Cavemom's Cooking
simple paleo meals
Cavemom's Cooking is not only a cookbook, but my son's story: how I stopped my son's benign myoclonic seizures and awoke his sensory processing abilities, our decision to go paleo, and the simple paleo recipes that followed. When we went paleo, I never thought about writing a cookbook. But as time went on and my son made so much progress, I knew his story needed to be told. And what better way than with what helped him the most? Food! Volume 2 is currently in the works!
Paleo eating is grain and gluten free, dairy free, legume free, and nightshade free. Simply fresh, whole foods - fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, and seeds. Easy to make, tasty to eat! If you're looking to get away from today's processed foods filled with artificial ingredients, preservatives, colors, and flavors, give this a try.
168 Recipes. Full color photographs. Available both in print and e-book (PDF).
Cavemom's Cooking, E-book $9.99
Cavemom's Cooking, Print $22.95
The author, Anne, is also the owner/creator of Greenchild Creations, which focuses on natural skin care, cloth diapers, and crafty things. Her fitted cloth diaper design was born of her son's needs. Anne created a true OS fitted cloth diaper: each diaper is three layers of fabric with the third layer creating an inner pocket. With generous side flaps, super stretchy leg elastic, and an adjustable rise, her fitted cloth diapers will fit a range of sizes! Anne offers pin, snap, or Velcro closure, and also makes cloth diaper covers and bamboo inserts.
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Excerpt from the Introduction - Kaiden's Story:
"Before I can introduce myself, I must first introduce our son, Kaiden. Kaiden is one very special little boy; without him my view on everything would be much more . . . traditional. This cookbook is because of him: this is his story.
Kaiden has Down Syndrome, and was diagnosed with benign myoclonic seizures on September 22, 2009, when he was almost 8 months old.
Doctors told us to expect global delays and low muscle tone in regards to Down Syndrome, but they didn’t talk about dietary needs. Kaiden developed at a pretty normal pace up until his sixth month; after that things went steadily downhill. He had been 6 1/2 weeks premature and was exclusively fed breast milk; because of his prematurity he became anemic and at his six month well-visit, I was instructed to give him iron supplements and begin feeding him iron fortified cereals and solid foods whether he was ready for them or not. Unfortunately at that same appointment, even with the severe anemia, he was also given the DTaP and Hep B vaccinations. The Hep B vaccination contains yeast, and yeast feeds on sugar, which is in those infant iron supplements in some form to make them palatable. A few weeks later I went on antibiotics that were deemed safe for breastfeeding, and all of this was too much for Kaiden’s little system. The antibiotics killed off too much of his good gut bacteria, and the yeast took over. He quickly developed projectile vomiting, cradle cap, and stinky, sticky, yeasty diapers. The pediatrician we had been seeing did not feel yeast had anything to do with these sudden symptoms and laughed at me, refusing to see him; leaving me on my own to treat him. Just a few days later, the benign myoclonic seizures began.
After the seizures began, I noted that when given sweet potatoes and carrots, Kaiden’s seizure activity intensified. The neurologist we saw told me outright that he was sure diet had absolutely nothing to do with the seizures. In his official report to Kaiden's pediatrician, he wrote "I doubt an underlying metabolic abnormality".
I’d had it! I was so angry - these doctors were supposed to be some of the best, and they wouldn’t listen to a word I was saying. I decided if they weren’t going to listen to me, I was going to do it myself. Mama Bear mode took over and I began my own research. I successfully treated Kaiden’s yeast overload with probiotics specifically for candida. The seizures . . . I tried everything under the sun to find their cause. I looked at the vaccines he'd been given, the dosage of the iron supplement, the antibiotics I had taken . . . all of which had seizures listed as a possible side effect, but the details did not go into the type of seizure. It hasn’t been definitively proven, but a correlation has been noticed between infants around that age range receiving the DTaP vaccine and developing benign myoclonic seizures. Since I saw that carrots and sweet potatoes intensified his seizure activity, I stopped feeding him those foods. Online, I found some evidence that some (not most) individuals with Down Syndrome do not process beta carotene well, and came across an individual with epilepsy that said carrots did it for them.
Since Kaiden had been spitting up the iron supplements with every dosage, I stopped the iron supplements and began giving him a tiny dosage of powdered kelp for his iron instead; his hemoglobin is and remains excellent. But, the seizures continued.
The neurologist told us this type of seizure would not affect Kaiden cognitively and that he may outgrow the seizures within a few short years. So, with that knowledge and because of the possible permanent side effects of allopathic anticonvulsant drugs, we chose to go the holistic route instead. The neurologist started him on vitamin B6, but said he would most likely need the anticonvulsant drugs to control the seizures as well as further testing; repeat EEG's and a future MRI.
Unfortunately, the vitamin B6 made no difference for Kaiden's seizures. At their worst, he was having 6 clusters per day with one spasm every 10 - 15 seconds for anywhere from 10 - 45 minutes. The longer the clusters lasted, the more time between spasms until they finally stopped. He would scream and cry after each spasm. These clusters would happen at random times of the day and night. As a parent, you feel so frustrated and want to cry right along with them . . . you feel powerless to stop it, yet you can't cushion them forever. The seizures would throw Kaiden forward violently, and he would smack his forehead on his toys, hard enough to bruise. I kept my homemade salve on hand, which kept away the bruising. The best way to describe these is like taking a bow, very hard and fast, and without your permission."
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You can find more of Kaiden's story in Cavemom's Cooking - available in e-book (PDF format) or print copies!
Keep up with Cavemom's Cooking and Greenchild Creations at:
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