We didn't notice any profound changes, but Riley continued to progress at a steady rate. We were always doing so many interventions at once, it was hard to tell what exactly was helping. It was probably all synergistic.
But after 18 months, with no hit you over the head, WOW! type of improvement, I got tired. It felt so restrictive to live that way if you didn't have to.
We slowly added foods back, one at a time, and saw no problems in doing so. We still eat cleaner than most American families. We buy organic. No preservatives. No partially hydrogenated anything. As few chemicals as possible. But I do let them have what they want at festivals, parties, etc. That my kids were eight and six before they ever got a Happy Meal at McDonalds is one of my sources of pride.
But Todd recently had a health issue and eliminating wheat has helped him. And Seth is having all sorts of auto-immune trouble. And so maybe bringing back more consciousness to what we are eating is in order. We have sorta gotten out of whack. I hardly cook anymore. Annie's mac and cheese and organic hot dogs and chicken nuggets have become the the order of the day.
And then I stumbled upon this post. And I'm thinking, yes, I'm onto something. Hang on Seth. We've got you buddy.
*The blog above has actually moved to Wordpress, if you want to see further posts by the same authors click here.
12 comments:
We did GFCF and we did get the knock over the head so we've kept it up. Max is five and a half and we've started to add stuff back very slowly. You probably have heard this but we felt that the corn and soy eliminations produced tremendous results. Like you said it is so hard to know what's really working and why. The other thing was that eliminating the corn and soy products got rid of the HF corn syrup with its secret stash of mercury (thanks so much FDA) and all of the GMOs related to the products.
The secondary gift of the diet for us was that it got us all eating cleaner. I cook 95% of what goes into my kids' bodies. I know I would not have done that in the ordinary course. It's so hard to eat well in today's world but I think we can all do better in some way or another with better food.
I found myself randomly thinking of Seth the other day after reading your blog in the am. I'm sure I'm not alone. So, there are lots of good warm thoughts coming his way. I hope he feels better soon.
Gail C.
you will find what he needs.
i can feel the love from here.
he is one lucky, lucky little boy.
been thinking of you
love
Back to the kitchen and XM radio. I have a killer peanut butter muffin recipe, do you want it?
I have a friend who is on the Specific Carb diet and my mom is gluten free. It is work, no doubt, to have to be so attentive to what you eat.
Michelle, your whole family is amazing.
Sending good thoughts your way.
And hugs, too.
wow
you're a crazy good mom
it's funny
i'm on a cleansy thing, just for my soul (and vanity)
eliminating crap works
huh
it's totally true
Thanks for that link. I am just stumbling my way through life. Ever so slowly growing in this area of “intention”.
I have just recently (less than a year) started looking at our families money and “stuff” with any intention. Thoughtful buying, thoughtful budgeting, thoughtful giving away and throwing out - not just spending and worrying and spending and gathering more and more.
I have found it interesting how without much thought one thing can lead to another. Even more recently (two months ago) I "started" to think about the intentions of what I put in my mouth. I am not anywhere close to eating "clean" and in all honesty don't know if this journey will even end up there, but I was delighted to see the parallels between first thoughtful budgeting and now more thoughtful eating....
I just about to go GF with Charlotte again. (When I did it last year I eliminated a lot of foods besides G and also did a rotation diet. It was so much work that we eventually gave it up. This time I plan to do it much slower and more balanced and skip the rotation part. Anyway...)
I have been kinda feeling overwhelmed about the gluten removal and how much work it's going to be. And then your line of "surrendering to my kitchen" really hit me. That's exactly what I have to do.
Become ONE with my kitchen. When the entire fam was GFCF (et. al.) last year for 3+ months we all felt so much better. It's definitely worth trying again.
So thanks for posting this today. It was just what I needed to hear.
It's definitely important to be conscious of what we put in our bodies. We tried GF/CF years ago, and even though I was vigilant about it, we didn't see any improvement. In fact, Nigel regressed. So I stopped the GF/CF, but we focus on consuming primarily organic foods and eliminating chemicals and additives, and that has made a huge difference in our health. I hope you're able to find something that works well for Seth. xoxo
Thanks so much for all the love thrown Seth's way. It warms my heart to know so many people are rooting for our sweet little man.
I read an article on Slate the other day that talked about whether or not there are too many people taking this GF thing too far. Hmmm. My response was that, yes, my family is gluten-free, but it's more than that. This is not some diet fad or gimmick we are using. It started out as a way to address some of the health issues we were having and has become so much more than that. We are working to overcome the way we have treated food our entire lives - as a convenience and a right. Instead we are looking at it as a gift and a way to fuel our bodies.
When you begin to treat food in that way, does it make sense to buy things that came from thousands of miles away and have chemicals added to them that will keep them "fresh" for weeks on end? Or are we happier with actual fresh fruits and vegetables grown in our neighbors' yards and at the farm down the road? It is hard to raise a family without buying pre-packaged convenience foods, but I am certain that it is healthier for the planet and my family to continue to work at it. The ripples will be felt so much farther.
Good luck, Michelle.
That the Slate article didn't even mention autism in the rise of GF diets made me question the credibilty of the whole thing.
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