ADD Food Allergy Question

The new big push is for Gluten/dairy free, but those are not the only allergens that can effect digestion. My son has a corn allergy. Which is in pretty much every processed food. Corn Syrup/sugar (high fructose or regular), corn starch, Maltodextin, Dextrose, Xantham Gum, Ascorbic Acid, Sorbitol, Invert sugar/syrup are just some of the major corn additives that you will find. I had no idea how much corn was in everything until I had to eliminate it.

I would think if the tests came out negative, you may want to look at a different allergen. Possibly Soy (which is also in everything) or Corn would be a good place to start.

Good luck.

You could try backing off on just the gluten or just the dairy separately and see whether the old problems crop up again.

I hear you on how hard these elimination diets are. When I crashed with multiple chemical and food sensitivities, I was actually following four elimination diets at once, and eating only a handful of foods that were still allowed. As I gradually felt less desperately ill, I tried bringing one type of food back at a time, allowing at least two weeks between experiments. I eventually learned which foods had to be permanently banished, and which ones I could eat occasionally. I had to keep a careful diary to sort it all out.

As you experiment, consider avoiding artificial colors and preservatives, as well. A very large and well-structured British study a couple of years ago found that these ingredients had a definite effect on susceptible kids.

Good luck. Your son is lucky to have a mom who's willing to work within his limitations. It is a challenge.

Had you already been following a gluten-free diet, when he was tested? You have to really be on a gluten diet, for the blood tests to be accurate. What kind of test did they do for Celiac? My sister tested negative, for all blood (antibody) tests. It wasn't, until they took a biopsy of her gut, that they positively diagnosed her. Also, I believe the test for dairy allergies and lactose intolerance are different. He could be lactose intolerant, but not allergic to dairy. Lactose intolerance, might not show up on the dairy allergy test.

Google for information, about elimination diets. You could pinpoint more the foods, that are giving him problems.

Google the Feingold Program. It has been amazing!

I think the moms who wrote in gave you so much great information. On another tack, if you need some recipes to make it easier while your son is gluten-free/dairy-free, I write a food blog with a dietitian, www.welcomingkitchen.com. All of our recipes are free of the top 8 allergens (including dairy) and gluten-free and vegan. We have recipes for crisps, smoothies, cookies, along with entrees. I hope this helps.

You need to start or remove one thing at a time from his diet. We started with removing the dyes. Then went on to adding the OMEGA 3 fatty oils. I got the gummy vitamins and omega 3 for him and they dont have dyes in them. We cut back on his sugar intake and started giving him black tea (we had many suggestions for caffeine intake to calm down).

My next step has been exercise, we are in the house alot. Not always watching tv, however not much running space. So jump rope, scooters, and just running around the back yard more. All these seem to be helping now.

He went from being on, blue, yellow, red (discipline colors at school) all week to now having 2 0r 3 green days at school a week. We are cracking down on discipline at home, and upping rewards. The hardest part is getting my husband on board. He is doing better about the no dyes thing but is hesitant to let me move forward with other dietary experiments.

Just keep trying one thing at a time. I made a new change every week. Kinda like introducing new foods to a baby.

There's a difference between a food allergy and a food intollerance. If you have a food allergy, you will usually have an almost immediate reaction to the food that you are allergic to. If you have food intolerance, your body will have a more low grade reaction that may occur within days of eating that particular food. A food allergy blood test will not tell you what foods you have intollerance issues with.

Sometimes when you change one thing about your diet or what supplements you take, you will have an immediate positive reaction to that one change. A lot of times, it's a combination of things that all work together that correspond with the healing effects that you are seeing.

A really good book that explains it all in a very simplified manner is The Autism & ADHD Diet by Barrie Silberberg. I highly recommend it. I would also recommend the following:

* Make one change (diet modification/supplement) at a time and stick with that change for 3 days to a week before adding something new to the mix.

* After being gluten free/casein free for a period of 3 weeks, do a challenge but adding back a little bit of gluten to your son's diet and track how he does over the course of the next several days. If you see regression or digestion issues, then you know gluten is a problem. If he's doing fine eat gluten again, wait a week or so and add dairy back into his diet and see how he does over the next several days.

* Keep a log of what he is eating, what supplements he is taking, when he is taking them and how his behavior has been. You can find a sample log on the website www.talkaboutcuringautism.org. The log will tell you everything you need to know about what's working and what's not.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me and I'll answer them the best I can.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

Sorry I can't help you much here, but I have heard that if you are not eating wheat when you have a celiac test,you will test negative even if you have the disease......something about if you are not eating wheat, then your body doesn't produce the antibodies to it....so to get an accurate test, you must be eating wheat at the time of the test (I don't know for how long prior to the test).

I would look around for a doc who will work with you on this. If you are going to have to do it on your own, I think you would have to make just one change at a time and observe him for a couple weeks to see if anything improves or worsens (yes, it can take that long for stuff to leave your system, especially dairy).

A good book on allergies is "Is this your child?" by Doris Rapp, MD. I think she has a website, I would check that out. Perhaps she can refer you to a doc in your area who follows her method.

In general I would continue to do the homecooked stuff, with good quality non-processed food--just better for everyone. Best of luck to you!

K. Z.

Join the Yahoo group FOODLAB and they will answer all your questions and be there for support too. They're really a great group!

Hi. I am going through the exact same thing with my 6 year old son. He is such a nice and personable little boy, but he can't follow directions, stay on task, and he's disruptive in class with his talking. It's the same at home. We are currently working with the school and a Dr. to determine if he may have ADHD. I am hesitant to go that route, but I want to do whatever is best to ensure he is successful in school...academically and socially.

I feel your frustration! I have been trying to change his diet in hopes that would help. I considered a Gluten Free/Dairy Free diet as well because he also gets stomach aches but not generally constipation and so do I. My husband suspected Celiacs, but we haven't been tested. Because we are a family of 8 and I do in-home daycare, a lifestyle change this drastic without confirmation it would help, didn't seem realistic. Instead, we have modified his diet by trying to eliminate as much artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, eating more fresh fruits and veggies, more nuts and almonds, and 100% whole wheat breads. Food dyes are one of my biggest concerns. We also started giving him our big fish oil pills 2x day and daily vitamins. I stopped giving him any vitamins with dyes too, and he's good about taking the adult kind. I do think I see a difference. One Saturday we allowed him to have red Powerade and he was bouncing off the walls. For me, it confirmed the food dye thing. I'd love to hear your progress as this is such a hard thing we are facing. PM me if you'd like to trade notes! Good luck!

When I worked with kids with ADHA and turrets, I found the most amazing results with a diet cutting out white flour, sugar, dairy, canned & processed goods, any artificial food dyes / colorings & preservatives- and red meats- so basically fresh foods and whole grains coupled with very limited media (a total of 3 hours or less of tv, video games & computer use PER WEEK) and increased exercise- an hour of walking, playing outside, jumping rope or sports A DAY. It was always a difficult transition for the kids and their families but so worth it in the long run! Good job trying out a natural way to help your child. It isn't easy but it is great for your child. Goodl luck!

Keep up the vitamins and supplements as long as it seems to help. Add one food at a time to see which one bothers him. Try adding dairy first for a few days. If he does fine, then try wheat/gluten. If he reacts to dairy, then take it out of his diet again and wait for a few days/weeks for his symptoms to clear. Then try putting wheat/gluten in his diet. Then you'll be able to know which one he's reacting to. My kids allergy tests didn't show up on the blood work but showed up in muscle testing. I knew what they were allergic to so I didn't pay any attention to the negative blood testing. Good luck to you!!

There are some really great responses here, so I won't add much. Just to say that its possible that sensitivities to foods like corn, dairy, or wheat may not show up in allergy tests, but may still have behavioral outcomes. My son is not allergic to any foods, but we steer clear of corn and dairy because they both turn him into a crazed energizer bunny child. Not unhappy, but won't sleep and will sit up in bed babbling and singing. He had more clear GI symptoms as a breastfed infant, but now it is all behavioral. Wouldn't show up in any blood or skin test though, I am pretty sure. My experience also makes me suspect corn more than wheat, but that is just what I figured out from my own elimination diet while he was exclusively BF. btw, he is now 3.

Good luck. Checking out Foodlab on yahoo groups is a good idea.

glad you found an answer in food issues, but that is not the cause of ADHD-I (what many people think of as ADD.) If your son had focus issues because of a food issue, it was a food issue, and not a true ADHD (of any type-there are three) at all. If your son still has some issues related to ADHD, you should assume that he also has food allegies/intolerances and that his ADHD was only aggravated to the extent that he was miserable from the allegy, and seek out standard ADHD care (that has nothing to do with food) to help him with issues related to ADHD. That would be a full developmental evaluation followed by medical care from a board certified child phsyciatrist, congnative behavioral therapy, play therapy, social skills classes,speech therapy, OT, educational and behaviroal interventions and supports. If he no longer needs the later and never had an evaluation, you can assume that he never had ADHD!

M.