DC: behavior and diet- where to start?

[HappyLamb]

My 5 y.o. DS is very, very, anxious. We are in the process of getting help for him, including therapy and a social skills group. However, a light bulb just went off in my head- ding!
Is it possible that some sort of "special" diet might help him? Just like many children have been helped by following the Feingold diet, is it possible that something like that might help him, as well? Maybe there is some sort of undetected food allergy that helps to trigger behavior?

I am not sure what, or where to start researching.... Any suggestions? (I know this question is kind of vague- I searched the archives and didn't really get anywhere)

[tinybutterfly]

Years ago we put ds#1 on a no corn, no milk, no chocolate diet and within 10 days he was like a different kid. Seriously.

All these years later, he eats what he wants, but he is tired and not feeling very well and I am pretty sure it's the milk. He had been overseas for about three months, had not been drinking much milk at all, they didn't have HFCS in everything over there and he felt better. Since he's been home, he's been drinking tons of milk again, even though he knows it bothers him. He finally agreed to stop drinking it for two weeks to see if eliminating makes a difference. He LOVES milk.

Also, I do Feingold personally and I feel SO MUCH better eating this way. It was worth the initial cost to get the materials ( which tell you namebrands of food that are clear of certain additives, preservatives and dyes) for me to feel so much better.

I rarely cheat because I feel so good now. And when I do cheat too much, too often, I can tell...I get anxious, cranky, depressed and I feel very unsettled.

If you check out the Feingold site, I think there is a list of always okay foods that are basically fresh, whole foods.

I'm sure some other members here will have other ideas of what might work well for your son.

Good luck!

You are right, diet can make a difference and sometimes that alone is enough.

[tanyalynn]

You may want to lurk in the Allergies forum, it's not just anaphalactic allergies, though there are plenty of kids and adults with those too. Many see behavioral reactions due to foods, though if you wanted to just jump in and try something, I'd say gluten and dairy are pretty problematic for many people.

FWIW, for me, my anxiety has been very physically-based, nutrients involved in making serotonin and related brain chemicals. So you may want to consider a high quality multi vit (or separate vitamins and minerals, whatever approach you like). Generally speaking, good quality supplements without weird additives and fillers can be found in the ASD biomed world (autism spectrum disorders), so that's one place to get ideas for brand names. I think it's a good resource for a lot of health-related ideas even in kids/adults not dealing with anything that looks ASD-like.