I am on a salicylate free diet but now also have IBS. I have been consuming a great deal of low salicylate fruit and veggies but these have has greatly increased my IBS with severe bloating pain discomfort. So what do I do? I am desperate! Can you advise me? I have severe reactions to amines and salicylates with mouth ulcers, violent sickness and cracked lips. Dear Louise,Having a IBS at the same time as the Low Chemical diet is the worst combination!! But you are not alone and I have been … [Read more...]

Why after all these years is the role of diet in your symptoms still controversial? I wrote this article nearly 30 years ago when ADHD was the most noticed symptom, but all the other food sensitive symptoms were responding to diet in many people. You can decide if much has changed since then! There is still strong emotion surrounding the issue of diet and ADHD, ASD and all other symptoms. The following ideas show how the range of thinking with regard to: the doctors, dietitians, … [Read more...]

I first heard of the low salicylate diet as the Feingold Diet in 1975. It was summarised in a journal piece about 10cm by 10 cm! Feingold had used the low salicylate diet that was used by Dermatologists for urticaria rashes. Do contact me if you are interested in all the early research articles which I carefully collected and would love all that information to be held by someone who is particularly interested in how the thinking changed over time. I would be happy to provide it to someone whose … [Read more...]

It can feel overwhelming when trying to decide which diet is right for you to really start with the best diet for you. You can decide how strict how you want to go depending you how distressing your symptoms are. It is not about whether some food is allowed or not allowed according to some list, but  on your family sensitivity history and your motivation which comes from your symptoms. In Your Diet for Your IBS my knowledgeable co-author Ashleigh Jones and I have provided various diet … [Read more...]

Parents told me about children who had never slept through a night in their whole three years who slept normally when put on the additive free low salicylate diet. They even checked they were alive because they were so still when asleep! Some parents reported children sitting still really playing with a toy when they had never sat still for a moment in their short lives. I remember the child who used to run across the back yard and bounce off the fence then back across the year and bounce off … [Read more...]

In the early 70s we thought that additive colour and flavour were harmless substances that made no difference to the foods that contained them. It is important to remember that in those days when food was flavoured the amount of added flavour to food was smaller than today. It was just enough to enhance the initial food, not to dominate the dish. I remember when attending classes in high-class cookery (my dietetic course included interesting subjects!) we wrapped small amounts of herbs in a … [Read more...]

Phenols are the new name for the food chemicals best avoided where ADHD and ASD are present. Food additives were the first “baddies”, then salicylates were singled out. Then MSG was highlighted, and tyramines and histamine were other food chemicals said to cause symptoms. Salicylates, additive colours, flavours and most preservatives, as well as strong flavours and smells (which I emphasized particularly with the others) all have a phenolic or aromatic chemical structure. The new name sounds as … [Read more...]