ND reco on West Hartford for GF boy?

[Guest guest]

Thanks everybody, for all of the great info. She really really

appreciates it and feels so much better now. She could never force

her son to eat meat, and she really doesn't believe

it would be healthy to do so, but of course the nutritionist's note

really scared her (I forgot to mention that the woman was a

nutritionist). Of course she wants the very

best for her boy! One thing I think the nutritionist was correct

about is the prevalence of choosing gluten containing foods. I think

most people, and children especially base their diet on too much

gluten. My son, for instance (vegan), would live on bagels and pizza

if I let him! At 16, he's beginning to understand that he needs more

variety. Luckily he doesn't seem to be sensitive to it, but I think

too much of any one food can lead to it.

 

But I knew the rest of the note was poppycock, I just didn't know how

to explain it, so thank you thank you thank you!

 

I'm thinking that the problem could be related to non absorption of

nutrients after years of eating something that to him, was poison. He

could have a lot of candida in his intestines. Tough

to get rid of in a kid who may not want to comply w/ a sugar/yeast

restricted diet and cleansing. I hope she goes to a ND and gets him

tested, and convinced to try it, if it's warranted. She lives in

West Hartford, Conn. Does anyone have a doctor/nutritionist/dietician

recommendation?

 

Now, if only kids would just eat all of the healthy stuff we put in

front of them

 

Tracy

 

On Jul 3, 2007, at 7:14 AM, reed mangels wrote:

 

> An excellent resource that you might recommend to your best friend

> is Food Allergy Survival Guide by Vesanto Melina, Jo Stepaniak, and

> Dina Aronson. Two of the authors are registered dietitians. The

> book is vegetarian and has a lot of information about various

> allergies including celiac disease. See http://www.vrg.org/journal/

> vj2005issue1/vj2005issue1books.htm for a review of the book. In

> addition, Vegetarian Journal has featured articles on gluten-free

> foods like Gluten-Free Cuisine (http://www.vrg.org/journal//

> vj2006issue4/vj2006issue4gluten.htm).

> I have a lot of questions about the statements your friend got from

> her email list. Gluten-free diets can be developed for both lacto-

> ovo vegetarians and vegans. The amount of gluten in a vegetarian

> diet really depends on the foods an individual selects. I'm not

> aware of any studies that show that " Lacto-ovo vegetarians tend to

> eat huge amounts of gluten foods " . There is no nutritional

> requirement for animal protein. The amino acids found in all

> protein sources (whether plant-based or animal-based) are what are

> needed for building muscles.

> Without knowing more of your friend's son's medical situation, it

> is impossible to say why he is having difficulties. Is there a

> registered dietitian who is knowledgeable about celiac disease that

> your friend and her son could meet with? Has she discussed her

> concerns with her son's medical doctor? Hope this helps.

> Reed

> Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

> Nutrition Advisor, The Vegetarian Resource Group

> PO Box 1463

> Baltimore, MD 21203

> www.vrg.org

>

> Help for GF vegetarian boy

> Posted by: " Tracy Childs " tracychilds tracychildz

> Mon Jul 2, 2007 8:32 pm (PST)

> Hi There,

>

> My best friend's 15 year old son has been veg since he was 5, by

> choice. The rest of the family, while very veg friendly, is not. He

> was diagnosed w/ celiac's disease a year ago, and the

> whole family has embraced it. Problem is, he hasn't gotten any

> better. His immune system isn't good. He is sick and not feeling well

> very often. Thru e-mail lists, my friend has enlisted the

> help of a woman in South Africa who just sent her the following

> letter. Any comments or suggestions? The family really eats a good

> diet as far as lots of veggies and fruits and legumes. They

> rarely eat out and eat mostly home-cooked meals.

>

> Thanks so much!

>

> Tracy

>

> " Being lacto-ovo vegetarian is a very difficult lifestyle when one is

> gluten free. Lacto-ovo vegetarians tend to eat huge amounts of gluten

> foods. I am just putting an idea to you at this point...

> Because your son has eaten this way since age 5 years, he may have

> lacked major protein (i.e. meat, fish, chicken) which is tissue-

> building and muscle-building. Cave man ate natural foods like fruit,

> nuts, root vegetables, leafy vegetables, plus protein in the form of

> fish, eggs, and animal flesh. In fact the theory is that man

> developed from ape-like creatures to thinking human beings when they

> introduced fish into their diets and the fish oils were good for

> brain tissue.

> I tend to think that 10 years or more of eating lacto-ovo vegetarian

> foods may have undermined Ryan's immune system health, his tissue

> growth and muscle growth, and this may be the cause of his lengthy

> time to heal. "

>

>