A glimpse into a parent’s journey converting family to gluten-free diet
By Nancy Ludwig, MS, RDN, LD, Head
Start Consulting Nutritionist
As my role as a consultant nutritionist
to Siletz Tribal Head Start, I offer informa-
tion for families. The experience of con-
sidering a gluten-free diet for children or a
family is usually overwhelming, but often
makes a difference in health and behavior.
Below is an interview with a mother
who shares her journey into a diet that
went even beyond gluten-free. I share this
because the many nutrition choices people
make today under the names “gluten-free”
and/or “Paleo” actually move toward nutri-
tional equivalence of traditional diets. I’ve
used the title “Mom” in this interview.
I invite you to take the journey in her
shoes while considering whether any of
the described shifts in food intake may be
of benefit to you and your family.
This mother of two young children
went the extra mile to support her fam-
ily. Benefits were apparent quickly, but it
wasn’t always easy. Some of the changes
were made more gradually in stages.
Over the course of 2½ years as this
family adjusted, they went beyond gluten-
free to eliminate dairy, egg, peanut and
nightshades. They are currently 100 per-
cent gluten-free and 75-80 percent Paleo
(grain-free).
Not everyone in the family has the
same needs, but they have found many
favorite foods and enjoy increased health.
I would like to share a glimpse into
this family’s story through the following
interview:
Q: What caused you to consider
going gluten-free with your children?
Mom: My first child was colicky, I
mean really colicky. She was a screamer
for nine months and was falling off the
growth charts. She was prescribed Zantac
for acid reflux and told she would grow out
of the colic. She also was constipated and
on Miralax from 18 months to almost 3
years. She also got ear infections at least
once per year.
My next child had a different tempera-
ment. From the age of 3-9 months, she
had a constant runny nose and thrush.
Both girls had runny noses for six months!
During this time, my oldest was still not
eating much and not sleeping through the
night. She was 2½ by then.
This was when a friend asked if I
had ever considered trying a gluten-free
diet. After one-month of gluten-free, we
also removed dairy and many symptoms
began improving, including my oldest
child sleeping through the night for the
first time.
Q: Did you do any medical testing?
Mom: Yes. The children and I were
tested for genetic markers. I had one for
celiac and another for non-celiac gluten
sensitivity. My children each had two dif-
ferent gluten-sensitive genes that had to
have come from their dad (who wasn’t
tested because, of course, “he didn’t have
any problems”).
I also had another blood test from my
general doctor. On the day I was there, a
medical student was observing. He shared
with my doctor that he had just attended
a seminar and learned that gluten issues
were becoming a key medical discovery
– like diabetes was in the 1980s. This
seemed to open the door for my doctor to
consider the gluten-free diet, even if the
test was negative.
Q: How did you get your children
to cooperate?
Mom: Well, my girls were pretty
young, so in some ways it was easier than
with older children. Social situations are
still hard for them. However, I get them
in the kitchen regularly to help with food
preparation, even if it is just mixing and
stirring. It really helps with their interest
and willingness to eat and to try new foods.
I made the changes in stages and I
found this to be really important. With
children in middle school or older, it might
be best not to go cold turkey but to phase
in with 1-2 meals per week at first to get
used to the new foods.
It is important to teach kids about
foods and help them figure out when their
symptoms are related to the foods they
Submitted by Patti McKinney, TPEP Coordinator
The number of poison center calls involving e-cigarettes went from one call per
month in September 2010 to 215 calls per month in February 2014.
4
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Siletz News
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April 2016
eat so that they can participate in making
good choices.
Q: How did your husband feel
about this venture?
Mom: As I said earlier, he didn’t
believe that he had any symptoms so he
wasn’t fully on board at first. He believed
that if one person in the family couldn’t
eat a food, then we all needed to support
them and eliminate the item, especially
when together.
When he figured out that he was very
sensitive to dairy, the diet got his atten-
tion. His symptoms included a bumpy
rash, sinus drip and intestinal issues (that
he didn’t talk about much). He followed
the diet at home with me doing the food
preparation, but he ate differently away
from home for a while. It wasn’t until we
began to try more Paleo recipes that he
fully got on board.
He found the Paleo diet to be more
positive and he actually liked the recipes
better. The foods that we ate on this diet
were less processed and we began to have
better results – especially when we limited
the sugar.
My husband and I have been losing
weight, especially in the last six months,
and are not even restricting our intake. We
are happy about it. Admittedly, when my
husband deviates from the diet, he can
recreate his symptoms!
Q: What about your family and
friends – are they supportive?
Mom: I’m active in social groups with
moms and children, and we are some of
the few eating this way. My extended
family has been slower to support our
gluten-free diet.
I find support in blogs and my GIG
support group. I do a lot of reading on my
own. Support is important and I wish there
was more support for families.
Q: What advice do you have for
others?
Mom: I want to help others. However,
I’m learning not to be pushy about it. Some-
times people need to hear the information
many times before they are ready to act.
Avoiding gluten, dairy and other
foods has really helped my family to be
healthy. I am grateful that a friend of mine
suggested the idea to me when I was
struggling. I would suggest for parents
to keep an open mind as the diet is not as
restrictive as some may think.
Siletz Tribal Head Start offers my
time at no cost to you to support family
nutrition over the telephone. Please con-
tact me if you have nutrition concerns
about your head start child.
Organizations for support
gluten.org – Gluten Intolerance Group
(GIG), memberships, getting started
guides, national list of certified
GF restaurants and local support
groups (find the link to your branch
in Lincoln County, Portland, Salem,
McMinnville and Eugene)
Recipe sources/blogs
thepaleomom.com/ – Best recipes and
a scientific explanation/blog posts
about why people respond to food in
certain ways, focus on treating auto-
immune disease. Favorites: Hidden
Liver Meatloaf, Vanilla Cake, Paleo
Gingerbread Cutouts
paleoparents.com/, paleoparents.com/tag/
recipe/ or paleoparents.com/blog/ –
authors of Eat Like a Dinosaur, terrific
resource for kid/meal ideas. List of
lunchbox ideas to replicate common
kid foods. Favorites: Meatloaf Cup-
cakes, Buffalo in a Pig Blanket, Rat
on a Stick, Coconut Pecan Date Rolls
Come to pow-wow dance class
Tony Whitehead and Sara Bell-Tellez will conduct a pow-wow dance class on
April 20 from 5-7 p.m. at the Siletz Tribal Community Center.
Tribal members and their families are welcome to attend.
Courtesy photo by Andrea Suitter
Lincoln County Commissioner Bill Hall reads to Tribal Head Start students in Siletz
on March 9.