Low carb, sugar free, no red dye diet for 6 y.o Questions?

Question

My son whom is six is diagnosed with a mood disorder. His psychiatrist advised me to put him on a low-carb sugar-free diet. (He has been gaining alot of weight on his meds, and this diet is also may help with his behavior.) Here are my questions:

How low carb should we go-what should we limit his carbs to? Doesn't he need some to be healthy and what would you say the recommended amount should be?

Would sugar substitutes be alright a little bit... like sugar free syrup in his milk to replace the Nesquick that he usually has in it. I have seen sugar free ones in the store made with Splenda. Would these be alright? The other thing I know he will have a hard time with is he likes to eat fruit snacks... what could I replace them with?

Does sugar free include fruit? I know fruit has natural sugars in it. Do they count as the same thing?

Answer 1

You really should be seeing a nutritionist for detailed information, menu ideas, etc.

I really think it's not a good idea to use sugar substitutes of any kind - that could cause MORE problems than less.

Answer 2

You need to be asking his doctor the carb questions.  Your son needs fruit.  But you need to limit the fruit to 2-3 servings a day, spread out over the day.  

Try to avoid all aspartame.  Children should NOT be consuming aspertame (!!!).  It's a neurotoxin and it will remain in their system for life.  Absolutely no diet soda.  Water or watered down juice is totally acceptable.  Limit Splenda.  Try to get your son to have things less sugared instead of giving him Splenda.  

I eat very little sugar because I don't like things too sugared.  Drinking warm milk without anything tastes good to me.  

Answer 3

When you're doing low carb, Splenda is fine.  Fruit is typically to be kept to a minimum because of the natural sugars, and the same goes with certain veggies, like corn.

Answer 4

You should ask your doctor to refer you to a dietitian or nutritionist so that you can get a specific diet for his mood disorder.

Splenda should be fine. It's hard to give an exact amount of carbs without knowing his size and his condition, but a dietitian could map out a nice meal plan and give you some snack suggestions!

Answer 5

It is always an iffy subject when you (even for the best of reasons) must tamper with a growing child's diet.

I find the advice of his psychiatrist to be *extremely* questionable - Being a shrink does not qualify you as a nutrition consultant.

I am not saying that lo-carb and sugar free is the wrong advice - I am just saying it must be handled in a wholesome, holistic way.

Cut out bad carbohydrates like those found in squishy white breads, pastas etc.  Feed your son good carbohydrates - Whole grain (heavy, hearty) bread, and whole wheat pastas, Even potatoes are not the enemy.  He needs grains to grow and be healthy, just make sure they are whole, seedy, and nutritious.

As far as sugar free goes, everyone should have a "sugar free" diet.  This means cutting out refined sugars.  Granulated sugar, corn syrup of all varieties, and expecially artificial sugars are to be avoided.  Always go for the real thing.  A body can metabolize sugars found in fruits (oranges, apples, dates, melons, you name it!) and pure unrefined cane sugar.  Once you step into the realm of splenda, and other sugar replacers, all bets are off.  Not only are they processed directly into fat reserves, they have been linked to half a dozen kinds of cancer.

Feed your boy a healthy, well rounded diet.  Cut out unhealthy foods.  If he likes chocolate milk, make that his sugar splurge, and buy some organic chocolate milk flavored with cocoa and real sugar.  Become a complusive lable reader.  Kick the artificial habit, and your whole family will benefit :)