s progress. McCarthy recommends two sites: http://gfcf.com for general information and this link will take to you a ten week plan to go gluten and casein-free.
In general though, it’s hard to imagine staying wheat- and dairy-free for the rest of our lives. I’m more attracted to a moderate diet that leans towards health. I liked the sound of the diet Rachel Beller (of Beller Nutritional Institute in Beverly Hills) recommends for recovering breast cancer patients:
- Avoid processed sugar.
- Limit alcohol to one drink a day.
- Eat meat sparingly.
- Eat at least five cups of fruits and vegetables a day.
- Eat lots of legumes, omega-3’s, and “good” oils like olive oil.
- Eat 30-35 grams of fiber a day.
- Eat lots of superfoods: omega-3 rich sardines, wild salmon, trout, 2-3 prunes (2x the antioxidant capacity of blueberries)
- Eat 1/2 c broccoli sprouts several times a week.
- Drink matcha green tea – or any green tea.
That sounds like a diet I could live with, especially the sardines part.