Question: I have 3 children who have all had oral rehabilitation surgery. Two of them before age 2. My 4 year old had a lot of allergies to foods and we had much success with overcoming candida and yeast allergy with your Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Our health has improved immensely and I was hoping it improved enough that we would not have to go through oral rehabilitation with our third child but her cavities were even more so than the second child and she ended up with two extractions. Leopold, our second child is scheduled for an extraction because his front two crowns have abscessed. Just yesterday we purchased cod liver oil and some kind of butter oil. Do you have any information on how this might affect their teeth and are we going to be seeing this in any future babies teeth? I suppose it could all be genetic but I’m a firm believer that God created our bodies to heal themselves. (F.Y.I.- most dentists believe that night nursing causes dental caries and we have even had dentists refuse treatment unless we wean from nursing.) So I would most appreciate some positive information about diet that could possibly turn things around and even hopefully prevent abscesses in our youngest with her now new crowns. And how quickly might we see results? - Sincerely, Pamelann Schulte in Chippewa Falls
Answer: The cod liver oil and butter oil should help a lot–they are crucial to good dental health. And all the children should be on raw milk, raw cream and raw butter. And of course, keep sweets and white flour to a minimum.
There is a good book coming out on dental health by Rami Nagel. He was a vegetarian, but changed when his daughter developed rampant tooth decay. Now he is a champion of Weston Price and our dietary principles. He is a big advocate of the cod liver oil and butter oil. - Best, Sally
Question: Due to my wife’s inability to breastfeed, we’ve been making the formula every day as it contains healthy ingredients that we are in control of and know the source of. One of the ingredients is gelatin, which the recipe says aids in digestibility for the baby.
I have noticed on truthinlabeling.com that gelatin is said to be a product that ALWAYS contains MSG. I know that gelatin is processed from cow tissues and what I’m concerned about is whether the glutamic acid in the gelatin is going to have an excitotoxic effect on our baby’s developing brain or is it considered a natural form of glutamic acid as stated in an excerpt below? The gelatin we use is the “NOW” brand.
‘In general, the natural glutamic acid found in food does not cause problems, but the synthetic free glutamic acid formed during industrial processing is a toxin. In addition, when MSG is formed using hydrochloric acid the final product includes carcinogens.” - Steve
Answer: If the baby does well without the gelatin, they can leave it out. However, even with the gelatin, there would be much less MSG in the homemade formula than in commercial formula.
There is a forum on the baby formula at the Baby, Toddler and Parent Nutrition Discussion Group and questions and answers about the formula at The Weston A Price Foundation website.
Question: I have a question that I really need a answer to. I tried using the milk based formula and the goat milk formula on my baby originally 8 months old at the time. In error I used the porcine gelatin when I made the milk based formula and then found out there was a chicken heart in the chicken livers I grated to put in the goat milks formula. She didn’t tolerate either of the formulas and soon thereafter developed hives that she has until this day. Could the porcine gelatin or the possible raw chicken heart have contributed to this. We’ve had her tested and she is allergic to milk, eggs and bananas. She was negative for a gelatin allergy. Any insight for recommendations you could give would be appreciated as this is weighing on my mind as a mother. Thanks again!! - Sincerely, Ronda
Answer: It is really hard to say what I causing the allergic reaction. You will have to do a process of elimination–try the cows milk without gelatin, etc. As a last resort you can use the liver formula. - Best, Sally
Question: Hi, what is the recommended max daily amount of salt and sugar a child should have? - Cheers Peter
Answer: Sugar, Zero. Salt, just use unrefined sea salt to make the food taste good and don’t worry about it. - Best, Sally
By Zero, Sally means Zero refined sugar. Rapadura, honey, maple syrup and palm sugar are natural and healthy alternatives but still should be eaten in small amounts.
For an over all look at children and food read:
Connection and Food Way: Children and Food Issues - Ed
Question: Could you please let me know whether Blue Ice High Vitamin Cod Liver Oil is safe for pregnant women since it contains rosemary oil and 5000 IUs of vitamin A per serving?
Is 150-360mg of DHA and 145-375mg of EPA per serving enough or should I supplement with fish oil?
Is bread made with sprouted whole rye kernels and filtered water a good substitute for old fashioned sourdough breads?
Also I would like to know whether the good bacteria in fermented beverages and sauerkraut can survive highly acidic environment of the stomach. - Jasmina
Answer: The blue ice fermented is fine for pregnancy as long as you keep in the recommended dose (about 20,000 IU vitamin A per day) in the context of our diet that contains lots of butter and saturated fat. Please do not use fish oil, you will overdose on EPA and DHA. Be sure to have a look at our dietary guidelines for Pregnant and Nursing Women.
Personally I prefer a good sourdough bread to a sprouted bread–the sourdough is more of a fermentation process. And be careful to read labels. Many brands of sprouted bread have wheat gluten added–which negates any benefit of sprouting.
I’ll get back to you on the bacteria. I am pretty sure the answer is yes, but would like to get a reference for you. - best, Sallyj
About the Author...
Sally Fallon is founding president of the Weston A Price Foundation, a non-profit nutrition education foundation with over 400 local chapters and 9000 members. She is also the founder of A Campaign for Real Milk, which has as its goal universal access to clean raw milk from pasture-fed animals. Author of the best-selling cookbook Nourishing Traditions and also of Eat Fat Lose Fat (Penguin), both with Mary G. Enig, Phd, Sally has a encyclopedic knowledge of modern nutritional science as well as ancient food ways. Her grasp on the work of Weston Price is breath taking and her passion for health freedom, inspiring. In each edition of Nourished Magazine Sally answers your questions about nutrition, health, food and medical politics. Send us an email with your question and we'll put it to her.
Oct 2nd, 2008 at 12:14 am
Tooth decay in my babies was caused by reflux from food sensitivities. I had two breastfed babies whom developed tooth decay. They both had food sensitivities to what I was eating . After several horrible experiences with pediatric dentists a great one helped me to discover what was causing the tooth decay. Reflux. Next baby; I discovered that wheat caused him to have reflux. I eliminated wheat from my diet and reflux was eliminated and no tooth decay in this baby. Perfect teeth. Permanent teeth in the tooth decay babies are excellent. All three of these children have food sensitivities / allergies. Hope that helps someone to prevent their baby from having tooth decay and the resulting crowns, pulpotomy, anesthesia, extractions etc.
Oct 2nd, 2008 at 11:28 am
Hi - I just wanted to add that 15 years ago my 3 year old son had to have dental surgery. His bottle was a comfort thing and he kept it till he was 3. The doctors said the decay was because I let him have a bottle at night to go to sleep with (mostly formula s26 and then s26 progress.) Apparently lots of kids do this but only 10% get decay.
Now he is 18 and his teeth are pretty good. We think he has 1 filling, which is pretty amazing as I really thought he just had bad teeth. We didn’t know about Western Price at the time but my son was an extremely fussy eater and his diet (from about 4 - 14 yo) ended up consisting of milk drinks, cheese, more cheese, bread and cheese, chicken nuggets and apples and weet-bix.
Now having read the book I realize that perhaps new teeth were really protected by the milk and cheese. At any rate having weak teeth as a toddler does not mean the problem will persist through life.
Oct 2nd, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Hi there, I am married to a man in his sixties and was wondering if he can still take raw milk til the cows come home? He does not smoke, do any recreational drugs. We do have young children and in the interest of keeping him healthy, I jsut wanted to know if he can as he loves dairy.
Oct 2nd, 2008 at 10:02 pm
I have been breastfeeding my daughter for almost three years. Up until Nina was two 1/4 she fed frequently through the night ( we’re finally sleeping through now. Woo Hoo! ) and still now she’ll feed for ages during her day nap. Nina has perfect strong teeth that don’t even get brushed. I haven’t eaten sugar or much wheat in 15 years or more and have followed NT diet since Nina was 6 months old.
I have a friend who’s children’s teeth are rotting and her dentist convinced her it was caused by her breastfeeding. This friend drinks coffee, eats lots of sugar and owns a white bread bakery.
Oct 14th, 2008 at 12:22 am
Wait a minute — overdose on EPA/DHA? Really? Fish oil has about the same amount per serving as fish eggs do, and fish eggs are recommended in the WAPF pregnancy diet, in addition to the cod liver oil. I like the idea of fish eggs better because it’s a whole food in its original form, but was planning to use the fish oil during times when I couldn’t get the fish eggs. Can you tell me more about the overdose possibility? Thanks.
Oct 14th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Oh, and here’s a good link that describes how fermented dairy survives the digestive acids *better* than probiotic supplements:
http://www.healingcrow.com/ferfun/conspiracy/conspiracy.html
I’ve been assuming that fermented veggies have some similar protective mechanism, but I’d love to know more about that.
Oct 14th, 2008 at 9:37 am
April, as far as I know, the oils need Vitamin A to be able to be used. Too much oils and not enough Vit A will cause problems. Cod Liver oil has Vit A and D, other fish oils recommended just for their omega 3, dha and epa miss out on a vital link - fat soluble vitamins - which help their assimilation.
Oct 20th, 2008 at 7:15 am
I have been reading NOURISHING TRADITIONS and THE FOUR-FOLD PATH TO HEALING and am trying to incorporate these principles into my lifestyle. I found access to raw milk, cheeses, whey, kefir and have made beet kvass, crispy nuts and some of the simpler recipes in NT. I’m very happy with my new way of eating. This is delicious food. I feel good and surprisingly I haven’t gained weight but I do find that it is difficult to incorporate nutrient dense foods into a full-time work schedule. Do you have any suggestions for meals, including breakfast that I can take to work?
I have some other issues. I have MS and live with a weak left leg, fatigue and poor balance. I walk with a cane and still work full-time as a high school teacher. All of the MS diets out there advise you to eat a low-fat diet with limited, if any red meat, low sugar and no gluten or legumes. This seems to contradict the NT way of eating. Any thoughts or advise on this?
My other thing is that I’m on medical leave now, recuperating from colon re-section surgery (cancer). It was successful - no chemo, radiation or anything needed fortunately but I’m still a little weak and I want to feel good about returning to work the first or second week of November. The stomach scarring and the effect on the weak leg is one thing but the healing of the colon is another matter altogether. Any advise on this also?
Oct 21st, 2008 at 9:54 am
I would stick to the no gluten for some time, Laura, to heal the bowel. Bone broth is one of the most healing things you can eat for the bowel, I’ve seen it do miraculous things for colon issues. So take a cup of bone broth before or with breakfast, keep it in the fridge at school and cook with it. Make long slow casseroles and stews and take with you to school. If there’s no heating facilities at school, kefir is a great alternative. Raw milk Kefir by the glassful. You don’t even need refrigerative facilities. Secondly, to heal the bowel wall and rebuild your probiotic population, Mucus Membrane Healer is a great recipe.
Vitamin A is vital for healing so good quality Cod Liver Oil and High Vitamin Butter Oil for Vitamin D and K will help. These vitamins are only found in animal fat so avoiding such would be an issue. Why would MS sufferers be asked to avoid fat, it is just what the myelin sheath is made from. What are you going to repair with? air? Strange advice.
I would also be considering heavy metal toxicity. Eric Davis has treated a woman in her thirties for mercury poisoning and completely reversed her MS symptoms. She has written a book about it. You can contact Eric here:
http://ericdavisdental.nourished.com.au
Oct 23rd, 2008 at 8:18 am
Hi Jo, Tried to follow the link for Mucus membrane Healer but couldn’t. Spud White, Marie’s dad, has just had a huge op for bowel cancer - don’t have any more information yet. I would like to give him that recipe if you have it.
Oct 23rd, 2008 at 9:09 am
Fixed it now. thanks Mum.
Oct 24th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Back to the DHA/EPA…I am a nursing mother and recently purchased BLUE ICE Gold Therapeutics. I liked it because it has CLO and butter oil combined. The stuff is a lot more concentrated than the high vitamin CLO (you get the same A and D amount in 1 ml of GT as you would in a 1/2 tsp of HV CLO). I am taking 4 ml of the GT, which is equal to 20,000 IU’s of vitamin A. In addition to that, I am also taking 1 tsp of fish oil because this seems like such a small amount of oil. Should I stop the fish oil? My 5 month old also gets 1/2 ml of the GT, with no fish oil. Here is the site: http://www.greenpasture.org/products.
Also in the summer months what should I take when I don’t need the vitamin D? I have been doing 2 tsp of fish oil and taking shark liver oil (now brand), equal to 20,000 IU’s of vitamin A.
Thank you so much!
Carrie