Guest guest Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Hi Pat, Thanks for all your information; it truly helps me to understand things better. Another parent emailed me privately and mentioned how her family and RSS child were brought up as vegetarians and I responded with these comments which may applied to g-tube kids as well. Since g-tubes are out of my knowledge base, make sure any thing I mention is passed by your doctor. I commented: I have a sneaking suspicion in the back of my head that many of these kids have difficulty digesting fats properly, which also means protein since they pretty much go hand in hand. Many times this could possibly mean low stomach acid or low bile levels from the gallbladder. The bile acts as a kind of an emulsifier or dish cleaning detergent which allows for better digestion of fats and proteins. Just maybe these kids's natural instinct is telling them that they can't fully handle fats and protein and as a result are adverse to its texture that many have mentioned. Just a though since has been on supplements to address this issue. I plan on talking it over with our doctor. It is my understanding with a vegetarian diet that if you are not super careful it is very difficult to get enough vitamin B12 since it is only found in meat sources. Vitamin B12 is a crucial component in all enzyme and hormonal reactions. When you get Life Without Bread review pages 89-90 and 148-152 on this issue. It is addressed in the section relating to heart disease, another insulin resistance disease. Hope this helps. Beth > Beth, > > I was getting back to your emails, and thought I might be able to clear up a > misconception here. Your questions.. > > Do all G-tube kids only eat carbohydrates because of this problem? I assume > they must eat some protein via the mouth. > > 's formula is considered 100% nutritionally complete. As I posted > earlier, it has protein, fat, carbs, plus added vitamins and minerals. The > problem lies totally with what himself will eat! > > He likes to eat things he can control, like crackers, dry cereal, etc... All > Carbs!! He is willing to touch this type of food, and can take very small > nibbles. He finds the texture of ANY cooked meat, in his words " EWW!!!! > GROSS!!! " He won't touch them with his fingers, let alone put them in his > mouth!! He, also, has problems with beans, legumes, hummus, anything pasty, > or gritty, in texture. He gags. So finding a protein source that > will consume orally is tough. We've considered adding a protein powder to > his baby food, to up his protein intake, but we have to talk to his GI about > this first. > > For kids with g-tubes, and oral aversions, finding a way to keep their diets > balanced, while attempting to teach them how to eat orally, can really be a > challenge! > > Pat (g-ma to , RSS, 3 yrs old, 23.5# (10.7kg), 32.8 " (83.3cm), > G-Tube, Zantac, Prevacid, Singulair, Flovent, Xopenex) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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