Q & A: April 24, 2011

Welcome to CHEESESLAVE Q & A! Every Sunday, I answer your questions.  I’ll answer as many questions as I can each week.

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I apologize that I am so behind in answering questions. Launching the Reversing Food Allergies class got me a little behind. But I’m working to catch up now!

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Question:  Dental Question

I’ve now seen you mention dental work in connection with toxicity several times.  I have old sealants on my teeth still from when I was about 12, one of them turned into an abscess and resulted in a root canal and crown, and I can feel another sealant on the other side starting to give me trouble.  I was thinking about going in to have it resealed or filled or whatever would be necessary to prevent another root canal. Is that a bad idea?

— Sarah W.

Answer

I’m not a dentist, so I don’t really know the answer to this. I would seek out a biological/holistic dentist and ask his or her advice.

Here is a good list of dentists.

Question:  Bone Broth for Babies?

I have a question about bone broth for you, I am hoping you can answer this in your Sunday Q & A. I have an 11-month old, and I am still nursing her, but I returned to work recently and am unable to pump, so during the day while I am gone, her Dad gives her the meat-based formula from Nourishing Traditions whenever she is thirsty. We find she drinks at least a quart of our bone broth every day through the formula. We don’t give her any water or cow’s milk yet, just breastmilk and this formula. Is there any way she can be getting too much bone broth in her diet? My husband was worried she might be getting too much of a good thing from the broth, and I said I didn’t think so, but I knew who to ask 🙂

— Shannon

Answer

No, I don’t think she is getting too much broth. The WAPF formulas are designed to be a substitute for breastmilk. Extended breastfeeding is recommended, even after the baby starts solids. It is recommended to start babies on solids around the 6-month-mark, but if you can’t breastfeed in addition to the solids, it’s a good idea to continue with the WAPF formula.

I gave Kate the raw milk formula until she was almost 2-years old, in addition to solids, of course.  She started solids at about 6 months, which included egg yolks, liver, meat, bone broth, grass-fed cheese, kefir, and yogurt, and some pureed, cooked fruits and vegetables, always with good fats such as grass-fed butter, cream and coconut oil. I also started her on cod liver oil and butter oil at that time (I would have started the cod liver oil at 4 months but didn’t know about WAPF yet.)

Kudos to you and your husband for giving your baby the meat-based formula!

Question:  California Grass-fed Cheese?

I was wondering what brand of cheese you eat?  And if you could recommend a pasteurized grass fed cheese that’s sold in CA (I live in San Diego).  I assume for raw milk cheese to go with Organic Pastures.  I’m just wondering if there is a pasteurized grass fed cheese available as I imagine it would be cheaper than the raw milk cheese.  I eat A LOT of cheese!!  🙂

Thanks, Melanie

Answer

Hi, Melanie,

My very favorite cheese lately comes from Spring Hill Dairy.  Their cheeses are simply fantastic!  They have one brand of raw milk cheese but mostly it’s pasteurized. But it’s all grass-fed.  I buy from them at the farmer’s market, but in case they don’t go to the San Diego farmer’s markets, you can order online.

I also buy Kerrygold cheese or the other grass-fed cheeses at Trader Joe’s.

I will also occasionally buy cheese from Organic Pastures. I buy everything else from Organic Pastures — all my milk and cream, and sometimes butter. I love their butter, but the raw butter is more expensive so I also buy pasteurized butter.

I do also buy Kerrygold butter from Trader Joe’s but I plan to start buying Spring Hill Dairy butter because it is actually cheaper than Kerrygold and it is local.

Question:  Liver Formula?

Have you ever had anyone contact you about WAPF’s liver based formula?  I replied to that thread a few days ago as I see a lady named LeAnne was thinking about it with her adopted newborn.

I have a 6 month old.  I was unable to breastfeed and she is intolerant of all dairy and soy.  It seems we have tried everything for this poor little baby!

Anyway, I made the liver formula and froze it into cubes yesterday.  It has everything in it but the lactose, whey and acerola (I didn’t have it). If she takes to this, I will add the remaining after I purchase it.

I’m super apprehensive about this one I guess b/c it doesn’t seem as concise as the raw milk formulas – I simmered my stock for 24 hours and would just hope all the nutrients are there.

Do you have any thoughts?  I’m desperate to feed her better.  She is on neocate formula – terrible.  Corn syrup and chemicals.  I just don’t know what to do.

— Angie

Answer

I would definitely use the liver formula instead of the neocate formula. Simmering your stock for 24 hours is fine.

If your baby take it, I would definitely use the liver formula.

Question:  Discolored Kefir?

I’ve been successfully growing kefir for the past six months or so, and have been giving my grains away as they multiply.

The other day I discovered a pinkish-orange streak of liquid in the top of the growing kefir (sitting on the counter). It didn’t smell bad, but I changed the milk right away. Now I see that in the newer batch of milk, the entire bowl is covered in this salmon-colored liquid! What is going on??  I accidentally left them in their milk for too long last week.. could that have made them ‘sick’? Are they getting ‘crowded’? (They are working much faster in the warming weather.) Are they contaminated forever? Should I just wait it out and let them get healthy again?

Thank you so much – I love my kefir!

— Nikki

Answer

Did it make you sick? Is the pink streak still there?

I have left my kefir grains for weeks and even months in the milk (in the fridge, mind you) and the kefir was fine.

If you’re worried about it, rinse the kefir grains in filtered water then put them in fresh milk and start over. If they continue to ferment the milk, they are fine.

Question:  Trader Joe’s Shopping List?

You mention a lot of products you buy at Trader Joe’s that meet the WAPF guidelines in a lot of different posts. Could you make a list of the stuff
you buy there that’s up to snuff?

Also, I’m a real one step at a time girl. I’m working to get my family eating more nourishing foods, and I’m wondering what’s more important — soaking our beans and grains, or eating more fermented foods. If it’s the latter, is taking a probiotic supplement a good insurance policy? We eat a decent amount of yogurt and kefir, and I buy traditionally-made sauerkraut from time to time (although I’m the only one who eats it), but it’s not an everyday occurrence. (FYI, I’ve got a husband, a three year old and a one year old.)

Thank you so much.

— Kate

Answer

Here’s some of what I buy at Trader Joe’s:

Canned fish (sardines, anchovies, kippers, tuna)
Canned beans
Produce
Grass-fed cheese
Kerrygold butter
Wild frozen fish (shrimp, cod, salmon, etc.)
Grass-fed lamb
Organic ketchup & mustard
Wine
Nuts and seeds
Brown rice pasta
I used to buy the Niman Ranch bacon but they’ve now gone “white label” with their bacon and I don’t know know who’s producing it so I no longer buy it

If you have taken a lot of antibiotics and/or other drugs like the birth control pill, I’d make sure to focus on the fermented foods.  In fact, most people need to focus on the fermented foods since most of us are probably depleted.

Of course, soaking and sprouting is also important.

What we did in the beginning was simply cut down on the grains/nuts/seeds. We only ate sprouted bread and sprouted tortillas in the beginning, and the occasional rice pasta — and I focused on the fermented foods. I learned how to make kombucha and homemade kefir and yogurt, etc. AND I started us on Bio-Kult probiotic early on.

Taking a good probiotic supplement is a good insurance policy. Not all of them are equal – find a good one.

Got a Comment?

I don’t claim to have all the answers.  And I love hearing from you guys!  If you have feedback on any of the above questions and answers, please share your thoughts n the comments below.

Got a Question?

Please submit your questions to questions @ cheeseslave.com. I’ll answer your questions every Sunday in the order I receive them.