Imagine if a protein shake was the only thing you consumed between meals and on every moment of your life. We all probably do that occasionally. Many children and adults who receive their nutrition via a gastrostomy tube (G-tube ) experience this. As if these people didn’t have enough to deal with things like brain injury, metabolic and genetic diseases, etc. —they are frequently stuffed with corn sugar, processed foods, plant oils, and different chemicals found in products like PediaSure. Even though there are outstanding real-food options without all the chemicals, the majority of nutritionists and gastroenterologists advise these bad formulas. Why is that the case?  ,
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Based on my own practice, I made the decision to read about this. I have a rare genetic condition called IFAP illness, or Ichthyosis Follicularis, Alopecia, and Photophobia syndrome, which I have since given birth to my five-year-old nephew Luke. It’s frequently accompanied by small stature, seizures, and intellectual disability, all of which my nephew and his parents deal with everyday. He has undergone several surgeries, including an ominous center infection that required open heart surgery to treat a congenital condition. It’s hard for IFAP-positive children to gain weight and grow. In Luke’s circumstance, he even had difficulty swallowing and frequently vomited, which put him at risk of being malnourished and suffering from failure to grow. In order for him to have a better chance to grow and grow, it was decided to add a G-tube. Absolutely speaking, it has saved him.  ,
There are many things his parents didn’t control, but one of them may be introducing healthier food into his system. However, they soon learned that nutritionists and gastroenterologists push PediaSure formulas, and insurance companies are reluctant to pay for everything else.  ,
Here is a record of materials for PediaSure’s Grow &, Gain:  ,
Waters, corn maltodextrin, a combination of soybean and high-oleic safflower oils, sugars, milk protein concentrate, and soy protein isolate. Less than 0.5 % of: Vitamins & Minerals ( Potassium Citrate, Calcium Phosphate, Magnesium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Copper Sulfate, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenate, Vitamin
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 compared to blender-based meal-replacement choices like RealFood Blends:  Â
Turkey, waters, extra virgin olive oil, green beans, and lovely potatoes
Different dishes that this business produces include nutritious foods like chicken, salmon, brown rice, and greens. When you open a pack of their blenderized meals, you can quickly taste the difference. True to its brand, it smells like real food. Something you would like to put in your chest and mouth. And I assure you that if you’re going to vomit on, you’d rather have meat and carrots than that vile chocolate PediaSure. Just thinking about it makes me joke.  ,
Note: In addition to RealFood Blends, there are a number of businesses that produce blenderized food, including Kate Farms, Liquid Hope, and Blended by Sarah. Many of them were created by families who wanted to help their own children.  ,
Which do you prefer to eat, exactly? Sadly, my nephew prefers to take the PediaSure over the plan companions of the medical establishment.  ,
Secretary of Health and Human Services. Next month, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched Operation Stork Speed with a focus on individual solution. That is great and long premature, but oral food must also be included in the effort, which must include infant formula.  ,
Because of Big Forma’s large investment, it will be a huge raise.  , according to Fortune Business Insight
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In 2023, the U.S. enteral feeding materials business was valued at USD 2.84 billion. The market is expected to grow from USD 2.98 billion in 2024 to USD 4.86 billion by 2032, growing at a Rate of 6.3 % during this time. A few well-known players, such as Abbott, Nestlé, and Nutricia ( Danone ), are operating in a consolidated U.S. market with a robust product portfolio. In the U.S. in 2023, Nestlé dominated the market for enteral feeding items.
Because these calculations are less expensive, specialists frequently prescribe them out of habit, and parents are increasingly demanding them from their children.  ,
Oral products are categorized as durable medical equipment ( DME), just like hospital beds and portable toilets, for some strange reason. Indeed, feeding pumps and vials, but food? Why is that considered to be technology? At any rate, DME services may be obnoxious and phony. These companies, which work with private insurers as well as government applications like Medicaid and Medicare, are the subject of endless reports from a quick Google search for System fraud. The markups they use in many cases disprove what they claim, including 700 % for one of my grandchildren’s orders for oral diet. ( Maybe we need to get those DOGE kids to do something about it )?  ,
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And there is no justification for my child having to spend hours on the phone every month yelling at DME companies to give them the food and supplies my nephew needs, only to be informed that they’ll just spend for PediaSure. Poor customer service is famous with System companies.
According to a new BMJ Journals comment:  ,
The use of blended diets as a part or as the only type of nutrition for paediatric patients has increased because it has been shown that they have beneficial effects on gastrointestinal symptoms ( such as gagging/retching, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, constipation, or diarrhoea ). Additionally, it is thought that using integrated food and beverages for tube-feeding individuals and their caregivers is more “normal,” as it demedicalises the feeding procedure in some ways. It has also been linked to social benefits, such as having more food/meal choices, child psychological well-being, and better mental interactions of the entire family. Ecological nutrition is also a factor in the use of combined diets.
A new study at Boston Children’s Hospital discovered that blenderized meal has numerous health advantages: Â Â
They discovered that children who received integrated diets had significantly lower overall monthly ER visits, hospital admissions, and breathing admissions than children who received conventional formula. In particular, full ER visits decreased by 43 percentage, complete admissions decreased by 53 percent, and breathing admissions decreased by 67 percent. In addition, these people reported lower overall indicators, less nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal problems than their peers. Their diet fiber intake was higher than that of their contemporaries, and vitamin D was not as high. Both teams received a lot of copper, iron, and iron.
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They noted that “feast foods are typically high in processed carbs, saturated fat, and fiber-deficient.”
Would you like to consume that every day of your life, to quote my original problem? When there are other good alternatives, why would we want to pump kids full of chemicals and other wastes? Our nephew will probably never want a G-tube, but blenderized food is the best food for him to consume, and it will give him the best chance of sticking to a regular diet in the future.  ,
Can we restore that, kindly, and encourage doctors and insurers to join the real food movement?  ,
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