My Nonprofit Reviews

Our 4-year-old son was dealing with unexplained developmental delays and an inability to understand concepts, receive correction, and deescalate emotional moments. Doctors had no idea where his behavioral issues were coming from. Some suggested we put him on ADHD medication, which we refused. That wasn't addressing the root cause. We reached a point of frustration that put our family in moment-by-moment survival mode living. Something had to change but no one seemed to be able to point us in a helpful direction. Again, I pleaded with God to give us insight and guidance.
Shortly thereafter, I was at a park with our kids and another mom, downloading our situation. She said it sounded a little like what her boys had dealt with. She had put them on the Feingold Diet which helped tremendously. Ah, a glimmer of hope! She warned me that there can be a couple weeks of difficult adjustment for the child and when shopping and preparing meals if we weren't used to eating similarly, clean, but that it was worth the time and effort if it worked. She said we'd have to give it at least six weeks to really assess any possible changes. She added, "It can't hurt to try."
I was desperate. So, I researched it as soon as I got home. I was concerned about the cost of food and the program but the basic concept seemed refreshingly natural and appeared to address the issues he had. My husband wasn't convinced a diet change would make any difference. Still, he agreed to pay the membership fee to get the food list for grocery shopping and handbook which included a pre-, 4-week, and 6-month assessment, recipes, and suggestions on how to handle family communication and doctors' visits.
I was anxious to get started! As soon as the packet arrived in the mail, I listed our son's symptoms in the handbook checklist, read most of the handbook, and went straight to the grocery store, with an out-of-control treasure in the cart and our other older cutie assisting me. Reading ingredients and looking for new brands was absurdly time-consuming. I grabbed the basics for the day and left. I went back by myself that evening and scoured shelves for an hour and a half.
The program states you should see a difference in behavior in two weeks. I saw signs of change after 3 days! There was no going back. As artificial ingredients left his body, so did some of the unexplained issues. Six months later I reevaluated him and noted that his constant motion had decreased and he had become a little less fidgety. He had begun to respond to discipline. His loud talking and constant high-pitched noises had decreased. His self-control had increased! He had entirely stopped chewing his shirt collars. His tolerance and patience had increased. He also reacted more typically to touch, pain, sounds, and lights. It was such a transformation! And although he still had a lot of catching up to do developmentally, he was on his road to healing because he had a much improved baseline. Peace was returning to our home! Priceless!
We're exceedingly thankful! My husband had hoped our son would grow out of needing to be on the diet. He's 13 now and although he can handle salicylates fairly well, we all know within 15 minutes if he has eaten anything artificial because of his inability to listen well, easy agitation, and fidgety movements. Still, he's lightyears beyond nine years ago!
The other key factor we keep in mind is that artificial ingredients build up in the system, so if he eats an item off his diet we require he also eats little baking soda to minimize the effect by somewhat neutralizing the food (he actually likes the taste of baking soda now!) but don't allow him to eat a second item off the Feingold Diet for a couple weeks. He's quite compliant in following the guidelines I've explained -- I think because he knows how much more clearly he can think and how much less he gets in trouble (especially at school) when he sticks to his diet.
Since those days, we've actually begun eating even more clean than the Feingold Diet requires. My husband and I are extremely grateful to God for interceding on our behalf in our wild lives. We're grateful for how He used many people to bring sanity to us: my friend, Doctor Feingold and the diligent parents who have kept the diet in the public eye!
Sincerely,
a grateful parent who will always sing FG praises and recommend it to others