Food Sensitivities part 1

When my son was 2 and 1/2 he received his diagnosis of autism. I remembered that when my brother was little he had behavioral reactions to many types of foods that could be quite severe. (Hence the inspiration for my story, "The Chocolate Effect.") I found an allergist and took Eli in. I wanted to know what foods we should be avoiding. The traditional allergy test revealed nothing. The blood test to look for celiac disease revealed nothing.

In the meantime, Eli's pediatrician was calling me. He was concerned about my plan to ease Eli onto a GF/CF diet by eliminating milk to see if that improved his symptoms. But as good as his intentions were, the same man who could not give me answers about my son's diarrhea was calling me in the evening to tell me that my son needed milk. Looking back, the irony of it is kind of maddening.

We became confused as to what to do. We dedicated ourselves to trying our best to eliminate preservatives, additives, and colorings as much as possible, because what little we did know at that time told us that these things were burdens on his little body.

One year later when I discovered the book, "Changing The Course of Autism" by Dr. Bryan Jepson, things became much more clear. We were converted to biochemical intervention and we found the DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) Doctor in our area. It was easier for us to make the change to gluten free/casein free with our new knowledge and with the support of a health professional on our side.

After Eli had been GF/CF for a little while and we had addressed some of his gut issues, we had an allergy screening done. It was anything but the traditional model. This time, it was a test using a little electric current, and it showed sensitivities right on a computer screen. As far as foods go, we got these:

-barley
-corn
-oat
-rye
-wheat
-milk
-corn
-soy
-sugar
-sweeteners
-food additives
-chocolate
-peanuts
-bananas
-strawberries
-celery

For a good part of a year now Eli has been getting Low Dose Antigen therapy for his sensitivities. It is just a little injection he gets at the clinic about every 2 months. While we limit his intake of all of the items on this list, gluten, milk, peanuts, and additionally preservatives, additives, and colorings are always avoided in his diet.

It's been truly wonderful to have some answers and to see him improve and enjoy life more.