He Doesn't Even Like NoodlesI recently met a 7-year-old boy named Andrew who was brought in to see me becaus of his fussy eating. "He does not like mixed food, for example soup with pieces in it", his mother reported. "He doesn't like raw veggies. He does not even like noodles - which kid does not like noodles?" "He won't eat rice and potatoes he will only eat as hash browns. But he loves milk and cheese. Only problem is, he gets all stuffed up if he's allowed dairy and will snore loudly." Andrew also was very fond of fruit and especially sweets. I noticed that he was grinding his teeth, his upper front teeth were almost ground down to the bottom. The mother reported that he was restless in his sleep, tossing and turning and perspiring a lot all over his body. He has mildly dark circles under his eyes.
Tuberculinum and Teeth Grinding He has a long history of being congested, even from birth. "When he gets a cold he produces an amazing amount of colourful mucus", the mother reported. She described Andrew as a happy boy who can be expressive emotionally, especially with sadness. He is gentle with animals and feels sympathetic towards people in danger. Because of the restless sleep, teeth grinding, chronic congestion and high mucus productions during colds as well as his craving yet aggravation from milk and dairy I gave him one dose of Tuberculinum 200 CH, the homeopathic remedy made from tuberculosis. Additionally I gave him a daily dose of Saccharum officinalis 6D, a homeopathic preparation of white sugar. As it turns out, white sugar often makes a wonderful homeopathic remedy for finicky eaters and can also be helpful for all kinds of digestive disturbances. Sugar as a Homeopathic Remedy When white sugar first came into use in the mid 1800s it was considered a drug. As it became more popular, especially with the upper classes, homeopaths observed its negative effects on health and began to use it for issues like malabsorption, digestive issues, blood sugar problems and nervousness. Dr. Tinus Smits took it a step further and started to use it to treat children with autism, who often are finicky eaters and frequently suffer from digestive issues. Five years ago I started to use it in my practice with most gratifying results. The children often just start eating more and become less fussy overall, and if they have digestive problems these also often improve. Saccharum as a Remedy for Picky Eaters Andrew's mother reported that after one week on the remedy he started eating everything. In fact, he also grew noticeably, one inch in the last month. Plus his mood got better. Then a few days before our follow-up appointment they ran out of the remedy. "Now he just wants sugar again and all the moodiness is back." The tuberculinum helped with the perspiration at night, which is a sign of a weak immune system. His breathing is not as audible at night and with a more recent cold he did not produce as much mucus. But the real winner was the little remedy made from white sugar. Over time his eating normalized and he also had quite a growth spurt. Other Causes for Fussy Eating Sometimes children with food aversions or difficulty eating have been adversely affected by vaccines which may affect the nervous system and change the way the sensory system interprets stimuli or their motor function, making it more difficult to chew and swallow. A case in which this happened is Carly, a little girl with autism. She was unwilling or unable to chew her food, only ate things she could swallow whole and refused most foods. It was a real struggle to feed her. She totally recovered with a few remedies made from some of the vaccines she had. You can read about her story here. A recent research study also linked vaccines to anorexia among other things. You can more about it here. Zinc deficiency can also be a factor in fussy eating. Zinc affects the way our tastebuds work, low levels of zinc apparently change the way food tastes for the worse. I have often used zinc and other nutrients to help children who were picky eaters. If your child has eating issues there may be underlying reasons for this, I'm happy to help sort this out and make your life much easier! Anke Zimmermann, ND, FCAH, 2017
12 Comments
Andy
9/23/2018 12:10:00 am
I’m very interested in your experience with extreme picky eating disorders in children. Our son is 5.5 yo and eats very little food, no whole foods and usually only 2 or 3 items for months on end. (Currently he eats tortilla chips made with beans and peanut butter on rice cakes on occasion—he would eat ice cream everyday but that’s not an option. He likes chocolate but is typically finicky even about “junk” food). We’ve done a variety of alternative therapies, seen an OT and he’s been assessed by our feeding clinic at our children’s hospital. Our NDhad him on some homeopathics with no changes. I suspect he has the MTHFR gene mutation but he has not been tested. He had a vit K shot at birth due to facial bruising after a precipitous birth but is totally vax free. He’s temperamental and stubborn but has a good, kind heart beneath the rage. I believe he’s emotionally ruled by crashing blood sugars a lot of the time. I feel like we have tried everything and he is just getting more food aversions.
Patricia Fitzsimmons
10/14/2018 08:15:08 am
Andy, I'm curious what homeopathics your ND has tried with your son (including what potency and the frequency he took the remedies). I've only recently gotten "into" homeopathy and I think it's amazing. It sounds like your son may have ARFID which is an eating disorder that was added to the DSM in 2013. I'm part of several Facebook support groups for the disorder. My son is 20 and ARFID makes him feel like a freak. He has to order chicken tenders and french fries or pizza at every restaurant and going on a date with a girl or to a wedding where his "safe food" isn't served is embarrassing. I read that many parents say that their child's fussy eating started after a traumatic event (like choking or vomiting) while others don't see a correlation. Keep in touch please cuz I want to help my son although right now he's not ready for the help but I want to research the remedies so I'm ready when he's ready for help. He also knows nothing about homeopathy. Thank you.
Andy
10/14/2018 08:33:06 pm
Patricia,
Andy
11/22/2023 09:42:46 pm
How is your son doing these days? Has he reached out for any help/support?
Anke Zimmermann
9/23/2018 09:34:18 am
9/23/2018 09:29:27 am
Reya
11/8/2018 06:26:25 am
Hello dr Zimmerman, I’m so glad to have found your website. I have been researching homeopathy lately and really want to start on board, my son is now 5 yrs in kindergarten, he is very tall for his age and almost 10lb at birth, but now pretty slim, he was extremely strong before, I would say he still is a little strong. I have no idea how he ended up like this but at the age of 8 months I introduced finger foods his dad was overprotective and insisted we start at age 1. Well I wish I hadn’t listened, by age 1 he wouldn’t take anything non puréed! I puréed his food until age 3...the same day we flew to Arizona where my family lives, he ate regular foods. He was our 1st born so we followed vaccine schedule on time did not question doctors, when he got MMR shot he had fever and just not really responsive. I was surprised to see he remembered how he got shots, so after MMR shots he has trauma whenever we go to any clinic and he sees people wearing scrubs he literally loses his mind! They can’t weigh or check his temps or blood pressure. After the age of 1, I never vaccinated again but I think it is too late anyway. He is non verbal recently started abc and can count 1-5 miraculously. With his food intake it’s a headache for me since I deal with him more than his dad. He eats PB&J sandwich, anything chocolate, obsessed with cookies, oatmeal, rice, banana, he likes carbs like muffins pancakes, cake, etc. But not pizza or bagels etc. he has not eat any meat since age 3 when we used to purée. That’s it his food is so so limited, I dont say picky anymore just say he has an eating disorder. Also he is gluten and dairy free, expensive but I guess it helps. Do u think his case is complicated? Or have u dealt with anything like this? I’m now thinking it’s probably vaccines then becoming one in our family is picky like him.. it’s insane
Anke Zimmermann
11/8/2018 09:02:07 am
Hello Reya,
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AuthorAnke Zimmermann, BSc, FCAH is a professional homeopath with a special interest in children with developmental and behavioural concerns. Cases are all from her practice. Names have been changed to protect privacy. The cases were published with permission and are intended for education only. They are not intended as medical advise or solicitation. Homeopathy treats the person, not the condition. Archives
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