<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:g="http://base.google.com/ns/1.0" xmlns:c="http://base.google.com/cns/1.0">
    <channel>
        <title><![CDATA[Diets - The Environmental Illness Resource]]></title>
        <description><![CDATA[]]></description>
        <link>http://www.ei-resource.org/</link>
				<image>
            <url>http://www.ei-resource.org/images/stories/articles.jpg</url>            
            <link>http://www.ei-resource.org/</link>
        </image>
                	        	        <item>
	            <title><![CDATA[Gluten-free, Casein-free (GFCF) Diet: Significant improvement in brain fog and mood]]></title>
	            <link>http://www.ei-resource.org/index.php?</link>
	            <description><![CDATA[
	            	            As a long-term sufferer of chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), amongst other complaints, I have tried many dietary changes in an effort to relieve my symptoms.

I have found that avoiding gluten and casein brings significant benefits. I have been found to have increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut) using lab testing (as have others with these conditions in published studies). According to proponents of the GFCF diet this may increase the chances of opiate-like molecules from partially digested gluten and casein being absorbed from my digestive tract.

My experiences suggest there is substance to this theory as whenever I ingest gluten or casein containing foods I experience symptoms including brain fog, irritability, and restlessness a few hours later. I do not experience the same reaction from any other foods or food groups.

Additionally, I learned early on that removing casein-containing foods from my diet reduced excess mucous in my throat that I suffered badly from. 

Surprisngly I can't report improvement in digestive symptoms when on the GFCF diet but it may well be that there are so many other factors causing these symptoms for any improvement to be negligible.

I will not pretend that the GFCF diet is easy, especially at first, but for me it has brought benefits that make it worth the effort. I am now used to a wholefoods diet free from gluten and casein and only run into problems when eating in restaurants. My advice would be to give it a go, you have nothing to lose and potentially much to gain.

	            ]]></description>
	            <category>Diets</category>
                <pubDate>Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:35:50 +0000</pubDate>
                <g:id>270</g:id>
                <g:publish_date>2008-09-11 18:35:50</g:publish_date>
                <g:name_of_item_reviewed><![CDATA[Gluten-free, Casein-free (GFCF) Diet]]></g:name_of_item_reviewed>
                <g:rating>8</g:rating>                <g:reviewer_type>editorial</g:reviewer_type>
                <g:url_of_item_reviewed>http://www.ei-resource.org/index.php?</g:url_of_item_reviewed>                
            </item>
	        		    </channel>
</rss>
