Diary of putting my family on the RAPH diet

[hrk]

I have heard that, but it doesn't say on the packaging that I have noticed.  Most of the things at TJ do say TJ on the packaging.  That would be safe, then?  Some things like the blueberries say pesticide free, but not organic.  But I was uncertain about gmo's; figuring it was better than anything else available, we have been buying those.  Thanks!

Sher, I did a little checking.  Here is a blog in your area with a gf recipe.  Maybe there would be some gf cooking classes, where you could learn a few tips.  Maybe you can find a lead for a class in the link below; it could save some money if you can make something he likes at home.  I have taken a few classes from the local chef's gallery; local chef's teaching classes at a cooking supply store for home/professional cooks.  I actually love doing it; like a mom's night out for me and my mom.

http://www.examiner.com/gluten-free-food-in-atlanta/upcoming-gluten-free-cooking-classes-metro-atlanta
http://aprovechar.danandsally.com/?p=741
http://aprovechar.danandsally.com/?p=228&cpage=4#comment-24232
http://www.rudisglutenfree.com/local_coupon/atlanta/?
gclid=CKGA5djj3qsCFcfsKgodmhzczw

[hrk]

http://celiac-disease.com/jules-gluten-free-cooking-class-in-atlanta/

Quite a bit comes up with atlanta and gluten free.

[kim&savannah]

I looked on TJ's website to verify the GMO stuff and its all their brand items.  I don't know what that means about the fresh fruit and veggies (I need to ask next time I'm in), but if you are talking about the frozen, packaged kind, if it has their brand on it, it is GMO free.  And I think some things, like wild blueberries can't technically be certified organic because they are wild, but that also means no one is spraying them with pesticides, so they are a safe bet.

[EloysH]

Hi Sher,  sounds like you went off the diet a bit at grandmas?  Makes sense.   Are you going to klep Lyle on the diet now  - what things can you introduce back in without problem?  - i.e. passed challenges?
Which challenges were definant fail?


Well I got bloods done for Kai and myself for Copper, Zinc, blood histamine and pyrolles condition (Pyroluria  http://drkaslow.com/html/pyroluria.html) as well as Iron and full blood count for myself.  These tests are called the Pfeffier Index named after the Pfieffer Institue in America.  The Pfieffer institue is responsible for discovering that children with autism usually have zinc and B6 deficiences, high copper low blood histamine and also pyroluria.  They found that long term supplements greatly improved the childrens autism and even cure some.

These mineral imbalance also causes biochemical imbalances thatt lead to a whole range of other conditions which I won't go into including  food intolerance and allergy and there is a long biochemical explanation of why and which process require zinc and B6 to function.

    I feel that we are really close to uncovering the source of Kais food intolerance, allergy and reflux.  I fell a sense of excitement , that the intense researching, searching and energy put into this is coming to a climax.  Results will come in the next few weeks.    Kai has been on the right supplements for this stuff for some time... but he may not have neen at the right dosages to actually make a difference.  We will see soon enough anyway!   

[huntersmummyinoz]

wow elo, fx this uncovers something for you.

sherry, prob too late, but for the msg/glutamates testing, as pp mentioned parmessan cheese is good if dairy tolerated and soy sauce if soy tolerated. if not then you'll need to do some product ingredient reading, numbers 620-623, 627-635. we had to wait til K could tolerate dairy and soy to test as soooooo many products are msg free now, even those crackers listed in the protocol dont actually have msg in them anymore. how r the rest of the challenges going? great that lyle has added noodles into his diet, small steps hun, well done

update on K, after a failed med wean we are back on food challenges and only have a couple to go. he has passed all dairy, soy, sulphites, msg, and annatto colouring now. currently testing sorbates, then just colour and a retest of proprionates to go. no point doing benzoates as there is no way i'm giving him lemonade anytime soon, lol. then after those will go back to increasing his salicylates tolerance level, of which we've finally added carrot with no reaction, so on most moderate sals now.

i am struggling with K's skin tho, his little red cheeks (he's had this for over a year now) are getting dry at the moment but i am yet to find a product to use that he doesnt react to. have tried sorbolene, vitamin E cream, various mustella excema lotions, elidel cream, and a few more i dont remember atm.

[EloysH]

Would plain old zinc cream help his cheeks?

I think there are benzoate preservatives in the panadol and the neurofen - so perhaps a pass?

[hrk]

In theUS, food additivies have no numbers; they don't even have to be specifically listed if they put "natural flavorings" or some type of vague ingredient listing.  It is pretty ridiculous.  Hugs for the failed med wean.  Have you done an abdominal ultrasound or upper gi to make sure there are no anatomy issues?  The dr has ruled out things there?

Kirry, I find that creams make things worse.  People can be pretty reactive to them, as they bypass your liver and directly enter your bloodstream.  Determining the cause of his dry skin, that may help.  Detergent based cleansers for the skin (anything that is sls or that variety) can actually be pretty drying because they remove/don't have glycerin.  And there is a hodgepodge of chemicals, usually.  Real soaps (that you make your self or buy from a real soap maker) do not remove the glycerin.  Dr. Bronners can be fine for some, but there are so many oils to deal with or wonder if they are still causing issues.  That is what set me on the path of making our own soap; trying find a recipe for salicylate free real soap.  If you don't want to go the soap route (the most gentle is really an organic cold pressed olive oil; not low sals, I know), then perhaps just go with water for cleansing.  And avoid shampoos that will run down on to his face inevitably.  I wash H's hair with real soap once a week.  I use a dr. bronners or the olive oil soap.  His skin is the best with a rinse down every night with water and being in his room with the air cleaner.  (I suspect there is something enviromental that could be a factor; have you skin tested for things like dust mites, mold, and such?)

Cleure is a brand that is salicylate free; there are probably other brands, but i think they are going to be more detergent based.  The cleure site has a shea butter, and their line is specifically for salicylate free (but I don't know that shea is naturally sals free).  But you can by 100% unrefined organic shea butter.  I buy ours from Mountain Rose Herbs, but you can probably find something local and reputable. http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/butter/butter.html http://www.cleure.com/Shea-Butter-Benefits-s/292.htm

I personally use jojoba oil on my skin for moisturizing, as it is most like your own skin's sebum.  No more concocted creams by manufacturers for us.  Jeff likes to use real shampoo, so we bend on that one, and I buy one by giovanni.  Of course he uses a regualr deoderant; just need to be careful about which you choose for the parabens and phthlates (at least in the US).

And one more thought is the detergent that his clothes are laundered in or any fabric softeners, etc.  I also make our own laundry soap that is real soap; not detergent.

[hrk]

My only thought with zinc cream is that for little ones it says 3 mg and 5 mg for older little ones (H's age).  Is zinc absorbed and accumulated through the skin adding to the rda?  If so, how much cream adds how much to the rda?  As we discussed before, one of the side effects of too much zinc is vomiting, diahrea, and abdominal pain (the appearance of more gi issues).  I know you are working with a dr prescribing, Eloys.  Any thoughts? 

[EloysH]

I haven't yet spoken about overdosing in detail but my naturopath says that 80% of Australians are chronically zinc deficient so there is not really much chance of overdosing for 80% of people.  I have  been on high doses for years of zinc- apparantly not high enough - I still fail zinc tally tests dismally. I know its probably because I have toxic levels of copper in my body due to 13 years on the pill and copper pipes for our water. If Copper is high, zinc is very hard to increase.  Anywa,y as I said before I will know exactly our situation with zinc and Copper levels in the blood in 2 weeks!

I really don;t kno how much gets absorbed through the skin, will definantly ask at next appts.  I am guessing - not much.  But Jean, you might know a bit more about that?

Jean, how bad was your skin before you started the oils and vinegar treatments?  Did you have hormonal acne at all?

[hrk]

I kept getting cystic acne.  It never went away completely during the month.  Sometimes it would coincide, but not consistently though.  So, I thought it could be hormonal.  I would say that over a few months of the real soap (made with potassium hydroxide, olive oil and water only), vinegar, and a multivitamin, things were getting clearer and clearer with less and less flare ups.  I suppose it depends on the underlying issue, and the issue can vary from person to person.

I remember reading in this book a list of how all the vitamins/minerals are important and for what skin conditions.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580171303?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwstephaniet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1580171303  I remember reading about vitamin A (valuable enough that people use retin-a for acne) and thinking that could be missing.  Zinc was mentioned, too.  Being on low sals for such a time (eating with H) and not drinking milk much could have been a factor in my vitamin a being low, too.  Lots of vitamins/minerals work together and to make healthy skin.

As for the copper, can you buy a reverse osmosis system to filter your water?  Or will one of those filters for the faucet work?  I should check to see if ours filters out the copper; we added an ro system about a year and a half ago when we added a water softener.  We actually got our ro installed free because the guy didn't show up to the intial apt (and we were going to contact someone else).

It is hard to know how all these chemicals, minerals, vitamins react and inactivate/activate each other.  How long does copper stay in the body from the pill??  I didn't even know it was in there, but I don't know much about copper in general at this point.

[EloysH]

Thanks Jean.  As I understand it, being on the pil, causes the body to store copper. I will try to find out the mechanics.

I need to check my water filter, I don't know how it works, and I don't regularly drink water from it. I use the tap alot too. 

[hrk]

I use our reverse osmosis water for cooking and drinking now.  It also is connected to our refrigerator, so that is also double filtered (because the refrigerator has a filter, and it will only run with a filter in it).  I know it is filtering out a lot of minerals too.    But it is also taking out other things that we don't want.  Hard decisions.  

But after reading about fluoride, I am fine with that being out of our drinking water, too.  Fluoride toxicity can also appear as gi issues, too, like abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea.  With H consuming so much formula (due to soothing his reflux symptoms), it has made me wonder.  Our city is pretty high (despite the epa warning; last I checked it we were almost double the new epa recommendations).  Frustrating.  

For anyone else in the US and wondering about your fluoride (if you get your water from a city water dept), you can read the EPA and HHS post.  Your city will list flouride on its city water report.  http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/01/20110107a.html  Ironically it was the dental hygenist (sp?) that mentioned it to me and cautioned us against any more fluoride with H's history of significant reflux.  I had asked if our non-fluoride toothpaste was ok, and she was initially saying we should use the fluoride one.  Then did a uturn with the mention of the reflux and said stick with the non-flouride one from cleure (salicylate free, too).

http://www.ewg.org/comm/proposed-federal-cap-fluoride-water-will-not-protect-public-health

The epa and hhs mention the concern about dental fluorosis (actual weakening of the enamal with the consumption of too much flouride), but if you google symptoms of flouride toxicity, it mentions gi isses.  I was tryig to figure out why the hygenist would mention gi issues , when the epa only mentions dental flouorosis.  I found the gi issues by looking at fluoride toxicity.  We go to a regular run of the mill dentist (not a specific natropathic one or anything like that).

[hrk]

I did find out that our reverse osmosis takes out over 90% of the copper in our water (we also have copper pipes). 

And with H turning 4, we will be able to have him take a whole vitamin (that has 20% of rda of zinc).  Only half the vitamin will be taken for kids under 4, so that is what he has been taking.  I am curious to see if the extra bump in vitamins and minerals from the supplement will have any effect (since we will be doubling it according to the age/dose recommendations). 

Kirry, I was also thinking about adding a humidifier with regards to the dry skin.  Maybe it running overnight would be an additional help.

[EloysH]

Jean, My biomed Dr says that the zinc dose should be 1mg/kg for babies and kids.  I am not sure if this is for the zinc deficent or everyone.  Will find out for a week.  And for adult 1mg/kg + 20mg.

[Mom to M&M]

Just thought I'd pop back on here since we'd been having a zinc discussion a bit back... Found out yesterday that I am quite deficient in zinc (65) and my holistic practitioner wants me to take 50mg of zinc picolinate/day and retest in 6 weeks. Hoping it doesn't upset my stomach!

Also found out I'm gluten intolerant and have Hashimoto's, but that's another story...