where do I start with removing artificial foods?

[Guest Guest_kimwal]

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I have read alot about removing artificial foods that helped with reducing tics.

What exactly would you consider artificial foods? I know this may sound dumb, but if I try this I want to make sure I do it right.

I know like cookies ,junk food, etc. But what about like organic cereals, chips, the "organic" foods that would be snacks like the organic cookies?

What about stuff like ragu spaghatti sauce( we were having that tonite).

Thanks

[Claire]

The easiest way to do this is to either

 

1) shop at whole foods --they allow nothing artificial except sucralose, as far as I have seen.

 

2) order the Feingold package www.feingold.org

 

3) avoid anything with the work 'artificial' or color #, BHT, MSG. Then there is a host of things I can't keep track of.

 

Claire

[Chemar]

kimwal

 

I answered this on BrainTalk so wont repeat it all here except to say

 

DONT USE ANYTHING WITH SUCRALOSE IN IT...ALSO CALLED SPLENDA!!!

I am amazed that Whole Foods is allowing it with all the controversy surrounding its safety!

[Guest Guest_kimwal]

So what kind of snacks can he eat?? Besides fruit which he does not like ?

[Chemar]

there are lots of healthy snacks that dont have junk in them.....

 

and you can make your own cookies and salty snacks too.

 

We use pure turbinado sugar, honey or maple syrup for sweetening

 

Cookies that you make yourself are fine, and so is pure dark chocolate in moderation.

 

I make banana bread and carrot cake and other pies and cakes too.

 

Whole Foods does also have pure snacks, both salty and sweet, as do many of the other health stores like Chamberlins etc.

 

Even our local supermarket now has an entire health section that has some really good cereals etc. too

 

Once you get into the habit of label reading and start findiing which companies add less junk, it gets easier!

 

and the rewards are ENORMOUS in terms of reduced tics etc!

 

[Guest Guest_kimwal]

Will removing these items help reduce tics??

How long should it take?

[Ronnas]

I have noticed a huge difference for my son with the elimination of milk, eggs, corn and chocolate. We also avoid all the artificial junk etc. I don't even go down the cookie/cracker aisle at the grocery store. I also bake alot of my own cookies, muffins etc.

 

Doing a food elimination diet was the best thing I have done for my son and my only wish is that I had done it 3 years ago!

 

Take Care,

Ronna

[Claire]

Kimwal,

 

To answer your question, I believe that Jeff (our Feingold expert) has said that it can take up to 6 weeks to notice a big difference. Many of us also avoid corn syrup as someone mentioned.

 

To emphasize Ronnas point, if your child has a reaction to certain foods, eliminating artificial additives may not be sufficient. e.g. for Jeff's family, the Feingold type diet was enough. But for some of us, we needed more. I know from your earlier post that you did a gluten/casein free diet. For so many of our kids, including my son, we saw improvement when other foods were eliminated. Gluten free products tend to have lots of corn--this is also a common allergen. It only took me a week to notice a change in my son from elimination of problem foods--he doesn't tic anyway (except for when exposed to CRT screens, which we avoid), but he stopped being fidgety. Doris Rapp discusses a food elimination diet that you might consider.

 

As for snacks, if your child has no issue with salycites (sp), we love berry smoothies with a Tablespoon of Gotein (goat milk protein powder) and a 1/2 dropper of Stevia herbal sweetener. Like Chemar, we stay away from sucralose--I used to be a heavy user of it--a lab tech told me it is derived from corn syrup, by the way.

 

How about homemade lemonade with stevia herbal sweetener (use it lightly, or it has an aftertaste). Or frozen lemonade popsicles?

 

We get Luna brand power bars as treats. Lemon and Chocolate Pecan are awesome, and have nothing artificial, nor do they have dairy, wheat or nuts (trace amounts from the machines). But come to think of it, they are not gluten free I think--they have barley malt.

 

Do you have a Whole Foods nearby? You don't have to buy there, but you can see what brands they offer and then buy them at your local store.

 

We get organic granola as a treat and the Vans wheat free (dairy free) waffles. We rarely ever have real sugar, due to him having some yeast issues. We even limit the fruit to one of 2 a day. I found that since they stopped giving him candy at school (at my request), he liked fruit treats more.

 

On rare occassions (once a month), he gets a frozen yogurt from Stoneybrook farms--the only brand I found with no corn syrup!!

 

When he was wheat free but still having corn, I baked homemade bread (in a bread machine) from the gluten-free pantry and put honey or jam on it for a treat--or he turned the batter into cinnamon rolls.

 

Claire

[Guest Jeff]

Hi Kimwal, I can't add a lot more to what's already been said. Following the Feingold diet has been very helpful for us in controlling our tics (mine and two daughters). We don't follow it as strictly as many do, but we have had great success by eliminating artificial colors, flavors, and the preservatives BHA, BHT, and TBHQ. We also try to limit corn syrup, but that is difficult as it appears in so many disguises (dextrose, maltodextrose, maltodextrin, etc)

For snacks we eat Herr's or Lay's potato chips, home-made cookies, certain Breyer's or Haagen Dahz (sp?) ice creams, celery sticks with pb or cream cheese, occasional natural candies from a local store, etc. For homemade stuff, we use Real Vanilla (not vanillin, which is artificial), and we even use vanilla with no corn syrup in it. We also use a lot of organic foods, natural cereals, etc. As others have already pointed out, we read labels, and do not buy anything that lists colors, like Red #40, Blue #5, Yellow #6, etc, or that says "vanillin", or artificial flavors. But, you can't always trust the labels; that's where Feingold can be very helpful.

The advantages of becoming a Feingold member are numerous. You get an annual Food Guide that lists thousands of products that have been researched by the organization and deemed acceptable. Their research includes lengthy surveys about all the ingredients in a product. Some companies won't participate because they don't want to complete the forms. You also get access to the Members Bulletin Board, which is a very active group of FG-ers who share recipes, ideas, experiences, questions, etc., daily. They love "newbies", and are always eager to share their "shopping lists" for Whole Foods, Trader Joes, WalMart, etc. The whole thing can be overwhelming at first, but as Cheri pointed out, it gets easier.

Ragu is probably not on the list, but I don't know for sure. Many of the organics are not on the list, but that might be because they have not been researched yet - so many products, not enough FG volunteers!! However, we will often experiment with organic items even if they are not on the list.

It's a lifestyle change - no doubt. But we certainly have no regrets. My oldest daughter, who was about 6 or 7 at the time, was ticcing pretty badly. When she'd sit on my lap for books, her whole body was in constant motion - twisting here, tensing there, etc. She also had a lot of facial and hand tics - noticeable and embarrassing for her. She was starting to withdraw - avoiding conversation so people wouldn't see her tic, etc. Heartbreaking stuff for parents. By some miracle, we found out about the Feingold program. Within 2-3 weeks of eliminating artificials, the difference was remarkable. The tics virtually disappeared, and when she'd sit on my lap, she was still as a stone. We were definite believers, and have been ever since. Yes, many people, including many of our illustrious medical professionals, think that we're a bunch of whack-o's - "no scientific proof", and yes, it really cuts back on eating out and enjoying some of the popular and common candies, cookies, cereals, etc. (How I'd love to sit down and eat a big bowl of Trix !!). But, considering the alternatives, we consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have found a "natural" way to control the tics.

Well, I guess I had more to add than I thought! Sorry for the length. As we all know, it's easy to get passionate about remedies that we have found that have changed our lives so profoundly. We all have a strong desire to share these experiences in order to help others.

Good luck Kimwal, and ask all the questions you want! Jeff

[Claire]

Jeff,

 

Are dextrose, maltodextrose, and maltodextrin SOMETIMES derived from corn syrup, or are they always derived from corn syrup? I am a Feingold member, but I can't remember if these are on their 'do not eat' list, since like Whole Foods, Feingold allows corn syrup.

 

Also, noting your comment on Trix....I don't know if you have a Whole Foods by you but they have a cereal...I forget the name, but it looks and taste just a lot like Fruit Loops--(the colors aren't so bright of course, since it has nothing artificial in it). It is really great tasting, but we can't have it anymore, due to it being corn based. And since corn is naturally sweet, the sugar in it was not very high compared to most sweet cereals, though certainly higher than just cheerios.

 

My son is allergic to all corn (including corn syrup) and I am allergic to corn syrup. I was shocked to find my 'natural vanilla extract' had corn syrup in it, amazing. And I think I mentioned before that sucralose is derived from corn syrup.

 

Finally, I would suggest you try out Whole Foods if you have one. They have scoured for as many food choices as possible. Even have a brand of Heinz catsup with no corn syrup or artificial ingredients now. I think they have more choices than the Feingold list. When in doubt (e.g. just sugar is listed), I call the manufacturer and have them read me the details (e.g. sugar is derived from beets or cane). I realize that corn syrup isn't so critical in your family, these are just examples to make my point.

 

I forgot, are transfats allowed on Feingold? We won't go near them, and I know that Whole Foods doesn't allow them.

 

My son kicked and screamed re no artificial ingredients, so actually his allergy to corn 'helped' with this, and virtually all the sweets with artificial ingredients had corn syrup in them.

 

Claire

[Guest Jeff]

Hi Claire, As I understand it, some maltodextrins, etc., can come from sources other than corn, e.g., barley. I don't know if there is a way to distinguish short of calling the manufacturer. They are not on the FG "do not eat" list

No, we don't have a WFoods near us. Wish we did - it sounds great. I hope we'll see one in this area before too long. I'd like to try the 365 brand of sodas, with no CS!

You can find Vanilla without CS, but is is expensive. We get ours at a health food store.

My youngest daughter reacts to CS, although she seems to be able to tolerate more as she gets older. We don't eliminate it entirely, but we try to limit how much she takes in. It really affects her behavior and focus.

Feingold does not eliminate transfats.

Do you ever visit the FG Board?

Jeff

[Claire]

Jeff,

 

Do you have the link to the right spot? I never could find it when I looked. They finally sent me my password.

 

Thanks,

Claire

 

ps I have forgotten if I posted this study on ADHD and food additives that someone posted on Braintalk. My understanding based on quick review was that they couldn't test the difference, twice as many parents in the artificial colors group noticed a change than those in the placebo group.

 

http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/89/6/506

[Guest Jeff]

Claire - Go to the home page, then Member Services, then FAUS Members' Section, then Bulletin Board - Members Mutual Support. Then it asks you for the username and password.

Let me know if you can't find it.

Jeff

[Guest Guest]

Thank you all for your responses.

A couple of years ago we did tons of testing for allergies, heavy metals, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, and nothing really significant showed up.

I noticed alot of you siad corn was a big allergy for your children.

Corn was tested for an allergy as part of lthe food/allergy testing but it did not show up as an allergy....

I ordered the FG progaram a while back. We did it for about 2 weeks but then Valentines day rolled around and we gave it up.... I guess I just got fed up wiht trying so many different diets and things... I saind I was going to do it agian but never have. So maybe I should dig it out again..

Unfortunately we do not have a Whole Foods store.. I live in Alabama. So I have never even heard of it, or one being close by.

We do have a super Walmart, Kroger(that sells alot of organic things), alnd of course several natural food stores.

I got kina frustrated too when I did post on the FG forum about my questions... People would make post about foods but would not indicate whether it was in the stage one or two. ANd I guess so many have been doing it for so long that they would kind of answer post amongst themselves and us newbies i felt were kind of left out, not given alot of responses in detail....remember we need those little details becasue we are just starting.

We did do it for about 2or 3 weeks without seeing anything. How long should it take before seeing results??????????

Thanks!!

[Claire]

Did you do IgE or RAST test for allergies, or IgE tests? I ask because my son and my allergies showed negative on the IgE/RAST tests, but showed positive on the IgG test.

 

Again, Jeff says it takes up to 6 weeks to see results for Feingold.

 

Finally, several of us noticed a dramatic reduction in tics from removing screens (e.g. computers and TV). If you are going to go through all this effort, I highly recommend doing a no screen trial for a week.. For my son, it didn't matter what else I did--elminate foods, additives, etc... He tics a lot if he views CRT screens (movies too)--it is cumulative so I don't notice during each episode, but it gets worse over a period of days. He is 100% tic free without it.

 

During summer this may be easier on your child that all the food restrictions--the good news is it doesn't take more than a week to notice.

 

Claire