Special Diets

Discussion in 'Other Conversation' started by CrystalB9, Jul 25, 2004.

  1. CrystalB9

    CrystalB9 New Member

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    I have been researching diets. I have an ADHD son, another son with asthma, my husband has ADD, and so on. I have been told by numerous people of diets that help with these problems so that you can eliminate all meds. One that I recall is the Feingold diet. Has anyone heard or tried this one? Or even certain foods that are benificial with certain medical conditions. I have would like to see my family eat healthier. Any input at all would be appreciated. :lol:
     
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  3. Brooke

    Brooke New Member

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    Hi, Crystal. My son was diagnosed with ADHD and Tourette's Syndrome a year ago. Since then his specialist has taken him off of Straterra for ADHD and he is doing very well so he might have symptoms of ADHD but not actually ADHD. An added note is that he didn't gain but a pound in the last year but the first month off of Straterra he gained 5 pounds!!! :shock:

    I am going to be looking into diet changes, too. I have looked ions ago at a Christian ADHD website that had diet alternatives but I never read up on them. I know that most of the diets I've heard of eliminate artificial colorings and preservatives, and usually wheat and gluten as well. I'll do some more checking.

    I asked his specialist about diet and he said to absolutely try it out. The diet that you mentioned was one from the 70's maybe??? that he told me about. He said most of the ppl he talked with either said it worked perfectly or not at all.

    If you want the Christian ADHD website let me know. I remember it talking about homeschooling as well.
     
  4. Brenda

    Brenda Active Member

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    Gotta love ADHD... All three of my boys are ADHD (I guarantee you that there is never a dull moment in my home :wink:), another is ODD and is waiting to be seen by a child psychiatrist (waiting for a diagnosis of Tourette's). This same boy (with ODD) has asthma, hearing problems and vision troubles (that could be corrected if he would wear his glasses, but he won't because he was tormented when he was in public school when he got them).

    I haven't really put either of them on any special diet, however I do eliminate the foods that I see causing them a problem. When Christian was diagnosed in grade 1, I remember being told that some food coloring should be avoided (I don't remember the names of them, but I do know that red food colors were one of them) as well as many food preservatives (MSG comes to mind). Ready to eat puddings aren't supposed to be good for them and in our home, offering chocolate is like someone without ADHD taking speed - it sends them into a spin.

    Another lady I worked with years ago told me that someone reccomended to her that she give her son coffee to drink! For us, it wakes us up, gets us going (or keeps us going). For a child with ADHD it's supposed to bring them down (although I will admit, I have never tried it and I'm not sure that I would - I don't like the idea of feeding my boys caffeine).

    We don't allow the boys to drink pop (soda) with dark colors (root beer, coke, pepsi, etc) because we have learned that it triggers more hyperactive behavior (like we need anymore of it). Our boys LOVE fresh fruit and vegetables - Noah gets fired up even more when he eats them and I suppose I should probably limit them for him, but when we weigh the pro's and con's, I can handle the behaviors that he displays as opposed to offering him not so healthy alternatives.

    I haven't looked into gluten free diets, but I do know that they are extreemly expensive (a loaf of gluten free bread here is about $5.00 a loaf if not more!!!). On that note though, I just learned a couple months ago that when you have a condition that requires a special diet (I'll use diabetes for an example), (in Canada anyway) you can claim the cost differences between the special foods and 'normal' foods on your taxes as a medical deduction. Diabetic sugar costs about $4.00 a box (and the boxes are small), a regular bag costs $1.69 so we're allowed to claim the difference as a medical expense (I haven't done this but I have an Aunt who has celiac disease and she has to eat a gluten free diet and it is expensive).

    These are only some of the things we have tried. Not sure if it's any help or not...I would be interested in looking at the website that you mentioned Brooke. Is it in the home schooling thread?

    Brenda

    P.S. DId you know that some people would suggest that milk & wheat can contribute to the behaviors seen in ADHD? Blows me away! How to you not give your child milk when they need it for growth?
     
  5. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    From a special ed/medical perspective, ADHD kids respond differently than the others. What for "normal" kids is a stimulant (ie: caffiene), in them it acts the opposite. Which is why the medicine for them are considered "uppers" to "normal" folks. I know of two children that came through my program who were being given coffee/tea to help control their ADHD. The coffee child actually had a doctor's prescription for it! The teacher suggested tea to the mother of the other child, which the mother agreed to. When the child started "bouncing", the teacher would give her a cup of tea, and it would work. The mom was trying to keep the kid off meds, and found this to be a much more "acceptable" alternative.

    I believe strongly in diet. My personal belief is that many of these kids are not "truely" ADHD, but it is induced due to additives in the diet. Unfortunately, these additives are not easy to eliminate, as they're in most of our foods. But to me, I'd prefer it over drugs. I know some children really need the drugs to keep their behavior under control, so I'm not totally "against" them. However, I feel they ARE overused.
     
  6. CrystalB9

    CrystalB9 New Member

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    Brooke - I would very much like the Christian ADHD web site!! Thanks. :D

    Brenda - The milk thing is weird. I just read in a book I got from the library that whole milk was very good for ADHD/ADD children. Drinking a glass in the morning was to have lasting calming effect all day. It also said it helped them to concentrate on their schoolwork. I have checked out so many books, but I think it was - Healthy Eating For Life For Children. It also has recipes in it. It only had a small section on ADHD and diet.

    Jackie - I too have heard that caffiene worked. Like Brenda I havent tried it either.
    I am also sure that there are many that dont need the drugs. I think doctors are quick to diagnose children with ADD/ADHD. I personally havent ever met anyone that felt their child was improperly diagnosed. For us it is a real issue. He is one of the reasons we homeschool. He has not been on any meds for many months. He seems more like himself now. He acted drugged when on meds. We even cut his dose way back and still had the same effect on him. I have also noticed things like during his hour karate class. He is great the first half hour. By the second he has lost focus. I have thought about putting him in a shorter class, but think that would be worse for his self esteem as he is a green belt and the half hour class are white belts just starting. Also with our summer reading program he has a very hard time retaining any material read. He does well when I read to him.

    I am anxious to check out the site you talked about Brooke!!

    Thanks so much for all your feedback!!
     
  7. Brooke

    Brooke New Member

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    Hi everyone! The website is www.christianadhd.com. I haven't looked at it in about a year so some of it might have changed. It had articles about homeschooling ADHD children and non-drug treatments.

    My brother is a school psychologist and he is the one who told me that studies have shown that drinking a cup of coffee has the same effect as the ADHD drugs. It's not that it affects them in the opposite way so much as it is that the caffeine is stimulating the part of the brain that is under stimulated due to the ADHD or look-alike condition.

    I have also in the past recommended the Nat'l Assoc. of School Psychologists at www.nasponline.org for general information for parents and teachers. You can drag your curser over "Helpful Information" and it will give you options for parents and teachers. Those links will supply you with a ton of information for ADHD and ADHD look-alikes, Tourette's Syndrome, depression and other conditions. They are printables and are handy to have on file to pull out and take a look at for "classrooom" ideas.

    I can't remember all the things I was wanting to respond to (cooking lunch and all :D ) so I'll reread and see if there were any other questions or comments I wanted to address.

    Many blessings! ~ Broooke
     
  8. becky

    becky New Member

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    I tried that diet with Kevin, Crystal. No luck. He drank a lot of milk, so for about two weeks I kept that from him, with no change. Then I tried peanut butter, and whatever other food he had a lot of. I hope you have good results with whatever you try.
     
  9. Anonymous

    Anonymous New Member

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    I always thought that the Feingold diet was along the lines of a diet used to eliminate allergies. You basically take everything away except a few "miracle foods" then slowly like maybe one food a week add things back in. If the food has a bad reaction then you know to keep that food out of the diet.

    My son was diagnosed with ADHD, but I have come to find out that is wasn't ADHD at all. He just needed stronger motivation to keep on target. He hasn't been on any medication for over four years now and he is doing great.

    The only thing that I really took from the Feingold diet was eliminating artificial colors and flavoring. I do that anyhow, artificals have a bad effect on me from a numb tongue to migrains.
     
  10. CrystalB9

    CrystalB9 New Member

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    http://www.feingold.org/home.html

    This is the website for the diet I spoke of. I have not had a lot of time to look or read over it. Not sure if it will help or not.
     
  11. Brenda

    Brenda Active Member

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    When I took Andrew out of public school I stopped medicating him and I saw a huge turn around in him (this would be the second medication he was on so now I wonder if the medication wasn't a factor in his case).

    The milk thing that I read was on a website I found this morning (I can just imagine telling my boys they couldn't have milk - that would go over like a lead balloon). I have a nutritional healing book (but it's packed right now). When I get it unpacked, I'll have to tell you some of the things out of it (it tells you essential nutirents, strongly recommended, etc). It has every condition in it from nuts to bolts.

    The tea thing mught become a relaity in our future. If it worked and meant that I didn't have to medicate my boys BONUS!!! I'm not an advocate for any kind of medication. If there's another way to handle the issue, i prefer the alternative route.

    When Andrew wanted to play violin, his paediatrician strongly recommended it saying that musical instruments and karate/tea kwon do were excellent choices to teach a child self control. Andrew enjoyed playing the violin until grade two when our lives were ripped apart by an accident. He didn't want to focus on much at that point and it's been an upward hill battle since then, but I think we're almost out of the worst (well, we will be when we get moved).

    As for too many children being diagnosed with ADHD I absolutely agree!!! When a child squirms in their seat they're automatically labelled and it's hard to get rid of the label. Public schools don't have the resources to handle any child that steps off the line even a little bit and so (in my experience anyway), they oush for a diagnosis (and won't stop until they get it) and then they want the medication. It's up to each parent to decide whether medication is the right way or not. What works for one child may not work for another (not one of my boy respnds the same way to the same treatment).

    Brenda
     
  12. yankee girl

    yankee girl New Member

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    My son is ADHD. I do let him have coffee in the mornings (sometimes cappacino or mountain dew). I know that sounds weird to a lot of you but after a lot of bad days I gave in and let him have caffene just so that he would do some of his work at ps. Main reason for homeschooling this year. We tried changing his diet but nothing seemed to work. (during the summer he has no caffene in the morning and only gets soda once a day but then he doesnot have to sit still and concentrate on anything).

    Tammy
     
  13. CrystalB9

    CrystalB9 New Member

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    Something else that was recomended to me during our school time was to give my son silly putty or play doh - something like that. He squishes and squeezes a ball of it like crazy in the opposite hand he is working with. If he isnt walking around the house he also uses it when he reads. It almost works as an energy outlet. When he stops squishing it and starts playing with it we take it away.
    Glad to hear about the karate being recomended by your doctor Brenda. It has worked out well for us. Some of the classes actually tire my son out! Others he can loose focus. It depends on what they are working on. Over all it has been great!
    Until I actually choose a diet or life change for our eating habits I am working on cutting down on our sugar and fried foods. Like I said this is to help my ADHD son, but I would lke my whole family to eat healthier. My husband and I are trying to get pregnant right now and I am trying to prepare my body as well. I feel so much better when we are eating better. The last time we ate at a fast food place my husband felt so sick afterwards. He swore it was all the greace.
    What about veggies. Has anyone heard of any specific veggie that is better then others for ADHD??
     
  14. becky

    becky New Member

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    Susan, the reason I tried Feingold with my son was because early in his diagnosis, the doctor said an allergy could be making him act up. Finding and eliminating whatever it was could help him, was the thought. I think now, too, my son just needed different teaching methods to conform.
     
  15. CrystalB9

    CrystalB9 New Member

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    Maybe I havent read enough of the Feingold diet yet to be sure, but I thought what I have read sounded like it helped much more then just allergies. Infact the one page addressed ADHD. Like I said I need to make more time to do some research.
    What I am looking for is a way to feed my entire family healthier. I am hoping by doing that I help with other problem areas.
     
  16. becky

    becky New Member

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    I have another book I used when I was trying to help Kevin, called Diet Plan For Teenagers, by Dr Lendon Smith. There's all kinds of stuff in there, as well as recipes to make your own healthier snacks. Crystal- there's a recipe to make your own chips out of tortilias! I've made spinach ones, tomato, whatever flavor of tortillia I could find. They really get nicer if you give them a light spray of Pam before you bake them. Cruncheee!
     
  17. moondancer7825

    moondancer7825 New Member

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    I'm thinking about trying some of the adhd diets out there myself. DH and DS are both ADHD. Makes it very fun at our house. Especially when DD feeds off their energy. When DH and I started dating I freaked out on him because he was drinking so much coffee, then I saw how hyper he was without the coffee. Needless to say the man continues to drink coffee, as much as I can force into him!! We talked to DS's doctor about it and he actually told us to try it. He even went as far as telling us that we could try nodoze or vivarin since they are pure caffeine. They problem with the pills was that a whole pill made him sick but a half pill didn't last but 2 hours tops, usually less. The boy wont drink coffee of any kind and I think giving him mountain due is defeating the purpose because your giving them caffeine to calm them down but your still giving them sugar. Just my opinion cause DS doesn't seem to get a calming affect from sugar like he does caffeine.
     
  18. becky

    becky New Member

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    Does diet soda make a difference? I tried the coffee idea for a week, until the teachers said he was in the bathroom too much and missing instruction. I was desperate to get him off te awful Ritalin.
     
  19. moondancer7825

    moondancer7825 New Member

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    Becky, I wouldn't go with the diet soda because nutrasweet is not supposed to be good for kids. Maybe try half a nodoze or vivarin and see how that goes. We found that vivarin works better and doesn't make him sick but then again we are giving it to him about every 2 hours. IT may just be my son though. It may work better for your child.
     
  20. becky

    becky New Member

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    You're right about the nutrasweet. I thougt Jeannie had a urinary tract infection last year, but it ends up the nutrasweet was irritating her system.( I would let her share my diet soda.) I drink a lot of coffee with Sweet & Low, and when I cut back to one packet per cup, I couldn't believe how many fewer bathroom trips I had to make. It makes you wonder why they sell such a thing. I enjoy it, though!
     
  21. moondancer7825

    moondancer7825 New Member

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    Becky, I know what you mean about the caffeine and sweeteners. I don't drink much coffee though. I'm a diet pepsi addict. But since we are TTC#3 I have severely cut down on the amount that i am drinking and I am definetly not rushing to the bathroom as much any more.
     

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