Need help with the foods that can affect behaviour

[Lulu]

I need to have a look at DS's diet and how it could be affecting him.

Does anyone have any advice, books etc? I'm taking him right off cows milk (he only has it on weetbix in the morning) dairy, yoghurt etc goes straight though him anyway, but I need alternatives to get him his calcium etc.

Christy - can you expand on the evils of cows milk for me please?

I'm sure bread can be a issue as well, I'm happy to start making my own if that will help.

His diet is fairly limited, he is a fusspot. Barely any vegies (but I can hide them), no fruit at all - except for OJ.

His father gives him chocolate and lollies willy nilly and its one of the reasons I asked him to move out. He insinuates that I'm terrible for not letting them have some fun.......I'm happy for them to have a square of chocolate for dessert if they have eaten their vegies, tbh its sometimes the only thing that gets him to eat....

I'm looking at all things that can affect him - thanks

[Hollybolly]

Lu - I have found with Luke that the two worst things for him are strawberries & green grapes... for him, they're worse than chocolate, lollies or soft drink in terms of him being on a 'high'

Just re reading your post, it doesn't look like your DS eats them if he doesn't eat many fruits, etc... but I definately notice that anything with 'natural' sugar like that just makes him go crazy....

I know that doesn't really help your situation but look at other foods he eats with natural sugars.

[MantaRay]

Lulu, the first step is to go to Sue Dengate's wonderful Food Intolerance Network website - google fedup. There is a list there of food additives that have been linked to behaviour as well as case studies where whole schools have "banned" these additives and the difference it has made. And tonnes of other info. She also has books and DVDs out. Well worth looking into.

[ZigZag]

Have you tried soy products in place of dairy? I've taken most dairy products out of my DDs diet as it was giving her severe constipation and I found the more she held it all in, the worse her behaviour got. Anyway, she luckily loves soy milk...I get one with extra calcium and high fibre in it. I recently tried the soy yoghurt on her and she loved it. I tried it myself and it actually tastes like custard - yum . Cheese; you can buy vegetarian cheese which is actually quite nice as well.

You can buy breads without preservatives if that's an issue. Bakers Delight also maintain that they sell all their products without preservatives.

[doulamamma]

lulu,
does his tummy bloat? wheat can affect behavious as can all sugars - but each child is obviously diff. if you can illiminate one food for at least 3-5 days and watch for changes it will clarify that for you.. i found with ds (3) wheat definietly affected his behaviour and sleep.
good luck

[Marydean]

Please be aware that natural food chemicals (amines, glutamates & salicylates) in 'healthy' food like fruit, vegetables, browned meat, etc can also affect behaviour in the same way that artificial food chemicals do. Typical offenders are really common foods like bananas, corn, zucchini, cheese, tomatoes etc. Probably the only way you will find out is by reading up on resources like Sue Dengate's website and book, and doing an elimination diet and then reintroducing foods until you work out what's setting him off.

Oh, and the food chemicals have a cumulative effect too. So while eating a banana one day might be ok, if they also have a tomato based pasta sauce and cheese for dinner on the same day that total amount of chemical could tip them over the edge. HTH - I hope you find some answers and start getting some good results soon.

[christy]

Lulu, it changed our lives taking dairy out entirely. Matilda too is a picky eater (funny that... I think someone split an egg & put half in you & half in me ).

I use rice milk. Matilda won't drink it as it is, but I add Activite(sp?) in as its the only "chocolate" thing that doesn't have milk in it, but it does have heaps of sugar... anyway... I give her 1 glass of chocolate milk at arvo tea to ensure she gets it as well (because the milk damaged her stomach lining... google leaky gut & there's explanations there for reasons why), and a tsp of Inliven for her extra greens... I figure, a bit of sugar & chocolate are nothing when she gets her probiotics, calcium and a hit of vege's in one go. I couldn't get her probiotics into her any other way.... juice, nothing.

I bought some of those calcium bursts from the chemist and she refuses to touch one to her lips LOL she's special that way.

After 4 weeks we found her able to concentrate better, her speech started improving, she slept better, and she stopped having her full-on tantrums. I use rice milk and nuttlex for cooking and everything now. We don't have any cows milk in our house because its just easier this way.

We also eliminated heaps of chemicals that are known to cause behavioural issues, the bread preservative 282, we also reduced the amounts of salicalytes we consumed in our house because even though it occurs naturally, it affects the digestion system and behaviour (again... leaky gut issues).

Matilda hasn't been diagnosed with leaky gut, but its similar to what was going on with her and made sense to deal with things the same way.

I'll PM you my number if you need to get it all out there....

[mrsmac]

My friend found that cutting out 282 from her DDs diet improved her behaviour and moods heaps. Bread from Brumby's and Bakers delight don't contain it.

[saslia]

Originally Posted by mrsmac

My friend found that cutting out 282 from her DDs diet improved her behaviour and moods heaps. Bread from Brumby's and Bakers delight don't contain it.

I have found this with DD also....most supermarket breads don't have it anymore either. Also artificial colours & flavours and cheese snacks like twisties set her off....funny enough sugar doesn't!!!

[Lulu]

I spent most of the morning on the Sue Dengate website. It's totally brilliant, and given me a good starting point.

I'll have to get rid of the OJ first. Then I will have a look at removing carrots and pumpkin, which will be a terrible shame, its practically the only vegies he will eat whole!

But then again, since my last pumpkin came from a friends garden and was allowed to ripen properly...... So if I keep raiding her garden (you know who you are!!) until I can get my own up and running - do you think there would still be a problem with the salicyclates? I have always tried to avoid buying 'cold stored' fruit and veg anyway.

I particularly like the section on the site regarding Behaviour Management. The description of ODD suits Mitch almost to the ground, however I believe it's a naturally occuring set of behaviours considering the environmental factors in his life. So I am looking at this from a 'whole' perspective - improve the food, improve his opportunity for social growth, improve his parents ability to cope with the tantrums - and the poor kid will be able to really be who he was born to be.
That article totally reinforced my ideals and I feel somewhat validated by reading it.

Thank you so much for the info, I was really at my wits end and feeling totally overwhelmed, now I have another starting point. xoxoxox

[christy]

Sorry Lulu, just coming on to see how you were going & realised you asked a question & didn't get an answer

The salicalytes in fruits and vegetables are naturally occurring. The amount changes depending on how old food is. So local fruit & veges is always better.

We have found the book "Friendly Food" through the RPA hospital in Sydney to be a godsend in determining foods that Matilda reacts too. Its all about naturally occurring stuff & it has heaps of recipes for things to help you do a elimination diet. Its what we used to start Jovie on solids because we started with low allergen foods for the first 2 months and then went to medium etc etc...

We had a bad day today, & then found that DH gave Matilda fish & chips yesterday for lunch... the batter is evil....