This week I am reviewing special diets to reiterate these are not ‘fad’ diets, but those which are followed due to health issues, or religious or moral beliefs.
The Feingold diet eliminates dietary additives in hyperactive children- Kathryn Borg
I have written at length about Ketogenic diet, which has been around for some years. There is a film relating the story of a small boy with epilepsy, called First Do No Harm, starring Meryl Streep.
The story line is as follows: when Lori Reimuller learns that her young son Robbie has epilepsy, she first trusts the judgment of the hospital staff on how best to bring it under control. As Robbie’s health slides radically downhill, however, she becomes frustrated and desperate, and so does her own research into the existing literature on treatments.
When she decides to try an alternative treatment called the Ketogenic diet, devised long ago by a doctor from Johns Hopkins University, she is met with narrow-minded resistance from Robbie’s doctor, who is prepared to take legal action to prevent Lori from removing him from hospital.
This film is an indictment of those in the medical profession who discuss only the treatment options they favour. Several of the minor characters are portrayed by people who have not just been helped, but cured by the Ketogenic diet.
The Ketogenic diet is a diet for childhood epilepsy based on a high fat, low carbohydrate foundation, ensuring there is adequate protein consumed.
You may think this sounds like the Atkins diet. It is true that they have some aspects in common, such as no starchy fruit and vegetables, bread, pasta, grains and sugar, together with high levels of cream and butter.
The basic idea of how it works is that it mimics starvation by forcing the body to burn fat vs glucose. Through a complicated route the body is forced into ketone synthesis. Practitioners are still not fully sure how it works and for children suffering from epilepsy it must be managed by a medic and dietician.
Urinary ketone levels are checked daily to ensure ketosis has been achieved. Efficacy is determined by the number of seizures.
In a 2001 study, 27 per cent were seizure-free after 12 months, while 23 per cent were significantly improved. In 2005 a meta-analysis confirmed that 50 per cent had a reduction in frequency.
Some of the issues to be considered include constipation, the balance of the microflora in the gut and cholesterol may be increased by 30 per cent. In addition, there can be a micronutrient insufficiency particularly from plant foods.
This would result in a lack of magnesium, folic acid, vitamins C and E and phytonutrients. In conclusion, this is an extremely difficult diet to follow, but through it childhood seizures have been reduced and in some cases eliminated.
Moving on to the Feingold diet, which eliminates dietary additives in hyperactive children. This is based on many studies since the 1970s when serious colourings and additives became apparent in our foods.
Removing something like food dyes is an easy step to take, but it can have dramatic and varied effects. The widely used dye, tartrazine, is a good example. However, a further list could offer similar side-effects for any of the petroleum-based colourings.
When consuming food with tartrazine, zinc is lost through the urine and saliva. If a child suffers from ADHD, it is lost even faster than a child without ADHD (Ward 1990, 1997). Even a mild deficiency of zinc can produce a wide range of physical and mental problems.
Studies have led to various supermarkets removing additives from their own brand products. There are no vital nutrients lost by following this diet. However, as children are usually following this diet it is important to provide tasty alternatives to habit-forming processed foods, especially those containing sugar.
It is also beneficial to review after a few months, thereby ensuring the diet is having the desired effect on behaviour. The www.feingold.org website is useful for helping to understand the basis of this diet for hyperactive children.
Finally we look at a low-residue diet. This is designed to reduce the volume of faecal matter produced, as well as the rate at which bowel movements occur. This could be followed pre- and post-abdominal surgery and is designed for short periods of time only.
In addition it should be medically prescribed. It could also be relevant for a flare-up of Chrone’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, gastrointestinal (GI) tract adhesions and some chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the GI tract.
The diet is obviously low in fibre, generally amounting to 10g or less of fibre per day. It may eliminate other foods which increase bowel activity, such as dairy products, and is relatively low in micronutrients.
The foods it generally includes are refined white starch such as pasta and rice, refined cereals, vegetable and fruit juices (pulp free and eliminating prunes); potatoes without skins, well-cooked, tender meat; fish, eggs, butter, margarines and olive oil.
Those on the diet could become deficient in vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and folic acid. It must be stressed that this is not a long-term diet.
kathryn@maltanet.net