Episode Transcript
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Nishti's Choice, Dietic (00:00):
Forgive
me parents, but I need to say
this, this is so important froma pediatric dietician with
almost 14 years of experience.
I think that we are too obsessedabout what our children eat and
don't eat.
It's so triggering for parents,but we need to raise children
(00:22):
that know their worth, whetherthey have an allergy or not,
whether they eat broccoli ornot, they are still worthy for
who they are.
And, that is what children need.
Speaker (00:34):
Welcome to the Don't
Feed the Fear podcast, where we
dive into the complex world offood allergy anxiety.
I'm your host, Dr.
Amanda Whitehouse, food allergyanxiety psychologist and food
allergy mom.
Whether you're dealing withallergies yourself or supporting
someone who is, join us for anempathetic and informative
journey toward food allergy calmand confidence.
(00:57):
Today we're talking with Nishti,an award winning dietitian
registered in the UK, Denmark,and Faroe Islands, and the
founder of Nishti's Choice, anonline nutrition consultancy
clinic that covers a range ofhealth related conditions.
Nishti isn't just a dietitian,she's an evidence based
practitioner and mindfulnessteacher with training in
conscious parenting.
(01:17):
You will love Nishti's child andpatient centered compassionate
approach with an emphasis on themind body connection.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (01:25):
Nishti,
thank you for being here and
taking the time to talk to metoday.
I'm so excited to have yourinput on the podcast.
I haven't had anyone from yourperspective join us yet here on
the show.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (01:35):
I'm
so excited to be here.
I love the name of your podcastand I just think we're meant to
be here today, aren't we?
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (01:42):
I agree.
I agree.
Already, before we startedrecording, we were just chatting
away.
So I think there's lots todiscuss.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (01:48):
I'm
excited.
Thank you.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (01:50):
So
Nishti's Choice is your
practice, your business, and youare a dietician specializing in
food allergies, correct?
Nishti's Choice, Dietici (01:58):
That's
right.
Yes.
So Nishti's Choice is an onlineconsultancy business and I set
it up in 2018 because I was sotired of seeing how parents
would go weeks, if not months,to get the help that they needed
for their baby.
So I'm particularly interestedin cow's milk allergy.
And I just remember this momwalking into my Monday clinic,
(02:21):
she's a first time mom, andshe's waited months to see a
dietician, and all the signswere there, classical cow's milk
protein allergy symptoms.
it was a formula fed baby.
And I said to her, you knowwhat, this is what you need.
This is the type of formula youneed.
And I handed her the formula.
we had this chat and she said,why did it have to take so long?
(02:42):
And that mom changed everythingfor me.
I think it was just an eyeopener.
Not that it hadn't happenedbefore, but it was just like an
aha moment.
Um, and I share that story againand again, cause it really was
the, the, the reason for why Istarted this choice.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (03:01):
I think
so many of us listening and
myself included can relate tothat feeling because it feels
like we are digging andsearching and hunting down
answers instead of professionalsthat clearly you knew so clearly
instantly what the problem was,but she wasn't able to get that
answer for so long.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (03:17):
I
know.
So through Nishi's Choice, we doall of this instantly,
effortlessly, no waiting,because I'm the sort of person,
I just don't like any faff.
I just, let's just get the jobdone.
And with food energy, it's It'sactually pretty simple once you,
you know what the problem is.
And you know, it's not like, forexample, with mental health, for
(03:41):
instance, it's, it's not blackand white.
So obviously you have your nonIgE and your IgE food allergies.
So for example, with milkallergy, the classical non IgE
symptoms would be things likeeczema, reflux, vomiting,
diarrhea, colic, constipation.
Just a generally unsettled baby.
(04:01):
Those are the highest number,right?
We see them all the time andthey are most likely going to
have a milk allergy that needsto be diagnosed
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (04:12):
so is it
usually that simple, especially
if it's a parent with a, with ababy or a younger child as, as
either eliminating dairy fromthe, from the mother's diet if
she's nursing or getting aformula switch and they feel
better?
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (04:26):
Yeah,
I wish it was that simple for
everyone.
Unfortunately, it's not.
Sometimes it's numerousformulas, which is for the
breastfeeding mom.
It can be lots of differentfoods that need to be
eliminated.
I have one at the moment I canthink of where this child is
just reacting to everything andanything.
But we follow our patientsthrough every day via our app.
(04:46):
So we see in real life and everyday what's actually happening.
And I feel like that is reallywhat gets us tremendous.
Tremendous, great resultsbecause they don't have to wait
weeks or months.
They have a dietitian in theirpocket.
We are monitoring them.
They have the peace of mind.
They have certainty.
They don't have to playdietitian, doctor, uh, nurse.
(05:09):
We take over that so the parentcan just be the parent and
enjoy, often his first timeparents, isn't it?
Who've been through hell andback, and we just want them to
enjoy having a baby.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (05:21):
You know,
right?
And this certainly gets in theway of that.
When these kinds of problems popup, it would be so reassuring.
There's an app where you cangive feedback immediately.
How does that work with yourclients?
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (05:33):
So
actually, it was based on the
experience I have.
I thought seeing a client onceand then giving them a plan and
then seeing them again in a fewweeks.
Wasn't really helping.
A lot of parents would email andgo, Oh my, I introduced, for
instance, I introduced egg andmy child reacted.
(05:53):
And what do I do now?
And based on our feedback from,from all the clients, we
thought, okay, let's puttogether a program where we are
there with them throughout thewhole journey.
So from diagnosis to treatment,So first you solve the issues
and then you do the diagnosticchallenge.
(06:14):
And then weaning comes, and herein the UK we have specific
guidelines for, introducing foodallergens.
Specifically, I'm sure it's thesame in the US, for high risk
infants we try and get them in alittle bit quicker, like eggs
and peanuts.
and then.
There is the milk ladder aswell.
So around age one, we want tointroduce The, the milk back
(06:38):
into their diet and that's alsoa step by step approach.
So we try to just help parentswith the whole journey, instead
of just seeing them, once amonth.
And they don't know what's goingto, what are the next good steps
to take.
So we just, we're just therewith them.
we get great results because, I,we see everything.
We, we, we see everything,everything's recorded and we can
(07:02):
give real life advice and helpand support.
So yeah, I think it's a gamechanger.
I'm very proud it's called thesettle baby plan.
I'm, I'm really proud of itbecause a lot of work goes into
it.
but we get good results becauseof all that work.
So we promise to settle a babywith milk allergy in four weeks
or less.
And that's the big promise.
(07:24):
But we do it because of the realhands on daily input.
We will settle the baby.
Obviously, if there's anothermedical condition like reflux,
then we have a doctor that wework with that we can liaise
with.
So, there's always that, butisn't there in medicine,
there's, it's just
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (07:43):
another
complication that can pop its
head in there, but.
Yeah, that sounds, of course, mymind as a psychologist goes
right to the parent and whatstress that would relieve for
them rather than, many of ushere, at least in the U.
S., have, we call the doctor, wewait, we get a nurse line, we're
on hold, it's just so Even morestress creating process and then
(08:06):
I know you're on this path withme in terms of how does our
stress Impact our baby's nervoussystem and how are we co
regulating and that fuelseverything this sounds like the
opposite of that It sounds sosoothing and reassuring from the
parent to help the child healfrom that angle as well
Nishti's Choice, Di (08:22):
Definitely.
I remember my trip to LA, I wasbooking an Uber every five
minutes.
So Uber, you know, when you cansee when the driver comes, I
mean, for me, it's like soperfect because you just never
know when you call a taxi, arethey going to come?
What time?
And I feel like with how wework, parents don't have to
(08:43):
worry at all because we arethere every day, multiple times
a day.
And it just takes away thatstress because they've already
been through hell and back ofnumerous doctors visits and.
You know, again, we cannotexpect every GP to know what
cow's milk energy is, you know,they are already having to work
with so many people with so manyconditions.
(09:06):
So I have great empathy for ourGPs.
They often get a lot of slack.
But I'm I just want to say, youknow what, we have to remember
that they can't Be specialistsin everything.
And I think personally, a babywith chasmal protein energy
should go straight to adietitian because we can solve
it.
So why give the, the, the GP allthis extra work when in fact,
(09:29):
the dietitian specializing incharismatic energy, such as us,
we can solve it.
Less hassle for the parent, lesshassle for the system.
Dr. Amanda Whitehou (09:37):
Absolutely.
But is there, is there a missinglink in the chain sometimes in
terms of parents finding you orknowing that what's happening is
an indication that that's thehelp they need?
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (09:48):
Yeah.
I mean, obviously here in theUK, there is free health care,
so they will always consulttheir, their own doctor first.
And some people can get the helpthat they need, but then there
is also a lot of people whocan't.
They aren't under a specialist.
So we are a private company.
So obviously it comes with aprivate charge as well.
(10:10):
So I think here in the UK, mostpeople will try the NHS route
first.
And then if they can't get thehelp they need, then they
usually find us.
so that's usually how it works.
We also have us clients.
it's mainly Texas that we tendto attract.
I'm not sure why.
I have found that it's, forexample, things like the milk
(10:33):
ladder isn't managed properlyand they're not guided properly
on the milk ladder.
So that's quite interesting, youknow, from, from my perspective
as being here in the UK, justseeing how different countries,
how, how they work and howallergies manage.
And I love
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (10:51):
that you
pointed out that the compassion
and the understanding of thebreadth of topics that the
general practitioners it's a lotthat they have to have on their
radar.
It does seem at least here inthe U.
S.
And a lot of people gettingmixed information.
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (11:05):
Yeah.
I mean, there are clearguidelines, but I think it's
still a scary area for likesomeone without expertise to
guide a parent, to introducefood allergens.
If the baby's covered in eczemaand then they say, Oh, the
guidelines say introduce egg andpeanut.
I mean, I think I would beterrified as a healthcare
professional if I wasn't in thatarea of expertise.
(11:26):
So I think we need to reallythink about that.
it's scary for parents and itwas also scary for me as a, as a
pediatric dietician without theallergy experience that I have
now, you know, it was like, Ooh,what if something happened, you
know, so it definitely has to beunder specialist care and
(11:48):
knowledge, doesn't it?
When you have a food allergychild.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (11:52):
It's
because of the high risk and the
the precise nature ofintroducing things and judging
for reactions, but when do weeliminate versus when do we
continue on the ladder to inducetolerance?
It's a, it's a scary balancesometimes.
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (12:06):
Yeah.
And another thing, and youprobably you, well, you're the
clinical psychologist.
I often find that parents andtheir own fears stop them from
doing what they know they shoulddo, but it's because they're
worried, you know, they'vealready had it hard.
And they might be reading thingsabout someone had an allergic
(12:26):
reaction.
And then why would you want toput your child through any kind
of danger?
So you can only understand wherethey're coming from, but I think
parental fear and anxiety reallydoes blur the, the whole journey
of introducing food allergens,but also the milk that, Oh, this
is symptom there, or maybe Ishould stop it.
(12:48):
And, and again, that's becausesometimes.
I find especially that parentstry and be the dietitian, the
doctor, the nurse all at once.
A lot of parents try and do itall.
I'm not sure why, because it isvery stressful for them.
And then they end up coming tous anyway.
(13:08):
But you don't have to go throughall that.
you know, that pain andsuffering and anxiety, it's
already stressful enough to havean allergy baby, isn't it?
Absolutely.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (13:19):
And I'm
curious on your experience with
this because I find exactly whatyou're saying in terms of the
parents fear and anxietyaffecting their decisions and
what as a part of that sometimesI think is that Parents
difficulty distinguishingbetween what's their fear and
their anxiety and worry, andwhat is their intuition, what is
(13:40):
their knowing and theirconnection with their child
about what's going on, that hasbeen dismissed, and then to
distinguish between the two, Idon't think we are well versed
culturally, again at least here,in terms of Knowing the
difference and, and again, it'sall nervous system based.
Am I in a place of fear?
Is this coming from worry andanxiety or is this kind of a
deep knowing that I have aboutsomething I observed and
(14:02):
something I recognized to betrue about my child and then
pushing forward with that if ithasn't necessarily been
supported by the first medicalprofessional they talked to
about it.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (14:12):
What
do you think?
Oh, I love that.
So that's really essentiallylike looking at the facts, like
has something happened?
Is there a reason to be fearfulor is there, is it projecting
fears onto the future, allowingthe present moment to be
hijacked by worry and anxiety?
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (14:30):
I think
so.
Because the examples that cometo mind are I have a lot of
parents that I work with thatjust say, I just knew.
I knew they were allergiccertainly the opposite is true
where you're saying parentshesitate to introduce because of
the fear, what do you think?
Do you see patients who kind ofhad a gut feeling and they were
on?
100%.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (14:46):
They
always say, I knew something
wasn't right and I should havetrusted my intuition.
majority of our patients are themilk allergy baby.
And they always knew somethingwasn't right, but they were told
to wait it out or colic isnormal or eczema.
Oh, that's fine.
It's normal.
It's, it's just baby acne, butthey knew something wasn't
right.
And that's when they go on toTikTok or Instagram, and then
(15:09):
they start to do their ownresearch, and put two and two
together.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (15:13):
So tell
us then for those who are
listening, who do have littleones or who are hoping to have
kids, What should they belooking for?
What would they know is anindication and what should they
do?
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (15:24):
So
let's take the, from newborn
age.
So as soon as you notice anykind of symptoms, whether you're
breastfeeding your baby or yourformula feeding your baby,
anything to do with your threesystems.
So for example, the skin.
The respiratory system or thegastrointestinal system.
(15:45):
So the tummy for any, anyonewith suspected milk allergy, we
say that any of those threesystems need to be affected.
And it's not just one symptom,it has to be two symptoms.
So for example, I'll give you anexample.
So a child with eczema and,diarrhea and reflux or a child
(16:07):
without eczema, but who hasreflux colleague and who's
congested.
Right.
So those kids are actually theyare more classed as a possible
mild non IgE cas milk allergy,and they are often dismissed
like, Oh, colic reflux, that'snormal.
But in fact, there are newguidelines out that suggest that
(16:29):
reflux, if a child has reflux,it could be food allergy
associated reflux.
So the clinician should reallylook at whether there is an
element of food allergy presentbefore you start prescribing
medication because that's whatwe tend to see.
Children or babies with refluxare just given medication when
(16:49):
in fact they had other symptomsthat pointed towards a non IgE
carcinic allergy and thereforethat has to be treated first.
Before you start medicationbecause it can obviously disrupt
the microbiome and we just wantto be we want we want to get to
the root cause, you know, right,not just
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (17:09):
suppress
symptoms and fool ourselves into
thinking nothing's wrong becausewe aren't noticing that symptom
anymore.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (17:16):
So
that's for the newborn.
Obviously, there are lots ofother allergies than milk
allergy.
So it's difficult to giveparents a definite guide.
But Definitely always pay veryclose attention to your child's
symptoms.
Keep a food and symptom diary.
And if you're unsure, I alwayssay, if you're breastfeeding,
(17:38):
for instance, and you're unsure,then that means that there is no
reaction.
So keep going with that fooduntil you are sure.
Does that make sense?
So don't eliminateunnecessarily.
Don't eliminate until you aresure, because you could risk
really eliminating a lot offoods from your diet.
And we see that a lot as well.
(17:58):
That makes sense.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (18:00):
What
would services with an older
child look like?
Do people bring kids in who areolder, who didn't have these
classic infancy symptoms, butthen are struggling later?
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (18:10):
Now,
in our clinic, we tend to see
children that struggle later inlife with IBS like symptoms or
eczema or food aversion.
And when we, when you lookcloser at the early life
history, they were most likely anon IgE In pediatrics to see
(18:37):
that kind of picture where thechild still has IBS or has IBS,
symptoms may have changed.
So early in life, they mighthave had other symptoms, but
then as a toddler, you, you'llsee, you know, symptoms change
and it becomes more obvious whenyou try and potty train your
child.
(18:57):
and we have a few, children on,on our case load at the moment
who have food aversion.
So basically they've got issueswith textures of foods and just
foods in general.
And when you look at the earlylife history, they really
struggled with feeding and lotsof other symptoms that suggest
an allergy to casmoprotein.
(19:18):
Obviously, we can't prove thatin that moment because they
don't have that right now.
But for some children, forexample, with IBS, we usually
try and eliminate dairy or anyother foods.
It's usually dairy first.
and see if there is any symptomresolution, but I just feel like
it just always comes back towhat happened in early
(19:40):
childhood, what was maybe notpicked up upon, perhaps
dismissed, and then eventuallyit comes out in another form.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (19:51):
Are there
other steps in, in addition to
identifying and eliminating?
are there things that peopleshould be?
adding in that you'reencouraging them to have more of
in the diet or looking atnutritionally that will help the
body to regain balance or toadjust?
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (20:07):
Well,
we always obviously have to
consider that the microbiomeplays a huge role when it comes
to food allergy.
And especially like in earlylife, when you start weaning a
baby, more food variety equals abetter and healthier microbiome
or healthier guts.
So that is essential.
That's the one thing thatparents can control.
(20:27):
And that is what they feed theirchild, but not what the child
desires to eat, unfortunately,but food variety is key.
And now there isn't anythingmagical that you can add to sort
of reduce the risk of allergies,but it's food variety.
The early introduction of foodallergen, according to the
research, that's, that's, thoseare the two main things to
(20:50):
really stress.
Yeah.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (20:53):
How many
of these kids who have all these
food aversions, who arerestricting their own diet,
maybe they're a little bitolder, we're past the infancy
stage.
when they show up to me, I'msaying these are signs of ARFID,
there's aversion to all thesefoods.
Where do you play intoidentifying and conceptualizing
that piece of the puzzle?
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (21:10):
I
love this question because I
used to work in an eatingdisorder unit and we would see
children with anorexia nervosa,but also ARFID patients who
would be mistaken for havinganorexia nervosa.
But I think we're becoming a bitmore aware now of what ARFID is.
And we often see children withARFID like symptoms, parents are
(21:32):
now also questioning it becausethere's more awareness, so they
know, but then when you lookcloser at the role as a
dietitian is obviously toassess, we can't diagnose ARFID,
but as a dietitian, we canassess and we can say, ah, are
they meeting the criteria, theDSM 5 criteria for ARFID?
(21:53):
And if we think they do, Thenwhat our role is to one, ensure
the diet is meeting all thenutritional requirements to try
and expand the diet as well.
And that's a whole nother topic.
And then three race with the GPthat we think, and we suspect
(22:13):
our fit in this patient.
And then when you look closer attimes, I would say 90 percent of
the clients we see withsuspected our fit also have an
underlying You know,neurodevelopmental disorders
such as autism, and we know,obviously, the research does
support that they go hand inhand.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (22:33):
I think
it is becoming more widespread,
but for those who don't knowwhat it is,
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (22:36):
yeah,
so ARFID stands for Avoidant
Restrictive Food IntakeDisorder.
And it is an eating disorder,but it's not an eating disorder
that's associated with bodydysmorphia.
So that means the child will notthink they are fat.
For instance, they don't havethat worry.
they are often mistaken for justbeing a picky eater, but
(22:57):
children with ARFID will notgive in.
If you try and starve them, theywill not eat because the fear
overpowers them.
and they often have a very, verylimited diet.
Maybe even five foods.
We've seen, we've seen childrenwith three foods.
So it's, it's more than pickyeating.
(23:19):
We say it's more than pickyeating.
It is an eating disorder.
but it's definitely differentfrom what we may think of as an
eating disorder, such asanorexia nervosa,
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (23:29):
right?
And as you mentioned there issome overlap with kids with some
sort of neurodivergence.
And we also know that theunderlying link of that is
neurodivergence.
Something with to do with themicrobiome, right?
Gut issues are also somethingthat's been identified in those
So it's all tied together.
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (23:45):
Yeah.
And also there's new evidenceout about like inflammation as
well, causing possible off it.
So it all, you know, we, we haveto look at the body as a whole.
Don't we, uh, there's so much wedon't know.
Um, and I think that keeps us onour toes as healthcare
professionals, but it's.
Yeah, everything's tied togetherand everything always I feel
(24:06):
comes back to the link betweenthe mind and the guts or the
body.
Uh, you know, I, I know you're apsychologist and I love anything
to do with the mind.
I think we just cannot.
Separate those two.
And luckily we are moreacceptant to that now, the, the
relationship between the bodyand the mind.
(24:27):
But I think we still have a longway to go.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (24:31):
And
that's a big part of what you
incorporate into your work aswell.
Right.
Mindfulness practices and mindbody approaches.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (24:37):
Yes.
I am an advocate for consciousparenting.
So I have followed, um, I'm notsure if you know of Dr.
Shefali's work, you know, I, Icame across her work in 2000
and.
I think, and I was blown away.
And I just remember I flew toNew York for a conference and I
(24:57):
didn't know why I was there.
Like I was in the audience andeveryone was a parent and there
I was.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
Hi.
Hello.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (25:05):
And
I just remember thinking, what
am I doing here?
It was like an out of bodyexperience, if that makes sense,
but it was a journey and itstill is a journey.
I think conscious parenting, Ireally do think it is a game
changer.
It.
You know, as a pediatricdietitian, I noticed early on in
my work that it was, it's notjust about feeding a child.
(25:28):
A lot of the struggles that wewould see parents go through and
still today comes fromprojecting their own fears and
anxieties onto their children,their own expectations, their
own sense of unworthiness.
Like nothing is ever goodenough.
So for instance, yesterday I hada consultation with one of our
patients and you know, he'seating four different fruit and
(25:51):
vegetables.
He used to eat two, now it'sfour.
We think he has ARFID, so he'son a journey.
And that wasn't just still notgood enough, you know, so, so
there is that element of notgood enough, I think, and I am
intrigued.
I'm all for raising childrenthat know their worth.
(26:11):
So conscious parenting all theway.
And that's because I was raisedby unconscious parenting.
You know, I, I love my parentsdearly, but oh gosh, I grew up
in a war zone, no consciousnessat all.
I see consciousness as, theability to deconstruct
everything you have been taught.
(26:32):
So all the conditioning.
and look at things from likeunlearn everything you've
learned, basically clear thelens and, and see the lens and
not, not approach life or peopleor children or husband or wife
from fear, but from love andabundance and easy said than
(26:53):
done.
It takes a lot of work, doesn'tit?
And with my, with our clients.
When the time is right, we bringin that element as well, because
a lot of them will parent fromfear and anxiety, they always
say, for example, this word istheir favorite.
What if, you know, what if, orwhat if, and I always say, well,
(27:14):
that's a future projection.
So let's just come back to thepresent moment.
I always say one day at a time.
Less flow with your child oneday at a time, and let's not
hijack the present moment, youknow, from, from our own sort of
projections.
Because anxiety, and you know,this better than me, Amanda, but
(27:36):
anxiety, I think is a futureprojection, isn't it?
It's basically the mind tellingyou something that hasn't
happened yet.
So it's actually an illusion,isn't it?
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (27:45):
Right.
Putting energy into trying tocontrol something that's not
here yet.
Right, right.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (27:50):
And
I think, doesn't that just say a
lot.
I think that is what we tend todo and if that's the most
common.
emotion, then that means thereis a lot of coming back to the
present moment for parents toappreciate.
And I think conscious parentingteaches you that, doesn't it?
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (28:09):
I love
that.
I love the way you said it backat the beginning of that
statement, love versus fear.
I remember when I first startedmy practice and I was working
with so many families and seeingexactly what you're describing
that, that the actions and theinteractions, the comments, the
choices, so many are coming froma place of fear.
And that's not what kids need.
They don't need our fear.
They need our love.
Right?
(28:29):
So I will link Dr.
Shefali's books for those whowant to find them.
It gets so tricky with allergiesbecause it's absolutely true.
my brain is like, yes,absolutely.
And then my mom brain is like.
But it's anxiety about somethingthat's true.
It's a real risk.
And it's really something that'sbeen activated physiologically
in the body.
And as you and I were talkingabout, the mind body connection
(28:50):
is so real that it's not justthe mind.
The anxiety doesn't just live inthe mind worrying about
something happening.
It also lives in the nervoussystem, in the vagus nerve
recalling.
A reaction recalling thesymptoms and then trying to
protect us.
So it's absolutely true.
And then I think putting it intoaction is so much more complex
because parents think.
(29:11):
Well, I'd love to stop beinganxious if it were that simple.
I sure would.
I
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (29:14):
know,
I know.
I can just hear a parent saythat.
And obviously we understand, wefully understand, I think
looking, looking within andlooking at your own fears and
anxieties and looking at whywe're always triggered by
external events.
I think that's, that's arevolution in itself.
And I just don't think we dothat enough.
(29:34):
And whether that's.
Food allergy or not.
I think in, in anything in life,we just have to go within and
just, you know, check in, youknow, what, what are we actually
doing in this moment?
Because I think it can causemore harm than what we may
think.
And I want to give an example ifthat's okay, because I will
never forget this one kid.
(29:55):
This was when I worked in theNHS and You know, parents would
call, uh, if they had worries.
And back then, you know, wewould pick up the call and we
would answer their questions.
And there was this one parentwho had a child with multiple
food allergies and she wouldcall two to three times a day.
(30:15):
And obviously, you know, we, weunderstood, but also it's not
normal to call two to threetimes a day.
So I decided to do a home visit.
And I remember my team leader atthe point, she was like.
Oh, how come you're doing a homevisit?
I said, Sue, I need tounderstand what's going on
because I think this is morethan food allergy.
(30:38):
And that's because I thinkintuitively I've always been
like, what is going on?
Like why, why I'm a why kind ofperson.
So I went out to see her and Ijust remember her little girl
walking around.
She was a toddler at that point.
And we sat down and we had achat.
I can't remember the exact insand outs, but what I do remember
(30:59):
was me asking her, so what isgoing on?
You know, and At that point,obviously we had built trust
because she called two to threetimes a day.
And you were there for her,right?
And I wasn't, you know, I wasthere for a while and we had a
chat and, and I reassured herthat her child was fine.
(31:19):
Cause it was always, there'salways a problem with growth,
isn't it?
But growth and this andnutrition.
And, but when you've, whenyou've justified that
everything's actually fine, thenyou can get to the real issue,
which was that mom was havingproblems with her husband.
Her husband had been cheating onher.
So she shared that in confidenceand I just never forget that
(31:40):
because she was allowing thatand she was doing that
unconsciously.
I believe, of course, she was asDr.
She finally says she was takingall that.
Um, well, Dr.
She finally can be a little bitharsh in her words, but she was
like, I think Dr.
She finally says she would.
I have verbal diarrhea onto,
Speaker 3 (32:00):
uh,
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (32:02):
I
don't know how to explain that.
But basically it's just allpouring out.
It's all pouring out, but it'sbecause you haven't sat with it
and you, maybe you haven'ttalked to the right person about
it.
And then you are just, the onlything you can try and control is
your child.
But actually that's not, you'rejust causing more harm and
damage to yourself and yourchild.
(32:22):
And you know, this dynamicAmanda happens all the time in
pediatrics.
Time, after time, after time.
And that's why I just decided todo Dr.
Ali's courses mindfulness.
'cause I thought I need to beable, I need to equip myself to
deal with parents.
You know, I, I wanna be able tohelp them move beyond fear and
(32:44):
not just talk about food.
Because oftentimes it's not justabout that.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (32:50):
What does
that look like in your work then
with families?
you gave that example with thatmother.
That's, that's a.
Extreme case in a very specificcase, of course, more generally
speaking, how do you do that inyour work?
So I
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (33:01):
have
another example of a parent who
struggles with her child and herchild's poos.
She doesn't think they arenormal.
So we've been working togetherfor a while and it's very
obvious that actually thischild's poos are fine.
There is no problem with thesepoos.
But what mom is going through,mom has MS.
(33:23):
So what she's trying to do is,and we had this honest
conversation, I said to her, youare trying to control your
child's diet.
Her child's diet is magnificent.
It couldn't be better than whatit is, but she's trying to
control her child's diet becausethere's nothing else for her
left to control.
She's going through so much.
(33:44):
And when she shared with me whatshe's going through, it just all
made sense.
So I said to her, You are, canyou see that you are trying to
control your child's diet whenin fact It's probably because
you are feeling out of controlyourself.
So I'm not a psychologist Ialways say that but I always try
and make them understand that isthere really a problem here or
(34:07):
is there not if there Is I'llhelp you or solve it for you And
by the way, she had eliminatedtons of foods from her child's
diet.
So we helped to introduce all ofthose Whilst monitoring that the
child's poos are fine.
And actually it was all comingfrom fear.
So I helped her see that, butnot from day one.
First you build trust.
(34:28):
And I helped her with thedietetic bit, the nutrition bit.
I helped the parent with thatfirst.
Before I dive into anything thatmay be related to non food.
Because, you know, I'm not apsychologist.
They haven't come for apsychology session.
I cannot dismiss the elephant inthe room.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (34:49):
Right.
And as you said, you, eventhough you're not a therapist,
you're the person that theytrust at that moment.
You're the safe person that theymight disclose that to or be
willing to see that if you pointit out in a way that they might
not be willing to see someone orbe defensive if, if the GP, who
they don't know very well, kindof points that out in a more
abrupt manner.
So I can see how that would openthe door to those things.
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (35:12):
Yeah,
I think that the relationship we
have because we work togetherevery day and we're there and it
really helps to see what's goingon and they trust me and, and
then I can send them, like Ioften send them a video, Dr.
Shefali video.
There was one about, um,constipation and how, when a
(35:33):
parent tries to control that.
Obviously children can onlycontrol two things and that's
food and elimination.
So we also see parents trying tocontrol their children's eating.
and if you don't mind, I haveanother example this child was,
undiagnosed milk allergy, eggallergy, and soya allergy, and
(35:55):
has been mismanaged to a levelI've never seen before.
They're from Norway.
And, child was losing weightdrastically.
Like the growth chart justshowed diving deep dive down
downwards, which you don't wanton a growth chart for a child.
So now the child's weight isgoing up.
and mom has put in a lot of workto change things around.
(36:17):
but she's now the child is okay.
There's still a lot of fear andanxiety.
So there was always a lot offear and anxiety, which I
understood at that moment intime.
But now after two months, I saidto her you cannot be cooking
your child five meals becauseshe cooks her child five meals
because if he doesn't eat this,then maybe he will eat that.
But right now he's teething.
(36:37):
So I said to her, we need toaccept that he's unwell at the
moment.
So I said to her, I'll just saySarah, that's not her name, I
said to her, Sarah, do you trustyour child?
And she says, no, I don't.
I don't trust him.
I don't trust he will know whento eat and when to stop and when
to not eat.
(36:58):
And it was just, you know, whywould she say that to me if I
hadn't worked with her for twomonths?
You know, but it was veryobvious.
And I feel like my, my, myexperience with conscious
parenting has helped me to seethat, but also have the courage
to go, do you actually trustyour child and their instinct
and their own sort of innateability to know when to eat and
(37:21):
not, not to eat, you know, likeI would never have said that 10
years ago, but now it's like, itopens up a whole nother
conversation.
And I love it.
I can help these people on a, ona deeper level than just, uh,
The, you know, the ordinarystuff,
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (37:39):
a list of
foods to eat and not eat, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you touched on somethingthat I think is really important
for parents, um, to know, whichobviously I don't do what you
do, but oftentimes I'm trying towork through similar things with
parents in terms of how it'splaying out behaviorally and
emotionally for their kids whoare resisting, who are, you
know, having these struggles.
And you mentioned their, theirneed for control.
(38:02):
So we are, we know that kidsneed connection with us, even
though.
Sometimes our fear and anxietyget in the way of establishing
that.
Kids also have a need forcontrol, as you mentioned, over
their own, their own bodilyfunctions, their own inner
knowing of what they need.
that's how a lot of times I'vedone some work with parents on
expanding food choices, what'sgoing on from the cognitive
(38:23):
side.
Oftentimes, it's the connectionthat they need to feel the
connection with their parents.
Like you said, as see me as anindividual, see me as a person
who, you know, is connectingwith you and not something to be
controlled and give me somecontrol.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (38:37):
Yes,
because children just want to be
seen as we know, and they don'twant to be seen only if they eat
their broccoli or not.
Which is when parents will seethe child.
Oh, you ate your broccoli.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (38:51):
Usually
we don't celebrate when they do
eat it.
We just complain when they don'teat it, right?
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (38:55):
Yes,
If they don't eat the broccoli,
then we see them even more.
But why don't we just see themfor who they are?
And, and also Amanda, I knowthat this is food allergy
specific, but we also have a lotof children with autism.
And for many years, I would go,Oh, you know, really try and
push it, push it, try and expandthe diet.
But now I go, okay, whatdevelopmental age is your child?
(39:19):
Okay, there are five, right?
They might not be ready tochange.
So we need to accept who theyare in this moment.
You, especially the parent,needs to accept it.
And I, and if the parent isopen, I say, do you not think
that?
Your child has come forth tomaybe teach you to accept and be
patient and not to try andcontrol things, you know, but I
(39:40):
don't say it like that, youknow, it comes up in
conversation and some parentsgo, yeah, I see that now, you
know, I see how I've just beentrying and controlling and, and,
and trying too hard and actuallymaybe, maybe the child just
wants to be seen for who theyare.
And then eventually when they'vebeen seen and accepted.
(40:01):
Maybe they will then start toeat sweet corn, but we don't
know.
And actually we just need to letgo and allow, we just don't do
that.
Do we?
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (40:10):
Well, you
said it so well, who doesn't
thrive when we are allowed to beas we are, instead of seen as a
problem to be solved, I've gotto fix this.
And now my child has this,right?
But like you said, if, if weaccept things as they are and
work with it, instead of againstit, it's a whole different
energy.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (40:27):
I
just think, I just think, and.
Forgive me parents, but I needto say this, this is so
important from a pediatricdietician with almost 14 years
of experience.
I just want to say that I thinkthat we are too obsessed about
what our children eat and don'teat.
(40:49):
It's so triggering for parents,but is there maybe something
that's That this parent needs tolook at themselves.
Like what is it that'striggering them?
Is it their own expectations?
Have they been reading thingsonline?
Have they been watching howchildren eat on, Instagram,
where you see some children eatthe most amazing gourmet meals,
(41:10):
like, are we just projecting ourown imagination and fantasy onto
our children and causing more?
Harm we need to raise childrenthat know their worth, whether
they have an allergy or not,whether they eat broccoli or
not, they are still worthy forwho they are.
And, that is what children need.
Dr. Amanda Whitehou (41:30):
Absolutely.
Beyond any specific food intheir diet, they need that more
than broccoli.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (41:35):
The
food is okay.
It does matter, but it really isabout raising children that know
their worth.
And in fact, if you want yourchild to have a healthy
relationship with food.
A healthy relationship with foodis a reflection of their own
relationship with themselves.
So raising a child that knowtheir worth and who isn't,
obsessed of, of like being aperfectionist or whatever it is,
(41:58):
they will, they will have ahealthy relationship with food.
It's, trust your child, allowthem to show you that they may
not like breakfast.
They may love lunch and justtrust them and go with the flow.
That's so beautifully said.
Thank you for saying that.
I hope I hope that's okay.
You know, I just have to say itas it is,
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (42:19):
and I
think, you know, it is a little
confronting.
I think it's true, but it'sconfronting because it's true,
right?
If it weren't true, and itdidn't apply to us, it wouldn't
sting when we hear it.
But I think people obviouslyhearing you and getting to know
you through this chat and yourapproach, understand that you're
coming from it from a place ofrecognizing that we need support
around that we all we alldeserve help.
(42:42):
And if you want to solve this,maybe this is where it's coming
from.
You deserve support too, as aparent.
I just did an episode on therapyand it's making, it's reminding
me like how to find a therapistwho understands food allergies.
And I didn't even talk about,but you're making it so obvious.
So many of the parents that wework with.
really need help for their ownthings, not for the food allergy
(43:03):
centric piece of things thatsupport that we all deserve, not
because they're a disaster, notbecause there's any major thing
wrong with them, but justbecause it's hard.
It's stressful.
There's so much on us andthere's more support to be
deserved and given.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (43:18):
Yes.
Parents need equally as muchsupport as, as the kids.
we have parents who bring theirchildren to us and say, fix
that.
Well, they don't say fix it, butthat's their expectation.
Right.
And actually.
It's no, no, no one's needsfixing.
and that's what consciousparenting is all about.
let's look inward.
What, what is it about my childthat's triggering me?
(43:40):
And of course, if they have anallergy, they have an allergy,
right?
But what else is going on?
Dr. Amanda Whitehou (43:49):
Absolutely.
The food allergies seem like thetarget and then there's so much
more under the surface.
It's always so much more.
Yeah, Talk about that, how evenwith food allergies, which are a
genuine concern, how can wefocus on the present Oh,
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (44:04):
I
just, the benefits are
tremendous by, by being here andnow, and especially with your
child, but also with yourself.
I think we don't allowourselves.
That's the joy of the presentmoment.
for instance, we have a baby atthe moment that is now settled.
They have cataract allergy.
They're now settled.
And instead of having a joyfulmoment, mom went, okay, so food
(44:27):
allergy.
So are they at risk of, and youcould just tell she was already
worried about weaning and westill like six weeks off
weaning.
So I said to her, okay.
Let's just enjoy that you have asettled baby, and I said we'll
talk about this closer to thetime.
Do not worry about it now, and Ican say that because she's in
(44:49):
our program, so Just enjoymotherhood.
We'll come back to that.
But being present, I wish I wastaught this earlier in my life
because it just helps you to seelife in, in a different light.
It really does help you to seelife, people, relationships in a
(45:11):
completely different light.
And you're not always living inthe mind.
You're living in more in yourbody as well.
And I think for parents,Especially with a food allergy
baby, that is a game changerbecause you're talking about
your fears and anxieties andrunning on autopilot and
(45:33):
stressing about everything andanything and, They are watching
you, isn't it?
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (45:38):
when
we're looking forward to the
next step, the next milestone,the next problem that, that may
genuinely be down the road, it'srobbing us of the joy in the
moment.
This mom was robbed of therelief and the pleasure of, I
solved this problem.
My baby is settled andcomfortable and happy now.
And she didn't get to experiencethat and connect with her child
in that because she was jumpingdown the road to the next hurdle
(46:03):
that was waiting.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (46:04):
And
I just think as, as humans, do
we not allow ourselves to be.
Joyful in the present moment.
Do we always have to think aboutproblems?
I just think mindfulness and,and conscious parenting will
change the world for the better.
Dr. Amanda Whitehou (46:22):
Absolutely.
do you find this, people shutdown the moment you say
mindfulness.
I tried meditation, it doesn'twork.
And that's not what we'retalking about.
meditation is one path tomindfulness.
But when we say mindfulness,we're simply meaning anything
that brings you present.
To the current moment.
Yeah.
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (46:38):
Yeah.
I don't use the word mindfulnessas such, you know, it's rare,
but I use this a lot.
I say, okay, you're nowprojecting fears onto the
future.
Let's just be here now.
Like, I'm, but I'm a very bluntperson as well.
I'm from Europe originally.
So in Europe we are very like,you know, and let's not hijack
(46:58):
the present moment.
Like, no.
And, and also with your childflow, flow, flow.
Do we actually know what thatmeans?
No, we are flowing with our ownhead and our own agenda, but
we're not, we're not seeing ourchild.
We're not reading the cues of.
(47:18):
For example, what do theyprefer?
What foods do they prefer?
When do they prefer to eat?
are they more into picking uptheir old foods or do they
prefer pureed foods to beginwith?
I mean, children tell us somuch.
But we are just, we've got ourhead in a book, we've got a head
in TikTok and Instagramlistening to other people, but
(47:41):
we're not listening to the mostimportant person, the child in
the present moment, I cannotunderstand.
I mean, I don't have childrenyet, so I cannot say that, you
know, I will be flowing with mychild in the future.
But I think when you have anunderstanding of the present
moment and flow and allowinglike these mindfulness
(48:04):
principles or the, yin and yangprinciples.
I actually use those in myconsultations as well.
You might be like surprisedabout that.
I see a lot of parents parentingfrom Yang.
Mm-hmm You know, there's a toomuch doing, too much control,
too much, but they need a bitmore action oriented.
Too much action.
Like just step back a bit moreyin, you know, connection.
(48:27):
Listen to your child, acceptthem for who they are.
We need more yin in parenting.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (48:33):
Yeah.
Receptivity is the word thatcomes to mind for me.
That's how I, I can receive, Ican experience, I can, when you
said allow earlier, that's whatit means to me.
back to the focus, I am totallyon board with you, obviously
these bigger concepts are thekey, back to the focus of food,
what you just mentioned is sokey to me because we're, Robbing
(48:56):
children.
Obviously, we don't mean to doit.
I'm sorry, parents.
I'm not accusing you.
I do this too.
We are taking away the joy offood.
One of the most basic joys andpleasures of human life to enjoy
our food and we're taking all ofthat out of it with the
approaches that you justmentioned.
Control and stress and strainand over analysis instead of the
(49:18):
allowing and the receptivity towhat do you like?
What is your favorite fruit?
You don't like that one, but isthis one delicious?
And allowing them to have theexperience of, yeah, just let it
be,
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (49:31):
just
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (49:31):
let it
be.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (49:32):
I
mean, I just think nowadays I
think maybe do we have more timeto worry about these things?
I don't know what it is, butthere are other things in life
than.
You know, worrying abouteverything your child eats or
not, you know, you can controlwhat you feed them or put in
front of them and theyultimately decide and trust
(49:52):
them.
Obviously, there are feedingconditions such as Orphid where
the child won't eat.
There's always the buts, isn'tthere?
But for majority of, ofchildren, I think that the
parent is.
It's projecting their ownimagination of what it would be,
would be like to have a child,
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (50:10):
right?
I always pictured it this wayand
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (50:13):
this,
but life doesn't give us that
often.
It gives us the opposite becauseit wants us to be present to
this moment and it wants us togo.
Ah.
My child is teaching me to letgo and go with the flow.
Dr. Amanda Whitehou (50:30):
Absolutely.
Right.
And it is such a, biggerexperience than, being about the
food.
And the, the strains and the,the way we're bombarded from the
world around us that like yousaid, why is this happening?
I think we live in a world thatis.
It's pushing and creating this,living in our heads and always
having to look ahead and fasterspeed and not being able to be
present.
(50:50):
Our kids are being bombardedwith the same thing.
So I think what we're seeing inthem is just another expression
of that, what us as parents arestruggling with in terms of the
anxiety and the stress aroundthis.
Yeah.
Nishti's Choice, Dieti (51:03):
Children
will reflect.
So you, I'm sure, you know, butyou're working in mental health,
you would see children whostruggle with anxiety, the
parents struggle with anxietyand children who have an eating
disorder, parents struggle withan eating disorder of some sort.
So you know, that, and that'swhy healing the parent heals the
child or well, the child doesn'tneed healing because the child
(51:24):
comes in, know their worth.
They have no limiting beliefs.
They come in and they are justready to live life to the
fullest.
But for us, who've gone throughlife, we are bound to some
degree.
Yeah.
Have parts of us that need a bitmore love and attention.
Dr. Amanda Whitehou (51:42):
Absolutely.
Yep.
And we all deserve it.
We all deserve that extraattention.
And we focus all our energy onour kids as if we don't get to
take care of ourselves as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
One of the things that I thinkwould be most helpful to, a lot
of my listeners, a lot of myclients, we talked about the
bigger picture of, How do wecreate, the right energy around
(52:04):
foods, but do you have sometips?
There's so many parents whosekids are not willing to try
foods or their diets are solimited.
So we talked about what torestrict, how to know when to
work with someone to eliminate,but do you have any ideas that
people can try just to create amore positive, environment
around trying new foods andintroducing and exploring foods?
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (52:23):
Yes.
And I, it's a little bit nonconventional.
I love that.
I, I don't believe that focusingon the food will help.
I think that if you have a childthat has a limited diet and
obviously they have an allergyand they're fearful or whatever
it might be, I would expand theother areas in life.
(52:45):
I would expand on that.
I wouldn't focus on food.
Because I'm sure for yourlisteners, they've probably done
that and it hasn't worked.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (52:54):
So we're
sick of talking about food.
All we talk about is food allthe time.
Nishti's Choice, Dieti (52:57):
Exactly.
So.
So take the, the pressure offood.
Let's not put food on a pedestalbecause food is not, and
shouldn't be on a pedestal.
Food is neutral.
So how do we make it neutral bynot talking about it 24 seven?
But what I would do to try andhelp the child and give them the
(53:18):
courage to try something new isto give them the courage to try
something new in life.
So for instance, if they'retaking the same route to school,
Take a different route.
If they haven't gone swimmingyet, or they do, but they
haven't jumped from the, what,you know, jump.
(53:39):
Have they paid for, um, theirown sweets when you get them
sweets?
Let them pay for their ownsweet, put courage and
confidence into your child andsee, watch how that will,
trickle into their life.
And that, that also means theirrelationship with food.
(54:01):
They will have the courage totry new foods.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (54:04):
If that
makes sense.
It does.
And it also sounds like inaddition to courage, giving them
a sense of ownership.
You can choose.
We can, Try this new thing, wecan experience this in a new
way, and you can have ownershipof that as, as we talked about,
as your own person, not my pawnthat I'm walking through
Nishti's Choice, Dieticia (54:23):
life.
Yes! Not a mini me, you are yourown person, and let, yeah, oh, I
love that having ownership, andthat's what we want, we want to
raise, people that can takeownership and responsibility,
isn't it?
Right.
And for that to be a good thing,right?
Not a burden, but I
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (54:40):
get to
choose.
I get to decide.
It's my action that I'm taking.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (54:44):
So
I, I can think of a boy that
we've got at the moment and momhas always done everything for
him.
So I said, we're not going tofocus on food anymore.
And I just remember mom's facebecause obviously you're, when
you're a dietician, they expectyou to talk about food, but he
has very set routines that he,he, he does at home.
(55:06):
Um, And when he comes home fromschool, he wants a sandwich and
mom makes him the sandwich.
So I said to her, mom, you'renot going to make the sandwich
anymore.
He's 11.
So he can do it himself.
So now he needs to make his ownsandwich.
Let him make his own sandwich.
You can be there.
Step number one, step numbertwo, you can be in the living
room.
Step number three, you go aboutyour own business because he is
(55:28):
11 and that was a way to buildcourage into him.
And we have expanded his diet.
He's, he's a success story, youknow, but he's also at the age
because he's looking at hisother friends, they're eating
more variety and he wants to belike the others.
So the child also needs to bemotivated.
to change.
I think that is key.
(55:50):
And if your child isn'tmotivated and they're too young,
then parents should accept thatand wait, enjoy life, the
present moment.
And then eventually, perhaps,maybe one day they will.
Dr. Amanda Whitehou (56:03):
Absolutely.
That's beautifully said.
We can't do everything for ourkids, but gosh, do we want to?
How would you recommend peoplestart looking for someone who's
the right fit for them,especially if food allergies are
part of the picture or suspectedpart of the picture?
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (56:20):
when
you have a child with a food
allergy, you need to have adietitian on board because you
are going to end up eliminatinga food or two.
Um, any child's diet couldbenefit from having a dietician
to look at it because there's somany nutrients to be, to be
aware of and, and checked off.
Um, so I think at any point, butthen I'm a dietician.
(56:43):
So what do you expect me to say?
I
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (56:45):
say the
same thing.
Everyone should have a therapistbecause there's so much
potential benefit.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (56:50):
I
completely agree.
It's health.
My main advice would be.
Don't try and do things on yourown because we see that a lot
and it's great to research, butplease don't use Platforms from
people that don't hold thecredentials because I have seen
Really horrible cases wherechildren with eczema have been
(57:11):
promised that that eczema can becompletely fully Resolved by a
particular diet and then whenyou look at who they've worked
with it was actually someonewithout the credentials to
support a child with suspectedor confirmed allergies.
So, always check the credentialsof who you decide to work with.
(57:33):
Uh, because I think we areprobably missing that, critical
mindset, I think, nowadays,because everything's readily
available everywhere we go.
And everyone's an expert, isn'tit?
But are they really?
So, be very careful with who youtrust.
Dr. Amanda Whitehou (57:49):
Absolutely.
So those who are listening andare as amazed as I am with these
approaches that you use, how canpeople find you and work with
you?
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (57:59):
So
we've got our website, which is
www.
nishichoice.
com, but we also on Instagram onTik TOK.
If you want to see me having funon Tik TOK, come on there, you
know, I'm just trying to havefun on there.
And, you're more than welcome tobook an inquiry call with me.
I like to book an inquiry callwith potential clients just to
(58:21):
see if we can help you, ifyou're fit for.
The, our program called theSettle Baby Plan, and if you
are, we can jump on an informalcall and see if you are, if
you're someone we can help,which I'm sure we can, but we've
got tons of free resourceseverywhere on YouTube.
I think we've got over 40 videoson allergy.
(58:42):
So have a look and, or email aswell.
I would love to hear from yourlisteners if they wanted to drop
an email.
That's.
Yes.
Always welcomed as well on infoat NishtisChoice.
com.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (58:54):
Okay.
And I will link everythingbelow, but obviously you're in
the UK.
Most of my audience is in theUS, but they're all over as
well.
Um, so you can work with anyoneremotely.
It doesn't matter where theyare.
Correct?
Yes.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (59:05):
We,
we welcome worldwide patients.
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (59:08):
So the
last question I'd like to ask
everyone is tell me somethingpositive about food allergies.
Nishti's Choice, Dietician (59:16):
You
can control it.
It's, it's you and the foodallergy is not food allergy and
you
Dr. Amanda Whitehouse (59:24):
love that
reframe.
That is perfect.
I think we forget and you'reabsolutely right.
Yes.
Yes.
This has been the best chat.
Thank you so much.
Thank you,
Nishti's Choice, Dietic (59:34):
Amanda.
I really enjoyed it.
I did.
Thank you so much.
It's just been a greatexperience.
It was so much fun.
Here are three action steps foryou from today's conversation
with Nishty.
Number one, check out Nishty'sChoice, her website, her YouTube
resources, her blog, find her onsocial media.
It's spelled N I S H T I S C H OI C E.
(59:59):
So you'll find her atnishtyschoice.
com and you'll find that in theshow notes, Number two, you'll
also find in the show notes somelinks to some resources from Dr.
Shefali, who Nishty told usabout today.
Another really great parentingresource, not just about food
allergies, but about consciousparenting that can be really
helpful for you.
And number three Try one of theapproaches that Nishti shared
(01:00:19):
with us today as far as beingpresent with your own child and
taking the focus off of thefood.
Whether that's sitting and beingmindful with them and focusing
on being present and acceptingthem as they are instead of
needing our fixing and helpconstantly or taking a step to
help them feel more confidentand courageous and take
ownership over their food orjust some other aspect of their
life.
(01:00:42):
the content of this podcast isfor informational and
educational purposes only, andis not a substitute for
professional medical or mentalhealth advice, diagnosis, or
treatment.
If you have any questions aboutyour own medical experience or
mental health needs, pleaseconsult a professional.
I'm Dr.
Amanda White house.
Thanks for joining me.
And until we chat again,remember don't feed the fear.