Anyone ever done Exclusion diet for allergies

[Raene]

with kids, that is...
My daughter has been soooo constipated lately and she is basically refusing to try anymore...I don't know what it could be b/c I already limit what she eats, and I'm looking into doing this exclusion diet but I just don't know how she'd do with that. She's 4 and between her and my mom, they think I'm being cruel b/c I've lately been limiting her diet to see what her allergies might be. But if I do this, apparently you just give them one thing at a time, say rice, and then after 5 days reintroduce foods until you see what they're having a reaction to. If anyone else has done this before and has tips/ideas I'd be grateful. I'm thinking it's either wheat, gluten, or goat yogurt. She used to be vegan b/c she has dairy allergies anyway but I've been giving her goat yogurt b/c the soy yogurt has sugar in it and the goat's doesn't...plus, I think it's all unhealthy but it's one of those battles I don't seem to win...eliminating the yogurt. Goat yogurt is the only dairy she consumes.

[carolg]

My grandbaby 3 is going for NAET treatments with acupuncture here in CO this summer: www.red-white.net

Perhaps trying some green drinks that Costco sells, not that I favor buying it that way, but my daughter's friends had constipation problems with their kids and this was the answer.

Is she getting enough oils in her diet as I am thinking it would be a lubricant.

I always remember prunes to be the answer, but make sure there are no pits in it. In this regard you may want to think of soaking prunes in water, having her drink the water too plus eating the prunes once you have gone through the prune itself for pits.

Grated beets with some oil may help her "move." I would go light on the beets however.

Hope this helps.

I'm still a big fan of NAET, Allergy Elimination program. This practioner has people all over the US come in for treatments. The wait is usually 3 months out, but worth it.

Oh, years back I remember a lady who was super constipated for weeks and all that worked was "cooked" pasta with some olive oil on it to get her moving. I realize we are talking raw, but sounds like a chronic condition for your little one that may be an additional option as you "digest" the cause.

Best to you. Keep us posted.

carolg

[Raene]

I did NAET with my daughter when she was a baby, too. It was fascinating and worked well with several of her allergies, but I can no longer spend that much money on treatment. I am hoping to do the testing myself this time around.
I know the cost of NAET treatments do vary from place to place; in Texas I paid $60 a treatment and I think here in NY it's only $25. Definitely more affordable, but when you have as many allergies as my family then it's still an expensive option.

[Clare]

Well, if you are thinking it might be gluten and/or dairy (and most allergies are) , you might simply eliminate those which is not easy but way easier than doing a total elimination diet. I did this with my first son's eczema and it turned out it was wheat, but only junk wheat (not sprouted). I eliminated all gluten and all dairy for two weeks and his skin cleared. A test with dairy (which he only gets raw) was fine. A test at church that I didn't ask for with those nasty goldfish brought it back. Then two weeks later I tested homemade Essene bread. Fine. Then I tested Ezekiel sprout bread. Fine. Anyway, I learned a lot. I still think the dairy changed his behavior for the worse and now that he's 2 1/2 we've pretty much eliminated that, too, except for the occasional cheese samples he begs for at Whole Foods, where unfortunately they put out like 5 different cheeses at a time!

If you are really thinking there are all sorts of allergies present, you might want to seek out a good integrative M.D. that could treat her with nystatin and give her a special diet while her gut heals, if necessary. YOu could come up with a diet of vegetables, fruits, seeds, etc that she hasn't been exposed to in the past...

Just my thought.

[NuttyRawMom]

We have done several different elimination diets over the past few years with my son. He is 7 now. His was for ADHD, SPD, and Asperger's (we aren't sure of this one just yet, but pretty positive) and the most profound effects have been with a high raw, gluten-free vegan diet. The typical is gluten-casein-free diet, but being vegan eliminates so much more than the casein.

I have read that sprouting wheat does change the gluten (which is the type of protein found in wheat and similar grains) so that it is digestible by those who are normally sensitive to it. I have not yet done a test phase with this since we are on such a good roll with him now.

This diet came after eliminating all the food additives, basically following the Feingold diet. We saw great results with that, too, but after a while hit a plateau in the effects and I knew there had to be more we could do. At the same time, I was getting into raw, and it wasn't until the beginning of this year that we made this commitment level for the kids to see if it would help my son.

It is always so easy to give in a little, but a little can have a long lasting effect. Until you really go for it and stay away from certain foods for a long time, you won't realize what you could actually acheive.

My blog talks about the things we have done and is based on all this. If you want to email me, you can and I would love to help you with more.

I would start with a food log where you keep track of what she eats and any symptoms you might notice each day. That could help you pinpoint trigger foods if a pattern develops. Or, you could just broadly eliminate certain items and wait a period of time for results.

Hope that helps get you started.

[Clare]

Stephani,

That is fabulous, what you are doing for ALL of your kids, and especially your son! Go, mama! If only more people knew...a woman I know has an adopted son with Asperger's (for sure) and I have encouraged her with library books and referred her to my excellent pediatrician (happens to be a DAN doctor, too) but she says she is too busy right now with her son's "therapy" every week to take on any new "projects" for him. Sad...this boy was adopted from Russia, where he was given a month of daily antibiotic injections from birth for syphylis infection so he is probably riddled with candida, allergies, etc. Poor little guy.

[Raene]

This is sooo weird, but I finally figured out what it was.
As a baby she loved dairy yogurt, and I didn't know better, so I gave it to her...she was allergic so I had to stop. I then gave her soy and she's become allergic to it over the past two years so I quit that and when she'd ask for yogurt I'd buy goat's yogurt, even though we're 99% vegan, bc goat seems more natural than the other choices (plus she's allergic). But no...her body can't even handle goat yogurt. It was completely stopping her up!! She's been doing great after we eliminated this, though she's really sad she can no longer have yogurt. I've heard of making your own raw yogurt out of almond but I tried once and it went bad...guess for now she'll just have to do without.

[carolg]

Raene
Glad NAET worked. Here it's $45 per treatment. Thanks for sharing it's effect.
carolg

[JuanaV]

Hi,

With our older children we did the "Core" diet. Basically it eliminates all foods except maybe 15 to 2o of them. I had to journal what they were like, their moods, any complaints and so on. After about 3 weeks I introduced a new food every couple of days. The foods introduced where in a certain order according to the Core Diet. Then I watched for symptoms. The symptoms were often the complaints or withdrawal symptoms when all the foods had been eliminated.

This was the interesting part. Our eldest son became aggressive when he had cinnamon. Our eldest daughter had stomach aches with corn. Our next daughter got really crabby, we called it a "mad on", she wouldn't talk to us for days, when her meat and potatoes where combined together in a meal. Our next son bounced all over the place with dairy, dates or orange juice. Our youngest son at the time was similar to his brother in bouncing all over the place - and I do mean bouncing!!!

So we avoided those foods and in about a year or so they could have those items without them being bothered - well all except our daughter with the food combining. I think it still bothers her and she is 20 now.

[NuttyRawMom]

Stephani,

That is fabulous, what you are doing for ALL of your kids, and especially your son! Go, mama! If only more people knew...a woman I know has an adopted son with Asperger's (for sure) and I have encouraged her with library books and referred her to my excellent pediatrician (happens to be a DAN doctor, too) but she says she is too busy right now with her son's "therapy" every week to take on any new "projects" for him. Sad...this boy was adopted from Russia, where he was given a month of daily antibiotic injections from birth for syphylis infection so he is probably riddled with candida, allergies, etc. Poor little guy.

Oh, stories like this really sadden me. I understand, though, how just keeping up with life with your child as-is is overwhelming enough and the thought of doing 'all that extra work' seems impossible. Only now that we have had such great results am I so eager to tell the world that there is a different way, a better way, and it is easier, sooo much easier, once you come through the other side of the battle. Thanks for your encouragement!


This is sooo weird, but I finally figured out what it was.
As a baby she loved dairy yogurt, and I didn't know better, so I gave it to her...she was allergic so I had to stop. I then gave her soy and she's become allergic to it over the past two years so I quit that and when she'd ask for yogurt I'd buy goat's yogurt, even though we're 99% vegan, bc goat seems more natural than the other choices (plus she's allergic). But no...her body can't even handle goat yogurt. It was completely stopping her up!! She's been doing great after we eliminated this, though she's really sad she can no longer have yogurt. I've heard of making your own raw yogurt out of almond but I tried once and it went bad...guess for now she'll just have to do without.

I am glad you found the culprit. When my 5 year old girl was 3-6 months old she developed a severe case of eczema. I was tormented trying to find the reason for it. Crazy thing was, she was exclusively breastfeeding and we were vegan, so it wasn't the typical dairy culprit. I never found out what it was after trying an elimination diet on myself. Thankfully it went away, but even at this age I notice she develops a mild rash if she has bread or dairy.

I wish I had a solution for a subsitute, but I don't. It is tough having to push yourself to the 'strictly forbidden' stage with the kids, but hopefully seeing the benefits will help!