Posted by Pam in N.FL. on 6:51 Jan 16
In Reply to: Special Diets (Feingold; Gluten and Casein-free; Etc.) posted by MicheleB
Both my boys are feingold stage 2 (no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, sweeteners), plus a few other foods they need to avoid individually (oats & plums for ds10, gfcf and apples and pineapples for ds8). My ds10 is 'normal' but I could get him an adhd dx in a heartbeat if I fed him the 'right' (meaning wrong) foods and then took him in for an eval. My ds8 has autism, and what he eats makes a huge difference in how well he does.
Our neighbor in MD was told be her dd's first grade teacher (who was also the mom's best friend, so knew the little girl VERY well in a variety of settings) to have her dd evaluated for ADD. She was freaking out. I suggested feingold just for grins and giggles. Two weeks later she said her dd was a different child. Everyone could tell when she 'cheated' on the diet after that--the ADD symptoms returned, along with a mild stutter she had (and which disappeared when they tried the diet).
My ds's 2 best friends are also very affected by colors in particular. One of them can even tell what each color does to him personally (and others can see it as well): red makes him hyper, yellow makes him aggressive, blue makes him nervous. That boy is NOT doing feingold, but is aware of the affects foods have on him, and chooses what to eat based upon what reactions he personally feels like dealing with that day. He has an ADHD dx and used to be on meds, but currently is not.
The other boy is affected by colors very much so, but his little brother is not affected by them at all (or at least not that anyone can really tell). So, it really can vary from person to person, even within a family. But I do know quite a few people IRL who are very much helped when they follow the feingold diet.
As for gfcf, that does make a huge difference for my ds on the spectrum. Milk/dairy in particular were troublesome for him. Dairy products not only affect his gut, but they affected his language development (he didn't talk until he went off milk) and his temperament. Milk would make him go from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde. It would take 12-18 hours, and it would last for 3-5 days after that. He's been gfcf for almost 6 years now, and the reaction to gfcf infractions is slight now rather than monstrous. We tried reintroducing gluten back into his diet a couple years ago, we thought with success initially, but after a few weeks it became apparent that minor infractions were no big deal, but repeated infractions accumulated over time were. We did one milk/dairy challenge during that time, and it was ugly. So, he's gfcf pretty much for life, though, like I said, we don't have to prepare for WWIII when there's a minor infraction now. Pop him some enzymes and no one other than us will notice at this point.
One thing I'd like to say, though, is that for each of my boys it wasn't JUST gfcf and/or feingold. Oats are a big problem for my 'normal' ds, and apples in particular make my son on the spectrum a total space cadet for days. It's as important for them to avoid those as it is to do feingold and be gfcf (for the one).
HTH
Pam
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