Clearly this New York Times reporter does not know how easy being dairy-free can be. In "Regimens: Restrictive Diets May Not Be Appropriate for Children with Autism", Roni Rabin reports that gluten-free and dairy-free diets are "complicated food regimens that may not be warranted" [for kids with autism]. She sites a Mayo Clinic study where the doctor was quoted as saying:
“There is actually no trial that has proven so far that a gluten-free and casein-free diet improves autism,” she said. “The diets are not easy to follow and can sometimes cause nutritional deficiencies.”
This same Mayo study found that autistic kids suffer more frequently from constipation. I think it's safe to say that milk makes a lot of people constipated. Don't adults usually tell kids not to drink milk if they have a stomach ache? This doctor was obviously not on the side of dairy-free diets for kids, autistic or not.
This NYT reporter should have done some more background research on dairy-free and gluten-free diets, such as interviewing some of the parents who didn't give their kids dairy and asking why. To use this one doctor's quote as the basis for the headline is unfair. It perpetuates the idea that dairy-free is "restrictive." Tell that to everyone who decides to choose from soy, hemp, almond or rice milk. They should have quoted a more balanced nutritionist that acknowledges that dairy-free is A-okay.
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I have a casein allergy and haven't had cows milk since I was six months old. I'm in excellent health and with the proper supplements there are no worries!
thanks errol. that looks great.
Here is a link to where you can send a letter to the editor. Letters to the Editor. Please read their guidelines carefully -- failure to include all the appropriate contact info means your letter has no chance of being published.
Here is what I sent:
RE: Regimens: Restrictive Diets May Not Be Appropriate for Children With Autism
Roni Caryn Rabin fails to see the forest for the trees in yesterday's article about restricting dairy intake for kids with autism. A recent study failed to link diets including dairy (and gluten) to certain gastrointestinal issues -- fine. But doesn't that miss a much more important point? Why is she failing to consider why ANYBODY is including dairy in their diet considering the well-established problems that come with it? Just a sampling: high fat and cholesterol content leading to obesity and heart disease, acidic animal protein leading to cancer and leeching calcium from bones, not to mention the massive environmental costs from producing dairy nor the inherent cruelty to the animals involved.
Great post, Daniela...might you be swayed into condensing that down to a letter to the editor???
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