ADDHelpline is sponsored by Allied Products.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can receive EEG Neurotherapy right in your home, using your own computer, enter your email address below.
Regular Features
THE
PARENT COACH
Dr.
Steven Richfield provides articles on many different aspects of raising a child
with ADHD.
ASK
THE ADVOCATE
Each
month we our advocate will be answering questions from our visitors about yours
and your children's rights in the educational system.
PARENTS
TALK
A mother is trying to help her teenage son learn anger management.
MOTIVATION
TIPS
Five great ideas for motivation, including The Shoe Race, Trading Places
and more.
ORGANIZATION
TIPS
Organize your child at home, and maybe find some tips that will help you
as well.
ADHD
IN THE NEWS
Headlines about ADHD, Learning Disability and Mental Disorders
Study on ADD and TV
The recent study published on watching television between the ages of one and
three and the possible link to ADD/ADHD did not take many considerations into
account. The author of the study even admits that he cannot conclude that
television watching and ADD/ADHD are linked.
Read the
Article
Back To Treatment Options Index
The
Feingold Program
Jane
Hersey
National Director, Feingold Association
for
further information vist
or
call
1-800-321-3287
Tell
Me About Your Child
 | Does your child get upset too easily? |
| Does she seem to not hear what you are saying? |
| Is his motor stuck on fast forward? |
| After you have carefully explained why he cannot do something, and he seems to understand, do you turn your back only to have him repeat the behavior? |
| Do you sense that she really can't help the way she behaves? |
| Do all the teachers in the school know your child's name? |
| Do other children avoid playing with your child? |
| Does she have difficulty interacting with children her age? |
| Does he always seem to be touching every person and object in his reach? |
| Is she fine one minute, and out of control the next? |
| Do all the games have to be played his way, with his rules? |
| Does she seem to be off in her own little world? |
| Can he go from here to there and lose something? |
| Is homework lost, forgotten, or mutilated on a regular basis? |
| Does he have a hard time understanding subtle cues, like facial expressions? |
| Does she laugh too loud, or inappropriately? |
| Is he really just like other kids, only much more so? |
This is
a sampling of some of the symptoms that can be triggered by exposure to
chemicals in one's food or environment.
Can
a Diet Help Improve Your Child's Behavior?
Mothers
often notice that there are times when their child's behavior seems to change
after he has eaten. It could be apple juice, or jelly beans, or a
bologna sandwich. It could be Halloween candy or birthday cake that
seems to set him off. You may have tried to avoid certain foods or
food additives, only to find yourself bewildered as you attempt to sort out
the likely trigger.
Perhaps
when you go to a fast food restaurant you get her the orange drink to avoid
the caffeine in cola. Within two hours of eating there you have a little
terror on your hands. (The cola would probably have been a far better
choice than the synthetically colored and flavored orange drink.) Have
you ever thought your child might be allergic to chocolate since it seems to
"turn him on?" (Most chocolate contains synthetic vanilla
flavoring, called "vanillin," and this is a much more likely culprit
than the caffeine, the chocolate or the sugar.) Did you ever notice, as
I did, that after a few days of an illness -- and not eating much -- your
child is strangely calm?
The
frustrating thing is that you are operating on scant information, and trying
to reach your destination with no road map. In order to identify the
likely triggers for your child's behavioral outbursts, you need both
information and direction, not to mention good advice and lots of support.
The good
news is that you don't have to figure out your own test diet; this has already
been done. There is a systematic step-by-step technique that will guide
you through the process of testing your child's sensitivities. It is
surprisingly easy -- kind of like a math quiz that is very easy when you know
the answers! More than two decades of successful experience by thousands
of families have resulted in the Feingold Program.
A
brief background of the Feingold Program
As early
as the 1940s, allergists began to publish reports of patients who were
sensitive to tartrazine (Yellow dye No. 5). The medical literature
contains many references to symptoms such as hives, asthma and nasal
congestion. Doctors also found that aspirin and other substances, commonly
found in some fruits and vegetables, have a chemical similarity to synthetic
yellow dye. (The chemical name for aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid, and
from this comes the term "salicylate," used to refer to those
substances.) Physicians later found these chemicals affect children as well as
adults, and that they can trigger behavior and learning problems. The
doctor who first observed this was Ben F. Feingold, M.D., Chief of Allergy at
the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco. Dr. Feingold was
both a pediatrician and an allergist, and was a pioneer in the fields of
allergy and immunology. In addition to yellow dye and salicylates, he
also removed other synthetic food dyes and all artificial flavorings.
Dr. Feingold would later expand what he named the "K-P Diet" to
exclude the preservatives BHA, BHT and TBHQ. In 1973 he reported the
results of his work at the annual conference of the American Medical
Association. His research received widespread publicity, and Random House
asked him to write a book parents could use to help their children. The
publisher titled the book Why Your Child is Hyperactive. As a result of
thousands of parents reading this book and using the diet Feingold outlined,
volunteer support groups began to spring up around the country; they chose the
name "Feingold Associations" to honor the doctor who had made such a
difference in their lives. These parent associations began to share
information, research brand name foods, and develop programs to make it easier
for the new family to successfully use the diet. Since it covers far
more than just food, the Association calls it the Feingold Program.
What
is the Feingold Program?
First of
all, it is a test. For several weeks, you use only foods that are free
of synthetic dyes, artificial flavors and three preservatives, as well as a
group of foods known as "natural salicylates." All of these
acceptable foods are likely to be well tolerated. If this trial results
in an improvement in your child's behavior, or in other target symptoms, then
the test becomes the treatment. You simply continue to enjoy the foods
and the positive change in your child. After a few weeks of success you
can gradually expand the food choices, adding back natural salicylates one at
a time, and watching for any return of the old behaviors. The Program is
a form of the time-honored allergy elimination diet. The focus, however,
is on all the foods that are allowed, not on those removed.
We've
come a long way!
In the
1970s it was difficult to be on the Feingold diet because many foods had to be
made from scratch, and eating out was risky. Today, however, the food
supply has changed, and Feingold research enables members to shop at
supermarkets, use many convenience foods (including candy and ice cream) and
even eat at fast food restaurants. Many hard-to-find treats are
available through mail order companies. Feingold Foodlists include over
a thousand acceptable brand name foods and non-food products.
Questions
Parents Ask
Is
there some type of test to determine if a diet will help my child's symptoms?
The
Feingold Program is a test. By removing the most likely culprits, you will be
able to see if synthetic colors, flavors, certain preservatives, or
salicylates are playing a part in your child's problems or in your own health
problems.
How
soon can I expect to see a change?
There is
no way to predict exactly how long it will take, or how much of a change you
will notice. For a preschool child who is not on medication, it is
typical for parents to notice a significant change in a few days to a week.
How
can I be sure that a diet program will help at all?
While
there are no guarantees, there is a very high probability that your child will
be helped. Volunteer organizations do not even form, let alone persist
for decades, unless the volunteers experience positive feedback from their
work.
Will
my child's schoolwork be helped?
There is
generally a significant improvement in schoolwork. Eliminating these
additives won't teach the child math, but should enable him to pay attention
so he can learn what is being taught. Behavior is likely to be the first
thing to improve, with academic performance showing a more gradual but steady
improvement.
My
child's symptoms are so severe; how can a simple change in food make a real
difference?
A switch
from brand A to brand B may seem simple, but removing toxic chemical additives
from a child's diet is not a simple matter. Food processing is complex,
and it has taken many years for volunteers to become proficient at identifying
places where additives can be hidden. Once the dietary changes are made,
parents and professionals report even severe symptoms have shown improvement.
Is
this program hard to follow?
Replacing
the food in your pantry with "Feingold acceptable" is harder than
using what's already there, but easier than getting through the day with a
child who is aggressive, destructive and rarely sleeps.
Being
selective about which foods you buy at a fast food chain is harder than
ordering anything you want, but it's easier than handling that dreaded daily
phone call from the school.
Using
pear juice in place of apple juice (a natural salicylate) might be
inconvenient, but so is washing wet sheets every morning.
Is it
expensive?
That
depends on the type of food your family likes. My grocery bill went up
in some areas and down in others.
Is
this a "health food" diet?
There
are many items in a health food store that are "off limits" to the
family new to the Feingold Program. You will find lots of food in both
supermarkets and health food stores that are acceptable; select those your
family likes best.
Do I
have to cook "from scratch"?
No.
If you have a current Foodlist you should be able to use the processed foods
listed.
Can
our family still eat out at restaurants?
People
who are experienced on the Program can eat out at nearly any restaurant and do
very well. By carefully avoiding the additives/ salicylates in the
beginning, many people appear to lose much of their sensitivity. It's
been many years since my family began the Program, and we can eat virtually
anywhere, make educated choices and not experience a reaction.
My
child is a very picky eater; how can I get her to accept new foods?
You will
probably be able to find natural versions of those few foods she likes, and
you may be surprised to find some of her favorites are already on the Foodlist.
Stay as close as you can to the foods your child enjoys. As she becomes
more reasonable, you will probably be able to gradually expand her choices.
What
happens when she's away from home and someone offers her food?
If you
present the Program in a positive way and your child experiences the benefits
it brings, you probably won't have to be concerned about this. It has
been our experience that once they understand it, most of the children are
very determined to stick to their diet. (I know you probably don't
believe this. I wouldn't have either!)
How
will I know which brands of food are OK to use?
The
Feingold Association researches foods and publishes books listing acceptable
brand name products. In many cases, a company makes several products
that are acceptable and other varieties that are not. It can be pretty
tricky, so follow your Foodlist carefully.
Can't
I just read labels and avoid the additives that way?
Much of
the effort of our Product Information Committee is spent tracking down
additives that are in foods but are not included in the ingredient listing.
What
are food additives made from?
You
might wish you hadn't asked, but here goes: Food dyes used to be made from
coal tar oil (yummy!) but are now synthesized from petroleum.
Artificial
flavorings can made from virtually anything; there are no rules. A
single flavoring might be made from hundreds of different chemicals.
The
preservatives BHA, BHT and TBHQ are made from petroleum.
Does
the Feingold Program eliminate all additives?
No. Only
those found to be the major source of learning/behavior problems are
eliminated. A few others are a problem for some, but not all, of our
members (MSG, sodium benzoate, nitrites, corn syrup, calcium propionate,
fluoride and sulfiting agents). They are not removed, but many people
choose to avoid them.
The
Association recommends members avoid the use of synthetic sweeteners such as
aspartame, saccharine and cyclamates.
If
the additives are harmful, why doesn't the government ban them?
This is
a long and complex story (spell that "$tory"). Many dyes and
other additives have already been banned; it's the stubborn survivors that are
causing so many problems.
What
about all those pesticides?
Our
family was successfully on the Feingold Program for over a decade before we
had our first organic carrot. If you can easily obtain organic foods,
that's great, but it isn't required.
Will
my child have to be on this diet for the rest of his life?
As a
child gets older and stays away from synthetic chemicals, he tends to develop
a tolerance level. But as you become more knowledgeable about food and
food additives the question may shift from "Why can't we eat imitation
red cherry gelatin?" to "I can just as easily make natural cherry
gelatin that tastes terrific; why would I want to eat the other stuff?"
Even the
very young children catch on to the fact that disgusting chemicals added to
foods enable companies to save money by eliminating real ingredients from
their products.
I've
heard that scientific studies show that diet either does not help
learning/behavior problems, or that it helps only a tiny fraction of children.
Feingold
volunteers have heard this too! If you go back to the early studies and
read what the scientists conducting the research originally reported, you
would see a very different conclusion. Although none of the studies were
a test of the Feingold Program as it is actually used, and most had design
flaws and other mistakes, they still yielded very supportive data.
Newer
studies have been more carefully designed and have yielded extremely positive
results. But such information is not favorable to the many vested
interests dealing with foods and food additives and their effects, so this
information is not likely to be publicized.
Suppose
I just avoid the obvious additives by checking ingredient labels on foods --
would this help?
By all
means, avoid things like food dyes and artificial flavorings whenever you can.
Any harmful additive you can remove is a good idea. But you will not be
able to test the Feingold Program in this way because you will still be
consuming hidden additives. If you do see an improvement in your child
as a result of making small changes, that's great! But if you see little
or no improvement, please don't conclude that the diet won't work; you
probably have a fairly sensitive child, and perhaps one who is also sensitive
to natural salicylates.
Summary
For most
children it isn't a cut-and-dried case of "the Program working" or
"the Program not working." It's generally a matter of how much
help the Program provides, of whether the family needs to go further to get an
even better response. We rarely hear from a member who reports that they
are not having any success.