food intolerance

[furby1]

:huh:has anyone heard of a connection between margarine and sleep problems?Tom is nearly 8 years old and for a long time now has been having 'fit' like symptoms about an hour after he EVENTUALLY goes to sleep. An EEG didn't show anything ( typically he didn't do it that night) usually it is every night at least once.

 

I decided to try him on a low fat diet as he is overweight and amongst other things, have completely cut out marg on his butties. he doesn't have much milk and is on fat free fromage frais.

 

we have realised that the fits have near enough stopped......strange!! especially when you are so used to dealing with them every night . he is still waking up a lot but not with the fit.

 

has anyone heard of this before???

[Elefan]

Hi Furby1,

 

You might like to look at the following link,...

 

http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=62

 

 

Hope it helps. I can say from my own experience that removing all dairy from my little girl helped some of her ASD traits, whilst almost removing eczema and the frequency of asthma attacks.

 

Good luck.

 

Elefan

[tinytrace]

hi furby1

 

Andrew doesn't have fit like symptoms but before he was diagnosed we went to see a dietitcian and she went through his diet and advised us to cut out caffine and chocolate and it made a big differance with his temperment so evn after diagnosis we have still carried it on

 

Tracey

[vjmac]

Hi furby1,

Ialso have my girl on a dairy free diet which I feel has improved her AS symptoms and sleep difficulties. It has also improved her eczema and asthma.

I tend not to give her any fizzy juice or foods with additives and colourings and try to encourage lots of fruit and veg. (Lucky for me fruit has been one of her obsessions!).

Tesco have started stocking a few dairy free snacks and have the most amazing soya ice cream. However these are all quite expensive. They also do all the dairy free marg/butter/yoghurts etc.

Why not ask for a referral to a dietician. They have lists of all these sorts of diets.

Good Luck

Vicki

 

PS Have just read through my post. My poor girl is so deprived! Just as well she's only 5 and doesn't know any better!

[furby1]

thanks for all your input. i will ask for a referral to a dietician. is pasta another food that can cause behavioral problems. tom does eat a lot of bread and pasta but i thought it was the healthier option than other food.. he is also overweight (6 stone) nearly 8 years but not particularly tall. i have to buy age 10-11 trousers and then i only get away with it if they are elastic waist.

[lisa]

Furby,

 

When my son was 2-3 yrs old we kept food diaries and also saw a paediatrician as it was thought at the time that he was hyper-active. I didn't think it was food related because I was almost obsessive about what my twins ate and always made my own baby food using organic foods where ever possible. I never even gave them crisps or sweets and they didn't know what McDonalds was until they were about 4!!! The doctor told us that citrus fruits were one of the worst triggers for many hyper kids and also wheat. We thought we were feeding him a healthy diet, weetabix for breakfast, organic wholemeal bread sandwich with a satsuma to follow with fresh orange juice for lunch and wondering why he was running around like a lunatic. We also found out that he was reacting to tomatoes. If I made spaghetti bolognaise he'd be on the ceiling for about an hour after. We're not as strict with his diet now he's older because I think he's grown out of it a bit and the reactions to foods are not so extreme. We still don't let him have fresh orange juice or anything with red or orange colourings though.

 

Lisa

[mbrown]

Hello Furby1 and All, On the subject of food intolerances I have a lot of friends who swear by a gluten free and casein free diet, to improve the behaviour of their children.

 

I am trying a gluten Free diet with my son who is 9 and has Asperger's. There is a definite change but it has thrown up some strange side effects. He answers questions more promptly and to a degree does things at first request. He has definitely become more talkative and strikes up conversations although some of his speech is more aggressive, in tone , not content.

 

I have not gone down a dairy free path yet.

The GF diet is very difficult at first. How do you explaing that all the favourite foods are no longer on the menu? David had a limited diet as it was. The GF bread tastes vile he doesn't like any of the biscuits on offer. No more MacDonalds, fish and chips, chicken nuggets, certain soups, toast the list is endless

 

All of the major stores will give you a list on request of all GF foods they sell although these are not 100% accurate. Some stores say that rice crispies and corn flakes are GF but they contain malt extract which contains gluten.

 

We have been on the diet for a month now and we are all gettin ga bit used to it now. He still asks for food he can't have which upsets him a bit.

 

We have managed to find 3 breakfast cereals so far, GF corn flakes, chocolate stars and a corn golden nugget type. 100% beef burgers are usually GF but most burgers are not. We have a butcher that will make up GF sausages, We can get GF fish fingers. We can dress fish in GF breadcrumbs, polenta, batter made from gram flour, Thank goodness he likes potatoes as much as chips. some crisps are ok. Heinz Tomato soup, and ketchup is ok. Other ketchups are not. he is eating more fruit.

 

We haven't found a bread or roll that tastes good at all but we got a GF pizza base and made our own pizza. That tasted really good.

 

If you choose to introduce a special diet, be prepared for a lot of hard work. It is hard but I think worth persevering with.

 

BFN Mike

[Helen]

Mike,

 

I think you and the other parents who try these difficult options deserve a pat on the back.

 

I don't think I'd have the perseverence to do it.

 

Helen

[mbrown]

Hi Helen, Thanks for the pat on the back. I think that it is our duty to try anything that migth try to normalise our kids behaviour or just iron out soem of the rough spots.

 

I don't know what to expect by following the diet, not a huge change but enough to justify it I hope. We will carry on for another few months and see what happens.

 

Friends of mine with Autistic children (David has Asperger's), have mentioned huge, changes in behaviour and motor skills. I have to say that they are also doing the dairy free diet at the same time, (my sanity ciouldn't manage that as well at the moment)

 

Good luck to anybody trying out any diet with their kids. You will get to learn a lot about what we put in ourselves, and you will ask yourself often, "What the heck do they put that in there for???"

 

Bye for now

Mike

[mbrown]

Hello again, I meant to mention in my last post. No matter how effective these diets may be they are not cures. If successful they only work while they are being followed. The benefits are worth it if it means improved performance at school leading to less frustration for our children.

 

Just thought I would add that in case you thought I was pushing a 'miracle cure'

 

(I wish)

 

BFN

 

Mike

[spottedpelican]

Josh often wakes around an hour or so after he goes to sleep.

He has 'night terrors'

or

he needs to go to the toilet, but is disillusioned or lost

or

he has had a bad evening and then is distressed in the night.

 

I have heard of symptoms occuring after the child goes to sleep.

i can't remember exaclty, but it was something about eating too soon before sleep time, or too much.

I think there could have been specific foods that trigger this also, but my mind is a blurr today.

 

spottedpelican