Re: Diets

[catatonic]

There are a surprising number of diets purported to help with ADHD, and for those whose symptoms are rooted in food sensitivities, or exacerbated by food issues, the results from a simple change in diet can be truly amazing.

For us, the Feingold diet effected a nearly miraculous change in my son. And it happened FAST. Within a week, he'd stopped wetting the bed (a nightly event), had stopped night wandering and needing 2 hours and 25 times out of bed just to get to sleep, and was overall so much calmer and less oppositional that I actually remembered why I liked him! His migraine headaches stopped...he's had 2 or 3 in the past 18 months (after cheating on the diet). And once we took the extra step of eliminating corn syrup, his tantrums stopped as well. He is still too impulsive and doesn't like to hear "no" to something he wants, but I can deal with huffy breathing and arguing much easier than I could with rolling on the floor screaming and banging his head against the wall.

I feel like the Feingold diet gave me back my son. He'll always be more difficult to parent in some ways than his brothers are, but at least I ENJOY parenting him now. He's a wonderful, bright, affectionate, mechanically gifted child whose many good qualities were buried under the toxic burden of food sensitivities.

If yo'd like to find out more about the Feingod diet, you can look at the website:
www.feingold.org

In a nutshell, the diet eliminates certain classes of food additives, as well as some healthy foods that are high in natural salicylates. (These can be tested after 6 weeks on the diet and added back in if they don't provoke a reaction.) The diet's founder, Dr. Benjamin Feingold, was a pediatric allergist who devised the diet based on findings from his clinical practice. Foods that are never eaten include artificial colors, artificial flavors, the preservatives BHA, BHT and TBHQ, and the artificial sweetener aspartame. Some of us eliminate additional additives or foods as well, based on our children's individual sensitivities.

For us, the Feingold diet has been the most successful, the most consistent, and the most dramatic of anything we've tried.

[ohmama]

Here's a link to the Gluten Free Casein Free Diet for allergies and Autistic Spectrum Disorders....
www.gfcfdiet.com

Also, an excellent book about discovering and treating unrecognized allergies in children (and adults).
"Is This Your Child" by Doris Rapp, M.D., F.A.A.A., F.A.A.P.

Info on food dyes... www.red40.org

e numbers in food.... www.dermnetnz.org/index.html
(food additives)

The dangers of MSG... www.nomsg.com/harmful.html

[ohmama]

I just received my Feingold information packet yesterday!! Can't wait to get started .

If anyone else has a special eating plan or diet they are using tell us about how it is working for you here.

[Mayleng]

, keep us updated. I hope it works.

[catatonic]

Hey, hey, very cool, Oh-Feingold-Mama. Hope you see the same kind of results we have.

[lovemykids]

I found this if anyone is interested in this....it's long though

www.cspinet.org/new/adhd_resch_bk02.pdf


Lovemykids

[lep]

great find (link) lovemykids! Thanks.

My husband and I just started South Beach Diet (bear with me, there's a point to this intro)...and what I found helpful is that the book actually has some good recipe in it and a planned menu. I am wondering if there's such a book for diets for kids with ADHD? Honestly, being a working mom (I mean outside the home..'cause I know all moms are "working"") I really find it hard to monitor my kid's diet (especially the sugar part). Add to that, my son is a very picky eater so.....Any book out there with recipe and menu that's easy to follow? I would like to emphasize "easy" ...Thanks for any input you may have...

[ohmama]

Even though I've had my Feingold material for a while I've been slow about reading all of it and doing the shopping. It's hard to find everything on that approved list!

Well today I made french toast for breakfast and put some pancake syrup on it. May God forgive me, I should have known better! Wow is all I can say...I thought I was going to have to call the police. My boy went crazy after eating this. Even after giving him 2 doses of antipsychotic medication it took hours for him to calm down and resemble a stable child. Could it be the corn syrup, sugar syrup, high fructose corn syrup, natural and artificial butter flavors, cellulose gum, sodium benzoate and sorbic acid (preservatives), carmel color, sodium hexametaphosphate??

He hasn't had this product before, at least not for at least 6 months so it was something new. I know these ingredients are bad but I never expected the reaction I got from him. Could it be that this is what is causing it? I won't ever use this again.

[Mayleng]

ohmama, Cat always says that corn syrup was a big no no for some kids.

[ohmama]

Yep, she sure was right about this!!

[catatonic]

I'm sorry to hear you had such a terrible reaction. I trust things are calmer there now, and your son has no lingering ill effects? It certainly does serve to reinforce the fact that what you eat has a powerful effect on behavior and mental processes.

When my son consumes corn syrup (blessedly a rare event these days) I can normally expect about 18 hours of misery...screaming tantrums, throwing things, kicking and hitting walls and anything else handy (though usually not living things), swearing, and general ugliness. Not to mention the dark eye circles and the sort of tuned out, spaced out look in his eyes. I keep a list on the fridge of different names for corn syrup so that I can avoid all of them (dextrose, maltodextrin, invert syrup, etc. etc. etc.). Benzoates are also a no-no for my boy. They don't produce as dramatic a reaction as corn syrup, but he definitely becomes oppositional and irritable. I wish you luck, OhMama. I know that changing the way you shop and eat is not easy. Hope you tossed that syrup!

By the way, if you don't want to pay those premium prices for pure maple syrup, you can make pancake syrup yourself VERY easily and cheaply. Just combine in a saucepan 1 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup water. Heat it until the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn off the heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 Tbsp. butter. Microwave it when you use it so that the butter will melt and you can shake the bottle to mix it back in. (Or leave out the butter -- that's what I do.) I make a big batch and store it in the fridge and it lasts quite nicely until we use it up. (Usually about 1 month for a 5x batch.)

[Mayleng]

Cat, what are the other names of corn syrup?

[ohmama]

Cat,
Thank you so much. I will try that recipe. I always thought you were exaggerating about the syrup reaction. Now I know better. This is just amazing to me!

[catatonic]

The big corn syrup names are maltose, dextrose, maltodextrin, and HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).

Also invert sugar, invert syrup, starch sugar, cyclodextrine (primarily used in pharmaceuticals), cellulosine, microcrystaline cellulose, barley malt extract, malt extract, mannitol, golden syrup.

Then there's molasses and sorghum, also treacle, which are in theory derived from cane sugar, but may be mixed with corn sweeteners. Use them carefully, or ask the manufacturer if corn syrup is included. Same is true of vanilla. If you're buying vanilla extract, the bottle will say whether there's corn syrup mixed in. This is NOT true of vanilla listed on an ingredient panel of a prepared product

Virtually any simple sugar may be derived from corn, and in this country they generally are since corn is the least expensive source. For this reason, I avoid products with added glucose, fructose or sucrose. Also levulose (a synonym for fructose).

If you're thinking this is a pain in the neck...you're absolutely right! Corn syrup is added to an enormous range of products, everything from yogurt to hamburger buns, Wheat Thins to soda pop, you name it and they've probably dumped corn syrup into it.

OhMama, if eliminating corn syrup makes as much difference in your boy's behavior as it does in mine, you won't mind the effort. My son is NOT the same child when he's all jacked up on that horrible stuff. It turns him into a crazy person!

[Mayleng]

Thanks Cat. It seems almost impossible to not eat corn syrup when it is in so many things.

[ohmama]

I don't mind, I'll do anything to avoid the trama of going through another episode like that. I'm not even going to try it again "just to make sure" that's what it was. I'm convinced.

[angel]

Hey girlies!!

You are all right on!! Before meds, this was exactly what I was seeing in my dd when she would eat allergic foods. You can get antigen shots. (only from a few dr.s) It makes it much easier than trying to eliminate all offending foods. My dd was sensitve to so much and the shots helped tremendously. The key things to look for are foods that your children eat on a regular basis. The dr. told us to look at what they are asking for most of the time. (milk, juice, bread etc.) They seem to crave what they are sensitive to. Rotating foods every 4 days is also a big part in sensitivities. Does the F-diet call for that too? Their body needs time to eliminate it so that they do not build allergens to it.

"No More Ritalin" by Dr. Block is right along these lines too. She has a web site too. I will go look for the link.

bbl

angel

[angel]

www.blockcenter.com/

angel

[angel]

Wow, I just went on there myself. I haven't visited it in a while. She even has a video clip of a child reacting to a food allergen during testing. We did all of this with dd. We went to this clinic. When dd gets older, and I go back to work I may go back to this instead of meds. It is a money issue for us right now. This site explains alot of what you have been asking and talking about. Let me know what you think.

angel

[angel]

Sorry to post again, but I just wanted to warn that the site is anti-medication. So you have to get past that to accept the good information. ykwim?

[pink]

We followed a rotation diet for several years after taking DS to Dr. Block in Bedford, TX. We went through her allergy testing program to uncover DS's allergies and sensitivities. And then eliminated his problem foods for several months before re-introducing them.

DS was somewhat better following the diet and taking an allergy spray for seasonal allergies. I was not able to give DS the supplement of vits/minerals. It came in a powder to be mixed into juice or another liquid. But no matter what I tried DS would not take it. She was wrong ! Kids DO NOT love it . I was able to rub the evening primrose oil on his back and put a kids' flaxseed oil supplement on pancakes and waffles for him
, but I really feel that if I had been able to get the vit/mineral supp. in him he would have done much better. We abandoned this when DS became much sicker and was DX'd Bipolar. It was too much to keep up with--baking 100% rye bread, spelt bread and waffles, pancakes from oatmeal, experimenting with brown rice flour

Now what we follow is : concentrate on whole foods, organic and fresh first, whole grains ( w/w pastry flour, w/w flour, brown rice, reg. oatmeal) whole wheat tortillas ect., lots of fruits and vegetables, turkey, chicken, some beef , pork, fish,beans , yogurt ( still has a problem with milk) , nuts , seeds and eggs. I try not to give him the same thing two days in a row.
We try to avoid : dyes, preservatives, corn syrup, excess sugars, processed foods (as much as possible),
transfats, saturated fats and too much fat, caffine,
and milk.

I don't have too much trouble getting him to eat healthfully, but I know given a choice he would rather eat hamburgers and frechfries. So he does get them occassionally when we go out to eat.
Pink
DS12(yrs.), BP , allergies, 5mg Abilfy, fish oil, vit E, evening primrose oil, probiotics, digestive enzymes, grapeseed extract.

[wetmores]

If anyone is interested in a chat on the topic of diets as a means of treating ADD and LDs please email me at :

[e-mail]

Our family has been a Feingold family for 30 years......

Right now my house smells of peach rollups being made...the only candy my g'kids know about:)

Peace,
marge
www.net-haven.net

[catatonic]

Marge, I'm really impressed by 30 years on Feingold! We're about 3 years here and it gets much easier once you've changed your habits, but it is still more time consuming than the typical diet. We're also corn-syrup and wheat free, and I have a non-target with dairy allergy. There are times I'd like to spend a solid week ordering out for pizza and not cooking a single thing! It's encouraging that you've stayed FG for so long...I'll keep it in mind next time I'm daydreaming of food preparation via Papa John's delivery.

[G]

I would love to know how to make peach rollups, they sound wonderul.
nat

[catatonic]

I make a variety of roll-ups in my dehydrator, selecting the recipe depending on how much energy I have. If I'm feeling lazy, I dump canned pears, canned peaches and canned pineapple into the blender, with just enough of the liquid to keep the blender running. Drizzle in a little honey (sugar will make the roll-ups brittle), then spread the glop on the roll-up trays and put them in the dehydrator. It usually takes overnight. You can also used applesauce mixed with cooked cranberries or with strawberries, or use any fresh fruit that's in season. I haven't had much luck with melon, though! You can sprinkle the top with coconut after you've spread the blended up fruit. I'd also like to know how Marge makes her peach ones.

[G]

Thanks, we have a dehydrator that my dh uses for jerky, I am going to try this. Thanks for the honey tip, I would have used sugar.
nat

[wetmores]

Hi,
I have to lurk here more regularly:)
Peach leather (aka peach roll-ups) are simple. We cut the peaches up, peel included, put them onto a food processor with a small amount of honey and puree. We then pour about a cup of the puree on a a role up tray and put them into the dehydrator! Rotating the trays every couple of hours helps all the leather dry at the same time.
We make peach slices by peeling the peaches and cutting them into thin slices and then putting them into the dryer.
After running 2 small dehydrators for more than 20 years we found one about the size of a wine cooler and now we can dry close to a bushel at a time. Between my daughters, my 4 grandsons, and friends I have to hide some if I want to be able to
keep it. I generally keep some back for Christmas stockings:)
Peace,
Marge
www.net-haven.net

[wetmores]

Cat,
Growing up in our house we could use no artifical flavors, colors, preservatives, dark salicilates, sugar, milk or eggs. Everyone in my house was the "target"

We also found that of my 4 g'kids one is as sensetive as his mom and aunt were....and now they all use Feingold too!

peace,
marge
www.net-haven.net

[catatonic]

Seeing how you have lots more experience than I do with Feingold, maybe you have some advice with a problem I'm having with my biggest target. My 11yo son doesn't want to feel different, so he takes every possible opportunity to eat off-diet food. I can't have anything in the house that he's not supposed to eat. He can't eat wheat, but he's the only one in the family with that particular sensitivity, and I will sometimes buy things like Triscuits, or I'll make regular brownies for one of the other boys' class parties. He won't stay away from it. If he's at school and someone offers him nasty cr*p he isn't supposed to eat, he eats it. He's impossible to tolerate when he eats off diet and it's really making me crazy. Any suggestions?

[wetmores]

Cat,
We were fairly lucky. My eldest was a pretty compliant kid and my younger got so sick that keeping them eating "clean" was reletively simple. They also went to a small private school that understood the issues my kids had with food. I often baked for the entire school and we always shared roll-ups and such:)
That said, we started early substituting "clean" stuff for the junk around. I used bribes...and still do. My g'kids will bring us their pixie sticks if the reward is great enough...and we always make the reward pretty awsome:)
I also believe I had a head start on all this. I was raised in a kosher home and I never had the expectation of beign able to eat anything anywhere. We were taught at an early age that we were different....and that to those who much is given much is also expected. We all teach our kids every day that there are choices to be made in life. For us the need to eat "clean" was just another choice.
Does he see the differences in his behavior? In Debra it was easy...if she got artificial coloring she couldn't read for 72 hours......hows that for cause and effect? She had totally different reaction to missing a ritalin. Sara simply ruptured an ear drum six hours after getting milk or eggs.
Please let me know how thigns are going!
peace,
marge