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Mel, as a physio interested in all aspects of health and as a mother I agree with you. My beautiful baby didn't sleep much and grew up to have sudden unexpected outbursts of temper frustration and crying. By the time he was 4 I discovered alot of research that you described We tried alot of things! and finally put him onto the Feingold Diet. This of course was denegrated here by the medical profession (mostly because simple solutions put them and the drug companies out of business). However for the first time in the 4 years of his life, he and I got a whole night's sleep!! We soon discovered what things sent him crazy when reintroduced. Some were also "healthy" foods e.g. apples and strawberries (salicilates). The super-deluxe performances of tantrums / smashing toys / hitting baby brother would come after a very happy day rewarded by a particular mint and chocolate biscuit (from my mother). He soon learned which foods made him feel 'bad' and even at 5yrs called it 'cranky food'. He was later treated homeopathically as well after a year of restrictions. The point of this is that he grew up to be a lovely person. He still has a slight sensitivity to some things but he knows when to give himself 'time out'. I had NO HELP from the medical profession. I learned alot with knowing where to look for information and persistent research. This is a simplification of our problem and solutions. It was a journey that we survived. Many parents in the USA (and elsewhere) would not know where to look, would not be supported in finding why their child has a "behaviour problem". The easy (and profitable )answer is that (a) it is bad parenting and thus you pay $$$ for (psycho) "therapy" for the kid and the parents or (b) you pay $$$ to the drug companies to alter their behaviour or (c) you are too poor, pigheaded or downtrodden to pay for anything and you struggle on. The combination of ignorance of the effect of foods on behaviour PLUS the availability of weapons with which to show your anger is a double jeopardy. Problems develop at school because the environment is trying to shape you to a formula. If you are different, kids can be merciless (let alone the teachers!). When the teenage hormones kick in, it gets even harder to maintain any self esteem. If the parents have not had support, they cannot direct their support to the child adequately - they are often desperate to help if they only knew how. Of course there is no 1 diet or 1 environment or 1 solution, but if we recognise this as a legitimate problem in the early stages of the child's life we may head off future disasters. Many physios working with schoolage children may be more aware of the multiplicity of problems of children with minor co-ordination problems. It may not only be motor, but also a neurochemical problem! Enough of my tirade - as you can see it is one of my "pet subjects". Thanks for bringing up the topic. Lynda >From: [log in to unmask] >Reply-To: [log in to unmask] >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: FOOD & BEHAVIOUR >Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 05:31:07 EDT > >It has been about two months since the tragic murders at Columbine High >School in our suburb and we have heard psychologists, teachers, >politicians, >crime experts, children and many others presenting their opinions of why a >dreadful crime could have been perpetrated by school children. > >Obviously I could not have heard all the contributors to these discussions, >but I was wondering if anyone had raised the issue of nutritional factors >as >one of the possible contributory factors in this crime. Certainly in >trying >to decipher the nature of complex and complicated human behaviour, it would >be overly simplistic to blame any single factor, just as it is overly >simplistic to blame a single cardiac risk factor for causing coronary heart >disease. > >Initially it might sound a bit far-fetched to suggest that faulty >nutritional >habits could be one of the factors involved in leading to that horrendous >event, but before we dismiss such a notion at the outset, let us examine >some >research which may have a bearing on the issue: > >1. In the 1980s, hardened juvenile delinquents at a detention facility in >Virginia were fed a balanced diet low in sugar and chemical additives for >two >years instead of the typical fast food, low nutrient diet characteristic of >those age groups. Over the duration of that study, theft decreased by 77%, >hyperactivity by 65% and insubordination by 55% (Schoenthaler S “Diet and >Crime: An empirical examination of the value of nutrition in the control >and >treatment of incarcerated juvenile offenders’ Intern J of Biosocial >Research 1983, 4(1): 25-39). The same researcher elaborated on this study >in >the next issue of that journal: ‘Types of Offenses which can be reduced in >an >Institutional Setting using Nutritional Intervention - A Preliminary >Empirical Evaluation. 1983, 4(2): 74-84. > >2. Several other studies using diets with low sugar and no chemical >additives for a total of over 8000 youths in 12 juvenile correctional >facilities reduced deviant behaviour by 47% (Schoenthaler S “Institutional >Nutritional Policies and Criminal Behavior’ Nutrition Today 1985, 20(3) : >16) > >3. In Los Angeles juvenile detention facilities, similar diets >administered >to nearly 1500 adolescents reduced problem behaviour and suicide attempts >by >44% (Schoenthaler S ‘ The Los Angeles Probation Department Diet Behavior >Program: An Empirical Evaluation of Six Institutions’ Intern J of Biosocial >Research 1983, 5(2): 88-98 > >4. The Lancet reported that 79% of children diagnosed as being hyperactive >improved when dubious foods were removed from their diets, but deteriorated >as soon as these additives and suspect foods were reintroduced. The worst >offenders were identified as artificial colourants and flavourings, with >sugar also having a significant effect (Egger J et al ‘Controlled Trial of >Oligoantigenic Treatment in the Hyperkinetic Syndrome’ Lancet 1985: 540) > >5. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the 1979 Journal of >Biological Psychiatry showed that large doses of vitamin B6 was more >effective than Ritalin in reducing hyperactivity in children (cited by >Autism >Research Institute, San Diego, June 1992 - see their website: >http://www.autism.com/ari/ which also reports on the possible role for >magnesium, vit C and DMG in treating autism). > >6. In a 4 year study (1979-1983), considerable improvement in academic >performance of over 1 million children at 803 public schools in New York >city >took place when only the at-schoolmeals were altered to eliminate >artificial >additives and reduce sugar, while adding fresh fruits, vegetables, whole >grains and more plant-based proteins (Schoenthaler S ‘The Impact of a low >food additive and sucrose diet on Academic Performance in New York Public >Schools’ Intern J of Biosocial Research 1986 8(2): 182-195 > >Besides the implications for the behaviour of children, these studies and >many others indicate that it is not simply narcotics, stimulants, >hormones, >LSD and other obviously psychoactive drugs which may modify one’s >psychological state, but even ones which are far more subtle and which are >associated with our normal modern eating habits. Extrapolating this >directly >to the world of sport, let us for a moment shift aside our current >preoccupation with the physiological effects of anabolic-androgenic >steroids >(AAS), prohormones, ephedra, caffeine, energy replacement drinks and other >substances which are popularly researched in sponsored studies, and ask if >sufficient attention is being focused on the psychological effects of these >drugs, as well as other constituents of one’s normal daily diet, insofar as >this may affect sporting performance. > >Dr Mel C Siff >Denver, USA >[log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%