Just be aware

Not posting this to get up on a soap box. Neither do I want to hear arguments in defense of crap foods or anyone's civil liberties to enjoy same foods. I post this only to help some parents be aware.
Why now? Because one child in my circle of children that I tend has been diagnosed with Crohn's disease . She is 9 years old. Her life has become miserable. She has had a diet consisting of fast foods and processed foods her whole life. No one knows what has caused this condition in her. (There is no history of Crohn's disease in her family at all. From what I have learned that is unusual.) but I bet her poor diet doesn't help her condition. I am not saying that eating at fast food places causes Crohn's disease. But now that we are living in an international food supply and demand universe, I do think we need to be better aware of what's in the food we do eat.

So, if you have kids, please be aware of what you are up against when trying to get your kids to eat a proper diet.

http://www.upworthy.com/watch-the-video ... ?c=reccon1

I've read some about this condition. It seems to be correlated with bacterial imbalance in the intestines, which can happen sometimes with antibiotic use. I wonder if this patient has been treated with antibiotics before?

If so the best course of action might be to restore the proper balance of gut flora. Modern medicine still seems to struggle with the concept that some bacteria are beneficial. I'd suggest trying some probiotic diets and see if there is any improvement, and if not there are more radical methods with which some people have had success.

modern medicine struggles with beneficial bacteria? Tell that to the deluge of hand soaps and other cleansers that promise to eradicate all bacteria from existence everywhere. It's so pervasive in the culture that bacteria = evil that I see far more danger in the general public's lack of scientific understanding than I do in modern medicine. But maybe that comes from modern medicine, I can't say.

Thank you Steve for the advice. A bacterial imbalance because of antibiotics use may be the case. She's not been well for a while and I'm not sure what medication she may have been put on because of other diagnosis' .

modern medicine struggles with beneficial bacteria? Tell that to the deluge of hand soaps and other cleansers that promise to eradicate all bacteria from existence everywhere. It's so pervasive in the culture that bacteria = evil that I see far more danger in the general public's lack of scientific understanding than I do in modern medicine. But maybe that comes from modern medicine, I can't say.

Interestingly (at least I found it so) and on a semi-related note, the polio outbreaks of the late 19th and early 20th century were to a large degree the result of improved sanitation practices. Which leads me to wonder/speculate that some of the health issues we see today could be the result of interfering with the bodies natural immunities by eliminating all contact with "bacterias".

modern medicine struggles with beneficial bacteria? Tell that to the deluge of hand soaps and other cleansers that promise to eradicate all bacteria from existence everywhere. It's so pervasive in the culture that bacteria = evil that I see far more danger in the general public's lack of scientific understanding than I do in modern medicine. But maybe that comes from modern medicine, I can't say.

Interestingly (at least I found it so) and on a semi-related note, the polio outbreaks of the late 19th and early 20th century were to a large degree the result of improved sanitation practices. Which leads me to wonder/speculate that some of the health issues we see today could be the result of interfering with the bodies natural immunities by eliminating all contact with "bacterias".

Very likely. Which also goes hand-in-hand with diet when you take into consideration the huge amount of preservatives used in processed and pre-prepared foods.

I hate hearing that a little kid has been diagnosed with such a serious condition. That is so scary for them.

I know we have knocked around gluten a lot but it has been shown to cause inflammation and be related to intestinal issues. Hope they have a doctor who is open to nutritional solutions.

[Robin Garr]

I know we have knocked around gluten a lot but it has been shown to cause inflammation and be related to intestinal issues. Hope they have a doctor who is open to nutritional solutions.

To me, gluten in food is like sulfites in wine: If you are in the relatively small group of people who've been diagnosed by a physician as sensitive, you have my sympathy. It's no fun ... and in the case of sulfites can be fatal. But because there's been so much publicity about both, hordes of people self-diagnose, and then deny themselves simple pleasures that are actually harmless for them.

Short story: Don't make fun of people who suffer. But don't prescribe yourself a fast from good stuff without having your family physician check it out.

Short story: Don't make fun of people who suffer. But don't prescribe yourself a fast from good stuff without having your family physician check it out.

This is a quality quote, needs to be repeated.

Google it, you'll see reports from around the world how IBD has been dramatically on the rise in younger and younger patients. England states that the culprit is junk food, US says it is unclear. My kids are in their 20's now, they still tease me about how abused they were by never going to Jerry's, Arby's, etc. we broke down for McDonalds a few times, mostly for the playground! Now, they both cook well, eat healthy and stay fit. It can be done.

There have been many great, thoughtful posts in this thread. Personally I think the child's problem might be from any of a number of reasons, I'm not a doctor and I don't even play one on TV. But I will say that while working in the childcare profession, seeing many different children from across many demographics in a single week , I have seen some unsettleing things. More than half of the children I care for suffer from asthma. There are epi pens in every private home I regularly go to and they are all for the kids, not their parents. Both food allergies and breathing problems abound. Back in the Iron Age (ok, the 60s) when I went to school we had "that one kid that wheezed all the time". Not a classroom full of them. I might have known 2 or 3 kids with food allergies but airlines still gave away free bags of peanuts. Unthinkable now. Why? Is there a common thread? Doesn't it make sense that it has something to do with our food supply?

One theory is that our germophobia doesn't allow kids immune system to develop fully. When we grew up. every kid played outside and actually got dirty and even played in the mud. Imagine that! Playing in actual mud! We were "free range" children. I know the kids in my neighborhood growing-up were all over the place and into everything, and I was right there with them.

These days, kids can't do anything outside without adult supervision, so they are hardly ever outside. ANd when they are, it's some organized activity with little opportunity to experience actual grime and soil. Add that to the germophobic cleanliness of the last decades, and there's nothing to train young immune systems how to discriminate actual infections from benign agents, like pollen. This leads to allergies, asthma, and who knows what other conditions from having overaggressive immune systems. And it wouldn't surprise me if Crohns Disease were ultimately found to be in this group. Allergies and asthma are truly first world problems.

I hadn't considered all the processed and preserved food angle before, but it makes sense that sterile food from birth could contribute. But if that's the case, it wouldn't just be McDonald's though. It would also be Gerber and Simulac. Maybe a little mud with your double cheeseburger is all that's necessary.

I'm a bad parent. When Seamus was a little over a year old we were outside and he ate about two handfuls of dirt and later some sand. He didn't think it tasted good and spit most of it out, but he's also eaten some leaves, and various other things. It's what kids do. We keep him out of the Mr. Clean and the cat litter, but otherwise we encourage him to skin a few knees and explore his world.

My cousin never had a cut or scrape until she was 17, she cut her finger on a bread knife and passed out.

Ronnie-
Any dad with a Spider Man icon has got to be a cool dad!

Has a second opinion already been sought?

My niece was misdiagnosed with Crohn's at a very early age and spent a large portion of her life dealing with not only the symptoms but corrective surgeries, colostomy bags, the whole works.

I don't wish that on anyone. Especially unnecessarily.