DHA

Common ingredient in infant formula was found to be linked to diarrhea, severe dehydration and seizures in babies, according to complaints submitted to the FDA.

A shocking report has been released on the adverse health effects of fatty acids found in infant formulas. The Cornucopia Institute, a US-based corporate watchdog group, presented their findings on the fatty acids DHA and ARA, which are now commonly added to formula.

The report is based on a Freedom of Information Act request that the Cornucopia Institute filed with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the result of which was the uncovering of 98 reports filed by parents and physicians detailing incidences when babies had reacted adversely to formula containing DHA/ARA. The reported incidences range from cases of vomiting and diarrhea that stopped when babies switched to non-DHA/ARA formula to babies being treated in intensive care units for severe dehydration and seizures.

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These are the things I've noticed since he's started the remedy-

He's now more OK with ruffling his hair. The chiropractor adjusted him today and then tickled him on the back of the neck and he actually laughed!

He used to swing, and swing, and swing. Now he moves on to another activity.

More about SPD

I feel silly writing this, but since Katie said I described her tactile sensory issues as a kid and now adult to a tee, I thought I might just add the part that I found in the book about myself. As a kid I had vestibular and proprioceptive processing issues.

I was overresponsive to vestibluar sensations, I liked having my feet on the ground and hated rides that spun around fast. I never understood why amusement parks scared the daylights out of me. It's called gravitational insecurity- the vestibular system (inner ear) tells us where we are in relation to the ground. Children without the problem are free to experiment with gravity, jumping, swinging, and somersaulting... a child with insecurity in this area his abnormal distress when her feet leave the ground, due to the primal fear of falling. Basically the brain overreacts to changes in gravity. A kid with this probelm tends to be inflexible and controlling, can feel vulnerable in a crowd or group, and be awkward and uncoordinated at playground games. Eric used to make so much fun of me because my shins were always bruised from running into things. Swinging on a vine out over the water was fun for other kids, but terrifying for me. The fear of falling on the way out or back prevented me from doing it. Ice skating was a nightmare, too scary to master. And I never had the confidence to do those little tricks on roller skates. Thank god roller blades weren't around when I was a kid.

Crash Course in Sensory Processing Disorder

This is even more interesting. I'm going to try to simplify it...

There are external senses, sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. There are also internal senses, interoception (feedback from internal organs), vestibular sense (balance from the inner ear), and proprioception, feedback from muscles and joints. The brain takes in feedback and input from each of these senses, and responds appropriately. In kids with SPD, there is a disconnect somewhere that prevents them from responding appropriately. Problems can be as follows:

The brain may not receive or detect sensory input
The brain may not organize and integrate sensory messages correctly
The brain may send out inaccurate messages to direct the child's actions- he may have problems "looking, listening, paying attention, interacting with people and objects, processing new information, remembering, and learning".

Crash Course in Homeopathy

Justin is doing so much better! The homeopathic dose wore off around Sunday night, after a week, so we redosed him last night. It is amazing the changes I have been seeing- I didn't realize what I've been missing all this time, and the Out of Sync Child helped me put my finger on it.

As far as homeopathy here's how it works... Homeopathy is based on the principle that like cures like. Allopathic medicine is based on suppression of symptoms. Say you have congestive heart failure. You go to the doc, he says, Ok, here are your problems, take these four drugs. The problem with allopathic medicine is that it suppresses symptoms, and sometimes symptoms come out later in other systems. For example, many kids with exzema (which is usually an expression of food allergies) are treated with topical creams, which suppresses the symptoms in a superficial system, the skin. Usually any eruption on the skin is the body getting rid of toxins. Many of these children develop asthma a few months or years later, because the symptoms have been suppressed, and go deeper into the body, according to homeopaths.

Justin Updates

Oh Justin, Justin, Justin, he is a mess. Not only is he two but we still think he might be autistic. It is so strange- he did well after the tubes, but they were somewhat of a band-aid to help the fluid drain. We still haven't figured out what is making the fluid build up in the first place. If it is dairy, then that is a real problem. I know dairy is not the best source of calcium, but our flirtations with the casein free diet don't go well, and it delays his teeth coming in. His two year molars have been coming in since last year, seriously.

It's hard to say why I think he's autistic, but here's an excerpt from an email I sent to another mom, that might explain it...