We went to see Burke at his new office. Burke is a chiropractor, but he doesn't just deal with whiplash and sore backs. He practices something called Applied Kinesiology (AK). Basically, he can test the body for strong or weak reactions to various substances. Because Michael is so young and would likely lose patience or get tired of the testing, he used me as a proxy. Michael sits close to me and I am touching him, with my arm around him or holding his hand. I extend my other arm out. Burke holds a small vial with a substance in it above Michael's head, and tries to push my arm down. If I am able to resist the pressure, then that is a strong reaction, meaning that Michael is able to handle that substance. If Burke is able to push my arm down, then that is a weak reaction, and Michael is sensitive to that substance. Burke has a large pile of vials, each with a different substance in it, and he doesn't know which ones he is holding up during the testing. When he is finished, he looks at the little labels and makes a list.

Okay, so my description sounds hokey. I mean honestly, you touch a vial to someone's head and then try to push their arm down? Believe me, I know it sounds weird. But I can also tell you that it works. I can't explain it, but it works. There were times that I physically felt strength go from Michael, through my body and into my arm. We did this routine probably over 100 times, and I can tell you that it works.

So what did we learn from this? Michael tested positive for parasites, fungus, bacteria, and chlamydia. Yes, chlamydia. But there are a lot of strains of chlamydia, and I'm 100% certain that he doesn't have the STD strain. Just to clear that up.

Anyway, besides testing positive for those things, he also showed sensitivity to the following foods: lobster; salmon; white wine vinegar; red radishes; cashews; bakers yeast; grapefruit; and oats. And to the chemicals theobromine and paraxanthaine, which are chemicals found in chocolate. Yes, my little boy, who LOVES chocolate, can't eat it anymore.

What, you may be thinking, does all of this have to do with his eating problem? Maybe nothing. But one of Michael's problems is that he also has dreadful eczema. Dreadful. I am not satisfied with the doctor's solution to prescribe steroid creams for the rest of his life. I mean really, something must be causing it, right? Why not figure out what's causing it, and prevent it from happening in the first place? Makes more sense to me. It is quite likely that the eczema is caused by the parasites and/or fungus. Those things obviously feed off of substances in the body. And it is probably the thing Michael craves the most (chocolate) that the fungus and parasites also crave the most. So if we can starve them, they will die, and theoretically, the eczema will disappear.

Burke gave us some supplements to help kill the parasites and fungus (and bacteria and chlamydia - I'm not forgetting those) and cleanse Michael's body. For the next three weeks, he has to take his supplements and avoid any of the foods that he is sensitive to. The supplements Burke gave us are berbercap, isatis, takesumi supreme, and thera supreme. In addition, Michael is still to take his zinc, protein powder, and cod liver oil. We are stopping the multi-vitamin and the quercetin-bromelain complex for the time being. The multi-vitamin has grapefruit extracts in it (which he is sensitive to), and the other complex is redundant with the new supplements. We also are stopping use of Aveeno lotion, since it is made from oatmeal, and oats are one of the things Michael is sensitive to.

As an interesting side-note, Burke can use AK to choose the best supplement for each person as well. He can hold up a supplement along with the vial of whatever it is the supplement should counteract. If the person (who tested weak when it was just the vial) tests strong when the supplement is added, then that supplement is good for that person. Sometimes more than one supplement can be used for the same problem, but AK can detect which one will actually be the most effective. Amazing, huh?

Michael also has to avoid anything that parasites and fungus like, such as any sugar, honey, syrup, fermented foods, etc. Since his diet is so limited anyway, I was concerned about having his choices even more limited, but I think now that it will be okay. The big issue is sugar, but most of his regular foods don't have sugar anyway. It's just treats and chocolate milk that will be a problem. Today we went to Good Earth and bought some carob powder and stevia, which together make a good enough substitute for chocolate milk mix, and some 100% apricot fruit leather, which I'm hoping will work as a "treat" for him. We also made a paper chain (at his request) so he can see how many more days it will be before he can have treats again.

I was surprised to learn that Michael is not sensitive to milk/dairy products, or wheat. I was sure that these were the things that had caused his eczema. Thank goodness, though, because I don't think I'd have the heart to also take spaghetti away from him. It's his favorite food. Just ask him.

Anyway, after three weeks or so of using the supplements and not eating the specified foods, Burke will re-test him. If he no longer shows the sensitivity, we will re-introduce the food to him. Ideally, the parasites, fungus, etc., will be gone, and therefore eating these foods will no longer be feeding them, and won't affect Michael adversely anymore.