Guest guest Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Marcia You are great and the message you give is exactly the support we all need. Dr G is a Doctor after all and often he is so focused on the metabolic processes he sees in our kid that he misses that fact that life needs to be good as well as healthy. On that note let me add a though or two to you essay. Looking back - (not as far as Marcia - Connor is only 12) - As I went through the food allergies with Connor and the various ups and downs some truisms stand out. One, The most common food allergies in the general population apply to our kids too!. You read about severely allergic kids and adults to - generally peanuts (This one can be fatal), Dairy (very Common), Chocolate, Wheat, Food Dyes, Soy - any allergist will tell you that these are very common in the states. It is just logical that a kid with an immune issue will find these to be hot spots in their diet. Again I agree with Marcia that these can be easily avoided! Most decent restaurants will list (Or upon request ) Itemize what your kid can an can not have. We to have BK French Fries and Chicken Fries (They actually have no dairy according to the web site) instead of nuggets but more importantly I hear from many parents that the is too restrictive to have a normal menu. I went thru this at home for a year or two and it would drive me nuts!. Spouse, teachers, aids, neighbors and relative (Grandma, aunts, cousins) always felt it was necessary to sneak this kid " Treats because NORMAL kids get them and the poor kid was missing out! " I put a stop to it! I need to ask what is normal? - fruity pebbles, coco puffs, dairy queen, pizza pockets - yes in some household they are. But making my kid happy and unhealthy, " Normal " does not work! Period. It makes my kid very very ill and no offense quite violent at times. Solution - I change normal. We have fresh meats at breakfast, and steamed veggies. Cornflakes dry, a couple of fruits - always a banana. - It may not be normal to the obese kid down the street with anti social behaviors, He has Fruit loops and Little Debbie donuts and he is hard wired to a game boy, a key board and watches cartoons trough a mirror while he plays brothers. He generally is up at midnight and sleeps until one. Yes this is normal in today's world for the vast majority of preteens.! At my house we are abnormal.My kid loves steak for breakfast, eats potatoes a couple of times a day. We home school for an hour and a half daily then four neighbor kids come by and he plays football, swims in friends pools. I started a saltwater aquarium a month a go and a couple of time a week the crew comes begging to take them down to the bay or to the inlet jetty so they can snorkel and catch tropical fish. We build stuff and plan a long walk - simple long walk everyday. This is not normal but I do not mind! The points is in Connors world, No dairy, no bread and no candy is normal. He loves life without this items. What they truly love and will die without is attention! Any attention even dairy free. From: and Marcia Hinds <hindssite@...> Subject: Life without milk colleendesigns@..., Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 12:10 PM  Please note: Dr. Goldberg does not agree with how we did the diet. Now that 's immune system works more normally he can eat almost anything and doesn't react. Although, we still limit dairy, the following is how we did the diet when was younger. Allergy tests on kids who have immune problems sometimes indicate they are allergic to everything. They really aren't, it is just that their immune systems aren't working properly and they react to everything. The goal was to strengthen the body by eliminating stress on the immune system. This meant that foods and substances to which the child is highly reactive are eliminated. For most kids, the big triggers are usually dairy, whole wheat, and milk chocolate. If you can remove the foods they are allergic to while at the same time addressing the problems with their immune systems, it can greatly improve their ability to live their lives. Like many children with autism and immune problems, my son could not have dairy products and had to limit his sugar consumption. When our family began life without milk, it seemed so difficult. I was overwhelmed at the concept of changing his diet. I thought I had to cook everything from scratch (sheer torture for someone who hated to cook). Before you take any of my suggestions I must preface them with the fact that I am not a physician or a nutritionist (just a mom) and our family does not always eat the healthiest foods. Since needed to be on a diet restricted in dairy and sugar, I didn't try to eliminate things like NutraSweet or diet drinks. I found, for , diet soda pop without caffeine was a better choice than regular pop, although we usually just drank water. 's body did better with diabetic maple syrup as opposed to more natural choices. It seemed he could process sugar substitutes better than sugar. I didn't worry about the fat content in French fries, chips, and other junk food. His diet was restrictive enough without trying to eliminate junk food. There are trade-offs in life and I just eliminated the foods that caused a reaction or were in the highly reactive column of his allergy tests. I hesitated before trying to eliminate dairy from 's diet. Before life without milk, our favorite foods and almost everything we ate was prepackaged and contained dairy. We ordered pizza at least once a week and loved eating out. I was afraid that my other child and the rest of the family would all be deprived because could not have milk products. I was convinced that for each meal I would be cooking from two different menus. But that wasn't true. We changed from casseroles to a more meat and potatoes diet, which was much healthier for all of us. We usually drank water with our meals. It really wasn't that difficult and we are all healthier as a result. Imagine the savings of thousands of dollars over the years when you don't purchase a beverage in a restaurant and just drink water. By changing a few things, I really made a difference for my child. There is life without milk! Bill Klimas was so right when he said some time ago, " You are all making yourselves and each other crazy.Some kids will be allergic to Soy or Corn while it will not hurt another kid. Also, as you kids immune system heals he may well get over some issues with certain foods. " can even have dairy without a reaction, now that his immune system is better. However, I don't recommend doing that. In the beginning, I was not sure what to feed my child. I drove myself nuts. When I woke up in the morning, my first thought was what I could feed him that he won't react to. I was convinced that if I was going to help my child I had to be chained to the kitchen counter cooking from scratch. It took some time to figure out that wasn't true. We learned how to eat at restaurants, have prepackaged foods and still eliminate dairy from 's diet. I had no idea what foods to substitute for dairy and spent hours in the grocery store reading labels. It almost paralyzed me at times until I realized I needed to concentrate on eliminating the big triggers instead of wasting hours on this and cooking from scratch. I got rid of the dairy, the things that showed up on his allergies tests in the highly allergic category, and too much sugar from too many fruits. That being said I did give him one cookie in his bag lunch so he didn't feel different from the other kids. (Dr G hated that. We fought about it all the time until I just stopped telling Dr. G) Like Bill said, there are only a finite number of hours in each day and you need to spend your time on the things that will make the biggest difference for your child instead of sweating the small stuff. My time was better spent working with my child to teach him social skills instead of cooking. Each kid is different and you need to do the best you can without making yourself or your child apprehensive about what they eat. It is important that your kid not feel totally deprived and different. I think that is far worse than a diet infraction. is now 21 and many years ago when we started the diet, there were not as many restrictions. Tropical fruit, berries, nut, peanut butter was allowed. The only restrictions other than dairy were whole wheat or chocolate (but only milk chocolate). It took me a while to realize we could still eat at Mc 's. Back then we ate hamburgers or chicken nuggets (which have an insignificant amount of milk in the breading) instead of cheeseburgers. When we had pizza, took off the cheese and put the pepperonis back on. You can also order pizza with all the fixings except cheese. It actually has more flavor that way. At Taco Bell, ordered a taco and took off most of the cheese except a few sprinkles to help make him feel like everyone else. My kids made it in spite of all the things we ate. He is now in college, number 2 in his engineering class, drives, and has a ton of friends. He is happy and one of the best people I know. This is the same kid who the shrink said would be in an institution. Now the only institution he is at is college. I'm going to share a secret about what to do if they react to some food they eat. Increase the exercise, (swimming and trampoline are best) and increase the water they drink. One thing I don't think Dr. G stresses enough is that exercise is key for our kids. This is coming from a mom who was always overweight and never exercised in her life. In the early years when there was a party at school, I used to bring different food for . Sometimes I made things that would not affect him that all the kids would like. Rice Krispy treats come to mind). But in time I realized that making him feel different was worse than that occasional party. Instead, I kept his diet very clean at home and in his bag lunch so when the occasional food problem arouse it wasn't as bad. We were very strict on the NO DAIRY and only two fruits a day (not too much sugar), but other than that we didn't worry about berries, tropical fruits etc. Some parents find the diet so taxing and restrictive that they eventually give up the diet and even the medical treatments. That is a big mistake. The medical component is essential to recovery. But if you make it too hard on yourself there is no way you will stick with it. Hope this helps, Marcia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Hi, I am new to the group and have received lots of valuable information but I would like to ask a few questions. I have heard great things about Dr. G and we are considering taking my 5 year old son to see him. My son was diagnosed with autism at age 2 1/2. He has always been verbal but his language is not reciprocal in nature (not yet). He currently has in home ABA and in school ABA, speech and OT. He's a busy guy. He eats a very healthy diet but we do not restrict dairy or wheat at this time. We did try gluten and dairy free for about 4 months but saw no positive or marked changes. He has been tested for food allergies but none were found (by an allergist). I realize he was not tested by Dr. G. He is making steady but slow progress. We have an MRI scheduled at the end of the month. Here are my questions: When the group is discussing " immune issues " is this based on food allergies or other immune challenges? My son has been physically healthy since birth (rare colds, viruses etc). -Basically are the immune issues discovered during testing and not obvious before? (I see comments on noting food interactions with maladaptive behaviors)... Has Dr. G ever found a child to have normal labs? Thanks so much, Tiffanie On Jul 13, 2010, at 1:29 PM, Bill klimas wrote: > Marcia > You are great and the message you give is exactly the support we all > need. Dr G is a Doctor after all and often he is so focused on the > metabolic processes he sees in our kid that he misses that fact that > life needs to be good as well as healthy. > > On that note let me add a though or two to you essay. > > Looking back - (not as far as Marcia - Connor is only 12) - As I > went through the food allergies with Connor and the various ups and > downs some truisms stand out. One, The most common food allergies in > the general population apply to our kids too!. You read about > severely allergic kids and adults to - generally peanuts (This one > can be fatal), Dairy (very Common), Chocolate, Wheat, Food Dyes, Soy > - any allergist will tell you that these are very common in the > states. It is just logical that a kid with an immune issue will find > these to be hot spots in their diet. Again I agree with Marcia that > these can be easily avoided! Most decent restaurants will list (Or > upon request ) Itemize what your kid can an can not have. We to have > BK French Fries and Chicken Fries (They actually have no dairy > according to the web site) instead of nuggets but more importantly I > hear from many parents that the is too restrictive to have a normal > menu. > > I went thru this at home for a year or two and it would drive me > nuts!. Spouse, teachers, aids, neighbors and relative (Grandma, > aunts, cousins) always felt it was necessary to sneak this kid > " Treats because NORMAL kids get them and the poor kid was missing > out! " I put a stop to it! > > I need to ask what is normal? - fruity pebbles, coco puffs, dairy > queen, pizza pockets - yes in some household they are. But making my > kid happy and unhealthy, " Normal " does not work! Period. It makes my > kid very very ill and no offense quite violent at times. > > Solution - I change normal. We have fresh meats at breakfast, and > steamed veggies. Cornflakes dry, a couple of fruits - always a > banana. - It may not be normal to the obese kid down the street with > anti social behaviors, He has Fruit loops and Little Debbie donuts > and he is hard wired to a game boy, a key board and watches cartoons > trough a mirror while he plays brothers. He generally is up at > midnight and sleeps until one. Yes this is normal in today's world > for the vast majority of preteens.! > > At my house we are abnormal.My kid loves steak for breakfast, eats > potatoes a couple of times a day. We home school for an hour and a > half daily then four neighbor kids come by and he plays football, > swims in friends pools. I started a saltwater aquarium a month a go > and a couple of time a week the crew comes begging to take them down > to the bay or to the inlet jetty so they can snorkel and catch > tropical fish. We build stuff and plan a long walk - simple long > walk everyday. This is not normal but I do not mind! > > The points is in Connors world, No dairy, no bread and no candy is > normal. He loves life without this items. What they truly love and > will die without is attention! Any attention even dairy free. > > > > From: and Marcia Hinds <hindssite@...> > Subject: Life without milk > colleendesigns@..., > Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 12:10 PM > > > > Please note: Dr. Goldberg does not agree with how we did the diet. > Now that > > 's immune system works more normally he can eat almost anything > and > > doesn't react. Although, we still limit dairy, the following is how > we did > > the diet when was younger. > > Allergy tests on kids who have immune problems sometimes indicate > they are > > allergic to everything. They really aren't, it is just that their > immune > > systems aren't working properly and they react to everything. The > goal was > > to strengthen the body by eliminating stress on the immune system. > This > > meant that foods and substances to which the child is highly > reactive are > > eliminated. > > For most kids, the big triggers are usually dairy, whole wheat, and > milk > > chocolate. If you can remove the foods they are allergic to while at > the > > same time addressing the problems with their immune systems, it can > greatly > > improve their ability to live their lives. > > Like many children with autism and immune problems, my son could not > have > > dairy products and had to limit his sugar consumption. When our family > > began life without milk, it seemed so difficult. I was overwhelmed > at the > > concept of changing his diet. I thought I had to cook everything from > > scratch (sheer torture for someone who hated to cook). > > Before you take any of my suggestions I must preface them with the > fact that > > I am not a physician or a nutritionist (just a mom) and our family > does not > > always eat the healthiest foods. Since needed to be on a diet > > restricted in dairy and sugar, I didn't try to eliminate things like > > NutraSweet or diet drinks. I found, for , diet soda pop without > > caffeine was a better choice than regular pop, although we usually > just > > drank water. 's body did better with diabetic maple syrup as > opposed to > > more natural choices. It seemed he could process sugar substitutes > better > > than sugar. > > I didn't worry about the fat content in French fries, chips, and > other junk > > food. His diet was restrictive enough without trying to eliminate junk > > food. There are trade-offs in life and I just eliminated the foods > that > > caused a reaction or were in the highly reactive column of his allergy > > tests. > > I hesitated before trying to eliminate dairy from 's diet. > Before life > > without milk, our favorite foods and almost everything we ate was > > prepackaged and contained dairy. We ordered pizza at least once a > week and > > loved eating out. I was afraid that my other child and the rest of the > > family would all be deprived because could not have milk > products. I > > was convinced that for each meal I would be cooking from two different > > menus. But that wasn't true. We changed from casseroles to a more > meat and > > potatoes diet, which was much healthier for all of us. We usually > drank > > water with our meals. It really wasn't that difficult and we are all > > healthier as a result. Imagine the savings of thousands of dollars > over the > > years when you don't purchase a beverage in a restaurant and just > drink > > water. By changing a few things, I really made a difference for my > child. > > There is life without milk! > > Bill Klimas was so right when he said some time ago, " You are all > making > > yourselves and each other crazy.Some kids will be allergic to Soy or > Corn > > while it will not hurt another kid. Also, as you kids immune system > heals > > he may well get over some issues with certain foods. " can even > have > > dairy without a reaction, now that his immune system is better. > However, I > > don't recommend doing that. > > In the beginning, I was not sure what to feed my child. I drove myself > > nuts. When I woke up in the morning, my first thought was what I could > > feed him that he won't react to. I was convinced that if I was going > to > > help my child I had to be chained to the kitchen counter cooking from > > scratch. It took some time to figure out that wasn't true. We > learned how > > to eat at restaurants, have prepackaged foods and still eliminate > dairy from > > 's diet. > > I had no idea what foods to substitute for dairy and spent hours in > the > > grocery store reading labels. It almost paralyzed me at times until I > > realized I needed to concentrate on eliminating the big triggers > instead of > > wasting hours on this and cooking from scratch. I got rid of the > dairy, the > > things that showed up on his allergies tests in the highly allergic > > category, and too much sugar from too many fruits. That being said I > did > > give him one cookie in his bag lunch so he didn't feel different > from the > > other kids. (Dr G hated that. We fought about it all the time until > I just > > stopped telling Dr. G) > > Like Bill said, there are only a finite number of hours in each day > and you > > need to spend your time on the things that will make the biggest > difference > > for your child instead of sweating the small stuff. My time was better > > spent working with my child to teach him social skills instead of > cooking. > > Each kid is different and you need to do the best you can without > making > > yourself or your child apprehensive about what they eat. > > It is important that your kid not feel totally deprived and > different. I > > think that is far worse than a diet infraction. is now 21 and > many > > years ago when we started the diet, there were not as many > restrictions. > > Tropical fruit, berries, nut, peanut butter was allowed. The only > > restrictions other than dairy were whole wheat or chocolate (but > only milk > > chocolate). > > It took me a while to realize we could still eat at Mc 's. > Back then > > we ate hamburgers or chicken nuggets (which have an insignificant > amount of > > milk in the breading) instead of cheeseburgers. When we had pizza, > > > took off the cheese and put the pepperonis back on. You can also order > > pizza with all the fixings except cheese. It actually has more > flavor that > > way. At Taco Bell, ordered a taco and took off most of the cheese > > except a few sprinkles to help make him feel like everyone else. > > My kids made it in spite of all the things we ate. He is now in > college, > > number 2 in his engineering class, drives, and has a ton of friends. > He is > > happy and one of the best people I know. This is the same kid who the > > shrink said would be in an institution. Now the only institution he > is at > > is college. > > I'm going to share a secret about what to do if they react to some > food they > > eat. Increase the exercise, (swimming and trampoline are best) and > increase > > the water they drink. One thing I don't think Dr. G stresses enough > is that > > exercise is key for our kids. This is coming from a mom who was always > > overweight and never exercised in her life. > > In the early years when there was a party at school, I used to bring > > different food for . Sometimes I made things that would not > affect him > > that all the kids would like. Rice Krispy treats come to mind). But > in time > > I realized that making him feel different was worse than that > occasional > > party. Instead, I kept his diet very clean at home and in his bag > lunch so > > when the occasional food problem arouse it wasn't as bad. We were very > > strict on the NO DAIRY and only two fruits a day (not too much > sugar), but > > other than that we didn't worry about berries, tropical fruits etc. > > Some parents find the diet so taxing and restrictive that they > eventually > > give up the diet and even the medical treatments. That is a big > mistake. The > > medical component is essential to recovery. > > But if you make it too hard on yourself there is no way you will > stick with > > it. > > Hope this helps, > > Marcia > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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