I've come to the conclusion that my 3 yo son gains weight better when I feed him more according to the blood type diet, even though he probably eats fewer calories on it. In September when I had to start taking it easy on a sort of bedrest I stopped cooking so much and let him eat prepackaged foods of his choice. Even though his gluten avoidance has been near perfect since that time, his weight wasn't going up. So, I now embark on cooking him healthier foods, more often.

Some of his healthy favorites are turkey meatballs, turkey sausage (though this has pepper in it, I may have to start making my own), lemony pickled egg whites (see recipeBase), o'Soy soy yogurt, Silk Live yogurt smoothie, rice noodles of all shapes, penne alfredo with sausage, and ghee or olive oil added to anything it can hide on. He's stopped eating the freeze dried peas, vegetables are now a challenge. He'll eat one or two small broccoli florets, that's about it. He does like carrots in carrot cake...I need to get his secretor test done soon to see if he should be having that much sugar.

I'll let you know how his weight goes. He's stalled last week I think due to sheepsmilk cheese. The Enterolab result showed he is casein intolerant, but I've been hoping that sheep and goat milk wouldn't affect it. I knew better, but was still hoping. No butter, no cheese, only ghee from now on. It is nice to have an accurate scale for him and the baby buddha, but more helpful for my 3 year old's diet.

I got a moment to listen to the radio yesterday and a commercial for a product called HeightMax caught my attention. As a mom of a celiac I wanted to add a few things to their commercial...mainly, see your doctor first if you're concerned about poor growth, a screening for celiac disease could make a big difference. Bear in mind that celiac disease is more common that IBS, Crohn's, and Ulcerative Colitis combined, but doesn't always have symptoms. If you have a child who is not growing well or as tall as you'd expect, they should be tested. A person can get celiac disease at any age, 2, 12, 30 or 60, it's not just a toddler disease.

Also, the commercial was geared toward boys, but don't leave out the girls. Girls and their parents and doctors often overlook poor growth, but that shouldn't be the case. I haven't found out too much about the supplement, but if somebody has celiac disease they may not absorb it well or benefit from it...assuming that it has benefit.

So, I was in the neighborhood Super Wal-Mart this week, it's nice and small and uncrowded compared to most of them. While there I saw that they had finally gotten some refrigerated Frutzzo Pomegranate Juice. I bought it and took it home where I looked more closely at the ingredients. I should have done this at the store since it said it had added vitamin C and I don't do well with corn-derived ascorbic acid. Anyhoo, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the source of their vitamin C is ACEROLA POWDER! Wow, I'd love to see that trend continue. The acerola berry, like rosehips, is a great source of vitamin C and other goodness. They drink the juice in Japan, it's not very sweet but very refreshing. So here's a thumbs-up to Frutzzo. (Of course, for the highly corn-sensitive, it does have natural flavorings in it, which judging by the temporary itch on my scalp, contains a wee bit of corn-alcohol, but hey, it does taste good in comparison to the other brand that also has natural flavorings, I've got to admit).

My case of TPS is improving (see last blog), and I'm eating more whole foods, cooking more meat and cooking more in general. Certain avoids and frankenfoods still call my name, but I'm able to restrain myself quite a bit better. My last temptation was McDonalds (bun-less of course), but I just kept right on driving, and had a snack when I got home...homemade flax crackers with onions and tomatoes, very easy.

I've named a syndrome, to add to the list of other syndromes we all may or may not have variations of. I could just name it The Melissa Syndrome, since I'm my first "patient" I've treated for the condition...

TPS is a condition becoming more prevalent in the US, some experts attribute this to the SAD (Standard American Diet) and the addictive components so common in a SAD.

A person suffering from TPS will only desire to eat processed, chemical-laden food, as well as food which illicit an immune reaction due to containing proteins that are incompatible with the individual. Often, the negative reaction to these foods is what is desired, as it can deaden the senses, feelings, and thoughts, much like a drug. Most people with TPS will not desire or seek help for this addictive condition.

There are two methods of treatment for TPS.

1. Cold-Turkey. Eliminate all processed foods and reactive foods (avoids) overnight. This requires a clean slate, and a cleaned out refrigerator and pantry. It sometimes requires fasting to re-adjust the appetite. Eliminating outside food messages is imperative. No television or advertisements of any sort should be allowed in proximity to the patient. Withdrawal can be treated with healthy, whole, beneficial foods and with exercise. Often it is best to avoid substituting neutral/compliant foods for old favorites, as the palate is not yet ready to accept substitutions.

2. Gradual. Eliminate most troublesome reactive foods (avoids) first, one at a time, over a set period of time. As with method one, advertisements and outside food messages must be avoided during the entire treatment period. Once again, withdrawal can be treated with healthy, whole, beneficial foods, and with exercise.

Relapse is always a possibility. One avoid can easily lead to another, and more than a few days of this can lead to relapse of TPS. Subsequent treatments are usually not as difficult as the initial treatment, but often requires more attention to the emotional aspects involved.

After successful treatment, individuals can make a full recovery. The palate returns to its natural state and regains its preference for the foods that are best suited for the individual.

For all who are embarking on this treatment for the first time, and those who are recovering from holiday or life-event-related relapses...I know what you're going through! There is a whole community of others who have recovered, and who are on the road to recovery. Feel free to join us at the BTD Forum!

Well, I tried to keep the flu bug out of my house, we've been going out and taking the kids out about 1/8th as much as usual, but it wasn't enough. Yesterday my toddler was lethargic and had no appetite, then he got a fever and fell asleep. The fever spiked and has been on the way down, so hopefully it will continue to fade. He isn't coughing too much, but has had the diarrhea and vomiting that children get with the flu. He's still got a lot of spunk and coming through it well.

Yesterday, during their nap, I set up the baby's crib in his room instead of napping myself (missed a rare opportunity there). Usually the baby sleeps in a bassinet by my bed, but it helped to have a quiet cough-free place for him while the toddler was sick and ending up in my room most of the night. He did pretty well for his first night in his crib. He seems fine, hopefully he'll be like his brother and get little more than a stuffy nose or two while being breastfed.

So far, the rest of us are faring pretty well, with some mild symptoms which are mild enough to make me question if we've caught it or not. Just in case, we're taking elderberry regularly and the homeopathic flu remedy Oscillococcinum as we feel any symptoms. My son wasn't interested in trying the oscillococcinum, so I dissolved some in his water he sips on. So far, I've seen worse colds, so hopefully we're not in for too much more trouble (Crossing my fingers). Homeopathy is very interesting, it seems to be very effective and safe, I'd like to learn more about it. I'd love to find a good homeopathic doctor, but around here the really good ones are hard to find.

My baby is starting to look much like a Buddha statue, he's growing so fast. Proudly enough though, last week my toddler gained 12 ounces, which was double what the baby grew. (I got a baby/toddler scale for Christmas, so now I can weigh them anytime I want...but I try to keep it to once a week)

My toddler is very small for his age after dropping in percentiles before his celiac diagnosis. 25 pounds was a huge milestone because everytime he got there something would happen, and he'd get sick and lose 2-3 pounds...that's 10% his body weight! This happened three or four times. It was so sad to look at how skinny he'd get each time, skin and bones it seemed. I let him play in the sprinklers in the front yard and started to worry that somebody would turn me in for child neglect. But, the worst is over now...at least until he gets into school. He's gaining and growing well.

Unfortunately the baby's huge appetite didn't compensate for my appetite over the holidays and I gained some weight. Yesterday I had one of my more compliant days so far, and chomped on collard greens for my after-dinner snack. I could feel a difference, though subtle, after just one day of improved compliance. Beneficials really do feel right and give me strength. It was a compliant and happy New Year's Eve. I slipped up tonight on some more holiday festivities, and felt some of that strength fade a bit.

I'm happy to have discovered a local grocery delivery service that offers chopped and washed collard greens in bags. One bag lasts me a few days since I haven't yet gotten my family to try them. I've been doing what I can to avoid going to public places during the local flu outbreak, so grocery delivery is nice. My husband tried to go to church today but heard so much coughing and saw so many kids there with runny noses that he turned around, washed up, and came back home. I'd expect the church to be only half or 2/3 full during a flu outbreak like this one, but it was filled up to overflowing...I wish people would stay home when they're sick, it makes me scared to go even when we're healthy. I cling to my sons' health by tooth and nail, and lately to my own until I rebuild my immune system. Of course, being at the doctor's office last week was probably the worst place to be, but I seem to have survived it well. I had a few mild symptoms, slight cough and slight chills, so I took some Elderberry and a bit of that homepathic flu remedy by Boiron just in case. Either it worked, or I didn't have anything in the first place!