They Are What You Feed Them: How Food Can Improve Your Child’s Behaviour, Mood and Learning. Dr Richardson Alex

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СКАЧАТЬ play a huge role here—for example, look at how long it took for the tobacco industry to be exposed for what they were really doing. The Government can’t regulate everything, and their perspective is usually very short term. They are also keen to avoid offending the big players in industry—for many reasons, some good (to try to protect jobs that might be lost, for example) and some not so good.

      Why aren’t doctors and many other health professionals trained more in nutrition?

      In my view, they need to be—and the more enlightened ones carry on studying such subjects after their initial training. In defence of the others, they are often so busy dealing with acute problems that preventative approaches may take second place, and they have little or no time to study. In my opinion, some training in the effects of nutrition on behaviour really would reduce the workload of most professionals in our health, education, social services and criminal justice systems, with benefits all round.

      Who am I to question the experts?

      Well, for a start, you’ll find that the experts usually disagree! As to ‘who you are’, please try to have a little more faith in your own good sense. If you’re a parent, you’ll probably know more about your child than anyone, and if you’re reading this book then you’ve got what it takes to find out more. Then make your mind up as to the best course of action. It’s usually one based on common sense and grounding in all the facts. I’d say always question the experts. (If they can’t handle that—they’re no experts!)

      Summary

      1. The fast food and ‘convenience’ foods that dominate many children’s diets are often of very poor nutritional quality. If you knew what really goes into some of these, it’s very unlikely that you’d keep buying them.

      2. The big food and drink companies and the pharmaceutical industry have been making huge profits out of our ignorance, although there are signs that you—the consumers—are starting to wise up and ‘dump the junk.’

      3. It’s now accepted that poor nutrition will affect your child’s physical health. Recognition of the impact on mental health and performance is taking longer, and most professionals in health, education and other public services still receive little or no training in this area.

      4. The big drug companies’ influence over medical publishing (and most other media) has become so great that the editors of several top medical journals have felt the need to ‘go public’ about this. Drugs are not the only approach to many common ailments, and aren’t always as effective as they’re made out to be.

      5. Dietary changes can improve behaviour, learning and mood—although these are not a substitute for other approaches, and we still need more research into the brain’s nutritional needs.

      6. Conflicting information and advice on food and diet has left most people very confused. Beware of hidden advertising, but do seek out and weigh up the information you need make up your own mind.

      7. You need to think about your child’s health and performance as a whole. Diet is only one aspect, so you will need to look at other areas, too.

      8. There are no quick fixes or miracle cures—you must take charge, start from where you are and work slowly but steadily towards a healthier diet and lifestyle for your child.

      9. Three basic dietary problems affect many children, and probably yours, too. Your child may react badly to some additives or foods, may be ‘hooked’ on simple carbohydrates, and is probably eating too many ‘bad fats’ and not enough essential fats. In this book you’ll find out how to improve these things.

       Chapter 3 What’s The Problem?

      Could Your Child Be Doing Better?

      All parents will ask themselves this question at some time or other, and in most cases the answer will probably be ‘Yes!’ But if your child generally enjoys life, seems happy and fulfilled (most of the time) and causes no major problems for other people either at home or at school, then you should have no serious cause for concern. Nobody’s child is perfect—just as there is no such thing as the perfect parent, or the ideal relationship—and every child has her own particular pattern of strengths and weaknesses. All children also go through ‘phases’ or periods when they seem to have specific difficulties in one or more areas. They may even appear to lose some skills or interests that they’d previously mastered. These are all normal aspects of development and ‘growing up’.

      However, if you think your child is struggling with real and persistent difficulties that are affecting her behaviour, learning or mood, what can you do? You obviously need to find out what’s wrong, but do remember that things aren’t always what they seem: the real, underlying problems aren’t necessarily the ones you think they are. You have to start somewhere, though – so first, try to identify the broad areas that are causing most concern:

       Does your child have trouble making and keeping friends, or getting on with other family members?

       Does his performance at school fall short of what you’d expect from the abilities he shows in other ways?

       Does your child seem unhappy, or behave in a way that upsets, worries or puzzles others?

       Does he seem genuinely ‘different’ in some way from other children, to the extent that this is causing difficulties?

      Next, discuss your concerns with others who know your child. If you’re convinced that there really is a problem, always seek professional help. Start with your doctor, to check that your child has no physical health problems that could explain things. Talk to your child’s teachers or carers. Referral to other specialists may be appropriate, but will usually come through these routes. If formal assessments are carried out, this may or may not lead to a ‘diagnosis’ of some kind of recognized behavioural or learning disorder—such as ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism or some other label. (There are so many possible diagnoses that I won’t even try to cover more than these, which are the most common ones.)

      Labelling a child in this way can be helpful—but it can also have its drawbacks. Even if the diagnosis you’ve been given is an accurate one (which it may not be), there’s still a great deal more to be discovered.

      A ‘diagnosis’ is only a description; it is not an explanation.

      These ‘diagnoses’ tell you nothing at all about the actual causes of your child’s difficulties, which will vary from child to child and always involve a complex web of interacting factors.

      The experts who make these diagnoses rely on checklists of particular features or symptoms, backed up with what they call a good ‘case history’, and sometimes (but not always) on the results of psychological or other tests. Sometimes the information is gathered mainly from parents, although at least some input from others is usually required—typically teachers or others who are familiar with the child in other settings. Perhaps unsurprisingly, parents often tell me that when they are finally given a diagnostic label for their child’s difficulties (often after years of struggle and heartache), in the end this tells them nothing they didn’t already know!

      A diagnostic label can be very useful, though, for a number of reasons:

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