Nicolas story on supplements

Many of you follow our blog for years to see how Nicolas and his family are doing. Thank You for that. We have tried so many things to make him get better and life a normal life like we know it. We started with GF/CF diet and put supplements into his diet: There where probiodics, minerals, multivitamins, detox agents and many more. By one point, when we detoxed him from aluminium in his body,a he was on 20 different supplements. To have a good outcome we had to break them down over the day, so he had to take some every 30 minutes. This was a hard time and i really appreciatet the support of Nickys school back in the States. They had a great classroom nurse who just followed our instructions.
Why i am writing all of this? Well we cut back a lot, we are now only on basic supplements. For one reason it`s about me. I couldnt keep up with it. Reason #2 is finances. Buying all these very specific supplement has a huge inpact on your monthly budget. By one point we spendt around $400 per months on supplements and special products for Nickys diet.
So you want to see some huge improvement to support the idea of biomedical intervention. And there was never a doubt that we would do everything, even going bancrupt just to help our son to get better. But the huge change didn`t come...
Two years ago we cut down to just probiodics and enzymes and that was it. But after a while i saw that some things would change: The chewing on books, the drowling, the stimms and the screaming. So back to Zink for the chewing and magnesium to calm him down. And just recently i found that Nicky was dry during nights two years ago . It was so good that we made it without a diaper for an hour or so. I asked myself what it was that helped him to stay dry.
I knew Omega 3 fishoil was good, not just for him, for everybody. So i gave it a shot and got back to 1 tsp. a day and within a few days we saw a difference: Dry most nights, didn`t happen for a long time.
A month ago Nicky started to be very agitadet. He is very loud, stimmy and he screams at the busdrive again. I havent found out why but i am back in my autism books.
I thing he is coming a long way and his improovement here in switzerland is great. But its mostly because of therapies and the love he gets. For us supplements are not here to help him to loose his Dx, they are here to be able to be himself and focus on the learning as much as he can.

I am writing this during school vacation, and its a hard time, b/c Nicky is used to his school routine. He waits for his bus in the morning and can not understand the meaning of vacation time.

Have a great day and thanks for following us.
Cheers
Karin

Red beets - not really fun...but....

When i was a child red beets was a common sidedish at our table. I liked it, but just with salad dressing. Every other cooking variety and you just saw my backlights while i was running.

Just recently i was browsing about what to eat when you feel very tired and get sick a lot. And i came over red beets and the benefits are great.
Here are some numbers:

Per 100 gm beets you will get

• Vitamin A : 20 I.U.
• Thiamine : .02 mg
• Riboflavin : .05 mg
• Niacin : .4 mg
• Vitamin C : 10 mg.
• Calcium : 27 mg.
• Iron : 1.0 mg.
• Phosphorus : 43 mg.
• Fat : .1 gm.
• Carbohydrates : 9.6 gm.
• Protein : 1.6 gm.
• and only 42 Calories
  

On top of boosting your immune system during winter months red beets are also known for following benefits:

• It is believed that red beets when used eaten regularly may help against certain oxidative stress-related disorders.

• The fiber in red beets help reduced serum cholesterol by 30 to 40%.
• Beets can help in normalizing blood pressure.
• Beets helps to keep the elasticity of arteries, when consumed regularly it can help prevent varicose veins.
• The iron content of red beets, though not high but is of the finest quality that makes it a powerful cleanser and builder of blood. This is the reason why beets is very effective in treating many ailments caused by toxic environment and surrounding.
• Beet root is recommended for pregnant women because it contain folic acid that can help lower the risk of spina bifida and other neural tube defects in newborn infants.
• Beet juice helps stimulate the function of liver cells and protect the liver and bile ducts.
• Beet juice is highly alkaline which makes it effective in the treatment of acidosis.
• Drinking beets regularly can help relieve constipation.
• Beet juice and carrot juice when combined is excellent in the healing gout, kidney and gall bladder problem.
• Red beets can also help in the following problems; Headaches, toothaches, dysentery, lumbago, skin problems, menstrual problems, etc.

Today we made a great combination of 6 oranges, 1/2 beet root, 1 Carrot, 1 apple and the kids did`nt even taste the beets in it. You can do the same btw with broccoli or spinach, they don`t taste the veggies in the juice :)

Say CHEESE

About cheese....there is a lot to say.... Let`s start where i started: Basic, really basic, didn`t touch too much of soft cheese like Brie, and god forbit sheeps cheese. I ate Emmentaler cheese and Parmesano on top of my pasta, that was pretty much it...till...
That all changed when we moved to Cheese country. My first addiction was for Gruyère cheese, you can buy it at different ages and its flavour changes with age. I like the sligtly salty taste. Gimme a piece of Gruyère and some bread and my meal is made.
Some change i thought i would never make in taste came up with sheeps cheese. I am not a Sheep lover when it comes to meat, i don`t like the sheep taste. So i never really touched sheeps cheese. But recently i come closer to love it. With garlic, pure, or some Cranberrys. Its a great taste and the best thing, Nicky can eat it too, no cows milk !!!
Another "rule" i had before was "if it stinks, i don`t eat". That has changed too, i am going to the cheese shop now and try different cheeses and i am always taking a stinky one too. They are so great in taste, melting in your mouth ...mmmhhh...very yummy.
And if you add a great bottle of wine, more a milder one ...it rounds a great evening up.

More to come from cheese country :) Have a "cheesy" day.

Grüezi from cheese country

It has been way too long since i posted. Today I want to write about our new home country Switzerland, the country I fell in love instantly and finally feel like I arrived in my life.

It will be a year in February that we moved from Germany to Switzerland, to this tiny village just outside from Basel; where you can find probably more cows and sheep around you then people. Where life is slow and the air is filled with silence and the taste of nature; and where people count vine, chocolate and cheese as basic foods.

I have to say that I discovered my love for cows J Not that I want one, but I cannot pass by and not look at them. The different kinds and the fact that they spend most of the year outside up the hills gives you the good feeling of being the closest to nature you can get.

Today I went horseback riding and it was so beautiful. I went all the way up on the hills overlooking our valley. I stopped there and it was the feeling of freedom you only can get on the back of a horse. The view of little farms, villages, busy farmers on the fields, cows and sheep are something I wish I could share with you, it’s indescribable.

I want to write a little more about food and wine within the next days, so stay tuned.

Chai Latte - it can be REALLY healthy...

It has been too long since i posted, and a lot has happened with Nicky and the rest of the family. Hopefully i will find the time to post more in the next weeks.
I just wanted to share a super-dooper recipe about a chai latte i am making myself for a few days now. Its all natural incrediences and great if you want to loose a few pounds and feel full of energy. Here it comes: Cook 1 1/2 liters water and brew the following incrediences for 6 minutes:


5 slices of fresh ginger
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
5 cloves
1/4 tsp. cardamom grounded

After 6 minutes add 1 Tbsp. green tea and let it sit for another 4 minutes. DONE!

Add milk and honey for a great taste. You can drink it cold or hot.

I love the taste of cinnamon and cardamom. Ginger is GREAT for your health, so is green tea.
Hope you enjoy it like i do :)

Wrong diagnosis?

It has been a long time since I posted and a lot happened. First, we moved to Switzerland, and even it was a smooth move it was some hard work to get our stuff into a house only the half size than what we had before. But we love our new (own!) house very much, the surrounding is so beautiful. The hills named Jura are right in front of our door and just lovely. The main issue is the language Swiss German! Its so hard to understand even it is German, its totally different. But slowly we are getting to know our new country and we loved it from the beginning.

There where some changes with Nicky right after we moved it. He was very badly constipated for over a week. We know he is reacting with constipation to big changes, he always did. This time it was very bad and he was in so much pain. The whole thing lasted till I saw a doctor two weeks ago. I was driven by the idea to finally fix that problem. And not to let any doctor to only look at the autism plate and not going any further. B/c that what was happening the last eight years. I was just to scarred now that the insides from Nicky are totally hurt.
So by accident I found this pediatrician who is also a Professor and had some publications about Celiac disease. And he has his practice just 15 minutes from our house. When I called him he told me that he is booked out completely but he would love to see us the following Saturday morning. He told me right away he can not help us with autism, but with the constipation he can. GREAT! That sounded like my kind of doctor.
The following morning we saw him. And he was so different from all the other doctors we saw (and there are many trust me!). He didn't want to hear Nickys history, he just looked at him, took some measurements. He also consulted another doctor who is a neurologist. Then he sat down with me and told me a plan about the constipation. He also told me that Nicky has the wrong diagnosis but he has to read a bit more. Then he send us home with a 9-day-kit to take care of the constipation.
The cramping where gone within 24 hours, Nicky was happy again and so was the rest of the family.
We just saw the Doctor last week and he read ALL paperwork I brought him over. That a foot high pile of paper. He told me he is pretty sure Nicky has a condition called Rubinstein-Tabi syndrome . He told me its a genetically condition and we can run a test. Unfortunately no health insurance is covering and its about 2700 USD if you still want to run it. I said no thanks to the test, b/c it doesn't make a difference in his therapies and there is no cure.
After so many years how can it be nobody ever looked into this condition and this one doctor just took the time to look at my son and see it?? The autism diagnosis comes with the Rubinstein-Tabi dx, it very often does, so does the constipation part. It all fits. I am glad I found this doctor, he takes his time and he told me right at our first meeting. I like that.
I asked the doc if we should should continue with the gf/cf diet and the vitamins. He said I should skip glutenfree and see if there are any changes.
Since this weekend Nicky is eating his first gluten since 2006. So far he is alright but we know it can change soon and then we know he is better off then with.
I keep you posted, this whole thing is spinning in my head, did we go the wrong path? I don't know, but I know we always tried the best for Nicky and we will continue to do so!
Happy Easter!

Are you really cleaning?

Just a short post about cleaning. When you think you clean and desinfect remember following:

The active ingredient in most antibacterial products TRICLOSAN not only kills bacteria it also has been shown to kill human cells.

Lysol and other products that makes you feel safe about bacteria are really not good, especially not on your kitchen counters, tables and childrens toys.
Also the use of bleach. Already the smell makes me pass out (always a good sign from your body something is not right!). There is no bleach available in europe, b/c of health issues!
Next time try all natural remendies like Vinegar (kills germs, bacteria and is GREAT on mold) and Lemon juice.

Here in europe most people clean now with vinegar. You can find 100s of cleaners just made our of simple soap and vinegar. It also smells great.

Happy spring cleaning.