Can a bout of gastroenteritis cause a regression?

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Any infectious disease can temporarily cause behaviors to worsen. This is typically not a regression but an amplification of aggression, anxiety, or worsening of focus. There is typically no loss of any prior developmental gains; you just might not see the prior gains because these other issues can be so overwhelming for the child.nWithin a few weeks, after the infectious process resolves, the child will recover from the inflammatory injury and return back to their most recent neurological baseline.

Can garlic produce gas and/or inflammation when we there is sibo?

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Potentially. Garlic contains inulin and this could possibly cause an increase in gas.

Why does it take 3-4 months of monthly Rifaximin to start seeing gains?

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Generally, when inflammation is reduced enough to allow the brain’s natural repair and rejuvenation mechanisms to reactivate, it often takes 2-3 months before enough repair takes place that it is observable by others.

What should one do to keep a child’s gains on a steady path?

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While the improvements seen in a child on the protocol are steady and consistent, they are often interrupted by stressful events, occasional injuries, or illnesses that can give the recovery an appearance of “3 steps forward and 1 step backward”. This recovery pattern is the normal consequence of the unpredictable but common events affecting our lives.nnBecause of this, it is important not to over focus and react to negative changes in behavior that occur in the short term (a few days or weeks). Maintaining a broader perspective over a 1-2 month time frame allows parents to accurately assess their child’s recovery.

How much does frequent sickness interfere with recovery? For example, a two year old child gets a runny nose and/or cough with temperature every two weeks, and the illness typically lasts 5-7 days. Then a week or two healthy, and again.

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Frequent illnesses, if severe enough can definitely slow recovery.

My child had a food intolerance blood test. We were advised to avoid many types of food including olives. Should olive oil be excluded?

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Blood-based food intolerance tests are very inaccurate and often will reflect many of the foods presently within the diet. I recommend to my patients to just add the olive oil a few weeks after starting the inulin or rifaximin and they tend to do just fine.

Will The Nemechek Protocol fix food intolerances?

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Most of the intolerance parents see in their children is a consequence of the overgrowth of bacteria within the small intestine. After reversing bacterial overgrowth with either inulin or rifaximin, the gut heals within 2-3 weeks, the leaky gut heals and the foods no longer cause food intolerance. I’ve had many, many patients be able to tolerate foods again previously caused symptoms when eaten. Exceptions are severe allergic reactions to peanuts, or shellfish or milk sugar (lactose) intolerance.

How long before food intolerances resolve?

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If a child has been on a restrictive diet prior to starting The Nemechek Protocol, I recommend reintroducing the restricted foods a few weeks after starting the inulin or rifaximin. By then the bacterial overgrowth will have resolved and any symptoms the foods will not occur. An important exception to this are the foods that previously caused a severe allergic reaction. These foods should never be re-introduced. If there are any questions about the severity of past food reactions, I recommend the parent discuss this with the child’s pediatrician or allergist.

My child is still intolerant to a particular food (tomato, citrus, lettuce, etc) in spite of being on inulin. What does this mean? I thought food intolerance should go away after starting inulin.

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By intolerance, I will assume you mean visible changes in a child when they consume certain foods and not intolerance determined by blood testing, which is highly inaccurate.nnBacterial overgrowth of the small intestine (SIBO) triggers intolerance symptoms (heartburn, indigestion, cramping, or diarrhea) when particular foods are ingested. Rebalancing intestinal bacteria with inulin or rifaximin will cause the reaction to these foods to improve (lessen) significantly. If the symptoms persist, despite rifaximin or inulin, I will either switch inulin to monthly rifaximin or increase the dosing of rifaximin from monthly to continuous.nnAn exception to this rule of thumb is intolerance that results in a dangerous allergic reaction (tree nuts, shrimp, peanuts, etc.). Patients should always carry their EpiPen if they have such allergies, even if they are successfully recovering on the protocol.

What is the best way to test for food allergies?

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There are three tiers of testing for food allergies. The most common but least accurate is blood testing. There is also skin prick testing, but this is uncomfortable but much more accurate than blood testing. And finally is a direct food challenge when the patient is given a particular food to eat to see how they respond.nnThe major problem with blood testing is that if leaky gut is present from bacterial overgrowth, the testing will often show an abnormal (often referred to as allergic) reaction to almost all the foods present in the diet. nnFortunately, the protocol helps the gut to heal, and leaky gut stops. Other than severe allergic reactions that trigger severe asthma or shock, food testing is not necessary.