Food

I thought we ate fairly healthy, most of the time. Papi and I both have IBS, (or that's what we thought) so we really did try to eat well. When JMC was 6 months old, we discovered that he's allergic to dairy products. He was just a baby, so it didn't change things for us much at first, but as he grew, and began eating what we eat, we considerably reduced dairy as a family.

A couple years later, a doctor told us that JA had celiac disease (allergic to gluten). A different doctor said that diagnosis was incorrect, and we breathed a sigh of relief. I mean, how could we ever eliminate gluten from our diet? We didn't think we could afford all of the specialty gluten-free foods, and so we were absolutely relieved to have that diagnosis retracted.

I just wrote and promptly deleted a very long paragraph about JT's digestive issues. No need for TMI. He has had digestive issues for years, as I look back, probably since infancy. We worked with 4 different doctors, 3 of which are specialists in their fields, and the end result was to give JT an adult dose of Miralax daily, with the need for a "clean out" every 3 months. I was not ok with this, and after 6 months with no improvement, I began to look for alternatives.

Then, JL began having issues, above and beyond colic and reflux. So, with my research online and talking with other friends, I decided that we would go dairy free as a family. And, we would also go gluten free. By this point it was November, and we were gearing up for the holidays, so I put it off. By New Year's, I began the elimination diet, and JL began to improve in just a few weeks.

The rest of the family followed in February, though instead of doing the elimination diet, they just eliminated gluten, dairy, and soy. Within 2 weeks, JMC's eczema disappeared. Then, JT began to feel better. I kept him on the Miralax for awhile, and then we stopped it completely about a month later. And, he's better! No more digestive issues, and no more stomach aches (they had been a daily occurrence.)

Papi still had acid reflux and stomach aches, so we researched more, and found that he may be allergic to nightshades. What?!? I hadn't even heard of nightshades before. It was worth a try though, so we eliminated tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplant, for Papi, and his acid reflux completely cleared up.

We continue to research and try to figure things out about our health and nutrition. Making even more changes to our diet is intimidating, but after the results we've had so far, I can't help but think more changes might be just what Juan needs to completely heal his stomach aches. I have read some promising research and heard some miraculous results for an elimination diet that heals the gut, and therefore reduces (and often eliminates) most digestive problems. We'll see. I need to research more, and then we may give it a try after Christmas and New Year's.