The Physical Aspects of Asperger's Syndrome
4. The Feingold Diet and Common Food Intolerances
The Feingold Diet was proposed by Benjamin Feingold in 1973 to address
hyperactivity, ADD, and ADHD in children. The diet suggests that
salicylates, including the compound found in aspirin and food additives create hyperactive
behavior. People that are sensitive to the foods that this diet recommends
avoiding will be calmer and sleep better when the "exciting" foods are removed
from their diet. Some will benefit from these foods being completely
removed, and some only need to eat these foods a lot less often.
It's good to know what the foods are on this diet so that you can begin to
become aware of what might be creating the agitation and restlessness. For
most, it is recommended to remove the offending foods for 4-6 weeks, then
reintroduce them one at a time to see what can be tolerated. Sugar should
also be on this list, but instead of needing to eliminate it completely, just
largely decreasing sugar intake is usually enough to see good results.
§
Chemicals, eliminate altogether:
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Artificial colors
§
Artificial flavors
§
Preservatives, all, including BHA, BHT, TBHQ
§
Nitrates and Nitrites – meat preservatives
§ MSG
§
Aspirin and White Willow Bark (herbal form of aspirin)
§
Natural flavorings
§
Salicylate
§
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
§
Sulfites
§
Benzoates
§
Artificial perfumes
§
Corn syrup
§
Foods naturally high in salicylates, eliminate for a month, then
try:
§
Almonds
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Apples, applesauce, apple juice, apple cider, and apple vinegar
§
Apricots
§
Berries, all
§
Cherries
§
Cloves
§
Coffee
§
Cucumbers and pickles
§
Currants
§
Grapes, raisins, wine, wine vinegar
§
Oranges and tangerines
§
Peaches and nectarines
§
Peppers, both bell and chili peppers
§
Plums and prunes
§
Black and green tea
§
Tomatoes
§ Oil
of wintergreen
§
Toxins in Environment
§
Dryer sheets – try dryer balls and natural laundry detergent instead. See
section 9 for more details
§
Laundry detergent
§
Dish and dishwasher detergent
§
Household cleaners – try natural versions of detergents and cleaners. See
section 3c for some suggestions
§
Body care and toiletries, including shampoo, soap, toothpaste, lotion, bubble
bath
§
Anything that is eaten, smelled, or absorbed into the skin can affect the body
To learn more about diet, go to:
http://www.feingold.org/
Common Food Intolerances
Gluten and Casein are not the only foods that our people are commonly
sensitive to. People can be sensitive to many things. The list below
shows the most common food intolerances. Begin by eliminating the first two
items. After a few weeks, you may begin to notice previously-unknown sensitivities to soy,
eggs, corn, etc. Personally, I noticed a sensitivity to soy about two
weeks after beginning the GFCF diet. I noticed that soy milk was giving me
the same "high" that I have previously received from gluten. I stopped
eating soy and began to be able to relax more. Recently, after being on
the diet for two months, I had egg salad, after having had virtually no eggs for
a month. I then got sick with a severe bout of food poisoning that took me
a week to get over. I
tell you this to show that noticing a food sensitivity can take more than one
form.
More can be learned about these intolerances from the book: Feast Without
Yeast by Bruce Semon, Lori Kornblum, and Bernard Rimland.
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