Feingold Program:
An Elimination Diet
The Feingold Program, founded and originally presented by Dr. Benjamin Feingold, M.D., has a two-fold mission in the association's charter. These are: - to improve the quality of your diet by eliminating certain foods and synthetic chemicals to improve the overall health.
- more importantly, methods and options for parents of children with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). This group of children is characterized by behavioral (hyperactivity) and learning disabilities.
Characteristics Of The ADD Or ADHD ChildAccording to Dr. Feingold, synthetic colors and flavorings normally used in the food manufacturing industry, has the ability to affect every system in the human body. Some common signs include:- The respiratory system of the child will show symptoms of chronic rhinitis (stuffy or runny nose), cough, nasal polyps, or asthma
- The presence of hives or a skin rash will be visible
- Frequent ear infections
- Difficulties with bed wetting
- Erratic behavior, headaches, seizures, signs of retardation or autism visible
Basics of the Feingold Program Treatment PlanThe program itself is separated into two phases. Both of these stages are based on the principle of eliminating certain foods or food additives from the diet.Stage 1 foods include all artificial colorings and flavorings. These can be found on any ingredient label. This stage also includes three antioxidant preservatives to be eliminated from the child's diet. These include, BHA, BHT and TBHQ. Everything in this stage is a permanent removal of food stuffs from the child's diet. Stage 2 foods are predominantly all fruits and vegetables which are high in naturally-occuring salicylates. Almonds, aspirin(or any medication with aspirin as an ingredient) and wintergreen oil are also members of this stage 2 group. This stage does allow the stage 2 products to be re-introduced into the diet after a certain point in the program. Where Do I StartAs with any new dietary program, the "start" is the hardest part. It is usually easier on the whole family if the entire family agrees to work the program with your child. The whole family therefore must learn to break old habits and start new ones. This includes in your home, during shopping and even when dining out. Once you learn the new diet plan, the rest becomes very easy.With this program 100% compliance is mandatory. It is not unusual if one bite of foodstuff with synthetic coloring or a sip of soda from a can will lead to 48-72 hours of undesirable behavior patterns. Therefore with one bite of offending food on Sunday and one sip of soda on Wednesday, your child's entire week will be full of unhealthy behavior patterns. How Do I Know If It Is WorkingLook for the small things. The change is going to be so slow and gradual you might not even realize it is happening. But most parents are quoted as saying some of these comments about their children:- For the first time in his life my child stayed sitting in his chair the entire meal without the constant rocking back and forth or jumping up and down coming and going from the table
- My child walked into a room and sat down to watch TV- not start "crashing" through everything in the room as is formerly normal
- Our family can now have an entire family conversation without being interrupted continuously
- My child will actually go to bed now at bedtime with no scenes and he will stay there the whole night and sleep
As you can tell, although it has never been definitively proven through research, many people are advocates of the Feingold Program. For more information, you get lists of all the foods to avoid, all the foods you can use, cooking hints and recipes, what to pack for lunches, travel etc.. A gold-mine of information is available by checking with your local library for Dr. Benjamin Feingold's books written on the Feingold Program. It is also possible to obtain this information on the internet at www.feingold.org/
Return to "Food Additives" from "Feingold Program".
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*Disclaimer*
This site is not intended to replace the advice and supervision of your professional medical treatment plan. Although all of the information is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge, we still recommend you carefully check all food labels before consuming any food product. We can not assume any legal responsibility for any illness obtained while following the advice contained on this site.
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