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Can Allergies Affect Learning?

If we don't feel well we will not be at our best performance in whatever we are doing. While I am not an expert in diet or health I would like to tell you about my experiences and let you know where you can get more information on this important subject.

I remember how my children reacted to certain foods over the years. When my children were young our diet consisted mainly of healthy foods. Most days we ate what I considered the diet of a health-food-nut. We ate whole grains, fruits, vegetables and meats; and we avoided processed foods, sugar, white and enriched products. However there were special occasions when we would deviate from the normal diet. I found that during those times both of my children would throw wild, uncontrollable temper tantrums shortly after eating sugar. And the day after eating it they were extremely grouchy, and so was I! Some studies have shown that sugar will cause hyperactivity in children while others have shown it does not. The question you need to ask is yourself is: Does this affect my children?

Sugar

I didn't need a study to figure out what was happening with my children. All I had to do was to observe their behavior after eating certain foods. Although hyperactive was not the term I would have used to describe my child's behavior after eating sugar, they did have an adverse reaction nonetheless. They were almost totally uncontrollable, crying and screaming at the top of their lungs. Anyone passing by would have thought they were being tortured. During those times I was at a loss as to how to handle them. Needless to say, on those days my children were not in a mindset that was conducive to learning. Have you had days when you've not felt your best and wondered why? How has it affected what you were doing that day? Begin to take note of the foods you eat and how you or your child is feeling to see if there is a correlation for your family.

Dairy

Sugar is not the only culprit in our family. Dairy is another. Until we knew better, many birthdays were celebrated with ice cream and cake, only to have my children become extremely ill with cold and flu like symptoms soon after the celebration, with an ear infection shortly thereafter. It was like clockwork. Not only did we have a “sugar problem” - but most of my family is allergic to dairy. This is slightly different than lactose intolerance. Symptoms of a dairy (milk) allergy may include chronic congestion (which was extreme in the case of my children), hives, eczema and diarrhea. Lactose intolerance stems from the body's lack of an enzyme known as lactase and can produce symptoms such as bloating, cramping, and diarrhea. Because I breastfed my children the dairy allergy did not become evident until they were toddlers. As they became older, they were able to handle small amounts of dairy and sugar if it was not consumed very frequently.


Allergies

I suspect that some young children who have chronic ear infections and sinus congestion due to food allergies do not develop proper language skills due to the inability to hear properly. My friend's baby has had chronic ear infections since birth. At the age of six months the baby had tubes put in her ears. Within 24 hours after the tubes were put in the baby became more vocally expressive, began responding to the sound of their voices and was finally able to roll over on her own. In this case the ear infections and malfunction had prevented the baby from proper speech development and essential age appropriate motor skills. The health of our ear affects not only our hearing but our speech and ability to move and balance. (LINK MOTOR SKILLS)

Doris Rapp in her book Is This Your Child? mentions many areas that can be affected by allergies. 1 Behavior such as aggression, lethargy and fatigue, hyperactivity, bed wetting, and learning problems are reactions that can be caused from allergies. Some environmental specialists suggest that any area of the body can be affected by an allergy, food or chemical sensitivity. She states that some children's unacceptable behavior or inability to learn can be eliminated by following special diets or avoidance of specific chemical exposure. She has proven that those symptoms can be reproduced after certain suspected foods are eaten or during allergy testing. In her book, Doris Rapp includes many personal observations of children's behavior and schoolwork improvement after allergy testing with dietary and/or environmental modifications.



Additional Information:

Food Allergies...my story

Helpful Links:

About.com Article: Dairy Allergies.

Bella On Line Article: Lactose Intollerance

Studies on Sugar:

Journal of American Medical Association Study: Affect of Sugar on Behavior or Cognition of Children.

American Academy of Pediatrics: Effects of Sugar on Aggressive and Inattentive Behavior in Children With Attention Deficit Disorder With Hyperactivity and Normal Children

American Academy of Pediatrics: Search the word Sugar on this site.

Springer - Behavioral effects of sucrose on preschool children

References:
Rapp, Doris. Is This Your Child? New York: William Morrow and Company 1991

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