This blog is a way of sharing the information and resources that have helped me to recover my son Roo from an Autism Spectrum Disorder. What I have learned is to view our symptoms as the results of underlying biological cause, which can be identified and healed. I say "our symptoms" because I also have a neuro-immune disorder called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

And, of course, I am not a doctor (although I have been known to impersonate one while doing imaginative play with my son)- this is just our story and information that has been helpful or interesting to us. I hope it is helpful and interesting to you!


Showing posts with label Celiac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celiac. Show all posts

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Exploring New Ingredients for Cooking

These days many adults have grown up eating instant food such as canned soups, processed packaged foods such as rice mixes and seasoning packets, or if they have learned cooking "from scratch" it involves processed ingredients such as canned broth and pre-made dough.  It seems that not many people regularly cook from actual scratch and for many people this may be a very functional allocation of their time.  While this may (or may not) work well for some people it can make it difficult or expensive to try making dietary changes, as specialized processed foods may be prohibitively expensive, unpleasant to eat, or may be very hard or impossible to get.  Sometimes learning to make an ingredient from scratch (such as broth, mayonnaise, or salad dressing) is a good solution to this dilemma.  Another solution that can actually be quite fun is to learn to use ingredients that you have not worked with before and to learn to cook new types of dishes.  While this can be fun and exciting and very rewarding to do, it can take a lot of learning and adjustment as you get used to new ingredients and cooking methods.  Below is a collection of links that can help make this transition easier.  Or course what is new to one person is the comfort food that someone else grew up with, and will depend on where a person grew up, where their family and friends and neighbors are from, what restaurants and food stores they have had access to, their income, and many other factors.

Fruits and Vegetables:
Fruity Fruits (YouTuber Emmy learns about and eats unusual fruits)
How To Cut Pineapple Without Waste
Buddha's Hand (a type of citrus)
What is Jackfruit and how to eat it
ASIAN VEGETABLES: BEANS, MELONS, MUSHROOMS, AND ROOT VEGETABLES

Grains, Flours, and Their Replacements:
The Many Possibilities of Potato Starch


Thursday, November 15, 2018

Simple Breads and Baked Goods (recipes)

All of these recipes are gluten-free.  Some are grain-free, low oxalate, low carb, paleo, keto, etc.  I do not use nuts due to a severe nut allergy

COCONUT BREAD
This is a very simple bread that bakes up quickly like a quick bread.  Honestly it doesn't have the best flavor or texture for a bread, but it is also much faster and easier than most of the more delicious recipes and is very functional.  It is a good bread to use for other recipes that call for baked bread such as croutons or bread pudding.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 cup butter, ghee, or other fat
2 T honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup coconut flour

Preparation:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Blend all ingredients together until there are no longer any lumps (by hand with a whisk works fine, but this is easier with a food processor or mixer).
-Pour the batter into a loaf pan that has been greased and/or lined with parchment paper.
-Bake for about 40 minutes.

RED LENTIL TORTILLAS
Ingredients:
1 cup red lentils
2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt

Preparation:
-Rinse lentils, then mix with 2 cups water and let stand at room temp for 6-12 hours.
-Blend entire mixture- lentils AND the soaking water- on high until very smooth (and frothy).
-Heat skillet to medium, grease with bacon grease, pour 1/4 cup batter in the middle and spread out to a thin tortilla, smoothing with the back of a spoon if needed.
-Cook until tortilla looks dry (after 1 to 2 minutes), then flip and cook other side until browned.

NO-KNEAD KEFIR BREAD
Ingredients:
4 cups gluten free flour (brown rice, garbanzo, and blends work well)
2 1/2 cups kefir (I use camel milk kefir)
1 T salt

Preparation:
-Combine flour and kefir in a non-reactive bowl, loosely cover and place aside in a warm place for 24 hours.
-Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Preheat a cast iron loaf pan with lid (or other cast iron pan with lid of similar size, I use a round one).
-Once the pan is hot, grease the bottom and pour the batter in (may need to use a spatula to get it all).
-Bake for 1 hour than cool on a rack.

WINTER SQUASH FLATBREAD
Ingredients:
1/2 c mashed winter squash (I like butternut)
1 c tapioca starch
1/2 tsp salt
3 T olive or other oil
water as needed

Preparation:
-Puree squash in a food processor, add other ingredients except for water, and pulse until it starts to form a ball.  Add water 1 T at a time if it is too dry until it forms a soft dough that stays together.
-On parchment paper on a cookie sheet, flatten ball of dough into a circle about 12 inches across.
-Optional but nice- spread some olive oil on the top of the bread and sprinkle with salt and other herbs/spices.
-Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes.

VEGGIE FLAX CRACKERS (based on this recipe)
1 1/2 c flax meal
1/2 c pureed veggies (cauliflower, carrot, yam, squash, sweet potato, parsnip, beet, celery root, broccoli stems, peppers, cooked greens, etc)
3 T olive oil (bacon grease or lard work well)
1/2 tsp salt (some as smoked salt is very good)
Dried or fresh herbs, such as basil, thyme, cilantro, chives, parsley
Minced onion or garlic (sauteed in the oil)
Optional- bacon pieces, finely chopped celery or carrot, bits of cheese, egg whites
Sea salt and sesame seeds can be sprinkled on top before putting the dough into the oven.

Combine all ingredients into a dough and pat or roll out to be very thin on a piece of parchment paper.  Use a knife or pizza cutter to score lines on the dough so that the cooked product breaks easily into squares.  Move parchment paper to a cookie sheet and bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees rotating pans once during baking.  Let cool on rack for 20 minutes than break apart.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

The Gastrointestinal/Digestive System- Relevant Symptoms, Conditions, and Disorders

The gastrointestinal system (aka "the GI tract" or "digestive system") includes the entire "tube" from the lips to the anus.  Because it is open to the outside world on both ends, the inside of the GI tract is considered to be outside of the body.  It is a system with many different components and functions and is especially immunologically active because it must protect us from pathogens and other dangerous exposures through what we eat and drink, and for the upper part even the air we breathe.  GI disorders and symptoms are very common among people with ASD, mast cell disease, and some of the other conditions discussed on this blog.  I am including links in this post about both the normal functioning of many of the parts of the GI system as well as the many symptoms, conditions, etc that can arise when things don't work properly.

For a general introduction to the GI tract, the book "Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ" by Giulia Enders is a great place to start.  This is an interview of her about her book.  The GI tract is still not very well understood and new discoveries are being made about it...it's various functions, what can go wrong, options for treatment and for staying healthy, etc.  For example new organ in the GI tract was recently discovered called the Mesentery.

General information:
Introduction to the digestive system (video series from Anatomy Zone)
Digestive system by CrashCourse part 1     part 2     part 3   
YouTube Channel Gastroenterology 101
The enteric nervous system (the brain in the gut)

Specific disorders, conditions, symptoms, and syndromes:
Burning Mouth Syndrome
Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS)
Periodontitis
Tonsil Stones
Swallowing disorders
Animation of both normal and dysphagic swallowing
Airway disorders (can have implications for the GI tract)
Dysphagia (disorders of swallowing)
Swallowing Disorders and Achalasia
Laryngospasm: Sudden, Terrifying Difficulty Breathing (Part II: Laryngospasm: Straw Breathing)
"There is some evidence that Laryngospasm is caused by damage to sensory nerves from a virus."
Laryngospasm: What causes it?
Acid Reflux aka GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease)

How does the Stomach Function?
Dumping Syndrome (caused by injury to the Vagus nerve from surgery)
Gatroparesis (delayed emptying of the stomach and stomach paralysis)
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome - Kirsten Tillisch, MD | UCLA Digestive Diseases
Intrapericardial Colon (when the colon is partially herniated into the pericardial cavity)

Basic liver function Liver explained clearly
Chronic Fatty Liver Disease and how to reverse it
Jaundice results from overproduction of bilirubin, impairment of bilirubin uptake or conjugation in the liver, hepatocellular inflammation, or biliary obstruction.
Autoimmune Hepatitis
Peritonitis
Mesenteric Lymphadenitis
MALS (Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome)
SMAS (Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome)
Mastocytic Enterocolitis
"As mast cells have been highlighted in the pathogenesis of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, a new term "mastocytic enterocolitis" was suggested by Jakate and colleagues to describe an increase in mucosal mast cells in patients with chronic intractable diarrhea and favorable response to treatment with antihistamines."
Protein-losing Enteropathy - also called Hypoalbuminemia, occurs when albumin and other protein-rich materials leak into your intestine.  "PLE has been linked to more than 60 diseases and disorders, including congenital heart disease, cancers, immune disorders, inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and all intestinal and digestive diseases. Intestinal lymphangiectasia (dilated intestinal lymphatics) is often found in patients with PLE and can be explained by a condition that is called lymphatic congestion."
Celiac disease
What is Fecal Incontinence?

More advanced information:

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Food Substitutions for Allergies and Special DIets

The following is a list of products and recipes for substitute foods to replace foods that need to be avoided due to allergies, intolerances, etc.  There has been a significant increase in the availability of such substitutes as allergies, food intolerances, and special diets have become much more common in the US in recent years, but many of these products don't taste good or don't work well for a variety of reasons.  So although there are a lot more options now it is still very helpful to have suggestions for which products are best.  The products and recipes listed below are ones that I have either tried myself and liked or have been liked and recommended by people I know.  Of course tastes are very individual so this is no guarantee that others will like them.  They are listed according to the food or ingredient that needs to be avoided.

NOTE- many of these foods contain ingredients that are problematic for many people, so it should go without saying to read the labels very carefully.  Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement of the food or ingredient, it is included so that people can decide for themselves what they want to avoid or not.

How to Make Cooking Substitutions (from New York Times)

ALTERNATIVE SWEETENERS
D'Vash Date Nectar
Organic Coconut Nectar
Organic Cassava Syrup (fructose-free sweetener)
Mesquite Bean Jelly (very similar to honey)

MULTIPLE ALLERGENS
Enjoy Life Products (mostly snacks and some baking ingredients including chocolate chips)
Bob's Red Mill (many varieties of flour, grains, and other baking ingredients)
Coconut Secret (organic snacks, flour, sweetener, sauces, etc.)
Go Raw (Raw, organic, non-GMO, vegan, GF, dairy-free, soy free snacks)
Amanda's Own Confections (mostly chocolate and other candy, all top 8 allergen free)
Pascha Chocolate (Organic and no cross contamination)
Heavenly Organics (chocolate patties, organic cane sugar, honey)
Eating Evolved (Organic, vegan, GF, dairy free chocolate products)
Unreal candies (Organic, non-GMO, GF, dairy-free, some are peanut free)
Sun Cups (Sunflower butter cups that are nut-free and gluten-free, some flavors are free of other allergens as well)
Star Anise Foods (Vietnamese foods that are free of GMOs, gluten, soy, dairy, MSG, and more)
Yai's Thai (Thai sauces and condiments that are non-GMO, no MSG, GF, dairy-free, and many are nut free)

DAIRY and MILK
So Delicious dairy-free alternatives (Dairy-free milks, ice cream, yogurt, cheese, and more.  Many products are organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, soy-free, and free of other allergens)
Laird Superfoods (dairy-free creamer, coffee, and coconut water hydrating drinks)
Teese vegan cheese 
Daiya Foods (dairy substitutes including cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, sauces, dressings, and frozen pizza and cheesecake)
Rebel Kitchen (organic coffee and tea drinks made with coconut milk)
Cocomels (organic and non-GMO caramels made from coconut milk)
Ollois homeopathic medicine (made without lactose)
Make your own vegan "butter" (aka margarine)  Ingredients that you need to avoid can be replaced.
Avocado can be used in place of some soft cheeses (such as cream cheese).
 Whipped coffee foam is a good substitute for whipped cream with no dairy or egg.

CORN
Siete Foods (tortillas and tortilla chips)
The Real Coconut (tortillas and tortilla chips made from coconut flour)
Luke's Organic Brown Rice Chips
Forager (Organic, non-GMO, GF, dairy-free, corn-free, vegan vegetable chips)
Thrive Market organic coconut flakes cereal
Dr. Bronner's soaps (The Baby Unscented Pure Castile Soap is the mildest.  This company uses citric acid from beets rather than corn)
Pamela's baking powder

PEANUTS and/or TREE NUTS
Dastony nut and seed butters (organic, many options of seed butters and unusual nut butters)
NuttZo Peanut-free nut butter
Sunbutter
Free2b suncups
Pumpkin seed butter
Almond cashew coconut butter recipe
Free2b (top 12 allergen-free chocolate and snacks, including peanut-free sunflower butter cups)

SOY
Coconut Secret (Organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, soy-free replacements for soy sauce and teriyaki sauce.  They also make baking and cooking ingredients such as flour, vinegar, sugar, and candy)
Sir Kensington's condiments (Non-GMO, GF, soy-free mayo in several varieties, one is also egg-free)
South River Miso Company (soy-free miso)
Garbanzo tofu recipe
Make your own miso from chickpea

SPINACH
Spinach can be replaced with arugula in many recipes (especially for raw spinach).

WHEAT and GLUTEN
Tinkyada rice pasta
Ancient Harvest and POW! (Organic, non-GMO, GF pasta and hot cereal)
Chebe mixes (bread, breadsticks, focaccia, pizza crust, cinnamon rolls) Chebe recipe page
Watusee Foods (GF chickpea substitute for bread crumbs)
Yehuda Gluten-Free Matzo-Style Squares (and onion flavor)
I Heart Keenwah (snacks and hot cereal made from quinoa)
Otto's Cassava Flour (excellent gluten-free flour)
Authentic Foods Bette’s Gourmet Featherlight Rice Flour Blend

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Favorite Recipes

Most of these recipes are from blogs or websites run by other people, but I have decided to include some of the recipes that I contributed to a blog of recipes for the GAPS diet called Grain-Free Foodies.  Note that these are recipes that we have used at different times when following different dietary restrictions, as well as for different family members with different dietary and nutritional needs, so they are not consistent with each other and are not meant to all work for the same person all the time.

RECIPES

Breakfast:
Cold-Brew Coffee
Nitro Cold Brew Coffee
Vietnamese Egg Coffee
Dairy-Free Coffee Creamer
Granola
Waffles
GF Buckwheat waffles
Paleo Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
Cast Iron Skillet Maple Cinnamon Scones (sub GF flour and coconut for dairy)
English muffins
Cinnamon rolls
How to make hash
How to make soft-cooked eggs
Thai marble eggs
Honey Pork Breakfast Sausage or Breakfast Sausage Links
Quick-Cured Salmon (like gravlax)
Pumpkin Donut Holes

Soup:
Tom Yum Soup
Vietnamese Pho
Make your own miso from chickpea

Savory Breads:
GF sweet potato crackers
Seed Crackers
Best Pizza Crust
Butternut Squash Flatbread
Garlicky Croutons
Sweet Potato Flax Crackers
Paleo Scallion Pancakes
Paleo Garlic Naan Bread 
AIP Burger Buns (plantain)

Noodles and Rice Dishes:
Lemon Spaghetti (I used Tinkyada GF noodles and coconut cream, and no cheese)
Persian Dill Rice
Risotto (I sub duck fat for butter and omit cheese)

Sides/Salads and Appetizers:
Bacon Cheddar Potted Cheese
Sardine "Tonnato" Spread
Indian Dal Nirvana (Dal Makhani)
Greek Style Egg Salad
Turkish Acili Ezme (Spicy Tomato Salad)
Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce (I use sesame in place of peanut)
Moo Ping (Thai BBQ Pork Skewers)
Grilled Pineapple
Kimchi pancake
Cubed Radish Kimchi
Indian-Inspired Coleslaw
Asian-Inspired Coleslaw
Spinach Salad (we sub arugula for spinach)
German Potato Salad (can sub Japanese yams or other root veggies for potato)
Deep Fried Egg Salad Recipe (Yum Kai Dao) ยำไข่ดาว
Apple and beet salad
Lima Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Salad
Spinach and Onion Pakoras
Spiced Steamed Artichokes with Lemon Garlic Mayo
Green beans with garlic
Refried Beans
Roasted Zucchini Stuffed with Garlic From Crete
Batata Harra: Middle Eastern Skillet Potatoes

Basic Chinese Stir-fried Vegetables

Main Dishes:
Falafel
Zucchini Chickpea Fritters (I add 2 eggs to this)
Potato and Yellow Split Pea Curry
Instant Pot Maple Tamarind Ribs (Paleo/AIP)
Apricot Rosemary Turkey Breast
Tandoori Lamb Burger with Cumin-Yogurt Dressing
Eggplant Bolognese
ARTICHOKE BASIL POMODORO (tomato sauce)
Three Cup Chicken
One-Pot Whole Roasted Chicken and Rice
Indian Butter Chicken
Sesame Chicken
Honey Chipotle Turkey Meatballs (I sub chipotle powder and chili paste for the chiles in adobo)
Greek Style Roasted Leg of Lamb
Marinated Roasted Lamb (sub out what you need to for the marinade)
Roasted Lamb Shanks (Greek style)
Korean Pork Chops
Pork Larb (Thai pork salad)
Pressure Cooker Garlicky Cuban Pork
Char Siu (Chinese Barbecue Pork.  I sub coconut aminos for soy sauce, skip the Hoisin sauce and curing salt, use beet powder for the red color, and about half the brown sugar and the other half molasses)
Scotch Eggs
Tiger Skin Eggs 
Beef Heart (in an Instant Pot)
Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot
Garlic Fried Chicken
Apple Cider Glazed Pork Chops
Sticky Garlic Pork Chops
Pork Shogayaki (Ginger Pork)

Korean Barbecue-Style Meatballs

Roy Choi’s Braised Short-Rib Stew
Berbere Beef Stew
Winter Squash and Wild Mushroom Curry
Baked Rajma (Punjabi-Style Red Beans With Cream)

Sauces and Condiments:
Chinese 5-Spice Powder
Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
Creamy Cauliflower Sauce
Tzatziki
Ranch Dressing (and dip)
Peach Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce
Basic Pizza Sauce
Nomato Sauce


Quick Breads

Desserts:
Dorie Greenspan's World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Gingerbread Brownies
Mint Chip Sugar Cookies  (I sub palm shortening for butter, cut sugar to 1 cup, use 1 tsp spirulina for green color, and use only chocolate chips not mint chips)
Flourless Chocolate Cookies
Gingersnaps (I use a healthier oil, such as coconut or avocado, and sub GF flour.  I also skip the white chocolate dip- these are very good plain and don't need extras.  I also use about half the sugar)
Perfect Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake (I sub tapioca starch for cornstarch, sub 1/2 c coconut sugar for granulated sugar and don't process it, and sub 1/2 c maple sugar and 1/2 c corn-free powdered sugar for the rest of the sugar)
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Pumpkin Magic Custard Cake
Paleo Chocolate Cake
Frozen Vanilla Custard (aka French Vanilla Ice Cream.  I sub coconut milk and cream for the dairy)
Basic Ice Cream

Sunday, January 24, 2016

The Risks of Gluten for Everyone



In this TED talk, Dr Rodney Ford of New Zealand argues that eating gluten is not good for anyone, that eating it is taking a risk.   In the 1950s, a dutch physician named Dr Dicke was the first person to figure out that celiac disease was caused by eating wheat, specifically the gluten part.  Half of the protein in wheat is gluten. In the 1960s they began doing biopsies and found that in Celiac Disease, gluten was causing damage to the intestines, and the biopsy became the gold standard of diagnosis.  When we eat gluten, it doesn't get fully digested.  If it gets into the bloodstream the body makes antibodies to it and these can be tested for (via Anti Gliadin Antibody Test).  His patients whose biopsies are negative for celiac disease, but positive for anti gliadin antibodies, respond to the gluten-free diet the same way that people with celiac do.  He presented research he did showing that of 1000 kids who came through his clinic, who did not test positive for celiac, recovered on a gluten-free diet.  When his research was met with skepticism and insistence that only children with celiac warranted a gluten free diet, he decided to call what he found "The Gluten Syndrome".  He and others were finding that much of the damage from gluten is to the nerves.

Recently there has been a lot of attention paid to the many problems associated with wheat and gluten.  He references the books Wheat Belly, Grain Brain, and Toxic Staple as examples.  Dr Alessio Fasano, director of The Center for Celiac Research in Boston MA, argues in his book Gluten Related Disorders that 10% of people in North America are suffering from gluten-related disorders. Nobody can digest gluten, he calls it a waste of chewing.  Dr Fasano showed that everyone who eats gluten gets an inflammatory reaction in the gut due to zonulin.  Zonulin loosens the tight junctions between cells that line your intestines and makes your gut leaky.  A researcher in Spain classified gluten as an anti-nutrient, arguing that is actually has negative effect on nutrient status.  There are other proteins in wheat that are just as harmful.  Gluten, it's antibodies, and it's partially digested pieces all harm the brain more than any other part of the body.  Gluten has also been shown to trigger auto immune disease.  He draws a parallel between the risk of smoking and the risk of eating gluten, and says why take that risk?