Got a little behind

I meant to post an update on my son's NAET treatments before we left for our trip.   He's recently treated for : wheat and egg/dairy and egg, and we had planned on treating for wheat, egg, and dairy but he proved strong to the trio and the treatment wasn't required.  Before leaving he treated for neurotransmitters.  My husband accompanied us that day and as we were getting ready to leave he commented, "What did this kid treat for today?  He's going crazy."  Apparently that can be one of the side effects of the neurotransmitter treatment.

On a side note, my husband has had a few recent NAET treatments.  His lungs have always been an issue, along with his sinuses.  He's spent some time treating for sinuses, viruses, bacteria, lungs, pnemonia and combinations of such.

Road Trip

We've taken a little road trip for the holidays, and with the road trip comes all kinds of food challenges--usually.  I say usually because I've witnessed my kid eat a variety of foods that were once taboo.  We're talking kids meals from Wendy's (burger with bun and fries), more burgers from Cracker Barrel, pizza from Sbarro, ham pannini and Baked Lays at Legoland, and hotel waffles with syrup.  There's been no hives, rash, itch, or breathing issues.  Defintiely no Benedryl.  The only thing that I think I see is a little bit of dark circles under his eyes, but that could very well be from the fast pace we've been keeping.  He still takes his daily supplements--viatmin D, krill oil, probiotics, and Juice Plus+ vitamins, and will pick up on the NAET once we get back home.

Oh yeah, and he's had blueberries on a handfull of occassions now without issue!  2012 is going to be a great year!

Blueberries Revisited

Blueberries and my kid go way back.  They were the first food with a noticable immediate allergic reaction--vomitting and asthma.  Looking back, I still recall not knowing really what was going on as I had no idea that food could cause such a violent reaction.  I've talked about our journey with blueberries before here, and the home NAET treatments I've tried that helped but didn't provide 100% relief.  Well last Friday he officially treated for blueberries, waited the 25 hours out, and tried to eat them on Sunday.  Drum roll please . . . he ate 3 blueberries without any reaction at all!

Not only that, but he's eaten pancakes from restaurants the last 2 weekends in a row, he's had more egg lemon rice soup, and has had his fair share of wheat as of late.  All this without any skin reaction or itch.  His skin is perfectly clear--no rash or bumps, it's just awesome to see him so  happy!

Sinuses, Smoking, and Wheat & Dairy

After holding up just fine from our cat experience, we've proceeded with some other treatments:  sinuses, smoking, and a combination of wheat & dairy.  If it seems like we're all over the place with these, we are a bit due to our personal schedule and what we have going on later that day. 

I didn't realize that one could be treated for 'sinuses' but apparently it's possible, the vial holds diluted energy of inflammed sinus tissue. I've know the smoking allergy has been an issue for a long time seeing how he would break out into hives on the rare occassion he's around smoke.  And the wheat and dairy combo was at my request as I'm trying to get to the root of the pizza issue.  He treated for that on Monday after a weekend of pizza parties that left the back of his legs behind his knees raw. Come Tuesday his legs were completely clear.  Coincidence?  Not sure, so we ordered pizza from the same place and he's eaten 4-5 pieces between this Friday and Saturday.  At last check he was looking great. We're going to treat for a couple more combos, namely: wheat and egg, dairy and egg, and then wheat, egg, and dairy.  That's the issue with NAET-- the treatments work best when they're done in the simpliest form; so jumping to do all 3 together may not work as well which is probably why I'm not getting the results I want when I treat for the actual pizza itself at home.

Cats?

I've been dreaming of the day I could write this post.  The day my son was able to play with a cat without any issues.  Today was the day!  Previously he hasn't been able to even be in a house that had cats without swollen, watery eyes that require Benedryl to bring relief.  Last week he treated for animal dander along with a sample of cat hair from my mom's cats (she has 3.)  We never visit her house, although she lives a mere 2 miles from us as the cats were too much to handle.

Today we purposly made a visit just to see how he'd do with cats.  One cat was very friendly and let my son pet her for a good 20 minutes. The cat was long-haired, and my kid was putting his face in her fluffy tail.  I kept watching for reactions, but all the happened was that MY eyes started to itch.  He was fine, even after the cat licked him (remember his arm after the dog licked him over the summer, looked like hornets attacked!)

Last Christmas while celebrating Christmas at a relative's house that had a cat, my child so intelligently decided it was a good idea to put his face in the carpeting.  After a split second he looked as if he had taken on Rocky Balboa--eyes puffed out and swelled shut with streams of tears rolling down his face from all the eye watering.  So as crazy as it sounds, I asked my kid if wanted to try that again today to see if anything were to happen.  And he did.  And nothing. No sniffle, no itch, no watery or swollen eyes.  He's so excited!

Since our last post he's treated for the animal dander, sinuses, pneumococcal bacteria that the vaccine is made for, and wheat/dairy combo.  He's still struggling with pizza that's not from WF, as he breaks out on the back of his knees.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to you!  We had a very successful dinner experience!!  This was the first year that my son was given the go ahead to try some of the traditional dishes made in the conventional ways.  Of course in typical kid fashion he didn't care of most of it, but none-the-less he wasn't that restricted.  He ate real mashed potatoes made with milk & butter, was allowed to eat green bean casserole (which I made with an organic cream of mushroom soup that still had milk & wheat), real gravy with milk and wheat flour (last year I used rice milk and tapioca startch), stuffing with wheat bread & butter, cranberry sauce (he recently cleared a home cranberry treatment), whole wheat rolls from Trader Joe's, and pumpkin pie that was made at a gluten-free bakery.  So as you can see, lots of wheat and butter.  (Not to mention the 4 pieces of pepperoni pizza from Whole Foods he had this week.)  All of this and not one bit of scratching, scaly skin, or bumps--his skin looks remarkably clear!

Doughnuts

Still work ing on the diseases within the DTaP, we completed the last of the 3 today.  But that's not what I want to update on.  I think I mentioned a few posts back the my husband has been taking my son to Biggby's and they've secretely been sharing a donut. As my kid puts it, "just enough to get a little taste, not over doing it."  He hadn't seem any worse for the wear, but once I found out I had my husband bring me a piece to treat for, which we did.  Then Biggby was nice enough to give us the label off the donuts to see all the ingredients.  And wow are these things loaded:  wheat, egg, soy, milk and everything in between, but he's pretty much treated for it all.  I took the sample and list to NAET today and had the doc muscle test for it.  Strong as a rock I tell ya.  She couldn't believe it (and neither could I) so she did it a second time, and still strong.  That was in contrast to the sample of store-brand soft tortillas that I self treated him for--still weak, needs 3 more treatments for them.  The only reason I bought them was because a classmate was bringing them in for a class snack (elephant ears made with them.)  So I tried to be pre-emptive about it as he's broken out to them before, but didn't matter as my kid didn't like them anyways.

List of donut ingredients, not the best picture but you get the idea that these aren't organic and healthy:

Been On a Break

Haven't posted in a couple of weeks, as we took a much needed break from everyday life and jetted off to Disney World.  It's SO incredibly nice not to have to be anywhere or on any type of schedule.  I get so tired of twice weekly doctor appointments for NAET, but I see the benefit so we persevere. 

And boy did we reap the benefits while on vacation! We ate our every single day without issue.  The second we hit Disney World I bought my son one of those colorful swirly suckers.  I had tears in my eyes as I paid for it, and the look on his face when he realized it was for him was priceless.  We're still careful when it comes to food, but he did try some orange/vanilla twist ice cream and he couldn't believe what he's been missing.  He also ate lots of pizza, a different variety of Annie's cereal without issue, and a hotel waffle made in a Mickey Mouse waffle maker with fake syrup! (Seriously, does anyone really realize what they're putting into their bodies these days?!  I only buy the 100% pure maple at home, and the extra cost is worth it to me.)

We're now working on the various components of the DTaP.  His first treatment back was for tetnus.  I'm hoping he can treat for the P (pertussis) this week as there's been a case of whooping cough at his school.  It was the DTaP that he experienced anaphylatic shock to when he was 2 years old, so we may need to take this one slow.

Influenza

Today he treated for all the influenza strains and recent vaccines.  There had to have been 10 vials in the glass jar that he was treated for.  The hope is that if he were to encounter the flu virus, that his body would fight it off more easily instead of succum to it.  Time will tell.

On another note, he ate the Fruity Bunnies for breakfast for the second day in a row and all is good!  No eczema.

And just like that . . .

And just like that . . .he can eat Annie's Fruity Bunnies cereal without any issue.  He treated for it last Friday after having an immediate reaction--eczema in all the joint creases.  Today he tried it again for the first time since treating, and so far nothing.  It's like magic.

A Pause from Vaccines--Flouride

At NAET today we experienced another first.  We almost didn't get to do a treatment today because my kid's body wasn't willing to proceed with anything virus or vaccine related.  Seems like it needed a rest from these more demanding treatments.  According to the doctor, this is a bit unusal for children but not so uncommon for adults who's bodies need more time to heal.  Fortunately we were able to get in a treatment for Flouride. So that meant distilled water and non-flouride toothpaste, which isn't an issue since he uses Tom's non-flouride toothpaste already.

Life's Good

Life's been good the last couple of weeks.  My son is growing and gaining weight, he's suddenly filling out a bit.  He's still doing NAET twice a week; recently he passed Hep B, HIB, and thimerosal.  He wasn't showing weak to the flu vaccine I received when pregnant in 2005, but I'm going to have him tested for influzenza in general to help strengthen his immune response to the flu.  He did have one reaction to something new since my last update.  It was to a new Annie's cereal-Fruity Bunnies.  It appears it's the 'natural flavoring' that caused the eczema to breakout on his knees and crease of his arm.  One bath and some Cera'Ve took care of that. Considering how he use to be in constant break out mode, this is really good. He treated for the cereal with the 'natural flavoring' vial, and is looking forward to eating his new favorite cereal in a couple of days.

Quick Update

Since treating for polio, the kiddo then treated for the polio injectible vaccine (which he did receive 4 doses of as a infant/toddler) and he held strong to the nasal dosage and didn't require treatment to that.  Friday he treated for HIB (which he was also vaccinated against.)  My arm was so weak to the muscle testing.  Even though we've done this over a hundred times (literally), it still amazes me.  The plan is to keep working on vaccines that he received; so we still have flu, Hep B, pneumococcal vaccine, and DTaP.  I'll be interested to see if we're require to wait on the DTaP given his previous anaphylatic reaction.

He's recovered from his bout of asthma and is doing well once again. He did get some pepperoni pizza from some pizza joint last night and had mild itching this morning but his skin is still looking gorgeous.  Pizza from Whole Foods continues to be fine, so it's definitely an issue with the quality of the ingredients.

Vaccines, finally

We've been waiting a couple of weeks for the okay to treat for vaccines.  The ok comes from the body's response to the muscle testing to say it's ready to accept these treatments.  Yes, I'm aware of how weird that sounds.  In the mean time we've treated for artificial sweetners and digestive enzymes (and he was tested for each individual enzyme, but at this time doesn't require treatment.)  We got the go ahead to treat for vaccines on Friday, and started with Polio.  Our doc said this is a good because it affects the gut--something to do with the way it's transmitted (the fecal-oral route--gross!)

This treatment also timed with my kid coming down with 'sniffles', which I'm sure were triggered by the change of weather we're experiencing.  Out of no where came the ashtma Saturday morning.  What a bummer.  It's been many months since we've seen that, well over a year.  I even had bumped him back up to 2 puffs of Flovent a day about a week ago once the weather changed.  Must not have been soon enough.  Our allergist has me keep a bottle of prednisone on hand in case something like this happens, seeing how we're old hat at this anymore.  I did give a dose, which seems to be doing the trick of getting things moving with a productive cough.  Curious timing though of the asthma and vaccine treatment, although it's probably just a coincidence.

Donuts!

My son got to experience the taste of cinnamon donuts fresh from the cider mill, and without reaction.  Well, actually he had a donut from there a couple weeks back and had a terrible outbreak on his legs.  I worked hard to clear it up, using peroxide baths and moisturizer.  I knew he had a class field trip to the same cider mill coming up, so I made a special trip out there to pick up a donut.  I did a home naet treatment on him with the donut on Monday, and he enjoyed his donut with his class on Wednesday.  It's Friday night now, and his skin still looks great.  The best part was that he got to partake in what all the other kids were doing!  He didn't need any special food, and I didn't have to tell him he couldn't have something.  It was as if everything is normal.  As I chaperoned his trip, I sat back and watched him just be a kid.  It was wonderful.

Strange Reaction to Something so Innocent

The day started off happily.  My husband took our son to Starbucks and purchased him a bottle of Very Berry Naked Juice.  Sounds simple enough--apple juice, banana, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries--AND natural flavor.  He's had all the fruits before without issue.  He's even had other types of Naked Juice like the Strawberry Banana.  But it was clear that this particular bottle didn't agree with him.  Within minutes of drinking it, my kid was panicking that his throat felt swollen and complaining that his heart was racing.  He dropped to the floor in agony and was gouging at his eyes, which had turned extremely red all around the outside.  Mind you this was 7 in the morning and I was hardly awake.  I flew out of bed to try to help him and get a handle as to what was going on.  I gave him a Benedryl and after a few minutes he calmed down and seemed ok.  I couldn't help but wonder if he had came into contact with peanuts while at the coffee shop.  We had a NAET appointment scheduled for 9 am, and I took the juice with us.  He was showing weak to the juice, especially in the lung area which is rare for him.  Wish I knew what this particular 'natural flavor' consists of, as my post from a year ago proves, it could be anything.

A Quick Update

A quick update . . .My son did eat a blueberry, and although the results weren't exactly what I was hoping for, he did do much better than his previous attempt a couple weeks ago before his treatment.  This time he had one hive on his lower cheek that cleared up with a small cold pack and rubbing his pressure points, all while he was begging for more.  Pre-treatment he had hives all over his face that required Benedryl.  Obviously there's more work to be done, but it's a start.

Soy sauce has slowly crept back into his diet.  I've been cautious with it as the reactions use to be so horrendous and I wanted to make sure I was certain it was now safe.  Seems to be as he's consumed it a dozen times without issue, and I was even using a brand that had wheat.

I've pinpointed an ingredient commonly used in baked goods, and especially in packaged gluten-free foods that is causing my son to have allergic reactions on his legs (many tiny, itchy hives.)  It's 'sodium acid pyrophosphate', and is a common leveling agent.  He reacted terribly to the Glutino brand gluten free pretzels and more recently to Trader Joe's gluten free waffles, each which have this ingredient.  I've home treated for each, but it would be nice to get my hands on the actual culprit.  Might be a little hard to do, as it seems like it has to be ordered in bulk from China.  I'm going to check the grocery store baking powders, as some may have this in it.  My son actually seems to do better with regular pretzels and waffles, but in my attempt to limit his wheat intake we tried these brands.

Our experiment to take my son completely off his asthma meds didn't last as long as I had hoped.  We tried this in mid-August, and noticed an increase in coughing  (where typically he doesn't cough.)  He also had a few days where it seemed he was having trouble with environmental allergies, namely ragweed.  I actually started him on zyrtec, but that only lasted 4 days and he was fine. Not sure if the NAET treatment for 'late summer weed's played any role, but he did treat for that during this time. We did decide to put him back on 1 puff of Flovent 44 per day for now.  The coughing has stopped and he seems fine, his allergist recommends trying again in the spring.

At our most recent NAET appointment we treated for the 'eczema' vial.  Seems like we should have done this a while back, but none-the-less it's now complete.  Thought it was interesting that my kid's former trouble spots immediately flared.  I'm going to have him treat for insect bites/stings since all the bees out are making me a bit nervous.  Then we'll treat for eczema combined with rutin.  We did rutin a few weeks back, but he's showing weak when both of these vials are put together.  The doctor thought to check this combination as I used rutin as a natural birth control for many years prior to trying to conceive.

On another note, I reached out to the mom in the video below.  I was curious as to how many treatments her son has had.  She lost count, but over the course of about 5 years she estimates 200-300.  She also said that her kid seemed to clear his eczema from the head down, which I found very interesting because I had it on my list to ask our doctor why when my kid does react to something that it's his legs that are affected these days.  The doctor said in chiropractic school that they're taught the body heals from the inside, out and top, down.  Seems to be the case for both these boys!

Picture Update

Back in January I wrote that my ultimate goal was to get my kid as prepared as possible for Kindergarten so he (and I!) could feel confident as he ventured into this new phase of his life.  While we still have a ways to go, I'm happy to report that he is doing wonderful and enjoying every second of his new school.  He's in a full day program, which means he's eating lunch in the cafeteria.  The idea was a bit frightening for me, but he's handled it great.  He sits at the peanut free table and knows not to share food (it helps that this is also a school rule.)  Take a look at this happy boy, and check out his gorgeous skin!

Once Labeled "The Most Allergic Child in the World"

I stumbled upon this video documenting a child's journey with allergies and NAET.  This was all too familiar to me; I have pictures of my son looking just like this child.  Once labeled "The Most Allergic Child in the Wold," her son is now healed and his skin looks fabulous--thanks to NAET!

Bluberries and Pesticides (not related)

We're working with the NAET doctor on doing some home treatments for items that I can easily assess as I  need to speed up this process   I treated my kid for a long time nemesis last week, blueberries.  They were the first food that ever caused him vomiting and breathing problems.  At the time his allergist had told me he's never heard of anyone being allergic to blueberries and he didn't seem to believe me.  I then had a chance encounter with a nutritionist who explained that blueberries have a protein called malvin (if I spelled that right) that do cause some people issues, especially kids under one as their bodies do not produce the enzymes to breakdown the malvin.  I haven't seen any research documentation on this, so I'll just have to go with his reaction.  Anyways, today he muscle tested strong to them and we'll give them another go 'round.  We did sample one a couple weeks back that resulted in his face breaking out, so this will be interesting.

Today's treatment at the doctor's was for pesticides.  Usually just his kidneys show weak to most substances, however today it was his kidneys, spleen, and pancreas.  While we were waiting our 20 minutes out, my son uncharacteristically requested to lay down and have a blanket put on him. He then said his head was hurting, that he was nauseous, and his throats was starting to feel funny.  Both the doctor and I took that as a sign that the treatment was working and that the energy was moving through his body like it's suppose to.  By the time we got home he said he was feeling better.  We'll see how the rest of the day goes, at any rate the food avoidance on this one is pretty tough.

Alternaria

I had never heard of Alternaria until last week when my son's skin prick test showed positive to it, and actually it was his worse showing allergy (that and dogs.)  According to Wikipedia, Alternaria is a genus of ascomycete fungi. Alternaria species are known as major plant pathogens. They are also common allergens in humans, growing indoors and causing hay fever or hypersensitivity reactions that sometimes lead to asthma.

Here's an excerpt from a research article on Alternaria:

“The Arizona Respiratory Center has determined that sensitivity to Alternaria spores is the single factor that most significantly correlates with the onset of childhood asthma in the Tucson area,” Pryor says. “After following childhood cases for over 20 years, this was one of the findings that really piqued their interest in Alternaria.”

Alternaria is one of the most common fungi worldwide, found literally everywhere, both indoors and outdoors. It produces long chains of spores that are easily dispersed through the air. “There is really no way to get away from it— it can live almost anywhere..."

So with that, we treated for Alternaria today.

Preparing for Kindergarten

Monday is my son's first day of Kindergarten!  I'm a little anxious given his medical history, but he's doing much these days which brings me some relief.  After talking with his doctor as to how to handle the peanut allergy, I then met with his new teacher.  The school is very accommodating to peanut allergies and already has safeguards in place such as a peanut free lunch table and hand washing after lunch.  His classroom will also be peanut free, and all parents have been made aware.

There's a great Food Allergy Action Plan form that the doctor completed for me that I will be providing the school with, in addition as to making copies to keep in my son's emergency packs.  An emergency pack will also be kept in the office and in his teacher's desk.  This kit contains epipens, benedryl, and ventolin.  In addition, the school has asked that I type up a profile sheet on my son that will be shared with all staff so that they are aware of his conditions.

On the NAET front, my husband has always had an itchy throat reaction to cantaloupe. Just the other day he ate some and not only did his mouth itch, but his arms, too. I gave him a home treatment, and two days later he tried cantaloupe again (he ate 1/4 of the melon.)  Magically, there was no reaction at all from what he told me.  So weird.

My son has treated for herbicides, late summer weeds in our area, and a bioflavonoid called rutin that I use to take a lot of before I had him.  Rutin is in his new supplement, and since he showed weak he was treated for it.  I want to work on latex, insect stings, pesticides, and then move onto dioxins.

Skin Test Today

Following up on our allergist visit last week, my son had a skin test done today.  He had 4 panels: A) Trees/Grasses; B) Weeds; C)  Other environmentals including dust mites, dog, cat, etc; D) Food (beef, milk, chicken, egg, corn, wheat, soybean, peanut); and some tree nuts:  walnut, almond, pecan, and cashew.

So what did I learn?  Once again reaction trumps the tests.  To my amazement there was absolutely zero reaction to the peanut/tree nuts.  Actually out of all the foods, only egg showed a very mild reaction (the nurse wasn't even going to mark it, but I was certain I saw a small welt.)  His trouble spots were shown to be ragweed, a fungi called alternaria (more on that in a later post), a tree called red top, dust mites, and dog.  I knew dog would be a problem after my kid was licked on the arm by a dog over the weekend and it looked like he put his arm in a hornets nest.  Fortunately the old emergency pack with benedryl did the trick.

So what to do from here?  The peanuts are still a concern, especially since the RAST blood test shows a level 6 reaction.  Because of that, we're not going to challenge any time soon and we're to stay away from all nuts and continue to carry the epipen.  There are some new tests that we could look into in the future.  One being "you know peanut test" that was FDA approved a month ago.  It's a blood test that not many labs are doing right now that IDs which peanut proteins are triggering the reaction.  There's a genetic microbiology test that can be done which shows peanut proteins 1-3 that cause a reaction and 4-6 that relate to a positive test (but no reaction, if I understood the doctor correctly.)  The doc ruled out immunocap as there's a 5-10% change of anaphylaxis which he says is too much of a risk.  He did say that due to the negative skin test my son is now is the" 20% chance of out growing his peanut allergy" category.

As for NAET, our last treatment was for "Immune Modulator" which deals with aligning the misaligned T-cells of the immune system.  When the T1 cells over power the T2 cells the immune system goes into overdrive and overreacts, causing inflammation resulting in various ailments like asthma and eczema.

My son has had soy sauce a handful of times in his stir-fry and has done fabulously.  Prior to NAET he was breaking out in huge hives and his skin would turn thick and scaly.  We also just bought a new supplement to try at the recommendation of our Ped, it's called NeuroProtek by Algonot.  The doc was pretty excited about this one as he was seeing positive results with some of his autistic patients.  It's all natural containing flavonoids rutin, luteolin, and quercetin that's suppose to reduce symptoms of gut and brain inflammation, and nerve and tissue damage.

Wheat Again

We've gone back to revisit wheat.  It's clear that the kid can handle wheat in small amounts, but has difficulty with his skin after eating more than a cookie or something small.  Over the last couple of weeks we've done an additional 5 treatments for wheat with various combinations:  wheat w/yeast, wheat w/ DNA, wheat w/RNA, wheat w/DNA,RNA, Base, and wheat w/trypsin (a digestive enzyme.)  Don't get me wrong, I am frustrated at the lack of quick results and having to re-treat wheat so many times.  But I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet as I keep reminding myself of all the foods we've gotten back because of NAET:  tomato, yogurt, oats, chickpeas, soy, citrus, pork and I'm sure there's more that escape my mind right now.

We also had a good visit with the allergist.  I'm happy to report that it's been one year since any asthma issues!!!  I think NAET and vitamin D have a lot to do with that.   The doctor is taking my son off his daily asthma meds (flovent) for a 2 week trial to see how he does before school starts.  Speaking of which, I will have a kindergartner is about 2 weeks!  My main purpose for the allergist visit was to get help with a medical plan before starting school.  The nut allergy still has me worried and I want the doctor's input as to how to address it.  Next week we're going in for a skin prick test and then we'll be able to come up with a plan from there.

GAPS Nutritional Program

A very enlightening interview with Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, the founder of the GAPS Nuritional Program.  GAPS stands for 'Gut and Psychology Syndrome.'  From the article, Dr. Campbell is a medical doctor with a postgraduate degree in neurology. She worked as a neurologist and a neurosurgeon for several years before starting a family. Her first-born son was diagnosed autistic at the age of three.   Looking for an answer for her son, she ended up getting a second postgraduate degree in human nutrition. As a result of her work, her son fully recovered and is no longer autistic. She now has a clinic in Cambridge, England, where she treats children and adults with autism, learning disabilities, neurological disorders, psychiatric disorders, immune disorders, and digestive problems.

Article: A Warning to Parents: DTaP Vaccines Can Cause Shock in Milk Allergic Children

It's really disheartening to continue to learn of the components of vaccines.  I say disheartening because I don't understand why my son's medical doctors at the time never raised any flags or advised caution knowing how allergic my son had become.  My only guess is that they were not educated themselves and were just doing their job of vaccinating the masses.  I also take some blame because I initially blindly trusted the doctors and did not initially do my research.  My son had a 12 day anaphylactic reaction to his third DTaP injection.  This entailed breathing difficulty, welts and hives, and vomiting; and was my wake up call that it was going to be up to me to help my son.

Soy Sauce?

We had our first encounter with soy sauce since treating again for it mid-April.  Our neighbors invited us over for dinner, and they served the most delicious pork tenderloin marinated in steak seasoning and soy sauce.  I held my breath a bit as my son ate two pieces (not bites, but actual slices) of meat.  No reaction!  He'll have to try a stir-fry before I'm really convinced he's good with soy sauce, but it's a good start.

Since my last post my son has treated for animal fat, candida w/mucus membrane (trying to get rid of the itchy privates that still make an occasional appearance), and he re-treated for egg whites & yolks after the RAST test came back.

Blood Test Results Are In

I finally received the recent RAST/IgE blood test results from mid-June.  Since starting NAET and the last RAST test 22 months ago, all his levels with the exception of egg and peanut have decreased a level.  There's no doubt that he still has lots of IgE, but take a look at a couple of examples:

Honey has gone from 28.4/level 3 to 4.55/level 2

Soy has gone from 24.2/level 4 to 6.87/level 3

Brazil nut was 21.91/level 4, now 5.24/level 2

Tomato and Wheat were formerly testing at level 2 and are now level 1.

The big surprise was egg.  While yolks stayed the same, whites shot up from 12.3/level 3 to 28.4/level 4.  We have a long history with egg, and he's been eating them in baked goods and with french toast for many months now without reaction.  I've always been told that RAST testing produces a lot of false results, and that reaction always trumps the test, so the test can be fairly inaccurate.  In the allergy world, it's one of the main tools available however it doesn't appear to hold much significance from what I can gather due to all the inaccuracies.  I've read that it can take a number of years for RAST results to show a decrease after NAET treatments even though the patient is no longer reacting.  This update was ordered by our Ped, but our allergist is opposed to the test.

Peanuts still tested at 100+/level 6.  We have yet to do any work with peanuts, or any nuts for that matter.  However, all the tree nuts were also down a level from August 2009.  

Vitamin D levels were also tested, and came back as 65 ng/ml, which is the high end of the optimal range.  This is great news, as everything I read says just falling within the range is still too low; D levels need to be at the high end for D to combat inflammation.

Since the MSG treatments, my son has treated for his own blood, my dad's dog, aluminum, and small intestines.  We were able to get a few drops of blood from when he had his lab work done a couple weeks back.  The phlebotomist thought it was a weird request when I asked for a small vial. I told him I wanted to hang it around my neck.  Just kidding!  After I explained we were doing some alternative treatments he obliged.  For years I've said that my son is allergic to his own blood, it's as if he has fiberglass running through him.  He showed weak to his blood sample, so we treated.


For the last month my son has been having issues every time we visit my dad's house, with each reaction proving to be more intense. The first three times it was a mystery.  Finally with the last and most severe breakout of bodily hives and itching my dad made the connection that the dog had been groomed the beginning of June and the groomer applied a finishing spray that in the past has made my dad's eyes itch (and he's not an allergic person.)  I was really hoping this would prove to be the culprit, because if it wasn't that could mean that a new allergy has emerged.  We cut off some dog fur and treated for it last week.  After clearing we made a trip over to my dad's and just hung out in the yard to slowly test for any reaction.  That worked fine.  Then today we ventured back over and spent some time in the house.  NO REACTION!


As for aluminum, I thought this might be a beneficial treatment due to all the aluminum injected via the vaccines.  Our practitioner said this was a really hard one for her daughter, who woke up in the middle of the night with diarrhea after treating for it.  After clearing aluminum, we proceeded onto treating for small intestines.  My son didn't experience any adverse reactions with either.


So what's on tap?  We're looking at treating for DNA, RNA, neurotransmitters, and enzymes over the next few weeks.  

MTV: True Life, I'm Allergic to Everything

This episode takes a look at two young people coping with food allergies.  The one girl actually seeks alternative help that looks similar to NAET and seems to be getting some relief.  From the very beginning of the show when they were showing their pantry, etc I was thinking that she has an MSG allergy.  At the end she has an anaphylactic reaction to chinese food, which convinced me even further that MSG is a major culprit for her.  I was appalled that the head of immunology at John Hopkins had the nerve to tell her it's in her head.  Right, like it's been in the head of my two, three, four, and now five-year old.

I'm glad to see mainstream TV taking on this serious subject.  It really hit home for me, I must have had tears in my eyes the entire time I was watching.  I could totally relate to all the benedryl, inhalers, food preparation, and excitement when a new food is added back.  Fortunately we've never had to use the epi pen.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/true-life-im-allergic-to-everything/1666298/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=5232&channelId=1

Going out on a limb

Back in December a good friend of mine was battling eczema in her then six month old son.  I gave her the low-down on my best arsenal of products and routines which included bathing, moisturizing, and diet.  I also told her that if she got desperate enough we could talk about the hocus-pocus called NAET.  I was hesitant because it's weird and one really needs an open mind to take the steps to try it.  I was also hesitant because what if it didn't work for them, and because it's so weird that they'd think I'm a complete nut job.

Well, she did reach the point of desperation and has been undergoing treatments for her son for about the last month.  Yesterday was the baby boy's first birthday party which I attended.  I was approached by the dad and grandma as they were so thankful for the recommendation to try NAET because they are seeing such an improvement in their boy's skin.  WHEW, what a relief!!  The dad has gone to a handful of appointments and said after their first visit he was ready to throw in the towel because it seems like such a hoax.  But, he knows what I've been through with my son and the vast improvement we've seen, my kid is walking proof that this weird stuff works.  Everyone was commenting on how great my kid's skin looks!

What a week

This week started off with a NAET treatment for MSG, which my son woke up in the middle of the night nauseous thinking he was going to be sick--usually a good sign that something is working.  As the week progressed he had 2 outbreaks:  one to vegetable soup at a restaurant which he's never had before, and one to a single blueberry.  Blueberries and him go way back to when he was 12 months old.  They were his first major reaction, triggering asthma and vomiting.  The definition that I've been told of anaphylaxis is two or more body systems have to be involved, so this would classify as such.  He has since had a random blueberry encounter and has been fine.  This week though he broke out in hives all over his face, same with the soup.  I guess it's good that the hives are on his face where they're visible rather than his torso--gotta look for the silver lining in these cases to keep from going crazy.

Fast forward to today.  We went for our second NAET treatment of the week and, low-and-behold, he didn't pass MSG.  The doctor muscle tested my arm three times and I couldn't provide any resistance.  Not passing a treatment or being stuck in a treatment can cause other reactions (so I'm told), which is what he may have been experiencing.  So we re-treated for MSG.  On the car ride home my son was completely spaced-out, said he felt weird which was evident by the look on his face.

Then this afternoon we had his 5-year well child exam with his Pediatrician.  Our wonderful Ped has been accepted into a fellowship program to further his knowledge, so we're going to be losing him for three years.  It's quite a blow to us, but we're now on the right track and will manage.  It's been almost two years since any blood work has been done, so the doc wanted to run another IgE screen to compare.  He's also going to blood test for some other areas like vitamin D levels, lead levels, etc.  We spent about 45 minutes at the lab where they took 9-10 vials of blood.  I was floored at how much they needed.  Last time it was only 4 and I thought that was absurd.  Of course my poor son screamed all the way through it.  Why is it always mom that has to do these awful tasks?!  I'm definitely eager to see what the results determine.

MSG is on tap

MSG has been on our list to treat for via NAET for some time, and the more I read about it the more I want to get this treatment over with asap.  Not that I voluntarily feed this stuff to my kid, but it's so hard to avoid.  Check out this list of ingredients with hidden MSG.  It's almost completely unavoidable unless you're preparing all your own foods from scratch.  I'm pretty good about that these days, making all my own broths and using fresh veggies and such, but it's pretty much certain that anytime you eat out you're going to get some form of MSG, or packaged food for that matter.  


The problem with this stuff is that, according to this article and Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of “Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills”,  MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees -- and potentially even triggering or worsening learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease and more.


Some of the adverse reactions to MSG include:

• Cardiac arrhythmia
• Obesity
• Eye damage
• Headaches
• Fatigue and disorientation
• Depression

The FDA acknowledges that “short-term reactions” known as MSG Symptom Complex can occur in certain groups of people, namely those who have eaten “large doses” of MSG or those who have asthma.

According to the FDA, MSG Symptom Complex can involve symptoms such as:

• Numbness
• Burning sensation
• Tingling
• Facial pressure or tightness
• Chest pain or difficulty breathing
• Headache
• Nausea
• Rapid heartbeat
• Drowsiness
• Weakness

Knowing how sensitive my kid has been to everything, MSG is definitely on the radar.

Where are the environmental allergies this year?

Do I dare say it out loud?  I've been thinking it for some time, especially as I've had 2 spring allergy colds and have heard from many others about the tough spring they're having.  But my DS has been great.  No sniffles, no post-nasal drip, no cough, no asthma, and no eczema!  Oh yeah, and NO ZYRTEC!  Can this be the same child?  I'm so happy for him; all of his hard work is paying off.

We've been targeting NAET treatments that tackle the remnants of his itch.  His latest treatments were for Fungus (which his eyelids immediately lit up beet red, but were back to normal the next morning) and thyroid.

Did I mention we've been eating tons of pizza around here?  The other night my kid ate 3 pieces with pepperoni from a restaurant without issue, so maybe the processed meat treatment combined with heat worked?  However another night we were over a friend's house where he had a garlic breadstick, and his privates itched right after for a couple of hours until he fell asleep.  I wish I knew what was in the garlic butter.

We've been introducing more and more foods lately.  Broccoli, the once forbidden favorite, is now a common staple.  He's also been eating provolone cheese with his wheat wraps, and has done well with cornbread muffins and Trader Joe's version of Oreos made with wheat.  Recently we've treated for histamines, cow milk from home, chemicals (consists of detergents, soaps, and chlorine bleach), and today was lymph & lymph vessels.

After the first trial of milk that lead to a stomach ache, we treated with the actual milk and are slowly trying to reintroduce it again.  So far he's been able to tolerate a few sips without any issues, we'll get a better idea over the course of this week.

All of this hard work is paying off, he's grown a couple of inches this year and has put on some weight recently.  It's such a relief to watch him enjoy food.

Birthday Boy!

  

Happy 5th Birthday to my son!  We celebrated with LOTS of pizza.  For one party he had pizza from Whole Foods, as we're confident that he's doing well with the more natural stuff.  For the other party he had 2 pieces of Chuck E Cheese pizza, and did fabulous--I was shocked that there wasn't any itching.  We did skip the pepperoni just to be safe.   Check out his clear skin, it's wonderful!

After all the trouble with processed meat that he was having, we did a combination treatment for heat and processed meat.  We haven't tested it out yet.  He's also been eating yogurt every day for the past 4 weeks, and is tolerating pure cheeses (still some trouble with shredded that has additives.)  He's been persistent about wanting to try "cow milk" as he calls it, so we finally did yesterday.  There was no skin reaction as in the past, but he was almost in tears over a stomach ache.  I'm a bit disappointed as I even bought Guernsey milk as the proteins are easier digested by some than Holstein milk (A1 vs A2 proteins.)  And on another occasion he tried cottage cheese, and complained of his lip itching.  It's clear we have more work to do with milk.  I'm thrilled with his progress, I just wish it was faster.

Salicylates

It's been a few weeks since I've posted as we were out of town, and quite frankly I need a break from the allergy world from time-to-time.  Although it's impossible to fully escape it at this point, we're getting closer.  There were a few reactions while out of town.  It's clear that my son has an issue with processed meat as he reacted to conventional pepperoni and mild italian sausage.  He does fine with certain brands like Applegate Farms pepperoni and Whole Foods sausage, but breaks out in hives to the regular stuff.  I'm thinking there's an issue with nitrates, so that's on our list of things to treat for.  He also got a hold of a juice box with splenda, which he's never had before.  I totally detest artificial sweeteners, but I had left without his Honest Kids juice box and all the other kids had one so I caved--immediate hives.


The good news is that he ate plenty of broccoli without issue after I did a home treatment (we have a long history with broccoli, my kid's most favorite food in the world.)  I also attempted to treat him for blueberries and cumin which we have yet to try.


Our last treatment was for Salicylates, as they're natural chemicals found in most fruits, vegetables, and various other food and non-food items.  According to this WebMD site, Some people have a low level of tolerance to salicylates and may have reactions if more than a small amount is consumed at one time. Symptoms of a salicylate allergy vary but may include:

• Asthma-like symptoms, such as trouble breathing and wheezing
• Headaches
• Nasal congestion
• Changes in skin color
• Itching, skin rash, or hives
• Swelling of the hands, feet, and face
• Stomach pain

In severe cases, a salicylate allergy can lead to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction involving a severe drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and organ system failure. Avoiding products that contain salicylates is the best defense against an allergic reaction--I'm hoping NAET is actually the BEST defense!

Body Image and Self Esteem

As a parent I try so hard to instill self confidence and positive self esteem in my child, while at the same time avoiding arrogance.  I worry though about the effects of food allergies on his body image.  Food is the center of his universe, along with toys, of course.  But at the tender age of 4 3/4, it's apparent how much food means to him and how much I control his world.  He would so love to have a happy meal with chicken nuggets, which often leads to discussions about wisely choosing good fuel for his body and eating treats in moderation.  I can't expect him to comprehend this or that these discussions will diminish his cravings any.  I just wish I didn't have to come across as so over-bearing when it comes to food because I'm afraid of the long-term consequences.  If he was a girl I think the stakes would be even higher, as I can see how focusing so much on food could lay the foundation for eating disorders.

When I was a child my mother never let me have candy.  Nothing to do with food allergies, she was just watching out for my overall health.  Then one day I decided to take it upon myself, and at the age of five I was caught stuffing bags of jelly beans in my coat while my mom was grocery shopping.  It was an embarrassing situation for everyone, but I wanted candy DAMMIT!

I just want to avoid him feeling negative about food.  Food should be enjoyable.  The problem is that food has been a major safety issue and I know every ingredient that goes into his body.  I hate it.  I know we've come a long way and he's eating more foods, which I am  SO thankful for, but it's a slow process. And knowing what I now know, how can I ever let him eat "food" that contains anti-foaming agents?  The problem with being persistent is that once you learn the truth it's really hard to stick your head back in the sand.  *sigh*

Do you know what's in shredded cheese?

I made a rookie mistake the other day and learned the hard way that all cheese may not be cheese.  The string cheese that my son has been eating without issue is made from milk, enzymes, and salt.  However, the shredded cheese that I foolishly fed him consists of milk, enzymes, salt, potato starch, cellulose powder, calcium sulfate, and natamycin.  Turns out natamycin is an antibiotic used to treat fungal infections, and in the case of cheese it's to prevent mold.  Apparently it's also a medication for use in the eyes, and the possible side effects include:  Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue.)  Fortunately, it was just the hives and itching that my son experienced which were cleared up with a benedryl.  It's just so unbelievable all the crap added to food.  There's just not an eloquent way to put it.  We NAET treated for this "cheese", not because I want to continue feeding it to him but because it will be almost impossible to avoid at some point. I can see how this will be an uphill battle with a food as simple as pizza.  Each place will have it's own unique ingredients, with it's own additives added in. Why can't cheese just be cheese?!

One Step Back, 2 GIANT Steps Forward

And when I say GIANT, I mean G-I-A-N-T!  We're talking pizza.  Real pizza with real cheese with real crust and real sauce and pepperoni!  Yes, he finally got to have his pizza, and boy did he LOVE it.  He was sure to point out how the crust was so much better than the ones I've been making for him, and he's absolutely right!  It's not his birthday yet, but we since we've treated for yeast, gluten, wheat, cheese, milk, pork, and tomatoes we decided to do a trial run in case any further treatments are needed.  He ate a giant piece, and wanted more but we convinced him to save it for another dinner. He's had it two days in a row for dinner, and will again this weekend at a family party.  So far, so good!

The one step back was due to an unexpected allergic reaction over the weekend to a cracker that had some tamari soy powder in it.  It was really scary for about an hour as he started saying his lips were tingling and then small hives appeared across his forehead and his eyes and eyebrows turned bright red.  Fortunately a benedryl and ice packs took care of it within an hour.  Really brought back old memories of how things use to be everyday, sure does get the adrenaline going.  We're going to treat for the cracker and soy sauce at the same time.  He was rechecked for soybeans and soy mix, which he was fine to, but there seems to be something else lingering.

Cheese, Milk, and Grains Update

Continuing on with our NAET treatments, the kiddo treated for cheese on Monday and milk today.  He can't wait to try "cow milk" as he always refers to it.  We saw our main practitioner today for the first time in about 5 treatment, as there are two doctors in the office.  I asked her if we could revisit grains to check for individual grains because I knew he had been weak on buckwheat from past testing.  She proceeded to test for every grain vial imaginable, including things like spelt, amaranth, sprouted wheat, buckwheat, different rices, different corns, millet, barley, sorghum, and others that I can't remember.  Surprisingly my kid was strong to all of them, I honestly couldn't believe it.  As she was testing him using me as a surrogate I could tell my arm was very strong and she applied the same amount of pressure each time.  Then she tried milk, and I literally had no control over my arm.  Not only did it go completely weak, but I was use to her pressure from the grain testing and my arm went flailing into my pubic bone and about knocked the wind out of me.  I just started laughing because it's so weird!  And mind you, I'm not a weakling either--I've been working on doing pull ups lately and have conquered 6 in a row =)

Anyways, the good news is that we seem to be past grains.  My kid even ate some corn muffins made with wheat and egg today, as he's been doing well with the pretzels and oyster crackers.  I can't wait to make him a sandwich made from real bread or wraps.  I still have a list of about 30 items that he needs to be checked for, and once we're through all of those we can treat for nuts.  Because he's been anaphylactic to them in the past, we need to treat them last.  Basically get his immune system in tip-top shape first, then deal with the biggest trouble makers.

Kids with Food Allergies Starter Guide

Here's a free guide to parenting a child with food allergies published by the group "Kids with Food Allergies." To learn about coping with diagnosis, signs and symptoms, treatment, nutrition information, allergen avoidance lists and much more, click on the 'starter guide' link:  Kids with Food Allergies starter guide

Flowers & Pollen

For our last two treatments we moved away from foods and segued back to environmentals before the flower and pollen season really takes off.  It's been quite cold where we live, so I especially wanted to get these out of the way before we're forced to spend a beautiful day inside during the treatment period.

We've slowly been introducing wheat.  I found some Annie's pretzels that have a minimum amount of ingredients in them, so my son has been having a handful each day.  He also got to have some ostyer crackers from a restaurant, which was a big deal because I didn't have to tell him 'no' yet again.  Did I tell you we also found a gluten-free bumpy cake cupcake?!  It's incredible.  Even though we're introducing wheat, I'm still proceeding with cautious in case more work needs to be done, hence the 'gluten-free.'  Over the past couple of weeks I noticed that he had some purplish circles set in under his eyes, and his eyelids were looking a bit red.  At first I thought it was probably one of the new foods, but then I recalled that each March he looks like this.  I can look back at pictures from this time of year going back to when he was 10 months and he has huge shiners.  One of the office ladies commented on it while at our NAET treatment yesterday, which we treated for pollen.  By the time we got home the purple and red were gone, and a day later are still gone.  It's really amazing. This summer will be a true test of NAET, and I'm looking forward to it.

Children With More Severe Eczema Less Likely To Outgrow Milk, Egg Allergy

This link takes you to a story published by Medical News Today discussing the findings in a recent egg allergy/eczema study conducted by researchers from Duke, Johns Hopkins, Mount Sinai, National Jewish, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the University of Arkansas on over 500 children.

Children With More Severe Eczema Less Likely To Outgrow Milk, Egg Allergy

A Day In the Life since NAET

I'm sitting here thinking about all the foods my kid has enjoyed today, many of which have been recently reintroduced since his NAET treatments.  Here's what his day looked like today:

Breakfast:
Granola Bar made from Oats, Soy, and Honey--all of which use to cause mega hives.
Taste of egg yolk--he did fine, but waited too long and they got cold.
Corn Flakes w/coconut milk--Corn was a big no-no, always causing a tummy ache

Snack:
Turkey stick from Whole Foods with lots of spices.

Lunch:
Rice Noodles with Tomato Sauce--tomatoes use to cause hives but are now a favorite.

NAET treatment for yogurt and whey.  We're moving on to milk products!  Next week we're planning on treating for cheese, possibly milk, and pollen before spring really arrives around here.

Snack:
Annie's Pretzels made from Wheat--this was a first after passing his wheat mix NAET treatment from Monday.  It's been a few hours and so far so good, we'll see if there's any itching at bedtime.

Dinner:
An old standby, grilled chicken & sweet potato with coconut oil and cinnamon.

Snack:
Veggie Straws, introduced about a week ago as they were previously avoided due to the tomato.

He's made lots of progress and enjoying more foods then ever.  I can't wait for him to have REAL pizza on his 5th birthday, which is coming up in 7 weeks!

Aaachooo!

The following is written by Dr. Sue McCreadie, MD of NourishMD; she's a board certified pediatrician specializing in holistic medicine practicing in Ann Arbor, MI.

Allergy season is upon us, so my next few blog posts will focus on how you can help your child re-balance his immune system.  

I work with a lot of children who live with allergies: food allergies, asthma, eczema and hay fever to name a few.  Since the majority of the immune system lives in the gut, I always focus on re-balancing these children's digestive systems as well.

This is a difficult connection for some to make: what do allergies have to do with digestive health (or lack there of).  The basic connection is this: around 70% of your child's immune system is in her digestive tract!  That's pretty amazing don't you think?  Who knew?!?  Not me, until a few years back.  Initially when working with children suffering from allergies, I would just focus on re-balancing their immune systems.  Never realizing that the quickest way there, was through their gut.  Now I know better, thank goodness!

The easiest way I know to get a snap shot of a person's digestive health is through a test called the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis.  I currently use a lab called Genova Diagnostics to do this test, and you can find a practitioner in your area to order this test for your child as well.  This test evaluates how well your child digests and absorbs food.  It also evaluates your child's bacterial balance, if he has enough beneficial bacteria (to support a healthy immune system) and/or if he has non-beneficial bacteria, yeast or parasites upsetting his bacterial balance.  The beauty of this test is that it also measures two markers of inflammation.  This is most enlightening.  It allows a peek into a child's body to see how much, if any, inflammation is occurring.  This is key since inflammation is at the root of most chronic disease, and must be reduced and eliminated to experience REAL health.

If your child is suffering from allergies of any kind, please find a practitioner in your area and have his stool analyzed.  Sounds gross I know, but digestive imbalance is a problem vital to uncover if your goal is a healthy immune system.

Blesssings,
~ Dr. Sue

Eggs & Spices

I'm happy to report that my kid is now eating baked egg!  We've tried it a couple times with turkey meatloaf and eggplant parmesan, and absolutely no reaction.  He was also treated for the 2 NAET spice mixes on Friday as I've noticed a couple mild breakouts on his eyelid (his trouble spot indicator) after eating foods with chili and garlic powder.  Tonight for dinner I made fish tacos with homemade taco seasoning which consisted of :

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

And there was absolutely no reaction. He was yelling "WE'VE GOT A WINNER!  THIS DINNER IS AWESOME!"  

In case you're interested in the rest of the recipe:

1 lb cod or white fish fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces 
1 Tbsp vegetable oil 
2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 t taco seasoning

In medium bowl, combine cod, vegetable oil, lemon juice, and seasoning; pour into large skillet.  Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until cod flakes easily when tested with a fork.

I made 'Riced Spanish Cauliflower' to top the fish:

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green or red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 ounces canned tomatoes, chopped
Salsa to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

For the cauliflower, I use my mini food processes/magic bullet to grate it (small handfuls of florets at a time.) Or use the 'S' blade on your food processor.  Microwave in a glass bowl for 5 minutes.

MEANWHILE in a large skillet, heat the olive oil on MEDIUM til shimmery. Add the onion and green pepper and cook, stirring often, until golden. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes and stir in. When the cauliflower is cooked, stir it in and continue to cook, breaking up the cauliflower and tomatoes with the edge of a spatula while stirring. After cooking awhile, stir in the salsa. Keep cooking, keep tasting, adding more salsa and salt and pepper as needed. The dish is 'done' when the liquid has cooked off, the salsa and seasoning are perfect, and the rest of supper is done too!

I added 1-2 teaspoons of my taco seasoning that definitely gave it a kick!  You can top the 'rice' with cheese, salsa, sour cream, etc.  And it's all gluten free if you use lettuce wraps.