Feingold Diet

Xavier is still progressing slowly. I know that my last post focused on the negative aspects of Xavier's behavior. It's easy to focus on the negative because that's the behavior that needs changing. There are a lot of good things about Xavier and I really hope I don't forget to share that with you. I appreciate all the kinds and supportive words I got (sorry Blogger is not allowing comments still but hopefully that will be fixed soon).
Xavier is excited to start the Feingold Diet. It's a chance for him to be more in control of his therapy and to avoid medication. He's been really supportive of this especially since tomatoes and cucumbers are on the avoid list.
Dr. Ben Feingold developed his diet in the 1950's and released his diet to the general public in the early 70's. He originally looked at salicylates (which I keep calling salactites) which is a naturally occurring chemical in certain foods and aspirin. From what I understand there was a theory that a build up of this chemical in the body caused medical symptoms. He started using a salicylate-free diet to treat his patients and noticed a side effect of the diet which reduced and eliminated behavior issues. Dr. Feingold, also, began doing research into certain artificial additives in our food and noticed that they were contributing to behavior issues and hyperactivity. Slowly, his Feingold Diet emerged from his research.
There are many things I like about this diet as a therapy. There is nearly 60 years of research supporting this diet that includes documented medical studies. There's nothing overly bizarre about the diet unlike some of the other therapy diet I have looked at. And the research done by the Feingold institute has gone on to be the supporting cause for certain chemicals being banned in our foods (more in Europe than the US).
There are two parts to the diet, one is a permanent change and the other is a temporary change. The diet asks that you eliminate salicylates (actually a specific list of salicylate foods) for 4-6 weeks and if then slowly re-introduce them. If the symptoms remain absent or reduced then you can continue to eat those foods. The permanent part of the diet is to remove all artificial food coloring, artificial flavors and 3 preservatives: BHT, BHA, TBHQ. The Feingold Institute offers an amazing amount of support and current research.
The salicylates to avoid are: almonds, apples, all berries, cherries, currants, grapes, nectarines, oranges, peaches, plums/prunes, tangerines, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers (bell/chili), cloves, coffee, tea, and menthol. Of course, all medications with salicylates which includes aspirin and some stomach medicines. Medications are required to have salicylates warnings so they will be easy to avoid (and we don't use a lot of medicines to begin with).
We are slowly eliminating these foods from our diet with a target date of June 10th to completely be free (the first day of summer break). We will be able to re-introduce the salicylates at the end of July which coincides with most of those fruits and vegetables accessibility. We look forward to cherry/berry picking in late July so they will most likely be the first that we add back into the diet.
We're growing gardens this year with the hope of having some fresh produce to carry us through the remaining summer and into the fall. Xavier has asked to rent his own plot so he can grow melons. I think he will have to start looking for melon plants since I didn't start any (this week was the first time he mentioned growing melons).
You will notice that sugar is not a factor in the Feingold diet. Feingold's research has suggested that the sugar is not a culprit in hyperactivity but the artificial components that make up so much of the candy today.
We'll keep you posted to see how it goes.