Improving your kid's appetite
Dear Dr. Donya,
My son is going to be two years old by October. Throughout this time his appetite has been improving. However, I continue to give him Lysmin syrup every day. Sometimes I give him a chewy tablet. I also plan to change from Lysmin with Appeton to Lysine.
I would like to ask you if Lysine is really good for improving children's appetite and for healthy growth? How much Lysine is required for a child per day? Is there any effect in case of overdose ? Is Scotts Emulsion good for children ?
I look forward to your advice. Thank you.
-- Kim C.
Dear Kim,
Lysine is an essential amino acid. Calories come from food: carbohydrates, protein and fat. Protein, once in the system, is metabolized into small molecules, or amino acids. There are two types of amino acid, one is called "essential amino acids", which the body itself cannot produce and which come from food.
There are eight essential amino acids: methionine, threonine, tryptophan, lysine, leucine, isoleucine, valine and phenylalanine. Another group is termed nonessential amino acids, which the body can produce. As you know, the best way to obtain amino acids is through a nutritionally balanced diet.
Protein helps the body to create muscle, repair tissue injury and assists organ function. I don't know about stimulating appetite with Lysine, so I cannot comment. The daily requirement of Lysine is 60 milligram per kilogram weight per day. For example, if your child's weight is 13 kilogram, he needs 780 milligrams of Lysine per day.
The protein in Scotts is equal to one half of that in eggs. There are no side effects, as I recall. How is your son's weight now and how tall is he?
-- Dr. Donya
Dear Dr. Donya,
Hello it's me again. Thanks for answering my e-mail a couple of weeks ago.
Doctor, I am a 23-year-old female. I had a kidney stone in my left kidney, and on Aug. 23 this year, I had performed an extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) at a hospital in Jakarta.
What I'm going to ask is:
1. After the ESWL, I did not feel any pain or burning sensation as my doctor said I might. Should I still take painkillers? Are there any side effects in using the ESWL method to crush kidney stones? My doctor told me to have a BNO X-Ray 10 days after the ESWL. Will there be any negative effects on my body, especially on fertility, since I need to have the X-Ray examination? Please let me know.
2. What kind of sport activity can I do soonest? I used to take an aerobic class twice a week.
3. Can I drink milk? what kind of milk would be suitable for me?
4. As far as I know, every time a person consumes antibiotics (as per a doctor's prescription), he will be given some vitamins to consumed with them. In my case, what kind of vitamins would be suitable?
5. If I consume vitamins, will they impose an increased burden on my kidneys?
6. What food is best and what food should be rejected?
Thank you, and I await your reply.
-- Gracie
Dear Gracie,
Nice to hear from you again too. I think this will answer your questions.
1. You do not need painkillers if you have no pain.
2. After ESWL you can usually do exercise afterwards; any kind of exercise is OK.
3. Any kind of milk; if you control your weight, choose a low- fat type.
4. Vitamin replacement is not necessary as a short-term antibiotic supplement.
5. No, they won't.
6. It depends on what kind of stone you had. Stones can be of calcium, cystine, magnesium or oxalate. You should take a balanced diet in normal-sized portions, but it is difficult to say what kind. For example, if you had a calcium stone, lemonade can inhibit calcium or if you had an oxalate stone, you should avoid tea, coffee or spinach. Seek a recommendation from your doctor.
-- Dr. Donya