Food related behavior probs: How to tell?

[Sue G in PA]

In trying to figure out why my ds9 is so irritable, angry, rageful, defiant, aggressive, combative, etc. many people have suggested looking into food allergies/intolerance as the cause (or one of the causes). I'm overwhelmed. Some have suggested gluten intolerance, milk allergies, corn allergies, etc. and I am reading "Is This Your Child" and my head is spinning. I don't know where to begin. Can anyone tell me where to begin? How do I know if his behavior issues are food related or simply bad parenting or something else? Thanks.

[Lisa in Jax]

I sent you my number, if you'd like to talk about some ideas for figuring it out.

 

Lisa

[Susan C.]

Sue,

Short story, our offenders are Yellow #5 and Red #3 dyes. The yellow #5 is in everything. Our kids are teen/twenties now, but when ds was a toddler, he started acting really bad. I had been telling dh about the dye thing, of course he thought I was crazy. Ds was so bad that dh and I instantly dove for the trash..... ds had Kraft Mac & Cheese, pickles, and gatorade for dinner..... all had the yellow #5 in them.

 

Keep a food diary and keep track of his behavior. Try to clean up your diet of additives. If you can get away with it, feed him very basic things for a week or two, oatmeal, homemade chicken nuggets (cut up breast, cook on stove or bake with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder), carrots, apples, bananas, grapes, spaghetti with organic sauce (but wheat may be one of your offenders), that kind of thing. No kid candies or snacks, no packaged food. You can make popcicles with fruit juice as well. When you get him to a basic diet, you can add back things one at a time. It will be obvious what bothers him. All of those chemical type things are so bad for us anyway..... we stay away from them still even though the kids are older. If they cheat, it has to be with a meal so the junk isn't the only thing in their stomachs.

[amy g.]

I think that dyes might be to blame for my 4 year old's rages as well.

 

They never made sense. they didn't happen because she was told no, or hadn't gotten enough sleep. They seemed random.

 

My oldest noticed that Miss Bossy had a tantrum after eating delivery pizza, but not pizza made at home. Sure enough, their pepperoni had food coloring.

[4everHis]

one ds had night terrors at least 5 times a week for 2 years as a toddler. Someone told us to watch nitrates/nitrites (deli meat, pepperoni, hot dogs, bacon, etc.) He pretty much had Sarah Lee Turkey everyday at lunch because we aren't big meat eaters and I thought I was doing all the good to get him some protein. Within 3 days of no nitrites/nitrates he was sleeping through the night and has ever since. He's now 10. Every once in a while he'll have a wierd 'anger' issue and we can trace it back to food almost every time.

[amy g.]

That's good to know about the sleep issues.

[girligirlmom]

In trying to figure out why my ds9 is so irritable, angry, rageful, defiant, aggressive, combative, etc. many people have suggested looking into food allergies/intolerance as the cause (or one of the causes). I'm overwhelmed. Some have suggested gluten intolerance, milk allergies, corn allergies, etc. and I am reading "Is This Your Child" and my head is spinning. I don't know where to begin. Can anyone tell me where to begin? How do I know if his behavior issues are food related or simply bad parenting or something else? Thanks.

I have a ds like this. Right now we use homeopathic sulphur in water as his chronic remedy. Sugar and carbs are his biggest issues, it's as if he is a sugar/carb addict and if he doesn't get a sugar/carb fix (or his remedy) he rages. Once he gets it, he is the sweetest kid. We are moving towards a GAPS diet which would eliminate sugar, grains and starchy veggies.

 

Have you ever heard of GAPS? It's is similar to SCD but eliminates a little more and permits a little more. In essence it is tweaked for kids and adults who need GAPS based on Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's clinical experience.

 

I met Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride at her talk at the WAPF Wise Traditions conference in November, and now am reviewing her video/Powerpoint and reading her book. I also met several people whose children are eating a GAPS diet and they have had a remarkable recovery from behavior issues, including those you describe. Several are on the diet them several and had unexpected healing from issues they didn't realize were related to food. It's hard, but those who have been through it with kids who initially refused to eat GAPS food found the kids preferred GAPS food once they healed enough. http://gaps.me/

 

There are also two Yahoo Groups GAPShelp and GAPSdiet.

Edited January 20, 2011 by girligirlmom

[Sue G in PA]

In short: Ds was the "perfect" baby. It wasn't until just about age 5 or 6 that we noticed the behavior problems. His rages aren't random. They happen in response to being told "no", being told what he has to do (if he doesn't want to do it), in retaliation to his siblings picking on him, being "yelled at". The child does not eat enough period. Today, I kept a log. He had chocolate milk for breakfast (2 large cups), snacked on Kix cereal while doing his math. THAT IS ALL and it is 1:30 here. He got up at 9:30. We just went grocery shopping and I bought lots of foods he likes (strawberries, yogurt, cereals, apples, etc.). He won't eat. He is instead chewing gum. :glare: I can't force him to eat. A friend told me to just stop asking him and he'll eat when he is hungry. But his blood sugar crashes and he becomes impossible! My dh doesn't believe food issues are to blame. :glare: So I am stuck.

[Unicorn.]

Keep a food diary and keep track of his behavior. Try to clean up your diet of additives. If you can get away with it, feed him very basic things for a week or two, oatmeal, homemade chicken nuggets (cut up breast, cook on stove or bake with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder), carrots, apples, bananas, grapes, spaghetti with organic sauce (but wheat may be one of your offenders), that kind of thing. No kid candies or snacks, no packaged food. You can make popcicles with fruit juice as well. When you get him to a basic diet, you can add back things one at a time. It will be obvious what bothers him. All of those chemical type things are so bad for us anyway..... we stay away from them still even though the kids are older. If they cheat, it has to be with a meal so the junk isn't the only thing in their stomachs.

 

I agree w/ the above, but watch out for apples, grapes, and bananas. With some foods it can be obvious very quickly. Milk made our ds very hyper. I also came to realize, that red delicious apples were a no-no, and grapes too. Bananas set off dd. I was feeding my kids all the right stuff (no boxed junk, no gatorade, no soda,) all cooked at home, and still had problems. So make sure you are giving him lots of variety, and keep the food log!!

[Parrothead]

Aspartame? How often is he getting artificial sweeteners?

[Susan C.]

He HAS to eat. I do NOT agree with just letting him decide. My ds would not eat either when he was little. I literally followed him with bite size food and gave it to him. It taught him that he needs food and that he feels better when he eats... Your ds diet today had no nutritional value, he is running on nothing. Tell him he wouldn't do that to his car (put bad gas in it), and he needs to put good quality fuel in his body.

 

Ds is in college, and sometimes he decides to skip a meal..... and his mood suffers. For us, protein is the answer. I get the huge bags of chicken at Sam's and make up a whole tray, and keep it in the frig. Lunchmeat has maybe 4 g of protein, not even worth your while. A chicken breast has 20g - 30g. Much better. Add a salad with a cool dressing, even if it is just lettuce from the bag. Once he gets good food and realizes how much better he is, he'll get it. But you'll have to be consistent to remind him.

[LibraryLover]

He needs protein with his sugar and carbs. (Milk, chocolate, Kix). Are there any proteins at all he'll eat? Hard -boiled egg? Cheese stick, peanut butter on a spoon? Bean burrito?

[fairfarmhand]

I don't "feel" hungry in the traditional sense. But I know when I am getting crabby, irratble and short with people that I need to eat.

 

I would not let him just decide that he is not going to eat all day.

 

I'd give him a couple healthy choices and tell him, "you will eat one of these options."

[Sue G in PA]

We don't do artifical sweeteners. I am on ds ALL.DAY.LONG to eat. It is a constant battle. Trust me when I tell you that I do not let up until he eats. But what if this is his way of controlling me? I cannot force the child to eat short of shoving food in his mouth, kwim? He had some strawberries this afternoon and more cereal with milk. He will not eat meat...unless it is McDs chicken nuggets which he RARELY gets. His rages are melt-downs. Out of control, doesn't matter if there is an audience, melt-downs. We leave him alone and it will escalate. Can't talk him down. For dinner we are having make-our-own pizza (he likes pizza). He took one look at it and turned up his nose. I also have salad, raw carrots (which he likes) and some fruit for side-dishes. All things he likes (except salad). I refuse to make a separate meal for him. I'm at a loss.

[KS_]

He needs protein with his sugar and carbs. (Milk, chocolate, Kix). Are there any proteins at all he'll eat? Hard -boiled egg? Cheese stick, peanut butter on a spoon? Bean burrito?

 

I second the protein. My ds finally realized that he had many less meltdowns during school when he ate something with a good amount of protein for breakfast. But if I told him to eat protein for breakfast, he balked. So it was awhile before he saw that what I was saying was true and decided that it really was beneficial to him. It can easily become another battle of wills, unfortunately.

 

I guess I'd try backing off him to eat and only have available things that would be beneficial for him (we don't drink milk, but I wouldn't have chocolate milk in the house because of all the sugar, which isn't going to help). I really don't think he'll starve himself, but may thrive off the attention he's getting from you trying to get him to eat.

[MyLittleWonders]

First of all, in our case food and additives mean major behavioral issues - from anger and rage to intense anxiety. We follow the Feingold program and are also gluten free and dairy/casein free. We also keep low soy (but that's just because I'm not a proponent of soy).

 

From what you have written about what he has eaten, I wouldn't be surprised if he was intolerant to gluten and dairy. From what I've read, the proteins (gluten and casein) can act as an addictive substance. So, kids (or adults) that are intolerant to gluten crave it and will eat only gluten. The same goes with dairy. Since he seems to be living on cereal and milk, I'd probably look at eliminating. Yes, it will be next to impossible in the beginning, but often once they are started to clear their systems (a couple days), they will actually stop being picky eaters.

 

My ds#3 was pretty much addicted to dairy. He also was a very, very picky eater. Once we dropped the dairy (this past summer - we were already GF and Feingold), he started eating what he was being served at dinner, started eating more protein with each meal, and now hardly ever says "no" to something. He has discovered that he loves asparagus, and will 90% of the time at least eat a couple bites of something that he otherwise doesn't care for at meal time.

 

In our experience, dropping gluten was easier (because it's easier to find good substitutes, like brown rice pasta at Trader Joes, or Udi's bread at Whole Foods). But, being on this side of gluten free/dairy free, I would never go back for any of us (well, it's debatable if ds#1 needs to be dairy free, but it's not coming in the house, and he's pretty much never without one of us if he's out and about, so until he's living on his own, he'll be dairy free).

[amy g.]

I'd start with just not buying chocolate milk or boxed cereal.

[Lisa in Jax]

I agree that he might be a kid with gluten and dairy issues, given what he's eating.

 

Low zinc may be related to picky eating, as well as impulsivity, anger, aggression, nail biting, sleep problems, etc. So, a zinc supplement (alone -- NOT with copper) may really help. Ask your pediatrician or a pharmacist to tell you an appropriate level of zinc for your son.

 

The reason I said to avoid copper is that copper/zinc need to be in balance. When copper levels are high and zinc levels are low, some kids have major issues with aggression, adhd, anger, etc. So, it's helpful for most kids to take zinc alone -- not with copper.

 

Many major brands of gum have aspartame and it's full of colors and chemicals. I'd avoid it (or look for a natural kind) for now.

 

Watch out for colors and preservatives in toothpaste, vitamins, etc., too, b/c you can sabotage a good diet with things that you think are healthy (like vitamins) if you aren't carefully reading the labels. When we started down this path, I was shocked at the places gluten, dairy and preservatives were hidden.

 

HIH,

 

Lisa

Edited January 20, 2011 by Lisa in Jax
egregious grammatical errors!

[nancy in nj]

Sue,

 

There are tests available to determine exactly which foods/chemicals/additives intolerances are impacting your son. My daughter has suffered from terrible asthma & chemical sensitivies for years, and I always felt that there was an underlying food allergy. She had been scratch tested on multiple occassions and had the RAST test--always negative. Through the years, I tried eliminating dairy & gluten with no improvement. Finally, I convince my husband to take her to an MD who specializes in the off-beat environmental type illnesses. He had her take the ALCAT blood test for food sensitivies. They do have a website which I haven't look at since we had a face-to-face with a Dr. & got detailed explanations with the test results:

 

http://www.alcat.com/

 

In her case, she was fine with all of the "usual suspects" except for a mild insensitivity to soy. Her biggest intolerances were white potatoes, vanilla, cinnamon & asparagus--all of which we ate regularly. In total she was sensitive to 51 foods, although most were mild. She reacted to various blue, green and yellow dyes, but not red dyes. Interesting...when she was a swimmer she drank blue & yellow Gator Aid, but hated red! I never would have figured out the scope of her problem by trial and error....never!

 

This test is not cheap ($400-$600, I think...in our case it was part of a $2,000 bill which included other stuff) and it is typically NOT covered by insurance. We are only a few weeks in eliminating all of her intolerant foods, but I only wish that we had done this 5 years ago as it would have saved so much needless suffering.

[dsmith]

A previous poster mention Feingold diet. This is where we plan on starting, before going GF/CF. I found out from my mom that my older brother reacted badly to red dyes. They did an elimination diet with him, which is what Feingold is, and discovered his food triggers. Between that, and directing his energy into drumming, he was a changed kid. I believe the Feingold website also talks about GF/CF, and there are a good amount of people who follow both. I think following one of these diets is the only way to see if they will have any benefit. It may turn dh into a believer. To me, Feingold seems much more doable to start out with. I've heard that behavioural problems can be worse in the beginning due to withdrawal.

[LibraryLover]

I meant to add that I have no idea if his behavior problems are food-related. I just know that here we have far more stamina and patience when we balance the carb-sugar-protein issue.

[min]

We did an elimination diet a while back, and it was interesting. We did the failsafe diet (virtually no additives, low in salicylates, amines and glutamates): http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/ and it was interesting. We're no longer eating the full failsafe diet (the idea is to do the elimination diet and then to challenge individual issues), but we're still very low additive and try to avoid large amounts of amine-containing foods as that seemed to be our sensitivity.

 

I have to say though, that it was the additives that seemed to be the big culprit. Somewhere on that page is an "additives to avoid" list which I still try to use.

 

Miranda