<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Dear list members,

My granddaughter aged 6 is CD - this is why I (not CD) am subscribed to the
list. She and her sister (not CD, aged 8) have recently had a blood test and
both have shown high levels of cholesterol. The CD child has not an ounce of
fat on her while the other has a much heavier build and is plump but solid.
They both have a reasonable amount of exercise and a well balanced diet (one
GF the other not) and hardly any junk or processed food.  The doctor
prescribed a diet of poultry, meusley (not for the CD child) instead of
processed cereals, no red meat, no fat, no commercial fruit juice, reduced
dairy, no eggs but said nothing about potatoes or other sources of starch.
Apparently logical, but I have read that growing children require a fairly
large fat intake and that olive oil helps reduce cholesterol, while potatoes
(we eat a lot here) tend to boost the build up of cholesterol. Secondly,
that most of the cholesterol accumulated is, in fact, produced by the body
itself and does not come from ingesting food containing cholesterol (e.g.
eggs). As the doctor seems to have put them both in the same kettle, we are
worried about the effect of the diet on the CD child who may well not be
getting enough nutrients even from the food she eats now.

1. Has anyone on the list had experience of a CD child of this age with high
cholesterol? What diet was prescribed to bring the level down? Were there
any side effects?

2. Besides the sites associated with this list, can anyone suggest internet
sites on cholesterol and/or child nutrition?

That was the serious question. Now for a lighter one. We have noticed, among
the few celiac children we know, several have extremely long eyelashes. Has
anyone heard of a correlation?

Regards, Martin Harris, Canary Islands