Almond Milk for PDD kids?
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We were just told by our doctor that our son has an evelated level of Serotonin and to look for foods that reduce the levels. He's been diagnosed with PDD (more or less), he's very high functioning but is having minor behavioral problems. He's been on milk since we switched over from formula and he has like 4 cups a day which we were told it's a lot. Another doctor told us to give Rice Milk a try and switch to gluten-free, CF, (slowly.) We are in the process of doing so, and I've totally cut him off from regular milk which I think may be an issue too. Is an allergist or nutritionist recommended and how will this diet change help? Is Almond milk better than Soy to reduce Serotonin levels?? Thanks for your inputs! I can't comment on Serotonin levels, but if the switch from cow's milk to non-cow's milk is a problem, a slow integration of the new with the old may work, as it did for us. I mixed 3/4 of glass with cow's milk and 1/4 with soy. Gave it a few days, and made equal parts cow and soy. After a few days, I went 3/4 soy to 1/4 cow and a few days later went all soy. A year later, my son won't drink cow's milk (I recently didn't have soy with me at a hotel's dining room, and his refusal was so great that I had to trek up to our room and grab the soy from our cooler .He says, "That yuck!" My son was almost 4 when we switched and is now 5. Oh, I forgot. I did try the rice milk with him before the soy, and he balked big time. Have you tried it? I did and didn't blame him  . Good luck. The worst part of the diet is no good cheese and no good bread. I really don't know much about seratonin yet, but getting off of milk may help one way or another. Most doctors tell you to avoid soy too. I know some kids don't have a problem with it, but chemically it's very close to casein and gluten, and kids really don't need the phytoestrogens that are in it anyway. I've been telling everyone they should try hemp milk. The Living Harvest brand is really good. We get both the sweetened and unsweetened vanilla flavor and mix them to cut the sugar. DS loves it. I also wanted to second the suggestion to go slowly. It's the easiest way - you're less likely to end up severely limiting the number of foods he'll eat, and less likely to see any withdrawal symptoms. quit the soy since we supplement with soy formula to maintain his weight. We went slowly too, starting with removing milk, then milk products, then wheat bread, then other gluten products. Another thing we did that you might consider, is we waited to give sweets until he was used to his new normal foods. He went about 2 months without anything sweet besides fruit. He lost a little weight, but now he eats better, and with a wider variety, than he ever has. We have to avoid soy here for 3 of the kids so we just don't do it. (they have reactions same as milk, allergy and gut reactions) We do Vance's, Almond, or Rice milk. I add rice protein powder to smoothies. Overall my children don't drink a lot of these replacement milks. I'm not convinced milk (of any kind) is something our bodies "need" but we enjoy it ;) So, my kids get so may minues a day of D (being outdoors) and I supplement with CLO and multi's, plus calcium tabs also since they are not on cow dairy. All of our children are thriving except 1, but he has multiple health issues and it is confirmed by several Dr's to not be diet related. Oh and in reguards to elevated seratonin, Diets high in protein seem to help fix that, I found several links, heres a few: http://www.enzymestuff.com/serotonin.htm Also, does he have IBS/gut issues? I found this fascinating at this link: http://altmedangel.com/ibs.htm "Things that may help irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) According to Dr. Marcus Laux, there are two types of IBS. Constipation-predominant IBS and diarrhea-predominant IBS. Constipation-predominant IBS may be a result of elevated norepinephrine levels -- which causes serotonin levels to decrease. (Serotonin is made in the intestines, which is also where 95% of the body's supply is located -- most of the rest is in the brain, with trace amounts in the blood and other organs.) Conversely, plasma serotonin is typically elevated in people with diarrhea-predominant IBS."
Thank you all so much for your answers. Sevenup, I will go see an allergist to see what kind of allergies he has to any dairy products, I'm not sure about the GUT issue, I don't think he was ever tested for that? Is that in the way that food is produced and how easily it's broken down in his body? I'm not sure if any of your kids have behavioral issues but my son's seem to be getting worse with the time. I don't understand, I'm confused :/ Thanks again . I meant does he have gut issues that might be similar to IBS: diarreah/vomiting/bloating/constipation/food sensativities, etc. ((hugs)) Hope y'all get it figured out! Have you tried an elimination diet? No, he doesn't have any other issues.
Hugs! |
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