Posts Tagged ‘reflux’

Milk Kefir for Children: Excellent Probiotics and a Milk Allergy Cure?

In case you have not read some of the other articles I’ve published on this web site, I should begin by saying that my son had terrible colic, was diagnosed with severe GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) at 2 month of age, and was diagnosed with a bad milk allergy by his 8th month. At the writing of this article my son is 3.9 years old.

Six months ago my wife started looking into Milk Kefir as a treatment for some health issues she was experiencing; she also thought that my son and I would benefit from its consumption. Instead of trying to list the various health benefits in this article, I’d like to point out that it has a very high concentration of probiotics and has been alleged to aid digestion, lower cholesterol/blood-pressure, and incite world peace. I let you guess which of those is an exaggeration of the truth. The following links might educate you better: Wikipedia’s Kefir Page and Comprehensive Kefir Information from a believer

About 4 months ago we started put teaspoons of Kefir Cream Cheese in my son’s juice once or twice a day. Kefir Cream Cheese is made by removing much of the whey from Milk Kefir in order to thicken it, concentrate many of its nutrients, and reduce its lactose content. We used such small amounts to both ease him into the taste (which is a little like a sour yogurt) and ease his digestive system into regular dairy consumption. Steadily we increased the content until about 3 weeks ago we started giving his up to 3 ounces of Kefir Cream Cheese mixed with 4 ounces of juice. Lex appropriately calls it “milk juice”. He often requests it throughout the day and I estimate that he consumes up to 7-9 fluid ounces of concentrated Kefir Cream Cheese per day.

The Proof is in the Pudding

On his current diet of Milk Kefir Lex can now eat any quantity of and variety of cheese without any digestive issues. Three years ago, the smallest trace of any dairy product gave him endless diarrhea. We no longer give him daily does of Culterelle Probiotics. We expect that 20+ friendly bacteria strains in Milk Kefir are more than enough for our son. Honestly, Lex is the most regular that he has ever been.

Perhaps coincidentally we were able to reduce his GERD PPI medicine by half for the first time after after Lex was taking Kefir for two months. This was totally unexpected after so many previous failed attempts. I can’t help bu think there is a connection between this wonder food and the improvement in his reflux.

We recently went on a cruise and for some very foolish reason we did not take any Milk Kefir or Kefir Cream Cheese; we took some Soy Milk instead. Bad idea. Firstly he would barely drink it. Secondly, although we resumed giving him 1 capsule of Culterelle probiotics each day, Lex developed a bad case of diarrhea. We are almost certain it came from all of the cheese and deserts that we let him eat while on the cruise. When we cut off the cheese and dairy-containing desserts Lex returned to normal. I am almost certain that if we had been giving him Kefir Cream Cheese as regularly as we do at home that he would not have had any digestive problems. Needless to say, when we got home we were all happy for him to get back on his super probiotic-fortified milk Kefir.

Conclusion

I was skeptical of Milk Kefir and all of the miraculous claims that my wife told me about, but after what I have witnessed I now cannot deny that it has helped my son greatly. He likes the flavor and I know that he loves the ability to eat regular cheese and even regular ice cream without getting diarrhea or bad gas. Even I feel better when regularly eating it and it has lowered my wife’s cholesterol as well! Has it cured my son’s Milk Allergy? No, but it is treating it, or rather it is controlling it and permitting him to eat, within reason, as all of his other friends do without any concerns. We don’t even tell others that he has a milk allergy anymore and we don’t worry about him being offered or finding dairy products.

Update – Lex Age 5.2

We now give Lex just about 1/3 cup of straight milk kefir mixed with about 3/4 cup of 100% fruit juice. He seems to like it and it mixes more smoothly. He seems even more regular now than before and more importantly he seems to have no trouble with the occasional ice cream or chocolate milk. We still add KAL Crystal Calcium to the “shake” and also supplement every other day with those Calcium Gummy Bears.

My Child Has a Milk Allergy

You may not be as lucky as my son and I are. My wife was very quick to discover and pursue a diagnosis of his reflux (GERD – Gastroesophageal reflux disease). She put that same determination and web researching ability when my son was later diagnosed with a “milk allergy”. Little Lex has had it rough, and he still does at the time of this writing, but luckily his mother is a very perceptive and determined woman. If you and your child are not so lucky then you might consider developing your paternal instincts and researching skills. Either way, let me give you a good start.

My son started showing signs of colic before he left the hospital (2nd night of life). We thought the crying was normal until we started the second week and it got worse. His pediatrician diagnosed him with colic and started him on Enfamil’s Nutramigen formula (hypoallergenic formula, expensive). He stayed on this and breast milk until he was about 6 months old at which time he solely drank Nutramigen. Between his 7th and 8th month he had a Diarrhea that wasn’t going away and was really causing him damage down below.

Luckily Lex was already seeing a Pediatric Gastroenterologist for his reflux. He immediately suggested that Lex had a milk allergy and that we should change his formula to something even more elemental (I heard expensive and ele-what?). He pointed out that even Nutramigen had traces of milk and that if we merely changed the formula to this “elemental” thing we would see an improvement. He was right. After securing some office samples of Abbott’s Elecare we were ready. Anyway, the Elecare, as bad as it tastes did the trick. Lex started feeling better and the explosions in his diaper subsided. We were very happy. My wife found out that some mothers in some forums had reported that their insurance covered Elecare. As it turns out ours did and we even had it delivered through Byram Healthcare (but I would switch to another provider if I could).

Calcium intake was not a concern of ours at that time, but just after his 1st birthday Lex stopped drinking his “milk” during the day. Suddenly we found ourselves looking for a supplemental source of calcium. Again, his mother pounced on this, but I jumped in too. My research mostly turned up articles that questioned the whole “got milk?” conspiracy. My research pointed to food high in calcium: certain beans, soybeans (he turned out to be allergic to soy too, I heard 20+% of those with dairy allergies are), cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, nuts, and oats (finally something he eats). I late discovered that figs were not that bad either.

An Appropriate Calcium Supplement for Toddlers

My wife also discovered that calcium in certain forms was an acceptable supplement for young children. Common calcium carbonate is not the best for young children as it can through off the pH of the digestive system and must not be consumed on an empty stomach. Bone Meal calcium can contain heavy metals. Better forms of calcium are calcium gluconate, calcium citrate, and calcium lactate. It is difficult to find these in a powdered form and without lots of added magnesium. Fortunately, my wife found the perfect solution. KAL’s Crystal Calcium has a mixture of calcium gluconate and calcium lactate that dissolves nicely in liquids. It also has some vitamin D as well which is actually something many children don’t get enough of.

According to my calculations we should serve my son 1 teaspoon per day. So we have been adding 1/2 of a teaspoon of the powder to his “sippy cup” twice a day. His “sippy cup” is usually just filled with 1 part juice and 6 parts water and yet he doesn’t seem to mind or notice the calcium supplement. We feel as though he had a growth spurt just after we started him on the calcium, but honestly, these little angels are moving targets and they make for some very loose test cases. At least, we feel the supplement is helping him. however, either way, we feel better and sometimes this is just as important.

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Update November 9, 2009

We recently ran out of KAL Crystal Calcium and had to find a substitute quickly for our son, who can now eat small amounts of cheese. We also needed a reminder of how much calcium Lex needs at 3 years of age. We found this information in an article titled “Calcium and Your Child” at KidsHealth.org:

Although there isn’t definite scientific proof yet that taking in these amounts of calcium will result in stronger bones when kids grow up, the current recommendations are:

• 1 to 3 years — 500 milligrams of calcium daily
• 4 to 8 years — 800 milligrams
• 9 to 18 years — 1,300 milligrams

Getting enough calcium is just part of the equation. All children — from babies to teens — also should get 400 IU of vitamin D daily.

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Update November 1, 2010

Lex is now 3.9 years old and his Milk Allergy is diminishing and is mostly under control, we believe that, aside from naturally growing out of the allergy, his regular consumption of Milk Kefir is aiding his digestion of dairy greatly. Please read this article “Milk Kefir for Children excellent Probiotics and a Milk Allergy Cure“