a parent's guide to diet, adhd & behavior

7/30/2019 A Parent's Guide to Diet, ADHD & Behavior

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A Parents Guide to

Diet,ADHD&Behavior

Center for Science in the Public Interest


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A Parents Guide toDiet and ADHD *

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity

d isord er (ADHD) is o n e of the m ostcom m on be haviora l problem s in children .

It n ot o n ly b ed evils ch ild ren , bu t a lsoa ffects th e ir sib lin gs an d pa ren ts. It can

b e treated , b ut n ot cured . A key q ue st ion

for p are n ts is h ow to trea t the ir child ren .ADHDalso called hyperactivity or

at tention-defici t disorderhas been

d iagn ose d in m illion s o f Am e rican child ren

an d ad ult s. The m ain sym ptom s in

children are redu ced a t ten t iven ess a n dconcentration, excessive levels of activity,

d istra ctib ility, an d im p ulsiven ess. Be fore

concluding that your childh as ADHD, con su lt a

d octor o r p sycho logistw h o is q ua lified to m ake

the d ia gn osis. Man ychildren w ho se pa ren ts

thin k th ey h ave ADHD are

m ere ly very a ctive or sp ir ited .Be sid e s ADHD, som e ch ild ren exh ib it

o ther types a n d d egree s of in ap propr ia te

behavior.

Exactly how m a n y child ren suffe r

from ADHD is n ot kn ow n . Th e usualest im ate s are 3 to 5 p ercen t of scho ol-age

child ren . Usin g b road er d iagn ostic

d efin it ion s, som e su rveys fin d th a t th epe rcen tage is as h igh a s 2 0 pe rcen t in

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* This pa m ph let is ad ap ted from Diet , A DHD &

Behavior, pu blish ed by th e Cen ter for Scien ce

in th e Pub lic In te res t. Th a t rep ort is ava ilab le

from CSPI or its In tern e t site (w w w.csp in e t.org).


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cer tain sub group s of the p op ulat ion .

ADHD is two o r three t im es m orecom m on in b oys than in gir ls. On

average, at lea st on e child in everyclassroom in the Un ited Sta tes n ee ds

help for ADHD.

Res e arch e rs gen era llyagree tha t ADHD h as ge n e ticroots. Th us, if on e child ha s the

syn d rom e, his or h er s ib lin gs

h ave a grea ter r isk of

d evelop in g it . Be causedo ctors can n ot yet d iagn ose

ADHD by using blood analyses, brain

scans, or other laboratory tests, ADHD isusually diagnosed by observing a childs

behavior, interviewing parents andteach ers, an d by u sin g a ch ecklis t of b eh aviors, such a s tho se in clud ed in the

Diagn os t ic an d S tat is t ical M an u al o f M en tal

Dis orders (DSM)-IV published by the

Am erican Psych ia tric Asso cia tion . (Se eb ox on n ext p age.) Rese arche rs are

wo rkin g ha rd to de ve lop m ore reliab le

diagnostic tools and have found subtledifferences in brain structure and

m etab olism be twee n ch ildren with an dwithout ADHD.

ADHD ta kes a n e n orm ou s toll on

ch ild ren a n d th e ir fam ilie s. Th e ch ild fa llsb eh in d in schoo l, lose s se lf-este em , an d

n ee d s extra h elp . A fam ily m ust cop edaily with the need to focus the childsat te n tion on es se n tial a ct ivit ie s o r restrain

h is o r h e r im p ulsive b e h avior, w h ile

d ea lin g with th e un se tt lin g fa ct th a t the

child is n ot alwa ys welcom e in oth e rp eo p le s h om e s, in p lay grou p s, or on

team s. Sib lin gs m ay suffer b eca use their

n eed s a re n o t a s acu te, an d m anym arr iages suffer from the con stan t s t ress

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of de alin g w ith an affe cted child .

Man y children outgrow or lea rn h owto con trol their sym ptom s. But sym ptom s

som et im es pe rs is t in to ad ulthood , m akin git m ore d ifficult to su ccee d in ca ree rs, to

s tar t an d m ain ta in fam ilies , an d to be com e

in volved in com m un ity a ctivitie s. Ad ultsw ith ADHD h ave h ighe r rates of a lcoholism , drug use, an d im pr ison m en t .

Th us, ea rly trea tm e n t is crucia l.

The Feingold diet

In th e e a rly 1 9 70 s, Dr. Be n ja m in

Fein gold gen erated a firestorm of excitem en t an d con troversy by asser t in g

that certain foods and food addit ives couldtrigger ADHD. Fe in gold , w h o wa s Ch ie fEm e ritus of the Dep a rtm e n t of Allergy at

the Ka ise r Fou n d ation Hosp ita l an d

Perm an en te Med ical Group in San

Fran cisco, rep or ted tha t wh en hep rescr ib ed d ietary cha n ges for p at ien ts

w ith h ive s, asth m a , or o the r a lle rgic

rea ction s, the ir be h aviora l p rob lem s (if presen t ) som et im es dim in ishe d. He

cla im ed tha t 30 pe rcent to 50 pe rcen t of his hyperactive patients benefi ted from

d ie ts free of a rtificia l co lo rin gs a n dflavorin gs an d certain n atu ral che m icals

(sa licyla te s in a p ricots, be rrie s, tom a toe s,

and other foods) .

Th ou sa n d s of b e lea guere d fam ilie s,ea ger fo r d rug-free relie f fo r th e ir

hyperactive children, tried Feingolds diet.

Man y rep or ted im provem en t in theirch ild ren s b eh avior. Th a t sp urre d the

form ation of Fein gold -d iet sup p ort group s

throughout the coun try to sh are

in form ation an d p rovid e a ssis tan ce tofam ilies. For m ore in form ation con ta ct the

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Fe in gold Asso cia tion of the Un ited State s

(P.O. Box 6 5 5 0 , Alexa n d ria , VA 2 2 3 0 6 ;800-321-3287; www.feingold.org).

But no t everyone wa s im pressed byFe in gold s cla im . Th e p roce sse d -foo d

in d ustry, m a n y child -b eh avior exp e rts, an d

m an y p e d ia tr icia n s rea cted to Fein gold sclaim w ith skep t icism b orde r in g ond eris ion , po in t in g out tha t it wa s b ase d

solely on h is an d pa ren tal ob servat ion s

an d w as n ot backed by a ny con trolled

stud ies. Th e rep orte d successe s of h is d ietcould b e d ue to som ethin g e lse the

fam ilies we re d oin g or sim p ly to the ir

wishful thinking, they said, and notn ece ssar ily to the ab sen ce o f cer tain

che m icals in the food .Slowly, researchers began testing

Fe in gold s cla im . Th e first stu d y,con d ucted by C. Keith Con n ers an d h is

collea gue s a t th e Un ive rsity o f Pittsb urgh

an d pu blishe d in 19 76 , foun d th at a t lea s tfou r of 1 5 child ren d iagn ose d w ith ADHDim p roved on a d ie t free of artificia l colors

an d flavors. Over the n ext two d eca d es,

alm ost two d ozen m ore con trolled t r ia ls

followe d , m ost of w h ich focus ed on foo ddyes . In som e

case s, ch ild ren

were p u t on ad ie t tha t lacke d

m any foodad d it ives an dthe n cha llen ged

w ith d yes. In

othe r case s, th e b eh avior of child ren wa s

m on itored a fter they w ere sw itched to ad iet free of food s tha t m ight cause a

rea ction (d yes, w h e at , egg, cho colate, a n d

others) an d then challen ged w ith tho sefoo d s. Mostb ut n ot allof tho se stud ies

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I w o u ld ra t h e r b e d i f f e re n t b e ca u se o f w h a t I ea t t h a n because o f how I behave.

C h r is, 1 1 year s o ld ,W ald o r f, M D


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foun d tha t som eb ut n ot allchild ren

we re affected by d iet . Som e of thosere sp on d e rs w ere a ffected by d ie t sligh tly,

oth e rs dra m a tica lly.

In 1982 the National Inst i tutes of

Hea lth (NIH) con ve n e d a con se n sus

deve lopm en t con fe ren ce on d ie ts an dhyperactivity to review the early scientificrese arch a n d a d vise h ea lth p rofession als

an d th e p ub lic. Th a t NIH

panel concluded that food

addit ives and certainfood s d o, in d ee d , affect

a sm a ll p rop ort ion of ch ild ren

w ith b eh avioral p rob lem s. Inad dit ion to n ot in g tha t an ecdo ta l

repor ts c la imed dramat ic improvementsin som e h ype ract ive ch ildren , the pa n elcon clud ed tha t con trolle d s tud ie s d id

in d ica te a lim ited p os itive a sso cia tion

between defined [Feingold-type] diets and

a d e crea se in hyp e ractivity. It p oin tedout th at a m ajor lim itat ion of the resea rch

was th at m ost s tud ies tes ted the effect

on ly of d yes an d n ot of othe r ad d it ivesan d food s tha t a lso m ight prom ote

hyp e ractivity. It recogn ized tha t in itia tionof a t r ia l of d ietary t rea tm en t . . . m ay b e

wa rran ted for hyp e ractive child ren . Th econ fe ren ce r ecom m en ded tha t ad d itiona l

rese arch on die t an d b eh avior be

cond ucted , bu t over the n ext de cade a n d ah alf on ly scat tered rese arch wa s do n e.Th e failure to con d uct a b road ran ge of

rese arch m ea n s that lit tle is kn own ab out

the p ercen tage of children w ho resp on d to

d ietary the rapy, to w h at d egree theyresp on d , w h ich ch ild ren a re likelies t to b e

affected , th e ad d it ives a n d food s tha t

cause p rob lem s, an d the be s t ways to usediet therapy.

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Concerns about stimulant drugs

Once pediatricians, psychologists,an d p sych iatr is ts h ave con clud ed tha t a

ch ild h as ADHD, th ey usua lly p rescrib e

parenting-skills training for parents andb eh avioral coun selin g an d s t im ulan t drugs

for the child . Th e drug m ost freq ue n tlyprescribe d is m ethylph en ida te, the m ost

p op ula r b ran d of w h ich is Rita lin . Oth e rbe haviora l problem s m ay be t rea ted w ith

other drugs.

Rita lin is o fte n h igh ly e ffe ctive in

red ucin g the sym ptom s of ADHD, an dm illion s of child ren h ave b e en tre ate d w ith

it. In rece n t yea rs, Ritalin s us e ha s

in crea se d gre a tly, w ith a 2 .5-fold in crea seoccur rin g jus t be tween 19 90 an d 1 99 5.

One reason to consider al ternat ives

to Rita lin is th at it an d oth er d rugs h ave

trou b lin g sid e e ffe cts. Ritalin an d

a m p h e t a m i n e s(Adderall,

Dexedr ine)

m ay causereduced

ap pe t it e an dweight loss,

s tomachaches ,an d in som n ia .

More seriously,

those d rugsoccasionally

m ay cause o r

exace rba te t ics

an d Touret tes syn d rom e. An othe r d rug,

p em olin e (Cylert), h as b e en as sociate dwith fatal liver failure, and the Food and

Drug Ad m in istra tion (FDA) u rges d octorsn ot to use it to trea t ADHD. Furthe rm ore,

un til lon g-te rm stud ie s a re d on e, it w ill n ot

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Ou r b e l i e f t h a t m e d i ca t i o n shou ld on ly be a las t resor t spu r red us in to ac t ion and we began the Fe ingo ld p rog ram.W it h in t e n d a y s m y h u sb a n d and I ag reed tha t on a sca le f ro m 0 t o 1 0 , H a n na h s b e h a v io r h a d im p ro ve d f r o m a 0 t o a b o u t 8 . 5 .

M o t he r o f H ann ah,7 yr s o ld , So ut h Po m f r e t ,V T


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be kn own w he ther yea rs-lon g t rea tm en t in

child h oo d (or a d ultho od ) w ith st im ulan tdrugs affects the n ervous sys tem or o the r

p a rts of th e b od y la ter in life.

Ad d in g to the con cern ab ou t Ritalin

is that a s tudy con du cted by the fed era l

gove rn m e n ts Nation a l Tox icology Program(NTP) foun d tha t m ethylp h en id ate cause dlive r tum ors in m ice. Un like stud ie s in

w hich an im als develop ed tum ors on ly

after being fed extraordinarily high

do sages of a ch em ical, the d ose o f m ethylph en ida te tha t caused tum ors was

on ly several t im es h ighe r tha n the

m a x im u m re co m m e n d e d d o se in h u m a n s.(In a se pa ra te s tudy, am ph etam in es d id

n ot cause can cer. )Sam uel Epste in , a can cer expe r t a t

the Sch oo l of Pu b lic Hea lth a t theUn ivers ity o f Illin o is, says, Th e NTP stu d y

sen d s a pow erful wa rn in g th at Ritalin m ay

cause can cerin the liver o r othe rorgan sin hu m a n s. Million s of youn gchild ren take Ritalin for yea rs on e n d , an d

child ren m ay b e e sp e cially susce p tib le to a

carcinogens effects.

Th e FDA ackn ow le d ges th a t the NTPstud y in d icate s a w ea k sign al of

ca rcin oge n ic p ote n tia l, bu t still con sid e rs

the d rug to b e sa fe. Th e FDA n ote d th at it

d id n ot cause can cer in ra ts an d tha t thestrain of m ouse use d wa s esp ecially

susce p tib le to d evelop in g live r tum ors.

Th ere is n o e vid e n ce th a t Ritalin cau se scancer in hum an s, bu t no s tudies h ave

follow ed la rge n um b ers of Ritalin -us e rs fo rfour or five de ca d e s. Afte r a ll, la rgen um be rs of ch ildren have be en consum in g

Rita lin for o n ly th e p a st on e or tw o

de cades , an d can cer m ight n o t occur unt il

the child ren reach the ir 60 s or 70 s.

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in gred ien ts, and som e m ay be a ffec ted by

m ore tha n on e. You r goal is to id e n tify th esp e cific food s o r a d d itives, if a n y, th a t

affect your child . Wh at m akes th at taskespecially challenging is that childrens

b eh avior ord in a rily is so va riab le.

Nee d le ss to say, con trollin g the d ie tsof you n g ch ild ren can b e d ifficult ,es p ecia lly o n ce ch ild ren go to sch oo l.

Food s con tain in g dyes an d othe r p oten tially

p rovokin g in gred ien ts are

ad vert ise d a ggressively a n davailab le everyw h e re: at

supe rm arkets, res tauran ts,

sch oo ls, ve n d in gmachines, par t ies , theaters , and

the hom es of fr ien ds an drela tive s. Ma n y youn g ch ild renare a lrea dy hooked on the

very food s that m ay cause

p rob lem s, thou gh it is gett in g

ea sier to fin d acce p tab le altern a tive s. An dchild ren w h o d o n ot ea t wh at all the ir

frien ds e at m ay fee l left out o r stigm a tized .

Som e p arents wh o have p ut the ir

child ren on sp ecia l d ie ts, th ou gh, say th at

the ir child ren w illin gly cooperate in m akin gd ietary cha n ges, e sp e cially a fter th ey

discover tha t those cha n ges m ake them

fee l b e tter. Som e old e r ch ild ren avid lyrea d la b els to avoid certain in gre d ien ts.

Som e s tudies suggest that the

children w ho resp on d be s t to d ie tary

the rapy are youn g (p reschoo l) an d th osew ho suffer from as thm a, eczem a, h ives ,

h ay fever, or sim ila r sym p tom s. Ch ild renw h o still h ave sign ifica n t prob le m s a ftertakin g s tim ulan t m ed icat ion s m ight also

be good can dida tes. But , n o m at ter the

age of your ch ild or th e e xact n a ture of h is

or h er b eh avioral p roblem , it could b e

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wo rth tryin g d ie t. It is ce rtain ly sa fe r an d

chea pe r than us in g s tim ulan t drugs, an d, if your child h as b ee n ea t in g a lot of

a rtificia lly co lore d foo d s, it m ay a lso b em ore n utrit iou s. At wo rst, a m od ified d iet

wo n t he lp a n d youve d e layed for several

wee ks try in g an othe r opt ion .

Trying a modified diet

Fin d in g a d ie t tha t w ill h e lp you r

ch ild w ill req uire t im e, pa tie n ce, an dexp erim en tat ion . We d iscuss d iets tha t

involve varying degrees of change, startingw ith elim in at in g on ly d yes. Th e m ost

restr icted d ie ts b egin by e lim in a tin g

n u m e ro u s co m m o n fo o d sa n d t h e n a d d th e m b a ck

on e by on e to id en t ify

an y tha t cause p roblem s.

Num erous s tud ies h ave

de m on s tra ted tha t som e children a rese n sit ive to dye s. Th us, you m ight start by

elim in atin g on ly foo d s (an d vitam in s,

d rugs, an d tooth p astes) tha t con taina rtificia l colorings.

Th e Fe in gold d iet , w h ich is b a se d

m ost ly on un con firm ed rep or ts from

pa ren ts an d do ctors, e lim in ates ad dit ion alad d itives, as w e ll a s sa licyla te -con tain in g

foo d s. Th at d iet e lim in a tes:

ar t ific ial color in gs (look for n am es

like Re d 4 0 an d Ye llow 5 on lab e ls)

a rtificia l flavorin gs (in clud in gvanillin, used in synthetic vanilla)

ar t ific ial swe eten ers (ace sulfam e-K,

aspartame, saccharin, sucralose)

BHA, BHT, an d TBHQ p rese rva tive s

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On e s tudy sugges t s tha t sodium be n zoate

an d be n zoic ac id sh ould a lso be on thatlist. Th e Fe in gold d ie t a lso exclud e s

certain fruits an d ve getab le s, th ou gh,aga in , stud ies h ave n ot dem on s tra ted tha t

they cause p roblem s

(see b ox on the n extpage for lists of

exclud ed an d

p erm it ted food s).

W h ile tha t d ie t

exclude s m an ycom m on foods , la te r

you can add backan y to w hich your

child is not sensitive.

On ce you h ave d ecide d w hich food san d ad d itive s you w ill e lim in a te, ch e ck a llthe foods in your refrigerator, pantry, and

cupb oards . Rem ove or d iscard an y food s

tha t con tain b an n ed in gred ien ts. Lea rn

ab out the in gred ien ts used by theres tauran ts you freq uen t , tho ugh du r in g

the test pe r iod it m ay b e b est to s t ick

m ost ly to food s you p rep are a t hom e.Ma jor fa st-food ch a in s offe r lists of th e

ingredients in their products; ask serversor call th e ir con su m e r-a ffa irs o ffice s. Th e

Feingold Association publishes lists ofse lected pa ckaged an d chain -res tauran t

foods that fit into the diet, but youll have

to b ecom e a ca reful lab el rea de r an dinquisit ive restaurant-goer to learn theingredients in your childrens favorite foods.

On ce you are se t to go, put your

ch ild (a n d th e res t of the fa m ily, if

p ossib le) on the m od ifie d d ie t for two orth ree w ee ks. Stick to th e d ie t a s ca refully

as you can . If your child m istaken ly e ats a

p roh ib ited foo d , do n t get up se t , just geth im or her ba ck on the d ie t .

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W e bega n t he Feingold diet last Thu rsday and f i nd i t re la t i ve ly easy to do . . .w h a t w a s h o ld in g m e back before??

M o nic a, W i l l iam svi l le ,N Y


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Foods Not Allowed on theFeingold Diet (partial list)*

alm o n d s cu cu m b er s p ep p er s

ap p les an d p ick les (b e ll , ch i l i )

ap r ico t s cu r r an t s p lu m s, p r u n esb er r ies (al l) gr ap es, r aisin s t an ger in es

ch er r ies n ect ar in es t ea

c lo ves o r an ges t o m at o es

co ffee p each es

aspir in (acet y l sal icy lat e) and m ed icat io ns t hatco n t ain it

o i l o f w int er gr een (m et hyl sal icy lat e; m int f lavo r ing)

* Reac t i ons to these foods a re based on uncon f i rmed repo r ts ,no t cont ro l led s tud ies .

Foods Allowed on the

Feingold Diet (partial list)Fruits

b an an a h o n eyd ew p ap aya

can t alo u p e k iw i p ear s

d at es lem o n s p in eap p legr ap efr u it m an go es w at er m e lo n

Vegetables

b ean sp r o ut s cau li flo w er p eas

b ean s (all t yp es) ce ler y p o t at o es

b eet s k ale sp in ach

b r o cco l i len t i ls sq u ash

Br u sse ls sp r o u t s le t t u ce sw eet co r n

cab b age m u sh r o o m s sw eet p o t at o

car r o t s o n io n s zu cch in i

1 3

an d p ick les (b e ll , ch i l i )


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You sh ould use a n oteb ook to keep

track of your childs behavior before andafter you p ut your ch ild on the d iet .

Prep are a score sh ee t (see b ox on n extpa ge) ba sed on com m on characte ris tics of

ADHD, bu t m od ify th at to in clud e your

ow n ch ild s m os t troub lin g b eh aviors. Usea sepa rate page for ea ch day. Note w he n

be havior problem s ar ise a n d w hich food s

your ch ild h a d ea ten rece n tly. You a lso

can a sk your ch ild s tea che r if h e o r sh e

ha s n ot iced a ny im provem en t in be havior,b ut d on t say tha t youre cha n gin g your

child s d iet u n le ss you n ee d h is or h erassistance to provide your child with

sp e cial sn a cks.

Im provem en ts in be havior shou ldse rve a s gre at p osit ive fe ed b a ck to stay onthe d ie t. Howe ve r, it m igh t jus t b e a

coin cid e n ce tha t a ch ild s b e h avior

im proved w he n the d ie t

was in t rod uced .Paren ts sho uld t ry to b e

objective and not let

the ir exp e cta t ion s colorthe ir view s o f th e ir

childs behavior.To try fo r e ven

grea te r im provem en t ,

you can t ry elim in at in gm ore of the ad d it ives or

foods that are suspected of affectingb eh avior. Likew ise, if your ch ild s b e h aviord id n ot im p rove on the in itia l d ie t , it cou ld

m ea n tha t your ch ild is n ot affected by

foo d s a t a ll or is se n sitive to oth e r foo d s.

It is a lso p os sib le th a t p roh ib ited in gre-d ien ts a re sn e akin g in to your ch ild s d ie t .

14

M y 1 1 -ye a r -o ld son f inds great joyin read ing labe ls an d d iscover ing a n e w f o o d t h a t w e

can try. Tr icia, Eldo r ado

H ill s, C A


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Behavior Date:____Scoresheet

Behavior

Easilyd is t racted byirrelevantsights an dsounds

Not p ayin gat ten t ion to

detail,mak ingmis takes

Losing o r

forgettingtoys, pencils,etc.,necessary fortasks

Restless,fidgety

Runninga round w hen

quietb eh avior orsitting isexpec ted

Difficultywaiting inline or fora turn

Adap t th is form for your ch ild s behav iors.

Mild

-1

Mode

rate

-2

Severe

-3

Possible

food

cause

Good

-0

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Try, and try again

If th e in itia l d ie ta rycha n ges h ad lit tle or n o

be n efit , an d you

exclud e d on ly d yes, t ryp utt in g you r child on the

com p le te Fe in gold d ie t. If tha tdoesnt help, the Feingold

Associa t ion , recom m en ds, ba sed o np are n ts ex p erien ces, e lim in a tin g:

corn syrup , h igh-fructose cornsyrup, a n d corn sugar (in soft

dr in ks an d o the r sweeten ed foods)

MSG (m onosod ium glu tam a te ) an d

HVP (hyd rolyzed vegetab le p rote in ,

wh ich con ta in s som e glu tam ate)

sod ium n itrite (in luncheon m ea ts )

ca lc ium prop ion a te (in b akedgoods)

Afte r seve ra l wee ks, if your ch ild sb eh avior h as im p roved , every few d ays

you could ad d b ack on e e lim in ated food orin gred ien t at a t im e to se e if it caus es a

p rob lem . You ll n e ed to re p ea t tha t two or

three t im es to con firm tha t th e food isrea lly a culp rit . Kn ow in g w h ich foo d s d on ot p ose p roblem s allows your ch ild to e at

a w id er ran ge of food s.

The few-foods diet

If your childs behavior did not

im p rove o n the Fein gold d iet you co uld trya few -foo d s die t, w h ich in volves m ore

ex ten sive restriction s. Stud ie s in d ica tetha t som e child ren are se n sit ive n ot just tofoo d ad d it ive s b ut a lso to such foo d s as :

w h ea t

eggs

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m ilk an d o the r da iry foods

ch ocola te

soyb e a n s/to fu

corn products (in c ludin g corn

sugar an d syrup)

On this d iet , you wo uld elim in ate asm an y of those food s as you can , p lus

artificial colorings and other additives.

Ch ild ren can ea t fresh m ea t an d p oult ry,

an y vegetab le (excep t corn an d soybea n s),

fruits and fruit juices (but not citrusfruit /juice a n d n ot b everages n orm ally

con sum e d da ily), r ice, an d oa ts. Yoush ou ld se e k a ssistan ce from an allergist if

you un de r take a n e lim in at ion die t ,

es p ecia lly if your ch ild h a s e czem a oroth er alle rgie s (severe rea ction s m ightoccur wh en a food is rein trod uced ).

The m ore food s you t ry to e lim in ate ,

the m ore co m p licate d it will b e to p rovid e

h ea lthy m ea ls a n d w in your child s coop er-a tion . Fortu n a te ly, m os t of th e restriction s

w ill b e tem p orary, be cau se you w ill b e

tryin g to id en t ify the food s th at d o n otcause p rob lem s, as we ll as tho se tha t do.

Kee p your child on the few -foo d s

d iet for tw o w ee ks, t ra ckin g his or h er

b eh avior u n til you n otice tw o con se cutive

d ays o f sign ifican tly im p roved b e h avior.

Again , we n ote tha t it ca n b e d ifficult tod ist in guish a n e ffect o f d iet from your

ch ild s n orm a l fluc tua tion s in b e h avior. Ifyou d o n ot no t ice an y im provem en t , you

can en d your exper im en t.

If you h ave n oted im p roved b eh avior,ad d b a ck to you r child s d ie t on e o f theelim in ated food s or a d d it ives at a t im e.

After you r ch ild h as e ate n tha t foo d for

several d ays in a row, n ote in your d iary

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19/20

an y sym p tom s tha t d evelop . If tha t food

d id n ot a ffe ct you r child , th e n con sid e r itsa fe to e a t. If you r ch ild s b e h avio r

d ete riorate d , le ave tha t foo d o ut of the d ie t

or re tes t it a gain la te r. Eve ry few d ays ad d

ba ck an other food an d kee p t rack of how

your ch ild rea cts. Grad ua lly, you m ay beab le to ide n t ify food s that d o a n d do n ot

affect your child.

If your ch ild stays on a sh arp lyrestr ic ted d iet for m ore tha n a few we eks,

you sh ou ld wo rk w ith a d iet it ian to p lan ad iet th a t provid e s all the n utrie n ts you r

ch ild n e ed s. Also , you r ch ild sh ou ld take ad aily vitam in -an d -m in eral sup p lem en t ,

w hich m akes sen se regardless of w ha t d ie t

he or she is on .

An othe r ap p roach is to fee d yourch ild th e few -foo d s d ie t un til you se e an

im provem en t. Then add back everything

d yes, wh ea t , th e wo rksfor several d aysto s e e if anyth ing triggers a reaction . If

your ch ild s b e h avior w orsen s, retu rn your

child to th e spe cial d iet a n d ad d ba ck food s

on e by on e un t il you fin d the problem s.

Finally, dont expect diet to bringab out m iraculous im provem en ts in

b eh avior. Even in kid s w h o are a ffe ctedby foo d in gre d ie n ts, elim in atin g the

culp rits often yie ld s on ly a p a rtia lim provem en t . But even par t ia l

im provem en ts could be m ost we lcom e. If

your child does not benefit significantly

from a restr icted d ie t , you sh ou ld d iscussw ith your p ed ia t r ic ian othe r t rea tm en t

op t ion s, in clud in g m ed icat ion s a n d

b eh avioral cou n se lin g.

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CSPI is a n on profit h ealth -advocacy

organizat ion . The con tents o f th is pam ph let

are not in ten ded to provide person al m edicaladvice, w hich s hou ld be obtain ed from a

qualif ied health professional.

Copyright 19 99 by CSPI

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Good NutritionW h et h er o r n o t yo u r ch ild h as A D H D o r o t h erb e h av io r al p r o b lem , h e o r sh e sh o u ld eat a n u t r it i o u sd i et . M o st c h ild r e n e at f ar t o o m an y fat t y, salt y, an dsu gar y fo o d s fr o m b u r ge r s, fr ie s, c h ee se , an d i ce

c r e am t o so ft d r in k s, p o t at o c hip s, an d can d y. A n dfe w c h ild r e n ge t t h e v it am in s, m in e r als, fi b er, an dphy tochemica ls they need f rom f ru i t s ,vege tab les ,andw h o le gr ain s. It i s im p o r t an t t o y o u r c h ild s c u r r e n tand fu tu re hea l th to ea t a rea l ly hea l th fu l d ie t (andt hat m ay m ean t hat you n eed t o im p r o v e yo u r o w n

d iet t o se t a go o d e x am p le! ). Fir st st e p s in c lu d ege t t in g r id o f t h e ju n k fo o d s in yo u r h o m e , p u t t in gfat t y and sugar y fo o ds o ff- l im i t s w hen eat ing o u t , andt u r n in g o ff t e le visi o n sh o w s r i d d le d w it h j u n k - fo o dad s. A lso , give y o u r c h il d a d ai ly v it am in -an d -m in e r als u p p le me n t .

a parent's guide to diet, adhd & behavior

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