Misc Questions About Foods

[rachael]

Hello! My almost 2-year-old son was recently diagnosed and I'm finding some contradictory information about which foods are safe. Can more seasoned folks share your go-to food lists (the ones on the BU website seem to all contradict each other) and tell me about your experiences with...

• Garlic (fresh, minced in a jar, garlic salt, garlic powder; I thought it wasn't safe, but I see a lot of HFI recipes that look like they have it so maybe I assumed wrong?)
  
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• Onion Powder (I know onions are bad, but some of the HFI safe foods I've seen have onion powder as an ingredient, is this okay? Or is it a case by case basis?)
  
  
• Vegetable juice (I assume this is a no-no, but it's listed on one of the BU diets as okay. I see it often in things like chicken broth etc.)
  
  
• Mustard (the ingredients look okay to me, but it's listed as a no-no on some of the BU lists)
  
  
• Eggs (BU lists say they are allowed, but I think I saw some threads on here of people saying that they have reactions?)
  
  
• Potatoes other than sweet potatoes (I thought sweet were the only no-no, but I saw threads on here saying to be careful about what kind. Are there other kinds that should not be eaten?)
  
  

• Root vegetables that are not carrots (One of the BU lists says they are safe, but I find it hard to believe that Beets are safe... but are they?)
  
• Lemon and Lime (one of the BU diets say that they are okay)
  
  
  Thank you!
  

[colormist]

I don't know if this is factually true or not, but I like to think HFI kids can tolerate less fructose than HFI adults (due to liver size differences). Of course the portion sizes would also be different, so who knows if this is a correct assumption. But they're growing kids an sugar can stunt their development--so it's best to stay on the safe side.

- Yes, garlic has fructose in it. I tend to only eat it if I'm feeling good and haven't had any other instances of accidental (or intentional) fructose ingestion within a few days.
- Most things seem to have onion powder in them. I would go an add onion powder to a dish (I tend to sub garlic powder as it has less fructose), but it might be okay to trial a food that has onion powder in the ingredients (particularly if it's far down in the ingredients).
- Vegetable juice/broth is just a no-no all around. Even tinned tuna in water makes me ill--not really sick, but enough that it's noticeable.
- I have never had a problem with mustard or noticed a reaction from mustard.
- Eggs have small amounts of fructose. I notice a reaction if I have more than two eggs a day. Other people have not really noted a reaction with eggs.
- Red potatoes and new/baby potatoes have substantially more fructose than those giant white baking potatoes.
- I have not found any other tubers (other than white potatoes) or other root vegetables to be safe. Carrots, yams, beets, and parsnips are all extremely sugary and not safe at all.
- A slice of lemon/lime in a glass of water is probably not going to cause a reaction, but more than that will make an HFIer sick. I learned that the hard way. They definitely have fructose in them.

[rachael]

Thank you! My son has not had problems with growth and would only occasionally randomly vomit from eating sugar, which makes his hfi hard to believe. I mean, I know it's genetic so it's not a mistake, but it just seems so mild for him. Right now, we don't really notice reactions but I wonder if that will change in the next few months as we eliminate fructose from his diet?

[rysmom14]

I also think that my sons is more on the "mild" side, but since we have been on the diet ( about a year now) I have had to adjust his "safe list" because it seems that somethings we ate in the beginning that was thought to be safe, he refuses to eat now. for example, I used to send kraft easy mac and cheese to daycare. I loved the idea because it was easy to through in his lunch bag. Now they always send it back saying he wont eat it.

I remember asking about the ingredients when we started the diet. The ingredients show natural flavors. I think some people react to this while others do not. so in the beginning my son ate the mac and cheese with no problem. now he wont eat it. we are having to switch to the annie's brand and I will have to make it ahead of time and send it already made. It seems the more the sugar is cut out, the more sensitive to it they will be. My son used to love strawberries before being diagnosed, but im sure ( although I wont actually test it) that he would refuse them today. It's almost that once they figure out what feeling good means, they start to refuse more items.

Another side note. Some mothers on here track blood sugars to see if they are having a reaction to a new food. It's thought that if you ingest fructose that your BS levels will drop. I personally dont follow things that close, but I know some do. I only introcude new foods one at a time and look for signs. My son was the king of acid poop, so that is one of our first signs.

[colormist]

I tried the easy mac when it first came out and had it about three times before I decided that there was some bad sugar in it. Sadly I had purchased a case of it, so I ended up giving it to a coworker who loved Easy Mac. I find a lot of foods are like this--okay at first and then with repeat use I notice an icky feeling afterward. I had the same problem with Tuna in Water.

It's hard to tell sometimes--for both adults and children with HFI.

Annie's Mac & Cheese is the best, though. I am so happy it's in my life now.