Caryn

My ds loves when I pack frozen strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries. I bought a plastic tub that has a cooler top built into it. I keep the lid in the freezer (found it at walmart in the plasticware isle). The frozen fruit stays cold until lunchtime. He will also eat carrot sticks. I sometimes pack almond slivers, and Hormel's Natural Select lunch meat. We use a metal thermos too and do the hot water trick. Sometimes I will heat GF hotdogs and slice them up, throw a bit of ketchup in and stir it up. Not too glamorous but fast when you're in a pinch. I found a new product called Udi's GF granola that he loves and will eat dry with a spoon. Sometimes I will make a parfait out of it with yogurt and the frozen fruit. That is his favorite. They do sell coconut milk yogurts at my local grocer. I am not sure if it is 100% dairy free though. You might want to check it out if you haven't already.

This is a small clip of the interview I did with Doug Kaufmann. Anyone dealing with fungal issues/ or has concerns they might be should check this out. I wrote a short summary as well to highlight additional information. Interview with Doug Kaufmann on "Know the Cause" television program

Oh, I would get my daughter off of the meds asap. I had a student years ago that developed tardive dyskinesia from ADHD medication. I believe he was on Ritalin but that is not the only med that can cause it. If you want to read more visit: http://www.breggin.com/ Or just do a google search on tardive dyskinesia and ADHD medication. There is much info on this. There are many natural things you can do to alleviate ADHD symptoms. Cut out corn syrups, avoid artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Cut out sugars and sweets. Try to eat fresh fruits and veggies. There are also natural supplements that can help as well. Fish oil is very good and so are B complex vitamins. But supplements will not help you if the diet is really bad.

thanks Cheri! We do a lot of coconut here too. I just wanted to add that commercial coconut milk is not ideal for fungal issues. It contains sugar and additives. Folks unaware need to buy a young coconut (not the brown hairy kind) and split open the cone shaped top with a knife by cutting out a square shape to it. The amount of juice in the coconut is enough for two or three people (unless it is a big tough Fireman). I wanted to add that real, raw coconut juice is actually better for balancing the electrolytes after an illness or for sporting events than pedialyte or sports drinks. And with my son's corn allergy, it is our only option. And hey-- It is delicious. For anyone wondering where the heck you would get a raw young coconut, check out local fresh markets like Pete's Fresh Market here in Chicago area, or ethnic shopping areas. Coconuts are a staple in Asia and Latin America. Here's a pic of what it looks like: Fresh Young Coconut image After you drink the juice take a spoon and peel off the meat. It is surprisingly good. My kids love it. It takes a long time for them to eat it. You could offer it in place of candy or ice cream. It is naturally sweet but not sickeningly so. Casein free folks can make coconut yogurt. I've never done it.

Never suggested that at all. But readers beware that antibiotics can cause a whole host of additional problems if they are used repeatedly and long term. If the body isn't a good host for infection then the infections will no longer be reoccurring and/or rampant. Each individual case has differing causes and we all need to do many kinds of tests to figure out each case. Abx in isolation can cause a lot of problems in an immuno-compromised individual long term. They suppress the immune system, they don't cure it. They do nothing to aid the body's weakness, the underlying causes of the reoccurring infections. Just read about Beauchamp versus Pasteur. If that is all people look for, is the next ailment and the next course of antibiotics then it is nothing more than a vicious cycle. Yes, antibiotics kill bacteria; but they are a mold and if the body is not in balance they will proliferate in that already sick body over time, especially if the diet is full of mycotoxins, sugars, and starch and has been repeatedly stripped of beneficial bacteria over a long period of time. I never suggested not to use abx for strep. You misunderstood my concern. I only warn that repeated and long term abx will cause other health problems down the road if that is the main course of treatment and dietary restrictions are not involved. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE guides me, drives me to make this point. Repeatedly if I have to. You suggest that only mild yeast overgrowth can be present in these kids. In MANY cases an antifungal diet has put children with symptoms of OCD and chronic multifocal ticcing into remission. There is much documented evidence suggesting that fungal infections can affect the brain and behavior. In a case where Pandas isn't 100% proven clinically why wouldn't a parent have their child tested for fungi? Dr. Bruce Semon has a program dedicated to working with T.S. patients using an anti-fungal approach. Doug Kaufman has a show dedicated to educating folks with auto immune disorders on the benefits of an anti-fungal diet. Sheila Rogers also discusses it in her book. Great Plains Labs in Kansas runs a series of diagnostic tests for children with Neurological issues. An ASO titer panel is one. Mycotoxins and Fungi are another....... The microbe is nothing. The terrain is everything. We all have potentially dangerous pathogens in and on our bodies. In a healthy individual they are in balance. In a sick person they wreak havoc.

You know what, for what it is worth, here is a good website for newbies to the whole mycotoxin world. I highly recommend all folks giving their kids prolonged and reoccurring doses of antibiotics read about it. Steroid users too. As they are medications made from mold--- http://www.realtimelab.com/mold_information_type.html

Yeah, I think fusarium can do that to the white blood cell count when the fungus is in the blood stream. That usually only happens in immuno-compromised cases. Most doctors know very little about mycotoxins and their effects on human illness. I have been battling fungal problems for thirty years due to prolonged and frequent antibiotics as a child, teen, and young adult.

I would test for a fungal issue. Tendonitis could mean excess mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are the waste products from fungi. Antibiotics are fungal and it would make sense that after a course or during a course you might see symptoms like that, especially if the diet is one that feeds fungus and encourages their reproduction and growth.

You all know that antibiotics are molds, right? A severe allergic reaction to an antibiotic generally means that there is also a mold allergy in the individual affected. Mold can be a major tic trigger and is extremely inflammatory in the body. Moldy environments can also make one very sick. Do a google search on mycotoxins.

I just wanted to add a bit if two cents here. I too feel that the constant and prolonged antibiotics are a dangerous road long term. I have mentioned this before on both this board and the Pandas board and each time I get my head chewed off. I am a product of long term repeated antibiotic use as a child, just for anyone that wants to attack me for stating this. I too agree that the causes are multiple and do believe that antibiotics are useful in lessening symptoms during an acute attack. But they are not a magic pill and cannot be used in isolation if a cure is to be found. When I say 'cure' I mean putting the disease state into remission. I just want to end with a quote from Louis Pasteur, the father of microbial medicine, while on his deathbed. He said Beachamp, his professional rival, was right-- "the microbe is nothing; the terrain is everything." If you try to treat a body that is in a diseased state with only antibiotics then you are not helping that body to properly heal to a point where the microbe no longer has the ability to flourish and wreak havoc. I agree wholeheartedly with Cheri. It is not the only answer and each and every child/adult with tics has varying causes. We must all look at the inner working of the body's sulfation system. We must test to see where the weakness lies. The microbe does nothing if the terrain can be properly healed.

ghee can do that. You could do like italians and spread olive oil and garlic powder (or rub fresh garlic) then toast it. We got into the habit of skipping the butter and just spreading apple butter or sometimes we did a thin layer of sunbutter. Mayo is a possibility too. Any artificial non-dairy usually has a smidgen of dairy. We never tried any of the commercial stuff (but then my son has a corn allergy). My kids will eat their bread plain with nothing on it now.

We did an anti fungal diet to eliminated my son's symptoms in 2007. In the beginning he was very reactive and the slightest exposure could send him ticcing for 5 days up to 2 1/2 weeks depending on what it was and how much he got. His biggest triggers were excitotoxins-- artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, and corn when it came to the neurological manifestations. Highly processed corn like High Fructose Corn Syrup was the worst. He also had digestive too, which we learned as we went along, and when his gut healed it seemed that his tolerance improved. He no longer has neuro symptoms but does react still when he gets any of the above with red circles under his eyes, sleeplessness, puffiness, and recently, a migraine headache after eating candy at school. Our story is here: Scientists have discovered that Celiac Disease Can be the Root Cause of most Neurological Disorders and here: Can Natural Treatments Help Alleviate a Chronic Multifocal Tic Disorder? Our first year saw a lot of wax and wane periods. Our second year saw much improvement but still some neuro on occasion. Our third year so far has been neuro free but still on strict organic all natural gluten and corn free diet. We used Bonnie's vitamins in the first year and I believe they helped a lot, but our son was less than 40 lbs and had to take 8-10 a day to help with symptoms. He eventually developed a salicylate sensitivity and so I decided to try the diet and wean him off of the high doses. He now takes a maintenance dose and is doing fine.

We successfully used Ghee when we eliminated dairy. It is clarified butter, so only the 'fat' remains. It doesn't taste like butter. You could use Spectrum Palm Oil instead or go 50/50 Palm Oil and Coconut Oil. Both are solid at room temperature. You could make your own Ghee too. I never did.

Michael and Char, I will answer briefly because the school gets out soon and I will have to go-- If you read Doug's many books and watch his show you will learn that there are mycotoxins in everything we eat. Heating food does not completely destroy them, either, as proven in a 1990 study by E.H. Marth. There are mycotoxins in dairy and also in eggs. I think the thing about the tests has to do with exactly Michael's assumption-- various test samples use foods that may be affected with varying levels of mycotoxins depending on the harvest they acquired at the time of testing. They get peanuts from a particular peanut farm infested with mycotoxins based on storage practices, etc.... Versus another farmer with different soil composition and different storage time/process for the next test batch. The point he makes is that we have to eat fungal fighting foods-- certain vegetables and kinds of meats that actually fight fungus and keep the fungal levels in our bodies down to manageable levels. We all have fungus and bacteria in our bodies. When be become unhealthy it is because the symbiosis is challenged by over population of either fungus or harmful bacteria. Our bodies are just giant petrie dishes. Our modern food system creates an abundance of processed, genetically modified, and antibiotic riddled food that tends to promote fungal overgrowth. Add to that steroid use and frequent antibiotics and you develop mycotoxic overload. That is his show's premise and the theory behind his work. We do not follow a diet as strict as the one he has but our diet is somewhat similar. I know this didn't really answer your question, Char. I apologize. We used to avoid eggs and milk. We eat them now. So in my opinion I believe that my son's overuse of antibiotics was the catalyst for his condition. The strict diet brought him back into balance and now we maintain it with organic, grass fed, low grain, etc..... But now we can eat things that once we couldn't because he doesn't have mycotoxic overload anymore. Doug talks more broadly than candida albicans. According to him there are hundreds of fungi and that is just one that the medical field is familiar with. Aflatoxin is another big one. Gotta run. Sorry---

yes, We avoid MSG and citric acid, too. Back when my son was reactive the tics lasted at the very least 5 days, but usually longer up to 2-2 1/2 weeks after ingesting something toxic to his system. It helps when the gut heals and the immune system gets stronger. You will not see such a reaction and the duration will lessen too. Just my experience with it. Do watch the corn sweeteners too, if you are not already doing that. HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is a major trigger. Read Dr. Blaylock's book about Excitotoxins.

Fixit, What's his daily diet like? Give me brand names and everything. I need to know his favorites, and what he hates with a passion. I will try to see if anything jumps out at me as hidden corn, etc... and see if there is anything that he could substitute. Where do you shop? What are the vitamin brands you use? Many, especially the C vitamins are corn derived. We personally can't do 99% of vitamin Cs. I found one brand that is a green powder that he was okay with. You know Pellegra is an 'old' disease that is supposedly no longer an 'issue' in modern society-- but if the diet is a high corn diet and there is little else, I don't know. I wouldn't worry that he has pellegra but definitely that there might be a connection to corn as an underlying aggravation. I use Country Life Basic B caps. It has 25mg B3 (niacin) and 25mg B6 and 50 mcg of B12 and 25 mg B1 and 25 mg B2 among other amounts. This one has worked the best for us. I use NutriBiotic Meta C buffered vitamin C with Metabolites in food matrix form. It is a green powder (phytoplankton). Says no corn on the label. Other 'no corn' C tablets caused a reaction. I put it down to citric acid, but that was just a guess, was always the same ingredient in all the other Cs. Maybe, maybe not. Hard to know without knowing the full extent of what he's eating and the supps he's on and the onset and duration of the 'red ear syndrome'. It is something that over time you will begin to figure out as you experiment more with what makes him tic. Sulfites are known to do this. Some people get them after a glass of wine. Sodium Benzoate can do it. MSG can do it. In our case our son was on a VERY high dose of B6. He was under 40 lbs at the time and was taking 8-10 Bontech supps a day. They worked with his many symptoms and helped minimize the rages and tics but it was a lot for such a little guy and he developed a sensitivity to sals. You know, I don't know too much about Dr. K. (although he is in my backyard practically). I never consulted him for treatment. I went to the Pfeiffer Center in Warrenville. I think it is hard to find a doc that is familiar with nutrition, and it is hard to find a nutritionist that is familiar with leaky gut issues. We got lucky with the Dan Doc because he has a son with autism so he 'gets it' beyond a clinical perspective. I read Jenny McCarthy's book and really connected with what she had to say. If you feel like you are walking in a dark room with a hundred door knobs and no light you are not alone. I think we all feel that way. You are your child's best advocate and the best lab tech/scientist he has. Start a food journal and see if there isn't a pattern emerging somewhere. I laughed when I read the last bit. But you are so right. I felt the exact same way. I sooo did not want to do the diet but I was desperate after a trip to the in laws resulted in a lot of long walks with our tantruming and ticcing boy. Now when I look back I can see that what he was eating was causing his distress. Back then not so much. Back then I liked my McDonalds and my Wilton cake decorating. I liked making 12 kinds of cookies at Christmas. I liked buying the Gerber snacks and making farina at breakfast time. Everything I owned condiment wise had HFCS in it. I used to make popcorn weekly as a snack. I didn't even know how to cook, either. I did Tortino's pizza rolls, ordered pizza, bought the green giant veggies with the frozen sauce. Now I make my own homemade sausages without nitrates. We peel carrots and potatoes every day. (I make the boys do it). We make our own salad dressing (simple, really, and so cheap). Yeah, the transition period really sucks. It does get better. Once you learn your brands and you figure out what is good and everything life gets more normal. Yeah, I don't rely on amino acids anymore but I did try different ones when he was more reactive. It is so hard to know what works and what doesn't when there are so many factors involved. He was prescribed inositol and taurine. We never did tyrosine. Keep your chin up. You are smart enough, strong enough, and have enough love to do what you need to do for your child. If you believe in God then use that power to guide you. You'll get there as long as you seek the truth. No doctor knows your child like you do. And many are experts in a field but lack knowledge in other more crucial areas that may or may not matter in your son's case so connecting the dots and various metabolic tests might be a job that only you can initiate and that is not the fault of any one doctor. I think they are in medicine to help people and there is a lot science doesn't yet know about this condition. I spent a long time feeling guilty and responsible. But I finally gave it over to my creator and it wasn't until then that I finally got peace about everything. There is always darkness before we come into the light. That dark room only has so many knobs. Eventually you will open the right door and know that everything is finally coming into view. I really can't say whether I think that corn is a problem for every one, or even most. But in our world it was the mountain we had to climb to get to the other side.

We don't use it all the time, just when I feel he needs a bump up. He was dxd with pyroluria too, and that can cause low glutathione. His diet is super clean and so I think that is partly why I don't need it all the time. When I was giving it every day I only gave him 25 mg, roughly a quarter of a 100 mg capsule that I would mix in something. My son seems to need it in the summer and fall then he is fine in the winter. I think this coincides with the corn growing season and there is a corn field less than 1/2 a mile from our house (In the city of Chicago, too- LOL). We didn't start using it until this summer, and by that time the OCD was not apparent anymore. So I can't say. I have seen studies that connected OCD to undiagnosed celiac so I put the 'cure' in that down to his being on a gluten and corn free diet for quite some time. Personally, I think it had to do with his leaky gut. Just my experience. Seemed like when that healed up it naturally improved over time. The supps that Cheri suggested really helped during the period that he was pretty bad. I also used Bon Tech and that helped, but again, those things did not cure him like the diet did. They did a tremendous job of helping him cope and manage while we were figuring it all out. At that time he was still waxing and waning a lot and we were playing daily detective games with him. Hm. My hunch is 'yes' it helps but I think that when you are really reactive and the antibody levels are really high for a particular food/protein then giving NAC with the allergic food is not very helpful. Just my experience, again, as that is what I did the first 5 months on the 'diet', not because I didn't want to follow it 100%. It was purely ignorance on my part. Yes. NAC helps the body produce more glutathione. Yes, the body needs glutathione to detox. It is an antioxidant and helps the liver and intestines function. Read CarolineN.'s posts. She has done a lot of research on NAC and uses it with a regular diet. (I believe she avoids MSG like the plague). She has had a lot of success with NAC. No, I don't often read the Pandas board. It is a different treatment protocol than what we used. From my standpoint antibiotics are the catalyst for my son's condition and not the cure. It was frequent use of antibiotics that developed a fungal issue and eventually the neuro symptoms. I have had to put my son on antibiotics after his dx one time due to an ear infection. I was very careful to feed him a good 'after antibiotics' diet so that he didn't get a rebound fungal problem after working so hard to eliminate the first one. I understand that on the Pandas board that is the main treatment option for many, if not all, and for us it seems counter productive as it would cause more harm than good in the gut if we over prescribed abx. My son had many courses from age 1 to 3 1/2. Four times in one year before we realized he was Celiac. He had issues with C-diff too, and eventually had reoccurring episodes of undigested food in his stools, to the point where you knew exactly what he had eaten. Graphic and gross, but necessary detail for anyone reading this who might have a light bulb moment. Undigested food in the stool means no absorption of vital nutrients. Means the kid is eating but nutritionally STARVED. Does he have the 'north american red ear'? I learned way back that high doses of B6 can cause a salicylate sensitivity. The Bontech actually caused my son to develop one. Now he is on a much lower dose of B6 for maintenance and he eats that stuff w/o problems. My little guy still gets the red ears. Almond milk is the worst for him. You know, I'm not familiar with metametrix, but I was privileged to talk with Doug Kaufmann of Know the Cause and he told me that he was one of the original designers of the IgG food allergy test. He claimed that those tests are flawed as the body is reacting to the mycotoxins in the food and not the food itself. So if the samples were not full of mycotoxins that might explain why all results done together were similar. That would also explain why the same person would get a totally different result six months later. All the foods my son tested positive for were fungal foods. He tested positive for 17. I shared this info with Doug and he and I agreed that my son was probably reacting to the mycotoxins and not the foods. I give 25 mg of NAC and he weighs about 45 lbs. No prob. I need to pay it forward. So many people have helped me along the way. I am eternally grateful to all of them.

Valerie, I can only speak from my personal experience. My son's onset of comorbid tics/ocd/adhd was at age 3 1/2. Through this website I discovered the importance of diet and supplements. My corn journey was a slow one. It was a 'radical' approach in the sense that it seemed like quackery from the perspective of, well, just about everybody in my circle of family and friends. I started out avoiding the obvious corn things. He got better but wasn't 'great'. So I started researching more and more until I got what others would consider 'fanatical' about removing corn. I got rid of laundry soaps, dish soaps, shampoos, spices, seasonings, vanilla extract, iodized table salt, began peeling the skin off of waxed fruit, got rid of anything preserved with citric acid, switched to grass fed unsalted butter, organic corn-free dairy products, grass fed organic meats. You cannot realize how deeply embedded corn byproducts are in our society until you try to cut them out. After doing this for just a few months my son had really turned a corner. After a year he was 'better'. Two years later I termed it 'remission'. Now accidental corn does not cause neurological symptoms anymore. He was pretty severe at onset. Had bladder control issues, rages, anxiety, sleeplessness, a whole host of issues-- bloated swollen tummy, undigested food in his feces, a long history of infections and treatments with antibiotics. What I have learned in the three years is that it takes a build process before the body breaks down and develops an autoimmune disorder. It takes time for the system to get so unbalanced that neurological symptoms erupt. --My son was also dxd with Celiac which could have contributed to the neuro or it could have been a separate coincidental dx. Just don't know. But I do know that when his gut healed (I believe he had fungal issues and a leaky gut) his intolerance became less severe. It got to the point where instead of seeing him develop chronic multifocal ticcing and extreme moodiness he would develop red shiners under his eyes for a few days. The ticcing would last up to two weeks during his healing stage. I will say that the more refined the corn byproduct the more he reacted. This is even true today. There are some nasty chemicals and fungi involved in making HFCS and other corn sweeteners. But I do not see the daily neuro symptoms. If he gets 'corned', especially from HFCS (which is very rare, but has happened at school twice) he will have problems attending to class and gets hyper for the remainder of the day. Has a major sloppy handwriting develop and will have trouble falling asleep that night. I use supps that help the liver and kidneys detox and this helps with the corn exposures. I used to use Benadryl dye free (but it does have sorbitol, mind you). I don't need it now. Caryn

Hi Valerie, My son is corn intolerant/allergic. I started avoiding corn about three years ago. I did not do it fully until about 5 months into it. what I learned along the way and his slow and steady recovery with each bit I continually removed until he was 'cured' and in 'remission' led me to the conclusion that there is no such thing as being able to successfully 'reduce the corn load' with him. Now, almost three years after completely removing corn from his daily diet I have noticed that accidental exposures do not make him react with neuro symptoms anymore. (He has recently gotten a migraine and in the past has developed red shiners under his eyes.) Corn has the highest mycotoxic load of all our foods in the U.S. Right under corn is peanuts and wheat. My son avoids all three. Mycotoxins (fungi) cause all kinds of problems in the body and if the gut is out of balance can lead to neurological probs in a worst case scenario. Basically it is a food that is laced with mold and from my research the more it is refined the more mycotoxins it has. I have written a bit on the subject as part of my learning about it. http://healthy-family.org/caryn/486/corn-s...eetens-our-food http://healthy-family.org/caryn/1308/monsa...mage-in-mammals http://healthy-family.org/caryn/1260/are-y...mycotoxic-fungi http://healthy-family.org/caryn/1186/dange...tose-corn-syrup These are just a few of the things I have learned over the years about corn and its byproducts. My son is also dxd Celiac and avoids wheat. We also avoid yeast and of course corn too. (And peanuts).

Sometimes inflammatory foods can cause tics to kick up. See if he notices a difference after, say, eating a meal like pizza, or after sweets. Omega 3s are very beneficial, too. He would do well to take some fish oil or flax oil supps, or just to include fish in his diet. Be sure it is a good quality and the supps don't have a lot of artificial ingredients in them. Try to avoid high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup when you are shopping for your family. It is even in some organic foods. Many folks on this list say that it can cause symptoms to increase. The magnesium is also helpful as a supplement before bed.

I read the laundry list of tests you had done. Just curious if your son's IgA levels are low? That is common for kids to test negative to autoimmune disease when they have low IgA levels as their bodies do not produce enough antibodies to test positive even though the disease is present. This is particularly true in pediatric cases of Celiac. http://americanceliac.org/celiac-disease/diagnosis/ There is an underlying reason why your son cannot get well and stay well. Maybe you could ask about IgA levels. Also, you could look at the bilirubin and the creatinine levels. They measure liver and kidney function. My son is not dxd Pandas although we did originally think it was. He is a diagnosed Celiac. Was always very sick and in need of antibiotics, etc..... We have been on a new diet since 2007 and he doesn't have any symptoms of OCD, tics, and is no longer getting chronic infections. We also eat only organic, grass fed, we are on an antifungal, no artificial diet and we avoid corn. Our son's creatinine levels were very high in his original CBC. He did not present with high strep antibodies but did get croup and severe ear and sinus infections. He also had digestive problems as well. Keep digging.

It is hard to know whether or not he has pyroluria without the urine test. I am sure other conditions can cause low zinc levels, as could certain diets exasperate it. Not knowing his weight or this lab testing, it would be impossible for anyone to give an educated guess on dosage. We were given a script that included 50 mg of zinc for my son at age 4 1/2 after his test results came back positive for pyroluria. He takes a much lower dose now and he is seven. He has no light sensitivity issues, but last summer during soccer season I saw it emerging again and so I upped his zinc a while until he seemed okay again, so again-- it can flare up for no apparent reason and then go into 'remission'. You really have to take him off the supps to get a good baseline. My hunch is that the test he took did not measure his body's ability to absorb without the 50 mg. He may need the 50 mg. Did your doctor prescribe that amount? Just wait until you have a good week off of school and he has time to recuperate when you do decide to test for mauve. I understand the fear of stopping supps. BTDT. You may be able to help him better in the long run if you have a proper dx, tho. I understand that PANDAS has a different treatment protocol than T.S. but it could be that there are some underlying metabolic issues shared by both conditions that can alleviate symptoms or alter the 'terrain' if you will. I want to stress this because Pyroluria is generally considered a condition that attacks folks with underlying digestive issues. Correcting these issues would make it hard for organisms to 'flourish' in the PANDAS child and thus make reoccurring episodes less likely. My opinion, of course. Although we did not deal with strep issues we had many courses of antibiotics in my son's early years due to many different kinds of infections. He was prone to microbe invasions. The underlying pyroluria, of course, weakened his immune system. The side of the family in which this condition originates has several relatives with digestive and immune based issues, of various kinds. He gets his celiac from the other side. Lucky kid. Nice gene pool, eh?

I am chuckling at your post. Yes. It is ridiculous. But it worked. Hats off to Jenny Connors who really pioneered things for corn allergy people with that website. You have no idea the work involved in that. A lot of those folks read U.S. patents to find hidden corn. I think that is how they discovered that in America it is in 100% of iodized salt. We only use sea salt. Meat is tough, too, because the beef in this country is from corn fed feedlot animals and their diet is pretty much corn based. They are not healthy stock. As a result the corn allergic folks advocate buying only organic grass fed. We didn't do that in the beginning but we do now, through a farmer direct and so we pay a lot less than the prices at Whole Foods. I am telling you, if you have a kid who is reactive to corn this is what works. It is crazy but it works over time. I knew a woman who had a child with behavior problems and depression and after they found out about her corn allergy and went corn free she really improved. In their case she had to make her own homemade toothpaste. We use silly strawberry from Tom's of Maine. Some kids are more reactive than my son was. To get the antibody levels down you have to eliminate all known sources and stay that way for as long as possible. Corn is tough so there will be a lot of accidents along the way but eventually you learn and then it is really not so bad. Food is totally not an issue here anymore. We do buy and use a lot of frozen fruit and veggies. We eat home cooked food every night. We avoid all fast food and all processed foods. We have included some jellies and other condiments lately with residual possible corn byproducts (like pectin and citric acid) and he did not have a reaction. He also ate a regular candy cane at school this past holiday and got a couple of red shiners under his eyes for about a week. So if you give the body a chance it will heal itself over time, but 100% avoidance is the only way to get there and stay there.

what are the 'antibodies' that you refer to? splain pls? Faith Faith, There are several kinds of antibodies. I'm sure you understand this but will post a link for anyone else reading this for the first time: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/immunoglobulins In the case of Celiac disease, where the body has an autoimmune 'allergic' reaction to wheat gluten, the patient begins to produce an antigliadin antibody that begins to attack the person's own tissues. It is an inflammatory disease that begins to attack multiple body systems and the symptoms vary from patient to patient. Both my aunt and my son were tested after considerable time on a strict gluten free diet and both had seen their antibody levels fall as a result of the diet. The Celiac specialist explained that the levels rise and fall slowly, over time, and rely heavily on total elimination in order to fall in a steady fashion. If you are having an immune reaction to the food and you 'cheat' on a weekly basis than you are not giving your body adequate time to heal itself and to lower those 'reactive' antibody levels to a point where they are manageable. I used to think that my son's sensitivity was always going to be heightened and that eating out would be a major issue, etc.... After all in the beginning we had to give it up because he would puke or get explosive diarrhea (antibodies were high back then). Last spring, after doing this religiously for two years, he ate a Dunkin Donut and the only thing that happened was a bit of constipation. A far cry from the old days. His body had healed. The celiac specialists will tell you that this is common in recovered patients but that eventually, if they fall off the bandwagon, those antibodies will slowly build again until the disease state returns again. Another example, my friend has Lupus. She went on Doug's Antifungal diet last year and 'recovered' after about two months on it. She was doing great for about six months. Then she began to 'cheat' a little here and there. She increased her sugar intake until finally, after five months, her symptoms returned again and she had to go back on the diet. Now, on the issue of corn. It is my firm believe that we are sitting on a sleeping 'giant' if you will. I think that because of the corn refiner's assoc. in the States that there has been a real absence of 'anti' corn testing, etc..... I would not be surprised if in the next 10 years we discover that there is a similar autoimmune disorder like Celiac plaguing folks with corn intolerance. A century ago there was much data on Pellegra as a harmful disease associated with too much corn in the diet. Corn is not nutritive. It is harmful, especially now that the gov't has made it legal to genetically modify it by fusing DNA from weeds into the man-made seeds. So to answer your question, no-- there isn't a named disease associating Corn with a specific autoimmune disorder like Celiac. I will tell you this, a growing majority of celiacs in the States are finding that they can no longer eat corn because it does the same thing to them that gluten does. Go figure. So I step down from my stump. Sorry for the long lecture. My passion just gets the best of me sometimes.

I have a carrot cake recipe that is moist and yummy. There are two frosting recipes. One is dairy free. I personally like the recipe with honey rather than sugar. It is moister. http://healthy-family.org/caryn/442