Guest guest Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 , Renee Carroll <renecarol25 wrote: > > Diet does not cause ADHD. I get really tired of hearing people say that. ADHD is genetic. I'm sorry if I have to politely disagree with you, Renee. There might be a genetic component to ADHD, but it CAN, in many cases, be helped, or even CURED by diet. As thousands of families who have tried the Feingold diet, as well as other diets such as raw vegan, can attest to (and we're one of those families), diet has been a LIFESAVER for many thousands of kids labeled such things as ADHD, LD, ODD, SID, and even autistic. What goes IN a child's mouth, it only stands to reason, affects how the child functions, learns, and develops. ADHD meds can be of help in certain rare instances, but diet should always be tried FIRST. Drugging kids should NEVER be the first or only thing tried. And any diet you try should be carefully supervised by those who can help monitor your child along the way--if you go it alone, you might not be doing it right, and the diet might seem to fail, when all it needed was a bit of expert advice and " tweaking " . I have seen that happen over and over in the years we've been doing it. Even mainstream groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have recently FINALLY acknowledged the validity of what parents like us have known for YEARS--that food can and does affect our children. My son, for example, reacts most strongly to artificial colors, red apples, green grapes, and corn syrup. Might sound weird, especially to those who think it's all in their heads, or who think their brains are somehow hardwired wrong from conception. But take these things away,and you have a NORMAL 8yo. Just my view from where I sit. Marilyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 Is it possible that there are different things out there being lumped together as ADHD, some of which are diet-related and some of which aren't? From what I've heard some doctors are quick to use the label without necessarily doing the ground-work to determine if it is actually what's going on. Maybe you're all right. Heather sahmomof8 wrote: > > > <%40>, Renee Carroll <renecarol25 > wrote: > > > > Diet does not cause ADHD. I get really tired of hearing people say > that. ADHD is genetic. > > I'm sorry if I have to politely disagree with you, Renee. There might > be a genetic component to ADHD, but it CAN, in many cases, be helped, > or even CURED by diet. As thousands of families who have tried the > Feingold diet, as well as other diets such as raw vegan, can attest > to (and we're one of those families), diet has been a LIFESAVER for > many thousands of kids labeled such things as ADHD, LD, ODD, SID, and > even autistic. > > What goes IN a child's mouth, it only stands to reason, affects how > the child functions, learns, and develops. ADHD meds can be of help > in certain rare instances, but diet should always be tried FIRST. > Drugging kids should NEVER be the first or only thing tried. And any > diet you try should be carefully supervised by those who can help > monitor your child along the way--if you go it alone, you might not > be doing it right, and the diet might seem to fail, when all it > needed was a bit of expert advice and " tweaking " . I have seen that > happen over and over in the years we've been doing it. > > Even mainstream groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics > have recently FINALLY acknowledged the validity of what parents like > us have known for YEARS--that food can and does affect our children. > > My son, for example, reacts most strongly to artificial colors, red > apples, green grapes, and corn syrup. Might sound weird, especially > to those who think it's all in their heads, or who think their brains > are somehow hardwired wrong from conception. But take these things > away,and you have a NORMAL 8yo. > > Just my view from where I sit. Marilyn > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 , Heather Hossfeld <hlh4850 wrote: > > Is it possible that there are different things out there being lumped > together as ADHD, some of which are diet-related and some of which > aren't? From what I've heard some doctors are quick to use the label > without necessarily doing the ground-work to determine if it is actually > what's going on. Maybe you're all right. > Heather > ADHD is horrendously misused and overused as a label for kids. But the REAL problem, as I see it, is doctors who don't know a thing about diet, or don't believe there's a connection. And the other big problem is parents who won't try diet on their kids, or who just do SOME dietary changes, and then claim that dietary therapy doesn't work. Or parents who'd rather just give their kids dangerous narcotics, instead of feeding their kids right. I'm sure that there are kids who have different issues going on who are lumped together with the kids with TRUE ADHD. But I believe that TRUE ADHD is mostly a child (or adult) body reacting to toxins in their environment--even if others don't appear to be affected by those " toxins " (which could be as natural as a certain fruit or vegetable, and not a synthetic chemical at all!). Maybe it would be easier to think of ADHD as an " allergic " reaction to a food or environmental toxin. That " allergy " is manifested not by hives or wheezing or a runny nose, but by bedwetting, temper tantrums, learning disabilities, tics, or hyperactivity (just to name a few examples). Anyone interested about this issue should read the books by Jane Hersey, Dr. Benjamin Feingold, or Doris Rapp. Marilyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 I do believe that. That sometimes other things like food allegeries can present symptoms that appear to be ADHD or ODD. My daughter is 8 years old now and by the time she turned 4 years old she was driving me crazy with hyperactivity/impulsivity. But most of the time someone else had to deal with it sitters, teachers etc and I put up with it and managed it as best I could and got angry when other people tried to tell me to do something about it. I didn't want my kid on medication especially when I've never even let her have caffeine. I wanted everything going in her to be completely natural. Luckily we got to work with a really great psychologist who didn't believe in diagnosing everyone who thought their kid has ADHD as ADHD. And that not every kid who has ADHD needs medication. Medication is only necessary in extreme cases. We discussed diet & how some people believe that the Feingold diet helps with ADHD. And it didn't hurt to try. So I made some modifications to her diet (along with the hemp oil supplement that she is still taking) as our first line of treatment. It took months to get her on medication after I had initally brought her in to be tested & it was very frustrating at the time. Especially since in the meantime she was failling her grade and there wasn't anything else I could do about her focusing issues. But I feel more comfortable with her current treatment plan because we did go the slow road to get there. And that someone didn't just write her a prescription. Heather Hossfeld <hlh4850 wrote: Is it possible that there are different things out there being lumped together as ADHD, some of which are diet-related and some of which aren't? From what I've heard some doctors are quick to use the label without necessarily doing the ground-work to determine if it is actually what's going on. Maybe you're all right. Heather sahmomof8 wrote: > > > <%40>, Renee Carroll <renecarol25 > wrote: > > > > Diet does not cause ADHD. I get really tired of hearing people say > that. ADHD is genetic. > > I'm sorry if I have to politely disagree with you, Renee. There might > be a genetic component to ADHD, but it CAN, in many cases, be helped, > or even CURED by diet. As thousands of families who have tried the > Feingold diet, as well as other diets such as raw vegan, can attest > to (and we're one of those families), diet has been a LIFESAVER for > many thousands of kids labeled such things as ADHD, LD, ODD, SID, and > even autistic. > > What goes IN a child's mouth, it only stands to reason, affects how > the child functions, learns, and develops. ADHD meds can be of help > in certain rare instances, but diet should always be tried FIRST. > Drugging kids should NEVER be the first or only thing tried. And any > diet you try should be carefully supervised by those who can help > monitor your child along the way--if you go it alone, you might not > be doing it right, and the diet might seem to fail, when all it > needed was a bit of expert advice and " tweaking " . I have seen that > happen over and over in the years we've been doing it. > > Even mainstream groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics > have recently FINALLY acknowledged the validity of what parents like > us have known for YEARS--that food can and does affect our children. > > My son, for example, reacts most strongly to artificial colors, red > apples, green grapes, and corn syrup. Might sound weird, especially > to those who think it's all in their heads, or who think their brains > are somehow hardwired wrong from conception. But take these things > away,and you have a NORMAL 8yo. > > Just my view from where I sit. Marilyn > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 I would agree with you to certain extent, Marilyn about food and/or allergies affecting ADHD, however there are some biological differences seen in the brains of people with true ADHD. That's one reason it can be very helpful to go to a neurologist rather than a family practitioner and/or mental health practioner alone. When I was diagnosed, I went to a neurologist first. He did many tests on me. I then went to a psychologist who also tested me. Together they were able to reach the diagnosis of ADHD. Do foods affect me even though I have ADHD? Yes. I am careful to stay away from certain foods that cause me to not be able to " handle " (for want of a better word) my ADHD. That, together with behavioral modifications have helped me immensely. I did do the Aderall thing for a short time as an adult. It was horrible. It did help me but the side-effects were incredily bad. I stopped and began looking at things to help me otherwise. The thing about the stimulants is that they do help. The huge problem with the stimulants and the biggest reason not to use them on children is that they are stimulants. They have also never been tested on children over a long term period of time. Their is nothing to say how these stimulants, or even the Strettera type drugs that aren't stimulants, effect a child's body once they are adults. What are the lasting effects? No one knows. The other thing is that the drug is not addressing the whole problem. In a way, the drugs are crutches. Are the children going to take the drugs into adulthood if the condition persists (and I am proof that it can)? More than likely not. So what are we doing as parents to help them learn how to live with ADHD without drugs? Are we treating the symptoms to make it easier on us and the teachers, or are we going to teach them life-functioning mechanisms to help them for a lifetime? I have one child whom I know has ADHD and one child who is iffy. Am I going to get them tested and put them on drugs? No, I was cognizant that ADHD " could " be hereditary and any of my kids could end up with it. I am teaching them different ways to deal with it. I ask for teacher's assistance and, throughout their school " careers " all but one has been cooperative with this. None of them have tried to get me to put my children on drugs - thank goodness - most of them are against this. The behavioral mod things I do with them work well for non-ADHD children and adults too so I am notteaching them anything that makes them stick out or be ridiculed so even if my " iffy " child does nothave it, it won't hurt but will help him. I also am very aware of the food they put into their bodies. God's Peace, Gayle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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