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Growing Kids, Vitamin A, and Continuing Symptoms
We are coming up on four years of our Vitamin A Detox Adventures this July. Most of my kids have seen amazing gains, AND there are still some remaining symptoms, some still worrisome (the sort of issues that cause concerned persons to ask, "What did the doctor say??" and I just nod my head noncommittally, wondering how anyone ever finds a doctor who has the skills to figure out what is going on with their kids' health), and I'd love to feel a little better about not causing more problems than I'm solving. I don't think I am, but...it's just the whole Worry thing that comes along with being a mother!
Anyway. Sometimes I wonder about nutrient deficiencies, especially with increased needs for nutrition with growth and detox at the same time, and I just wish for a multivitamin, which would magically provide every bit of extra nutrition each of my children needs, in exactly the right proportions for each, with none of the stuff they have too much of! But we barely do any supplements these days, which feels generally like the right thing to do...but I'd love some second and third opinions, if anyone has some.
Our diet: beef, chicken, lamb when we can afford it, white rice, tapioca, lettuce/peeled zucchini/cukes/onions/garlic/some cauli etc. (but not a ton)/mushrooms/apples/berries/pears, homemade sourdough wheat/rye bread (except for the toddler, who prefers my homemade gluten-free sourdough), pork and some organic dairy (except the toddler, who definitely reacts (diarrhea and rash) to both of those things), eggs, oats, and beans (except one child, who absolutely hates them).
Remaining issues, in no particular order: receding gums (very bad on the teenager), nosebleeds (all the older kids) (random and sometimes long-lasting, and sometimes in the middle of the night), susceptibility to long-lasting apparently staph skin infections, susceptibility to oral herpes lesions, one child's hair still doesn't grow vigorously, one child's joints seem "lax" for lack of a better term, and one child still has occasional urinary "frequency" issues. I'm sure there are others...but the receding gums and the nosebleeds are the ones I especially wish to reverse, pronto!
Thanks for any ideas anyone might have...
Hi Sarahbeth, wow, four years! How old are your children?
Nosebleeds and receding gums could be vitamin K deficiency. Could be some EFA deficiency symptoms going on as well. Urinary frequency was brought up recently as omega 6 deficiency, and a quick search lists receding gums possibly benefited by omega 3, but I don't know about that one. @Jessica2 mentioned having hair grow between her eyebrows where she was applying Evening Primrose Oil (I think)(an omega 6 derivative) topically. I wonder if excess fiber depletes us of our EFAs. (That may be why Karen Hurd is such a big fan of nuts) Lots of fiber may be why there are vitamin K deficiency issues as well...Hope this helps.
As a side note: Many years ago, my sister convinced me to join Melaleuca. When they came out with a flavored fish oil for kids we tried it. After six weeks or so, my daughter started getting nosebleeds to the point that our bathroom looked like some crime scene. It took me a while to make the connection to the fish oil. So usually the first thing I think of when someone mentions nosebleeds is Omega 3 side effect. But now, I can't help but wonder if it was accentuating or just creating an omega-6 deficiency?
Sounds like you are doing a fantastic job taking care of your children!
nosebleeds make me think of two possibilities - either serious blood sugar lows and highs and or too much blood thinning fish oil. I did not believe it a problem until a surgeon required I stop a week before surgery. I did and resumed days after surgery only to find that my stitches started bleeding profusely into the bandages. He was more right than I thought. Makes a huge difference.
Meanwhile, that is a lot of variables to pursue on a lot of different people. Have you looked into nutritiiondetective.com. Garrett Smith has a few different ways you can use his help from free to higher priced individual consults. His free livestreams on social network are very helpful for access to his brainstorming to answer our questions as well as to talk with each other as we do here on Grant's pages. Took me a few months to come up with funds and found it well worth the investment to get tested and get his analysis of results before planning diet, supplements and other tactics. I would have never figured out on my own to transdermally supplement potassium and magnesium.
thank you and keep on.
Hi @sarabeth-matilsky ! When you put nosebleeds together with receding gums, maybe you get vitamin C deficiency ? I think for me I get most of mine from kraut. Maybe from home made jams and the lemon and lime juice I use in various recipes? I bet kids would be all about lime or lemon ade.
My brother got tons of nosebleeds as a child. My son (who has no cavities) had the receding gums as a teen. I actually don't think it's K.
Both problems cleared up for both men over time.
I get the problem of the impetigo. It's a pain in the butt, but maybe it does show that it's part of this detox for some of us. It seems to show up in places that get scratched raw. Vaseline can help under the nose for instance. I almost always think I get it from that crusty old used tissue in my pocket. (ha!). Have them use a clean one each time.
Thanks for the thoughts, you guys - I appreciate them very much... I am still mulling all of this over.
I have at times tried supplementing purified and non-purified fish oil (long ago), and this immediately worsened one child's nosebleeds, so it was very relevant, but it did NOT worsen anyone else's nosebleeds (at the time, only one child had these)....and in any case, we definitely don't do fish oil now and haven't for many years. I've often wondered about this, because Vitamin K I've tried many times, and it never slowed any of the bleeding either in the moment or over time, so I stopped. I also stopped trying to supplement fats of any type but we don't each much besides beef/chicken and avocado oil, and I wonder if that would provide a balanced level of fats in general...
The vitamin C and gums thing is something I've wondered about. I am currently trying to figure out if one child's sore muscles, constantly queasy tummy, suppressed appetite, terrible lethargy and grumpy mood are some long-lasting (~3 weeks) infectious disease, or if the child is being overdosed or underdosed by diet...or if there's something else... this child is particularly picky, hates beans, hates specific things like noodles, and these episodes make me fear for undereating in general - no fat to lose on this one!.... Sigh.