Stage Two Results

If you have been following my blog, you know that so far we have been on Stage One of the Feingold diet...eliminating a lot of artificial additives including artificial dyes, artificial sweeteners, artificial preservatives, artificial flavorings. In addition, in Stage One, we have also eliminated naturally occurring salicylates as these can be problematic for some people. I have from the beginning thought this could be a problem for Elijah, but was hoping that it wasn't. We eliminated from apples, grapes, berries, and tomatoes and any products containing these in any form. It has been very limiting especially in treats that are all natural yet used these juices for color or flavor. After several peaceful weeks in our home, I began reintroducing some of these naturally occurring salicylates. I began with half of an apple last Thursday and I have never seen a kid so excited to eat an apple before! Day 1 was fine. Day two, I gave him another half of an apple. Day 3, I added his gummy vitamins (which contains fruit juice) and that pushed him over the edge. Each day, I have given him a small amount whether it was from an organic sucker made from fruit juice or a few slices of apple, but only one "treat" a day if you will. Unfortunately, the results have shown that he does seem to react to the salicylates. I've seen more overreacting and crying over the past few days than I have in the past few weeks. Interestingly, he has had some infractions where he ate food dyes and did not seem to have an adverse reaction to those. Salicylates can have a cumulative effect meaning that just eating one item may not be a problem, but having too much in his system can be problematic. It is also known that some fruits and vegetables can be well tolerated while others cannot. Therefore, we are slowing down on the salicylates and will move toward trying to see which foods cause the most problems. Honey and corn based products (corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, etc.) are also on the watch list for now. I am truly amazed at how what we eat can affect our bodies so much, especially in people who are extra sensitive like my darling son.