Millet is phenolic???

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I decided to try my older son with millet. He had three slices of millet

bread on Friday afternoon (I wanted to start him out slower, but he begged

for more.) Didn't see any reaction that day. Then, on Saturday, I gave him

a millet bagel for breakfast. By the afternoon, his ears and cheeks were

getting very red. He was a little goofy that evening, but nothing terrible.

Then, this morning, Sunday, was kind of bad--non compliant, scattered,

unresponsive to directions, trying to control what everyone says... And this

afternoon, at my parents house, he had a poop accident--which is unheard of

for him. He had some trouble tonight--and his poor cheeks are are very

red, almost thick--like when he used to get eczema from milk and soy. He

ran up behind me and slapped me on the back--which he knows he must never

do--and when I asked him what felt wrong, he said his stomach was making him

feel like hitting. I gave him some Alka Seltzer Gold (which I don't usually

do because he is usually too alkaline--but I checked his pee earlier this

evening, and it was on the more acid side of normal--very unusual for him.)

I happened to read a post a few minutes ago on the mercury list that said

that wheat and dairy are high in phenols (which I didn't know), so I

wondered if the same could be true for millet. I did a search on the

computer for millet and phenols and found this:

TANNINS

Tannins are one of the phenolic compounds (phenolic acid, coumarins,

flavonoids) that are widely distributed in plants, conferring increased

resistance to pests. Tannin effects in human beings range from

pharmacologic, therapeutic, and aesthetic benefits to anti-nutritional and

other undesirable results. Plant tannins can complex with and precipitate

proteins. Sorghum tannin can bind up to 12 times its weight in protein.

Condensed tannins, the major phenols in commonly consumed foods and

beverages such as fruit, vegetables, tea, red wine, cocoa, legumes, certain

grains (sorghum, millet), and pulses, are more nutritionally hazardous.

Concern for potential nutritional hazards, therefore, is for populations

that rely on sorghum, millet, or certain legumes as their dietary staple.

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Not surprisingly, my son turned out to be sensitive to sorghum. I didn't

realize there was a phenol connection.

It has been a long time since we have had a big phenol problem. Does anyone

know if this kind of thing can wait a day before it shows up? Usually when

something makes my son's ears red, it happens quickly. And now that we seem

to be in millet trouble, does anyone have any experience with how long a bad

phenol reaction lasts? I feel terrible because he was so excited about his

new bread. Sometimes I feel that experimenting is just not worth it. His

pre-K christmas recital is this Friday, and I was so hoping for him to feel

good for it. It was at his Christmas recital last year that we realized

that something was very wrong--and thus started the gigantic journey of this

past year.

I know our phenol problems pale in comparison to some of the things that

have been happening on this list lately. (Mache--I'm so glad that your son

has started to eat) Anyway, did anyone know about this millet/phenol thing?

And is there something good to do for a phenol reaction?

Thanks for listening,