Anonymous wrote:
My DS's diet right now is awful. He has sensory/texture issues so he only eats 4-5 things, none of which are all that healthy. He will eat chocolate chip pancakes (drenched in syrup), cinnamon toast (made out of white bread), cheese pizza, and chicken nuggets. He'll eat snacks too that are all crap (cookies, chips, etc.) but I don't buy them that often. Oh, and ice cream. I really don't know how we are going to make such drastic changes. He's going to be AWFUL as he's getting used to this new diet.

OP -- I'm the OP of the thread on this Special Needs Forum on zinc supplementation increasing appetite. We've had a great deal of success decreasing my son's picky eating by supplementing with zinc. Your child eats chicken nuggets which does have zinc, but otherwise doesn't sound like he has a lot of zinc in his diet. You might be interested in the theory. Just wanted to mention it.

The test for gluten sensitivity looks for IgE to gluten, but I have read that it is not definitive and the best test an elimination trial. My ASD child did test positive and we embarked on a GFCF diet that has resulted in enormous positive changes. We didn't inform DC's teachers and they asked what we had done because DC was so different and so much better now (more language, more engaged, better motor skills, less hyper). I don't know if every child responds as well as my own, who is well on the way to recovery, but my DC always had obvious gut issues. It is more expensive to go GFCF and it was a hassle to adjust, especially in the beginning, but testing and consults were covered by insurance so I don't think it's true that the MD took advantage of us. If you go the the autism research institute's website you will see results of polling of parents that shows that GFCF was one of the interventions that made the biggest difference in their kids. I wish you the best!

I took my dd to an immunologist at Johns Hopkins and an allergist at a very well known pediatric practice in Bethesda. Both doctors say that there is no test for gluten sensitivity. So I am curious as to what test was given that resulted in a positive for gluten sensitivity. I know that a blood test can potentially indicate celiac but that the diagnosis must be confirmed by an endoscopy. I'm not being snarky -- if there is a test out there we missed, I want to have it done.

You and all the others who have bought into the "leaky gut" and food sensitivities business are being scammed. Please find real doctors with no agendas...You will spend countless hours, dollars, and miss opportunities doing this, and your children's' disabilities will still not change.

I don't subscribe to Living Without Magazine, but I have bought it occasionally or gotten recipes off their website and they are REALLY good!

There are so many GFCF recipes on the web and blogs and some recipe sites even have reviews of the recipes. We eat well and my previously picky eater will eat just about anything I make or buy now.

All of the leaky gut tests are dependent on renal function. Also if the test didn't have pre and post test sample correction there is no way to say if the test is valid. For example, if I were to take an uncorrected test I would test positive for leaky gut every time because I normally pass trace amounts of protein, which means I would pass the markers, too.