I really thought, when I first read about trying an additive-free diet, that we would try it, it would work, and life would go on its merry way.
That did happen, in part. We've been simply amazed by the results we've seen in Josiah, and then in Rachel.
But it hasn't been as simple as taking man-made chemicals out of his food.
As we played with Josiah's diet, we also noticed he reacted to chocolate and corn sweeteners. His behavior and attention literally improve daily. I thought, "Hooray, we've found them all!"
Not so fast.
Last week we reintroduced tomatoes. Why take them out to begin with? When Dr.
Feingold was treating patients and discovering the connection between
ADHD and food additives, he also stumbled across a group of foods containing
salycilates. These foods are related to the compounds found in aspirin, are naturally
occurring, and seem to help plants ward off pests. When he started having patients remove these foods in addition to the ones with chemical additives, his success rate in treatment was greatly improved. It has been a bit of a mystery to understand why these foods cause trouble, but more recent research is beginning to point to some reasons. There is a lot of technical science behind this I'm not yet able to articulate (I'm a mom, not a
dr!) but it seems to come down to this: some kids simply have trouble ridding their bodies of toxins. And it's not just kids with
ADHD. Children with autism, asthma, and allergies also seem to have this in common. (For more on this issue, read the book
Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies by Dr. Kenneth Bock.) Children with
ADHD may not only have trouble with food additives, they may also have trouble with other substances found in food that normally do not cause trouble in the general population. These substances can include chemicals such as
salycilates, gluten, casein, and a number of other things. (This is one reason why a gluten-free, casein-free diet is now being recommended for children with autism and
ADHD, and is the "why" behind why it works.)
Back to the tomatoes! Last week we enjoyed a Papa John's pizza, which Josiah ate very enthusiastically. We watched him carefully for reaction and saw things looked good. So a few days later, I gave him a brand of organic "
spaghettios." He was thrilled and ate several helpings. Then we started to see old behaviors return. Josiah grew quickly and easily frustrated, more crying, more hyperactivity, and more
hunger.
We recognized the hunger and frustration about 1 month into the
Feingold program. After reading symptoms, I realized he was probably dealing with low blood sugar: hypoglycemia. I read that the difference between a child with normal hunger pains and a child with hypoglycemia is the force with which they ask for food. Josiah is ready to eat your arm when he's hungry, and there's no amount of telling him he needs to wait for snack time that will convince him to ride out the hunger pangs in his little belly. There are somewhat reliable blood tests to check for hypoglycemia, but the best way to test it is to increase protein and see if the symptoms get better. We did this with Josiah, making sure every snack time and meal time included something high in protein. His symptoms improved.
But now, after eating a good helping of tomatoes twice in one week, the symptoms had returned. More reading, and I discovered that hypoglycemia is exacerbated by food sensitivities.
So now we're back to the drawing board. Should I let him have tomatoes at all? Try for once a week? We'll find out. And meanwhile, I continue to hold off trying other
salicylate foods like apples, grapes, oranges, berries, and several other fruits. And if he continues to show signs of hypoglycemia, I wonder about more food
sensitivities. Perhaps we should try casein-free, even gluten-free for a trial period and see how things go. While we haven't made any decisions yet, it's something we are considering. I find it interesting that kids often crave the very foods to which they are sensitive. Josiah craves dairy and especially
carbs. Those are the foods with gluten and casein.
The mystery continues! But we've come so far in understanding what his body needs and why he behaved the way he did. I can't imagine how rotten he must have felt before we started this journey.
*An update: after talking over Josiah's symptoms with a nurse, she suggested we make an appointment with his pediatrician to check things out further.
The "golden tree" goes from green to leafless in the matter of a week. When it looks like this, we linger in our gaze. 
Starved Rock... a beautiful reflection of a more beautiful Creator.
I think I recognize these three hikers!
A couple of young deer didn't know enough to be afraid. And they were surrounded by at least 20 people who watched them in as much amazement as they watched us! 
It is very convenient that Starved Rock is halfway between here and Rockford. When Eric's sister's family let us know they would be spending an afternoon there, we jumped at the chance to join them. It was the first time I heard no complaints from Rachel while on a long hike. Her reason? "Mom, Anna was there!"
