8/4/07 Many people who live the gluten free life style also remove all casein (the protein in milk) from their diet. These two diets are often linked together and referred to as the gfcf (gluten free/casein free) diet.

Before we continue, I need to remind you that I am not a doctor or a dietician.  All I have to share is eight years experience on the gluten free diet and hundreds of hours dealing with this subject on-line. When writing about the casein free diet, I can’t even claim that qualification. However, since both diets are so closely linked in many of the articles that I read, I do feel O.K. about relaying this information.

  Virtually everyone agrees that the gluten free diet is the closest thing we have to a cure for celiac disease. The situation with autism is much less clear, although there is strong anecdotal evidence that the gluten free-casein free diet (gfcf) is some help to some people. This site describes itself as the “official site” for the gfcf diet; I’m not sure how it earned that distinction.

  This article “What Do Doctors Say About the GFCF Diet”? discusses both the pros and cons of the diet. The main argument against the diet seems to be that it is very difficult to implement and maintain and may not be worth the effort; that is certainly an important question. This article on starting a gluten free-casein free diet may  help  parents facing this dilemna.  This "Parent's Guide to Autism " may also be helpful.

  The Gluten Free Mall makes it easy to identify food items that are both gluten free and “milk free”(their term). All items at the site are gluten free and the pages used for ordering food clearly indicate which items are also “milk free” or useful for people with other food sensitivities.