We're going GFCF

We are making a huge change over here at the Lyon home: we're going Gluten and Casein (Dairy) Free.  It's called the GFCF diet.  Basically we are going to eliminate all Gluten and Dairy from our diet.  Why, you ask?

To make a long story short, Blaine's behavior has really moved beyond the "terrible twos".  His aggressiveness, impulsivity, and oppositional defiant behavior has taken us to his pediatrician (multiple times) and finally to a child psychologist.  A few arrows point to ADHD but at his age it's hard to be 100% sure.  Regardless of the diagnosis we just want Blaine to be happy and successful and to have healthy peer relationships.  This all began around the age of 18 months and has only gotten worse with time and really we've been at the end of our rope for some time now.  Today we had an especially difficult afternoon and it seems like nothing we're doing is helping him to be more gentle, kind and considerate of others.  He can't keep his hands to himself and is hurting others along the way.  Not to mention he is bouncing off the walls 99.9% of the time.

Our friend Kari bought us this book and it is giving us some hope.  Perhaps changing Blaine's diet will move us in the right direction and help our little guy be more happy, healthy and successful.  Experts say that the first five years of a child's life are the most important and we don't want to waste any time.

This books does a pretty good job of giving background information on Gluten and Casein and why these ingredients mess some kids up.  Here are some of the symptoms of food sensitivities and intolerances that Blaine has:

- Fatigue
- Food cravings (which is generally always a Gluten or Dairy product)
- Eczema and unexplained rashes
- Dark circles under the eyes
- Constipation
- Aggression
- Difficulty sleeping
- ADHD symptoms (hyperactivity)

We have an appointment with Blaine's pediatrician on Wednesday where we are going to have him tested for Celiac Disease, which needs to be ruled out before we elminate all gluten products.

We are looking forward to starting this diet though the thought of taking on a whole new way of eating seems exptremely overhwheling to me.  Being on a GFCF diet is not exactly cheap or simple. 

I'll try to keep everyone updated on this as we move forward.