No Dairy, Eggs, Nuts, Soy, Wheat---so What DO I Eat?

Buy the book "You Are What You EAT" by Dr. Gillian McKeith. She goes over all these issues and offers you lots of healthy alternatives. She is the nutritionist to the stars. I just bought her book used on Amazon for less than $7.

a great multi-vitamin. One a day is excellent, and gives you the balance of what you might miss in different foods.

You'll need to check out the organic department of you local grocery or go to an organic/health food market and there you will find a good variety of gluten-free pastas/breads/crackers to substitute. Also, you can incorporate veggie stock and cornstarch for thickening agents in your pasta dishes. They make egg substitute... though I'm not sure what it is made of but that will allow you to make quiches. Instead of soy cheese they have almond milk cheeses. Rice milk is available for you as well. Or goat's milk is widely used when cow's and soy is not appropriate. I know it's overwhelming when you have to change all that you know about eating/cooking, but you'll get the hang of it and really you will feel a little better without all of the heavy dairy and wheat gluten. Good luck.

No problem! After years of problems, my daughter was finally diagnosed with Celiac and also in addition to gluten, problems with dairy (casein), soy, eggs, and some beans and some nuts.

Instead of thinking of it as removing these items, which would leave little in your original diet, she approached it as learning a whole other diet. She actually eats a more diverse diet now than before!

Not too surprisingly, I and my other daughter have also been found to have to eliminate gluten, casein and soy, and me eggs and some nuts as well. I was such a picky eater, I thought just like you - how?

Well, you do it immediately and COMPLETELY. There can be no half-way about it. Your gut needs to heal. We did anti-candida and probiotics and now eat a mostly whole foods diet.

We do go to restaurants and ask to talk to the manager about how the foods are cooked.

I learned we can substitute olive oil for anything we used to use butter for. I do add meats to veggie dishes, although my younger daughter will eat fish and poultry but isn't keen on consuming mammals.

I cannot say I eat as diverse a diet as my younger daughter, and my older daughter has already found the fast food places in town she can still get "junk food" from, but I'd say we all do eat healthier than before.

My younger daughter paved the way for the rest of us. Ironic, isn't it? Here, she was the teen... but she feels so much better now - her intestinal malabsorption had been so bad that she was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 16... after years of being told her abdominal distress was "mental" (take a look at http://www.itsnotmental.com). She is now in college studying to be a dietitian!

Oh - that's another suggestion. Consult with a dietitian. We had some free consultations with a local dietitian at a health foods store.

Most cities also have Celiac groups and cooking classes, and many with Celiac also have other food sensitivities as well.

Play with recipes. Start with a cook book, but have a playful take on it.

-J.

Check out Dr. Sears for how to properly do an elimination diet. You should cut out all those things for just 10 days then gradually add them back in, one at a time, to see which one is actually problematic.

By your foremilk/hindmilk comment, I'm assuming you're talking about food allergies through breastmilk and you're not supplimenting with formula at all, or giving any solids? How old is he?
Sometimes you are able to cut items out, and then slowly introduce them at a later time, and his body will be able to handle them better when his digestive system matures around 6-9 months. However, the amounts that get through your breastmilk are minimal, so, you may consider other things as well. An allergy to eggs or nuts usually show with rashes - and aren't typcially something that is very noticeable through breastmilk, though, that's not saying it couldn't happen.
Do you eat a lot of spicy foods? They may cause gas if your baby has a sensitive tummy.
As far as your question - try cutting back your foods that you think are causing the problem before eliminating them totally - it may be that the amounts are just too much, and less of the food would solve the problem at this stage.
I would cut back soy first because it is so hard for you to digest, it is really hard for babies as well. If you want an alternative to cow's milk - use Rice Milk. Its very easily digested.
Also, I would suggest the "I LOVE YOU" massage as well for gas. You can find examples on You Tube, or if you search google.

Yes, eat lots vegetable, fruits and meat, along with a fiber supplement (like psyllium husk capsules). Also take a high quality multi-vitamin. Take the fiber supplement at a different time than when you take the multivitamin. Also throw in a mag/calcium supplement (again at a different time). Also make sure that you're taking flaxseed or fish oil - very helpful to your body in many, many ways.

The fiber works wonders for your digestive system, keeping your pipes clean and psyllium husks don't give you diarrhea, just clean, easy bms.

There are grains out there that you should be able to eat, too. (maybe barley, flax and the many others you can find at a health food store). And don't forget lentils and beans.

Have you tried goat's milk as an alternative to soy or cow's milk?

Apples, broccoli, and berries are known as superfoods, along with flax oil.

I have Gillian's book, too. It has been a godsend to me.

A drastic change in your diet might be a challenge, but you will feel so much better and both of you will benefit.

Many blessings to you.

Hi N.,
I missed out on your previous post, and don't know how old your son is. I'm assuming you're breastfeeding (?) Both my boys and many other babies I know went through a particularly 'colicky' time between 2-5 months, for some reason. No matter what I ate or didn't eat. That said, you can also think about what you *should* eat, and pass on to him, so that he might be better able to process your milk, so that you could have a little more freedom in your own diet . Many people find remarkable success in calming their digestive systems down by adding keifer to their diet. This can be found in any whole foods market, and takes a little 'getting used to". It adds a lot of friendly bacteria to the digestive system, which seems to calm many adverse food issues. Keifer has been around for thousands of years, and most of the rest of the world knows about it and uses it regularly. Our American processed foods tend to leach a lot of good bacteria from our food, so our digestive systems become somewhat fragile and reactive. It can't hurt you or your baby to try some out and see if you both don't feel a lot better within a week or two.

My daughter has the same allergies except the soy, so I was able to drink soy milk. As far as variety, I only ate meat, fruit, and vegetables. I dranked V-8 fusion juice to help me get the servings of fruit and vegetables. To my knowlege, it is very limited. I lost so much weight that I decided to go ahead and wean her. I had initially plan to BF for 6 months but made it to 9 months.

Make sure you continue taking your prenatal and a calcium supplement because you will need that extra calcium if you are eliminating it from your diet. I also bought Orange juice with calcium. Hopes this help!

Rice milk or goats milk will replace regular milk. I have a gluten allergy and also have kids with food allergies so I have replaced flour with 3/4 brown rice flour and 1/4 potato starch in almost any recipe. You can eat corn chips with salsa or guacemole for snack and rice for lunch or dinner. We usually eat salads for lunch at our housse in the summer. They consist of any combination of these items that I have on hand: mixed greens or spinach, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or other fruit, raisins, goat cheese, onions, and a couple of tablespoons of flaxseed. In the winter I make vegetable soup or bean soup for lunch and my 12 yr old has perfected his cornbread over the years. My kids are gluten, dairy, and sugar free and one is egg free so I understand all about food allergies. As for breakfast, you can do fresh fruit with bacon or sausage or a rice, quinoa, or millett cereal with honey or agave. For dinner, meat, potatoes, vegetables. Just whatever you like. You can dice potatoes with a little olive oil and onion and put in reynolds wrap on the grill. You can nuke sweet potatoes in the microwave. When I first was diagnosed I was lost too and my hubby would grill just about any meat I wanted which made it easier for me. Don't give up! There are others of us that have gone before you and it's not hopeless. Our ancestors didn't eat wheat at every meal and they survived! If you need any more info feel free to e-mail me.

Did the Dr say your son has food allergies? If your not sure try taking 1 different food at a time till they are all ruled 1 way or another. And on the fussiness it may be nothing but colic .. 1 of mine was very fussy and there was nothing wrong

I've suffered from extreme and constantly changing food allergies since I was 17. In fact it runs in my family and even my children have it.
You don't have to eliminate them all for good. You could try--what is called, "The emilimation method". the first part is hard. You must completely remove any suspects (wheat, soy, dairy, nuts, eggs etc) for one week. If you see an improvement, you know the culprit is one of those food items. The next step is to bring one of the suspects back in--for example, wheat. Wait 3-4 days and if thre's no negative results, you know it's not wheat and can keep that one on your food consumption list. If there ARE negative effects, write the food item down on a list called "Reactive Foods" and avoid it til after he's weaned.
Then once again, bring another food item back into your diet, wait 3-4 days etc. This is the only reliable way of knowing just WHAT you can eat and what you can't.
For that first week, you can rice (white or brown), hormone and anti-biotic-free meat (this is very important! My children and myself all react to the chemicals in regular meat and your son might as well), veggies, fruit, rice milk, rice crackers, humus (great for protein. I have some easy recipes for them if you need them--feel free to message me).

Another thing I think I need to mention is that my kids and I discovered that drinking 2 oz of 100% pomegrante juice (we make smoothies with it too) has done wonders with our immune systems (which GREATLY effects food allergies). None of us react as strongly and sometimes not at all to the things that would normally make us ill and we're rarely sick. It's been wonderful! :)

Good luck with everything!

I had the same problem. I ended up eating baked chicken and brown rice for a while. : )

Don't worry - It's easier than you think. We went thru the same thing 7 months ago. I have always been gluten intollerant, so giving up an entire group of food was not new to me. M infant went thru a horrbile begining - more pain and fussiness than he should have ever had for an entire lifetime, let alone the first 2 months of his life (he was born last Oct). It was at his 2 month appointment that we realized that this just wasn't "the colicky-est baby in the world" - b/c before htat we were in denial and even my Dr. was dismissing all the signs, even the low grade fever that he would run every night of his life. Fast forward (thru a pediatric GI specialist at Vandy childrens hospital and various naturopath treatments). Our biggest culperit turned out to be the long chain protiens were attacking his GI system. So in short his stools were completely filled with blood, mucus, fat deposits, and worst of all a high whits cell count. Fast forward - I am off all of the top 8 allergens (gluten, dairy, eggs, so, tree nuts, peanuts, fish, & shell fish), I also am on a high powered anti-oxidant that cleared out his white cells in 2 weeks (we have the stool samples to prove it) and it turned m breastmik into a low protien form of breastmilk (think of the predigested formulas that some children have to go to). So it was bland on his tummy and he was now able to heal rather than be under attack. This is explaniation according to the GI specialist that is.
So that was a long way to get to I know where you are coming from. I have now become a reaaly good "allergen free cook" my friends think I need to write a cookbook about it ;-) But as far as what Ieat - alot of fruit, vegtables, meat and chicken (all allergen free of course). Believe it or notit seems as if soy is the hardest to avoid. So that being said check eveything. I like alot of flavor in my food so I spice up just about eveything (or coat it with dressings that I can actually eat - like boars head honey mustard). I always keep a big pot of homemade beans and brown rice in the fridge as a base to fill up on. mI make the rice with homemade chicken stock, because it imparts alot of flavor, and more nutrients as well. And then come time for a meal I add some sautaed spinich and chicken to it and cover it with oh say an allergen free salsa. I also have to bake everything form scratch - but this is a good thing b/c the allergen free stuff that they sell at whole foods is really expensive and doesn't even taste that good. So I love my fake sugar cookies (made with palm oil instead of butter, egg replacer instead of eggs, and rice & bean flours instead of flour). I also make a great allergen free vegtable breads like zuccinin and carrot breads that are filled with sweet dried fruits like cherries. And I must mention about how I used to LOVE Ice cream, but didn't want to pay $6 a pint for the coconut based one at whole foods, so I now make AWESOME potato milk ice cream, my friends think it tastes like the frosty from wendys. I do however buy the coconut milk yogurt ($2 a container), b/c I can't seem to find a good substitue for that. Also I now buy the allergen free chocolate chips by the case and am a little addicted to them according to my hubby - oh well. So all I am trying to do is inspire you that there is alot out there, and if your anthing like me ou will feel the healthiest you have ever felt in your life (nice un-intended consequence for us for doing this for our little ones). You are a GREAT Mommy for being willing to make the sacrifices that our little one needs for great health.
Feel free to contact me for more ideas.
B.
p.s. - my little one is now 9 months old and the picture of health - and is practically never upset. It's WONDERFUL - b/c I remember so clearly where you are at.
- I was typing fast, so please excuse the mistakes.

I cook gluten free due to celiac disease in our family, so I understand your frustration and concern. One website I think would be very helpful to you is http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/ This woman is on a yahoogroups that I belong to and her knowledge is amazing. She would be willing to answer any question you have as well. Peruse her website and see if that will help.

Have you had your son tested or was it through elimination? The reason I ask, is if you suspect celiac disease, taking him off gluten (protein found in wheat, rye, oats and barley) before getting him tested, may mess up the test results.

celiac.com
celiac.org
csaceliacs.org are great resources for that if interested.

Also, check out your local library. You'll be amazed at how many book are out there to help you cook for you and your family facing food allergies or multiple food allergies.

Best of luck, I know it's a challenge.

A friend of mine ate only oatmeal for the whole year(+took vitamins and suplements)But her son was and extreme case(like blood in the stool).But I guess it's wheat ?????.......might not hurt to try though.
L. C.
http://nomoreboringclothes4boys.blogspot.com/

I wouldn't quit eating all of these cold turkey. Can you remove one thing from your diet at a time to try to pinpoint which one is the exact culprit. I would guess that dairy and soy could be more of a problem than nuts and eggs as an intolerance. So maybe do away with dairy for a week to see if that calms his tummy any. Eating a balanced diet of fruits, veggies, and healthy low fat meats is not as difficult as you would think. Make a list of the fruits, veggies, and meats that you like. Then plan your menu around them. The options are limitless. There are a few websites that have menu plans for eating this way - - search them out. Good luck.

Also, for colicky baby that is nursing, get some FENNEL TINCTURE, put a dropper full in YOUR water 2X a day. Works wonders.

Visit your local health food store or Whole Foods. You will find lots of allergy friendly substitutes, and books too. Rice products may be the way to go for you. Also, indulge in seeds instead of nuts, like pepitas & sunflower seeds. You can even find sunflower seed butter to replace peanut butter.

Rice milk is a yummy sub for regular or soy.

Spelt bread is good & very similar to wheat in taste. A sprouted grain bread, even with wheat in it might work ok over the processed wheat.

There are lots of varieties of rice & tons of different broths to cook them in. It doesnt have to get boring.

You might find Goat & Sheep cheeses & milks are ok even if the cow dairy is not. It is highly digestible, unlike our friend, the cow.

Good luck!

P

Ener-G foods makes a tapioca loaf that is wheat, dairy, egg, and nut free (not sure about soy) Rice dream makes and ice cream that meets the criteria and Trader Joe and Vans make waffles that meet these as well. If you need any other suggestions I would be happy to help. My son is on a special diet that requires limited use of these products.

As a Celiac who can't eat gluten I must say that you shouldn't abandon food options unless you have no choice. You need to make sure that your son and your self have actual food allergies because those foods are very valuable nutritionally. Wheat is loaded with vitamin B and the best fiber in nature. Soy and milk are in almost everything and eggs are great protein.

You should explore the possibility that his problems are due to reflux and can be treated with antiacids until he outgrows them. I breastfed both of my children and they both had reflux. They spit up all the time, acted extremely colicky, and had trouble sleeping properly. We gave them cherry mylanta and the symptoms went away with treatment and then with time. Neither kids has any food allergies at all.