We have a son that has recently been diagnoised with mild autism, plus my wife suffers from hives and daughter seems to often feel sick especially after eating sugar so we are wanting to make changes to our diet gradually by starting with the cutting down of sugar that is used and removing the processed foods, but as you can imagine this is very mind boggling, so any help would be appreciated especially with school lunches, please don't mention raw celery sticks (yuck). Any constructive & positive feedback would be most appreciated. TIA.
margyr,
May 17, 6:56am
use honey, and for sweet treats eat dates. good luck. also just on the left is a box headed message board, in the first box it says recipes, in keyword or member box type in sugar free, then in the date posted box click on the little arrow then on anytime and then click search, there are quite a few suggestions there for snacks etc.
ruby19,
May 17, 6:57am
For school lunches, I don`t know how old your children are but you could do salads, made with either rice , pasta or cous cous with a home made dressing and the vegetables/salad items they like. Would they take a flask and have home made soup/ stews? There are some great flasks now almost like bowls with screw on lids. They can be bought at the supermarkets. Crustless quiche, or filled bread cases. Again all home made. Tha t way you know what your are adding.
maxwell.inc,
May 17, 6:59am
Don't use honey. Honey is 55:45 Fructose:sucrose Table sugar is 50:50 Fructose:sucrose
If he cant have "sugar" he cant have honey.
cookessentials,
May 18, 4:05am
That is a hard one as there are so many conflicting theories on what is and isn't good. I have read that a diet free of gluten and casein are very beneficial (So this would take out wheat and milk proteins) I wonder if it would be helpful to contact one of the organisations or search the web to see if there is such a site where you can get some knowledge from others with the same experience.
elliehen,
May 18, 4:42am
If the diagnosis is Asperger's Syndrome (which is at the mild end of the autism spectrum), there is an Australian psychologist/clinician, Tony Attwood, who visits New Zealand and has written a definitive book: The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome. His website is:
http://www.tonyattwood.com. au/
I think you are asking about removing 'added' sugar from your diet, and that is relatively easy to do, without making any radical changes to your diet (and no need for raw celery! ). Once you remove ADDED sugar, you can begin to taste the essence of foods, and your taste buds adjust - it helps if the whole family is eating the same way.
Many people discover help for many debilitating ailments once they remove wheat and dairy products. I would suggest that you start with the advice of your child's specialist and progress from there.
buzzy110,
May 18, 5:09am
The change of diet you are contemplating is actually much harder than people think. Often, when we contemplate years of living without the foods we have been so used to eating, we can become quite depressed - re: your dislike of celery. lol
On these boards is a thread called "Low Carbs, No Carbs". In it are a group of dedicated low carbers who understand only too well the immense health and weight benefits that can be achieved on such a diet.
We also understand two other things. Firstly all carbohydrates, whether from fruits, grains, surgary foods and drinks and high starch vegetables are essentially the same thing to the body - namely they are sources of glucose.
Secondly, we understand that sugar (cane, corn, honey and all other sugars) have been used with great effect to replace saturated fats. If you want a diet low in sugars you will have to re-embrace fats, in particular saturated fats and understand, without a shred of doubt, that these foods are what humans evolved to eat and, even though we are being brainwashed into believing the opposite, they are extremely good for you and do not cause any of the diseases they have been accused of but they can help counteract lots of others.
Which is beginning to deal in depth with this very subject.
buzzy110,
May 18, 5:20am
I can also advise that there is nothing to give you the in-dept information you require on the net. Most will be short articles written without much background and a profound belief in the current diet ideology. It is really up to you to start reading because education is the only effective defence you have against your problems.
The books I recommend here will counteract and answer all the misinformation, and often incorrect information disseminated by the low fat contingent that inhabits these boards and the low fat message that you have probably been brainwashed into believing. If after reading any of these books you do not come away better informed I'll accept any sort of abuse you may want to throw at me.
For starters try - Dr Atkins - The Diet Revolution Move onto: Dr Bernstein - Diabetes Solution (It is filled with amazing information) Take in Uffe Ravnskov's - Fat and Cholesterol Are GOOD for You and if you feel like a marathon read then Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories/The Diet Solution (the same books) is a real eye opener.
Other will decry the authors of these books as going against accepted science, but all of them use excellent science and Ravnskov's and Taube's books are mere commentaries on every piece of science on the subject that has ever been written to the date of their publishing. Taubes even interviewed some of the researchers and scientists whose works he talks about.
knowsley,
May 18, 8:41am
Don't bother with Taubes book. He has conveniently left out all the studies that didn't agree with his writings. Both he and his book are considered a joke by many in the health and diet arena.
cookessentials,
May 18, 10:08am
Might actually pay to read #1 post.
100luap,
May 18, 11:31am
Hi Guys, thanks for your comments, what I really wish is that you could buy bread that wasnt made from wheat that wasnt a small windowless building as well as being tasteless. What happened to barley? It really is trying to cut down on one thing at a time - those crash diets dont work - (for me & the kids) that is, my dear mother who gave me some insight into health while she had breast cancer taught me to be ever so cautious about all those replacements like margerine & artificial sweeteners and
100luap,
May 18, 11:37am
all those other chemicals not to mention vaccines and prescription medicines (but thats a different story). I guess reading up and trying to make sense of all the conflicting opinions is the only way and then the next hurdle is trying to find replacements for all those things I and the kids really love - yes first ything I do when I come home is look in the pantry to see if there are any goodies there! Anyhow thanks guys & off to research!
henpen,
May 18, 11:54am
I have always been "addicted" to sugar but recently came across Rachel Tomkinson's "betterbods" website as I suffer from eczema and was searching for something that would help me. I am slowly weaning out all additives from my diet as I work out what is really in what I eat, but since cooking in butter and coconut oil and making my own breads my cravings for sweat treats has disappeared! Magic! If you really need something to help meanwhile you could try buying some stevia from any health food store?
100luap,
May 20, 3:44am
This is Mrs 100luap, thank you all for your input. henpen I looked at that site, went to the library and got the book Jenna's Journey out, very interesting reading, will be cutting out all the msg and additives. I have also looked up and read primal lifestyle, in fact both have very similarities with cooking in dripping, butter and also leaving the fat on, which I normally do. Had daughter at docs this morning with another sore tummy, finally some tests are being done and she also has to go dairy free for a month in case she is lactose intolerant.
mojome,
May 20, 7:16am
try stevia liquid, avaliable on tradme. . the flavoured stuff is really yum, another good sub is xylitol (but very posionous to dogs. . so if you have one bevery careful)... also good to watch the lecture called "Sugar... the bitter truth" on youtube a very interesting listen... also look ino what has MSG and glutamates as this will effect both of those conditions see undergroundwellness channel on youtube
s3an,
May 20, 10:01am
The Liver Cleansing Diet has some good ideas; Banana Cake, Pikelets, Rice Custard (this does have 2 tablesp honey), Couscous cake with berries, Carrot Cake (this does have 3/4 cup raw sugar). Good luck
frances1266,
May 20, 9:27pm
Mojome - could find stevia on trademe - could you help please
You can also buy Stevia from New World. It's in the sugars section...
elliehen,
May 21, 1:54am
And you can grow it :)
coolthree,
May 24, 10:42am
Stevia powder.
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