Eating the right types of food to ensure optinal health!

My youngest son has Down syndrome. Along with having Down syndrome he was also born with quite a few digestive issues. He has Hirschsprung's Disease which is a disease where a portion of your colon is missing cells that help the colon contract and effectively eliminate waste. To correct that he required a temporary colostomy followed by what they call a pull through. The latter being the operation which allowed him to have his ostomy closed and reattached to his anal opening. Poor kid still had issues and we struggled to find a way to deal with them. At 3 yrs of age he was diagnosed with having malrotated intestines. Hi intestines were hanging unsecured and had to be tacked back into place. After that we though we were home free right? Not even close. He had a lower & upper GI Scope and we were told he had severe reflux, severe esphogitis, severe gastritis and severe cholitis. We thought "Ugh! Now what?" We were not too excited of the prospect of my son taking several different drugs to function normally. So we started networking with other parents of kids with DS and we did some of our own research on digestive disorders and how food can impact that positively or negatively. What we found is that gluten which is a protein found in grains like wheat can have a negative impact on people who have had digestive surgeries such as Connor had. We also found that dairy is hard to digest and can also impact the digestive system. We also noted that many kids with Down syndrome seem to struggle with their weight and often become over weight. We wanted to do what we could to keep Connor as healthy as possible.

So we embarked on a mission to improve his diet and try to make sure what he put in to his system helped him rather than hinder his digestive process. And help keep his weight down. We put Con on a gluten free diet and reduced dairy. He drinks no milk but tolerates yogurt quite well. He likes fruits but not veggies. So we found a drink called Vruit which is a combo of veggie and fruit juice and Beachbody makes a super nutritious product called Shakeology. Shakeology has 70 different ingredients in one meal consisting of vitamins, minerals, antidioxidants, phytonutrients, protein and Probiotics. Probiotics are great for Con's health as they support the digestive system! And it's gluten free. So that's been a good product for us! We found great rice noodles from Tink-Y-Ada, some great gluten free pasta sauce from Enrico's and some great gluten free muffins and other snacks that are healthy and tasty. I think whenever you have to make a change in the foods you eat it is important to find and excellent replacement for your favorites and Con was a pasta boy. Shortly after going low dairy and gluten free, Con was scoped again and the results went from Sever in all the aforementioned categories to mild and insignificant! But the real key is to try and eat foods in their natural state as often as possible but when my youngster behaves like a toddler and refuses veggies at least I have Shakeology to help with getting the proper nutrients. Add thankfully gluten free products have come a long way. The texture of the rice noodles tastes more like its wheat counterpart! Yay!

Now my son takes one med called Alinia and he only takes that when his digestion gets imbalanced. We also removed foods and drinks with High Fructose Corn Syrup and Transfats. We have become label readers and we are all healthier because of that diligence. Con is a normal weight, he's sleeps so much better and his immune system has improved tremendously! We may have started on our quest to eat healthier to help Connor but the entire family has benefited from it! I share this experience because I often hear people with various ailments and they take a lot of meds to counter the issues but often times adjustments to our diets can reduce those symptoms and help people live a med free life! :)