amo_mea_filiis. Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Please do not bash anything that may come across wrong. Im asking so i dont say the wrong thing to this person. I have a friend (:D) and she was recently asking my help figuring out what her 2 year old reacted to in a chocolate bar. It was not a hives type reaction, but a psycho, off the wall hyper reaction. She said it was really scary and it had never happened before. I told her to keep a close eye on his diet and watch for other thing containing the same ingredients as the bar. The thing im having a hard time with is that she thinks her boys eat well and that they do not eat a lot of sugar. Maybe they dont frequent the candy isle, but they eat and drink the eqivalant (sp?) in kool aid, cereal, fruit snacks, packaged meals, etc. If the 2 year old can not tolerate something in the chocolate bar, i dont know how to have her isolate it because all other foods have some of the same ingredients (soy, sugar, etc). Im asking how to talk to her about this because she asked for my help. She knows ds had a true dairy allergy and that i cant eat gluten. I dont know if shes realized how very different we eat from each other. Both of her boys are quite difficult, which reminds me of ds, and i know she would love for them to chill out a bit. A change in food *could* help, even if only a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Is it the chocolate itself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 This may not help but, ... I do have a friend who is deadly allergic to chocolate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 She thinks so, but im not sure based on overall diet. The only way to test would be changing dist fir a short time and giving him chocolate. I say diet change because theres too much in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Well, you could always approach it from the place that you have to be soooooo careful about the hidden ingredients in food - gluten and dairy avoidance are great examples, since those ingredients are often hidden in foods where they're not obviously a part - and encourage her to look for common psycho-making ingredients like dyes and other additives. You can discuss that you eat mostly unprocessed foods because of hidden ingredients, etc. Not a condemnation of her, but a change in mindset, looking for those buggers that get slipped in. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I would find a few articles on the internet regarding red dye reactions, or other ingredients that can cause behavior reactions, print them out and give them to her. My niece had a very bizaare reaction, very similar to what you are describing, after kool-aid. My other sister has throat symptoms after eating red dye ingedients. I am sure there is plenty of online literature you could find, and eliminating that one ingredient may help her decrease the amount of processed food she is serving as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 My ds reacted similarly to red dye. I figured out it was the dye because he'd react after drinking koolaid but not sprite. Or after eating doritos but not plain potato chips. Of course it could just be the chocolate he's allergic to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 If the daily/regular eaten foods (as junky as they are) were causing that reaction it wouldn't have been a reaction at all to her. So instead, if it was the bar at all, I'd be looking for what it has that's different than the other foods typically eaten. Actually, honestly, the easiest thing for her to do is give it again and see if there is a reaction at all. It could have been coincidence. Boys do strange things sometimes. I'd hesitate to try to suggest any general clean up of their diet. It's hard to change and most people feel criticized with suggestion anyway. They probably do eat better than many kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Since she asked, I'd look her in the eyeball and say it outright: "Girlfriend, your dc's diet is full of sugar. If you think sugar might be a problem, then you're going to have to make a whole-diet change." This isn't a personal thing, you know. She isn't asking for marriage advice, or how to discipline a child. She's asking about food. You can tell her what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 It could also be post hoc ergo propter hoc. Hubby was convinced something kiddo ate made him run and run. I lied and said he had or hadn't had it, and hubby would say "see he didn't have X, so he's not hyper tonight". :lol: Kiddo is very energetic. But it was all in hubby's head. I saw nothing but run run run all the time. A one-time "reaction" could just be mood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Or the caffeine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I think you have your answer. Just say that if she wants to isolate the food, that it would take a radical diet shift. Tell her, you may not realize how differently we eat. If you want to figure out a food that's causing a reaction, you have to eliminate nearly everything that's prepackaged. I know you're trying to make healthy choices and sometimes packaged food is healthy, but a lot of the time is has a lot of hidden ingredients, sugars, and so forth. It's a big shift so I would understand if you didn't want to do it. But if you do, I can help you figure out how. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 This may not help but, ... I do have a friend who is deadly allergic to chocolate. My brother has this type of allergy to chocolate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 It could have been just mood, he is 2. Lol! Ellie- i like that. I could bring ds's food journal (that i have make for the feeding clinic) and try and have her make one. If so, i could gently point out the amount of sugar and dyes in it all. She seems to be open to talking. She has asked me about gluten, then mentioned that she should try it because she has lupus. I could give her some Info on gluten and sugar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Well, I had a terrible allergy to chocolate when I was a kid. Huge hives, swelling of joints, vomiting, etc. So bad, they tested me for Juvenile Arthritis. It was chocolate. Which I self-diagnosed at age six after eating an Oreo and immediately breaking out in massive hives. My parents were a little hacked that they'd just taken me in for a doctor ordered EKG and a chest x-ray for a diagnosis so simple a child could figure it out. :lol: Anyway, if the child is having an allergic reaction after eating chocolate, most likely it's the chocolate itself, not any single component of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 I know an allergy to chocolate is possible, but she mentioned nothing about a rash, GI symptoms, cough, or anything else that would have made me think true allergy (as opposed to intolerance). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Well, you could always approach it from the place that you have to be soooooo careful about the hidden ingredients in food - gluten and dairy avoidance are great examples, since those ingredients are often hidden in foods where they're not obviously a part - and encourage her to look for common psycho-making ingredients like dyes and other additives. You can discuss that you eat mostly unprocessed foods because of hidden ingredients, etc. Not a condemnation of her, but a change in mindset, looking for those buggers that get slipped in. ;) I think you have your answer. Just say that if she wants to isolate the food, that it would take a radical diet shift. Tell her, you may not realize how differently we eat. If you want to figure out a food that's causing a reaction, you have to eliminate nearly everything that's prepackaged. I know you're trying to make healthy choices and sometimes packaged food is healthy, but a lot of the time is has a lot of hidden ingredients, sugars, and so forth. It's a big shift so I would understand if you didn't want to do it. But if you do, I can help you figure out how. :iagree: w/ both of these. I think it's important to point out that almost all prepacked foods have some kind of 'hidden' ingredient. Even most canned tunas are packed in soy water. (As someone who grew up eating mostly prepackaged foods & considered it normal, I had never noticed this until a friend whose child has a soy allergy told me about it. I mean, the can says 'tuna packed in water', so you just kind of assume it's tuna & water, maybe some salt.) I've even noticed that the produce area in our Publix says that some of the fresh fruits/veggies are 'painted/colored/dyed' look better (can't remember the wording exactly). :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Red # 40 is evil! Makes my oldest completely lose it almost instantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I know an allergy to chocolate is possible, but she mentioned nothing about a rash, GI symptoms, cough, or anything else that would have made me think true allergy (as opposed to intolerance). Sometimes initial allergic reactions are mild but they will continue to worsen as exposure is continued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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