Improving Health for my Kids with Whole Foods

Crystal Children

2009-08-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

I recently bought the book The Crystal Children by Doreen Virtue after several people pointed out that Rey could be a Crystal child. His multiple food and environment sensitivities, his captivating smile, and those eyes that scan your soul, they all seem to fit a Crystal Child. I haven't read the whole book yet, but it is very interesting what other parents have to say about the children; their telepathic abilities, their love for nature, and their compassion for the Earth and nature. Is Rey a Crystal child? I don't know, but he definetely has some qualities that fit. For more information on Crystal Children, visit http://www.crystalchild.net/.

The Bubble Boy

2009-08-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

As I have said before, my son suffers from EE (Eosinophillic Esophagitis) which is an allergic inflammatory condition of the esophagus. With this condition, he is allergic to: peanuts, nuts, oats, wheat, fish, eggs, milk (dairy), beef, pork, corn, soy, and oranges. These allergies by itself are overwhelming, and thought it couldn't get worse than this. But it can, and it did. Rey's recent allergy tests revealed that he is allergic to all the foods mentioned above, but also green peas, rice, bananas and tomatoes. What should I do? Almost everything he eats is rice based! What is next, put him in a bubble? (He also has frequent seasonal allergies). I have started giving him blended vegetables/fruits such as sweet potatoes with apples, and try to give him foods I know he is not allergic to, but not in great amount, since it seems everything I give him in large amounts, he gets allergic to (such as rice). My mom made some potato balls with chicken, which he seemed to like. I am going to focus more on blended fruit and veggies, and hope that this can help him with his condition.

Regarding his myoclonic seizures, they have improved; although he has his ups and downs. He has an ear infection at the time, and I have noticed his seizures although he is on his medication. I talked to a mom via Facebook groups about Myoclonic Epilepsy, and she said that she was able to manage her child's condition by removing all processed foods, dyes, etc from his diet. Although Rey's diet consist of more veggies, fruits, beans and brown rice, I will be extra careful with processed foods. I know how my mom loves to see my son enjoy Jell-O, but now it is out of the question. I rather puree some berries with a little bit of banana (Rey loves banana, but he is allergic to it; Dr. says that a little bit from time to time should not harm him) as a dessert.

Back on Track

2009-08-10T16:39:00.001-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while, and I felt the need to do so. There are so many things going on with my kids that I need to write them down; hopefully it can help others with similar situations as mine. My daughter Jany, now 16 months is suffering from constipation, and Rey, now 3 1/2 years old, has new discovered allergies. I need to take charge once again of their nutrition, since lately I have let my mom to feed them, and although she has the best intention of the world, white rice every day is not helping. I started working fulltime a couple of months ago, and by the time I come home, the kids already had their three meals.

I took a trip to my local Whole Foods store, and got them some nice, fresh organic fruits and veggies; coconut yogurt, and tried not to buy any rice-based food. I prepared them cooked sweet potatoes with apples, and then put them in a blender until it was a creamy consistency. I was expecting some gagging or spitting, but I had neither. They ate it! I hope I am this lucky once I blend in some spinach.

Allergy Reaction?

2009-01-29T08:59:00.000-08:00

Rey was on Elecare, a corn-based elemental formula that is used normally with feeding tubes; and I stopped giving him the formula for two reasons: a) his latest blood test showed that he was allergic to corn; b)corn syrup solids. Need to say more? I started giving him rice milk, but he wouldn't drink it. He loves soy milk, but in the latest blood test, it showed he was allergic to soy also! I was trying to find an alternative; and days passed, and I had no choice but to give him soy milk. He started having eczema again, and I was suspecting the soy. I tried again rice milk, with Living Fuel berry powder, and he was happy. But I noticed that his stools were too loose; which is not normal for him. I took away the Living Fuel powder, but he wouldn't drink the rice milk. So I had to go back to soy milk. His loose stools continued; that means that it was not the Living Fuel powder. It was the soy! The eczema, the rashes, the loose stool... he hadn't reacted like that before to soy. A year ago, a skin test showed that his allergy to soy was 0! Rey has an endoscopy soon, so I am more than curious to see how he is doing, and what has the soy have done to him.

Endoscopy

2009-01-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

Two days ago, I had to take my son, Rey, to the hospital for an endoscopy procedure. It is his second time having this procedure; the first one was done in 2006, where he was diagnosed with Eosinophillic Esophagitis.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there had to be something that would be revealed with this procedure. Rey coughs a lot, and we thought it may be because of his pica; he eats carpet fibers, paper, anything he can get a hold of; even his plush blanket; which I had to switch for a comforter.

His GI doctor performed the procedure, and when he came to pick us up from the waiting room, I know it wouldn't be good. Dr. showed us the pictures of his esophagus, and there were the eosinophils, and the rings that indicate his Eosinophillic Esophagitis getting worse. He quickly suggested feeding tube, and I refused. My son loves to eat; he wouldn't say no to any fruit; he loves rice, beans, avocado, carrots, sweet potatoes. I know that feeding tubes in some cases are neccesary, but not for my son! He is way too hyperactive (and he only consumes sugar from fresh fruit) to have a feeding tube. Dr. was very understanding, but recommended the Elecare again.

I took the pictures to my family, who still feeds him fried food such as nuggets from time to time, and showed them how that food affects his esophagus. I think it was a wake up call for them. I removed soy completely from his diet, and for now, I am trying the rice milk again, although he doesn't seem to like it much. I also am giving him back the Living Fuel powder too.

Finally... a diagnosis?

2009-01-29T08:40:00.000-08:00

I took Rey, my 3 year old son to the Neurodevelopmental doctor for a follow up. They did the routine development tests, and he is mentally and cognitively the age of 16 months (he is 3 years old now). I have been waiting for a diagnosis on his global developmental delay, white matter disease, etc. but still no words from the Doctor.

Days after the Dr's visit, I got in the mail a routine copy of a letter sent to my son's physician. I started reading... and there I saw the diagnosis. Or is it just a fancy name for my son's Global Developmental delays? Congenital Encephalopathy. Doesn't sound good. I am scared. What does this mean? I googled it, but it didn't make sense. When my son was born, he was perfect! The only issue was his feeding; he was not able to feed properly. Now, after researching on his disease, I know for a fact that his feeding issue was related to low tone in the muscles of his jaw area (which he still has) that may be caused to this Encephalopathy. But it doesn't end there. He has some type of seizure that is related to paroxysms, and myoclonic jerks. So maybe that Encephalopathy is a fancy name after all; because last time I was in the Dr. they didn't know what to do with my son; extensive genetic tests have been made, and everything came back negative, thank God. For now, I will just leave things to God, love my son and spend more time with him, and feed him as whole and natural as possible. Hopefully we can overcome all these delays, seizures one day with nutrition.

Visit to the Naturopath

2009-01-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

My 3 year old son, Rey, has been seeing a naturopath for about 3 months now. He has so many issues; and we are taking it slowly. He has multiple food/seasonal allergies, ear infections, developmental delays, Eosinophillic Esophagitis, low muscle tone, white matter disease, etc.

I feed my son as best, natural and wholesome as possible. He eats brown rice cereal, rice, beans (all kinds), avocados, veggies ( his favorites are squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes), and all types of fruits, which he loves. Sometimes I give him some cubed or diced chicken in his rice, or prepare him nuggets with antibiotic free chicken breasts; and cut potatoes as fries, and bake them in the oven. I do not give him any candy, or anything he is allergic to: dairy, eggs, milk, peanuts, fish, pork, wheat, oats.

We are trying a homeopathic remedy at a time. So far, it had improved some aspects like the constant gagging in the morning is gone. I addressed to the ND my concern for him being underweight; he is significantly below the lowest percentile in weight; and the doctor told me that because of his potential of grains to be allergenic for my son, try to give him more protein in chicken and turkey. As much as I don't want to give him meat, and him not caring for it, I may need to buy some antibiotic free chicken and turkey and give it to my son, and see if he gains a little. I made him yesterday rice pasta with turkey meatballs, and so far it was a success. I had to give him the meatballs since if I added it to his plate, he will not eat it.

I hope that Rey will be able to gain some weight, he is 3 years old and 24 pounds! He has an endoscopy soon, and an appointment with his developmental pediatrician. Last time, he was classified as a 10 month old baby, in terms of mental development. I hope that they find him to be more than 10 months in the next visit. He also has an endoscopy soon, and a follow up neurology appointment to address the results of the Video EEG he had back in November; which came back abnormal; something related to paroxysmal seizure, or something like that.

Also Janelys has an appointment with her GI doctor soon, we are planning to ask for a blood test to find out her allergies. She is now allergic to milk, but I am scared to give her nuts because of Rey's allergies.

Starting Table Foods

2009-01-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

My 9 month old baby is ready to move from pureed foods to more solid foods. Currently, I give her for breakfast pureed fruit combination such as avocado/banana, banana mango peach, banana and berries, etc. with some Gerber Organic Brown Rice cereal. For lunch, usually it is sweet potatoes with apples, pureed; or carrots and apples, pureed. For dinner could be a rice and lentil, squash, or carrot baby food jar, since I almost have to prepare 3 separate dinners. And her Elecare formula, which I am not happy with it, since it has corn syrup solids, but I can't give her anything with milk at this point.

Now I am being told to give her more solid food, such as meat, NOT! I committed this mistake with my first son, he rejected it automatically, though. I want to raise vegetarian kids even if it raises eyebrows in the family. I want to give them a better nutrition, the one I lacked of, not because my parents didn't care, is that they didn't know better; plus I was an EXTREMELY picky eater. I ate lots of white bread and salami when I was a kid and other processed foods, and I don't want that for my kids.

I also want to change the rice cereal for something like amaranth, for breakfast. Any suggestions? I want something that is gluten/wheat/oat free, and is packed with protein. And I am scared of giving her nuts since her brother is severely allergic to nuts. Also, I want to start her with brown rice and lentils; but freshly made. I am now buying baby food jars just for EMERGENCY only.

In my opinion, babies don't need meat at all. There are many foods with quality protein such as beans, seeds, and nuts. My 3 year old son only eats antibiotic free chicken, about 2 times a week, and in very small amount (less than an ounce); and I allow it because he is super thin, and it is not my choice.

Product Review: Living Fuel

2008-12-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

As I have said before, Rey (my 3 year old) is allergic to milk, and so many other foods. He was on Elecare; but it was way too expensive; and it has corn syrup solids, which I prefer not to give to my son anymore. I was giving him soy milk for a while; but there are a lot of mixed reviews about soy, specially for boys. And also, the two last food allergies that just have emerged are... corn and soy! I love almond milk, but I am afraid to give him due to his nut allergy. I tried rice milk before, and he would not stand it (vanilla flavored, which he loves!)

I was doing a lot of research on what type of milk should I buy; and goat milk was out of the question since it is animal-based. I also tried to seek for a protein powder, something that would give him all the nutrients that he need.

I found a product that looked great, and didn't have any of the allergens that my son has, it is GMO freee, organic and non irradiated. It is called Living Fuel Rx Super Berry, and it is a powder based on various berries, chia seeds, high in fiber and Vitamin C. It contains most, if not all the nutrients I was looking for my son. It is highly recommended from NaturalNews.com.

I requested a sample from the website, and they sent a packet of free samples; everything was of optimal quality. It is expensive, though, but worth it. My son loves it! I even gave him the powder with rice milk, and he didn't even notice. I give him about 1/2 a scoop of the powder per serving, which would make about 2 scoops a day.

I will try to post on my son's improvements, if any, by using this product on a later date.

Video: Living Fuel Super Baby Smoothie from Youtube

My opinion on Flu Shots

2008-12-30T13:14:00.000-08:00

It is unacceptable these days that vaccines have to be forced to the people; as an individual, we have the right to decide if we need or not the flu shot; specially for our kids. As a mother with a child that may have vaccine-related neurological damage, I refuse the flu shot for my kids. I believe that his allergies are a blessing and a curse; these allergies exist in order to protect him from eating foods that are not good for him; such as milk, eggs, and wheat. His pediatrician is kind and understanding and does not push the flu shot because he is severely allergic to eggs; and so may be my 9 month old.

I am not saying that vaccines are a bad thing, what I don't like is the thimerosal, mercury, and God knows what else are in these shots. My son was developing normally until he got his 1 year old shots. He has had extensive genetic testing and other tests done, and no diagnosis, which further confirms to me the vaccine-related neurological damage.

My 9 month old daughter is recovering from a bad flu that ended up in bronchitis and an ear infection; and she hasn't had the flu shot, nor I am planning to get her one. In my opinion, if you give your child "food" such as macaroni and cheese, dairy products, chicken nuggets, fries, and candy, there is no way your child will have a strong immune system.

If you feed your child right, and provide them with sunlight, they may not need the flu shot at all!

Cartoon Creator: Mike Adams
Re-printed from NaturalNews.com

2009 Resolutions

2008-12-29T19:21:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to blog for about a year now, and I think it is a good time to start. This is my first post, so I will talk a little about why I have started blogging.

I have two kids; and at the time of this post, my son is 3 years old, and my daughter is 9 months old. Even though they have to become sick from time to time, I absolutely hate seeing them so miserable; and I am always trying to research how to build their immune system, and how to keep them as healthy as possible. But that is only the half part of the story.

Both of my kids have food allergies. Why? I don't know. My 3 year old is allergic to: peanuts, fish, beef, milk, eggs, soy, corn, wheat, oats and mildly to oranges. You may be thinking, what does he eat! On top of that, he has Eosinophillic Esophagitis, a condition where there are elevated levels of eosinophils in the esophagus. And even more, he is severely delayed developmentally in all aspects. He is 3 and just learned to babble "ma ma" although it sound like "na na". It is the first word he was able to say. He has had numerous ear infections, and has been under so many antibiotics, that his immune system is almost non existent. And although even knowing for a fact that antibiotics harm the friendly bacteria in our system; I had to let go because I would be a "bad mother who doesn't care", according to my family. I am currently doing as much as I can to improve his immune system. And he also has Failure to Thrive, and White Matter disease.

My 9 month old has a severe allergy to milk, and I am afraid to know if she is allergic to anything else. She has had so far 3 ear infections, and antibiotics each time. I also want to avoid at all costs antibiotics for her; while I improve her immune system.

An excellent book that I recommend to read is Disease Proof your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. In my opinion, it is the must have book for every parent wanting to feed kids right; and prevent disease in the future. I strongly recommend the chapter about ear infections, if parents are interested in preventing ear infections with nutrition.

I have tried my best with giving my kids the best food, but it is not all perfect. I feed him brown rice cereal, rice, avocados, chicken, plantains, beans, and lots of fruits and veggies; but if he sees the McDonalds bag, he starts screaming for the fries. I try to eat healthy, but in stressful situations (which are many) I scarf down the first junk food I can find. So I need to set an example for my kids; so for 2009, one of my resolutions will be to ban junk food from home; and I am referring also to keep processed food to a strict minimum. I am recovering from a bad flu now, and I cannot afford to get sick with two kids to take care of (they are extremely active, and no, I don't give them sugary foods), and I also want to set a good example for them, so I will try to minimize processed foods, and eat more whole, fresh foods for 2009.

Well, at last I have completed my first post. I am planning to add bits of articles that I find of great interest in achieving health with whole, natural foods, and preventing disease, specially in children.