3 yr old near-drowning survivor needs KETO help

[Cici]

Dear readers,

Long shot perhaps to ask here but it's worth the shot. I took a leap of faith and started the Keto diet for my 3 year old on my own.. She has severe brain damage since 2 years ago. She was put on Pediasure before. Which is bad for her I am sure. I don't have medical guidance here because of my location and cannot afford it also. I am using the only online keto calculator I can find. Keto-calculator.ankerl.com (via reddit.) btw. She has no epilepsy. I feed her trough a tube, so everything gets blended in a Vitamix. When I put her data in, this is what I get: The resting metabolic rate says 482 kcal. For total daily energy expenditure 579kcal. She is sedentary or light active, i am not really sure because she does have spasms. But otherwise she lies in bed a lot.

Carbs 12 grams, i entered that myself
Protein: i chose more, 18 gr.
Fat: 57 gr. The calculator states that amount

She needs to gain weight, a few kilos would be ideal.

I use this calculator for my own use too, but more to loose weight myself.

My questions are:

How much bodyfat does she likely have? she has no fat hardly for what I can tell so I thought 13%. Because below that percentage the calculator says it's not possible.

Are the amounts for protein, carbs and fat healthy? In other words, is the calculator correct because it says she is too young to process her data. But still gives me this

Do you need LESS calories on a keto diet? Because This is 608 calories for her and conventional dietists say she needs 1000 calories. For a girl 2ft 11' and weighs 22 pounds (90 cm and 10kilo)

Does she NEED CARBS?

Does anyone knows of a different calculator that is more suited for kids?

She is on this diet for 4 days allready. It seems to go very well. I switched Pediasure in one day for Keto. She was crying a lot up untill the switch. The day I started the keto she was a lot more relaxed!
I gave her for example in one day: 1 chicken tigh with skin, 1 egg yolk boiled, 2 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs real butter and a cup of lightly cooked carrots. It seems like a good menu for small kid in a day. But I would like to know if I can give her more and how much more.

Thank you in advance for any input.
I have been doing the keto diet since one year. But between christmas and Easter it's been on and off

 

[nicklebleu]

Hi Ciro124,

Sorry to hear about your daughter.

Unfortunately there is not much reliable data about KD in infants.

What seems to be the case is that growing kids need more protein, so I would rather aim for about 2 g/kg, possibly even a bit more. While technically you don't need any carbs at all in your nutrition, there seem to be some (adults) that thrive better on small amounts. What you could do is gradually reduce the amount of carbs, say 2 g every few days until you are at virtually none. If something changes in a negative way, you might then up the carbs just a little bit and keep them there for a longer time and see if that corrects the problem. So in essence you might have to "titrate" the amount of carbs that seem best for her.

If she is too thin you might want to up the daily amount of healthy fats and you could even increase the amopunt of protein for a little while too. Once she reaches the desired weigth, decrease protein back to the amount before and also fat a bit to keep her weight in the same range.

I am reailly flying a bit by the seat of my pants here, as I don't have any experience with KD in kids, so take that with a grain of salt.

Do let us know how she's doing.

Hope that helps!

 

[monotonic]

Good luck with your daughter, I hope it goes well.

 

[shellycheval]

I would also consider adding the "fat bomb" custard to her diet if she needs to gain weight. Test her to see if she is allergic to coconut oil first. If she is then explore the lard recipe. Also, my understanding is that grass-fed/pasture organic butter is a Super-food for the brain, so you may want to increase her butter intake some as well.
Best of luck to you both and take care,
Shelly

 

[monotonic]

You might try turmeric. I take 2 teaspoons of it every morning and it is a significant help. It has brain-healing effects:

http://www.sott.net/article/289345-Whole-turmeric-better-at-healing-damaged-brain-than-curcumin-isolates
http://www.sott.net/article/286428-Tumeric-may-encourage-repair-growth-of-nerve-cells-in-the-brain-study

I also wonder if some form of detox may be necessary to get some healing systems online, but I don't know what would be the best way to go about that in a child.

 

[Cici]

Thank you Nicklebleu, Shellycheval and Monotonic!!!

I can use all the advice I can get, so very much appreciated.

More protein, fat bomb and Turmeric. I am going to do that. Thanks for the links for Turmeric, very interesting.

I agree that detox would be a good thing Monotonic, especially after all the medicine and anti biotic, AND vaccines ... but that would have to be very gentle and a little further in time I think? very fragile here...

Shellycheval the fat bomb I can also do. She is definitely not allergic to coconut oil. It also is the best for the brain.
The grass-fed butter will be difficult to get on the island so I am using 1 Tbsp regular butter every day. I hope it's good too.

Nicklebleu again thank you for the reply.
I will keep you posted.


Again, any advice anyone, please don't hesitate. :)

 

[Nancy2feathers]

Hi Ciro. So sorry to hear about your daughter.

You say you have been doing the keto diet on and off. Are you including bone broth? Bone broth made with marrow, oxtail, shank bones are full of vitamins and minerals to rejuvenate the body. I don't know much about children and keto diet, but I do remember my grandma coming for a visit when I was very young and she always made a big pot of soup with lots of meat bones. I can remember how good I felt afterwards. Now when I have it, I know the benefits bone broth provide and I still get that feeling of well being.

Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[Cici]

Thank you Nancy2feathers. Thank you for your kind reply. I haven't done the bonebroth yet but I have heard of it's importance in the diet. I was wondering how to give more vitamins and minerals so this could be the solution. Also I need a lot of liquid to make her food so this is going to be my next thing, finding that recipe!

You are lucky to have had a grandmother like that. She gave you love-broth

 

[Cyre2067]

Hey Ciro, I don't have anything to add, but I wanted to offer some well-wishes and good vibes for you and your daughter.

 

[monotonic]

Ketoadaption itself has detox effects along with just about any healing food, so deliberate detoxing probably shouldn't be undertaken very soon.

Adding trace mineral drops to her water is probably a good thing as well.

If she has been through antibiotics, then it's important to restore the gut biome with probiotics.

This is how I make bone broth:

http://thecasswiki.net/index.php?title=Food_preparation#Bone_Broth

 

[Cici]

Hey Ciro, I don't have anything to add, but I wanted to offer some well-wishes and good vibes for you and your daughter.

Thank you Puck!

Ketoadaption itself has detox effects along with just about any healing food, so deliberate detoxing probably shouldn't be undertaken very soon.

Adding trace mineral drops to her water is probably a good thing as well.

If she has been through antibiotics, then it's important to restore the gut biome with probiotics.

This is how I make bone broth:

http://thecasswiki.net/index.php?title=Food_preparation#Bone_Broth

Thanks Monotonic! I will have to google trace minerals but it's also in the bone broth, am I right?
As soon as I can afford it, I will buy the probiotics again. I have some left, perhaps I shall finish that now. She gets only half or third of a capsule anyway. + thanks for the link for bonebroth. I will ask my husband the butcher :P

 

[theos]

Hi Ciro,

It was very brave of you to make the switch for your daughter. Pediasure has a lot of highly questionable ingredients and I don't see how anyone can thrive on it.

You've received a lot of good recommendations. I can only add that you want to make sure she is having regular bowel movements. Probiotics should help with that. Also, since she's getting a lot of fat now, be careful that her tube doesn't get clogged.

At your first opportunity, you should try to get her a doctor checkup just to see how she is progressing.

 

[Chrissy]

Hi Ciro124,
I'm sorry to hear about your daughter.

Maybe you have already come across this in your research, but there's a website called Matthews Friends that focuses on treating children with epilepsy with the ketogenic diet. There is a section on tube feeding that might be helpful to you. I saw they offer a keto calculator, but they want confirmation that you are working with a physician or dietitian.

_http://site.matthewsfriends.org/

Best wishes to both of you.

 

[Cici]

Hi Ciro,

It was very brave of you to make the switch for your daughter. Pediasure has a lot of highly questionable ingredients and I don't see how anyone can thrive on it.

You've received a lot of good recommendations. I can only add that you want to make sure she is having regular bowel movements. Probiotics should help with that. Also, since she's getting a lot of fat now, be careful that her tube doesn't get clogged.

At your first opportunity, you should try to get her a doctor checkup just to see how she is progressing.

Thank you Odyssey!
Yes Pediasure is very bad in my opinion also. From the plastic bottle to every GM ingredient that's in there.
But sometimes you just have to I guess.
She is having improvement in her bowel movement since I started the keto diet! Only it needs to be more regular now. But I am on it. And I will start with the probiotics today. just a dab. Her tube I replace regularly and it gets blended really well. I want to do some blood work soon. First I need to add some things to her diet so it has the most health improving effect. (fatbomb and broth) I probably need to do blood check ups more often.

Hi Ciro124,
I'm sorry to hear about your daughter.

Maybe you have already come across this in your research, but there's a website called Matthews Friends that focuses on treating children with epilepsy with the ketogenic diet. There is a section on tube feeding that might be helpful to you. I saw they offer a keto calculator, but they want confirmation that you are working with a physician or dietitian.

_http://site.matthewsfriends.org/

Best wishes to both of you.

Hi Chrissy! Thank you also for the advise.
I am aware of Matthews Friends. I contacted them for help and they referred me to a keto specialist in Oregon. To do Skype consultations. (Because of my location.) I talked to her one time. (www.ketocare.com) She needs me to do a blood test for Carnitine range. Free and total...( other names; Quantitative plasma carnitine, plasma carnitine, plasma acylcarnitine analysis :O) This is one thing I found about it;

This test measures the amount of a substance called carnitine in your blood. It compares the amount of usable or "free" carnitine with the total amount in your body.

Carnitine is a compound that's present in nearly every part of your body. Your cells normally use the fats in your body for energy. Without carnitine, your body has trouble digesting fatty acids. It can't turn fats into energy and uses the sugar in your blood for energy instead.

Some people have a carnitine deficiency. If your body can't use carnitine, you have low blood sugar and can become weak, tired, and anemic. You may develop heart and kidney problems. Some people even develop progressive muscle diseases like muscular dystrophy.

-Maybe this also has something to do with why some people don't do well on the keto diet as said in the last session of April but I have to check and search in the forum if anything has been said about it.

Anyway, the test procedure is very difficult because they have to sent it abroad to the Netherlands and it needs to be sent frozen etc. I am in the process of requesting such a test with the hospital lab and my pediatrician. But it takes a long time. Our pediatrician is off the island a lot and that makes things always more complicated and time consuming. I am not sure if I need it though. Because my daughter was okay before the accident. But I cannot afford to continue with dr. Loughran from Oregon at this time anyway. It's a bit pricey. So what I wanted to do is check back with Matthews friends and see if they can help me with this keto meter. Because I really need it. And my pediatrician is aware I am doing this diet and supports my decision.
I do have to explore their website further because I didn't see the section on tube feeding yet and I couldn't locate anything about a keto calculator. I was looking for that.

But thanks for the info. It might put me on the faster track!