FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK FACTSHEET
Fish oils, vitamins and vegetables
1.
Fish Oils
Q. Is it possible that a fish oil
supplement could have caused an increase in my three year old Aspergers son’s
behaviour problems? It may purely coincidence but it appears that his behaviour
seriously deteriorated (started waking at night, stopped using the toilet and
was doing almost all his wees and poos in his pants, generally out of control
behaviour such as hyper, loud, aggressive, hitting, yelling, squealing) when we
started giving him the fish oil and it improved - or rather went back to what
is was before the fish oil- a couple of days after we stopped giving it to him.
A. Fish oil is thought to benefit
about 30 per cent of children with learning or behaviour problems. Others can
be badly affected due to the presence of natural salicylates (in ingredients
such as thyme oil, evening primrose oil and lemon or lime flavouring) and
natural amines in fish oils. Failsafers have reported adverse reactions
including behaviour problems, depression and migraines to a range of fish oil
products. See below for reader reports regarding children's reactions. Some
families do a fish oil challenge for a week or more while keeping a careful
food and symptom dairy - at the end of the time, parents can review the diary
and decide whether their child is better or worse.
[454] 'Wanted to warn others'
about fish oil capsules (August 2006)
Previous to the diet, on the recommendation of our pediatrician we tried
fish oil capsules for 4 weeks with good results for concentration. We stopped
using the fish oil supplement when we started the diet as we wanted a clear
reading of what it would do. (We were very much non believers at this stage).
The difference on the diet was amazing and we did the diet very successfully
for over three months. We were into our second challenge when I reintroduced
the fish oil thinking nothing of it as it was recommended along with diet by
the pediatrician. We never got back to where we started even after four weeks
of strict diet. We came off it thinking it was possibly a one off and his body
had adjusted to the diet. We have paid heavily for it, forgetting what life was
like before the diet. My son is unhappy and we even began Ritalin trials
feeling that we had exhausted all avenues. Then a friend who is also a
failsafer was told by a doctor at the RPA Allergy Clinic that there is a problem
with fish oil and I just wanted to warn others who may fall into the same trap.
We have begun the diet again today and my son is happy to go back on it even
though he knows it means no McDonald parties and fruit and pizza which are his
favourites. Thank you for giving us another option, and this fabulous website
which makes the daunting task much easier.
[440] "my son had an
horrific reaction to fish oil " (August 2006)
I complained to the Adverse Medications Events hotline (thru your
website) about the fact that the label on a particular brand of fish oil
supplements says free of salicylates and amines and they were most sympathetic
and helpful. They asked the Queensland Nutrition Council to investigate and
discovered that not only does the lemon and lime flavouring contain salicylates
and amines, but so does the tuna, and how high depends on whether the tuna is
fresh or canned. As I told you, my son had an horrific adverse reaction to it,
and was waking up through the night on it - in fact, he asked me if he could
stop taking it. I tried lowering the dose to a teaspoon in the morning only
(two teaspoons recommended morning and night), and it made no difference, so I
stopped it. The AME spokesperson told me she had written to the company
involved asking them to justify their claim. She also told me the product has
been withdrawn in the
[439] "Migraines due to
amines including fish oil" (August 2006)
My daughter has had migraines since she was about three years old. We
had no idea what they were for several years. She usually gets a fever with her
migraines and because of the fever the doctor would always put it down to 'a
virus', prescribing painkillers. I would often give her panadol for four days
straight just to keep the headaches at bay. She goes limp and listless, her
eyes droop, she lies there and sleeps for hours until the panadol wears off and
then the pain and fever return. Most times she will scream and cry at me
grabbing her forehead, pleading with me to take the pain away. “Mummmy Mummy my
heads hurts, please stop it.”
A year after she started getting the migraines, we were referred to a
paediatrician who could find no medical reason for them. He thought it may have
been an attention grabber or perhaps the start of a cold. He was at a loss too.
He asked me to diarise her migraines. The migraines continued on and off with
no regular pattern that I could work out. Once a week, then maybe another in 6
weeks times, then two months. It varied greatly. Two years later we started
taking a fish oil supplement [not the same brand as the one mentioned in the
two stories above]. The migraines became more frequent and she started throwing
up with them. She would go to sleep with a migraine, wake at
On the second day of the amine challenge, my daughter got a migraine,
fever, droopy eyes and became listless. School rang and asked me to collect
her, again. She stayed unwell for several days with the headache. Since the end
of the amine challenge three months ago we haven’t had one migraine! So, no
more amines for my daughter. It turns out that the fish oil supplement has
amines in it which is why her migraines would have become so frequent and
regular. I was giving her six capsules per day for three months as per
instructions. - mother of a seven year old
2.
Vitamins
Q. The local Amcal pharmacist said
that the Amcal One-a-Day tablet is only
for adults and is not recommended for children.
She said to check with my doctor before giving it to my daughter. She also said they have one for children but
of course it is flavoured. Can you confirm that this multivitamin is okay for
children or should I check with my doctor?
A.
You can check with your dietitian or email confoodnet@ozemail.com.au for our
list of supportive dietitians. For children, dietitians generally recommend
half doses of Amcal One-a-Day, Elevit pregnancy supplements or Macro-M
multivitamin and mineral supplements. Unlike megavitamins, all of these
supplements contain low dose vitamins and minerals at the close to the
recommended daily allowances. For example, there are 75 mg of Vitamin C in one
tablet of Amcal One-a-Day, so the dose for children is 37.5 mg. Recommended
daily allowances of vitamins vary slightly between countries. The current US
recommended daily allowance for Vitamin C is:
30 mg for babies under 6 months
35 mg for babies 6-12 months
40 mg for children 1-3
45 mg for children aged 4-10
50 mg for children 11-14
60 mg for over 15
Other vitamins and minerals will be in roughly the same
proportion, and these supplements are free of added preservatives, colours or
flavours, unlike supplements designed specifically for children.
3.
Vegetables
Q. How will my child get enough Vitamin
C without fruit juice?
A. Many fruit and vegetables including
potatoes contain varying amounts of Vitamin C and other nutrients. When three
year old Ethan from
Before Ethan started on his elimination diet, he was such a
fussy eater that his mother had worried about his nutrition. At the age of
three, Ethan was diagnosed with autism and severe communication disorder
(‘basically just a few words’). After five months on his new diet, Ethan’s
language was age appropriate, he made good eye contact and his frequent
tantrums had disappeared. ‘It was much easier than I expected,’ said his mother
Darani, ‘and the improvements in Ethan have been huge. He’s a completely
different child’.
Ethan’s Menu
Breakfast: Soy smoothie with soymilk, carob powder, pear and
egg or gf toasted bread or rice flake porridge with pear puree and soymilk
Lunch at school: 4 rice cakes, home-made hummus or chickpeas
and cashew with carob or gluten free sandwich with rissoles
Morning /afternoon tea: soy yoghurt or pear muffin (Margie's
lunchbox muffins) or baked muesli slice or pureed pear icypole or packet plain
crisps (only on treat days)
Dinner: hearty chicken noodle soup (see recipe below) or
spaghetti with failsafe topping or baked dinner or rice crumbed chicken nuggets
and chips or mince and potato casserole with hidden green vegies
Darani’s
hearty chicken noodle soup/stew
This highly nutritious meal was 3 year old Ethan’s favourite
during his elimination diet and he ate it nearly every day.
1 whole free-range chicken
1 leek (halved lengthways)
1 tsp salt
1 cup red lentils
12 brussel sprouts or approx 1/2 cabbage
1 swede
4-6 sticks celery
4-6 shallots
1 cup frozen green beans
375g pkt Orgran rice and corn (5%) spaghetti noodles or
Fantastic rice noodles
Place chicken in pot with leek and enough water to cover,
add salt, bring to the boil and simmer until cooked through, about 45 minutes.
Remove chicken and allow to cool a little. Strain stock, return to pot and add
red lentils, then washed and finely chopped vegetables. Gently simmer until
well cooked, about one hour. Meanwhile, remove skin and bones from chicken,
finely chop or process and return to pot with vegetables. Add noodles and cook
for a further 10-15 minutes. This usually makes enough to fill about 8
rectangular Chinese take-away containers (2 serves in each for my son) which I
then freeze and use as needed. Soup is very thick, more like stew really, and
can be watered down a little if preferred.- Darani
Note that you can blend this soup (without the noodles) for
extra fussy eaters.
Hiding the vegetables
Research shows that new vegetables need to be introduced to
children about ten times, on average, before they will learn to eat them - so
never give up. The best way to get
vegetables into difficult kids is to hide them.
Mothers say the best hiding places are:
• failsafe mince
• home-made pies
• blended vegetable soup
• chopped small or blended in chicken noodle soup (see
Darani’s hearty chicken noodle soup)
• mashed potato
• blended kidney bean sauce or Howard's bean paste - see
below for nutrition considerations
• savoury muffins - replace in the sugar in your usual
muffin recipe by 1/2 tsp salt and add finely diced safe veggies such as
chokoes, brussels sprouts, potato, green beans, etc
(see recipes in the Failsafe Booklet)
Kidney beans every day
keep the doctor away
Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of beneficial natural
antioxidants not to be confused with nasty synthetic antioxidants like BHA 320.
Natural antioxidants can neutralise free radicals known to cause cancer. In
2004, researchers from the US Department of Agriculture rated 130 common foods
for the antioxidant power. Three of the top five entries were failsafe. Beans
and nuts scored particularly high and of those, red kidney beans are
exceptionally good value. Coming in at number three, and as the only dried
beans that don't cause wind, they contained more than three times the
antioxidant power of apples. Most of the top 20 were beans, nuts or berries.
|
Rating |
Food |
Antioxidant capacity
in TE units
(tocopherol equivalents) |
|
2 3 5 11 17 18 |
mexican red beans red kidney beans pinto beans black beans black-eyed peas red delicious apples |
14,920 failsafe 14,412 failsafe 12,358 failsafe 8,040 failsafe 4,342 failsafe 4,257 moderate in salicylates |
Research shows that antioxidants such as Vitamin E, Vitamin
C and betacarotene in supplements do not have the same beneficial properties of
fruit and vegetables. More information: Lisa Melton, The Antioxidant Myth, New
Scientist,
FOR MORE DETAILS:
You can see Darani and Ethan in the interviews on our DVD
Ask Darani for a booklet of Ethan’s recipes, email: darani@xceltek.net.au
See more vegetable-hiding recipes in the Failsafe Booklet
under FAILSAFE EATING on www.fedup.com.au.
The information given is not intended as
medical advice. Always consult with your doctor for underlying illness. Before
beginning dietary investigation, consult a dietician with an interest in food
intolerance. You can find a supportive dietitian through the Dietitians
Association of
© Sue Dengate update December 2006
