Self Inventory 97its cause. Moreover, if your illness is accompanied by gastro-intestinal
disturbances, such as pains, flatulence, nausea, and so on, food is very likely
to be the culprit, whatever the complaint.
Another whole group of symptoms that are often ignored or
glossed over are the mental manifestations. Because few doctors know
what they are dealing with they tend to dismiss important clues like these
as merely signs of a neurotic personality. Yet tiredness, irritability and low
mood are not normal, no matter how common. It is a pity so many people
accept this unquestioningly as their lot in life. A poor marriage, a stressful
job or financial worries are often assigned to the cause of feeling unwell,
and it is true that these factors can aggravate symptoms; but as anyone
who has been through the diet wise plan will tell you, the mere avoidance
of the most harmful foods leads to a startling increase in verve, alertness,
enthusiasm and willingness to cope with life’s setbacks. Stress then becomes
secondary: it is easy to conquer if you are feeling terrific!
A lot of us live in a kind of mental ‘fog’ without recognizing its
existence. This is easy to understand, since for many it never lifts! But if you
have ever had flashes, albeit briefly, of feeling young again and that the
world sparkles with joy, as it did when you were a child, then that is what you
are really like. Think about it.
Saddest of all is that many young children are compelled to grow up
facing this unseen barrier to learning and maturing. I’m talking about ADD
or ADHD and naughty behavior. Lack of concentration and forgetfulness
at school can have disastrous consequences for the rest of a person’s life,
yet it is one of the commonest of allergy and intolerance symptoms. I
often see children who are struggling with emotional burdens and having
great difficulties with school studies. Their diets are dreadful, but no one
has suggested the real cause of the problem. Time and again the plan has
sorted out their dietary liabilities and they have gone on to do very well
academically, which proves to me that allergies have this markedly negative
effect.
Casebook 7. Maxine’s story
One of my early patients was a young girl whom I shall call Maxine. Her
case was seized upon by the media, and she became an overnight ‘star’ with
her name in several national newspapers. When I first interviewed her and
her parents, Maxine was moody, truculent and unhappy: Her school work
placed her at resounding class bottom; she had few friends; she vexed her
parents; but, worst of all, her teachers made no secret of their dislike for