When going gluten free, many kids miss granola bars that are easy to pack for snack and lunch. Here are some gluten free alternatives to try. I would suggest trying to find them at Whole Foods or a health food store nearby before you commit to a case. If you can’t find them and order […]

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  • Naomi Hazel Brice - Larabars are also gluten free (and soy and dairy free, kosher, vegan…). They include six or fewer (raw) ingredients, but they do include nuts so my daughter can’t take them to school. We’re not on a gluten-free diet, we just like these bars.ReplyCancel

  • Our Family Is His - Another thing about Whole Foods is that if you don’t like it, you can bring the open container back for a refund.ReplyCancel

  • chimachine4 - I keep them in my desk drawer at work and eat them for breakfast or if I just need a snack. I have fibromyalgia and back and neck problems so my muscles are very sore almost all the time. Finally, chi machine had served the purpose. Try it once.ReplyCancel

I just tried goat’s milk to see if I could tolerate it–more out of curiosity than actually wanting yogurt. It’s just everyone raves about how well they feel on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and yogurt seems to be critical part of the recovery on this healing plan. Research indicates goat’s milk is healthier than cow’s […]

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It took me 18 months to finally find two nutritionists who knew more than I do. Before I found them, I checked all the vitamins and supplements with many doctors before I gave them to my kids. Too bad most doctors only get a few hours of nutrition in medical school so checking with them, […]

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  • Our Family Is His - I was scared to death to try and find a nutritionist. I was so worn out from putting together the rest of my children’s team, I just didn’t have any energy left. Then, my oldest son’s SLP gave me a recommend. I figured I would call, eventually. Two days later I was at AWANAS (I teach the K – 2nd grade level) and this new Mom walks in. She is telling me about the things her child can and can’t have. I tell her it sounds much like my child’s diet so she will be in very good hands. We chat and she asks why my son is on this type of diet. I talk about Autism. She gets an odd look. I said my SLP told me about a nutritionist in the area and I really needed to call her. She gets an odder look. She said, “who’s your SLP?” I tell her. She said, “are you kidding me? I think I am the nutritionist she was referring you to.” I looked down at her card (which she had given me in case I needed to call her during AWANAS) and it was her! I made an appointment the next day. She is wonderful and very well versed in Autism and a child that has it’s special needs diet-wise. She has a whole host of things for us to test for (the common Autism tests), has helped us with supplements (and we will be adding more after test results return), and is helping with his very odd diet (GF/CF stuff, but you have to add in his sensory issues with food and his total refusal for almost everything protein). It’s good to be with the right professionals.ReplyCancel

  • Naomi Hazel Brice - I agree, why can’t medical schools focus more on nutrition? There are some lectures, and student groups that try to bring people in to bridge the gaps left by the curriculum, but it really isn’t enough. We live in a society that is crippled by poor nutrition (contributing to obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, and who even knows how many other health problems). Shouldn’t my $37,000 a year be enough to cover a serious course devoted purely to nutrition?
    I’m glad you were able to find some good nutritionists.ReplyCancel

My son’s red cheeks were a concern of mine long before my son got seriously sick. And from the number of people who visit my blog searching for answers for their children’s bright red cheeks, I would say that red cheeks are a concern of many parents. Although for many doctors it is a common, […]

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  • Heather - Hi there- I follow your blog, but I think this is my first comment.
    I’ve set up a meeting w/an allergist for next month for Bri- we have been on the GF/CF diet for almost two years but never actually had any testing done. I already let the allergist know I wanted him tested for IgG and IgE reactions- what is the ALCAT? And do you have any other things I should know before going into this? Thanks for your time!!

    (oh and my boy was a red-cheeker- actually still is so I know we are missing something)ReplyCancel

  • Melissa - Hi, I am also a fairly new follower. I am curious if the red ears are a sign of food allergies. My son when he gets the red ears he changes into a total different person. I am also curious what the AlCAT is? and where you can get the test done? We are trying to get him on a GF/CF diet but I am having a really hard time with it since here in texas there is no health food store. Any Advice would be great! Thanks youReplyCancel

  • Our Family Is His - I have a 10 month old with milk and soy allergies. He’s on Neocate formula (the only one he can tolerate). I think he has some other allergies (feeding him solids has been horrible for all involved). Do you think it’s possible to do an IgG on a baby this young as a standard allergy test since he’s too young for a skin stick test?

    Melissa, you said you lived in Texas and there are no health food stores. Where do you live as there are many, many around. Where I live we have a smaller one, in the DFW area there are more than you can count (might be a bit of a drive, but might be worth going to a larger city once a month like we do).ReplyCancel

  • gfcfmom - Heather–ALCAT is a test that takes 10-150 foods and mixes each one with food then looks at the white blood cells for inflammation. You can see my post on ALCAT here or go to the Alcat site for clinical info here. Other things to know: gluten, dairy and soy won’t show up on testing if you have removed them from the diet already. Realize you know your child the best, you have the most at stake and you can heal your child. The tests will guide you and hopefully the doctors will help you, but YOU NEED TO HEAL YOUR CHILD with their help. Here are other posts you should see:
    What Parents Can Do
    ALCAT testing
    Not Getting Better on GF/CF

    Good luck and feel free to email me at:
    whattofeedyourkidsatgmail.comReplyCancel

  • gfcfmom - Melissa,
    Where in Texas do you live? Red ears are often a sign of inflammation caused by food allergies. You might want to read up on enzymes too in my post:What Parent’s Can Do. When my son gets crazy reactions to food I give him enzymes and minutes later he is normal–this is one way to confirm that it is a food intolerance that is causing the behavioral reaction. I don’t recommend them in place of a GF/CF diet, but in your case they might work well. And you might want to think about fish oil which is anti-inflammatory. It won’t put out the fire, but it will lessen it. And if you have bloodwork done get a test for magnesium. Low magnesium can increase the histamine response. Other posts to check out:
    Your Kids…Your Puzzle
    Omega 3’s in Fish Oil
    Epson SaltsReplyCancel

  • gfcfmom - Our Family Is His-
    Hmm…MANY, MANY allergy tests are inaccurate for young kids because the antibodies don’t have time to develop. You could call ALCAT’s customer service and ask them and you could call Dr. Fred Pescatoreand ask the receptionist to check with him and call you back. The only problem is that it is a lot of tubes of blood. Also, it wasn’t accurate for gluten, dairy or soy. We had to remove those because of the celiac genes. What a headache. Let me know what I can do to help.
    whattofeedyourkidsatgmail.comReplyCancel

  • Melissa - We live in San Angelo TX. We are making our way down to Houston for Thanksgiving so I am hoping I can stock up on a lot of things. I need to get to work and make a list!! :-)ReplyCancel

  • hensonjazz - Hi.
    I am just noticing the red cheeks in my almost five year old son regularly after eating. The only definite trigger is Ranch dressing. Also, he just ate some goldfish crackers, apple that had lemon juice sprinkled on and became very red around the mouth. Any comments? This is brand new to me and I’m not sure where to begin. Thanks for the info. on this site.ReplyCancel

  • Blaine - Check this out:

    http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/allergytests.htmlReplyCancel

  • Frau Guten Tag - I just found your blog by googling "red cheek food allergy in infant"; I'm sure you hear that a lot. My son just started this yesterday, after eating pumpkin pie baby food. I am hoping the red cheeks will fade, but will have to determine what caused them…..ReplyCancel

  • Caryn - I also saw red cheeks and ears in my son. We have done the IgG test, but have since learned that it is a flawed test due to sample contamination with mycotoxins. In our case we had a dentist who specialized in heavy metal poisoning suggest that it had to do with a metals issue. In our case our son's symptoms started within days of his preschool vaxes. Interesting enough, metal toxicity can cause problems with zinc and magnesium absorption and lead to food allergies. Am not 100% sure that this is definitely the case, but our son was already on a special diet when this condition presented itself. He's fine now. After several months and supplementation, we noticed that the red ears and cheeks went away. Can we say for sure what caused it and what cured it? Not really. Just thought I would share our experiences.ReplyCancel

  • Eowyn's Heir - How do I find a doctor to do the ALCAT test on my daughter? I live in Louisville, KY.ReplyCancel

  • treejohn572 - Red cheeks interesting. I guess that could be good in someways. If you are ever looking for a alternative doctor with different kinds of methods. This could help.ReplyCancel

  • Anonymous - Just curious, how long did it take for the red cheeks to clear up? I've eliminated all dairy, eggs, & gluten from my son's diet about a month ago and still noticing red cheeks. Am I being impatient?ReplyCancel

  • Shelby - Just found your blog!! Thank you! My son has bright red cheeks that come and go. They get hot and then will just suddenly look normal. We just did a battery of blood tests (with a naturopath) and found no deficiencies. We are awaiting the results of the ALCAT. I feel confident we are going to find the answers we are looking for. So glad I am not the only one. The doctors have been perplexed as one test after another ruled out everything they thought was the cause. We are a pretty much gluten free family, but I do allow him to eat it when we are out. I can't wait to find out what his allergies are so we can get rid of these Rudolph cheeks!ReplyCancel

  • Anonymous - ALCAT IS DUBIOUS. The test is not supported by research and is not considered to be a reliable medical diagnostic tool; since it has not been appropriately validated it is not a suitable guide for therapeutic decisions.[1][2][3][4][5][6] In a position statement, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy classified the ALCAT with other forms of cytotoxic tests as inappropriate tests, saying of them

    "These results have been shown to not be reproducible, give different results when duplicate samples are analysed blindly, don't correlate with those from conventional testing, and 'diagnose' food hypersensitivity in subjects with conditions where food allergy is not considered to play a pathogenic role." Source:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALCAT_test

    Also, be wary of this and any blog or person who uses the term "alternative medicine" with respect, for there is no such thing. There is only medicine and non-medicine.ReplyCancel
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