boy eating veggies

Paying Attention To Your (Child’s) Food Preferences

boy and cooked vegetables Here’s how the conversation usually goes.

Me: “How did you find out Susie was gluten intolerant? (or really, insert any allergy/intolerance here)”

Friend: “We had her tested by the Dr. and the blood test came back positive for celiac…”

or the friend says:
“We did that blood test where it shows what you’re allergic to…”

or the friend says:
“She just wasn’t thriving like she should’ve so the Dr had her tested…”

The interesting thing is what comes next:
“I mean, we noticed that she didn’t like (insert food item here) but we just thought she was being picky.  Clever kid!  Comes up with the story ‘it makes my tummy hurt’ but we didn’t think anything more of it.”

If we paid closer attention to food preferences we’d begin to notice food intolerance/allergy much sooner

Funny isn’t it?  It’s conversations like this that I begin to realize that if we paid closer attention to our children’s food preferences that we’d probably begin to notice food intolerance and/or allergy much sooner.

Or, for that matter, our own preferences.  I’ve heard many retired people say something to the effect of “I just never liked (blank), so I didn’t eat it, I didn’t know I shouldn’t have it”.

See also
What Types of Alcoholic Drinks Are Gluten Free?

One of the more memorable times was near the end of the summer when we were enjoying fresh, ripe peaches with some friends and my girlfriend says “These peaches are so good, but it’s funny how the peach fuzz makes your lips numb.”

Wait, what?  Back up there.

It makes your lips NUMB ?

That’s not normal!

The crazy thing was is that just the week before she had also had a “healthy” mango smoothie from one of those smoothie stores.  She’d gone on with her shopping but started not feeling that well.  Sick to her stomach.  Within half an hour she was back in the shop, puking in the toilet. (Mango and Peach are cross-reactive – if your body doesn’t like one, it might not like the other)

But this is the weirder part, and where we need to sit up and notice: she then chalked it up to… wait for it… nothing.

Don’t misunderstand me at all.  I’m not down on her, she didn’t know!

My point is simple: What is YOUR body telling you that you’re not noticing?

What is it that you avoid?  Maybe there’s some answers there for you.

Have you had similar experiences?  Post a comment, let me know!

See also
Flour Conversion Chart (Download)

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