My Daughter Has Low Vitamin D And Iron - What To Do?

[KellyP]

I finally got some lab work on my littlest one because she seems tired more than she should. The labs came back normal except for Vitamin D and iron.

She's my third and I was NOT healthy during pregnancy, nor was I after. She had trouble with my breastmilk (no bowel movements, and developed eczema) that was finally resolved when I went on an RBTI diet. I continued to struggle though, and she was mostly on solids by 8 months (cooked fruit, yogurt and cooked veggies) and self-weaned at a year.

She's always been a snuggly, low-key baby, and that continued into preschool age. She's 5 1/2 now and for the last year has often said she's tired. It's not severe, but it's concerning. She also seems to have some darker circles under her eyes that come and go.

I've been on the forums and reading Ray Peat articles for my own health since May, but can't remember what these two deficiencies indicate, and what the solution might be for a child.

Her doctor wants me to supplement vitamin D and iron but I'm hesitant to supplement without knowing if it's the root cause (especially iron).

I've been giving her a smaller dose of Haidut's Energin and Estroban for vitamins and it seems to help some, but not a lot. Her diet is spotty: cheese, milk, , veggies, fruit - all fine. But she doesn't like/won't eat meat, and gets a very big dose of SAD food as well.

Any suggestions on what could be going on and what would help her?

 

[paymanz]

what type of SAD food she eats then?no burgers? foods you mentioned seems great but it can be perfect if you add liver.

 

[KellyP]

what type of SAD food she eats then?no burgers? foods you mentioned seems great but it can be perfect if you add liver.

She gets a good amount of PUFA, chemicals and wheat through some fast food, frozen pizza, fries, cookies at school, church and home. Probably at least 3-5x week.

Could it really be needing liver could cause her fatigue? How much do I need to shape up her diet? (Removing all bad foods is an exhausting effort to undertake when it comes to children.)

 

[ecstatichamster]

vitamin A and D3 can help restore both D and also iron levels. Plus K2, and a good amount of healthy calcium and magnesium.

 

[KellyP]

vitamin A and D3 can help restore both D and also iron levels. Plus K2, and a good amount of healthy calcium and magnesium.

I could keep supplementing with Estroban for that, plus extra liver, butter, eggs, and cheese. But what about magnesium?

 

[Pointless]

I would stick with the EstroBan. That should bring up ferritin and vitamin D levels. There's magnesium in veggies. If fatigue doesn't resolve in a few weeks, try adding in more calories. Trying to get her to eat liver seems like a lost cause, but that would provide iron and other trace minerals.

 

[paymanz]

if she doesnt eats meat so she can really be low on iron.so liver can help her.

and liver deliver copper,biotin,folate,and other nutrients you cant find anywhere else.its very important to have those meat products(meat,paultry,liver,sea foods),as you cant get nutrients like taurine in dairy or plant foods.

and for vitamin d obviously she needs sun.does she gets sun and still her levels are low?

 

[paymanz]

the RBTI diet you mentioned is new to me,i never heard of it before ,but sounds interesting...

 

[KellyP]

if she doesnt eats meat so she can really be low on iron.so liver can help her.

and liver deliver copper,biotin,folate,and other nutrients you cant find anywhere else.its very important to have those meat products(meat,paultry,liver,sea foods),as you cant get nutrients like taurine in dairy or plant foods.

and for vitamin d obviously she needs sun.does she gets sun and still her levels are low?

She is not a big meat eater at all (any group), so that could be what's going on. We always offer, but she only eats a small bit.

She gets lots of sun, but again, she gets tired and would rather go inside. We just spent two weeks on the beach at the end of July, and her energy was about the same, so I don't think it's lack of sunshine?

 

[KellyP]

the RBTI diet you mentioned is new to me,i never heard of it before ,but sounds interesting...

There's a lot of overlap with Ray Peat. They both focus on the liver; however, I see Peat as advocating to heal the liver, and I believe RBTI only props it up for the long haul (e.g. drinking lots of distilled water lemonade everyday). Also RBTI depends almost entirely on managing your health via supplements (you measure certain markers and have to call in to have them interpreted indefinitely) whereas Ray Peat focuses on restoring the body's ability to regulate itself.

I loved RBTI for the quick results though.

 

[Stilgar]

I agree that extra focus on magnesium, and just hypothyroidism in general, might help.

With kids you can take a kind of general approach that focuses on not limiting foods too much. Orange juice, potatoes, greens, chocolate, and/or magnesium bicarbonate water or epsom salt baths with coconut oil, sweet foods, b vitamin rich foods or chicken neck soup (not sure if lots is safe for a 5 year old, but a small amount wouldn't hurt). The combination of magnesium and thyroid stimulation helps, along with adequate protein and extra salt. Is she drinking lots of fluids? Restricting fluids slightly and increasing solid food and protein with extra salt might help.

If you sort out thyroid and magnesium retention, the iron will come up by itself, unless you are being incredibly strict. And vitamin d is magnesium dependent so equally won't budge favourably without the magnesium, in fact adding it could likely make the situation worse.

 

[paymanz]

She is not a big meat eater at all (any group), so that could be what's going on. We always offer, but she only eats a small bit.

She gets lots of sun, but again, she gets tired and would rather go inside. We just spent two weeks on the beach at the end of July, and her energy was about the same, so I don't think it's lack of sunshine?

I don't know why her vitamin d is low then,maybe her cholesterol is low.try supplementing vitamin d.

If I were you i would try to make meat products more interesting for her,like making pizza with meats,,....meats are important especially in that age.

 

[paymanz]

There's a lot of overlap with Ray Peat. They both focus on the liver; however, I see Peat as advocating to heal the liver, and I believe RBTI only props it up for the long haul (e.g. drinking lots of distilled water lemonade everyday). Also RBTI depends almost entirely on managing your health via supplements (you measure certain markers and have to call in to have them interpreted indefinitely) whereas Ray Peat focuses on restoring the body's ability to regulate itself.

I loved RBTI for the quick results though.

I read a bit now,it says no meat for kids,I highly disagree,but some interesting parts.I keep reading.

 

[Mittir]

How did you measure low iron? is it blood iron level?
Right way to get total iron status is to measure both
iron saturation index and ferritin. Is she anemic?
RP has mentioned that if one is not anemic then
there is no need to worry about iron level.
RP thinks low thyroid function ( with high TSH and PTH)
causes anemia.

High dairy diet can cause iron depletion. You can maintain
iron level by adding non-heme iron source like vegetables.
There are some vegetables are quite high in iron. Eating
non heme iron with acidic food and protein can increase
absorption rate. RP recommends Liver for both iron
deficiency and good thyroid function.

RP found that all the oral magnesium supplements he tried
caused intestinal problem. He usually recommends
Epsom salt bath for magnesium and Quick broth
of greens like kale, spinach etc.

Gut irritation can easily cause hypothyroidism and
weakness. An elimination diet can help figure out
the foods that she can easily digest. A lot of people,
especially hypothyroid people have problem digesting
milk and other hard digest foods. There are certain fruits
can cause digestive problems. RP recommends sweet ripe
oranges. A lot of people have problem with orange juice.
Cooked apple and other cooked fruits can be used for that.
You can check the thread on RP's dietary guideline to know
about fruits and foods he recommends.

Add: RP recommends raw carrot salad, cooked bamboo shoots
and cooked mushrooms to improve thyroid function and
digestion. Raw carrot salad greatly improved my health and digestion.
Salad should be eaten separate from the meal preferably in the
afternoon. Cooked bamboo shoots or mushroom can be eaten with meal.

 

[tara]

I believe RBTI only props it up for the long haul (e.g. drinking lots of distilled water lemonade everyday

I thought this was a protocol for a specific purpose, not necessarily for everyone all the time?

Also RBTI depends almost entirely on managing your health via supplements (you measure certain markers and have to call in to have them interpreted indefinitely)

My take on RBTI was that the primary focus was on appropriate food choices for one's state, going for high quality - high brix foods, with supplements mainly to fill in the gaps from lower quality foods or for specific imbalances? But since poor soils are common, that means appropriate calcium supps for instance can be useful for most.

I loved RBTI for the quick results though.

That is cool - I'm curious - have you spelled out what you did and what the effects were somewhere? If not, wanna tell? Maybe over here? RBTI - Reams - mineral deficiency

 

[tara]

I've not yet found a way to entice mine to liver either. Liver pate or pureed cooked liver added to soups might be other things to try?

 

[Redshine]

I "hide" the liver in the food bij scraping it with a cheese slicer. The pasta is made from brown rice, then I add tomato sauce (to cover up the flavour) and you can always add minced meat, some veggies ore fat (butter) until now I had no problems, but I don't now if this trick will work until he is older

 

[ecstatichamster]

If she will take capsules, there are desicccated liver powder capsules from grass fed cattle made in New Zealand that are probably pretty good.