Mood From Food?

By Christine L. Pollock
Web Exclusive

“He giggled!” Melissa Cole told me. “My son actually giggled. He’s never done that before–he’s always had an uncontrolled laugh. I almost cried when I heard it.”

Five-year-old Michael Cole’s behavior had been unusual since he was a few months old. His parents first noticed that he pushed them away at feeding times and didn’t want to be touched, even when he was hurt. Their son was very sensitive to change and would become completely uncontrollable if something unusual happened. Melissa and Aron Cole felt like they were terrible parents.

When he entered kindergarten, Michael had an aide to help him function in the classroom. He was in counseling to learn how to cope socially. He needed a therapist to help with his fine motor skills. Doctors couldn’t give a definitive diagnosis, but his parents knew something was amiss.

Although Michael had many signs of autism, the doctors had ruled that out. One day, Aron came home and suggested testing Michael for food intolerances and allergies.

They went to a Naturopathic doctor for testing. The results showed that Michael had intolerances to many different foods including almost all dairy products and most grains. When these foods were removed from his diet, Michael improved dramatically.

The giggle at the dinner table, when Michael was five and a half years old, was one of Michael’s first signs of improvement. Soon after that, he was functioning normally in a classroom, without an aide. Now, two years later, he is a happy boy who asks his parents for hugs. He fits in naturally with his peers. The answer was there all the time – right in the food he ate.

For years I had heard of the benefits of healthy diets, and my kids seemed all right--except for one son with asthma. Why should I change? I talked to several of my friends who have studied food and its effect on children, and started to understand the importance of good nutrition in the modern world.

“You couldn’t do it if someone paid you,” my inner voice-of-reason taunted me. I want to prove that voice wrong. A self-proclaimed Queen of Marshmallow and Peanut Butter Sandwiches can turn into Granola Mommy. At least, I think she can.

Dr. Irmgard Howard, a biochemist with a PhD from Duke University, became interested in nutrition and its effects on behavior after reading some magazine articles in Organic Gardening and Farming and Prevention. Dr. Howard studied journals, magazines, and books to learn more about additives. She kept current with the FDA statements about food, and she closely checked labels.
She suspected that one of her children might have a food sensitivity. After observing her child’s reactions to certain foods, Dr. Howard detected a behavioral reaction to the additive gum acacia, and to natural tomatoes. Gum acacia is often used as a thickener in candies and pharmacy products. The tomato sensitivity ran in the family.

Dr. Howard understood the distinction between food allergies and food intolerances (sensitivities). The basic difference between an allergy and intolerance is in how your body handles the food. In an allergy, the body considers the food as a foreign substance and tries to fight it. Symptoms showing the fight against the invasion range from hives to vomiting.

When a person has a food intolerance, the symptoms are much less visible. An intolerance can be caused by the body’s inability to really digest the food. This is usually due to a biochemical insufficiency. The symptoms of intolerance range from stomach cramping, shifts in mood, headaches, to hyperactivity.
Although many allergies and intolerances are hereditary, each child can react differently. Emma (name changed for privacy) is the mother of three children ages five, three, and one. One has food allergies, one has food intolerances, and the third does not appear to have any reactions to food.