Explore ElizabethYarnell.com

Skip to content
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Health & Wellness Speaker
  • Food Sensitivities?
  • Shop
  • More…
Elizabeth Yarnell, Author, Innovator, Naturopath, Speaker
Rescue Your Health Today! 303-830-2665

There is so much to see! Go to blog navigation →

Or start with this most recent post:

Can Food Sensitivities Cause Behavior Changes?

Posted on February 5, 2013 in food sensitivities, Kids | 278 Views | 2 Responses

Lately I’ve been fielding a number of questions from mothers who wonder if their child’s unpleasant or unacceptable behavior could stem from something they are eating. My answer is always a resounding YES!

Yes, food sensitivities can cause behavior changes including tantrums, aggression, irritability, mood swings, excitability, inability to concentrate, inconsolable crying, fatigue, lethargy, inability to stop moving and settle down, etc., etc., etc.

I first saw the connection between what a child eats and their behavior when we discovered my son’s food sensitivities at age 6. Within eight weeks of removing the offending foods not only did we see physical effects like he grew 2 inches  and gained 15 lbs., but he went from a dark, moody kid prone to irritability and tantrums to a happy child who wanted to give and get more hugs. His sleep improved and he stopped wetting the bed. I knew we had really turned a corner when I heard him singing to himself in the bathtub – something that had never happened before!

Really, it makes sense: food sensitivities trigger inflammation all over the body, including in the brain. When your brain is inflamed, it’s impossible to think clearly and rationally and emotions are close to the surface. When the inflammation is removed, often a different person will emerge.

Here is another case study in how food sensitivities cause behavior changes:

Five months ago, in early September of 2012, we conducted an MRT food sensitivities test on a 5 year old girl, “Kristy”. Her mother came to me because Kristy was having constant constipation and bad belly aches almost daily. She describes her efforts to help her daughter:

“We tried to eliminate different things like milk and gluten, but it was just a big guessing game and it was hard to tell if anything was working. And it was a lot to put a 5-year old through, trying all these random diets without seeing any great results. Then I took her to the pediatrician to get her blood tested because she had such low energy levels and stamina and I was worried that something might be really wrong with her. All the blood work turned up fine. When I mentioned her lack of energy to the pediatrician, he just said that some kids are more tired than others and recommended iron supplements, but that made the constipation even worse. The pediatrician did not address food sensitivities at all, nor would he have had the tools to test for it.”

The MRT came back showing that Kristy had multiple food sensitivities, including some of her favorite foods like strawberries, tomatoes, and oats. Kristy’s mom and I reviewed the results together and designed a customized anti-inflammatory diet for Kristy. We determined safe foods to offer her for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, and discussed recipes and cooking ideas to help replace the unsafe foods she had been accustomed to eating. Our goal was to make the food transition as smooth and easy as possible for Kristy and for her mom, who works and didn’t have much time to do extra cooking.

“When we started the program, Kristy’s belly aches stopped almost right away. The constipation took longer… maybe at least six weeks of sticking to the program before it really eased up to where we could call her regular, but from the beginning it was nothing like it had been before we started. Before, we were giving her prunes, prune juice, children’s laxatives… but nothing was working and she would go 5-6 days between bowel movements. When she is regular, she’s like a new person. When she’s stopped up for six days, her personality changes. She’s whiney, tired, inconsolable. The personality difference is so significant that it’s hard to describe.”

Now, almost five months after starting on LEAP, Kristy has adjusted to living on the foods that are safe for her and has reached a “safe” place in that her body is no longer constantly being triggered into inflammation. Kristy is fully aware of the foods that cause her distress and is happy to stay on board the program. (Of course, she still begs for candy like most kids!) Now, her mom can clearly see the effects on Kristy’s behavior when she eats a sensitivity-triggering food. Additionally, some of those original trigger foods have been successfully re-introduced without triggering symptoms.

“Her most difficult sensitivities for us to manage are to sugar, chocolate, and milk,” Kristy’s mom describes. “Within twenty minutes of eating something with sugar, she gets very aggressive and can’t help herself from lashing out at others. Within two hours she’ll have a full meltdown about something silly and dissolve into a mess of tears for an hour or more. This just happened the other day when a friend gave her a lollypop. What a nightmare that was!

“When she’s on the LEAP program, she’s not constipated, but when she strays, she’ll be constipated for up to a week. After Kristy eats something she’s sensitive to, her energy level decreases for the next several days and she just wants to lay on the couch and watch tv. As soon as we’re able to get her back on track, which can take a week or two of sticking closely to LEAP, her energy levels rise tremendously and she wants to do 100 laps around the house! She’s really a different person now.”

→ As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also may use affiliate links elsewhere in my site.

Posted in food sensitivities, Kids | Tagged diet and behavior MRT food sensitivity testing, food and behavior, LEAP therapy

Related Posts

My MS Story→

Are Thyroid Issues Related to Inflammation?→

Missing imageGenetically Modified Meat Ok’d for Sale in US→

Missing imageInflammation Investigator Testimonial from Kim Emerson→

Subscribe to Elizabeth’s Blog

Get blog posts right to your inbox. Unsubscribe at any time.

Name

Email


Check out my book!

Glorious One-Pot Meals

Buy It Now! »

Effortless Topics

  • Allergy-free Foods
  • Autoimmune
  • Books
  • Cooking demonstrations
  • Effortless Eating
  • Events
  • food sensitivities
  • Glorious One-Pot Meals
  • Guest post
  • Kids
  • Living naturally
  • Mental Health
  • Misc.
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Natural Health Questions
  • Natural remedies
  • Nutrition in the news
  • Parasites
  • Recipes
  • Recommended Products
  • The Inflammation Influence
  • Uncategorized
  • Weight loss

My Multiple Sclerosis Story

The Fight MS with Food Project

What if you could change your life simply by changing your diet?
Tweets by @ElizabethYarnel

Popular Posts

  • Missing image

    Apple Juice Colon Cleanse

    52553 views / Posted August 16, 2008
  • Homemade Natural Carpet Shampoo/Cleaner for Carpet Cleaning Machines

    51219 views / Posted September 24, 2013
  • Missing image

    Playing In the Grass Makes Me Itchy: Natural Relief for Itching, Rashes

    41600 views / Posted May 22, 2013
  • Missing image

    Plantar Warts

    36806 views / Posted August 30, 2007
  • Missing image

    Oat-based Aussie Bites Are Treats for the Gluten-free Soul

    25196 views / Posted December 29, 2013

Sites I Like

  • Beautycounter clean beauty products
  • Conversations With My Mother
  • Positive Health Wellness
  • Elana’s Pantry
  • The Savory Spice Shop
verified by healthprofs.com verified by healthprofs.com Directory
natural food blogs

Menu

  • Book a Complimentary Naturopathic Health Assessment!
  • About
  • Contact
  • Elizabeth Yarnell Events
  • Natural Healthcare
  • Articles for Reprint
  • Media Room
  • Affiliate Program
  • Nutritional Counts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimers | Terms | Policies | Site Info
  • Digistars® STEAM Programs
  • Sign up for my newsletter!
Amazon icon Book Bub icon Booksprout icon Email icon Facebook icon Goodreads icon Instagram icon Periscope icon Pinterest icon RSS icon Snapchat icon Tumblr icon Twitter icon Vine icon Youtube icon

Copyright 2023   •   Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer   •   Privacy

We use cookies in this website. Read about them in our cookies policy. To disable them, configure your browser properly. If you keep using this website, you are accepting those.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Interesting Image
Keep in touch with Elizabeth!
Elizabeth Yarnell and Pomegranate Consulting will never sell or share your information and you can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of every email. See our Privacy Policy for more details.

Pro Tip

Our email may sometimes go to your spam/promotions tab, but there's a solution for that.
Look for your confirmation email and add info@elizabethyarnell.com to your contacts to make sure you receive the latest emails. If you use Gmail, drag the confirmation email to your "Primary" tab.


Click here to read the Privacy Policy.