Specially Formulating Nutrivene?

I was asked a few weeks ago about specifically formulating Nutrivene and if we did that for Osiyyah. As in specifically formulating it via metabolic testing, blood work, etc. I thought this would might be helpful for others, so I figured I'd post my reply up here as well (with a few changes ;)).

We have not done a custom formula. We give Osiyyah the regular formula and it works incredibly well for him. And then depending on lab work we’ll add more of a certain supplement if he needs it. Like Zinc and Vitamin D. We supplement extra in both of those. He tests low in zinc if we don’t supplement extra and Vitamin D it is recommended to give a higher amount (they can’t get that high of an amount in Nutrivene-D).Or, if needed we would reduce the amount of certain supplements, but that has never been a need or problem at all.

The thing with Nutrivene-D is that it has been "calibrated", things added to it, nutrient amounts increased or decreased, things taken away from it, etc over the last 15+ years. All of this in accordance with the latest research showing the nutritional benefits of TNI or certain supplements in children with DS. Or, based on families and what more they may need to supplement, or what they are supplementing extra with, and all that.

So, overall, Nutrivene-D is quite complete and I have never felt that we needed something specifically designed to Osiyyah’s body. That's what Nutrivene does for us already - it's targeted to meet the needs of a 47th chromosome.

Just in the fact that Nutrivene is designed for kids with an extra chromosome, says a lot. Yes, there’s a difference in kids with DS, but there are LOTS of similarities, especially when it comes to the imbalances, overexpressions, etc of all the 250+ additional genes on the third 21st chromosome.

If we were just to do testing on my brother and formulate something for him specifically, I’d be afraid that we would miss something. Because some of the nutrients in Nutrivene-D can’t just be easily tested for to see if they are needed. Some may be there to prevent something which research has shown is off balance or overexpressed because of the triplicated chromosome. And you may not necessarily be able to know via simple lab work.

There are some families who have had to give their child a bunch of supplements, because they either aren't able to get Nutrivene or their child won't take Nutrivene. These families certainly have their work cut out for them even more, but they still do have a guide. That guide? Nutrivene & the research behind it.

I know one family in Switzerland and the list of supplements their child takes is HUGE. But, it's all components that are in Nutrivene already or components that research has shown to be very beneficial.

Hope this helps someone!