| Phony Food and How It Affects Your Childs Behavior By Debi Hopkins As a mother, providing healthy, nutritious meals for my family is one of the most important things I do each day. And it's not only their health that benefits from good wholesome food, but it shows in their moods too! A diet based for the most part on "phony food" that is, food that is made up mostly of highly processed white flour and white sugar, additives and colorings, is bound to have negative affects on any one, but it quickly becomes very noticeable on a young child's sensitive nervous system. So many children today are suffering from problems related to our toxic environment and the lack of proper nutrients that are essential for them to grow strong and healthy, both in body and spirit. One of the easiest ways to help our children grow strong, is to monitor closely what kind of things we allow them to eat and drink----even going so far as to keep a journal, especially if we are trying to help a child who seems to be adversely affected by their environment, and are exhibiting symptoms such as those related to ADD, ADHD, or just has trouble focusing or staying on task. First off, you will need to identify and remove the irritants or foods that are causing the behavioral symptoms, and there is no quick fix, this takes time, a good 3 weeks or so at least, before you can hope to see the real benefits. Foods containing dyes and other potentially mood altering or misbehavior provoking ingredients need to be weeded out of the family diet completely! Many young children are already "hooked" on the very foods that may cause problems, and they will go to great lengths to get to those foods that are causing them problems. A baby who always wants another bottle of milk.....or saltine! crackers by the box, or their third peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the day, or they finish off a six pack of juice flavored drinks each day.....you will need to get really creative, and find acceptable alternatives. Make this a fun time for your child, be creative, help to educate them as to why certain things may be harmful to them. Most children will willingly cooperate in making the necessary dietary changes needed to help them "heal", especially after they discover that those changes make them feel so much better. Some older children will even search out the offending ingredients on the food labels, in their effort to avoid those harmful ingredients. Studies suggest that dietary therapy can be very helpful, especially among young (preschool) children, but especially for those who suffer from things like asthma, eczema, hives, hay fever, etc. Healthy dietary changes are worth trying no matter how old your child is or how challenging the behavioral problems are that your child may be struggling with. It is certainly a safer and cheaper route to travel than using stimulant drugs, with their unhealthy short term side affects, and their unknown long term health affects. And, if your child has been eating a lot of artificially colored and highly processed foods, it will definitely be more nutritious! Numerous studies have demonstrated that some children are very sensitive to dyes. Therefore, a good place to start is by eliminating all foods and beverages, vitamins, drugs, and toothpastes that contain artificial colorings. Things like: *artificial colorings (look for names like "Red 40" and "Yellow 5" on labels) *artificial flavorings (including vanillin, used in synthetic vanilla) *artificial sweeteners (acesulfame-K, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose) *BHA, BHT, and TBHQ preservatives *sodium benzoate and benzoic acid *salicylate-containing Next, looking for the foods that might be causing problems, this is where keeping a journal really comes in handy, because any little setback needs to be noted. Some diets exclude certain fruits and vegetables, to see if they might be the culprit, remember to reassure your child that you can later reintroduce any of those foods back into their diet when you are assured that they are not ones to which are causing them harm. Once you have decided which foods and additives you will eliminate, check out all the foods in your refrigerator, pantry, and cupboards, and remove or discard any that contain banned ingredients. Make a list, keep it in your food journal, and send a copy of this list with your child if need be to school or when visiting their Grandparents or friends homes. Do not forget restaurants--- many fast-food chains offer lists of the ingredients in their products, but most mothers find it is much easier to stick to home-prepared meals during this test period. Once you have everything ready to start, put your child (and the rest of the family, if possible) on the modified diet for two or three weeks. If your child mistakenly eats a prohibited food, do not get upset--just get him or her back on the track. And remember to make notes in your journal for each day, noting things like: *Being easily distracted by background sites and sounds, *Has trouble staying on task and staying focused, *Is restless and fidgety, hyper, rowdy, uncooperative, etc. Note when behavior problems arise and which foods your child has recently eaten. If needed, engage your child's teacher in helping to monitor your child's diet and behavior, seeking to always work as a team. Some children are sensitive not just to food additives but also to foods like: *wheat *eggs *milk and other dairy foods *chocolate *soybeans/tofu *corn products (including corn sugar and syrup) Children often thrive on fresh meat and poultry, fresh or frozen vegetables (except corn and soybeans), fresh fruits (with the exception of citrus fruit and juice) and wholesome whole grains (organic if at all possible) like brown rice, spelt and oats. Forget the sugar!!! Look for natural alternatives, used in very small quantities, like real maple syrup, honey (for older children) brown rice syrup, white grape juice, dates or dried fruits that have been processed without sulfur or artificial chemicals. And try to remember, it can be difficult to distinguish between behavioral problems caused by an offending food or food additive in your child's diet, from normal fluctuations in behavior that are caused by things like low blood sugar from too long of a span of time between meals or snacks, or maybe the lack of good quality sleep, or something like the onset of a cold or the flu. Be merciful and encourage your child during this challenging time----work together, and be patient with each other. As you note improved behavior, reintroduce one of the eliminated foods or additives back into your child's diet, one at a time. After your child has eaten that food for several consecutive days, note in your diary any symptoms that develop. If that food did not affect your child, then consider it safe to eat. If your child's behavior deteriorated, exclude that food from your child's diet, or retest it again later. Every few days reintroduce another food and keep track of how your child reacts. Hopefully, over the course of those 2 or 3 weeks, you may be able to identify the foods that do and do not affect your child's moods and behavior. Because none of us has a perfect diet, even when we try our best, I strongly believe that it's very important for our children to get a good quality daily vitamin-and-mineral supplement, do the research and find one made from whole foods with no additives. Many children also show vast improvement when their diet is supplemented with things like essential fatty acids, like those found in flax oil and cod liver oil. One final note: Do not expect any diet to bring about miraculous improvements in your child's behavior. Most often times, because of the challenges that have taken place over time, caused by poor diet and lack of essential nutrients, like those acquired from being breast fed from birth, it will take many months to really see the kind of difference you are longing for. Take the time to research all you can in this area, and seek to encourage and support your family in the area of good, wholesome nutrition. May God bless you as you seek to serve your family in this area! |
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