<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Hi Listies! The following is a summary of the need of going gf for both the ADD/ADHD and ODD (attentional deficit disorder/ attentional deficit hyperactivity disorder and opposition defiance disorder). The results were overwhelming to go on a gf and/or cf diet to see the results. There is both anecdotal evidence and research to support. Some parents may choose to medicate rather than deal with issues of diet. That is the parent's decision. Below, you will see the overwhelming pros as well as the few cons. I encourage you to go to the websites mentioned. You will find much supportive and illuminating evidence there. Happy reading! Chris ********************************** In my research, I discovered that a Japanese professor found that in one molecule of gluten, no less than 13 opioid chain reactions can occur in the brain. That is, mind-bending addictive reactions. Fortunately it does not affect everyone in this way. But it can be at the root cause of people who suffer from ADD, ADHD, and even schizophrenia. There have been studies in UK where schizophrenic patients have been put on a gluten-free diet and they can return to normal life. As soon as they go off the diet, they become ill again and have to be hospitalized. (Chairperson, Gluten Intolerance/Coeliac Support Group, Durban, South Africa) Web Page: http://www.labspec.co.za/coeliac/index.htm ************************************************************* My son was never diagnosed with Celiac. He tested negative after I was diagnosed with the disease two years ago. All his life, he was had immense problems with compliying with rules. Some thought he had ADD. We tried ritalin, but that only made things worse. He was so difficult that he was thrown out of day care at three years old, thrown out of Montessori after 4 days, and had to go to a special school for some years, then I home schooled for several years. He tested in the 150 IQ range. Finally, after I started a gluten free diet, everyone in the house had to become gluten free because I was not going to cook different meals. He was 16 at the time. After being gluten free, his whole demeanor changed. He became more focused, less disruptive, less active. He felt stronger, slept better. He loved the gluten free diet and has tried to abide by it since. He is now in college, doing well, but not on a strict gluten free diet because of the difficulty in eating GF in a cafeteria. I feel that some day he will develop the disease and test positive. There are probably many kids out there with this problem. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything to try the diet. The only problem is that it is very difficult to eliminate all the gluten and just a bit could ruin the whole trial. *************************** I have been ADHD since many years before the term. Been on the Feingold diet for.... lets just say decades! I don't know what the correlation would be in medical terms, or if anyone could say "this is why it works", but I've noticed I'm feeling less "cranked" since going GF. Whether this is because of my diet being GF, or because there's less opportunity to induldge in forbidden foods that were easy to cheat with, I don't know, but it isn't worth worrying about. I just go with the flow and feel happy I've found yet another dietary assist. ***************************** I have a child with bipolar disorder and psychotic illness - also adhd - she's 13. I can tell you that the gluten free , casein free diet without a doubt makes a HUGE difference in her behavior. It took a little while to help in that regard. Initially her symptoms worsened, but we persevered and soon saw tremendous differences. She's been gf for 10 months now and when ever she accidentally ( or deliberately - like today) ingests gluten is has horrific affects on her behavior. In fact, we've had a very difficult day today. There is research to back this up - I'm attaching links to several web sites which can point you in the right direction. I used to have a lot of information from the web, but no longer do. I'm so sorry. I hope some of these links help you find some of what your looking for. http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/reichelt.html http://www.links2go.net/more/www.wwwebguides.com/nutrition/diets/glutenfree/ menta.html http://www.eegspectrum.com/books/vhmalabs.htm http://www.alphanutrition.com/celiac/celiacbrain.htm http://www.brookeline.com/gluten/ http://www.panix.com/~paleodiet/autism/ http://www.ozemail.com.au/~sdengate/contents.html ******************************************** See gfcfdiet.com, again. They can help you. And go to ANDI site from there. Lots of research on gluten-free, casein-free (milk) helping "autism spectrum", which includes ADD/ADHD, and ODD. ******************************************** My son was misdiagnosed. He does not have ADD/ADHD he has Celiac disease. Giving a child Ritalin or some other drug for ADHD when they don't have it could cause grand mal seizures and brain damage. I'm just lucky I got a diagnosis before they killed his brain. Very dangerous to diagnose ADD/ADHD. I did not know I had gluten intolerance. My father died from celiac disease (lymphoma cancer). None of his MD's ever even guessed what was wrong. Because his Dad (my grandfather) died when my Dad was 2 years old we did not have the genetic disease trail others who are more fortunate have. This issue is resolved much better in Europe than the US. Many children are being drugged needlessly in the US. Also autistic children are now being put on the gluten free diet and seeing improvement. Very complicated stuff . . . I sincerely hope this helps. My son after 2 years on the gluten free diet is a happy healthy 8th grader. He has grown and his mind is clear. Vancouver WA ******************************************** You might 1. check the archives 2. Scott Adams website www.celiac.com. 3. Gluten Intolerance Group website www.gluten.net ************************************** I don't know why, but I have a neighbor and she has her 1st grader on a gf diet for the same reason. She says there is a difference like night and day when her daughter eats wheat. OHIO ************************************************************ Many children with ADHD are benefiting from the GF diet in the same way that many children with autism do. In fact several doctors doing research in the Us have moved the ADHD diagnosis into the autistic spectrum of disorders. I have two sons diagnosed with ADHD and a daughter who was considered probably until we put them all on GFCF diets. Later researched taught us that there is a symptom of IgG mediated allergy which affects the brain and is termed cerebral allergy response. Many children diagnosed with ADHD probably actually have CAR instead. The symptoms are identical. When a child is being considered as ADHD, the DSM IV instructions doctors to conduct testing to rule out biological causes for the symptoms they see. Most doctors don't do that. Some don't even know that there is blood testing available to verify or disprove allergies. There is also some theory being research that states that when the stomach cannot properly handle gluten and/or casein, larger than usual protein chains pass into the blood system causing a response in the brain. Some may know this as Leaky Gut Syndrome. In LGS, the reaction caused by the proteins can create all sorts of symptoms from zoning to hyper behaviour, vocalizing, enuresis and more. The most severe reaction to this problem is what some see as a "true" autistic - no verbal, self-stimming, uncontrollable. In one of it's least severe forms, it can produce what looks like ADHD. I say bravo to the parents for trying this and I wish them and the teacher great success in using dietary measures to help this student succeed in a much more positive way. Unfortunately this puts something of a burden on the teacher as she will have to help the student become vigilant about everything that goes into him from food to licking stickers and she may even have to create a "safe" place for him to eat away from the other kids at meals because of the gluten in the air from sandwiches, cookies, and so on. If she truly wants to support this child she will be very careful about what snacks come into the classroom for special treats on special days and she will be sure to advise mum of those special days so that an alternative can be provided for Johnny/Janie. But then you all know that drill anyway. ******************************************* For some reason, sensitivity to gliadin is common among kids with ADD, ADHD, & autism. When my 11yo daughter went to a developmental pediatrician to be evaluated for her ADD, the doctor ran lab tests before seeing her. The tests were for anti-gliadin antibodies, anti-caesin antibodies (many of these kids also cannot drink milk), thyroid tests, etc. My daughter came up anti-gliadin IgG positive, IgA negative -so not truly celiac, but our ped gastroenterologist put her on a gf diet to see what would happen. Within 3 days, Lauren could pay attention and read better. Within 2 weeks, the diarrhea she had had for 2 years (and which we had blamed on her diagnosis of Crohn's disease) stopped. She really does have Crohn's disease too, but apparently, the gf diet allowed her gut to heal - and her Crohn's meds were able to be cut by more than half and she grew for the first time in 2 years. (Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the small intestine that causes diarrhea, belly pain, etc). Of course, hardly any ADD/ADHD kids have Crohn's disease - it's pretty uncommon. But, bottom line, Lauren's school work/attentiveness were helped noticably by the GF diet. We now know that she is very sensitive to wheat - small contaminants or hidden ingredients cause days of diarrhea for her. Perhaps she and these other kids are IgA deficient, thus testing negative for anti-gliadin IgA (she has never been tested for total IgA). Her developmental pediatrician's web site is www.megson.com - Dr. Megson specializes in kids with autism and ADD, and speaks at conferences world-wide. Virginia. ***************************************** I am a mother of a celiac child. Gluten-free (GF) diets are used to treat celiac disease, and austism. Children with both of these disorders exhibit a lot of the same symptoms as ADHD, irritability, lack of concentration, mood swings etc. I can only speak for celiac disease but just changing the diet made my daughter's personality change in just a few weeks. She no longer cried when I left her at school she played with the other children, it was amazing. I do not know if there is a correlation between and gluten and ADHD or if maybe they are seeing if his problem really is ADHD and not celiac. But, certainly testing to see if diet helps before drugging a kid is a good idea. ********************************************* Here's a link to a scientific thesis on the subject: http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/hoggan/adhd.txt From personal experience, I would direct you to the story about my daughter's ADHD and problems with milk: http://www.nowheat.com/grfx/nomilk/ and then add the further note that, since the last update, my daughter's behavior decayed again at the end of last year (from September through December) to worse than it was originally -- this after four years of doing better and better. My pediatrician suggested we put her on a gluten-free diet, and, just as with milk (as in the story at the link above), the very next day we saw a remarkable improvement. The gluten-free and casein-free diet is also used for autistic children (see http://www.gfcfdiet.com). Though autism and ADHD are not the same thing, they are both behavioral problems; it seems that food allergies may play a big part in behavioral issues of all kinds. A good book on the subject is Doris Rapp's "Is This Your Child?" ********************************************** celiac disease (gluten intolerance) is one of many causes for the behavior problem called ADHD in children. Food allergies, sensitivities, undiagnosed diseases such as fibromyalgia, sensitivity to salycylates, etc. are other things that can cause ADHD. I'm a nurse & I'm totally convinced the ADHD is not a primary disease, but rather a symptom of some other disease process. Gluten intolerance messes up the brain & attenntion span of children because gluten (wheat protein) is not completely digested & assimmilated. Fragments of the gluten along with many other undigested protein fragments enter the blood stream & can cause havoc on the nervous system of the celiac child who eat wheat, rye or barley. This child is lucky to have parents who are taking a pro active position on treating him. Most parents would rather take the lazy way out & give him Ritalin. ******************************************* I have been on this List for four years and have done my own reseach into gluten and Autism, Schizophrenia, and other conditions. During that time I received a number of messages from other Listmembers, and came across a number of references to gluten and ADD and ADHD. I was curious when at least two of my mother's grandchildren were labeled, and my own son has schizophrenia. Before I was diagnosed I felt like I was going crazy and out-of-control mentally. I was grinding my teeth, and feeling totally scattered. Once diagnosed I went gluten-free and the symptoms have gone away. ************************************************* I don't know any specific medical evidence, but my husband has ADD and it has been a nightmare to live with for 8 years - then when My 3 yr old daughter was diagnosed with celiac sprue - which I also have, he decided it would be easier if he did the diet with us. Let me tell you everyone noticed a difference. He is a totally new person, and when he goes on a trip out of town and eats what ever he wants, I can't stand him for about a week. He is irratable, can't listen to a full sentence, goes to do one task and does something else totally forgetting what is was he was supposed to do.... the list goes on. But it does wear off on the diet. We have been arguing and thinking divorce for about 5 years, and this diet has saved our marriage. I know a lot of people have consentration and memory problems, but ADD is so much worse - not only me trying to keep up with his "jumping thoughts" but for him constantly being caught in a "mistake" either at work or at home it makes him want to commit suicide. Now he is starting to be more confidant and actually is "learning" things... about how to take care and be safety causious with our daughter. His lack of concentration endangered her fequently from leaving her in her basinet in a parking lot - right where the cars drive while he looked for something in the trunk, to leaving her unbuckled and driving her to daycare. I don't wnat to belittle him because we know it is a physical problem. But I just want to illustrate, that for whatever reason, the gluten free diet is a GOD-SEND for us in regards to his ADD. ************************************** Yes, there is a lot of evidence of improvement for ADD and/or autistic kids on a gluten-free, casein-free diet (casein is a protein in milk)! I recommend the following websites: www.glutenfree.com/autism.htm www.gfcfdiet.com Both excellent resources for someone embarking on a gluten/casein free (or just gluten-free) diet. One of my best friends has an autistic/ADD child who has shown tremendous improvement on the diet. It's definitely worth checking into. ***************************************** Here is a link that has a few articles on this connection. It's on my site under the Information section, under "Support & Information." The particular link is GFLinks.com where this link is found. Ron Hoggan is quite an expert on the relationships between gluten and several ills: http://www.gluten-free.org/hoggan/add. ************************************************ My son is ADHD with some minor sensory dysfunction and we are now finding out he has celiac disease. I don't know that much yet, but I think the gluten damages the lining of the small intestine so that you get "leaky gut" and food is not fully digested so undigested food particles get into the blood stream and irritate the central nervous system and that celiac disease causes malabsorption of nutrients and the resulting deficiencies affect behavior. I've read that some cases of ADHD and autism are actually undiagnosed celiac disease and that no treatment will work until the gluten is removed from the diet and sometimes when the gluten is removed the improvement is so great that no further treatment is needed. *************************************************** Yep, there is a high correlation between the ingestion of gluten and the behaviors associated with ADHD. He should actually be gluten free and dairy free. Gluten also causes or worsens autism in many children. And the GF diet has been shown to help a large percentage of schizophrenics also. ************************************** Visit a very good and exhaustive search engine like www.google.com and enter just the two words "ahds" and "gluten" in the search box. That returns about 1600 entries. Here's an obvious one to start with: http://www.adhd-relief.net/ This site is commercial -- they are definitely selling a program -- but there seems to be some amount of fairly neutral information. They obviously believe gluten is causitive. But balance it with other opinions. Here is the NIH page on ADHD: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm The NIH is of course necessarily conservative (and properly so) and they can neither confirm nor deny the link: Scroll down to and read: "Controversial Treatments". (Well, if I were a parent of a ADHD child, the NIH statement probably wouldn't stop me from cutting gluten for a couple weeks to see if the condition improves... It is more benign than drug treatments.) Visit www.yahoo.com and click down to the Health then to the Diseases category. If the disease of interest isn't listed (ADHD is not) then search "just this category" for something related like "ADD". That gives many references, including specific reference to ADHD. Prowl around and I'm sure you'll find other useful materials. Berkeley CA ****************************************** This website: gfcfdiet.com describes benefits of a gluten-free, casein-free diet for autistics. The "Autism Spectrum" now includes ADD/ADHD in the low end of the spectrum. For children with hyperactivity/ADD/ADHD, removing gluten and casein (milk protein) from the diet is extraordinarily beneficial. ****************************************** I haven't followed up on this topic because it doesn't apply to my kids. But I do know that many parents have reported that following a gluten free/casein free diet can have profound positive effects on kids with ADHD and autism. There is a list like the one you posted to on yahoo that is for parents of kids following this diet. It's called something like "GFCFRecipes" or something at least starting with those 4 letters -- if you do a search, I'm sure you can find it and post to their list -- this should enable you to get a lot of good info about it . . . ******************************************* I am a celiac sprue and I live in ND. The disease, when I am eating anything with any gluten in it, affects my mind and my actions. I become extremely depressed. I am an accountant, and find that my mind works at about 3/4 speed. I also become irritable and have short-term memory loss. There are many other symptoms that other C/S patients have that I don't have, and I have some that others don't have. That's what makes this disease so difficult to diagnose. But ADD or ADHD is more and more being found as a result of eating glutinous items for Celiac Sprue patients. When I am on a totally gluten-free diet, all those symptoms disappear. The key here is TOTALLY gluten-free. There are lots of hidden gluten items in food - malt flavoring, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, modified food starch, as well as the wheat, oats, barley and rye in any forms. I don't know the medical reason why this happens. C/S disease immediately affects the villi in our intestinal tract, affecting how we absorb nutrients. But it is also an auto-immune disease, which affects our bodies differently from an allergy. This disease is very underdiagnosed in the US right now. It is believed that one in 250 people probably have it. This disease is probably in the public eye like diabetes was 50 years ago - most people hadn't even heard of it and many people died as a result of having it without ever knowing. In the USA, the average length of time from presenting with symptoms to diagnosis is 7 to 10 years. Compare that to Europe where the average time is 2 weeks. They are FAR ahead of us. (I heard that in Italy, every school-age child is given a test to see if they have C/S.) ********************************************* Go to the web site--------www.celiac.com There you will find your answer. ************************************** It won't make a difference in most cases. If the child has celiac disease, following a gluten free diet, thereby avoiding malnutrition and low blood glucose levels due to malfunctioning intestines, will obviously improve his or her ability to cope with learning situations. The only thing that really helps me without causing bad side effects is lots and lots of coffee. (ADHD adult, age 56) ********************************************************************* You will probably get more helpful letters from parents whose children have ADHD but be aware that sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. *********************************************************** All I know is that I have two Celiac daughters and a non-Celiac son with ADHD. We tried the gluten free diet for him a few years ago and it did absolutely nothing. ********************************************************************** There have been a number of 'anecdotal' events where adopting a celiac diet has improved the health of children with both autism and ADHD. So, far the medical community is taking a largely wait and see attitude. Try - http://www.kessick.demon.co.uk/aia.html ********************************************************************** I just got this website. Check it out. You may find it helpful! http://www.eegspectrum.com/books/vhmalabs.htm ********************************************************************** There is a lot of research to support this. Go to: Celiac Support Page: http://www.celiac.com/ . Then click on: Diseases Which Resemble Celiac Disease and Related Disorders **************************************************** Check out the GFCFKids site. I think they will have the information you need. Idaho ************************************************** As a retired psychologist, (several careers ago) I had to smile at this one. Oppositional defiance disorder is a lovely example of defining the symptoms without any regard for the cause. I think a simpler way of saying it is 'stubborn and probably uncomfortable'. This type of behaviour could very well be evidence of stress and discomfort brought on by the effects of gluten. It might also be a response to sugar, food colouring, etc. My guess is that the child is frustrated and uncomfortable. Giving the behaviour a name like ODD tends to make it appear as if it is a legitimate disorder. The child is much in need of an enlightened examination of its intake of food, influences in the environment - gases, lighting, etc. Might be enlightened to simply ask him if he has a tummy ache. ******************************************************* Oh, yes, and look up Dr. Alessio Fassano's research, University of Maryland. He understands celiac, and behavior problems in children. **************************** I think Scully's Living Without magazine has an article on food additives and colorings having something to do with it - maybe wheat too, because that is the general idea of the whole magazine. The article was called "controlling behavior through diet". St. Louis