Can you imagine? You visit a prison in Israel. In one cell there is car thief. In next cell there is a mass murderer. And in next cell there is a guy who tested someone for food allergies. Now that’s pretty strong opposition!

Do Food Allergies Really Exist?

The formal medical societies like AMA claim there is no such thing as food allergies. Rapp and her friends have been screaming for decades that they do exist. So, what is bottom line? Does it really make sense that what a child eats can affect him so strongly that experts will diagnose him as having ADHD?

We know that brain is a highly complicated and sensitive organ. We know that many foods have a physiological effect on body without inducing a classic allergic response. For example, people who are sensitive to monosodium glutamate can have a severe reaction to eating it. The chemicals in red wine affect certain people. We also know that ingesting certain foods alters brain function. Diet has been proven to influence neurotransmitter function. Components of foods can also be used as drugs. For example, tryptophan, tyrosine, and choline have been used in treatment of sleep disorders, pain, depression, mania, hypertension, shock, or dyskinesias.

The logic of Rapp’s argument is so strong and there is enough circumstantial evidence, that I feel that question is really other way around. We know that brain is intricate and has tremendous metabolic requirements. We know that some people have very strong reactions, including behavioral changes, to certain foods. These things are undisputed. If it turns out that foods do not elicit significant problems in sensitive children, in my opinion, we would need to explain why not!

Are we really seeing an allergy mechanism to food? I prefer to stay out of that debate. Rather than be ostracized by doctors who specialize in allergy, I feel it is safer to call them food sensitivities. There are no doctors who specialize in sensitivity.

Does Your Child Have Food Sensitivities?

A large number of ADHD children may be having a negative response to food, and this response may be primary cause of their ADHD. In what type of child should you suspect food allergies?

The following is a list of symptoms that resulted from food allergies in certain children:

Hyperactivity Changes in mood Halitosis Sleep disturbances Delay in sleep onset Migraines Other headaches Abdominal pain Bedwetting Tantrums Eczema Asthma Seizures

Research shows that by treating food allergies all of these symptoms can be relieved.

If you see your child’s symptoms in this list it is possible that food allergies may be contributing to his problem. If your child also has other allergic problems, such as allergy or asthma, then food allergies are almost certainly contributing to his problems.

What Should You Do?

As I wrote in How to Help Child You Love, there are a number of approaches to diagnosing food allergies. None of them are well substantiated and all of them have difficulties. Yet, many people find that these diagnostic techniques worked for them. Therefore, I’d suggest you could use them provided you have it on good authority that person administering them has a strong record of success. In my experience, these techniques are more of an art than a science. They really depend upon talent of diagnostician.

As I said last time, best approach to finding food allergies in your child is an elimination diet. It doesn’t really matter which one you choose. I prefer three that I outline in How to Help Child You Love. (see http://addadhdadvances.com/childyoulove.html)

Conclusion

Researchers claim that percentage of ADHD children whose behavioral symptoms are affected by foods ranges from 60% to 75%. This, however, is probably not an accurate number. Parents who consent to have their children participate in diet studies usually believe they have observed food-induced problems in their children. Therefore, children who participate in these studies are more likely to respond to foods than general population. The truth is we do not know what percentage of ADHD children will respond to dietary changes, but it seems that number is significant.

Treating food sensitivities in ADHD children has a number of advantages over using medication. One major advantage all current methods of treatment can be used to treat pre-school children. Most clinicians do not use medication on pre-school children. A more significant advantage of treating food allergy is that when it works, it works all day. In contrast, Ritalin wears off in about 4 hours.

All this, of course, is providing that food allergies really do exist.

The main thing to remember is that if you think your child has food allergies, then biggest mistake you can make is to go to an allergist. They don’t believe in food allergies. And whatever you do, do not go to an allergist and ask to have your child provocation-neutralization tested for food allergies. He is going to laugh at you.

Food allergy is an alternative medicine diagnosis. Still, there are physicians who specialize in diagnosing and treating these sensitivities, but they no longer call themselves allergists. Rapp and her group were so ostracized by formal allergy societies that they eventually broke off and formed a new field called Environmental Medicine.

Therefore, if you want a physician to treat your child you need to find an Environmental Medicine specialist. They are not so common, but they are around.

As I mentioned before, there are a number of approaches to treating food sensitivities. The one you can do yourself is to use an elimination diet. I devoted a large section of How to Help Child You Love describing exactly how to use elimination diets to diagnose and treat food sensitivities.

In final analysis, I feel it is fair to say that many ADHD children have sensitivities to foods they eat. These sensitivities may exacerbate their ADHD symptoms. I won’t go so far as to say that food allergies cause ADHD. That means that if your ADHD child has severe food sensitivity, treating that sensitivity may not get rid of his ADHD. However, until you treat his food allergy, nothing else you do will really help your child’s ADHD, either.

Anthony Kane, MD

ADD ADHD Advances

Conclusion

What is bottom line? Feingold’s hypothesis is still very controversial. However, based on current evidence, a good argument can be made that food additives may cause health and behavior problems in certain children. Does this mean that food additives are a cause of ADHD? More importantly, does avoiding these additives correct ADHD?

Feingold attributed 50% cases of ADHD to food additives. Probably number is closer to 5%. That means Feingold diet will help only one out of 20 children. That may not sound like much, but if my child were that one, it would be good enough for me. So what should do about all of this? For what I am about to say I will probably be permanently banded from Feingold Association. I have already been reprimanded for suggesting that other things besides food dyes also may cause ADHD.

My final opinion on Feingold program is that it is right direction, but it has certain flaws.

As I discuss in How to Help Child You Love, there are numerous things that can cause food sensitivities. However, each child probably has no more than four or five things that cause him serious problems. To recommend that every ADHD child permanently eliminate all of dozens of foods and additives that have been shown to cause problems in some children seems to me to be a bit of an overkill. It is analogous to saying that since there are children who are allergic to cats, no child should ever own any pet.

If there is one common theme that goes through everything that I write, it is this: ADHD children are individuals. No two children are alike. Therefore, each child has to have his own personal treatment program.

When it comes to treating ADHD, general protocols do not apply. That is why I started program, How to Help Child You Love (http://addadhdadvances.com/childyoulove.html). I wanted to give you as a parent a way to choose from all available treatment options to find which particular treatments will help your child. I also wanted to do this in such a way that you would have easy access to me no matter where in world you live, so that you could ask your questions. That is why I published it online.

The bottom line is that principals of Feingold should be incorporated into a more comprehensive food elimination diet. Which elimination diet? There are dozens of them out there. It doesn’t really matter which one you choose. I prefer three that I outline in How to Help Child You Love, for a number of reasons.

First, I feel these diets are quickest way to pinpoint which particular foods are causing problems for your child. Why should you struggle and restrict your child’s diet to only a few “safe” foods when only three or four things cause him problems.

The other advantage of diets I describe is that they will quickly pinpoint foods that could be causing problems in your other children, your spouse, or even yourself. When we used these diets in our own home, not only did it get my son off Ritalin in less than a week, but also it identified food sensitivities in our other children. These other children are normal. We never suspected that many of their outbursts were food related. This elimination diet literally changed our whole household in less than a week. You can read full story at About Us (http://addadhdadvances.com/aboutus.html).

I truly feel that you should try some food elimination diet for your child. If you wish to test items that Feingold targeted, you can easily modify most of these diets to include them. However, if your child has ADHD and you want to give him best chance to have a normal life, then some diet is a must try.

Anthony Kane, MD

ADD ADHD Advances