Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I am looking for research studies to show to my pediatrician at my daughter's 1 year appointment. She is starting daycare, and needs a doctor's note to have any special dietary requests followed at the day care.

I am interested in particular in studies showing that gluten and dairy are harmful for young children, or that a diet without gluten and dairy is more health promoting for them.

She is currently breast fed and eats meats, fruit, vegetables, fish and eggs. I am planning to continue breast feeding and send her to day care with either pumped milk or possibly bone broth in a sippy cup. The daycare serves milk three times a day.

Conversely, is there evidence that (conventional pasteurized) milk is not that bad and I shouldn't worry about feeding it to my daughter?

flag	asked Oct 4 at 16:07 Heather 849●5●10

Is it ethical for the doctor to write such a note based on a parent's dietary preference in the absence of celiac disease or wheat allergy? Why put your doctor in a ethical pickle when you can (perhaps) just find a daycare facility that caters to your whim? – Matt Oct 4 at 19:21

Stabby · Answer 1 · 2012-10-04 17:06:52Z UTC

Lucky kid!

There is some evidence that wheat may not be the best thing ever for children.

Children in Japan who eat rice have higher IQs than the ones who eat wheat http://evolutionarypsychiatry.blogspot.ca/2011/07/wheat-rice-and-childrens-brains.html This is an observational study and therefore a low quality of evidence so we can't really use it by itself as a big argument.

However here is a controlled trial in children fed 3 different kinds of nutritional biscuits. There was a control group, one that got potato biscuits, one with wheat, and one with ragi (millet) biscuits. The potato group showed significantly better cognitive development http://www.ijponline.net/content/36/1/18

As to whether the difference was caused by a nutritional superiority of potatoes or a toxic component of wheat, I'm not sure. But regardless the notion that children somehow need a steady supply of wheat-containing foods is untenable. Vegetables destroy wheat in the nutrition department.

I think that potatoes are paleo, they're just like any other tuber. Some people want to hate on them but there is only one variety of potato that is significantly toxic, the red-skinned variety of you don't peel them, and only in very high amounts. All foods have something toxic about them, it doesn't mean that there is any evidence for a substantial negative effect of said foods.

BoneBrothFast · Answer 2 · 2012-10-04 16:40:18Z UTC

Go to the GAPS Diet yahoo group and ask the ladies and gents there (many parents are doing GAPS for their kids.) They'll give you the hook up if it exists.

If you want dairy info, go to the Weston A. Price Foundation website or find some of their lectures on youtube.

If you haven't already seen it, I would highly recommend the Raw Milk Debate (Feb. 2012) with the wonderful Sally Fallon, 1/2 of the WAPF. It will probably convert you from pasteurized to exclusively unpasteurized. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLRdihFi6gw

Janknitz · Answer 3 · 2012-10-04 16:56:16Z UTC

Your daughter's pediatrician may have stong feelings one way or the other or may be agreeable to write your note without "education" even if it doesn't agree with what he or she thinks. If your doctor is not open-minded about it, nothing you provide the doctor in the way of "education" is going to change his or her mind. You will have to see if the doctor will work with you on an "agree to disagree" basis or find a different doctor.

Alice · Answer 4 · 2012-10-04 17:11:25Z UTC

http://suppversity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/mutant-milk-new-research-fuels-flames.html http://suppversity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/childhood-asthma-children-born-to.html

I'd recommend talking about how homogenized milk seems to fuel immune-system problems, primarily. I'm Lacto-Paleo, but homogenized milk even makes ME show ALL the signs of lactose-intolerance, whereas non-homogenized I can drink as much as I like.

As for grain, just show to your Dr that she's healthier without it than with it. Make a point that you're sensitive to grains too (as most people are!) and maybe have her checked for IBS or coeliac. Most people checked are classed as at least having a mild version, meaning she'll get her "no grain" note. Though this http://www.primarilypaleo.com/2012/05/grains-and-the-paleo-toddler/ is worth bearing in mind too!

Also, tell them you don't want your kid being given ANY refined sugars. This will cut out cookies and other nonsense. Send her in with fruit instead, in case she needs a snack. No teacher should have ANY right to feed a kid sugar against the parents' will, with OR without a Dr's note! It is NOT good for their diet and it is NOT harmful to exclude it, so government "guidelines" ought to be flexible there.

CD · Answer 5 · 2012-10-04 18:28:53Z UTC

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search box, upper right hand corner...

answered Oct 4 at 18:28

CD
22k●1●3●39

Spent about an hour searching paleohacks before i posted this; didn't find much in the way of research studies applicable to my question. Could just be my poor searching skill so if you can point me to any other applicable posts that would be great. – Heather Oct 4 at 19:28

Where can I find research studies to show pediatrician about paleo diet?

5 Answers