Casein-Free Diet for Autism

Many parents report major improvements in their autistic children when they eliminate certain foods from their diets. Wheat gluten may be the most common 'aggravating' food, but casein -- a milk protein -- is another commonly reported intolerance for autistic individuals. Undigested casein, like gluten, can have an opiate-like effect on the child's system, essentially keeping the child in a 'drugged' state all the time.

In order to eliminate casein from the autistic individual's diet, all dairy products must be eliminated. While this may sound difficult, so long as the patient isn't also sensitive to soy products, there are non-dairy products available to replace almost all common dairy products. Soy cheese and milk are widely available, as are non-dairy sour cream substitutes and even non-dairy 'yogurt' type products.

Further complicating the issue, many parents of autistic children report their children will only eat gluten and casein-heavy foods. Naturally, given autism's tendency to cause a strong attachment to routines, changing food when a child already shows a very strong preference may sound like a daunting ordeal, to say the least. However, when considering the 'drug effect' issue, it follows (in theory, and often in practice) that when a child has gone without casein, as the drugged effect wears off their system, they often become more willing to eat different foods alongside other behavioral improvements. The child may essentially be addicted to the effects of these foods.

Many parents also report improvements in their autistic child's bowel movements and general digestive health when casein is removed. A reduction in abdominal pain, which the autistic individual may not be able to properly report, may appear as a child who sleeps better at night. A reduction in the opiate-like effects of these foods may show as a child who shows more interest in the world around them.

When combined with removal of gluten from the diet (Gluten Casein Free Diet - GCFD), improvements have been seen in everything from longer attention spans, improved language & communication ability, willingness to eat a larger variety of food, better sleep habits, and more. If you think a casein-free diet might help someone you know with autism, a three month trial is often recommended, to give the patient enough time to recover from residual effects in their system. The potential benefits of removing casein from the autistic diet far outweigh the inconvenience of buying special food.

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