Mom Is Teaching

Feingold.org that is?  Do you know them?  Chances are you either already know about the Feingold diet because you have a child that has showed marked improvements with the diet or you are looking for this kind of information.  It very well may not be for a child of your own, a friend, a sibling, yourself?

Either way, when I started discussing the thoughts and ideas of ADD and ADHD in regards to my son, Jane Faus contacted me immediately.  She then sent me a plethora of information in the form of books and leaflets and had directed me to navigating on the Feingold site.  Here’s a few quotes from some of our emails that I found interesting when I went back to look at them and pass along the information. 

Here’s a few of my comments regarding the big food list entitled “Make the Switch from Fake to Food”.  She is commenting on foods I specifically mention.

Kool-Aid worries me, but not nearly as much as Crystal Light.  The aspartame in it has cause more reports of serious health problems than any additive in history (so that includes the Diet Coke).   If you want to learn more, do a search for Cori Brackett and her film “Sweet Remedy”.  Cori was diagnosed with MS and was confined to a wheelchair.  After she ditched the aspartame she recovered…she was one of the lucky ones.  

Actually, I never buy Crystal Light, so I can’t say for sure if it still has aspartame in it.  If so, then you are swallowing a combination of aspartame and dye.  Research at the University of Liverpool in England found that each of these additives damaged nerve cells, but when they were combined the damage was 7-fold.   The research only looked at aspartame + one dye.  I have no idea of the potential damage if you consume several different dyes, plus artificial flavor. 

Sundrops are similar to M&Ms but are made with all natural ingredients.  There’s a Whole Foods Market in Birmingham….I don’t know how often you travel there, but they have all kinds of yummy, wholesome treats.   Most new, well-stocked supermarkets now carry a good selection of natural foods.

You can also order these things online.

Froot Loops - Fruity Pebbles, I assume it is the same thing

Yes, just as bad.  This is not cereal, it’s candy.  There are some naturally colored cereals that are similar, but they still have a lot of sugar.  We aren’t anti-sugar, but you need more than that to carry you through the morning.

Hawaiin Punch - we don’t this for home, but Wayne gets it frequently for himself

This really should not be thought of as a juice.  It’s the stuff we once used, that caused so many problems for our family.   Minute Maid fruit punch would be good.  I like to mix Welsh’s pure grape juice with either plain or sparkling water and lots of ice.  It’s refreshing and it’s real food.

Jelly Beans - Even Jelly Belly now has a natural option….as do several other companies.  This is another one of Wayne’s favorites.

Hershey Choco Bar - Ghirardelli’s tastes better.  Even sweetened baking chocolate is readily available.  I’m the chocolate-aholic in the family.

Ritz Crackers - and here I thought these things were so innocent

They aren’t nearly as worrisome as the other things (above).

There’s just a few foods to think about and you can check out the site for more helpful information.  There’s so much more to it than just the foods I mentioned above, those just happen to be the foods in our house that are so deadly.