Q&A with Nutritionist and Dietitian, Lynne Garton - ANSWERS BACK

[RachelMumsnet]

This week we're inviting you to send in questions to Lynne Garton, a qualified Nutritionist and Dietitian with over 20 years of experience. She has a first class degree in Nutrition from King's College, London and a Postgraduate Diploma in Dietetics and has practised as a clinical Dietitian both in acute and community health settings. Lynne is has recently been involved in TV programmes such as the Truth About Food (BBC). She is working with WellWoman Cancer insurance from Chartis, to provide dietary advice on how to keep healthy, now and for the future.

Approximately one in three people in the UK will develop cancer at some point during their lifetime, however experts believe a number of these cancers could be avoided by making changes to our diet and lifestyle. A recent report stated that more than one third of the most UK common cancers could be prevented by following a healthy diet, being more physically active and maintaining an ideal weight.

Lynne is happy to answer your questions on the importance of a good diet, as well as tell you the foods we should be eating more of, and those we should be cutting down on, to maintain health and to reduce our risk of diseases such as cancer. Send in your questions to Lynne by midday on Tuesday 5th July. [[http://www.chartisdirect.co.uk/ww-all-about-plan_1186_304141.html?cmpid=QAT_WW_MumsnetFOR
Click here]] for more information on WellWoman cancer insurance.

Hi Lynne

I have been advised to put my daughter on a wheat-free but gluten-rich diet. Please could you let me know what type of foods she could eat as I have only come up with a limited list (porridge, Rice Krispies and rye bread).

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Hi,
Please can you advise what foods are recommended eating and what should be avoided for somebody awaiting surgery for a gallstone in the common bile duct and multiple small gallstones in the gall bladder.
Thanks.

My colleague (we're in social services) is supporting a young woman with bulimia, she has been bulimic for four years and is now in hospital on a monthly basis to get her potassium up. The ed clinic isn't being great with her and we're struggling to find advice. She can't keep food down now, maybe reflux? We're putting pressure on hospital to put her on care plan etc, but she has bonded with my colleague. I was bulimic, and only found help thru an nlp therapist privately. This is out of reach for her due to cost. I have found little dietary advice around bulimia, was hoping for a book with meal planning, building up safety foods etc aimed at bulimics. Is there anything out there we could get for her? As professionals we're becoming really frustrated.
Any help would be gratefully received.

Hi Lynne,
Wld you pls advise where can we get a special tailor made diet program for my dd (6 yrs old) who's always been anaemic but she is now also doing extensive sports (martial arts)? So I believe she has extra dietary needs but not sure how to address it in the best, informed way.

My dd has been iron deficiency anaemic and was supplemented with iron syrup (prescribed by gp) since the age 1, on and off. She's always been a fussy eater and always wanting to eat very, very, very little and often... Despite her being a fussy eater, we had established diet featuring well balanced iron-rich food and & a good routine, expecting her anaemia to sort itself, but when we stopped the iron syrup after a while (with gp's advice again), anaemia returned. When her blood tests shows iron levels gone up to the normal levels, its always the bottom of the normal range, never more than that.
We also tested for sickle cell, thalassemia and other reasons ie internal blood loss etc which all came negative.
After starting to do extensive martial arts (3 times a week) her appetite increased but I am sure her needs for specific minerals / vitamins increased too. Giving her history of anaemia, where do I get specific tailor made diet regime for a fussy eater / previously anaemic / sporty child, who is also growing fast at the same time? I am somehow convinced she is not eating ideal, despite us following wholesome diet including organic porridge and cheese in the mornings, meat and veg for lunch and dinner, fruits and carrot sticks etc in between and dried raisins, yoghurts etc for snacks... She is still pale and gets infections so easily. I give her multivitamin tablet too. once a day.
Gp had sent us to hospital, to see a consultant, but consultant thinks she'll grow out of it, to me she may not be!

Wld you pls advise where do we get that special tailor made diet program for her ? Not through gp?

Many thanks.

Can it be healthy for schools to serve cakey puddings (e.g. sponge and custard) to primary aged children every weekday as part of their lunch?

what are your views on low carb diets? nothing too extreem like atkins but avoiding refined carbs etc?

Hi Lynne
I've read somewhere that eating lots of red meat can increase the chances of getting cancer. On the other hand, we're told it's important to eat red meat to get enough iron. What would be a sensible amount of red meat to eat each week to make sure you get enough iron but don't over do it?

Thank you.

Hi Lynne,

I have a question,I have an under active thyroid,was diagnosed over a year ago & am now 10lbs over my usual ideal weight.I have never had to deal with weight issues before so am now struggling & no matter how little I eat the weight stays the same.My gp has told me that I am on the correct thyroxin level.Do you have any idea what I can do.I walk every day with the dog for an hour so I am taking exercise.Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks.

Hi Lynne

Since DD started nursery (and i went back to full time work) 8 months ago we've had every illness under the sun - lots of colds which always end up with chesty coughs which hang around for ages, tummy bugs and generally feeling run down.

I know this is par for the course and thankfully DD bounces back healthwise fairly quickly but I don't, in fact I'm just recovering from yet another cold which became a chest infection requiring antibiotics.

What can I eat to build up my strength/immune system as a preventative measure and when I get the next inevitable bug is there anything I should take/eat/avoid? As I seem to be susceptible to chesty coughs people always say I should avoid dairy - is this true?

Thanks

The Q&A is now closed. Thanks for all your questions which we've sent over to Lynne. We'll be linking to the full transcribed Q&A next week from this thread.

Hi lynne

my daughter is 2 an is allergic to milk protein she has been on soya based formula since i stopped bf at 5 and half months. she has started to be more tolerante with sum things but not so with others. Im starting to cut down her bottle in-take an in total she has 17 ounces a day i was told if this went below 16 then she would have to have a calcium supplement. is this really is necessary? as she gets older the bottles will obviously stop and im worried she wont be getting enough of what she needs espc as ive been told its more than likely her stomach will never be able to tolarte milk on its own. what foods can i give her that are rich in calcium? she is however a very fussy eater and is only happy with eating a small variety of food she knows. she is going through a stage of not trying anything new at all!!! (very frustrating). please help.
thank you

MNHQ, please could you let us know when we'll be able to see a response to these questions? Thank you! :)

Lynne's answers are now back and you can view the full Q&A here:

Lynne Garton Q&A

Hi Lynne,

I have Fibromyalgia and Hypermobility which is suspected Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. I have heard that a change in diet can significantly help with these.

I don't really eat meat and the main foods in my diet is cheese and bread, I eat a lot of it and always have. Could this be contributing to my problems?

Many thanks.

Sorry SchrodingersMew - the Q&A is now closed. You can read Lynne's answers by clicking through to the link above.

She didn't bother to answer my question

Great advice. Very, very useful. Thank you, Lynne! :)