Trust me: the food you eat will kill you

Terry has been at her wits end. Kylara has been, now how shall I say this, Kylara has been a little defiant. Ok, perhaps more than a little defiant. Rude and obnoxious, behaving like one of the more spoilt brats in town. Terry has born the brunt of this wilfulness. Me, I just go to work everyday and miss out on all the real explosive fun.

Kylara's teacher has been conferred with over this behaviour, and a rough diagnoses of ADD/Asperger's has been reached. However I fear that ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder) may be the real culprit. Hell, Asperger's never held Bill Gates back. And ADD is nowhere near ADHD.

For me, ADD is normal - I remember many, many wasted hours staring out of the windows at school and University. It was just so boring! My teachers all had what I term a 'declarative' teaching style. They droned on, on and on (and on). I could read real fast. As can Kylara. I never understood why we were never simply asked to read the stuff and then discuss it. Anyhow appointments have been made for Kylara, and in the fullness of time we will have a more complete diagnoses.

This is a good example of how the society we live in (western?) is changing. We seek to label and rationalize behaviour, to understand and explain. No wonder some think society has gone soft! In my parents day, the label would have simply been “disobedience”, and the punishment would have been swift (and sometimes harsh). I have to point out that my (much) older brothers tell me that my younger sister and I were spoilt rotten. For us it was long periods of time out (with the occasional smack), for them, they claim, it was the wooden spoon (with the occasional belt). I think they they are besmirching my wonderful parents! You know, I like it that our society is in continually in transition...

Here the medical system here mirrors the legal system in other countries: it grinds exceedingly slow (I am not sure about the fine). There is still a while to go before those appointment dates. Frustrated, Terry decided to take matters into her own hands! She turned to the Internet. On a desperate quest to resolve our daughters terrible behaviour she searched with Google, seeking a cure.

And she may have found one! It soon became apparent that a lot of other parents out there also had children that behaved similarly to Kylara. And that other parents had been trying to rationalize and explain. And some had turned to diet, and had achieved amazing results through changes to their child's diet. In particular, Terry found Sue Dengate and the GFCF sites to be of great use.

Me, I was skeptical. But when I started to review what Terry was finding it appeared that there is indeed a growing body of evidence on the effect of diet on our brain's chemistry. On reflection it shouldn't be a surprise. After all, we are what we eat...

Others feel that Gluten is the ingredient responsible for a lot ADD/ODD type behaviour. A relatively recent addition to human diet, it is used in most of the foods we eat these days. Terry took action and launched us on a gluten free diet. And within a matter of days Kylara's behaviour has improved quite dramatically. People are commenting on how she is now paying attention in class, is following the ball at Netball, and how her blank looks into the middle distance have vanished. A changed and transformed person. The difference is amazing.

A cause for high fives and congratulations to Terry? You would have to think so. Except that Terry now feels terribly guilty about putting us on the gluten free diet. In fact she feels that she has poisoned us. In fact she knows that she has poisoned us. You see, after two weeks of our new cornflour based diet it emerged that all of the cornflour we had been using was from a lead “contaminated” batch. A batch with levels of lead over 100 times greater than the permissible limits. A batch that was only accidentally discovered. And now recalled; although I do not think that the authorities would accept the return of our consumed lot! Though I do however feel very much like sending it to them.

We are now left with the question: was it the gluten or the lead that changed our daughters behaviour? We have decided to persevere with a new gluten (and lead) free diet and to find what we may find. For the time being all I can say is trust me: the food you eat will kill you.

Martin.

PS 1: A question: if it was the mega dose of lead that changed Kylara's behaviour, we don't have to worry about diet anymore, do we?

PS 2: This has episode has exposed several differences between myself and Terry. The biggest being that I have had to confess a sneaking admiration for Kylara's defiance. This is a daughter who worried us with her introversion and quietness, and here she is, screaming and shouting, battling vocally and physically against all odds and authority. Surely this is to be admired?

PS 3: Terry has decided to re-introduce Gluten into our diet again next week. This is as a test of her theories. I think that I may have to arrange a business trip to somewhere far away.