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Fed Up with ADHD How food affects
children and what you can do about it Sue Dengate's bestselling books have helped thousands of families. Now in Fed Up with ADHD, Sue documents the personal story behind the books and her 20-year quest for recognition of the harmful effects of food chemicals, which can cause severe problems in children. And it's not just junk food. Natural food chemicals in some fruit and vegetables can also affect children. By following the step-by-step guide to the elimination diet included in this book, parents can help their children to be free of a wide range of health and behavioural problems. |
NOTE THAT THIS BOOK IS OUT OF PRINT. TRY YOUR
LOCAL LIBRARY IN
You might think that…
Your kids aren't affected by food
How do you know? When natural and synthetic food chemicals are eaten
every day, the effects are accepted as normal and parents often think, 'that's
just our kids'.
Your family eats healthy foods
Are you certain? Even our daily bread, butter and fruit can affect some
children.
Only a few kids with ADHD are affected by food
Wrong. Food can affect anyone and particularly
in children can cause:
- forgetfulness,
learning difficulties
- distractedness,
restlessness, silly noises
- short
fuse, temper outbursts, defiance
- anxiety,
depression, panic attacks
- rocking,
hand flapping, face blindness
- difficulty
going to sleep, night waking
- grizzly,
whiny and demanding behaviour
- bad
attitude, lack of motivation
- skin
rashes, headaches, stomach aches
- asthma,
frequent colds, flu, ear infections.
Fed Up with ADHD was released
in February 2004 as an extensive update of Different Kids, first
published in 1994. Check out the support available on the website, through
regular newsletters and email support groups.
'Ever wondered about the numbers on food labels? This book reveals many
of the answers' New Idea
'A reminder to all parents to take a closer look at what their children
are eating' Melbourne Age.
ISBN 9781740512305 SUBJECT Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder; ADHD; diet therapy; food additives PAGES 260 PUBLISHER
Random House Australia PUBDATE 2004
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Ordering
information: Sue Dengate's books are
usually available from all good bookstores in The DVD Fed Up with Children’s Behaviour is
available through this website or from stores
listed below, or by ordering at any Angus & Robertsons bookstore.
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INTRODUCTION
from Fed Up with ADHD
Over the last forty years, an increasing number of mothers have
discovered that their children who don't bring them the joy they expect.
Instead, their children are demanding or defiant, forgetful or anxious,
irritable or restlessness. Maybe they don't do well at school, or perhaps they
are difficult to live with. They're all different, but they share one
characteristic - they make life hard for their parents and teachers.
At first, experts told us it was our fault. If we couldn't control our
children, it was because we weren't firm enough. We just needed to learn better
behaviour management. Then they told us that our children had been born with a
chemical imbalance in their brain which must be treated with medication. They
were encouraged by drug companies which spend millions of dollars a day
promoting their products to doctors.
'What about food?' some parents said. There are hundreds of additives in
our food and thousands of chemicals in our air, soil and water which weren't
there forty years ago. Funded by the giant food industry, a few experts in the
1970s carried out some studies and concluded that children's behaviour wasn't
affected by foods. Those who disagreed were ignored.
The US Food and Drug Administration is the world's most powerful food
authority. In a booklet co-sponsored by the food industry, the FDA says that
food colours don't affect children's behaviour. Independent scientists
disagree. There is overwhelming evidence of the effects of foods on children's
behaviour and anyone who says otherwise is out of date.
In 2002, research with Isle of Wight preschoolers found that children
could be affected ny colours and preservatives whether they had ADHD or not,
that avoiding additives could be as effective as some forms of medication and
it was estimated that the prevalence of ADHD might be reduced from 15 to 6 per
cent by removing certain additives from the diet. In the following year, when
additive-free food was provided for an entire primary school class for two
weeks, nearly 60 per cent of the children improved.
Most people talk about diet versus medication for behaviour problems,
but the question should be: which diet? There are as many diets as there are
allergy clinics. Some are much better than others. This book is about my
search. It took me eleven years to find the most effective - and best
researched - diet in the world from an allergy clinic in Sydney. I call it the
Failsafe diet because that's what the diet is: Free of Additives and Low in
Salicylates, Amines and Flavour Enhancers.
I had never heard of salicylates but for most children with behaviour
problems, salicylates are at least as important as food additives. Salicylates
are natural pesticides produced by plants to protect themselves against insects
and diseases. We all know that artificial pesticides can affect people, but it
is harder to understand that natural pesticides can affect some people too.
Salicylates are in most plant foods such as fruits and vegetables. A
group of food chemicals called amines also occur in some fruit and vegetables
as well as protein foods such as cheese. Amines may be associated with
impulsive and aggressive behaviours in some children. Foods we consider healthy
are not necessarily the best for our children.
Then there are the additives which have crept in to our foods -
preservatives, colours or flavour enhancers in foods as basic as our bread and
butter. Whether you feed your family junk food or healthy food, you might
unknowingly be fuelling your child's behaviour and learning problems. People
think they will know if their children are affected by food chemicals because
they will see reactions, but that's not what happens. Parents rarely see the
connection.
In the US, nearly one child is five is estimated to have developmental,
behavioural or learning disabilities such ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder), developmental coordination disorder (CD), oppositional defiant
disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), Asperger's disorder, Tourette's disorder,
autism, PDD (pervasive developmental disorder), anxiety, depression or bipolar
disorder. Some children don't have any diagnosed disorders, but they can be
moody or defiant.
Many of the symptoms of food intolerance overlap with the symptoms of
the disorders above. It is possible to have food intolerance by itself or in
association with other conditions.
If your child's behaviour is related to food intolerance, then the
failsafe diet will take care of the food-related symptoms but you may need
other inventions such as behaviour management, special education, and motor
sensory programs. Parents report that other interventions are much more
effective once the diet has kicked in.
FOOD INTOLERANCE AND BEHAVIOUR
The quiet ones
• inattention, forgetfulness, unexplained tiredness, difficulty
concentrating • anxiety, depression, panic attacks.
May be diagnosed with inattentive ADHD
The restless ones
• irritability • restlessness • inattention • difficulty settling to
sleep, restless legs, night waking, night terrors.
May be diagnosed with hyperactive ADHD
The defiant ones
• losing temper • arguing with adults • refusing requests and defying
rules • deliberately annoying others • blaming others • touchy and easily
annoyed • angry and resentful • spiteful and vindictive.
May be diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Other symptoms of food intolerance include low muscle tone in muscles
associated with coordination, handwriting, reading, speech, bladder and bowel
control and ailments such as headaches, rashes and asthma.
It makes sense to get rid of the problems caused by foods before
deciding which management strategies or medication to use for the symptoms that
are left - if any.
Part of this story appeared in my first book, Different Kids, which was
about my search for the magic answer to my daughter's problems. Thousands of
families have found it was their magic answer too, and you can read some of
their stories on my website www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info., like this report
from a teacher about her Asperger's son:
'He is thinking more clearly, acting more rationally, is more
cooperative, is confident socially, and generally just a nicer kid to be
around. I wish the parents of the students at my work were fully informed of
the benefits that the failsafe diet can have both for the child and on family
life.'
Many readers wrote to ask me 'how is your daughter now?' This book tells
the story of how our children and others with behaviour and learning problems
have been helped to become motivated and happy young adults, despite
authorities who continue to deny and ignore the harmful effects of food
chemicals.
Australia has the third highest use of food additives - and ADHD
medication - in the world, after the USA and Canada., and the use of additives
continues to increase. During my quest, two more additives have quietly become
widespread throughout our food supply with devastating results for some
consumers. Parents who want to protect their children from the harmful effects
of food chemicals must do it for themselves. To find out how, please read on …
Now read on…
