Fussy eaters and failure to thrive

To understand this issue well and to learn how to introduce foods into the menu of the fussy eaters, please read the chapter “It’s feeding time. Oh, no!” in the GAPS book. This chapter will provide you with an effective practical structured approach for getting your fussy child to eat pretty much everything you cook.

Most GAPS patients are fussy with food limiting their diet to starchy and sweet foods, particularly children. They get trapped in a vicious cycle of cravings and dependency on the very foods that harm them and refuse all other foods. This problem is particularly pronounced in autism.

The fussy eating habits of GAPS adult and children often lead the carers and parents to a typical mistake in introducing SCD: many of them fall in the trap of swapping the usual sweet and stodgy foods, which their child would agree to eat, to the SCD compatible sweet foods. They discover the delights of SCD desserts: cakes, cookies, breads, etc. As a result the child lives on ground almonds and honey, which does not bring desired benefits and is not a healthy way of eating. Following the Introduction Diet before moving to the Full GAPS Diet will help you to establish an appropriate eating routine for your child without making common mistakes.

Failure to thrive

Failure to thrive is a common phenomenon in GAPS families. An infant with abnormal gut flora can thrive on breast milk. However, when solids are introduced the child instinctively learns that food (apart from breast milk) makes him/her ill. As the unhealthy digestive system cannot handle solids well and absorbs them partially digested, the child may experience many unpleasant symptoms: a tummy ache, muscle ache, itchy skin, headache, drop in energy, etc. So, quite rightly the infant refuses solids. It is very rare for a child older than six months to get enough nourishment just from breast milk, so without solids the child does not gain weight appropriately or starts loosing weight. The diagnoses failure to thrive usually follows.

The typical weaning foods (based on grains) are completely inappropriate for these children and must not be given to them. Please, look at the page New Baby and follow the structured diet for introducing foods described on that page. Start from warm homemade meat stock mixed with homemade yoghurt. Make sure to give breast only as a reward/top up after your infant had some meat stock with homemade yoghurt from a bottle or a beaker. Your child has to learn that he has to eat something before breast is given. Start from a small achievable target, such as 1-2 teaspoons of the meat stock with yoghurt before the breast is given; gradually increase the amount of the meat stock with yoghurt. Feed every hour and choose times when you and your child are calm and happy. Obviously, if your child is distressed for whatever reason, you have to give breast as a comfort without placing any demands – this is not a good time to try and introduce new foods. As your baby starts consuming good amounts of meat stock with yoghurt, gradually introduce all other foods described on the page New Baby. Keep using your breast milk as a reward for another year or so. It is not common in our culture to breast feed longer than one year. However, these children benefit greatly from breastfeeding for longer: till the age of 18 – 24 months at least.