Test Results and Diet Overhaul

Over the past few months, many of you have asked for more information and diet details from the doctor Carter has been seeing. Keep in mind that I'm only passing along information I've received from the doctor and the test lab. I cannot verify that the information is correct since this isn't my field of expertise. I haven't had time to research it all in depth, so I'm taking it for granted that the information is accurate. So sorry it's taken me several months to do this. :) The test results and related info were actually just received a couple of weeks ago.

The Background

Many of you read about Carter's behavioral issues a few months ago. (To catch up, see here and here and here.) I've got to say that most of the problem is normal 2-year-old behavior. And I should mention that I have a very strong-willed child. But the out-of-the blue rages and extreme mood swings, the hyperactive spurts and then periods of lying on the floor make a little more sense now that we know what's going on inside his body. I felt telling my husband that our son didn't seem like himself. Those behaviors, according to most of the people I consulted, were not exactly normal. Not rare, but not common either. My eventual plea for help led to a recommendation to see a chiropractor/nutrionist.

WHAT is it made from??

The doctor went over Carter's diet at our first visit, and I walked away with a ton of information. Just a few notes to share... some of these are from the Breakthrough post back in March...

Due to his limited food options resulting from his allergies, he had been eating a lot of Ritz crackers, Rice Krispies cereal, chicken fingers, etc. All these foods have an extremely large amount of high fructose corn syrup in them. This ingredient is often made up partly of mercury and is 5x the daily allowance. So basically Carter could have been taking in 20x the daily allowance, thus causing bursts of energy that transformed into irritation/anxiety/rage etc. (Think about how fidgety, highstrung, and agitated you can become when you've had too much coffee.) She also advised us to take him off as many processed and fortified foods as possible. Fortified foods often involve grains that have been stripped of all nutritional value and then "fortified" with various forms of "fake" vitamin B. Did you know that the base of these vitamin B ingredients is COAL???

I spent a fortune at Whole Foods buying new foods that could work with the doctor's recommendations. And I can say that Carter's behavior has improved tremendously since we began our weekly visits. He still has toddler tantrums and such, but the extreme aggression, rage, scratching/biting, mood swings have pretty much subsided.The doctor even said that Carter's food allergies may get better with the recommendations. (I'll have to explain more in a separate post.) She felt strongly that much of his behavior was due to his body reacting poorly to food, thus causing Carter to feel sick, hyper, etc., depending on what he had eaten.

The Latest

Having changed up Carter's diet, things have already changed for the better. But Dr. Marsh suggested we do a tissue mineral analysis to see what was going on inside his body. With such a limited diet constrained by his food allergies (milk, eggs, and beef), she suspected he still wasn't getting the nutrition he needs. (Nutrition that most kids with normal diets naturally have.)

Here's what the test results showed. The 4 most important minerals a person should have in their system are calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. Of those four, Carter was very low on 3 of them. Potassium isn't an issue because the child loves bananas. According to our doctor, calcium provides physical stability. Low levels can lead to irritability and short tempers. Magnesium is a physiological stabilizer. Low levels can make one high-strung, irrate, and hyperactive. Sodium helps with follow-through. Low levels create fatigue. Someone with a low level on all 3 of those minerals can fall into patterns of rage and hyperactivity resulting in a crash and low energy, and the cycle repeats.

In addition to the results I already noted, Carter was also low on iron, copper, manganese, zinc, chromium, selenium, and phosphorus. (Did anyone else know we're SUPPOSED to have all these minerals for good health?? Where have I been?) Anyway, here are potential effects of low levels:

Iron - weakness; wishy-washy attitude

Copper - more important for females; affects emotions

Manganese - fatigue

Zinc - more important for male emotions; low levels can cause them to not process emotions and seem detached

Chromium - mood swings

Carter's aluminum levels were actually high which can eventually overwork the adrenal glands. Apparently, many immunizations for kids contain aluminum. So it's common for kids to have elevated levels, but it's not great for their bodies. You can end up with aluminum toxicity. Sources of it include sodas from aluminum cans, use of anti-perspirants (okay, NOT giving this up!), drinking water, processed cheese, baking powders, and food cooked in aluminum cookware. The informational handout I received even stated that children are now often born with elevated aluminum because it is passed from the mother the baby in utero. A high toxicity can affect the nervous and digestive systems. I could go on, but you get the point.

The Treatment

To help get Carter's mineral content to healthy and normal levels, he was given a Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc liquid supplement to drink in his OJ twice a day. Unfortunately, it ended up giving him severe diaper blowouts. I'm talking 3-4 a day with changes of clothes needed too. This lasted almost 3 weeks, and I gave up on it. The poor boy had diaper rash like you've never seen before. We're seeing Dr. Marsh tomorrow, so I plan to ask what other options we have.

We are also having to do a diet overhaul. Because he eats so many carbs (crackers, etc.), his body is literally tearing itself down to survive. Protein-high foods help build up, so we're working on getting him to eat more protein. He loves chicken, fish, and turkey. But we're also supposed to cut out most processed foods. So goodbye to turkey dogs and allergy-free chicken nuggets. Goodbye to high-sugar fruits. Goodbye to any and all foods that seem easy and manageable for me to prepare. :) I'm basically going to have to make all his foods from scratch.

Over the past few months, our changes involved cutting out foods with high fructose corn syrup and B-fortified ingredients. At the urging of our doctor, we've tried to buy more organic foods. The challenge now is to make EVERY single one of his meals 70% protein and 30% veggies. Now, if I could make him a veggie omelette with cheese for breakfast, getting his greens in wouldn't be so hard. But take out eggs and cheese, and I'm not sure I could get him to swallow veggies in the A.M. even if I force fed him. He's a picky eater. I bought Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, and it has some great ideas for hiding pureed vegetables in dishes. But I still have to rework most recipes to fit Carter's allergy restrictions.

If you happen to be a great cook and know of yummy, kid-approved recipes with veggies (and NO milk, eggs, or beef), PLEASE send them my way! I don't even know where to start.

There's a part of me that just wants to be ignorant and feed my son whatever I can prepare that works with his allergies. But I now have medical test results showing that he is lacking much of what he needs to grow and thrive. If I end up making 2 or 3 different meals to feed and appease the whole family, I guess that's how it will be. Now if you'll excuse me while I go to find my cooking apron.