p 9 phenol sensitive ?

low phenol

February 10, 2012 at 11:04am

There are hundreds of products that contain high levels of phenols and salicylates, and countless food sources with dyes and additives. The chart is the food list I use to know which foods to keep out of my son’s diet as much as possible.
It is important to note that my son was a very limited eater and EVERYTHING he eats now is LOW in sugar (or has no sugar) and is completely gluten-free, casein-free, and soy-, egg-, and yeast-free as well.
Items Eliminated         TRY THESE IN THEIR PLACE!
Food dyes…………….. Avoid, period!
Tomatoes…………….. Just avoid for a period of 3-6 months!
Apples………………… Pears are a good replacement
Peanuts………………. Almonds & cashews in stead!
Bananas………………. Fresh pineapple, mangos & papaya are good!
Oranges………………. *See other fruits!
Cocoa………………… Try GFCF carob
Red grapes…………… Try GREEN grapes (eat sparingly)
Vanilla w/ alcohol……. Frontier vanilla without alcohol
Preservatives………… Common preservatives are BHA and BHT–AVOID!
Natural flavors………. AVOID! Or verify what those flavors are!
*Some other good fruit choices include FRESH: oranges, persimmons, lemons, coconuts, cherries, kiwis, avocados, peaches, nectarines, plums, strawberries, apricots, and cranberries.
It Is Important To Note

• Some phenols are concentrated in the skin and the seeds of some foods.
• Roasted nuts, juices, and dehydrated foods can cause a phenolic response. It is best to go for raw alternatives.
• Yeast-based foods such as bananas can cause a negative, but different reaction. It is worthwhile to test yeast levels as well. (For some families, it is not clear if their child has a yeast OR phenol/additive issue. Sometimes they have both issues. Both yeast and phenol/additive issues need to be addressed and monitored in many children.)
• Avoid naturally flavored and processed foods (my rule: anything with more than 10 ingredients DOESN’T make it into my son’s stomach!)
• Keep a food and behaviors journal. Track what your child eats and watch for any negative behaviors/reactions (extra hyperactivity, stimmy outbreaks, rashes on face/bottom, violent outbreaks, or night wakenings.) My son used to laugh at night for an hour (scary!), but after I removed bananas from his diet, those episodes disappeared! He now replaces them with PEARS and MANGOS, and doesn’t have a problem.

There is some great information on phenols from the Feingold Association of the United States’ website, that also includes a description of the Feingold Diet, which advocates awareness and the subsequent avoidance of all additives and chemicals in foods that may affect people’s behaviors, including special needs individuals. Dr. Ben Feingold recommends avoiding fruits with phenols that are “colored fruits.” For example, watermelon is red, which is a definite red flag (pun not intended), but cantaloupe, on the other hand, is orange, which is better.