Feingold Program can help resolve behavior, health and sleep problems.

When Toxins and Genes Collide.

Dr. Feingold is often described as having believed that food additives cause behavior problems; but he did not. His hypothesis was that there are many things that combine to make one child more sensitive than another. These factors include the genetic inheritance, any “insults” (i.e., trauma, exposure to toxins) during pregnancy, difficulties during delivery (such as temporary loss of oxygen), and exposure to toxins after birth. For a child who is already vulnerable as a result, he said that the petroleum-based additives could “trigger” (not cause) the disturbed behaviors.

He did not rule out other causes, but believed that since things like synthetic dyes and flavorings have no nutritional value and are easily replaced with natural additives; this is a good place to start in the search for causes and treatments.

This article is reprinted from Pure Facts, the newsletter of the Feingold Association of the United States, www.Feingold.org

Who are the Feingold Organization?

Almost three years ago when I was looking for a reason, and hopefully a solution, as to why our son was having difficulty keeping on track with his developmental stages I, as many of us do, hit the Google search on my computer.  In addition to his development, we had also noticed something else (we had no reason to think this was associated with the development issue), the problem was that if our son ate certain fruits, such as berries, it would make him a little frantic; he would get hyper, giddy, and act almost as if he was drunk, it was both funny and disturbing at the same time.  One night while searching message boards for answers on how to potentially help our son, I came across the Feingold Organization.   I made a decision to purchase the book “Why Can’t my Child Behave.” and while reading the book I discovered that my son could possibly be salicylate sensitive. A list of salicylate reactions are available at Web MD  this list is certainly comprehensive but not all inclusive.  It also occurred to us that not only was he reacting negatively to food, but we realized he had been having reactions to perfumes, cleaners and air fresheners (he would sneeze uncontrollably if he walked into a room that had just been cleaned or had scented candles). Almost immediately we decided that both he and his sister would be well served by us if we removed the toxic chemicals out of, not only their food, but also out of their environment. 

We ultimately made the decision to join the Feingold Organization and now do all our shopping and eating out (we can even still eat at some Fast Food restaurants) using the guide that comes with the membership materials.  We often get asked if this is a hard way to live, “isn’t it inconvenient?” or  “aren’t you being a little too obsessive?” even “Isn’t your grocery bill more expensive?” We have so many answers to those questions and not all of them polite, but we feel the real question everyone should be asking is actually - “how inconvenient or obsessive is it to feed our children chemical free, healthy, nutritious food?” In regards to the question of grocery shopping our answer is a resounding “No, we shop at the same local grocery stores we always have, we now just make better choices and pay more attention to what is in those groceries that we are buying.” We personally have made the choice to eat mostly organic products, particularly when purchasing fruits and vegetables, but it is important to know that, organic, is certainly not a requirement of the Feingold program.
The Feingold Program eliminates these additives:
• Artificial (synthetic) coloring
• Artificial (synthetic) flavoring
• Aspartame (Nutrasweet, an artificial sweetener)
• Artificial (synthetic) preservatives BHA, BHT, TBHQ
The idea is to remove any food dyes, chemical additives, preservatives and salicylates from our food. The Feingold program believes many children and adults are intolerant of these chemicals and many kids with ADHD, ADD or behavior problems can be helped by eliminating these core items.  Eventually the salicylates are added back into your diet individually to see if any reactions are noticed; some people find that healthy food they fed their kids every day was causing their negative behaviors, for us it was definitely strawberries and blueberries that caused the strongest reactions. However, as a side note to that, my son now tolerates both these fruits in small amounts. We have taken many approaches to resolve our son’s digestive problems, one being the Feingold program, and he now tolerates and absorbs many vitamins, minerals and foods without reactions. It’s also important to know that although our daughter is ok eating all dairy and gluten products, our son has  been tested and is intolerant to both of those items, so we make sure to avoid those allergens for him. 

A great place to start to see where you may be eating or ingesting salicylates is to refer to the article posted at WebMD.  For more in-depth articles, previous newsletters and information on reactions to chemical additives, food dyes, and salicylates go to the Feingold website and be sure to read not only the information about the program, but also the success stories posted. In addition to personal stories there are many great articles available at the Feingold website, including one titled “Many learning and behavior problems begin in your grocery cart!” It is a very enlightening read.

So if you find you have trouble concentrating, or someone has suggested your child is not able to focus or behave in school, go to the Feingold website, you might find that just by eliminating some basic things you not only solve the behavior or focus problems, but also resolve those frequent physical complaints (ear infections, asthma, bedwetting, stomach problems, headaches, even seizures), sleep problems, and learning problems, just by diet changes alone.

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at (303) 674 1500 to schedule a consultation or email office@fontanachiro.com

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