This article outlines the research on whether elimination diets are effective for children with autism, and concludes that there may be some evidence of the effectiveness of a diet that is free from both casein and gluten, but that more research must be done.
First, the authors describe the theories behind elimination diets. The most common theory is that children with autism create protein by-products that âleakâ from the gut into the rest of the body. Known as gluteomorphines and casomorphines, these protein by-products may have negative influences on the behavior and thinking of some children with autism. The authors review seven studies (published between 1990 and 2002) of the effectiveness of casein- and/or gluten-free diets. All of these studies suggested that gluten- and/or casein- free diets can improve the behavior of children with autism, but all of them had problems with their designs. The study with the best design (Knivsberg et al. 2002) showed that after a year of treatment with a gluten- and casein-free diet, children improved on several measures of autistic behavior.
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