20080619 Nutritionist to provide advice on gluten-free diet by Karen Kemp Carroll County Times

20080619 Nutritionist to provide advice on gluten-free diet by Karen Kemp Carroll County Times

Nutritionist to provide advice on gluten-free diet

By Karen Kemp, Times Staff Writer

Thursday, June 19, 2008

[…]

Last year, (Anna Letaw of Woodbine) started a support group in Mount Airy for parents of children with autism who avoid gluten and a milk protein called casein. Sawyer’s restrictions include eggs and soy because a test showed she is also intolerant of those ingredients, Letaw said.

To educate people on the facts and challenges of following such a restrictive diet, Letaw has invited Lisa Coleman, a nutritionist who works at Martin’s in Eldersburg, to speak at her next Free-Mealer Support Group meeting on Tuesday.

Coleman said her role as a nutritionist is to provide practical dietary advice to customers at the store. While she does not prescribe or recommend any particular eating plan, she will help people implement a diet that they or their doctors have chosen.

For her presentation Tuesday, she will talk about how to find appropriate substitutions for forbidden ingredients, read food labels, bake with gluten-free grains and prevent deficiency in certain nutrients.

Coleman said there is no proof that a gluten-free, casein-free diet helps in treating autism, but there are a couple of theories that seek to explain it.

According to research from the Center for the Study of Autism in Oregon, one theory is that these proteins pass through imperfections in the intestinal tract and negatively impact brain development in people with autism, so cutting them out can lessen symptoms.

Many autistic individuals have flaws in their digestive system referred to as a “leaky gut,” according to the study, which was among the many Letaw read when she started researching treatments for autism two years ago.

While there is a growing interest in gluten-free and dairy-free products, Coleman said there still are not many resources in the community for people who follow that type of diet.

“It’s a very, very frustrating diet,” she said. “It has to be food kids are actually going to eat, which is the hard thing.”

To complicate the diet further, there is no margin for error. Even trace amounts of these proteins could make the diet ineffective, Coleman said.

[…]

Read the entire article here: Nutritionist to provide advice on gluten-free diet


Reach staff writer Karen Kemp at 410-857-7890 or karen.kemp AT carrollcountytimes.com

If you go

What: “What, How and Why of the Gluten-Free/Casein-Free Diet”

When: 7-9 p.m. Tuesday

Where: St. James’ Episcopal Church, 202 N. Main St., Mount Airy

Information: 410-795-7950 or annaletaw@comcast.net

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/06/19/news/local_news/newsstory3.txt