Nutritional Consult

Thanks for sticking around, even though my posts have been minimal as of late.  It is for good reason.  I am soaking up every moment that I can with the fam - and enjoying the glimpses of warm weather we have  had!  I hope you have too!

As I noted in a recent update, we decided to meet with a nutritionist (Dr. Shaw).  We sent away a hair sample as this the superior way to determine if heavy metals are present.  Here is what D's sample yielded:

• No significant heavy metal levels
• Very low mineral levels
• Very low Chromium levels
• High Iodine levels

It's a mix of good news and not-so-good news.  With no heavy metals in the toxic levels, there is no need for oral chelation.  That's the good news.  The concerning news is that all the major minerals are low, indicating that he is not absorbing minerals as he should.  Of most concern is chromium, which is a very important mineral in regulating blood sugar levels.  The high iodine levels in the hair suggest that it is NOT being absorbed elsewhere.

So, what does all this mean? 

The fact that D's chromium levels are so low indicates that he already has trouble regulating blood sugar (it spikes then drops rather than a slow, controlled burn off).   The malabsorption of minerals is likely due to inflammation in the intestinal tract, which is likely due to an allergy/sensitivity to gluten and/or dairy.  And we were given a diagnosis for D regarding the nutritional findings - hyper-reactive hypoglycemia. 

The remedy is pretty simple. Yet it is requiring us to re-evaluate a lot of things we eat and do as a family.  Here's our plan:

• Supplement chromium to help regulate blood sugar
• Continue with current multi-vitamin and Omega 3's
• Add Vitamin D
• Add "Attention Gels", which is a supplement to help, well, you guessed it...attention!
• Remove the common high allergy foods - wheat and dairy
• Remove sugar (ouch, hard one!!!)
• Make sure that all meals/snack have protein component
• Buy Iodized salt for use at home

We have emphasized making D a part of this process, from candidly talking about the results (in 5 year old terms) to taking him to the store to pick out foods.  And he seems to be okay with it.  But, he hasn't been faced with much temptation yet... 

Dr. Shaw has treated PDD with much success, and is confident that we will see a 30-50% improvement in his behavior within 30 days, if not sooner.  

Much of the findings make sense as we often see episodes of anger/frustration that were probably occurring when his blood sugar was crashing.  We are anxious to see if this new diet helps - and I think we will all feel better as we really focus on eating better foods.

We have not stopped pursuit of an "official" diagnosis because he will need it to get help in the school system.  D is scheduled for testing on May 4th.  We would so appreciate your prayers as this day approaches.

xoxo,

Chele