Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; SOME CONTRADICTIONS

I'm with @Philsta on foods that are naturally occurring. If we take a look at the starch list, we find that almost all the fruit listed is either at 0 or a very small amount. Combining that with NSD dangers in nuts, dairy, and even vegetables, there's no more food to eat!

I may be wrong, but I suggest eating things that promote health (unprocessed whole foods - fruits & veggies mainly) and keeping the weight on with meats like eggs, fish & some chicken. Otherwise, you'll burn out with all the information that people say to stay away from.

Along with supplements, your goal should be to heal the gut and stop being so concerned about fringe foods.

Thanks brianzajac
Certainly, too much information, sometimes this causes us some confusion.
As I understand it, NSD is fully reduce starch. It also appears that the products of milk and sugar can be a problem in early stages of diet. We are trying to do this using the list of starch and iodine test. Probiotics and natural antibiotic for the gut. This is our strategy now.
The objective: reducing drugs when my child feel better.
We will tell our news.
Health!
Maiga

I think that withholding milk and sugar is not a good idea for a 17 yo boy. He is still growing and it could be harmful to cut out too many foods. He needs the calcium that comes from dairy foods, supplements don't make up for all the trace elements that are in the dairy foods. He needs to keep a food dairy where he lists everything he eats and then compare how he is feeling with the foods he is eating.

When he takes the NSAIDs, he should be taking some kind of stomach protector and taking the pills with food. I found it was best to eat half of a meal, take the pills and then finish the meal. NSAIDS work so well to reduce inflammation and pain, you just need to try to prevent damage to his GI system.

Many Rheumys believe it's best to treat AS aggressively, especially for young patients. They start the patients on biologics early because they do seem to help a lot with preventing fatigue, inflammation and pain.

You do need to work with his school to make allowances for the days when he is not feeling well. Perhaps he can have some days off where he can do most of his schoolwork at home. We have been homeschooling our 2 girls and that has worked quite well. The girls have had very few colds or flus.

I hope that you can find a way to prevent/slow down the damage that can cripple him and let him has as normal a life as possible. It's hard to be 17 and to be different from the other kids.

I would try to find out as much as possible by a child Rheumatologist. I don't know if he is seeing a child or adult Rheumatologist. I know younger children get A.S. as well and I know children have different food needs then us adult's especially a growing boy. Food nutritionist are very helpful. Usually the hospitals have one. I would simply explain what you are trying to accomplish. They are usually quite open minded more so then our Rheumatologist.

How is he handling all of this emotionally?

I am aware of the need for nutritional supplements to meet such a strict diet. At the moment, child can maintain their activity levels and energy. Bee pollen and propolis added. Also supplement of green barley extract (awesome supplement with vitamins and minerals). A lot of fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry and beef, nuts (no starch) are also providing essential nutrients. But we will further research about this
And, of course, always NSAIDs with food. For now, Naproxen is working well for pain. I trust that NSD does its work too.

As for our rheumatologist, she has extensive experience in treating children. But 17 years is almost the border of adulthood. He's a smart boy, wise and emotionally mature. He knows the disease very closely, because his father and his cousin also have AS. I think he is now strong to deal with it. Perhaps his father and me we are now even more sad and emotionally fragile. But we must fight. We want to teach the boy to take care of their diet and health.

Thanks for watching
Health!
Maiga

@avonldy - although you can get calcium from dairy, there are some issues with it - http://www.naturalnews.com/033420_calcium_hoax.html

Here's a list of plant-based foods with calcium: http://www.soystache.com/calcium.htm

When I was diagnosed with AS in 2003, I was taking Enbrel a few months later. The stuff is quite amazing and does work very well. The downfall is getting off the stuff. I'm currently detoxifying from it and it's not easy. IMO if I knew about NSD back then, I would continue taking NSAIDs & repairing the gut instead of taking Enbrel. The short term relief on a biologic doesn't pay off.

Eating meat on regular basis gives you all the calcium you body needs.
How the body uses it, it's another problem - see vit. D deficiency.