Using Food As Medicine for individuals with Feeding Tubes
Written by Erin Gattuso, ND
Using Food As Medicine for Children with J/G Tubes
Written by Erin Gattuso, ND
Families that decide to use blenderized diets through G or J tubes, can run into a number of challenges.
The first challenge is, of course, the inconvenience of making, blending and cleaning. Because of this, it can be helpful to have 3-4 different meals pre-made and frozen, so that when you need them you can quickly pull a meal out of the freezer to use. If you have a support network, it can be really nice to ask other people to make the food for you. Anything you can do to take away some of the time and effort that goes into feeding can help the entire family.
Common medical challenges facing children using J/G tubes
Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)- when the transit time is slower than ideal, it can be very easy for children to develop SIBO which causes bloating, gas and acid reflux. In order to help prevent and manage this, include food based antimicrobials and probiotics. A few examples of antimicrobial foods are; onion, garlic, and ginger. These often are too strong for little tummies when ingested raw, but cooking causes them to lose most of their anti-microbial activity. The gentlest way to make a potent medicine from these herbs is to create a tea with raw minced onion or ginger, let it steep for 5 minutes and bullus 1-2 oz through their tube. Ginger is the most gentle and can be used on a regular basis. Raw onion and raw garlic tea are often a safe bet for someone with moderate bacterial overgrowth but can be too strong for people with severe bacterial overgrowth. It is best to seek professional help in cases of severe bacterial overgrowth.
Slow transit time- for slow transit time, it is very important to incorporate “bitter” foods. There are over 30 bitter taste receptors in comparison to only 1 sweet and 1 umami taste receptor. These receptors are throughout the entire digestive tract so even if you give “bitters” via J or G tube, it will have the same effect. Each bitter receptor stimulates peristalsis, gastric secretions, digestive enzyme release and increases bile secretions. Examples of bitters are gentian and artichoke leaf. It is easy to purchase a bitter tincture and use this before meals. It can be used after meals, but 5-10 minutes before a meal is preferred.
Food Allergies- Children with food allergies tend to do better with rotation diets, unfortunately, it is not uncommon for children to develop food allergies to the foods they eat the most, which can be an added frustration to an already restricted diet. This is why it is a good idea to have a couple different types of meals prepared in the freezer to help maintain a varied diet.
Poor digestion/absorption-For a very sensitive tummy, consider using digestive enzymes. Digestive enzymes are VERY safe when used in the correct doses, even for infants as young as 2 weeks old. They help in the breakdown of food for people who are deficient in digestive enzymes, and if there isn’t food to break down, they act like a “scrubbing brush” for the digestive tract. You must bolus the digestive enzymes before or directly after the feed. If you add the digestive enzyme in the blender, the texture of the food will become very sticky and will be hard to push through the tube.
Herbs to have at home
Tinctures and Glycerites- These are often the easiest way to give herbs to children with G and J tubes. Tinctures are preserved in alcohol, but usually the amount is minimal and safe to use in children. Glycerites are a sugar based way to preserve herbs, these are less potent than alcohol based herbs but might be more gentle for some children.
Ginger- (Tea, tincture or glycerite)- Research has shown that intraduodenal doses of ginger extract were shown to increase bile secretion in rats, ginger provides mild anti-microbial, anti-viral and anti-fungal activity. It can potentially aggravate acid reflux, especially in people who tend to “run hot”. Fresh ginger is a strong anti-viral remedy, but when it is dried or tinctured, most of this activity is lost. The anti-nausea impact of ginger remains even after it is dried or tinctured. Ginger is safe in infants, children, pregnancy and nursing. There are no known pharmaceutical interactions, however, ginger should be avoided if on blood thinners such as warfarin.
Meadowsweet- (Tea, tincture or glycerite)- aids; children’s diarrhea, mild anti-microbial effect, protects the mucosa of the upper GI tract, decreases acidity. Zero pharmaceutical contraindications, safe in infants, children, pregnancy and lactation, no known side effects, no known overdose.
Peppermint- (Tea, tincture or glycerite)- decreases; gas, bloating, and GI spasms, mildly sedative to the central nervous system. No known pharmaceutical interactions, safe with infants, children, pregnancy and nursing, no known side effects for ingested peppermint tea. Peppermint essential oil, mixed with a carrier oil, can be very helpful for stomach aches and indigestion.
Bitters Formula- (Tincture or glycerite)- to increases; transit time, digestive enzyme release and bile secretions. Make sure formula has gentian and dandelion in it.
Fennel- (Tea, tincture or glycerite)- Minimizes gas and bloating. Zero pharmaceutical contraindications, safe in infants, children, pregnancy and lactation, no known side effects, no known overdose.