Q. Can you recommend a pediatrician who supports your views and some guidance on vitamins for kids? -Sarah A.

Thanks for the reply (on dairy recommendations for kids). I have been living dairy/gluten/soy/corn/nut free for my breastfed baby for the past 5 months and it definitely is not as difficult as it may seem to outsiders. Food actually tastes much better without preservatives/additives in my life. The most difficult thing is eating out (or not eating out) and enjoying a date night and dinner with my husband!

Can you recommend a pediatrician in town that supports your views? I am on the eastside of town and would like someone nearby.

Also, multivitamins for kids have gotten a bad rap lately. Should I be providing my kids with calcium/vitamin D/Fish oil with Omega-3? I do not currently give my 3 year old any vitamins. I only take calcium.

My 6 mo. old is on 30 mg of prevacid due to reflux as well. The allergist, who does not support any of my choices regarding diet, noted that probiotics will work against the prevacid and I should stop immediately. Is this correct? I have never heard of probiotics working against other medication.

Thanks again,
Sarah

Hi Sarah,

I certainly can recommend a good pediatrician who understands the value of integrative approaches; his name is Dr. Joe Leanza.  His office number is 771-1613 and he is located in the tri-county area. 

Vitamins are valuable for kids especially in todays diet of HFCS and other junk.  I’m certain as a reader of this newsletter you are feeding you kids better than most but we also have to acknowledge that we are living in more pollution with more chemical exposure than any other people thru time.  Our grandparents didn’t live in this mess.  Our exposure to oxidative stress is high and I give my kids a multivitamin with minerals to counter that stress on their bodies. Metabolically speaking we have a greater need for detoxification and your detox pathways need the support of B vitamins, vitamin C, minerals and other elements to aid liver and bowel function. I also give my kids DHA which is an omega 3 fat. Our brains are 60% fat (some people maybe a little more) and need good healthy omega 3 fats like DHA for proper development. They also get vitamin D every day( 2000 units). They don’t need calcium as they get it from their vegetables.

As for the prevacid issue in your 6 month old, I suspect that your allergist is referring to the potential for overgrowth of large bowel flora getting into the small bowel and creating problems. In my opinion this is not a common issue in 6 month olds. Obviously the only fair conversation would be one that involves your doctor and you and I all in the same room. Since I don’t have that luxury I will offer you my experience in general with reflux in babies. 

It’s often due to poor bowel flora and often improves with the use of probiotics in combination with removal of any potential offending foods such as dairy or wheat. I doubt that you are feeding dairy and I would suggest that you check your labels for wheat if your baby is eating baby food. Wheat often sneaks into products as a “thickener.”  The prevacid may help but it is not resolving the source of the problem.

How healthy was YOUR bowel at the time of your baby’s birth? Was it a vaginal or c-section birth? Do you have silver fillings that may have led to mercury toxicity or did your child receive mercury through vaccines that affected his immune system adversely? Lots of unanswered questions here so difficult to diagnose but these are the types of issues that need exploring.

Best of health to you and your family,
Dr. Gary Huber