Nutrition

Here's some advice - and please correct me if I am wrong:

Replacing dairy - there are many ways to get dairy. If A1 milk (normal for many countries) is a problem - then try A2 - human milk, goats milk and specific types of cows are A2. Annabelle has no problem with A2 cows milk but gets chronic diarrhoea and stomach cramps with any type of A1 - milk, cheese, cream or yoghurt. Milk can be replaced in recipes by other liquids. Rice milk is low in many nutrients. Soy milk is not the answer - as it interferes with thyroid function, other nutrient absorption- particularly iron, and has other health concerns - not which the least is affecting blood clotting ability! However available calcium can be found in oranges, bok choy, broccoli, almonds, dates...

Wheat flour replacements - usually taste gritty, leave a sour aftertaste and are expensive! So unless it is ground almonds (packs a protein and calcium punch) then don't bother! Many foods were never designed to have anything to do with wheat flour.
- fish cakes
-steak and chips
-beef stew
-omelet and salad
-lamb shanks with veges and mashed potato
-grilled salmon, new potatoes and light veges
-prawn and pea risotto
-pumpkin soup.....

...the list is really very long.

Tasting good without soy - use other spices and fresh herbs. Just season well.


Make the most of what you CAN eat - I buy whole free range chickens - use them for roast dinners and curries for the leftovers and then make a soup from the carcass. No waste. No additives. A NZ$15 free range chicken does our family of four for a roast dinner, cold cuts with chips and salad, leftovers make curry (just add cheap rice!) and then soup. Far cheaper than buying mince or $21/ kg chicken breast!

Lycopene - is a micronutrient - abundant in tomatoes. Which Dave and Annabelle can't have. It is also in watermelon, peaches, nectarines...

Fibre - a big argument with taking out bread and wheat from the diet is that fibre may be a problem. Well a lot of people I know eat white bread -and there isn't a huge amount of fibre in that. But apples, avocado, kiwi fruit, orange, peas, sweet potatoes - are all good sources of fibre. They also contain potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, selenium.... as well as a whole host of vitamins. If you want to know more check out this great site.

So maybe people need to examine the food they dish up to their kids. Where is the potassium, the B12, the fibre, the available calcium? At least now I know if a nutrient is low. After all I now know that potassium is essential for heart health - but too much can damage kidneys. Selenium is essential for a healthy brain. And everyone knows about iron.

It's a balancing act - but if you are reading this and still reaching for the frozen manufactured meat, oven chips (I haven't even mentioned salicylites) with a dollop of tomato ketchup on the side - then think of putting vitamins, minerals, protein, good fat, carbs... on the plate.

Please.

Food and nutrition is so important

I have been doing load of research since my last post. First an update:
Hubby is now dairy and gluten and soy free. But not celiac. He had the blood and stool test - and then a biopsy - which you can read about on his own blog . Annabelle had the tests too - but the results were negative even though she has a rash, stomach cramps and diarrhoea to boot if she has a hint of gluten!

Katie continues to react to any azo dyes and we stay as additive free as possible. Though she is fine with the gluten and dairy and soy.

So I have spent a lot of time examining tests, reactions and recipes. I am becoming quite an expert on the protein content of certain foods - and the potassium, sodium etc. And where to get lycopene if you can't eat tomatoes - like two in my family can't.

It made me realise that you really are what you eat. And some people can eat what they like without any effect. And others can't. I have read a lot of books and don't hold with the blood type theory. Though interestingly my husband is AB-. We are now busy looking at lectins and the possibility that him and daughter #2 have a lectin intolerance with most families. So he is on a strict diet and we are challenging him every few days with a new food for signs of intolerance.

Anyway there is a lot out there on the web about foods. But not a huge amount about lectin intolerance. It is a very new field. Meanwhile I shall be carefully balancing nutrition whilst waiting for the hospital dietitian's appointment. It's a good job I aren't working at the moment as I have time to research replacement foods.

I have also been looking at 'additive free' type blogs and I am a bit disappointed. I feel very behind - but we have been doing this for three years now and I thought there would be a lot of info out there. No-one seems to be talking nutrition. Disappointing.