Olivia Dyer and Bridy Fulvio were frustrated Mums who had children who were severely affected by the toxic chemicals found in everyday food products. Angry with clever consumer trickery they decided to write a book called Low to No Additives - Family Favourites, to help all Australian families avoid the nasties that are making it to the supermarket shelf.
Autism, growing pains, allergies and behavioural problems were eliminated or alleviated with the introduction of a additive free diet. Low to No Additives includes over 120 recipes, a shopping guide, detailed lists of food additives and their potential effects. No more wandering around the supermarket confused by what all these names and numbers mean! Author Olivia tells the story of her son Noah who started her journey to write this book.
Looking back at my son Noah I realised he began to display symptoms of autism late in his first year. At that time I didn't put a lot of thought into his strange little behaviours such as crawling while dragging his head along the floor. As time went on things just didn't seem right.
Noah struggled with strange places which resulted in a panicked scream as though he was petrified. He often dragged me around the house by my hand and placed my hand on the fridge to tell me he wanted something. This was Noah's way of communicating as he was non-verbal. He didn't use any gestures like pointing to get my attention and the nonstop tantrums were becoming unbearable.
It was at about the age of two years and after much research I was admitted to myself Noah had autism. I took him to our family G.P who thought I was making a fairly large claim to suggest my son was Autistic, but I insisted that I get a referral to a paediatrician. My fears were confirmed and Noah was placed on a waiting list to receive early intervention. Anyone who has been on such a waiting list knows there is nothing 'early' about it! The wait for our children who desperately need these interventions are far too long.
One week after our first appointment and plenty of tears cried, I got up one morning and decided this was not going to be my son's fate. I was his mum and I was going to do everything I could to help him. I spent hours on the internet and then stumbled across a book about recovery from autism. I ordered it and waited. The book was all about removing gluten and casein (dairy) from Autistic children's diets it all sounded a little good to be true.
That night when the children were in bed my husband went out and bought as many dairy free items he could find. We were lucky Noah readily accepted these changes and never looked back. The first week was hard with Noah's behaviour getting worse and even more tantrums than usual. I battled on knowing this was a positive thing he was suffering from withdrawal and for us this meant it was helping him. I then removed gluten and food additives from his diet which largely went unnoticed by him. Continual improvement could be seen on a daily basis.
Despite the tantrums Noah became more verbal and began to understand simple instructions which I had been trying to get him to understand for months. Simple things like go and get your shoes became an instruction he could follow. He began to sleep through the night instead of crying and screaming most of the night. It was at this point I regained a lot of energy and determination to do all I could for Noah.
I then enlisted the help of a Naturopath who supported us completely with his diet and recommended supplements and NAET (allergy elimination) to assist Noah further with his food allergies. His allergies are too numerous to mention, perhaps plentiful! During this time we also finally got intervention in the way of occupational therapy, speech therapy and also Noah attended a special needs play group which encouraged skills he would require for his fast approaching first year of kindergarten.
While dietary intervention unfortunately does not help every child with an ASD, it did help us. Twelve months after that horrible day in the paediatrician's office we had to attend Noah's official diagnosis meeting. In the room that day we had many professionals including our paediatrician, who had agreed with me that Noah was autistic.
Noah did not meet the criteria for an ASD, and all involved where floored by his progress. I think I cried more that day than I ever had in all the time I worked so hard to achieve his successes. It took many months for me to feel confident that the team in the meeting that day had not made the wrong decision. For a long time I was scared the rug could be pulled out from under my feet. No part of the commitment I made to Noah's journey came without hard work. I often wonder where I would be without it though. It is confirming to know that my little boy is now equipped with what he needs now to reach his full potential.
With time my fears eased and I often find myself smiling proudly at him and releasing just how much he taught me! We make a great team!
Olivia can be contacted personally via the website at www.lowtonoadditives.com she has helped many parents and their children Australia wide.
Here is a no additive recipe from Olivia & Bridy's book.
Mild Chicken Curry
Serves 4
600g chicken breasts, diced
½ cup pumpkin, diced
½ cup potato, diced
¼ cup capsicum, diced
400ml coconut milk - Spiral Foods
2 tsp curry powder - Clive of India
sunflower oil - Chrisco
rice, to serve
Heat oil in a frypan, add chicken and brown.
Sprinkle curry powder into pan and mix until aromas are released.
Add coconut milk and stir. Add potato, pumpkin and capsicum. Reduce to simmer and cook until vegetables are tender. Serve with plain boiled rice.
Total suspect additives on labels = 0
Visit www.lowtonoadditives.com for more details. Low to No Additives is available at Myer, Dymock's Collins, A&R Bookworld Book City and Health Food Stores Australia wide
