Questions on Diet for Tourettes

[David]

My wife and I have been treating our kids tourettes with a very strict diet - i.e., gluten free, dairy free, no high fructose or corn syrup, no artificial colrs/flavors, and all organic foods (we are lucky to have a Whole Foods nearby).

 

We also have started them and myself, on calcium/magnesium, flax oil, multi-vitamins, a B-6. Soon to try taurine, I am the guinea pig for the vitamins and aminos. Fingers are crossed for results.

 

My question is this, has anyone experienced any negative reactions when allowing themselves or their children, to have certain "wrong" foods now and then - i.e., oranges, a bagel, pizza, etc. My wife believes tha once on a diet, we cannot stray away. I feel that an orange, or some dairy or some wheat toast on the rare occasion will not set us back considering all of the good things we are doing.

 

I guess it is fear of the unknown and what "might" happen should we indulge ever so rarely.

Any thoughts?

 

Keep up the good work here. It is a bastion of hope.

D

[orthomolecular]

One thing I have read about is using a rotation type diet. (Some people call it rotation and some call it rotatary diet.) This is for food groups or really food families. You can not eat any food from each family for four days. That is if you have onions on Monday, then you have to wait to have some garlic after 4 days. This method means that you or your child can have some foods that may not be "fixed" allergies but more like floating sensitivities. The point is that there may be people who find that some food or some family of foods may not be allowed for them EVER. But there may be some foods that you can use on a rotation basis.

 

So, for example, even though you have a problem with diary you may be able to have it every fourth day, but the gluten may be different and you just can't have it ever.

 

A rotation diet is supposed to start with a fast for something like 4 days, I think. (I am not sure exactly how long the fast should last at the begining. There are many books that explain this process.) Then you have to avoid those foods you have a problem with three months at the most. Sometimes it may take only 3 weeks to do the elimination phase but sometimes to be safe three months is recommended. After this period then you do the rotation part. It is helpful to have some reference materials on food families, obviously.

 

For other things, like additives, you may still consider this idea. Sometimes you can have a substance in your system in small amounts and may not feel so bad. But eating it everyday will build up levels in the body that can have an impact on your health.

 

I have seen some exceptions. You can have a food before those 4 days are up if you eat that food by itself. Sometimes having one food at a meal can help, sometimes just having two foods at a meal can also work for some too. This is something you can figure out by trial and error.

 

This is one suggestion of ways of experimenting with foods that cause problems. This has some advantages to avoiding those foods completely, because they say that eating the same foods over and over again may make you prone to becoming allergice to them or additive to them. Variety is good, if you can have manage the rotation schedule.

 

Another thing I read is that if you get your b6, zinc and magnesium levels up then these foods may not have the same reaction. (This suggestion is from Brain Allergies by Philpott and Kalita, and I think those are the three nutrients recommended but I may be wrong.) Some doctors will try injections of these nutrients before testing those offending foods. And these supplements do seem to help with these reactions, most of the time.

 

This book also recommends some heperin to reduce the inflammatory response from the offending food. Heperin is used in high doses to thin blood. I am not sure if heparin is still available in this form (lower doses). You may consider using some other types of digestive enzymes instead, perhaps bromelain.

 

Of courese, if you or your children have any sensitivities or food allergies then you should be using digestive enzymes anyway. These can help you get the most nutrition out of what you are eating.

 

I have pyroluria and have realized how these deficiencies (vitamin b6 and zinc) has effected my pancreas, and its production of bi-carbonate and enzymes; so, these deficiencies especially can impact on your digestive system. I use digestive enzymes with food and on an empty stomach too.

 

It really is a trial and error process with most people and problems with foods. But you might consider waiting until you have some time of "being good" under your belt before you start experimenting with some "bad" foods. And, of course, having your nutritional status in good shape can help too.

[Chemar]

if I may add, it is also really important to determine first IF the foods you are eliminating are foods that you indeed have allergies or sensitivities to.

 

I agree that artificial additives should ALWAYS be eliminated, but if there is no dairy or gluten intolerance for example, then why avoid them? They are healthy foods when eaten by those who tolerate them (especially in their whole form as opposed to processed/refined etc)

 

There is an excellent book by Jordan Rubin called "The Maker's Diet" that really goes into detail about the various food types

[Giselle]

Hi there, and welcome! I agree that you should definitely see if these foods are allergens. A delayed food allergy test is a wonderful tool. An Integrative, DAN or Environmental doctor can order this for you - very illuminating and useful. It showed us lots of foods that were problems when we didn't think they were as well as many that weren't where we thought they were! As to gluten - it can stay in your system for many many months and if there is a true intolerance or allergy it might be worth it to see if celiac is a diagnosis - in which case having it, even once and a while, is a terrible no no. We have lots of food allergies in this house and yes, thankfully Whole Foods, Lassens, and the internet are mainstays. I think the most surprising allergy was corn - it is in everything!!! Gluten is a cake walk (pardon the pun) compared to corn. My son is so sensitive to corn even eating corn fed chicken or beef gets him going! Even taking the vegetarian capsules on vitamins which contain dextrose do it - that tiny bit! Anyway - I'm pretty much militant about his allergies so am probably more like your wife. I can see you trying things once and a while as with many intolerances, as orthomolecular stated, they abate after being off the offending food for a while, but then only eaten occasionally. This happened with watermelon and plums- he hadn't had them for over a year and tested that he is fine now. I won't ever feed those to him with abandon but now he can have them every so often. Just a side note to this whole allergy thing - I remember trying to get him to eat bread and pasta when he was little- I had the only kid who didn't like it - same with pizza and milk. I wasn't so surprised when he ended up being allergic to wheat and dairy. He loves rice noodles and rice milk though- his tummy was telling me that something was up all along but I wasn't listening !

 

Again welcome and congratulations on coming so far already!

Giselle

[orthomolecular]

My son is so sensitive to corn even eating corn fed chicken or beef gets him going! Even taking the vegetarian capsules on vitamins which contain dextrose do it - that tiny bit!

 

 

Actually some people don't realize that corn starch is used instead of talc in some powders. I would wonder if it might be corn syrup or corn oil contaminating the chicken or beef your child eats. Our food can come in contact with so many things additives, perservatives, flavorings, who knows.

 

But products made from corn are more plentiful than products made from wheat or gluten, so a corn allergy can be a tricky one to deal with.

[Giselle]

Yes, most definitely, corn is the tougher of the two. It can contaminate even the most benign foods (for him). We have had a tough time finding restaurants who both don't use some form of corn oil for their french fries or who fry foods covered in flour (chicken fingers, onion rings). And yes, corn starch is used in hundreds of things as a thickener and anti-caking agent. I found a marvelous website Allergygrocer.com who sell icing sugar without corn, they use potato starch for the purpose. One of the ladies there has a son who is horribly allergic to corn so she is very much aware and has helped guide me. Corn sneaks in in so many forms, dextrose, maltose, malic acid, even citric acid can be from corn! And of course the obvious, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup. The one that really got me was glucano delta lactone - doesn't that sound like some sort of milk thing? Nope - corn. Also Xantham gum is the outer coating of a bacteria and is technically fine for him but they grow the bacteria in CORN (usually)! It goes on and on. I'm really hoping he outgrows this one! The lady at the websites son is now able to tolerate organic fresh corn but not all the products made from corn - interesting.

 

Giselle