Comments on: Milk: Does it Really Do a Body Good?

By: Cheryl Taylor

Cheryl Taylor — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:49:28 +0000

Make sure that you don't apply pesticides or fertilizer to anything that you add to your diet. You have to be careful with growing food in typical residential areas.

Yes, an ear infection can flare up from one day to a next, much less a week. Yes, some children pull on their ears when they are teething, because for whatever reason they feel the teething pain into the ear canal, which isn't a far fetched idea when the pain is along the jawbone that they feel it related over into the ear. It's hard to know without looking at the ear drum.

With a child that has a hemoglobin that registered low it's wise to be aware of it and check it again. In that process remember that there are symptoms of concern with low iron, make yourself aware of what they are, and look at the whole picture. Make sure that your relationship with your doctor is one of communication and respect. There should be a good conversation about what you should keep an eye on, what is reasonable for recovery time after an illness (it takes a good month for iron levels to return to normal after an illness) and your desire to find natural sources of iron that will not interfere with the absorption of the most bioavailable iron that is in breastmilk.

Hope that helps.

By: Regina Kennedy

Regina Kennedy — Wed, 12 May 2010 05:42:50 +0000

in feb we were all sick with bad colds… I think he might be starting the teething process again. He goes through periods of drooling a lot, so maybe he'll start getting more teeth in soon. He has been "itching" his right ear; this seems to be a normal thing he does when teething, but we were just at the dr last wednesday, he couldn't have an ear infection already, could he? What usually happens when a baby tests low for iron a second time? Are they going to try to give me some harsh drugs??

Thanks for the site, my husband and I fed him dandelion leaves last night for dinner, along with hamburger and onions and couscous, he didn't eat much, but I think he likes the dandelion. We bought them at whole foods, but we are considering to harvest them ourselves, our yard is full of them.

By: Cheryl Taylor

Cheryl Taylor — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:48:27 +0000

Ferrous sulfate is actually a very poor way to get iron because it is not very bioavailable. The best form of iron available to your son is via breastmilk. Here's a great link breaking it down for you: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.h... Was he sick anytime in the month before that finger prick? Did you know that the body's own defense mechanism when combatting a bacteria or virus is to lower iron levels because the iron can encourage bacterial growth? So the body will naturally lower iron levels and it takes about a month after an illness before the iron levels return to normal range. You are correct that artificial iron such as ferrous sulfate drops constipate. In addition to breastmilk consider the iron in foods that he is eating and choose some high iron foods in addition to high in Vit. C to help with absorption. Cooking in cast iron skillets is also good. You're on the right track. Hope that helps.

By: Regina Kennedy

Regina Kennedy — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:15:03 +0000

my son just turned 1 year, may 4. we went to the dr for his checkup and they pricked his finger and told me that he had an iron level somewhere in the 8 range. The dr then gave me an otc "prescription" for fer-n-sol. I gave approx. one dropper full for almost 1 week. I exclusively breastfed for almost 7 months, and am still breast feeding during the day and he sleeps with us at night, so he is feeding multiple times during the night. I drink raw milk,and during my pregnancy drank at least 1-2 glasses a night. I also ate at least 2 cage free eggs per day for most of my pregnancy and at least constant for the first 3 months after his birth. Just in the past month or so, I started buying organic pastureized milk and have be switching off the two, b/c the organic milk I can get @ 1%, where the raw milk has a lot of fat… I really really don't like how my son's stool was yesterday, really hard and what I would consider constipated, for him, and it was black of course. Since the dr told me he had low iron, I also started attempting to cook most of our foods in cast iron and trying to research good iron source foods. I have been giving him organic orange mango juice with most of the meals, as well, I had been mixing the iron supplement with it. I have a follow up appt in one month. How long does it take to increase iron in the blood?? I don't want to stop breast feeding, what do I do? He doesn't really feed nearly as much as he used to. It is approx. 10-15 times in a 24 hr pd. I read that blackstrap molasses is really good for you, but it's sugar, and I'm trying to lose weight. Just looking for a better opinion than my pediatrician that is not into natural medicine…