A couple weeks ago I was just about at the end of my rope. Luke was driving me absoutely insane. Getting ready for school was an ordeal that involved me spending most of the morning screaming and yelling. He’d get home from school and it would start all over again. Homework would take hours and I’d be frustrated and angry every day. Most nights he wouldn’t go to sleep before nine, and that is a problem for a kid who has always needed LOTS of sleep!
I had reluctantly concluded that maybe he had ADHD. I got the paperwork to have him assessed, but decided to change his diet first. Articles I read indicated that artificial flavors and colors might be a problem in some kids, so they had to go. Plain Lays chips and plain Fritos, while not exactly health food, are okay. I also put Smartfood popcorn in his lunch. Nitrites could be a problem as well, so I stopped feeding him deli meats. Hormel Naturals doesn’t have nitrites and neither does Boar’s Head. Both are spendy, though, so he mainly gets PBJ. We like the Smuckers natural peanut butter and the Bonne Maman jelly, especially raspberry. No more Gatorade. He only gets water, organic milk, Odwalla orange juice or Simply Lemonade. No apple juice after the arsenic situation, and I saw on 60 Minutes that most major orange juice vendors store it in tanks for a year then load it with so called natural flavors to bring it back. I’m not a big fan of juice anyway. I’d rather just give them fruit.
Surprisingly I didn’t have much of a fight. He accused me of ruining his life, of course, but hey, that’s a mama’s job. And most importantly, his behavior has changed immensely. Don’t get me wrong, he still likes to be aggravating, but he has changed so much. He will sit down to do his homework without all the usual screaming. It rarely takes more than thirty minutes, and sometimes even less. He goes to sleep no later than eight and gets up in a good loving mood. I have my sweet boy back. Still loud and obnoxious, but it’s like someone turned him down by bout 20%. Amazing.
As a parent this is so frustrating. Why would they put chemicals in our food that drive our kids crazy? The worst thing is, we never let him have a lot of this stuff to begin with. Gatorade was mainly on game days and practices. I would let him have the flavored chips with his lunch, but it never occurred to me that it could hurt him. I feel like I have to go on a major research project with each trip to the grocery store. It is absolutely exhausting. Anyway, you might want to examine your kid’s diets and eliminate this stuff too. The difference has been extraordinary.
the one who writes 
Wow this entry gave me a lot to think about!!
Like I said, it’s no miracle cure. Luke is still contrary, and unbelievably loud, but the difference is his behavior is nothing short of miraculous. The really incredible thing is I expected it to take several before we would see a change. The fact that we’re only a couple weeks in and can tell the difference is just a huge wow. Hell, I can even see the difference in ME! I dreaded picking my own kid up from school. I was full of anxiety. All that is gone. I’m just thrilled.
IMO, it helps expand the pharmaceuticals industry. If everyone is ill, obese, depressed, autistic, ADHD, etc, we all need lots and lots of the expensive pills they push on us via commercials and our physicians. And then we need to buy more expensive pills to counteract the side-effects of the first batch of pills! There’s a reason why healthy food is expensive or not promoted to the less wealthy, and why home farming is discouraged.
I think you’re right Evangeline. I’d always said I’dnever medicate my kids, but damn if Iwasn’t on the verge of doing just that. You get so worn down that you’re not thinking clearly. So glad I came to my senses.
Thanks for sharing this. You have given me something to think about too. My grandson eats the school lunch because my daugher thinks she cannot afford the food to put in his lunchbox. I guess granny will just have to supplement.