Awhile back I cut all Red #40 out of Blake’s diet as an experiment to see if it would improve his behavioral issues any. I’d heard from several people I know, as well as my family, that it can cause behavioral issues in children, and once eliminated from their diet, vast improvements would be seen. The results with Blake were quite astounding for not only me, but my parents as well. My son didn’t turn into an angel but he became easier to tolerate and his meltdowns decreased dramatically and he seemed to have more control over his actions.
Due to my divorce and other contributing factors, I slacked off and slowly foods with Red #40 made their way back into his diet. We eventually tried two different ADHD meds that worked for awhile but in the end, they made him depressed. He went through what is known as the “honeymoon phase” where they seemed to be helping him but then we hit a point where they stopped and he became worse than ever.
Since then, I’ve been struggling to handle him. He has meltdowns that leave me stressed and wanting to pull my hair and oftentimes crying because I’m at wit’s end. He also has very little impulse control and as a result, is always hitting his sister. He interrupts a lot. He can’t focus on most things and he has a hard time listening. All of this makes for one very stressed out mom. And I’m sure he’s stressed, as well, because he doesn’t understand why he does the things he does. It’s confusing for him. I know it is.
My mother and I have been discussing once again me removing foods with Red #40 in them from his diet. Now that I’m a single parent, though, money is even tighter, so purchasing all natural (organic) foods becomes very expensive. Right now I’m trying to come up with lunch ideas for the coming school year because he won’t be able to eat the lunches at school because I can’t be certain of which foods containing the culprit. My mom mentioned I should purchase little containers and make batches of homemade whole grain mac ‘n cheese, whole grain ravioli’s, etc., that I can heat up before school and put in containers that lock in the heat and will allow him a hot meal every day. Unfortunately, I’ve tried a few containers that were supposed to that when my daughter was younger but they never worked properly.
Since this is still a new process for me, I’m looking for suggestions from other moms who are dealing with the same problem. Suggestions on not only foods to feed or not to feed him, but ways to cope with his ADHD without medication. If possible, I want to avoid medicating him because I don’t think it’s the best choice for him. None of us do. We don’t want groggy, sad Blake. We want happy, fun-loving Blake who always has a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face.
So if you have any suggestions for meals, cute lunch dishes that work the way they’re supposed to, coping mechanisms, etc., please feel free to leave me a comment or drop me an email at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.
*Courtesy photo of paradoxfx at DepositPhotos.com