posted
My daughter (11 yo) is supposed to be on a low sugar, low carb diet per her new LLMD. She is already gluten, dairy, and soy free and a vegetarian. The vegetarian part is her choice. She refuses to consider eating meat at this point.
Unfortunately, everything she wants to eat is something she shouldn't be eating. She says she doesn't feel hungry but she can eat some white rice or potatoes. Of course, she is also willing to eat foods with lots of added sugar.
The doctor said to work on it but not to be neurotic. I feel like we have to make a big deal out of it or she will make no changes at all. We are willing to let her have a little bit of candy every day during Halloween season and a little bit of white rice, etc along with her healthier meals but she eats that little bit and nothing else.
She is still suffering from a severe headache and doesn't do much of anything. She says she hates her life and her diet.
Any advice?
Posts: 984 | From US | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
There are several OTC yeast meds that are effective in yeast control but not eliminating it.
There are artificial sweeteners such as Stevia.
You can buy a Stevia plant at www.Gurneys.com The site tells you what to do to put it in your food. I believe it's just a matter of crushing the leaves.
Posts: 921 | From CT | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
The diet can be hard for kids and we had my son on a GF/CF diet for year too. Now combine that with the low sugar and low carbs and that can be a toughie (epecially as she is a vegetarian and avoiding soy too).
What about a Pumpkin pie to satisfy her sweet tooth and carb cravings. I know that sweet potatoes/pumpkin are ok on most low sugar and carb/yeast diets and have good nutrients. We make ours with rice or almond milk and use Agave Nectar for the natural sweetner. You can make a nut crust for it too. Not sure she is eating eggs but you can use an egg substitute if so.
Also veggie stir fry's would be good for her with some seeds for added protein. What about Lentil burgers or Lettuce Wraps with hummus spread. Also there are some natural crackers such as sesame seed that are low glycemic as well. There is a real good recipe for mock pate made with green beans and onions (google it) and it taste great.
Soups would be a good idea this time of year too. I know you are avoiding carbs but complex carbs such as veggies should be ok.
There are also many kids friendly foods at health food stores too that can help make it easier too. Many are low carb and or sweetened with natural products.
Posts: 476 | From Columbus, Ohio | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
Can you get her to at least eat BROWN rice??
No wonder she feels terrible! She has got to have protein from SOMETHING! .. and then what she IS eating is feeding yeast... more misery and lack of energy .. plus headaches.
I feel for you, Mom!!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
People, including children.. NEED carbs. Brain food.
She will crave the foods her body needs.
And now that I see her diet restrictions and have thought about it...
Feeding me that diet would make me want to bite you on the leg.
Life sucks enough right now for her... as you have heard her say.
A diet with some flare and fun will not kill her and a diet that restrictive could do damage, long term damage.
Cut back yes.. but don't eliminate all reasons she has for eating.
BTW- Does she have a test showing she NEEDS to be gluten and dairy free? Or is that just a "thing" to do in hopes she may feel better?
I ask because now you don't just have a child with Lyme...
You have a sick, unhappy, miserable, depressed, underfed child who is NOT looking forward to the future.
Bless her heart... and please let her have SOME control over her life at this point.
Yes... say no to drugs.. don't have sex till you are married, blah blah blah..
But restricting food choices... to the point she is suffering...
Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
Organic (less chemicals/pesticides) whole milk will give her some fat and some protein, along with minerals. The fat will help off-set the carbs, in terms of yeast spreading.
You could maybe find some cocoa mix sweetened with Stevia to make it chocolatey.
When in doubt, I just drink a huge glass of whole milk (organic only though....regular has pesticides and stuff).
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
I am certain about the need to be gluten and dairy free. Even she agrees with that. She had a constant stomach ache her whole life until we found out gluten and milk were the cause. This was pre-TBD, but is probably here to stay because we have several generations of gluten intolerants in our family.
Her soy restriction is less clear. Her test showed a result of 9 with 10 being positive. When we first started her on the GF/CF diet, it looked like she had a stomach problem with soy, too. I was surprised her test result was negative. When she eats it now, it seems like she sometimes has an emotional reaction to it. But with her now dx'ed Lyme, it is hard to tell if it is from the soy or a TBD flare. Her sister, who doesn't have Lyme, has a strong emotional reaction to milk and gluten so I know food allergies can cause emotional problems.
My concern is the lack of protein along with the fact that what she is eating feeds yeast. Her old LLMD wasn't concerned about sugar, much less carbs, so we didn't do much with restricting her diet further. Now, she isn't getting better, and her new LLMD does believe she needs to change her diet.
She did seem to eat more protein before. Her eating habits have gotten really bad recently. I honestly think she just feels so bad that she doesn't have much appetite. And when you don't feel like eating, white rice and coconut milk yogurt with lots of sugar is more appealing than brown rice and lentils or nuts.
It can't be helping her not to eat but at the same time, with her new diet, I don't see how I can just let her eat whatever she wants.
We are letting her have some candy every day.
Yesterday, she had part of a protein smoothie for breakfast. Then for lunch, she ate some unsweetened apple sauce and wanted some candy. I told her she could have it if she ate a healthy lunch, meaning something with some protein and reasonably low carb. She said she wasn't hungry enough to do that.
So she didn't eat anything until dinner when she had beans and Mexican rice, made with white rice. Then Halloween candy.
She used to eat more eggs but now she is wondering if they are making her feel worse so she has been trying to avoid them.
Her doctor said not to be neurotic about this diet, but I feel like if we were any less neurotic, she would eat only white rice and sugar.
How important is it to be strict about this? Is it worth having her not eat much? If she weren't so sick, I would think she would eventually get hungry and eat more, but with her not feeling so well, I'm not sure. She is taking Diflucan and Nystatin daily for now.
I guess I will call the LLMD on Monday to see what he says.
Posts: 984 | From US | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
OR you could make your own hot chocolate as follows:
6 - 8 ounces boiling water
1 heaping teaspoon unsweetened powdered baking chocolate, like Hershey's. I buy generic.
pinch of salt
Stevia for sweetener
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla
Wait until it cools to the child's liking before tasting.
All recipes can be tweeked to the users' preference.
Posts: 921 | From CT | Registered: Apr 2009
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sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
Please ask her LLMD or local pediatrician for a referral to see a dietician.
Your daughter is growing, trying to fight an infection, and having to deal with food intolerance/allergies. Any of these reasons would merit a referral.
A dietician can help you and your daughter figure out balanced meal plans to meet her individual needs.
You might also want to visit some ethnic grocery stores for some different food options and flavors to add variety to her diet.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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Pinelady
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 18524
posted
You can make the pumpkin/sweet potato pies with
coconut milk also that may help. I do believe
natural fruit sugars are less offensive as cane
sugars, so I would give her whatever she likes in
that dept. because if she likes it she may still
be getting some vitamins out of them.
Blueberries, strawberries and other fruits
sweetened with stevia may curb that need for
other sugars. There are also many drinks on the
shelves for diabetics. My grandmother always
loved the orange slice. Someone here had some
recipes for yogurt fruit smoothies. Nuts are
highly antioxidants, and so is chocolate.
-------------------- Suspected Lyme 07 Test neg One band migrating in IgG region unable to identify.Igenex Jan.09IFA titer 1:40 IND IgM neg pos 31 +++ 34 IND 39 IND 41 IND 83-93 + DX:Neuroborreliosis Posts: 5850 | From Kentucky | Registered: Dec 2008
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richedie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14689
posted
JKMom,
That is great your daughter is vegetarian at a young age. Hopefully she'll keep it up for life. Now, she just needs to shift to helthy selections. Will she not try brown rice, rather than white rice? How abour red skin potatos? Spreouted grain bread? Beans? Nuts? Whole grain, high fiber cereals, oatmeal, etc?
She doesn't need meat, but she needs to eat healthy? She only needs about 9% protein from her diet although you could bump that up a bit if fighting something like Lyme! That is why I suggested beans, nuts, seeds, maybe some tofu, etc?
I was vegetarian/vegan for 10 years and was at my peak condition/strongest in bodybuilding withou any animal protein and no supplements so think about that for a minute. A friend of mine just wrote a vegan bodybuilding book, so don't get caught up into the protein myths. Human breast milk is 5% protein. Think about that for a moment. Only reason I went back to eating 'some' meat is due to this infection and trying to substitute some of the flour products I used to eat. However, I could easily eat vegetarian again and be on abx, no problem. Just avoid the processed, refined garbage.
By the way, every study I have ever read shows vegetarians have much higher amounts of the beneficial bacteria and less candida. These are studies of healthy vegetarians who eat correctly, not pizza, white rice, junk, etc! Meat is very acdic, bad for the health of your joints, bones, feeds a disease state.
I find no problem with some meat in the diet, I actually prefer it to add flavor such as a light organic chicken stew where I use a smaller amount of chicken than most, but I like the added flavor.
Just some thoughs. I hope it all turns out well.
-------------------- Mepron/Zith/Ceftin Doxy/Biaxin/Flagyl pulse. Artemisinin with Doxy/Biaxin. Period of Levaquin and Ceftin. Then Levaquin, Bactrim and Biaxin. Bactrim/Augmentin/Rifampin. Mepron/Biaxin/Artemisinin/Cat's Claw Rifampin/Bactrim/Alinia Plaquenil/Biaxin Posts: 1949 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Feb 2008
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posted
I would highly suggest joining a yahoo group for special diets like the GFCF one. Many kids who are GFCF are free of other things too. For protein can she have almond butter? I know you can do this and have her healthy.
The one thing that comes across is why do you have white rice in the house at all. I wouldn't have it in the house at all so she has no choice about that one at least.
(So good at giving advice, but, so bad at takling it, I am trying to go sugar free myself.)
My sister runs a dietary intervention group in NJ, if you woul dlike her phone number she will surely help you just PM me and I will give you her phone number.
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Taurine (found mostly in muscle meats) is vital. Vegetarians and vegans should consider supplementing taurine, as well as B-12 and L-Carnitine. More about that here:
THE REQUIREMENTS OF PROTEIN & AMINO ACID DURING ACUTE & CHRONIC INFECTION . . .
Anura V. Kurpad - Institute of Population Health & Clinical Research, Bangalore, India 129. Indian J Med Res 124, August 2006, pp 129-148.
Excerpt:
" . . . In general, the amount of EXTRA protein that would appear to be needed is of the order of 20-25 per cent of the recommended intake, for most infections. . . ."
- Full article at link (or google the title if it does not go through). -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
So sorry, jkmom! It sounds very rough for your daughter.
My son is also 11 yrs old, dealing with Lyme. He's now gluten, dairy, sugar free, no simple carbs and it's going well. It's not perfect - I mean Halloween was hard to get through. And the first two months of it were challenging sometimes, particularly when we'd go out to restaurants or when we went to a wedding this summer. I quickly realized we needed to only eat at home for a while and to pack and plan ahead better.
In general he really doesn't want to bite off my leg. He wants to get well and he knows his diet is important. He has a good attitude about it and it's not at all a fight. He knows that he can hardly breath when he eats dairy. Dr J strongly recommended he get off gluten. And we were already pretty low with the simple carb, sugar thing before all this started. Although now my son is down to pretty much zero of that stuff now.
No agave nectar, honey or anything like that. The sweeteners we use are Stevia, Xylitol and Splenda (my step-sister, an ND gave the okay on that one).
He has been eating natural/whole/slowish foods since he was a baby. It's been my thing for over 25 years, so it's just part of our lifestyle. He has grown up knowing about health and nutrition.
I don't know how long your daughter has been dealing with this or how natural food oriented your household has been but I'm aware that we've been lucky in that respect. The full transition hasn't been too difficult.
I just don't know what kind of help I'm being - probably not at all. I just feel like I know the 11 year old pretty well right now. My niece is also 11 years old. And my nephew just turned 12.
I just don't know your family food history, what you've traditionally kept in the house, what she's used to.
I've heard enough about the bacteria craving sugar. Sugar cravings increase.
My son does goat everything - goat cheese, goat, yogurt, goat milk. Will your daughter like these things?
Also, we use coconut oil to cook with and it gives a wonderful slightly sweet flavor to foods.
I'll give a sample menu of what we might eat in a day. I'm aware it's not vegetarian, but that's one thing we're not right now. I can't help you there much, although I was a vegetarian for ten years. I'm out of the loop to a certain degree:
breakfast: fried egg in coconut oil corn tortilla avocado spinach sausage hot tea with Stevia
lunch (packed for school): Granny Smith Apple Carrot Sliced Turkey Nuts okra
Snack: goat yogurt blueberries stevia
Dinner: A salad with home made dressing (sweetened w/ xylitol) Pork Chop brined in salt and xylitol Artichoke Mayo (sugar free) Garlic
Oh - and we've gone online and found great sugar-free, gluten free, simple carb free, dairy free desserts. We've learned lots of substitutes.
And I've attempted a rue using guar gum instead of wheat (for a gravy).
Eating sugar and simple carbs can screw with your blood sugar and make you depressed, too. I might have a heart to heart with her about it, see if she's willing to have a fun cook day in the kitchen with you making desserts (my son loves this, just spending time with me). It might help her out of her sad shell some.
I'm so sorry you all are going through this!! Don't think for a second that you're screwing her up by supporting her in eating healthy to take care of herself while she recovers. It's important life-skill to have. Having a healthy relationship with food involves knowing and giving what your body needs. It involves a lot of balancing of the mind and all that other stuff but it's okay to have some discipline, too. It sounds like she hasn't embraced it yet, what all of this means. I really would think hard about what kind of talk you can have with her about all of this. She's definitely old enough to get it and she might actually find a sense of empowerment in it by taking care of herself. I don't believe she's lost the will to live or any of that sort of garbage. She's and 11 year old girl, resilient, smart and moody like all of them.
You do not deserve to have your leg bitten. Shame on the mother shamers.
Posts: 43 | From Southeastern US | Registered: Jul 2009
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posted
Unless someone has a medical condition (i.e. celiac (or gluten intolerance), diabetes) that requires them to alter their diet, I really wouldn't put so much pressure on the diet.
I also don't eat meat. During my 20 months of aggressive antibiotic treatment, I had no other dietary restrictions. I certainly tried to eat healthy foods but never worried about gluten or sugar.
I did a gluten-free diet for a time period to see if I was gluten intolerant...I felt no better and decided it was more important that I eat healthy foods, gain some weight, fuel my body to allow it to heal and most importantly, be able to look forward to a meal and not add another thing in my life to worry/fret/research about.
Anyway, I am well today and I got well without altering my diet...I ate plenty of fruits/vegetables but also had a big bowl of ice cream most nights.
I'm a mother of two and I beleive if it were my child, I would probably not worry about some of those diets too much. No matter what you decide to do, you are clearly a wonderful, caring mother trying to balance taking care of both your child's emotional and physical needs.
Posts: 561 | From mass | Registered: Jul 2007
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