Feingold Diet

Not a weight loss plan but a way of life

The Feingold Diet is not a weight loss program but is intended for children and adults who have a program with ADHD or ADD. I turned to it because my son was having problems in school, and I refused to put him on medication. After speaking to several experts who told me that many cases of ADHD are related to allergies to additives in processed foods, I turned to the Feingold Diet.

Many people I know don’t believe there is a relationship between food additives and a child’s behaviour, and though I was sceptical at first, I soon learned how many food additives can affect the behaviour of children and even adults.

The Feingold Diet involves eliminating artificial colouring, artificial preservatives, aspartame (an artificial sweetener known as Equal), and other food additives that are considered unhealthy. The diet also includes the elimination of salicylates, which are available in many fruits.

Choosing the Feingold Diet to help my son meant I had to learn to cook fresh vegetables and choose natural snacks. When I started, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but it was something I had to do.

I didn’t notice a difference immediately, but gradually his temperament and attention span began improving. Bedtime was no longer a battle with me fighting to win in the end. Even homework became less of a chore as I realized his concentration and behaviour were improving dramatically. Many of those who had told me the diet wouldn’t make any difference in my son’s behaviour were amazed at the improvement in his entire disposition.

In fact, the entire family showed improvement because of the elimination of many artificial products in our food. I did not prevent other family members from eating the fruits that my son could not, but changing the way I cooked and the snacks I bought made a difference to everyone in the house.

At the time the school recommended medication for my son, his doctor was sceptical about the Feingold Diet. He really didn’t feel it would help my son because he saw no signs of problems with food. He gave me thirty days, and if there was no noticeable improvement, he would put him on medication.

When we returned to the office, he was amazed at the improvement, and though at that time we were far from perfect, there was enough of an improvement that we could precede without putting him on drugs that would affect his appetite and probably cause more harm than good.

It has been a year since I introduced the Feingold Diet to my household, and my son is now a pleasure to have most of the time. He has his days, but he is ten years old, so nothing will be perfect.

Our home is still free of those things that my son cannot have except for fruits. His teacher is happy that he is being treated without medication, and she says he is actually a joy to have in class now.

Review by Linda Taylor