This tome has been on the net for 8 years now, and it garners quite a few emails. Having gone through the 5 stages myself, I can now recognize denial and/or bargaining at a glance. The desperate parent, writing to me, has been through so much, so many diets, and there are no clear connections. She is at the end of her rope. Her child's symptoms wax and wane for reasons unknown, and doctors are no help. Sometimes the child has the strange breath that I described above. Sometimes he even has a lab test that betrays the presence of yeast. Sometimes he is already on Nystatin. Yet the child, and the parent, can't give up the carbs.
"Perhaps we can eat natural carbs, like fruit."
The microbe doesn't care if the sugar molecule came from an orange or a candy bar.
"Perhaps we can eat simple carbs, i.e. the simple carbohydrate diet."
Starch is quickly converted into simple sugars, so it's hard to see how this could help.
"Perhaps we can eat failsafe carbs, rice and potatoes and maple syrup etc."
This is a real longshot.
"Perhaps he has a specific sensitivity to cane sugar, or wheat, or gluten. We can stil eat homemade gluten free cupcakes sweetened with apple sauce."
Another longshot.
"Perhaps we can eat carbs free of fructose."
Fructose intolerance is very rare, and usually makes the child deathly ill as an infant. Other metabolic disorders are unlikely for the same reason.
If you've been chasing your tail for years, yet you know your child's symptoms are food related, there is probably a microbe involved. The three most important factors in winning this war are: the quantity of carbs consumed, the time of day the carbs are consumed, and the quantity of carbs consumed. When the microbe goes into remission (I don't know if it ever really goes away), you might find there are no other variables at all. Aside from the carbs, my son reacts to certain colors, and maybe nutrasweet. That's it. And you know how many variables we have looked at, because you have read this entire blog.
If you fit any of the patterns described in this journal, please save yourself years of heart-ache, and start counting carbs now. This is the first piece of the puzzle. When the random fluctuations of the microbial colony are gone, other sensitivities, if any, are easily determined. Experiments become repeatable, and science is on your side. You just have to accept the reality of meat and vegetable stir fries for dinner, without potatoes, without rice, without a dinner roll, and without a sweet dessert. If you're looking for numbers, we try to keep dinner + dessert to 40 carbs, but your mileage may vary. Breakfast and lunch are comparable, though there is more wiggle room here.
Remember, my son had no supporting lab tests either. I suggest you run a three day test. That's all - you'll have your answer in three days, maybe less. (Again, and as always, consult your doctor first. This blog is for educational purposes only.)
Buy a bunch of sweet potatoes. These are sometimes called yams, incorrectly, in the grocery store, but if they are true yams, that works too. Both stand alone in their food groups. They are unrelated to the white potato, sugar, wheat, corn, soy, or anything else. They are also natural (no red dye #40). Your child is unlikely to react to this specific food, which happens to be very high in carbohydrates. (If you're trying to be failsafe, use maple syrup; if you're trying to be scd, use grapejuice.) Have your child eat a bunch for dinner, maybe two or three nights in a row, and see what happens. I'll bet most of her symptoms get worse, maybe a lot worse. You might even smell biproducts on her breath, perhaps for the first time. If not, carbs are not an issue. If yes, you have a microbial imbalance, no matter what medical tests might indicate.