Healing Leaky Gut with Food??

[Lauren]

Ok, this is VERY long! I am totally willing to do this as a consult (instead of in the group) if it’s too many details/too much to ask. The short version is this:

My almost 2 year old and I have been on a gluten/dairy/corn/egg/soy free diet for about 9 months, after an elimination diet and seeing various reactions to these foods. I believe he has a leaky gut which I’d like to help heal. I am looking for ways to heal this issue (and any others that exist) using whole food nutrients, and to avoid supplements as much as is possible. He has seemed to react to most of the supplements we’ve tried, or had trouble taking them. So, any recommendations you all have are welcome and appreciated!

Now, for the long version. I’ve included everything that might be helpful in understanding our situation (perhaps *too* much info--sorry this is so long!):

River (now 23 months) was born at home. I labored for over 50 hours, his heart rate was awesome the entire time. He was posterior. He had shoulder dystocia on the way out, and my midwife reached her hands in to help him out. Not long after his birth she gave him a vit. K shot, she said in part b/c *I* lost a lot of blood. (I lost about a liter of blood after he was born.) His umbilical cord was in a tight knot when he came out, (he must have swam through it in utero, and it probably tightened as he was born). So, the cord did not pulsate, there was a lot of blood in it that squirted out when we cut it. (Not sure how much info/detail you all need, I thought I’d tell you *everything*!)

I had trouble with breastfeeding, in part due to my blood loss, but mostly because of ignorance about breastfeeding. For the first 3 months of his life we used formula supplements (both milk and soy based) as well as donated breastmilk from a friend of mine. He was nursing most of this time, at one point was totally off the breast (but getting about 1/2 his nourishment from breastmilk, I was exclusively pumping). Using domperidome, lots of herbs, and tons of pumping, along with nursing, he came back to the breast and from 3 months on he was exclusively breastfed (and continues to nurse lots today at almost 2.)

He had the first 2 rounds of vaccines, but after the 2nd round, he had a fever and slept for a very long, uncharacteristic amount of time. He also had diarrhea for days. I started really researching vaccines and was shocked and horrified by what I found, so he has not been vaccinated since.

He also had ‘baby acne’ from maybe a few weeks old until 5 months.

At around 13 months he got an ear infection, and we did the antibiotics (amoxicillan). He got a rash on the back of his neck during this, and we stopped using them after 5 days.

Around this same time period, I noticed a lot of changes in him. He was seeming to be very irritable and easily frustrated (very uncharacteristic for him), not sleeping well (waking in the night and running around screaming for 1-2 hours), peeing his pants in the night (he was ec’d from 3 months and had never peed at night--this was a big change!), had the red ring around his anus at all times, ‘raccoon eyes’, and I’m sure other symptoms as well. With the help of the foodlab yahoo group, I learned a/b elimination diets and we found he reacted to gluten, dairy, corn, soy and eggs.

Since then our diets have changed dramatically. We avoid the above mentioned foods, along with most nuts/seeds and citrus, because I have thought he has reacted to them in the past. (I’m willing to try them again though! I did not formally test any of them.) Foods we eat on a regular basis include (listed in an order of the quantity/frequency we eat them): brown rice (in many forms--rice, rice milk, crackers, bread, cookies, etc.--probably 2 servings a day easily), green peppers, onions, garlic, carrots (whole/juiced), tomatoes (mostly canned), sunflower oil (used for cooking), chicken and turkey (we were vegetarian but started eating these after dropping dairy and eggs), beans (black, garbanzo, kidney, pinto, lentils etc.) canned and dried, broccoli, kale, other greens, potatoes, dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, etc.), berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries), apples, bananas, pears, cucumbers, buckwheat flour, oatmeal, enerG egg replacer, fruit & vegetable juices (fresh and bottled bolthouse farm), avocados, celery, green beans, sweet potatoes, zucchini, coconut milk, millet, maple syrup, agave nectar, sometimes brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, tons of spices and salt and pepper, palm oil...etc. Also cultured carrots, beets and cabbage for the probiotic value... In addition, I am not totally opposed to trying other meats, although it might be a difficult transition for me (I’ve never cooked meat before, and doing the poultry now has been a real learning experience! I was a vegetarian for 12 years b/4 changing our diets in this manner...) A lot of the food we eat is cooked. I do not soak our grains but am interested in learning more about this and other food prep. ideas that might help us. I also have been (irregularly) taking a prenatal vitamin and calcium supp. (which he does not seem to react to.)

I think I’ve included a majority of what we eat on a regular basis (at least 2-3 x per week). What I am looking for now is where to go from here. I believe ds has a leaky gut, and we have tried supplement after supplement (vitamins and enzymes) to help heal it. He has seemed to react to everything we’ve tried. I’d love more info on where to go with our diets--what to add to bring in the vitamins/nutrients he needs, along with how/if he can get the digestive enzymes he needs through foods. What supplements you all might feel *are* necessary, etc. I want to help heal his gut (and any other issues that might be going on). Any advice or suggestions you all have are greatly appreciated!

TIA!!!

Lauren :)

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Nettle Leaf herbal infusions 101.
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[Pat Robinson]

I'd heard of palm kernel oil as beneficial. I'm not familiar with palm fruit oil. The jar I have just says "Extra-virgin Red Palm Oil" by Jungle Porducts, 'wild crafted 100% organic'.

This link indicates the difference:
http://www.fitsugar.com/946080
http://www.fitsugar.com/1500333
http://www.eatingwell.com/health/qanda/palm_oil.html
http://www.wellsphere.com/healthy-eating-article/you-ask-i-answer-p...

Basically, it appears the kernel has more saturated fat. The fruit, more vit E. (I'm not convinced that saturated vegetable fats are "dangerous", especially raw. )


Pat



Pat

[Steph Stone]

Ok, this palm fruit vs. palm kernel oil issue is so confusing.

I went googling to figure out if the Spectrum or Jungle brands were fruit or kernel so I could figure out if I needed to switch from the Spectrum to the Jungle. Neither one said one way or the other on their website, but both are organic. Then I stumbled across this site and this site which say that palm kernel oil has to be extracted chemically and cannot be done organically. If that is true, then the Spectrum and Jungle brands have to be palm fruit oil (usually labeled as just "palm oil"). Then I stumbled across another website that that discussed the benefits of coconut and red palm oil that poo-poos the palm kernel oil and white palm oil and touts the extra virgin red palm oil. Ugh, this is so confusing!

Anyhow, the last link did kind of make sense about how the red palm is probably better than the white palm oil... and I can't find any organic palm kernel oil that seems to be for food consumption (just for use in soap-making). I'm thinking that I may switch from the Spectrum shortening (white palm fruit oil, if I've got this figured out) to the Jungle extra-virgin red palm oil (red palm fruit oil, I think). I wish I didn't have to think about this and could just be easy and be able to eat coconut oil, lol.

[Pat Robinson]

I kinda understood the red oil is fruit oil. Not sure what color the kernel oil is. I believe the chemical processing of the kernel oil sounds disturbing.

What about grass-fed butter for a fat; or virgin, first press olive oil? There are many alternatives for gut healing, just keep up your calories, is a priority when nursing. Bone broths, nutrient dense foods, kefir, etc.


Pat

[Lauren]

So, we trialled raw goat's milk kefir yesterday--just 1 TBS. River has a small red ring and had a very (now, uncharacteristically) restless sleep, waking a lot and even up a little in the night (typical reaction symptoms for him, but mild).

I'm wondering, are the benefits of the raw dairy kefir so good that I should keep giving it in spite of the (mild) reaction? If you were in this situation, what would you do? I'm just looking for opinions!!

TIA!


Lauren :)

[Pat Robinson]

I'd stick with the water kefir. The benefits of the dairy kefir are not outweighed by that reaction, imo. Each subsequent exposure can be more intense. The red ring is more of a concern than the night wakening, imo.

Did YOU consume the dairy kefir, or baby directly? If you did, that may only indicate YOUR intolerance, not his, though. There are so many benefits in the water kefir, I wouldn't push it.

Pat

[Lauren]

Ah Pat, as always, I'm at my home comp so this won't be linked to your last post, but...

Thank you for the info--I did not take the dairy kefir, so I think it's just his reaction. We will stick to water kefir for now. Thank you--I highly value your opionion!!

I've got some apple juice kefir brewing right now...yum!


Thanks again!


Lauren :)

[Lauren]

Update:


We've been doing really well and have successfully added eggs back into our diets! YAY!!!!

We have an appointment w/ a new homeopath named Joette Calabrese who seems really awesome and just a GREAT fit. She's also a WAPF spokesperson so is very into the nutrition support as well. Her bio is here:http://homeopathyworks.net/bio.html She healed her own food and chemical sensitivities through homeopathy, which is a major reason she got into it, and has worked w/ many people dealing w/ similar issues.

I'm just so excited, and wanted to share!

Thanks mamas for all your support and ideas that have helped us get to this place!


Lauren :)

[Pat Robinson]

Wow, she sounds amazing! Do you meet with her in person, or by phone?


Pat

[Lauren]

I will be meeting her in person, in mid-July. She is a little over an hour away from where I live (woo hoo!!!)

I'm so excited and I think this will be a great fit for us!!!!


Lauren :)

[Annie Austin]

Hi, just wanted to jump in here and add that the bioharmony Optimum Nutrition chewable multi vits are lactose, wheat, yeast, starch, salt, starch soya and dairy free. I e-mailed them about corn and they are corn free too, though it does not say so on the bottle. They also dont taste too bad so even my fussy 3yo is happy to take them.
Pat Robinson said:

Hey Lauren, corn is in many supplements and hidden in many prepared foods. The ladies will have some suggestions for vitamin supps without corn. But, corn is VERY hard to avoid.

[Pat Robinson]

RE: bioharmony Optimum Nutrition chewable multi vits

Do you have a link with ingredients, sources/quantities listed? Is it a whole food vitamin, and does it have folic acid or folate?


Pat

[Annie Austin]

Pat Robinson said:

RE: bioharmony Optimum Nutrition chewable multi vits

Do you have a link with ingredients, sources/quantities listed? Is it a whole food vitamin, and does it have folic acid or folate?


Pat

Hi Pat,
Sorry I am only responding now ... I lost the link to here and didnt have the time to look for it, I seem to spend hours a day in front of my computer (not including working) lol
The link to the Bioharmony vits is - http://www.bioharmony.co.za/StoreFrontProduct.aspx?PID=65 it is a South African link, but if you e-mail them in the UK I am sure they will answer any questions you have. I found them to be very helpful, unlike several others who didnt bother to reply to my e-mails when I asked about ingredients.
A