Special diet for kids with emotional issues

[one-more-day]

Is there something I can try to take out of my dd diet that may help with some of her issues? I have a rather lengthy post in the special needs forum titled "My child" which tells about her issues. Im willing to try anything.

[one-more-day]

Ive heard people talking about food dyes, wheat, gluton and other stuff like dairy. Has anyone had success with changing a childs diet? Please share. VERY CURIOUS (or can you send me in the right direction?)

[californiajenn]

Corn, food dyes, and sugar are notorious for causing/exasperating behavioral issues. Check out the allergy forum for lots of conversations about this.

[CageFreeFamily]

You might try looking into a version of the GAPS diet. In the meantime, adding a high quality, full spectrum probiotic (like BioKult), fermented cod liver oil (like Blue Ice) and an EFA supplement can make a big difference.

There are a ton of resources out there for doing the GAPS, and modified GAPS diets.
This, with the supplements, took care of our issues with sensory integration, ADHD, Fibromyalgia and behavior/emotional peace.
We did not do the intro diet and we no longer follow the diet, but have replaced it with a Traditional Foods diet, and our symptoms are still at bay as long as we keep away from the sugar, gluten, dyes, additives and preservatives. We also make sure to eat truly organic whole foods.

[LeahBoo]

I think dyes are huge. My sister had a couple foster kids, 2 and 3, sisters. She fed them foods with sugar, wheat, dairy, etc, but never color. During day care and parent visits, they got crap, aways something with dye. The two year old didn't react poorly, she just ran in circles and bounced off walls. The three year old got defiant and MEAN. We had to separate them, or the three year old would hurt the two year old.

[one-more-day]

Thank you so much! I am going to look into these things now. Are there any food that don't have dies in them? Isn't it expensive to go organic?

[Ruthla]

You don't need to go organic to avoid dyes, although organic food is always dye-free. The only things I buy organic is candy (and sometimes in-season produce, if it's economical) because I can only get dye-free candy in organic versions.

I don't use much in the way of processed foods at all. Dried beans, fresh produce, rice, eggs, milk, and raw meats are fairly inexpensive, and completely free of additives. If you're also cutting out dairy and gluten, you can still base meals on produce, beans, and meats.

[aba]

We're on the Feingold program and it helps a LOT.  you can check it out at www.feingold.org.