Today I am going to share a little bit more about the Feingold Diet and our family. In my last post I shared about our need for a change. Unfortunately, I didn’t know it was only a diet change that could have been implemented years ago. So, what is this miracle diet?
The Feingold Diet, simply put, removes artificial flavors, all food colors and dyes, and the preservatives BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole), BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene), and TBHQ (Tertiary Butylhydroquinone). The Feingold Diet was founded by Dr. Ben Feingold. He found that avoiding certain foods drastically helped ADHD-like symptoms if not take them away completely. Our results have been taking them away completely when we follow the diet correctly.
The link above takes you to the Feingold website where you can learn a little bit more. They have a membership program with a guide and fast food list if that interests you. As well as Facebook groups. I make zero money from recommending it. I’m just a mom that has found an answered prayer, and I want to help other parents that are going through what we went through!! It is tough to be a parent of a child/children that react to these things in food!
How do I get started on the Feingold Diet?
Step One
The first step is to start reading ingredients and food labels. You need to familiarize yourself with what you’re currently eating, and what needs to go and what can stay.
Warning: it is not easy to decipher everything and you will get mad once you learn everything they are putting in your food!
The hard part is that sometimes the ingredients are not all listed on the label. Sometimes an off-plan ingredient is used in the packaging or put into one of the ingredients before it is manufactured into the product of which you are reading the label. These are instances where having the membership comes in handy because the research has been done to determine if everything is safe or not.
Step Two
The second step is a matter of preference. Do you want to throw everything out that doesn’t meet the guidelines or replace said items with new on-plan items as you run out? With food prices these days I don’t think anyone wants to waste anything! However, the severity of your symptoms will likely help you make the choice of how to start. We decided to replace new items as the old ones ran out.
I did my research, made a list of items to try/replace (we aren’t huge stockers so I got quite a bit the first trip), and we went to grocery store for our regular shopping. Our options are limited compared to those that live in bigger populated areas, but I make it work with what I can find in rural America. We ate out “one last time”, and went home.
We started the very next morning with breakfast. Then lunch, snack, and supper. The next morning we skipped cereal again and ate “real food”. When we started school I noticed there was zero complaining about getting school books out. I worried he was coming down with something he was so calm and compliant with everything by that night. The next day I had a different child. He actually said he WANTED to please and he felt different. Now, he was eight, so he was old enough to know these things for himself verses a younger child. I had everything off-plan out of the house by bedtime.
How does The Feingold Diet work?
The Feingold Diet eliminates artificial flavors, food dyes, and BHA, BHT, and TBHQ. It also eliminates foods high salicylates. Salicylates are the natural chemicals plants produce to keep away insects and diseases.
The Feingold Diet is broken into two stages. Stage One and Stage Two.
Stage One is definitely the hardest. It takes six to eight weeks of consistently eating on plan and keeping the forbidden out of the picture. Some kids may take longer than eight weeks, and a few may take less than six. Six to eight is what you should plan for. Stage One completely eliminates all high salicylate foods. Some people need to eliminate the middle salicylate foods as well, but we had great success with just avoiding the high list.
Stage Two begins after having success on Stage One for six to eight weeks. Some people have to remain Stage One forever, but most do okay with Stage Two. We are just starting to add in Stage Two foods. Our daughter, Marc, and myself are doing okay with the Stage Two foods we have tried. Our middle son, the target, is reacting to most Stage Two foods, so he is staying at Stage One. I hope that he will be able to go to Stage Two with more time.
High Salicylate Foods to Avoid
- Apples
- Grapes
- All Berries
- Cherries
- Peaches
- Oranges
- Apricots
- Raisins
- Nectarines
- Plums
- Prunes
- Fresh Pineapple
- Pickles
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Zucchini
- Paprika
- Cloves
- Wintergreen
- Red Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Cayenne
- Ginger
- Rosemary
- Almonds
- Molasses
- Clover Honey
- Tea
- Coffee
*We did not take out molasses, honey, or ginger. Also, we had spaghetti sauce once and pizza twice without any negative reactions. We didn’t take Ketchup away, but it was used in very limited amounts.*
Moderate Salicylates
If you notice a reaction to any in this group, take those out of your diet for the first six to eight weeks, then try again one at a time. We did fine with all of these!
- Bananas
- Canned Pineapple
- Avocado
- Cantaloupe
- Grapefruit
- Potatoes
- Spinach
- Cinnamon
- Cumin
- Oregano
- Honey
Low Salicylates
You can have all of these all of the time.
- Mango
- Pears
- Watermelon
- Kiwi
- Papaya
- Limes
- Lemons
- Honeydew
- Pomegranate
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Green Beans
- Lettuce
- Kale
- Carrots
- Pumpkin
- Sweet Potatoes
- Olives
- Onion
- Peas
- Brussel Sprouts
- Pecans
- Sunflower Seeds
- Cashews
- Maple Syrup
- Parsley
There are lots more that are approved that can be found with a membership from Feingold.org. However, these are the ones that are easily available at my stores in small town, rural America.
Now What?
In simplest terms, take these above ingredients, add in beef, chicken, pork, or fish, and make meals.
It is more work to cook from scratch and work with whole ingredients, but it is so, so worth it!
Prepackaged processed boxed foods are available on the Feingold Diet. Unfortunately, I do not have access to very many of them. I’ve heard Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have lots of items, but I have never been to either of these.
The Feingold Diet isn’t a “clean” eating plan, but this is the way our family has been using it. Again, you can join with a membership and get food lists for different parts of the country. We joined, but after seeing how little is available in my area, I will not renew my membership next year. With that being said, you can totally do this and make meals from the ingredients listed above.
A Few Last Thoughts
Reactions to salicylates include reddening of the ears. My guy has had red ears since he began eating foods as a baby. He has not had any redness on his ears since we started this. Another reaction can be aggressiveness. Since removing the high salicylates from his diet he no longer struggles with fits of rage or uncontrollable attacking of his sister.
Pure vanilla extract is what you want. Avoid vanillin or artificial vanilla flavor.
Many people feel sorry for my kids because they can’t have candy or packaged snacks. Honestly, I thought I was going to miss that stuff too! I loved M&Ms and Zebra Cakes! After you have been on the diet, and seen phenomenal changes, you won’t want to go off plan. Even my target, at nine says no to “treats” because he doesn’t want to feel bad again. Earlier this week I was alone at work and thought I would have some M&Ms. I was so disappointed! They tasted awful AND I got a headache. Something I haven’t had since we started.
There really is something to be said about putting real food into your body. The body functions much better on real food instead of chemicals made in a lab.
The Feingold Diet takes time reading labels and looking for approved items in the grocery store. However, after you know what they are and where they are, it isn’t any harder than your current grocery shopping.
Keeping lots of homemade desserts in the house helps us to not miss what we have given up. A lot of people think sugar is the culprit to children hyperactivity. You can have sugar on this diet. Baking is an easy way to keep everyone satisfied. Of course moderation is still important, but sugar is better than artificial flavors and dyes any day of the week.
Additional Resources
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
These books aren’t recent, and things have changed a LOT in the way our food is made since these were written, but these provide more science if that interests you.
” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Why Your Child is Hyperactive
The Feingold Diet for ADHD and other related conditions
I hope all of this helpful to you today! If you have a child with learning or behavior problems, I am praying for you! It isn’t easy. But, God sees you and still loves you. All children are a blessing. I hope and pray this helps you as much as it has helped us.
Blessings,
Ashley