My Kids' Emilination Diet

Just because I took my kids to the doctors, I didn't expect them to have all the answers. The mother's intuition has worked for me more than any doctor's visit.

Case in point. Five years ago, Brek always woke up with stuffy nose. For his yearly checkup, his pediatrician suggested that he visited a board certified allergist. At that time, Camden also was having food intolerance to dairy, corn, and chicken eggs. I took them in and asked if they could be tested for food allergy. At first, this doctor totally ignored Camden's issue, saying that he was too young for food allergy tests. He gave so much attention to Brek, saying that his stuffy nose was most likely triggered by environment. So Brek had a skin test instead... for environment. Came up positive for many things, including oak, grasses, cats and dogs. We left the office with three prescriptions and with a doctor's final says (not exact words), "Tried these medications. Come back in a month and we'll evaluate how the medicines work out for him." Really??? Three prescribed medications. What a waste of time.

I never filled the prescriptions. My intuition told me that it had to be something Brek ate. When he was a baby, Brek was sensitive to dairy. I thought he was already outgrew it, but I went ahead and took him off of cow's milk products. Within twenty-four hours, his nose cleared up and was no longer stuffy. Come to think of it, I should just eliminate dairy from his diet instead of going to see the allergist.

Fast forward to this year. The same situation happened to Camden. His nose was super stuffy that he couldn't breath at all. His turbinates were swollen. It was over a year of not knowing what was the culprit that caused his stuffy nose. During his yearly checkup, his doctor prescribed him a steroid nasal spray. It was all good until it no longer worked. Plus, if he didn't get the nose spray, his nose would become stuffy again. Temporary relief but I wanted a permanent solution.

Since we weren't having dairy (cow's products) in the house, I took corn out of his diet. I cooked and baked everything from scratch with clean and corn free products. For over six weeks of corn free diet, there was no change in his health. His nose was still stuffy, so much so that I decided to take him in to see ETN, fearing that he might have sinus related issue. His doctor seemed to be angry with me for not getting him tested for environmental allergy. But at the same time, she told me that there was no solution for environmental allergy. Just allergy shots and steroid nose spray. Even after I told her that Camden's nose bled twice, she told me to stop using it for a few days then start up again. Seriously, that was the doctor's advice.

I cleaned Camden's bedroom from top to bottom, washing the walls and floor. Took out everything from his bedroom but a bed, dresser, and a bedside table. No books or toys. I bought an air purifier and ran it on "Tubor" before he went to bed. His nose was flushed out with natural saline spray and treated with organic coconut oil. No steroid nose spray. No medications. Yet, there was no change. His nose was still stuffy. Some days were worst than the others. I was really stumped.

Then both Brek and Camden caught a stomach virus. They couldn't keep anything down. Their diet was banana, rice, my homemade tortilla and bread, Late July crackers, and water. By the third day of being sick, Camden's nose was clearing up. For the first time, he was able to breath normally. It was a light bulb moment. I was pretty sure the crackers he was eating wasn't corn free because there was yeast in them. While they both were sick, we weren't haven't anything with eggs.

I took chicken eggs out of his diet completely. Then I did a little research. Turned out the chickens that produced the eggs that we were consuming were fed with soy beans and alfalfa. Legumes!!! Another light bulb moment.

Since Camden has G6PD, his diet must be without legumes. I came to a conclusion that maybe it wasn't the chicken eggs he was having a reaction to. Maybe it was the legumes that pass on to the eggs. Well, as of this writing, I'm still cooking without cow's products, all types of eggs, and all legumes, including soy products. We're now in a fourth week of food elimination diet.

My method of elimination diet is very simple. I take away the questionable food for at least six weeks. Then I add it back and wait for the food sensitive reactions such as stuffy nose, vomiting, diarrhea, heartburn-like symptom (especially burping), and night waking. Keep in mind that if your child is super sensitive to certain foods, contamination may occur through utensils and cookware. I had to buy new cookware when Camden was sensitive to corn.

If I find a culprit to my kids' food intolerance and share this finding with their doctors, they would incline to agree with me. If the findings are not scientific or from another doctors, it isn't reliable to them. But think of it this way, who knows more about my kids more than me? I'm their mother. I take care of them 24/7. It doesn't matter what anybody thinks about my findings. All I know is that my kids are in good health and that is all that matter.

Just because my kids have a strict diet, doesn't mean they can't eat good food, especially sweets. Here are some of my favorite egg free recipes that I posted:

Autumn Puff Rice Crispy
Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Frosting
Chicken Noodle Soup (see Allergy Info)
Chicken Nuggets (see Allergy Info)
Chocolate Pudding
Gummy Snacks
Hash Browns
Icee
Palmiers (also puff pastry)
Pizza Dough (that can be made into so many sweets and savories)
Salted Caramel Sticky Buns
Salted Caramel and Lollipops
Slow-Cook Pulled Pork (with dry spice rub)
Steamed Bao
Steamed Rice Hearts
Sweet Pecans Delight

Be sure to check back as I've been testing some recipes with no dairy, no eggs, and no legumes. So far, it's been a challenge but fun.