food & supplements

Bad IVIoodls gluten intolerance making yourchild an gry?

ori was apetite, s.lim woman with a

verylarge presence. Before she was

even through the door, she was chat-ting a mile a minute. I was so busy trying tokeep up with her conversation that lbarelyhad a chance to greet her son and daughter

who followed in her wake.

Eleven-year-old Gabriela was built dif-ferent)y from her mother. She was per-haps five to ten pounds overweight butnext to her mother who was reed-thin, theextra ounces appeared disproportionallyexcessive. Devin, her nine-year-old brother,

was wiry and thin like his mother. He was

dragged along ostensibly to discuss how

the whole family could eat better and his

relaxed demeanor suggested he knew thesession was not abouthim. I suspectedthe

unspoken reason forthe visit was Gabrielalweight.

Tori wasted no time beating around thebush. "We are here to improve all of oureating," she announced. She went on tosay she was thankful everyone in the familywas basicallyhealthybut their diets needed

help.

The critical juncture requiring nutritionintervention, she explained, was Gaby enter-

ing middle school. Tori claimed she wantedto be proactive regarding eating disorders.

- BY iillf Doniiiarr.r, rvrs, Lr,i: .

Many of Caby's peers were alreadyta)kingabout calorie counting and cutting down

on carbohydrates."l am worried about Gaby picking up

unhealthy attitudes about eating," she sairi

Getting to the ProblemsTori had provided me with a record of sereral days' w'orth of food consumption ftrthe three of them. Caby ate larger quantifies of food than her mother and brotherShe tendedto eat just afewbites of protein

and vegetables, concentrating most.ly on

bread and pasta. Devin ate the same bask

foods in smaller quantities with differsriproportions but also loved pasta andbreaa

"Caby is a good eater but she oftercomplains she is hungry at the end of tftemeal,"Tori said, describing the sifuatioaas uncomfortable. Tori would suggest haring some ftuit but Gaby would insist caanother serving of pasta.

Wehad arrived at the first problem:

was overeating andTori was trying to strf,her. They were having daily food ba

thinly disguised as polite discussions.

Excessive hunger can be a sign oftion to gluten. (See LivingWithoutgluten&appetite.) I presented this theqr,to Tori and the kids. Gaby looked horrified[i

at the thought of removing gluten frcrher diet. The easiest way to support Cary=.

is to declare the house a gluten-free zora'I explained. . ,

i.iow De'vii't iooked siricken. "Wiiat a:s*.

supposed to eat?"he challenged.

Tori had already revealed that she

ed gluten herself. She claimed it made

feel bloated and sluggish but she

concemed about restricting Devin

was already small for his age. I

that failure to maintain weight and

stature were among the mostsyrnptoms of gluten intolerance. I

Devin if he had any digestive sym

His stomach was touchybut nothing

was his wary reply.

Next I asked about psychological

toms. Mood swings? Depression?

The three ofthem looked at each

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86 wurw.LivingWithout.com October/November 2013

Finally Tori spoke up. "Devin has

counseling for the last year to help himmanage his anger," she stated carefully.

I asked how therapy was progressing."Not very well," was the grim reply. We

were closing in on the second problem.

Other than an explosive temper, Devin

was ahealthy, smart and sociable kid, his

mother insisted. He had loads of friends,did well in school, and could be veryagreeable unless something tri g gered

him. The smallest frustration could set

off a disproportional crazy fit. Dealing

with him when he was in this state was

exhausting and the family felt they were

walking on eggshells waiting for the next

trigger. Devin himself didn't like the way

he behaved when he was angry but once

he got started, he couldn't control himse.lf.

Trauma or post-traumatic stress dis-order can cause uncontrolled outburstsin otherwise mi'ld-mannered people butthere were no known incidents in Devin's

life. I told Devin I thought changing his

diet might help. When he frowned, I

stepped out on a limb and predicted he

*ar'!'oirfro iike thl glutin-frEe'diet aftera few weeks.

Gluten lntoleranceThere are many reasons for a child tobe angry or moody apart from foodintolerance. But if gluten is chronicallyirritating the body, other interventionsmay not be successful until you toss outthe gluten.

Three or more positive responses to the

following questions means gluten intoler-

ance could be your child's problem.

r Does your child crave or strongly pre-

fer gluten-based foods, such as bread,

pasta, cereal and pizza?

r Have psychological and/or behavioral

strategies to control your child's

outbursts been mostly unsuccessful ?

r Are any of your child's immediatefamily members intolerant of gluten

or does anyone have celiac disease?

r Does your child currently have or has

he/she in the past had chronic diges-

tive syrnptoms, such as excessive gas,

diarrhea or stomach pain?

r lsyour child on the small side, despite

eating plenty offood?

The OuesNobody knows why gluten makes some

people depressed or angry but its capac-

ity for causing neurological trouble iswell documented. What are the clues

lfft$t I 0u 0f Il]...

Ilnilr0f G.u(Dltiltt.Pliac affects children as well as adutts, men and women-

YefgTyo of people with Celiac Disease g0 undiagn0sed.

Geliac Disease is one ofthe most c0mmon genetic conditions

in the wotld. Celiac is a multi-symptom, multi-system disordet

activaled by eating gluterF-proteins lound in wheat, rye and

barley. Symptoms vary and are not always gastrointestinal.

ll you experience constipation, dianhea, anemia, bloaling,

gas, osteoporosis, weight lms, even fatigue, depression and

in{ertility--{00 could be lhe one!

constipation

dianhea

2nemia -

bloating

gas

osteoporosis

weight loss

fatigue

depression

inlertility

For more inlormation conhct:

-ffi,,u" Disease--Foundationwwwcelkc.org

818.7tAt5t3A18267-5577 Fa<

Calling AllDoctors!

Are you a doctor,nutritionist or supportgroup leaderwho helpsnewly diagnosed peoplewith allergies or foodsensitivities?

lnterested in being able tosupply complimentarycopies of Living Withoutmagazine to your patients?

We'd like to hearfrom you.

Please send an e-mail toenewsl etter@Livi n gWithout.com with the name of yourpractice/support group, fulladdress and phone numberWe will contact you withmore details about this newand exciting program.

88 wwwLivinqWithout.qlm OctoberlNovember2Ql3

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suggest.ing Devin could benefit from a

gluten-free diet?

I He preferred pasta and gluten-basedfoods.

r He had two immediate family mem-bers with either a known gluten sensi-

tivity (his mother) or strong possibilityof gluten sensitivity (his sister).

r A year of psychological/behavioralintervention was unsuccessful.

I There was no known trauma toexplain his explosive behayiors.

We negotiated a six-week gluten-freediet trial period and agreed to meet againw'hen it was over. The chiidren clearly didnot want to stay on the diet unless therewere big payoffs.

Six weeks later, Tori and the kidsreturned. When I asked how they weredoing, Devin was the first to respond. He

felt so much better that he wondered if hehad celiac disease. His focused questionsabout what he could or could not eat madeit clear that he was not planning to eatglutet+ever again.

Between Tori and Devin, the storyemerged. Devin's moods had stabilized so

quickly and solidlythat two weeks earlier,he stopped psychotherapy. As long as hestayed away from gluten, he had manage-able anger. The few times he slipped upor ate gluten by accident, his frustrationtolerance fell to zero andhis temperflared.

Gaby had also improved, though she wasnot as determined or enthusiastic aboutthe diet as her brother. Within a few weeks,

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] she consistently felt full after meals. She

tnow ate regular portions and had lost a!few pounds. The trend for this family was

Education, Support

and s for:

Consumers

Health Care Professiona ls

Food Manufacturers

Restaurants

Food Service

253-833-6655

. clear. LW

I

Adaptedfrom Cure Your Child With Food: The. Hidden Connection Between Nutrition and:Childhood Ailments (Workman 2073) by KeltyDorfman, MS, LND.This story is a real case with

'the names of the parent and chitdren changed, and some identifuing details altered to protect:pivacy. Dorfman is a licensed clinical nutrition-.!st with a pivate practice in the Washington,' DC, area.

,Celiac experts strongly advise getting soeened.for:eliac disease before embarking on the gluten-,free diet.

'rl

www.gluten.net

Oficber/November20l3 LIVING WITHOUT 89