any diet changes (besides eliminating artificial color) that impact behavior?

[Anonymous]

hello! i am interested in experiences that folks have had with diet positively impacting behavior. we already don't do artificial color/flavor in our house, but i am tempted to try and go wheat free just to see if it helps. child with ADHD, btw.

[Anonymous]

You might want to go gluten free. My ADD nephew is on this diet and have seen much improvement. It is complicated and expensive. Check out Living Without magazine. They have a quick start guide and receipt database online.

[Anonymous]

We went gluten free for my son, it's actually not that hard but the items are a bit more expensive. We all felt a little better, little more energy.
DS is soooo much better without it. We noticed in a few days and even neighborhood dads noticed a difference.
Some easy changes: most Chex are gluten free, udi and rudi brand breads (whole foods, trader joes, and giant carry these) the breads arent great, but some arent bad heated up trader joes has a good gluten free hamburger bun that we use for sandwiches
brown rice pasta (trader joes or tinkyada brand)
Mostly for lunches we do turkey roll-ups with mustard around a cheese stick as opposed to sandwiches.
Betty Crocker has a gluten fre cake mix which is decent
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

As others suggested, don't just remove wheat, try removing all types of gluten. If you go gluten free do it gradually. Often behaviors can get worse before they get better and some kids get sick as gluten is leaving the system. You might want to try going dairy free or at least changing to only organic dairy.

[Anonymous]

PP again...you may also want to consider fish oil supplements for ADHD. I would also try to only eat organic meat or at least grass fed beef and cage free chicken and eggs.

Avoid high fructose corn syrup and try to decrease sugar intake. Watch out for MSG too.

We found in addition to what is mentioned...decreasing yeast containing foods helped, but our child has digestive issues.

If you do major diet changes like gluten and dairy free you may want to consult with an open minded doctor and/or nutritionist to make sure your child gets all the needed nutrients.

[Anonymous]

Have you read the book What's eating your child? by Kelly Dorfman? I am reading it right now and I am finding it very helpful and informative. It is important to find an open minded doctor as a PP suggested. Our regular pediatrician whom I really like is not very openminded about this stuff so I am going to seek out someone who is more integrative to work on this aspect of my children's health.

[Anonymous]

The GAPS diet has been very successful for some people.

[Anonymous]

I've heard the Feingold diet has worked for some as well.

[Anonymous]

How old is your child, OP? It can be difficult for people on GF diets to get enough fiber.

You may want to talk w/a developmental pediatrician b/f making any drastic diet changes.