Experiences doing the GFCF and SF diets - Germany

We are considering doing the GFCF and SF diet. Anyone else on this or tried to do this? I'm worried about not being able to read all the labels etc and wondered if anyone has already found good brands or tips. Also did it help at all?? Thanks!

Coming from someone who has to be gluten free (am a celiac) I have no idea why anyone who doesn't have to do this diet would ever want to

That being said, if you wanted to go gluten free - you can find tons of stuff (bread, mixes, biscuits etc...) at Vitalia Reformhaus. They have the largest selection available in Germany.

So you take out soy, remove gluten (highly modified wheats, barleys oats etc) and knock out casein from milk. What do you have left to eat? Beans and rice. Enjoy.

If you have celiac, I can understand, but voluntarily? There are no advantages to what you're thinking of subjecting yourself to.

Thanks for the replies. The GFCF is commonly helpful for children with Autism or an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I posted this question under the Family Life section hoping to get tips from other parents doing the diet for their children.

My osteoarthritis is worsening and I'm seriously considering taking out nuts, wheat, dairy, caffeine, and some vegetables. I don't eat meat so there's not much left to eat. I really don't want to take medication for my arthritis so I'm going to try this diet for a month to see if it helps. But I will leave in soy.

http://www.arthritiscure.org/OSTEOARTHRITIS-DIET.htm

You could also go on to www.glutano.com and click on their store finder

Hi MendyH
I am currently living on a gluten free diet because I'm coeliac. It's not too difficult - the things to avoid are Weizen (wheat), Gersten (barley) and Roggen (rye). Whatever anyone may tell you, Dinkel is NOT gluten free.
If you're trying to avoid casein and soya as well the whole thing gets more difficult. Gluten free products are often quite heavy on soya as a substitute.
If you suspected coeliac disease, I would advise you NOT to try the gluten free diet without a diagnosis first as going gluten free first can make later diagnosis more difficult.
However, if you're doing this to see if it helps with autistic spectrum disorders, then I think, from what others have told me that the initial trial of the diet lasts about a month to get some idea of whether it's likely to be helpful. (Note - I am not in any way medically qualified). If that's right then the best advice I could give you is to avoid packaged food completely for that time and cook everything from fresh food.It'll actually be easier than trying to cope with the labels- and I say that as someone who hates cooking. It also means that if there is no improvement in your child you will know that the result hasn't been confused by all the additives in our diet or by any possible mistake you may have made in reading labels. If you do get the results you're hoping for, then it would be worth consulting a dietician to find out exactly what the child can or can't eat - or possibly there is an autism society in Germany which can help.
I hope the diet is successful for you - I have to say that friends who have tried it for their child didn't find it to be the answer- but I definitely think it's worth trying.
Good luck! PM me if I can be any help
Jane

I recently discovered I am allergic to milk, soy, eggs, gluten, yeast and a bunch of other things, but surprisingly, I am not finding it as hard as I thought I would. I am using a lot of brown rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, corn, lentils, garbanzos, clarified butter, coconut milk, rice milk, etc, and have found a few brands that make gluten-free cookies, pastas, crackers and even milk-free chocolate, that also avoid using soy. I buy most of this stuff at the Bio stores (like Viv and LPG) and "dm". I especially recommend the brand Werz. Some of their cookies are also nut and yeast free, and contain only brown rice flour, palm oil and apple juice.

Both buckwheat (Buchweizen/Heidenkorn) and quinoa are often referred to as grains, but botanically, are fruits. Nevertheless, you still might want to be careful because buckwheat in particular sometimes comes mixed with real grains. Check the labels. As jane58 says: the things to avoid are Weizen, Gerste, Roggen, Dinkel (spelt), BUT ALSO "Hafer" (oatmeal). Also remember that quinoa does have a bitter tasting compound in the outer hull called saponin which must be washed off before cooking it, otherwise it might make you feel a bit sick, whether you are sensitive to it or not.

As jane 58 also mentioned, soy might be more of a pain to avoid, as it is contained in most processed foods, and sometimes not all that clearly listed. Case in point: even if Lecithin doesn't specify "Soja", more often than not, it will come from soy. Same goes for emulsifiers. And watch out for "Pflanzliches Fett", "Pflanzenöl", "Pflanzeneiweißerzeugnis", and "gehärtete Margarine", which are generally soy oil.

Here's a list of (soy-based) ingredients I've been putting together:
-of course anything that starts or contains "Soja"- (Sojaschrot, Sojakleie, Sojamehl, Sojabohnen, Sojaeiweiß, Sojaöl, Sojaprotein, Sojagrieß, Sojaflocken...)
-Vollsojamehl
-Lecithin (E 322)
-Emulgatoren Mono-& Diglyceride (E 471)
-Emulgator 472, Emulgator 472 b, Emulgator 472 e, Emulgator 475
-Pflanzliches Fett*
-Pflanzenöl*
-Pflanzeneiweißerzeugnis*
-Margarine*

Hope this helps.

*Unless it specifically says that it is "Sojafrei".

Be careful with these products if you also want to avoid soy and milk. For example, here's the ingredients of their white bread:
Wasser, Maisstärke, Reismehl, ungehärtetes pflanzliches Fett, Zucker, Verdickungsmittel: Guarkernmehl, Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose; Soyaproteinisolat, pflanzliche Faser, Hefe, Salz, Calciumcitrat, Säurungsmittel: Weinsäure; Aromen, Emulgator: E 472e; Folsäure.