Elisheva, I just came across your post asking about the zinc posts
regarding toddlers without appetites. [I am clearing out posts that I
didn't have time to read.]
I will send you my original post and some replies that I received. I have
had clients since that time who had success with zinc supplements and their
toddlers who are reluctant to eat.
I also had my 80-year-old mother take it after an illness. She had lost her
appetite. Zinc helped her within a week.
Pat Gima
________________________________________________________________________
Now I'll send you posts on zinc supplements.
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
___________________________________________________
Hi, Patricia,
I was interested to see the post to Lactnet about your daughter's zinc
deficiency. I have a 22-month old son who was diagnosed with failure to
thrive at 15 months. He's gained some since then, but it's still slow
going. He was never interested in solid foods, would never eat all the
mashed/pureed/pudding -texture stuff that other babies eat -- and now has
only a very short list of foods he'll eat. (And he doesn't usually eat much
of those.)
This problem has also come up with several other toddlers in my LLL group,
and I have another friend with a 2 year old girl who has the same problem.
May I have your permission to pass along your note to my LLL leader, and to
the little girl's parents?
Since reading your note, I have felt hopeful (for the first time!) that
there is something concrete I can do to help Jack eat better. (So far we've
been following the strategy of: just keep offering a variety of good food
and let him do the rest -- which I believe in -- but it's frustrating, and
worrisome, on those days when he eats only a few nibbles of pasta. THank
goodness he's still nursing.)
Thanks so much for sharing this information.
Betty Meeler
Durham, NC
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Hello Patricia,
I corresponded with you about a month ago concerning zinc supplements for
toddlers with poor appetites, and just wanted to update you about my son,
Jack. It helped!
I started giving him about 10 mg/day of zinc, and I could see a big
difference within days. In less than a week, he totally amazed me by having
the biggest lunch (by far) that I'd ever seen him eat. Within a week after
that he dropped way back on his daytime nursing (well, that part is kind of
sad for me, but he's almost 2, so it's time, I guess). He's also tried and
liked a few new foods.
The best part is that, after losing 4 ounces between Thanksgiving and
Christmas, he gained 10 ounces in January (he was on zinc supplements for
about 2-1/2 or 3 weeks of that time). He gets weighed again at the end of
February, and I'm hopeful that he'll continue to gain.
I'm so grateful to you for posting the zinc information. It has really made
a difference to us.
Thanks!
Betty Meeler
[log in to unmask]
Durham, NC
_____________________________________________
From: [log in to unmask]
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 13:45:09 -0400 (EDT)
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The zinc supplement's for appetite
X-UIDL: 861231815.008
Oh my goodness! What a difference! I can't believe the change in the
appetites of my twins. We are giving them a multivitamin with zinc since i
figured it can't hurt. We had been giving them pediasure to supplement their
diet (lack of) but they never drank enough of it. My daughter's iron was low
so I figured that if I could get them to take the chewables then she could
get some iron as well. It really is amazing and I'm a little surprised that
no one ever mentioned zinc to us before. We've been through 4 pediatricians
since the weight problem began and no one said anything about zinc and
appetite. Thank you so much; I owe you so much for putting my mind at peace
finally. I can't thank you enough! sincerely, Kibby
Mailto:[log in to unmask]
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