ASK
BONNIE for October 2003
Question #1:
Hi I'm on a low calorie diet at the moment. I have worked out the total calories of this diet being about 450 calories a day. I have currently lost 29lb and am very pleased. Could you please tell me if my diet is too low cal and if so how I can incorporate some higher calorie foods in, because eating high cal foods makes me feel sick and guilty.
Answer #1:
I do not recommend this diet. It is not just too few calories creating starvation mode (which is true), but too little healthy fat and too little protein. Not only can you develop extreme fatigue and hair loss, but you will probably develop an eating disorder, if you don't already have one. You need to see your physician or a licensed nutrition expert to allow you to lose weight while building health.
Question #2:
Bonnie, I am 25 weeks pregnant & I have a pregnancy related rash called PUPP's. I have read other women's stories on-line to see what best soothes the rash & so many of them claim that dandelion root helps a lot, however, most of them were farther along in their pregnancy like 32 & 34 weeks whereas I am only at 25 weeks. My question is, do you think it would be safe for the baby if I tried taking dandelion root pills daily? If so, what dosage would you recommend?
Answer #2:
PUPP's is supposedly of unknown etiology. I'm a believer in finding the cause of the rash, whether it is pregnancy related or not. If the problem is related to your liver or gallbladder not removing toxins rapidly enough, dandelion root may help. If you take a small dosage, I cannot imagine it hurting you, unless you have an allergy to it. If it does not work, there are many other causes that you would need to explore with a preventively oriented health professional. The one treatment I am vehemently opposed to during pregnancy is steroids (prednisone, etc.).
Question #3:
I really liked your celiac article and felt it had good facts and opinions. However I noticed on the bottom a list of questionable foods. I noticed amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa on that list. Amaranth has been certified gluten
free. Buckwheat has no wheat or gluten, it is a fruit. Finally I give you a link from an article from the American Dietetic Association "Case Problem: questions regarding the accept of buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, and oats from a patient with celiac disease". I hope you find this information helpful. I look forward to reading more insightful articles from you to come.
Answer #3:
I am very aware of the sources of amaranth, quinoa, oats, and buckwheat. I do not merely look at literature. I have personally
spoken with many celiac experts, including Glenn Gordon, M.D., Dr. Kirshner from the University of Chicago, Michelle Pietzak from University of Southern California School of Medicine, and C. Robert Dhal, M.D., a Gastroenterologist Advisory Board Member of the Celiac Sprue Association.
One of the problems is that many of the areas where oats, amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat are grown near wheat or other gluten-containing crops, so there is cross-contamination. Secondly, many celiacs cannot tolerate these four items for unknown reasons, and sometimes even need to avoid corn which is in the grass family. This is why CSA and some of the experts I mentioned consider them questionable.
My recommendation for all of my buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth, oats, and corn celiac patients is to avoid each for 4-8 weeks until their symptoms have abated. We then test each one individually for one week each, if they would like to add back these items back into their diet. Usually, we follow this order: 1) quinoa 2) buckwheat 3) amaranth 4) corn 5) Irish oats (because they are grown away from wheat foods).
M out of ten patients that I see react to one or more of these. We are not "one size fits all." This is why I considered all except corn to prevent questionable "furor." Unfortunately, the conscious Choice article did not allow enough space to explain this.
Have a happy, healthy day.
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