FOOD ALLERGY AND YOUR CHILD - by Alice Willitts Deborah Carter
The first thing you should do when you leave the doctor’s surgery with a diagnosis of food allergy is to go and buy this book. Not because it will solve all your problems - although it will help you deal with a lot of them - but because it will bring you comfort and support.
Whatever is coming your way, Alice Willitts (mother of Zac) and Deborah Carter (mother of Thomas) have been there before you. And they have made notes of all the practical things you need to know - who was most helpful, what websites to consult, how to approach unsympathetic doctors and - vitally important but often overlooked - how to recognise and deal with the emotional fall out that the situation may have on both the allergic child and on the rest of the family.
The book starts with some ‘fast-track’ information about food allergy which you are unlikely to have got from your doctor. Subsequent chapters deal with shopping and preparing food, socialising, holidays and travel, trusting others to look after your child and the future for an allergic child and the rest of the family.
The style is simple and straightforward and the text is liberally sprinkled with their own personal comments and those of the parents of other allergic children on specific events and situations. These are particularly valuable as not only do they humanise what can otherwise be a very dry subject but they will reassure parents of newly diagnosed children that no matter how scared, inadequate, guilty, stressed out or paranoid they may feel, these feelings are shared by many other parents in a similar situation.
Food allergy and your child by Alice Willitts and Deborah Carter is published by Class Health (ISBN 978-1-85959-186-4) and costs £17.99 from good bookshops.
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THEY ARE WHAT YOU FEED THEM
by Dr Alex Richardson
Early on in the introduction to her new book Dr Richardson says that she hopes that your copy will become dog-eared and covered in highlighter and notes - not left to gather dust on a shelf - and I am sure that her hopes will be fulfiled. Anyone who has heard her speak will know that she has that gift, rare among academics - of making
complex, technical or scientific subjects fun and interesting and,
fortunately for her readers, she writes as she speaks.
Although there are a healthy chunk of appendices and
references at the back of the book, They are what you feed them is
primarily a manual for parents of children with behavioural, mood,
and learning difficulties - Dr Richardson’s own area of expertise - although her nutritional advice holds good for all children.
‘Labels like dyslexia, ADHD or autism can be useful but they do little to explain or help these conditions. If your child has been given one of these labels you may have been told that there’s little or nothing you can do. You can do something, and one very fundamental thing that may help is to look at your child’s diet. Junk food diets are now recognised as a serious risk to the physical health of young children but their effect on behaviour, learning and mood are still largely ignored. I believe that children's diets can affect not only their physical, but their mental health and performance.’
She then goes on to look a the average child’s diet, the food industry that produce the food they eat and the behavioural and learning problems (dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism) that affect around 20% of school age children, often accompanied by emotional and physiological (usually digestive) problems.
What is going on
Chapters 4-7 provide a guide to essential nutrients, how the digestive system works, additives, allergies and intolerances and the importance of eating for balanced energy - carbohydrate and sugar regulation. Next she tackles the horrendously complex subject of dietary fats - what is what, what do the labels mean, which ones we need, which ones we can make for ourselves, which ones we can’t - and the relationship between omega-3 fatty acids, behaviour and learning.
Action plan
Having given you a good understanding of the subject she then outlines a three month plan which includes not just dietary advice (and a clutch of tasty recipes) but some very useful motivational suggestions. Do not try to do too much too quickly, set an example, see things from your child’s point of view, show interest and praise, look for ‘positive intention’ behind your child’s actions, set goals, be flexible, think about any ‘limiting beliefs’ you may have and be passing on to your child (‘I can’t cook well’ should become' I can find some easy recipes and maybe take a cookery course’); visualise, with your child, what people will be saying about the new you and the new him or her - and get outside. Fresh air, exercise and sunlight are essential for
mental wellbeing.
An excellent read for anyone interested in the relationship between food and nutrition - essential reading for any parent, carer or health professional working with that 20% of children now categorised as ‘difficult’ and often ‘unmanageable’.
They are what you feed them - by Dr Alex Richardson
is published by Thorsons (ISBN 0-00-718225-2) at £12.99
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SCARY DAIRY, WILD WHEAT AND COPING WITH E's: A Practical Approach to Children's Behavioural Problems Through Diet by Tessa Lobb
Ideal for the child whose hyperactivity is sparked by dairy products or wheat, as is the case with Tessa’s son, Alex. Jolly, practical and very child orientated, Tessa gives lots of advice on coping with the diet itself (breakfasts, school lunch boxes, eating out with friends) followed by around 60 recipes for dairy-free/wheat-free versions of pizza, chicken nuggets, lasagne, milk shakes, muffins, chocolate chip cookies and loads of other children's favourites.
Published by Grub Street- ISBN 1-904943-28-4
Recommended retail price: £7.99
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ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER by Professor Basant Puri
Professor Puri, along with Dr Alex Richardson, has pioneered the research into Omega 3 fatty acids (specifically EPA - eicosapentaenoic acid) as a treatment for ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and the whole range of neurological/ behavioural problems, which they see as being part of the same spectrum.
In this book Dr Puri looks specifically at Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. He first puts the condition into both a historical (the Babylonian Talmud...) and a medical perspective, then examines what may cause it, including the neurotransmitter changes in the brains of ADHD patients which have been the basis for the conventional psychostimulant drug treatments.
He goes on to describe his work on essential fatty acids and their relationship to brain and neurological function. He suggests that supplementation with the correct fatty acids, supported by the appropriate vitamins and minerals, may be a more effective way to treat ADHD than psychostimulant drugs.
An excellent read for anyone interested in ADHD, essential reading for anyone trying to deal with/treat their own or their child's condition.
Published by Hammersmith Press ISBN-13: 978-1905140015
Recommended retail price: £14.99
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OPTIMUM NUTRITION FOR BABIES AND YOUNG CHILDREN by Lucy Burney
A wonderful book which not only tells you everything you could ever need to
know about healthy eating for your baby, but has a comprehensive chapter on
potentially allergic babies.
A thorough but easy to follow introduction covers everything from hydrogenated
fat to sprouting seeds. A chapter on breast and bottle feeding, one on weaning
and then a lengthy section on food into the terrible twos. Lots of easy, fun
tasty and flexible recipes, useful ideas for daily meals, parties, pizza toppings,
sandwich fillings. An excellent investment for anyone with small children.
Published by Piatkus Books - ISBN 0-7499-2028-9
Recommended retail price: £10.99
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Also see:-
FOOD ALLERGIES- ENJOYING LIFE WITH A SEVERE FOOD ALLERGY by Tanya Wright In
the 'Allergy' Section
CAN'T EAT, WON'T EAT by Brenda Legge in the Autism Section
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