Jeff

Hi tx, I would certainly recommend eliminating artificial colors, flavors, and the "BH" preservatives BHT, BHA, and TBHQ from her diet. The art colors, in particular, are notorious for causing tics. Read the ingredients on foods. If you see artificial colors, like Yellow #5, Red #40, etc., get rid of that food item, and find an all-natural substitute. Jeff

We had great success with the Feingold program, and continue to follow a very relaxed form of it. My oldest daughter had fairly severe tics at age 6-7. We started the FG program, and within 2-3 weeks, we saw a dramatic reduction in the tics. For some it takes longer, and for some the symptoms get even worse before they get better. At first we were very strict, including shampoos, toothpastes, etc, but eventually settled on eating all-natural in the house, and not worrying about occasional infractions. It's much easier now than at the beginning. We also discovered the Corn Syrup had a big impact on my youngest DD's temperament. It caused her to be very irritable and lose focus. That was the hardest thing to eliminate, as it is used in so many foods. As they have gotten older (13 and 16), they are able to tolerate more infractions. If they cheat too much, they tic mildly, but we know that, after a few days of clean eating again, the tics will subside. I highly recommend that people sign up for the program, at least for a few years, read the literature, buy the "approved" products, etc. It's a great education and can change your whole perspective with regard to what you put into your bodies!! You are what you eat!! Jeff

Yes, I'm probably the one who mentioned The Squirrel's Nest. I'm lucky - the store is only about 20 minutes from my house! Nancy was the person who told us about the Feingold Program, and gave us a lot of good advice when we first started down the all-natural road. In fact, I was looking for some all-natural Easter candy when I discovered her store. One thing I really like about The Squirrel's Nest is that she makes a lot of the candy that she sells. She's been making them for years, and they are delicious... chocolate butter creams, coconut creams, turtles, etc. She makes a lot of her own Easter candy too, and in various shapes, like rabbits, crosses, lambs, and in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate. Happy Easter!!

I tried taking fish oil, but my tics increased, so I had to stop. I know others have noticed the same thing. Jeff

For us it has been only the elimination of artificial colors, flavors, and certain preservatives. Eliminating those additives made a huge difference for us with the tics. Many people who have eliminated these items have seen an increase in problems before they see a decrease. So, if you've only been at it for a month, try to hang in there a couple more weeks at least to see if anything changes. Try keeping a daily food diary, including everything they eat and drink, and recording tic levels. Maybe you'll find something that they're eating that might be causing more tics.... Jeff

Ditto Kelly's comments on the salicylates. That was my thought, too, when I first read your post. One of my daughters showed sensitivity to sals... we ate a lot of pears, canteloupe, mango... cut back on tomatoes and oranges.

Mom2three, For what it's worth, the symptoms you described - hard to reason with, OCD, - sound similar to symptoms my daughter exhibits when she's had too much corn syrup. That stuff is evil. She gets very irritable, loses focus, and her OCD symptoms are stronger. As she's gotten older, she can tolerate more, but for a while there, we really had to be vigilant about the CS. And, unfortunately, it's in so many things. We buy Coke in bottles, from Mexico, 'cause they use cane sugar, not corn syrup. Stick to your guns. We've probably all been considered loony by others at times, but we know best what's happening with our children. Jeff

Mom2three, Sorry to hear about what you're all going through. We all know it can be heartbreaking. By any chance, has your daughter been eating something lately that might be causing these reactions? For example, anything with artificial colors? A new candy, a new "juice" drink, cereal...? Wishing you and her the best... Jeff

Bmom, No, we have never had any testing done. We had such dramatic results when we started eliminating the additives, that we've never had to do anything else... Jeff

Hi Peggy, My daughters and I are able to control our tics simply by eliminating artificial colors, flavors, and the preservatives BHA, BHT, and TBHQ. You might want to make any dietary changes gradually.... not too many at once. You might find that your son is fine with dairy, wheat, sugar, etc.... it could just be artificial colors. Read labels, and if you see anything like Red #40, Yellow #5, etc, then find an organic or all-natural substitute. You mentioned pickles... most pickles list Yellow #5 as an ingredient !! As Kim mentioned, we started by following the Feingold program. That was a great learning experience for us, but we have since gotten less strict, and just try to keep those additives out of our house. We find that if we deviate once in a while, our bodies can handle it. If tics do surface, they don't last long as long as we keep our diets clean. Keep a food diary... record everything he eats and his symptoms. That can be a good tool for identifying triggers, patterns, etc. Regards. Jeff

Hi Ann, With regard to your question about How long..., I would say it can take anywhere from 1 week to 4 weeks. In our case, we saw very rapid results... dramatic reduction in tics within 1-2 weeks. However, I've heard of several familes for whom it has taken several weeks..; in fact, for some, symptoms got worse before getting better! If you've only been at it for one week, and since you're still finding that he's been ingesting some colors, I would say keep trying for at least a couple more weeks. And keep a daily diary of things that he has eaten and his tic levels. That diary can be very helpful in identifying patterns / triggers. Jeff

Brink, Have you tried eliminating artificial colors and flavors... like colored "fruit" drinks, cereals, candies, etc? Or, as some of the problems appear to be behavioral, perhaps he's reacting to Corn Syrup (sodas, candies, ice creams, etc...)? Corn Syrup is one of the worst things for one of my daughters.... causes her to be irritable, lose focus, etc. Sugar has never been a problem for us... just the CS and the HFCS. Jeff

Hi, One of the Kims asked where she could get all-natural candy. My favorite is The Squirrel's Nest, in Middletown, DE. Nancy, the owner, is the "angel" who introduced us to the Feingold Program. She has been making her own all-natural candy for years. www.squirrels-nest.com Jeff

Corn Syrup is a big "mood" trigger for one of my daughters. It causes irritablilty and lack of focus. It's hard to eliminate it completely, but we try to limit the biggest sources, like pancake syrups, sodas, "fruit" drinks, etc. We've found non-CS substitutes for those items. Jeff

emma - You do need to read the labels (ingredients section) to know if there are colors in the foods. The colors are labeled with a number..., like Red #40, Yellow #6, etc. Yes, my kids do read the labels, but since my wife and I do the shopping, we still control what groceries come into the house. Preservatives are also listed on the label.

My 2 daughters have been avoiding artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives (BHA, BHT, TBHQ) for about 8 years now, and the results have been consistent. Their tics were very bad before we started to eliminate those additives; their tics have been minimal since we began to eliminate the additives - especially the colors. They are now ages 13 and 15, and tics continue to be minimal. We do notice an increase in tics when they eat foods with artificial colors, and/or if they are behind in their sleep. Our basic practice is to eat "clean" at home. We know that if they go to birthday parties, or when we go out to eat (which is not often), they will deviate from the clean diet, but we don't worry about it too much anymore. We know that the tics won't last long (a few days), and as they've gotten older, the tics are not as severe / noticeable any more. Halloween is coming... we let them keep most of their non-colored candies (chocolate bars, etc), but very few of the colored candies. They'll tic, but we know it won't last forever. They know the consequences of what they eat.... so when they're on their own, they'll make their own choices, knowing the consequences. I'm glad that they at least have that knowledge, which is something that I did not have when I was growing up.

Yes, that is one of many that I found about the study. Thanks for posting the link!

There is a new British study showing the link between artificial colors, preservatives, and behavior in children. I did a Google search and found several links to articles about the study, some mentioning the Feingold Diet. It's quite the buzz.., and certainly has the food industry's attention. Maybe this will trigger some consumer-driven improvements in our foods!! I was thrilled when I heard it on the radio a couple of days ago, and am happy also to see so many articles on line. I just hope to see it in our local newspapers... Jeff

S - another benefit of Feingold membership is access to their membership bulletin board. When we were members, I frequented that forum. It was very active and extremely helpful for new food ideas, recipes, and just general support. Have you visited their board yet? Jeff

Hi Caryn, I can't really speak to the probability of your other children having the same symptoms. Both of my children do; however, my nephew does, but his brother does not.... For my daughters, the tics started to appear at around age 6-8... Jeff

Hi Caryn, The best source I can tell you of for info on artificial colors, flavors, etc, is the Feingold organization (feingold.org) We discovered Feingold years ago, and we learned a lot about the effects that the additives have on our children. It was quite an eye opener. The Feingold program is the elimination of artificial colors, flavors, and certain preservatives, in an effort to improve children's behavior. Many families have seen dramatic improvement in children diagnosed with ADD / ADHD, etc., merely by improving diet. The program is really geared at children with behavioral problems, but many of us have discovered the effect that the additives have on TS-related tics as well. They are a wealth of information, and have a very active and supportive membership forum. For a small fee, you can become a member, which gives you access to the annual food guide, regular newsletters, the forum, etc. They are a non-profit organization, so they have to charge a fee in order to pay for their costs. The fee was about $75 the first year, and $45 each year thereafter. It was well worth it. We were members for about 7 or 8 years, but no longer are members. The annual food guide provides a list of thousands of products that have been researched by the Feingold volunteers and deemed "safe" for the program. It was our bible for many years!! But if you don't want to join, you can at least look at the info on their website. Besides that, if you have a Whole Foods store near you, you should be pretty safe with anything you buy there. You mentioned behavior and irritability. We found that one of my daughters reacts that way when she's had too much corn syrup. That stuff can be downright evil to some children. Let me know if you visit the Feingold website. Jeff

Mary, One of my daughters would have unexplainable irritability and/or emotional over-reactions. We finally traced those reactions to Corn Syrup. We discovered that many families were seeing the same types of reactions to CS. Finding that link and reducing her intake of CS / High Fructose CS really helped avoid some of those reactions. It comes in many disguises, too..., like Dextrose, Maltodextrin, and more... Very hard to completely eliminate it, but we were able to eliminate some of the bigger sources, like pancake syrup (switched to 100% maple), sodas (switched to brands made with cane sugar), ice creams (many of the Breyer's brands use sugar, not CS), some organic cereals, etc.

Hi Faith, Sorry - I haven't checked in for a while. Yes, the red ice stick, gum, and smarties would definitely have an effect on his tics, if he reacts to artificial colors. Those kinds of foods would definitely have an effect on me and my daughters. The effects would last a few days, and then go away, as long as they kept a clean diet. That was always a comforting thing for us.. to know that the tics would subside after a few days, as long as they avoided the colors. Now that they are 13 and 15 years old, they are able to tolerate more of the artificial colors and flavors, although they still are affected. It was hard at first to avoid the colors, as they are in so many things that kids love to eat! But we gradually found natural replacements for many of those foods, and the girls got used to the restrictions. Read the labels, even on the Edy's... if you see anything like Red #40 or Yellow #5, avoid them.... watch out for cereals, ice cream, cookies, and other candies too. And many of those "fruit" drinks are loaded with colors.... stick with Juicy Juice, or other 100% fruit drinks...

Hi MomandDad, If he's reacting to the artificial colors, as my daughters and I do, then it could take 2-4 weeks of "cleaning out" before you see results. Our results came after a couple of weeks, and they were dramatic! Another website to look at is feingold.org. Hang in there. Jeff

Hi Florida, Just wanted to mention that several folks on this board, myself included, have noticed an increase in tics when they take fish oil... You might want to look for an alternative. Jeff