Where Family Need to Follow A Special Diet?
Fads & Health Intersect
Does Your
allergies and intolerances, some parents have
prematurely omitted certain foods fearing that
the exposure could lead to a food allergy.
However, the guidelines from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases state
that “there is no evidence to suggest that restricting a mother’s diet while she is pregnant
or breastfeeding prevents the development of
food allergy in her child, nor is there evidence
to support delaying the introduction of solid
foods to an infant 4 to 6 months of age to prevent allergic diseases from developing.” Cases
of rickets and malnutrition have been reported
in unnecessarily restrictive diets without nutritional guidance.
Talking with other parents about food choices
can also be a big influencer on what you try for
your own family. When another parent believes the diet change that worked for her child
is what’s best for every child, it could be harmful advice, even with the best of intentions. On
the other hand, it can sometimes be right on
point.
Nicole thought her son John was just a very
active little boy but when he started school,
she got feedback from teachers that John was
impulsive and had difficulty following simple
instructions. “It got to the point where I felt
sick to my stomach when picking him up from
school because there was usually a note about
his behavior from one of his teachers.”
John’s pediatrician suggested the next step was
to consider medication. “So I walked out of
the office that day with a script for Adderall”, a
stimulant used in the management of attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) “but
once we were faced with the decision to medicate our child, I just couldn’t do it.”
It wasn’t until Nicole openly discussed the situation with a mothers’ group did she hear about
a connection between hyperactivity, food dyes
and preservatives.
In a 2007 study on the effects of preservatives
and artificial food dye on young children, the
outcomes concluded that food additives and/
or sodium benzoate increase hyperactive behavior in children. As a result, the American
Academy of Pediatrics now recommends, “For
the child without a medical, emotional, or
environmental etiology of ADHD behaviors, a
trial of a preservative-free, food coloring–free
diet is a reasonable intervention.”
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