Diet Wise Academy

Children as Special Patients 175

Picky eater Irritability

So-called ‘growing pains’ Convulsions, fits

Abnormal temper tantrums Blackouts

Moodiness or crying ‘Blank spells’

Always on the go, very active Destructive, smashing up attacks

Mood swings, high to low and back Excitement or silliness

Very pale Dark rings under the eyes

Runny nose Puffy face, swollen eyes

Prolonged bed wetting Melancholic, inconsolable

Recurring sore throats Recurring ear infections

Recurring bouts of abdominal pain The “allergic salute”

Failure to thrive or mantain weight Poor sleep, sleep apnea

Children suffer from food allergies just as adults do, and some have a very
hard time of it. The typical victim would be fussy with his or her food,
eat poorly, have frequent coughs and colds, sleep badly and seem endlessly
naughty. “Allergic shiners” may be evidence: dark black rings around the
eyes, set in a pallid face. The “allergic salute,” if you have not heard of
it, is a child pushing up his or her nose with the flat of the hand, usually
accompanied by sniffing, in an effort to keep back the mucus. This may be
so persistent that the child develops a crease across the bridge of the nose.
Skin rashes are very common; so are sore throats and ear infections.
Many children end up having their tonsils and adenoids out in a desperate
attempt to tackle the problem of recurring infections, and all the while
unsuspected, it is something in the diet which is the cause of the immune
compromise.
Incidentally, this may be the place to remark that the relative
frequency of allergy foods for children seems to differ somewhat from the
adult table of offenders. For grown-ups the ‘top of the league’ is wheat.
Dairy comes second, followed by tea and coffee. But for children there is no
contest: the number one offender is milk. This is followed by colorings and
chemicals, such as glutamates, corn (as high fructose corn syrup mainly),
and then wheat.