Gluten and Dairy Free Diets

[todub]

I have read a few things online about how diets without gluten and/or dairy may completely relieve people of their seizures. Does anyone know any good articles discussing this?

Another question is whether there is a link between high protein diets and seizure activity. I just started drinking a lot of protein shakes because my meds that im finally starting to get adjusted to made me lose a lot of weight and now im getting back in the gym trying to gain it back, but either the dairy or protein or both is making me feel disorriented. Im not having seizures, but i certainly dont feel "right".

Any feedback will be appreciated!

[RobinN]

This site was very helpful for me to understand the possibility in connecting seizures and GFCF. Dogtor John is a member here and a Vet in real life.

www.dogtorj.net
Also check out:
http://stankurtz.com/biomedical/diet...c-illness.html
Celiac Sprue - Gluten Intolerance and Epilepsy
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...imonials-1317/
Low Glycemic Index Treatment versus GARD diets

I have Rebecca on a gluten free, casein free, soy free, corn free, HFCS free, MSG free,
elimination diet. Tweaking it every day. I have read that sometimes when you replace an offending food with another you can cause that new food to become an allergen too.

[Bernard]

You might want to check the label on your proteiin drinks. Many of them use whey protein which is a form of gluten. If you are gluten intolerant (or gluten sensitive), this is not a good idea...

[RobinN]

I personally see some of the brain disorders as coming from a similar place. That being nutritional dificiencies. This article supports this idea somewhat.

Indeed, the editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Mark A. Hyman, M.D., posits a new "systemic way of thinking" about autism in his current editorial, Is The Cure For Brain Disorders Outside The Brain? He states that nutritional deficiencies or imbalances can explain some symptoms of autism and that "the body's influence on the brain must come to the forefront of research and treatment."

To help with autism, Julie recommends avoiding gluten and casein (wheat and dairy) because these foods are known to affect a brain response similar to morphine leading to foggy thinking and food cravings in children. Next, she suggests introducing foods that are easy to digest, rich in good bacteria, and packed with nutrients such as homemade broths, naturally fermented foods, and pureed vegetables hidden in meatballs, as well as supplements such as cod liver oil, probiotics (good bacteria), B6, magnesium, and zinc.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb571554.htm

Ignore the word autism and put the word brain disorder in its place:
http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/autism-gut-brain-070927.mov

[Bernard]

Oh, another thing I forgot to mention. If you consume too much protein, it will leach minerals (like potassium, calcium and magnesium) from your system during waste elimination.

[RobinN]

So on the scale then the veggies need to weigh in more.
Where did our society go wrong in all of this? Our kids grow up on beige diets and then we wonder down the road why they are ill.

[brain]

Robin's Thread here:

Neurotransmitter Measurements

If you download the PDF file link (it is
410 pages long!) - there is an article
and abstract pertaining to the very
subject you're in reference to in Epilepsia
2007 in December and the Neuroscience's
results, findings, et cetera!

[Bee91]

I've been on a [somewhat] gluten free diet. It worked pretty well then finally, I accidentally started eating things with gluten in it without really knowing there was gluten in it. Then I started having more seizures...

[RobinN]

Ya think it is telling you something?
Some people can't even have a product if there is a trace of gluten.
Have you tried eliminating dairy too?
I bet it is hard when you don't actually do the shopping though.

[BIGMAN131307]

Have you tried eliminating dairy too?

That may not be necessary. I'm using the GARD diet which removes the gluten and dairy. Just replacing the "Cow" dairy with "Goat" dairy should help. Don't let the goat thing put you off. It has a nice taste, IMHO it tastes better. So far I've been doing fairly well. I haven't been having as much activity.

[Bee91]

Ya think it is telling you something?
Some people can't even have a product if there is a trace of gluten.
Have you tried eliminating dairy too?
I bet it is hard when you don't actually do the shopping though.

That's why I wasn't completely gluten free. I tried going shopping with my mom, but the rest of my family wasn't willing to give up gluten in their diets so I would have to buy seperate foods just for me. And my mom wasn't sold on the idea that a gluten free diet was going to make me seizure free. She was kind of a party pooper. But I really want to try it again and be 100% gluten free.

I didn't go dairy free, but I had heard of that one and I was planning of doing that if the Gluten free alone didn't completely stop that. I was going to eliminate one thing at a time to see if that had an effect....

[RobinN]

Keep a good record Brandi, of diet vs seizure episodes, then you can show your mom your personal research.
Rebecca is being a party pooper too, so how about we just switch places for a while. She goes along with the game, but she thinks it is all useless. I say, how do you know if you don't give it 100% chance to work. At least DogtorJ can do that with the animals. It isn't like they are sneaking off to sample a pizza or soda with the dog down the street.

We do buy separate foods for Rebecca, but I follow the diet along with her. It isn't easy but it is manageable. Or you could just cut out most of the flour products, and keep a clean diet with meat, veggies, and fruit. Add brown rice, that isn't expensive or different. Look at the Atkins Diet too, that has had some good press on it lately for seizures. There is quite a bit that we all can do to clean up our nutritional choices, and not call it a diet.