Also, you don't need to have an allergy to have a reaction to something. My son is not allergic to dairy but after trying the GFCF diet we've found that he definitely has issues with dairy.

Yes, and not just because of cross-contamination concerns. The problem is that the soy protein has a very similar chemical structure to gluten and casein. So it's important to eliminate soy protein from the diet. However, soy oil and soy lecithin are okay according to our biomed dr. because they are just fats without any of the protein.

Soy, gluten & casein are always going to sneak their way in to your diet at some point by accident or misinformation so in order to get the most accurate results you should try to be as diligent as possible. Doing this elimination diet is not easy. So it's best to get the diet done right the first time so that you aren't questioning your results later and find yourself repeating the diet. I don't want to scare you off from trying it though. The diet gets easier to follow the longer you are on it, once you find the foods and recipes that work for you and get in to a routine. We did casein free first and then gluten and found that casein was an issue while gluten was not. I found that it was worthwhile to try the diet and be diligent about it. Other parents are going to have their own take on the GFCF diet and no one is wrong. Listen to what other parents have done, trust your research and follow your intuition!

Well with my guy I didn't intentionally cut out soy it just kind of is that way naturally already. He has a sensory issue with food texture so most processed foods are out and those that are in don't usually contain soy. Because of his sensory issue we followed a meat, fresh/frozen fruit/vegetable kind of diet with almond milk and a lot of rice. I think our diet ended up being very close to the popular caveman/paleolithic diet fad. I make a lot of soups although I have to make sure to dry everything off or my son won't eat it. I also do a lot of roasts with roasted potatoes and veggies. Big salads with broiled salmon or steak slices on top are great. Ghee is a good alternative to butter that is cheap if you make it yourself and Bob's Red Mill has a great gluten free line of flours & baking mixes. Watch out for cheese alternatives. Most dairy free still contain forms of casein and/or soy and none of them are really great in my opinion. If you don't cook you will find this diet impossible. There are many cook books out there if you start feeling like you're eating the same 3 things over & over again. Which can happen in the start. Rather than take a list from the internet of which procssed foods are safe it may be better to just look for the offending ingredients on the labels and come up with your own list. Also a visit to your local Whole Foods, PCC or other natural/organic type grocery store might help. My PCC and Whole Foods has a grind-your-own peanut butter machine. No need to worry about ingredients or processing!

Thanks @A MyAutismTeam Member - it is all very confusing sometimes. I have been on the TACA site and found a good list of foods there, but it seems like not everything is accurate anymore. For example, they list Skippy peanut butter as being okay, but it contains Soy. Or it will list a item that is GFCF and SF, but it will say on the packaging that it was processed or made in a factory WITH soy products.

Enter my confusion over the Soy. I WANT to do this and I want to do it RIGHT. It is not easy or cheep to make these changes, so I want to be sure I understand the rules. We are still on waiting lists to see doctors, but I really think this is worth the try, I just have no guidance. At least not consistance guidance.

Any help or hints or advice you're willing to share I would really appreciate!

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