ProudGrandma Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) if you follow this diet, what makes it worth the $83 to join to get the information? I can't just go out and spend that kind of money without it really being worth it. Is that information not "out there" some where else for free....or at least cheaper?? I am considering this for my son with sensory issues. The website doesn't specifically note sensory issues as one of the symptoms relieved, so I am wondering if it will really help him. What do you know about that?? Edited February 5, 2012 by NEprairemom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 You may be able to get a book from the library and follow it. We used to follow this very closely, now that my dc are 11 years older and I don't have control over everything we follow mostly the second stage. Mainly, we don't do artificial colors or flavors. Some families I know have had to keep eliminating salicilates. I do not have materials in front of me. I believe if you commit to preparing all your foods from raw ingredients you should not have trouble following stage 1 or stage 2 of the diet. If you use any packaged foods you would benefit from the food lists they put that tell you what they know is "safe". Another source to check is an older book Is This Your Child? by Rupp. It focuses on diet and environmental issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadie Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) You could check out the Failsafe diet, developed by the allergy unit at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia, and popularized by Sue Dengate in her books. I have The Failsafe Cookbook and Fed Up With Asthma, and also the pamphlet RPAH sends out to healthcare providers. Dengate also has an extensive website with free info, but the site isn't organized as well as it could be so it's a job to wade through it. She does have a free booklet you can print with food lists and recipes. The Failsafe diet is similar to Feingold, but limits even more natural and artificial food chemicals in the elimination phase, which you then reintroduce one by one to see if you are sensitive to them. There's a yahoo support group called FailsafeUSA. For my girls, Feingold would not have been enough, because they are sensitive to amines and more food additives than Feingold considers. Many people are helped a lot by Feingold, however. FWIW, I know many people are sensitive to gluten, by my kids aren't. They actually did worse when we tried GF, because so many GF starches have sulfites in them (not listed on the label). Also when we switched to Extra Light Olive Oil and butter, that made a big difference. Canola oil is the worst for my kids as it oxidizes quickly, and my kids are sensitive to oxidized oil. Last but not least, my dd9 was in OT for SPD for a couple years, which helped us manage the symptoms, but it turned out the cause was her food intolerances. When she's on the diet that works for her, she doesn't have sensory issues, including car sickness among many others. When she strays too far from her diet, all the sensory stuff comes roaring back. No more OT needed--just the diet. With Failsafe you could get started right away for free or the cost of a book, but it's more limiting, esp at first, and you'll be cooking more. With Feingold you have more convenience foods you can use, but it's not as thorough as Failsafe and some people end up having to cut out more things later. What seems more doable for you? It's definitely worth a shot to look into food intolerance. Makes a life-altering difference for us. Amy Edited February 5, 2012 by Acadie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Why Your Child Is Hyperactive (Paperback) by Ben F. Feingold His book is available at amazon for as low as .22cents plus $3.99 shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 It has been many years since we did the Feingold diet. I found it worth the cost for the shopping lists and information the first year. Now I would wonder how up to date the product lists are. There seem to be new products on the shelves every week. Products without additives are also more widespread than they were 10 years ago. Perhaps you could make do with free info. from the internet and reading labels. FWIW, my dd had a few major dietary sensitivities, but didn't need to avoid salicylates. If your kiddo is very sensitive, it might be worth it for the detailed information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 It has been many years since we did the Feingold diet. I found it worth the cost for the shopping lists and information the first year. Now I would wonder how up to date the product lists are. There seem to be new products on the shelves every week. Products without additives are also more widespread than they were 10 years ago. Perhaps you could make do with free info. from the internet and reading labels. FWIW, my dd had a few major dietary sensitivities, but didn't need to avoid salicylates. If your kiddo is very sensitive, it might be worth it for the detailed information. This is what we did, many years ago. For the most part, buying organic and preparing food from scratch will eliminate most of the artificial stuff. I'd recommend also eliminating the high salicylate foods to start with also. If I remember correctly, that's mainly foods made from apples, grapes, and oranges - maybe berries? Instead of these, we ate pineapples, pears, and bananas. They do a lot of research on hidden ingredients that aren't required to be included on food labels. I remember looking around the internet a few months ago and really just couldn't find any detailed info. Maybe you could get a hold of a used copy on Ebay or Craigslist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) You could check out the Failsafe diet, developed by the allergy unit at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia, and popularized by Sue Dengate in her books. I have The Failsafe Cookbook and Fed Up With Asthma, and also the pamphlet RPAH sends out to healthcare providers. Dengate also has an extensive website with free info, but the site isn't organized as well as it could be so it's a job to wade through it. She does have a free booklet you can print with food lists and recipes. It's definitely worth a shot to look into food intolerance. Makes a life-altering difference for us. Amy FWIW, I scanned through a website (failsafediet.wordpress.com) and it has a ton of great info, very similar to what I remember from Feingold but with some added factors (at least compared to what I had 10 years ago). Well worth looking into. In fact, I need to go through it more carefully because it seems to address some of dh's allergy/sensitivity issues that we've been struggling with. One difference is that it does allow soy products, and I don't believe Feingold recommends soy of any kind. Also, the convenience foods listed in Feingold can be lifesavers, especially when starting out! Edited February 5, 2012 by Susan in TN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Cranberrymom has had her family on this for a long time, try sending her a PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrips Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I have my son on it now. I would find it impossible to follow without the materials because I do like to buy pre-packaged foods such as yogurts, cheeses, lunchmeats, jelly, milk, chips, and more. You could guess at which items might be safe, but since you wouldn't be really following the Feingold program, you wouldn't know if it had an effect or not. it was also helpful having some basic recipes and menu plans in the beginning. They issue a new food list each year, and throughout the year they issue Product Alerts to let folks know what products are no longer on the list and which ones have been added. As a member you also have access to request foods to be researched and added, and there are member forums to ask questions. I don't think they're making money; much of the program seems run by volunteers. They need a major boost of advertising! Most people I talk to have never heard of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 wow...thanks for all of this infomation. I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 The money to join the Feingold Association is worth every penny. And the book to read is Why Can't My Child Behave, written by the director of the F. A. It updates Dr. Feingold's book which was written more than 35 yrs ago. You can read Part I on the Feingold website. www.feingold.org There is a good Yahoo group you can join until you join the Feingold Association. It's no substitute but you can chat with other Feingolders. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feingold-Program4us/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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