On Sat, 16 May 1998, Mary wrote:

> Anyway, some research (Reichelt et al) shows it takes very long to "clear"
> all the peptides etc on a gf/cf diet.

I think that what Reichelt claims is that it takes up to three
months to clear the peptides after high blood levels have been
reached from routine consumption of them.  I don't think this
necessarily implies an equivalent time after isolated gluten
consumption during an otherwise gf/cf diet.

As a result of an accidental lapse, a lot of people see
behavioral regression that lasts 1-3 days.  This is what we see
with Dylan, too.  And sometimes there is no regression at all.

> My question is, wouldn't a paleo diet clear out these "bad" gluten
peptides
> a lot faster?

I don't see why.  Any diet that is not replenishing the peptides
ought to be effective.

> He likes school but they will not let me monitor the snack time unless I
> make a federal case out of it, the hostility is bad, etc. What would you
> guys do? Any benefit from school I feel would be outweighed by gluten
ingestion.

Then there is your answer.  We have the same problem, although
Dylan has a wraparound aide who is pretty vigilant.  In my view,
the benefits of school *vastly* outweigh the problems of
accidental gluten ingestion.  To Dylan, home-schooling would be a
severe punishment, but I recognize that not every child has this
sort of school experience.

We want to do the best we can, but the research suggests that
eventually most kids simply refuse to comply with the gf/cf diet.
We hope that we can get the most out of these developmental years
when Dylan is most compliant, but we recognize that eventually he
will eat what he wants to eat, as all human beings do.  But an
important part of getting the most out of these years is, for
Dylan, being in school and learning from other kids.

> If I bring up the issue, they jump all over me. (Saying we are doing a
great
> job, how dare you question us, etc)  It is hardly worth the stress.

I think the best thing you can do is to remind them that it is
also in *their* interest to be vigilant about the diet.  After
all, your son is likely to be more difficult if he is eating
gluten/casein.

Incidentally, watch out for the Play-Dough, which is made from
flour.  Lot's of kids are sneaky about eating the stuff.  A
couple of years ago Dylan was doing badly and we couldn't figure
out why.  We discovered that he was rolling up tiny little balls
of Play-Dough and popping them into his mouth when he thought no
one was looking.

Todd Moody
[log in to unmask]