FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK SYMPTOM DISCUSSION
Behavioural symptoms of Down Syndrome and diet
Thirty years ago, Dr Ben Feingold wrote that the
behavioural component of Down Syndrome and many other disorders may be improved
by a diet eliminating certain food additives and natural food chemicals called
salicylates. People with Down Syndrome also have a higher than average
prevalence of Coeliac Disease, see references below.
Reader
stories
[581] Three responses on behavioural effects of Down
Syndrome (September 2007)
"A great improvement in my son who has Down
Syndrome"
Your books are fantastic
and I have noticed a great improvement in my son who has Down Syndrome and was
recently diagnosed with ADD. Apparently Ritalin was our next step! This
information should be given to all Maternal Health Centres and it would save
families a lot of unnecessary arguing and disharmony! - by email
"The low salicylate diet has been a life saver for us
with our son who has Down Syndrome"
I have been reading your
website for over a year now, after stumbling across the information on sneaky
poos.
About 2 years ago our son
who is now 11 and has Down Syndrome, began soiling his pants on a daily basis,
rarely at school but often up to six times in the evening. I stumbled across
some information about Failsafe on a parenting website and when scanning
through the fact sheets, found the information on "sneaky poos" It
described our situation perfectly. So after reading lots and lots of
information on the Fed Up site, we, or should I say "I", along with
one extremely sceptical husband, set about reducing salicylates in my son's
diet to see if it made any difference. His diet was basically a salicylate
feast - spaghetti bolognaise probably 4 -5 times a week, laden with hidden
vegetables (mostly zucchini) and followed by a bowl of either grapes, strawberries
or cherry tomatoes (that was lunch), peanut butter on toast for breakfast,
dinners included tacos, lasagne with hidden high salicylate vegetables, various
stir frys with worcestershire, soy, tomato, oyster sauce etc. He was also
hugely into fruit salad. As I'm sure you've heard over and over, I thought we
were providing him with a really healthy diet and couldn't understand why he
would be unwell all the time.
Anyway we took the plunge,
and within maybe three days the soiling had ceased and there were no more
stomach aches. I was pleased with the results, however my husband still
believed it was another of my harebrained ideas until I tested the salicylates
about a month later with a huge fruit salad. My son scoffed a bowl after dinner
and another for breakfast the following day. And by lunch time the next day we
were back to square one. From that day on my husband has been as vigilant as I
am. I must admit, I missed all the summer fruits last season, but only having
one pair of undies in the wash each day is worth it.
After going low salicylate
and cutting out other nasties, we also noticed a definite behavioural
improvement in our son. One thing in particular was his change in motivation,
especially getting ready for school. Before the diet, I had a daily struggle
with him to get dressed, as if he had the choice, he would stay home every day.
After getting strict with his food, he started to just take his clothes from me
and say "thanks mum" and next thing he would be dressed.
On the strict diet, he
seems to be so much more agreeable and able to be redirected or reasoned with.
He used to lose his temper regularly especially with our older son. Now,
instead of losing his temper, he will asking calmly for help - like to find a
DVD or figure out which remote he needed to change channels. His school
teachers have commented on how well he concentrates this year, they were
unaware that we had made any changes to his diet. The teachers have also
commented that he no longer acts the fool to gain attention, and is much
happier to sit and do school work, and be like everyone else.
I have also discovered that
he is intolerant of MSG. He used to be addicted to corn chips, we cut those out
early on in our failsafe journey. When he later ate other flavoured chips I
noticed every time he had them he would cough continually for several minutes.
At first I thought he was choking on the chips, as he sometimes has trouble
swallowing but then it clicked - it was basically MSG causing an asthma attack.
The low salicylate diet has
been a life saver for us with our son. I am a huge fan of failsafe!!! - by
email
“Low salicylate diet for DS”
I have a friend who is into
failsafe also, she has a 2-year-old with Down Syndrome on a low salicylate
diet. Behaviour can be a definite challenge when it comes to DS and I'm sure
most families never suspect food intolerance as a contributing factor. - by
email
[We would welcome more stories about DS; to the woman
in Western Australia whose DS son is both failsafe and coeliac, I'm sorry, I
lost your story in a computer crash, could you send it again please - Sue]
What the
medical journals say
• Feingold BF. Dietary management of nystagmus. J
Neural Transm. 1979;45(2):107-15.
Dr Feingold proposed that 'a variety of neurologic and
neuromuscular disturbances (grand mal, petit mal, psychomotor seizures; La
Tourette syndrome; autism; retardation; the behevioral component of Down's
syndrome; and oculomotor disturbances)' may be induced by food chemicals such
as artificial colours and flavours, synthetic antioxidants, preservatives and
foods containing the salicylate radical 'depending upon the individual's
genetic profile and the interaction with other environmental factors'.
• Zachor DA and others, Prevalence of celiac disease
in Down syndrome in the
Numerous studies in
Further
reading
The diet recommended on this website is the Royal
Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) elimination diet which is free of colours,
preservatives, synthetic antioxidants and flavour enhancers; low in
salicylates, amines and natural glutamates; and avoids perfumed products. See failsafe eating.
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 September 2007
