Hat in Hand

New diet will start tomorrow (eesh!). Here's the letter we sent out, begging everyone to please not feed Leelo donuts and milk:

Hey Folks,

Starting tomorrow, Leelo is going to be on an extra-strict diet.

There are many reasons we are trying this approach. The main reason is that
we think (and have run multiple medical tests that indicate that) Leelo's GI
tract has become inflamed due to his 15-20 or so courses of antibiotics.
This has led to an overgrowth of candida yeast, and a "leaky gut" that
allows undigested food molecules to pass through the intestinal barrier into
his bloodstream, where his body attacks them as allergens or they are
converted into opiate-like substances that make him loopy. Sugar in
particular feeds the yeast and exacerbates the situation. You can read more
about why and how come at:
http://www.autism.org/leakygut.html
http://www.autism.org/allergy.html
http://members.aol.com/lisas156/gfpak.htm

Our write up of Leelo's specific condition, following our last meeting with
Leelo's doctor, can be found via the link below. For the list of specific
foods Leelo can't eat, see the "Modify Diet" section of the page.
http://www.leelorosenberg.com/leelo_dan.htm

Ideally, Leelo will only be on this diet for six, or at the most nine months.
Then, once his gut is healed, we'll start reintroducing foods one by one and
see if he can tolerate them. Hopefully he'll be back to his regular five
foods in less than a year.

We are asking for your help in keeping Leelo on this diet. He truly cannot
have any foods other than those we give him, or give our permission to give
him. No slipping the cute little guy cookies because he asks for them "just
this once." Please please please!

Once we get Leelo to eat all these new foods (and he's already starting), our
life will become routine. We already had to bring his own food to
restaurants anyhow, so--with the exception of Indian restaurants where he can no longer
go because he will shriek for a lassi and naan bread--our life won't change
that much.

Thanks in advance for all your help. Having such an amazing support network
is making all the difference for us!

Let me know if you have any questions.

=Squid