Ashley Lyerly knows gluten-free. When her son was diagnosed in 2007 with autism, studies were showing that behavioral outbursts and other discomforts among autistic children could be reduced by cutting out gluten, dairy and casein, a protein found in dairy that's often used as a binding agent in other foods.

She gave it a try, both for herself and her son, and it worked. She feels better and he does too. Five years ago, Lyerly started a blog and has educated her operator clients and other US Foods reps on gluten- and casein-free eating. She's given many presentations on the subject after years of research, trial and error.

"Caesin, like gluten, is often hidden in foods," Lyerly says. "Soy cheese, though it's dairy-free, may still have the binding agent in its mix. Therefore, it can't be labeled "vegan." Gluten can also show up in soy sauce, spice blends, oats and other processed foods, including grains processed in the same facility as wheat and others containing gluten."

The range of gluten and other allergen sensitivities is just as diverse as the foods involved. On the severe end, you have someone with celiac disease who can suffer from major stomach pains and other gastrointestinal problems at even the slightest consumption of gluten. According to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), the disease affects 1 in 133 Americans. On the opposite end, many consumers have eliminated gluten, dairy and other foods for health reasons. It's estimated that 1 in 7 people are sensitive to gluten in some way.

Lyerly is now a resource for those with questions about food sensitivities. When working with restaurants, she'll examine the current menu and ask how far they want to take the gluten-free route.

"Some things are obvious, like taking croutons off a salad, but then there are some not-so-obvious things such as looking at the ingredients of products like spice blends and others on your shelf and changing some of those."

Sometimes, going gluten-free can mean preparing more dishes from scratch, yet that's not always a bad thing. "Scratch cooking involves more labor, but we're getting back to the way people used to cook, without as much premade junk and thinking more in terms of whole foods. You're still ordering the same way. You just may be getting two orders of fresh produce per week versus one." That could mean swapping the preprocessed pork fritters for whole pork chops and figuring out multiple serving methods for those larger primal cuts. In one sense, it's a cost saver. In another, it's a total food and concept enhancer. Best of all, you may end up gaining a few new guests you might not otherwise have had.

For more information, read Ashley's blog, Living and Loving Gluten and Casein Free:
http://livingandlovingglutenfree.blogspot.com