David was my first child. When I look back at his first year, all I can
remember is screaming and endless hours of misery. Doctors first diagnosed
colic and a panicky new mother. But I knew better. After a
horrifying moment of watching his breathing stop, David was admitted to the
hospital. He was diagnosed with
reflux and was prescribed medications that
eased his pain. But his crying had not stopped, and I knew there was more.
Constipation, screaming, pulling away from the breast, sleepless nights - it
was every parent's nightmare. I began to suspect he was reacting to dairy,
and removed all forms of
dairy from my diet. This eased his crying, but I felt there
was more. By the time he was two, I had determined David reacted to dairy,
eggs, apples, oranges, fresh pineapple, sulfites, phosphates, cashews and food
dyes.
Keeping a food journal
helped me to recognize David's behavior was affected by the foods he was
intolerant to. If he ate one bite of apple, dairy... anything he was
intolerant to, he would turn into every mother's nightmare. David would
cry, scream, hit, bite - he demonstrated hyperactivity, he was aggressive... He
once stood in the middle of the couch and urinated on the cushions. As
long as he avoided these foods, he was my normal, sweet and wonderful boy.
Surprisingly, David tested negative to all foods. An allergist told me
he could eat anything because of these results. Yet if I had followed
these instructions, my son would not be able to function in school, would not
have any friends and would be sickly and miserable.
Today, David is almost 13 and has a report card filled with A's. He is
a boy scout, has many friends and will be a successful adult. Yet if he
eats an apple, raw pineapple or food additives/dyes/sulfites, his face will
become swollen, he will develop dark circles under his eyes and he will cry,
become aggressive and angry. To this day he dislikes "milky foods" as well
as eggs.
If your child is aggressive, hyperactive, sad, sickly - anything that does
not seem right to you, talk to your physician about an elimination diet.
This will help you to determine which foods your child should avoid in order to
perform to the best of his or her ability.
