Amino acids

[Claire]

We have so much focus on vitamins and specific immune tests here, but I now feel that amino acids are heavily overlooked. Caz did some testing there.

 

For an extra $200 (not cheap!!!) you can add amino acid testing to the Great Plains OAT urine test (or buy it alone).

 

We finally did this and uncovered deficiencies, as I mentioned.

Here is a great site on amino acids. It discussed food sources, dosages, and deficiencies

 

http://www.moondragon.org/health/nutrition...ics/aminoacids/

 

Anyway, my son has been battling this fatigue. I just looked up the ones he was deficient in, and I was near tears reading about the impact of deficiencies on fatigue... It is like I have this malnourished child being pushed in today's educational world (many hours of homework a night). I wish I had done this 6 months ago, but neither our DAN doctor nor Pfeiffer thought it necesssary.

 

Ironically--after checking the protein sources--he gets those sources almost daily. So I am back to enzymes for better digesting the proteins, plus amino acid supplementation. Both our DAN doctor and Pfeiffer said supplementation wasn't so simple--the balance was key depending on this test. Both say amino acids are also known to feed yeast, where he is in bad shape right now. But they agree with the fact it is needed.

 

I will let you know if things improve. I am writing this--especially to anyone whose child seems tired out easily even with the supplements.

 

Claire

[Guest Guest_MMAZZ]

Hi CLaire:

 

Funny you mentioned this, I have been reading about amino's for a while and that supplementation of these amino's are not exactly the best thing to do especially for children. When I started supplementing I noticed a boost of energy that was no exactly normal. It seemed to magnify his tics or create new ones. So I chose the more natural course with juice theropy. It is not as fast acting as supplements but I was more comfortable with it. All the supplements mentioned here on the this forum are contained in carrots, spinach, celery and cucumbers. These veggies also have amazing anti-oxidant properties. WIth the cleaning up of the diet and the constant 8-10 oz glass of fresh veggies daily- meat consumption is on the rise which feeds the need for the aminos. Also whole grains are a great source and when you place a nut spread (almond, peanut butter, etc.) on toast with some soy lethcin - it makes a powerful and yummy snack. Fresh OJ with celery stalk and bananna, some ice in a blender makes a great smoothie ... I know that many complain that their children hate to take pills, I just think that food is the ultimate suuplement and not enough is being said about it. I think supplementation is great, but organic sources of vitamins are easily absorbed, especially through juicing and if you have a child who hates pills ...they need to know that there are options that they have so they may obtain the same benefits.

Sorry for the speech..but I have now been juicing for almost four months and have seen great improvements with my entire family, from school grades, personality changes, minimizing tics, less photosenstivity, better short term memory and great energy levels. Of course not all issues are gone, but its a long road....

 

Marie

[Spring]

Hi Maria,

 

Thanks for the information! Would you mind to share the details on how you make your veggie juice?

 

Thanks!

 

Jean

[Chemar]

Just an extra word of caution on amino acids.......especially if you are dealing with Tourette Syndrome.

SOME AMINO ACIDS CAN ELEVATE TOURETTE TICS AND CAUSE OTHER PROBLEMS.

 

Because amino acids have a very direct impact on the brain it is VERY important to FIRST talk with a knowledgable physician BEFORE supplementing with amino acids, ESPECIALLY IN CHILDREN.

 

Amino Acids can be very beneficial, as we know taurine especially has a very calming effect on tics.

But be very careful in just adding amino acids without physician guidance!

[Guest Guest_mmazz]

Hello Jean;

 

I pretty much stick to the basics. I use fresh carrot juice as my base and add spinach to the mix. When that gets a little old, I kick it up with a bananna and some ice in the blender and out comes a smoothie. Sometimes, I just do carrot and bananna with ice in the blender, and for a change carrot and cucumber. One pound of carrots yield about 1 glass of juice, about 4-5 oz.of spinach is what I would add it. In December my little guy was white and pasty with horrible chapped lips and rashes. Today he looks like he came off the beach of California. The Beta Cartoene adds such a nice colr to the skin, and by that you know that your child has reached its level of fat soluable viatmins and the extra is being stored within the skins tissue...totally harmless and a plus side to the appearance. Carrots are a natural detoxifier and spinach is a natural laxative (not strong..but strong enough to have a movement daily) add to that some fun fruit and their on their way to good nutrition. It's allot of work and a commitment, but truley worth every minute. I used to peter-out by 7, but now I can do 11 and still get up at 6 every morning...including weekends! And I need it because he has the same energy level as me! If you try it..good luck because children don't take to it because its not advertised and does not have a surprise toy inside. But it is sweet and taken with a bendie straw makes it easier. If you do it as a family it is much easier. Oh and another plus...jucied cucumbers and celery are natures fountain of youth. Many fines lines have disappeared for me...now I just have to work on the grey HA! If interested there is a book by Norman Walker called Fresh Juice and Vegitables. He explains nutrient absorbtion and gives formulas of veggies for alignments. It's a 7 dollar book- and about 75 pages...an easy read on the eyes and wallet but packed full of info. You can find it on Amazon.com. I recommend buying it!

Good Luck and if you have any other questions...I'm alway reading on the forum for all of the great info found here. Thanks all!

 

Marie

[Claire]

Marie,

 

I absolutely agree re juicing being great, and have been since my son was 2 (he is now 11), but vegies are not a reasonable source of amino acids. That must come from proteins. My son likes carrot and brocolli juices for veggies. Also, I am always careful about juicing with his yeast overgrowth. I have tried other vegies, but he doesn't like them. Can't force food down him!

 

As for getting all the nutrients from juicing, I looked closely at the levels in veggies and for most B vitamins it takes way more than my son would drink. For A and C it is great. Here is the site I always use for vitamin levels of foods.

 

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/Index.html

 

Also, I don't like the skin to get where you can see the color from the carrots...but that is just my own caution. I haven't read it causing harm.

 

 

 

 

Chemar,

 

I agree 100% re supplementing amino acids without direction AND testing. This is why I never supplemented, even though I knew my son was deficient. I will discuss this more with my doctor, and fortunately, he is extremely cautious--suits me just fine. In fact, I am also paying Pfeiffer to analyze the same test to get 2 opinions. Both said the balance is key.

 

I will try more proteins, but this reminds me of when he drank 4 glasses of milk a day and was calcium deficient. It concerns me that he is low even with the Peptizade (protein) enzyme.

 

Claire

[Guest Guest_mmazz]

Hi Claire:

 

I agree that veggies do not boost aminos, but strangely enough the vitamins that veggies do provide do increase the appetite that will give you the opportunity to have them eat meat which is rich in amminos. Also the enzymes that the juice provides are so beneficial to the digestive tract. I know of no supplement that offers these quantities and types of enzymes. I personally started juice because of the need to detox the body. What better way to detox but naturally...the high anti-oxidant levels and the benefit of capturing the free radicals to offset futher damage is the reason why I chose this path. In the research I've done, I found that how you juice is the important factor for obtaining adequate vitamin/mineral content. I use a Norwalk juicer that titerates the veggies and after that process is complete the veggies are hydraulically pressed through a cloth bag to produce a juice that has no heat to kill off any vitamins/minerals and the nutrient content is about 4 times and better than what is stated by centrafugal manufactorers or even the manufacturers of Kempro. With juicing 100% of the nutrients are being absorbed by the body instead of 50-70% from eating- in eating veggies the body expells the fiber and about 30-50% of the nutrients are captured within the fiber. That is why it is important to juice. As for daily requirements, for an adualt 1 pint a day is great- that is just two 8 oz glasses. For a child 5 to 8oz daily, double that if you are juicing for illness. I still do a multi and soy lethicin granuals and balance the diet to include as much fruit, meats and nuts as possible. A well rounded- balance diet is benefical and taught at an early age will help our children into adulthood- perhaps they will be knowledgable enough to not fall into the trap that most adults do with high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, these illnesses are just as frightening as tics and are present day worries because many children have these issues. As for supplements absorbtion, it is not 100% either and it is worth saying so. The base that manufacturers use is just as important as the content that the vitamins have on the label. If the content is inorganic and chemically based these supplements will pass through the body, the body cannot benefit from inorganic matter. THe best thing is to chose supplements that are made from foods i.e, Aminal Parade Multi-vitamins so that absorbtion is optimum or as close as it can get. I don't think I will ever stop supplementation, but supplementaion without proper dietary guidelines is swimming against the tide. As for the cartonene color, it is nothing that will cause harm. If you look around you, especially in winter and spring months most people are white and pasty looking. WHITE AND PASTY IS NOT HEALTHY!!! And in the late spring through fall people hide their colro behind sun exposure...NOT HEALTHY.

[Guest Guest_MMAZZ]

Hi CLaire:

 

WIth the cleaning up of the diet and the constant 8-10 oz glass of fresh veggies daily- meat consumption is on the rise which feeds the need for the aminos. 

Marie

Hi Claire:

 

I did not mean that veggies provide amino's. Just that with the increase of appetite, I use that opportunity to offer meats which provides the balanced aminos needed. As for nutritents of juice, I do beg to differ. THe way juice is prepared makes all of the difference. Centrifugal and Kempro juicers provide minimal and/or trace nutrients, while using a titerator with hydraulic pressing provides substantial nutrients and enzymes. With no heat and immediate consumption your absorbtion is 100%. One pound of carrots equals an 8 oz glass- there you have an abundance of A-P, minerals like cal and mag, antioxidants and digestive enzymes. IT absorbs within the body within 15 minutes. I culd never eat a pound of carrots! Also eating stops the 100% absorbtion level since many nutrients are caught within the fiber and will pass through the body. Another plus is the waste removal that this provides. IMPOTANT FACT NUMBER ONE...GET RID OF THE WASTE DAILY SO WE DO NOT REABSORB TOXINS. As for the color of the skin...WHITE AND PASTY IS NOT HEALTHY!! Also caratene protects us from the suns dangerous rays, so the caratene that gets absorbed into the skin tissue will benefit our children even more. I, for one, haTE to lather my sons with chemicals, so I will take this benefit hands downs. CHildren should drink 5-8 oz daily of veggie juice more if juicing for illness, while adults should drink 1 to three pints daily. I am a strong believer that while supplementation is great, diet has to go hand in hand. Many here call it elimination diet- I call it a better way of eating. If we teach our children nothing but eating right, we might just prevent heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, etc, which truely are more scary than tics. SO heres to a healthy life style!

 

Marie

[Claire]

Hi Marie,

 

This is a good discussion.

 

I do know the theories and understand the better absorption (always better with liquids and natural sources)-- but my son has drunk veggie juice for ~9 years (out of 11) and gets ~5-6 oz/day and still had all those deficiencies, per the various testing. And it didn't prevent him from craving wheat and milk only for a long time. And I make it fresh exactly when he takes it (when in preschool).

 

So I guess what I personally would conclude is that 1) juicing is great and 2) it may be sufficient for many, but not for all. e.g. It worked for your child, but not mine.

 

Having said this, in an ideal world, I wish juicing and normal foods were all that was needed. I don't know if your child has some of the same issues as mine (yeast, toxic mercury--which I am not convinced is fully dealt with based on the blood test alone, severe zinc deficiency and other vitamins, low amino acids, historical gluten/casein sensitivity). Yeast interferes with nutrient absorption tremendously, as does gluten sensitivity (think celiac). If juicing alone was enough to cure celiac/gluten sensitivity, I think we would have more success stories there.

 

e.g. Some of our kids (both my son and I) have food sensitivities and/or do not have the enzymes for proteins. We need either betaine HCL (Caz) or the enzymes, or MT promotion possibly to store the enzymes. The pathways are so complex and each child's treatment seems individualized.

 

I don't doubt one bit that it made a tremendous difference for your child. And your reminding people of it here is a good thing, since I took it for granted myself. Congratulations, I am a bit jealous that that is all it took for you, wish it were the same here!

 

Claire

[Claire]

Hi Marie,

 

This is a good discussion.

 

I do know the theories and understand the better absorption (always better with liquids and natural sources)-- but my son has drunk veggie juice for ~9 years (out of 11) and gets ~5-6 oz/day and still had all those deficiencies, per the various testing. And it didn't prevent him from craving wheat and milk only for a long time. And I make it fresh exactly when he takes it (although in preschool, I sometimes did the cubes like Alison and put it in fruit juice).

 

So I guess what I personally would conclude for now (not having seen studies on their application for tic syndromes--since we never have the luxury of those) is that 1) juicing is great and 2) it may be sufficient for many, but not for all. e.g. It worked for your child, but not mine.

 

Having said this, in an ideal world, I wish juicing and normal foods were all that was needed. I don't know if your child has some of the same issues as mine (yeast, toxic mercury, zinc deficiency and other vitamins, low amino acids, historical gluten/casein sensitivity). Yeast interferes with nutrient absorption tremendously, as does gluten sensitivity (think celiac). If juicing alone was enough to cure celiac/gluten sensitivity, I think we would have more success stories there.

 

e.g. Some of our kids (both my son and I) have food sensitivities and/or do not have the enzymes for proteins. We need either betaine HCL (Caz) or the enzymes, or MT promotion possibly to store the enzymes. The pathways are so complex and each child's treatment seems individualized.

 

I don't doubt one bit that it made a tremendous difference for your child. And your reminding people of it here is a good thing, since I took it for granted myself. Congratulations, I am a bit jealous that that is all it took for you, wish it were the same here!

 

Claire

[Guest Guest_MMAZZ]

Hi Claire:

 

I am very new to this and I really have not done testing since my son just started this whole tic thing in December. And by the way he still tics but not as much and we still can't watch TV, so we are a long way from cured. But many good things happened and for that I am eternally grateful. Small steps. I like the results I found from juicing and have made life sytle changes that I am hopeful will be good in the future. Your posts taught me so much and by no way am I allowing myself to think that just juicing is the end all cure. You tell everyone about the full bucket and when it spills out. I will tell you I am using your words in reverse. I am trying to fill the bucket with good and every little bit will spill over for the better. I am a true believer of mind, body and spirit and have changed my family in so many ways. This forum is a great way to get the news out and if a child can benefit from all pathways traveled than it is worth the time of which we all take to read and post. The journey is full of hard bumps in the road and our strong will to help our children will benefit them.. from a glass of juice, Bonnies's supps to a side of beef for the amino's I have always found your posts enlightening and cross reference them daily to find maybe just one more thing I might be missing. Keep up the great work you have done here for yourself, your son and many like me who depend upon you!

 

Marie

[Claire]

Hi Marie,

 

Thanks for the kind words. I hope you know that I was sincere in saying that juicing can only be a good thing, and that I am really glad that you continue to raise it--eventually more people will begin to understand if it makes sense for their lifestyle. You and I both know the biggest part is the parental time juicing and cleaning the juicer--not getting kids to drink it.

 

So many of these children self-select lousy diets, and gulping a few ounces of juice takes seconds (and much less parental pressure) versus 10 minutes of chewing brocolli. Let alone the fact that they will eat a much higher quantity that way.

 

Claire

[Claire]

Marie,

 

I just asked our DAN doctor re the shift in skin color from jucing carrots (a friend told me about this and I had thus carefully avoided it), and he said it was a sign of too much and should be avoided. I was asking for my own son--your situation may be different, but I am passing it on, just in case. He even gave it a name which I forgot (carotenosis???). I know that Vitamin A is toxic at high levels, but carrots make just be betacarotene, so that may not apply.

 

We know many doctors here disagree on chelation, etc, so not stating this as a final definitive statement.

 

Claire

[Guest Guest_mmazz]

Hey Claire;

 

Point well taken. I too researched the carotene color and asked a few docs myself and had many different opinions. The USDA also has its say and Carotina (spelling??) is the pro vitamin A. The body makes enough Vit A and stores it in the liver, the rest pro vitamin A or beta carotene is stored in the tissue of the skin. No toxic levels just a healthy glow. But I never heard of anyone over-dosing on an 8 oz glass of juice....have you:) I also mix it up a bit with other veggies and fruit. I truley value your opinion and I welcome any insight positive or negative. Oh and whats with the posts....I was typing and lost my post and then I had to repost and now all the posts are here and double??? I think this board had a few tics today Oh humor ...its been a long time since I laughed. I looked on another site you mentioned about coconut oil..have you tried it? Any insight there. I just can't seem to get rid of the thrush. Many there claim that it is great for yeast. Well gotta run...thanks for the great topic..as usual. Have a great night!

 

Marie

[Claire]

My doctor also said no toxic levels of betacarotene (as opposed to Vit A). I didn't know if carrots are just betacarotene or vit A? Do you know?

 

We starting cooking with expeller pressed coconut oil 6 months ago or so. I was hoping it would help my son's yeast. Never as good as extra virgin, but the extra virgin STINKS when you cook it, yuck. The refined is flavorless. Anyway, my son's yeast is horrible, so can't say it helped, though I will recheck mine soon. It is also supposed to help adrenal function and help you burn fat better.

 

Re the color or no, Chemar cautioned me re alpha lipoic acid when my son started supplementing, and on another board someone commented that it was too much selenium. I wish there were a consensus on this, our judgements as parents is ongoing. Chemar and I had a great debate on stimming and I think it helps everyone to make better decisions.

 

We all get along so great here, my biggest fear is if we are afraid to offer alternative viewpoints for fear of giving offense. THAT is when the learning ends, in my opinion.

 

Ha ha re the board. My computer always gets tics!

 

Claire