Gerd

[Bethe']

Hello all,
I have a couple of questions. Let me give you a little background first. My 7 year old daughter has severe acid reflux. She has seen a specialist since she was two. She has exausted all treatments with no success. They say the only option is a fundoplication (were they take the stomach and wrap it around the esophagas). I want to try EVERYTHING before this surgery. I am a vegeterian along with my dad and my mom is vegan. I have had her eat a vegeterian diet for three weeks and it is getting better. So I want to see if vegan will make it even better. But the problem is my daughter is not to stoked about the idea. She pretty much eats vegan except cheese. This is really hard for her to give up. I have tried the only vegan cheese I could find (we live in a little town in Alaska), and she did not like that. I have her eat a bare minium of cheese now, but she has a few staples that in her mind need cheese. So my questions is 1) has anyone used vegan to help reflux? 2) How do you get a seven year old excited about being vegan? Thank you in advance.
Bethe'
p.s. I already own the book raising vegan children in a non-vegan world, and liked it looking for further advice.

[veganloraine]

I don't know that much about acid reflux and the vegan diet. I know milk, spices and citrus fruits can be triggers for acid reflux. Dried fruits are a good alternative to fresh fruit. Just avoid the ones with sulphites in their ingredients. I found a site with some good info, I'm sure there's more out there. http://www.acidrefluxdietresource.co...vegetarian.php

As for getting a 7 year old excited about veganism, well, I'm pretty sure I have the world's proudest 7 year old vegan. I think he loves it so much because he's naturally a very sensitive boy and knowing that what he eats doesn't cause any suffering makes him relax a bit. We also do lots of exciting, very vegan things like visit Farm Sanctuary and occassionally splurg on vegan treats that we order on-line and which come in the mail. I am very proud of being a vegan, which spills naturally onto him and I point out to him all the good that vegans do for the world. It's a very happy thing, being a vegan.

[Christa]

Could you give us some ideas of what the recipes are for which she needs cheese? Maybe we could come up with ways to "veganize" them.