12 yr old boy with chronic lyme

[shanaT]

Hi,

I'm new here and was hoping to learn more about the differences between whole 30 and the lyme diet. My son is 12 and has had lyme for a year. He is going to start treatment for chronic lyme in July (we can't get an appt before that) and I've read that changing his diet could relieve his symptoms and help him to handle the antibiotics better. I've read Recipes for Repair by Gail Piazza and found many of the recommendations to be inconsistent with whole 30 and I'm trying to figure out which differences matter. For example, red meat is very restricted in the lyme diet but not on whole 30.

I would like to get my whole family participating in the diet, and I think I'm more likely to be successful if I'm not limited to serving vegetables and fish

Right now I'm leaning toward 2 weeks to a month of lyme diet (in case there's something specific that I'm missing) then moving to whole 30. I think whole 30 would be great for my husband and I as well.

I am also very concerned about my son losing weight. He lost quite a bit last summer when he was very I'll with lyme and then couldn't eat when he was on the antibiotic. He's gained it back, and weighs a couple pounds more than a year ago. I am afraid the same thing will happen when he's on antibiotics again. Last summer the only thing he consistently wanted to eat was rice cakes (yuck).

Generally his diet is very good, with lots of fruit and veges and grass fed meat, and very little sugar.

He doesn't have any extra weight to spare though

Thanks for any and all feedback. It's confusing and frustrating trying to figure all this out.

Shana

[praxisproject]

Not too familiar with the lyme diet, but a quick look over a food list shows some things allowed on lyme diet which are non-compliant for Whole30:

• Grains
• Legumes
• the "exceptions"
• There are no sugars/sweeteners of any kind on Whole30 and no artificial sweeteners

If he has a tough time on antibiotics, things like this can help (check if these have any lyme issues):

• Bone broth
• Gelatin
• Collagen
• Vitamin K2
• Vitamin C
• Magnesium
• Liver (kids tend to like chicken liver pate, me too!)

From a focus perspective, what they both have in common is wanting to reduce inflammation.

No grains may make a difference if he hasn't had this before. It's important to get enough starch if you're cutting out grains for the first time and to make sure you're eating enough

[praxisproject]

If you have any more questions, please ask away, there's a lot of people here to help

 

Also, you may be interested in the lyme mentions here:

 

http://whole30.com/2011/06/the-whole30-a-z-real-life-testimonials/

[shanaT]

Thanks! I read the links and they were helpful.

My challenge is deciding which diet to start with, and figuring out if there is any reason to limit beef and pork, as recommended in the lyme diet. My biggest concern is that he not lose any more weight and I'm afraid that would be inevitable on just vegetables and fish (the first week of lyme diet).

Fortunately he likes vegetables, but he doesn't enjoy fish (unless a fishing trip and campfire are involved). On the other hand, the lyme diet does permit some sweetners and there are some treat recipes, which might help him through this, although I get why whole 30 avoids these.

He's actually very positive about the upcoming diet change and has been reading recipes. His brother and dad are not at all enthusiastic and are already lamenting their anticipated snack deficits. We start something on Monday.

[laura_juggles]

Kids can also have those SWYPO baked goods (obviously without the sugar) that are off-limits to us adults, so maybe if there's something that can also work into the lyme diet, something like paleo muffins or pancakes could help him not lose a ton of weight (since they tend to be mostly nuts and pretty dense in fats and calories). 

 

If he doesn't enjoy fish, maybe sub chicken breast for the first week? They're not the same thing, but chicken breast is probably the closest you could get to being fish without being fish (am I even making any sense? I just woke up!)

[praxisproject]

Might be good to ask the doctors about the beef & pork. There are things in both that aren't present in other forms of protein. Fatty fish like salmon is high in omega 3. Some kids like milder white fish like flathead, but they are often more keen with some sort of coating or crumb. Their taste buds are still developing, so fish doesn't taste the same for them as it does for us.

 

You could always try some Whole30 recipes before you see the doctor, see if you can find some things they like.

 

Some good recipes for Whole30 from Mel Joulwan (Well Fed cookbooks) & Nomnompaleo.

 

There's also some tips here for when weight loss is the opposite of what you want:

http://whole30.com/2013/12/keeping-weight-whole30/

 

[Edit: Chicken is a good option if it's okay with your doctor. Lean, does not have some of the elements in beef and pork, but it is also missing the great Omega 3 profile and fat - if you think he's up for it, some fish oil might be good - some has a kind of fruit flavor rather than fish - Walnuts are highest in the nut family - egg yolks are good too, so if he likes mayo, eat up! Olive oil is another fat option]

[shanaT]

I think muffins and things like that will be helpful.  I'll try the fish for the first couple days.  He loves salmon, maybe he could just eat that all week   and I could make a huge batch of deviled eggs.  Thanks for the links.  I've been thinking about fish oil but there are so many choices I get overwhelmed!  One of his friends loves it, so we'll give it a try. 

[praxisproject]

If you can find them, the "fruity" version is good as there's no fishy smell, taste or burps (kids just love the burping! lol)