Someone suggested zinc deficiency in connection to this case.  We had a zinc
story in our family.  Alison, at 2 1/2, had a virus that left her quite
wiped out.  Afterwards she ate less and less food.  I was so glad I was
b'feeding her, but she grew thinner and thinner as her taste preferences
grew thinner too. I read about zinc deficiency causing a lessening of sense
of taste and smell, with an expected diminished appetite. Food just doesn't
taste good.  Alison didn't like even her former favorite foods.  I
researched nutrition books to find foods that were extremely high in zinc,
but I also gave her a zinc supplement of 15 mg a day.  I crushed the pill
and mixed it with her peanut butter, which is a fair source of zinc.  After
a week there was marked improvement and after two weeks the rest of us had
to guard our plates.  She wanted to eat everything in sight.

Low zinc can begin a downward spiral as the appetite is suppressed and less
food is eaten, increasing the deficiency. I believe that much of the poor
eating of elderly people may be attributed to this.  I had a friend whose
dad was wasting away with a poor appetite.  I suggested giving him zinc and
it helped him too.

Many Americans get too little zinc due to things we do to our foods.  One is
that the stuff they spray on just-picked vegetables to keep the bright
colors after they are frozen--this reduces the zinc content up to 80%.
Another thing is copper pipes which competes with zinc. And our over-used
soil...

Good sources of zinc:
Garden-fresh vegs whenever possible (peas and carrots especially), cooked
lightly and any water made into soup.

Whole grains, wheat bran, wheat germ, whole oatmeal--these especially if
they are grown in good soil.  I would recommend organic if one is trying to
correct a problem.

Eggs and lean meats.

Supplements:  15 mg a day, chelated zinc is best.

Alison liked oatmeal so we focused on this, along with my putting wheat germ
into her peanut butter cookies.  I got fresh carrots, as it was summer, and
she ate them raw.

I passed this zinc info along to LLL moms who were concerned with their
two-year-olds not eating much food.  We concluded that whatever they did eat
should be as high in zinc as possible.

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee