My son is acting out way more than usual and I'm sure that ofcourse alot of it is due to the circumstances but there has also been a major change in his diet. I've been concerned with his rapid weight gain since July and have been stressing this to my husband but yet he continues to feed him nothing but pepperoni sandwiches bologna sandwiches n chips on his nites. I've admittedly been feeding the kids more poorly than usual as well. Yanno I no longer have all day to roast damn.chickens n shit n have been popping in more frozen pizzas than I'd like to admit.

My son was always ndedweight n I've always wanted to see more meat on his bones but THIS is not healthy and I'm worried. I don't wanna put him on a diet to lose weight well significant weight just be all around more healthy.

I'm going grocery shopping today and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions foe quick but healthy dinners for picky eaters?

Also I know that I've heard somewhere about special diets for kids with 'add' I'm not saying he has it n this isn't an add dispute thread but watever u get my gist.

They never ha e soda or any other sugary drinks here n mever did so that's not an issue. They mainly drink water they used to eat a lot more fresh fruits n veggies than they do now too.

Anyway any suggestions?

A lot of childrens behaviors ~ good and bad can be a direct result of their food/drink intake

Good for you for taking a serious look at what is going on with your kids

Also if anyone knows any ingredients to avoid??

I'm usually a healthy shopper but I admit I don't no it all so I guess I'm looking for answers beyond the common sense ones

Mach said:

spinach.

sauteed spinach is done in a flash. faster than any microwave or old oven could do.

heat a pan up nice and hot put some olive oil and chopped shallots then toss the entire box of fresh spinach in.


Viola! You spinach is done in a flash shazam.

gobble them shits down with a glass of milk and you the best mother on earth.

I love spinach!!!
[Edited 2/13/10 13:03pm]

you know if you dont stock the fridge and kitchen with junk then your kids wont be able to eat junk when they are hungry.


thats kind of how it works for adults too. you tend to eat what you stock your fridge kitchen with. if you dont have it you eat what is there if you are really hungry.

FLASH SHAZAM!! problem solved. even pick eaters will come around to eating whats stocked in the kitchen when what they want isnt available.
[Edited 2/13/10 13:06pm]

hyper IMO is another word for annoying, your bothering me. blah blah blah.

hyper aka bother some child is simply cured by activity and catering to the growth of a child's interest instead of trying to control their bothersome behavior for another persons convenience.
[Edited 2/13/10 13:17pm]

TotalANXiousNESS said:

When buying and cooking food for our families, we all want to provide the best nutrition and the safest produce we can for the price we can afford, as well as putting together tasty meals that all family members will enjoy. But these days we hear more and more about the dangers of the chemical additives which have become commonplace in our foodstuffs. What are these additives, and which ones should we be avoiding?

Firstly, we should remember that food additives are in almost all packaged goods, and if we buy pre-prepared, pre-packaged goods we will almost certainly be subjecting our families to them. These practically unavoidable substances have become an unseen staple in our daily diet and a quick glance at the list of ingredients on many "ready-to-cook" dinners may well give us a long lists of ingredients we can neither identify nor pronounce!

What are food additives?

Food additives are chemical compounds that are used to enhance the flavour, colour and texture and prolong the shelf life of manufactured foods. The FDA and other authorities around the world tell us that permitted food additives are safe in small quantities. The reality, however, is that some food additives are consumed in far greater quantities than may have been foreseen, and that many are consumed with other chemicals in combinations that have not been (and cannot possibly be) extensively tested. You need only do a search on the internet for such additives as "MSG" or "Aspartame" to find that many specialists are worried about the long-term effect on consumers.

If you want to know what you are putting into your body and feeding your children, you must become adept at reading food labels and understanding the implications of those incomprehensible lists of chemical ingredients.

MSG

MSG is a food additive originally developed to enhance the flavour of Chinese food. It is now used extensively in snack foods - particularly heavily flavoured potato chips (crisps), stocks and sauces. MSG stands for Monosodium
Glutamate, and Monosodium Glutamate or MSG is an excitotoxin. Excitotoxins are designed to excite the taste buds on your tongue, thereby enhancing the flavour of the food. But MSG is also known to cause nerve damage by overexciting your nerves.

An unknown percentage of the population reacts badly to MSG with symptoms that can include numbness or burning on the back of the neck, back and arms, tingling sensations on the face, neck and back, headache, nausea, rapid heart beat and weakness. Some scientists believe that MSG also contributes to long term neurological damage and could be a factor in such diseases as MS and Alzheimer's.

You will rarely see "MSG" on a list of ingredients. It is usually hidden within other common ingredients such as yeast extract, autolyzed vegetable protein or hydrolyzed vegetable protein - all three of which contain MSG and should be avoided.

Sodium Nitrite

Sodium Nitrite is added to many packaged and deli counter meat products, to add red colouring to meats in order to make them look fresher and more appetizing. The "sodium" in the name leaves many people thinking it is a form of salt, but Sodium Nitrite is, in fact a carcinogen (a cancer-causing substance) that has been linked to brain tumours, leukaemia and cancers of the digestive tract. Amazingly this is an "accepted" ingredient and you will find no warnings on food labels.

BHA and BHT

These food additives are preservative and are used to prevent oils or fats from
going rancid. They slow down the autoxidation rate of ingredients (reaction with oxygen in the air) that can cause changes in taste or colour. Despite Department of Health and Human Services findings that BHA is considered to be "a reasonably anticipated human carcinogen", the FDA continues to allow this additive to be used.

Aspartame

Aspartame is a chemical sweetener that is used extensively in diet soft drinks and deserts. There is huge controversy over this sweetener, with over 90 health symptoms reported in various studies. Many children (and their weight conscious parents) consume vast quantities of aspartame by drinking supposedly "healthy" sugar-free drinks and eating sugar-free yoghurts and snacks.

Carmine

And here's an ingredient that while not dangerous to our health, is misleading to
consumers. Carmine, also known as Cochineal, is a red coloring found in many food products to turn them a pretty pink colour. Strawberry yoghurt, pink grapefruit juice and countless other products contain it. You might like to know that Carmine is actually a paste made from the dead husks of female red beetles from the Canary Islands. Would your children enjoy their strawberry milk drink as much if they knew it contained dried, squashed beetles? I think not! This is an excellent example of the "spin" that food manufacturers are allowed to use when labelling the food we routinely buy from the supermarket shelves.

avoid CORN

Corn-derived food ingredients I avoid
The items in the following list share two characteristics. Each of them either is or can be derived from corn, and avoiding each of them seems to reduce my allergic symptoms. Now that I avoid them all, I'm reliably asymptomatic. It's possible that I'm avoiding some of these needlessly, but I'm reluctant to risk days or weeks of blistered hands for minor improvements in the accuracy of this list.

There are a few corn-derived ingredients which don't seem to cause me any trouble, probably because processing removes or denatures any recognizable corn proteins. Since your experience might be different, these are listed in the next section. If you're extremely sensitive, see Jenny Connors' much longer list on her Corn Allergens site.

Some of the ingredients listed here don't necessarily have anything to do with corn, but tend to in practice. Chemically pure dextrose, for example, can't be an allergen because it isn't a protein. But the dextrose used in food processing isn't chemically pure: it contains residue of whatever it was made from. Since that's usually corn, dextrose gains a place on this list.

Several people have told me that corn oil contains so little protein that they can't believe it provokes an allergic reaction. While it may be true that corn oil is extremely low in protein, I have strong anecdotal evidence (an accidental "blind" test) that it does affect me. I've also heard from another corn-allergy sufferer who reacted strongly to topically applied corn oil.

baking powder
Not to be confused with baking soda (bicarbonate of soda, sodium bicarbonate), baking powder is a mixture of chemical leavening agents with starch. The starch in every common baking powder is corn starch, but Hain Featherweight baking powder uses potato starch. I've only found it in "health" or "whole food" markets.

caramel
Caramel is cooked sugar, often used for flavoring or coloring. You'll find it in soft drinks, especially colas, and in dark breads. You can make caramel from cane or beet sugar, but commercial food producers often use corn syrup. Jolt Cola was an exception, but no longer: they've switched from cane sugar to corn syrup.

confectioner's sugar
Confectioner's sugar is ordinary table sugar, reduced to a fine powder. To keep the powder from caking, manufacturers commonly add corn starch to it. Domino Sugar tells me their 10x confectioner's sugar is about 2% cornstarch. A rec.food.cooking contributor gave 4% as a typical fraction, but another correspondent claims it can run as high as 30%. Trader Joe's Organic Powdered Sugar is made with tapioca starch instead. It's not available year-round, unfortunately, but only through the winter holiday season.

corn-anything
Any food or ingredient with corn in its name is certain to be a problem, including whole corn, corn flour, cornstarch, corn gluten, corn syrup, corn meal, corn oil, and popcorn. The only exception that I know of is corned beef, so-called because it's cured with coarse salt that resembles kernels of corn. But processed meats often contain dextrose, food starch, or corn syrup, so don't assume that corned beef is corn-free. In cooking, you can usually substitute arrowroot powder for cornstarch.

dextrin, maltodextrin
Dextrin and maltodextrin are thickening agents, often made from corn starch. You'll find them in sauces, dressings, and ice cream.

dextrose (glucose), fructose
Dextrose (also known as glucose or "corn sugar") and fructose ("fruit sugar") are simple sugars that are often made from corn. Dextrose is used in a variety of foods, including cookies, ice cream and sports drinks such as Gatorade. It also shows up in prepared foods that are supposed to come out crispy, such as french fries, fish sticks, and potato puffs. It's common in intravenous solutions, which could be quite dangerous. Fructose is usually seen in the form of high fructose corn syrup, but makes an occasional appearance on its own.

excipients
Excipients are substances used to bind the contents of a pill or tablet. My dictionary mentions honey, syrup, and gum arabic, but corn starch is also a possibility.

golden syrup
Golden syrup is a sugar syrup, sometimes a mixture of molasses and corn syrup, also known as treacle. I've found it in cookies and candy, mostly in Canada. Tate & Lyle's Golden Syrup is purely from cane sugar, however.

glucona delta lactone
Glucona delta lactone ("GDL") is a recently-appearing additive in cured meats. Its appearance in this list is provisional, as all I really know of its origin is that it's made by Archer Daniels Midland, a world-wide giant in the manufacture of corn products.

invert sugar or invert syrup
Invert syrup is enzymatically treated bulk corn sugars, used because it's not so thick as corn syrup. I've noticed it in cookies, but don't know where else it might turn up.

malt, malt syrup, malt extract
Malt is germinated grain, often barley. But it can be any grain: corn and rice are also common. They're much cheaper than barley, and so unspecified malt is probably not barley. Malt appears in alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, chocolate, and breakfast cereals, among other places.

mono- and di-glycerides
Mono- and di-glycerides are often found in sauces, dressings, and ice cream, where they modify (improve?) the texture of the finished product. Glycerides are made from both animal and vegetable fats or oils, corn included. Vegetable mono- and di-glycerides are sometimes labelled as such, but I've never seen animal glycerides so marked.

monosodium glutamate or MSG
MSG is a "flavor enhancer" used in many packaged foods, particularly prepared meals and instant soups. Chinese food is a major source of added MSG: reactions to it are sometimes called "Chinese restaurant syndrome". Alert Reader Beverly noticed that the MSG in Accent flavor enhancer is described on the container as "drawn from corn". I'm told that this is commonly true of MSG in US-made foods, but not in imported oriental products. The MSG Myth site also describes corn as a source of MSG.

sorbitol
Sorbitol is a sweet substance (but not a sugar) that occurs naturally in a number of fruits and berries. It's produced commercially by the breakdown of dextrose. It's used as a sugar substitute for diabetics, in the manufacture of vitamin C, and in some candies. Readers tell me it also appears in oral hygiene products such as toothpaste and mouthwash.

starch, food starch, modified food starch
Added starch in foods can come from any of several sources, but corn seems to be the most common. Unless the type of starch is specified, it's likely that corn starch is present.

sucrose
Sucrose usually means cane sugar, but Craig Gelfand has spotted an English candy whose ingredients included "sucrose (from corn)".

treacle
Treacle is a mixture of molasses and corn syrup, also known as golden syrup.

vanilla extract
The major brands of real vanilla extract all have corn syrup in them. (I haven't checked imitation vanilla flavorings.) There are vanilla extracts without corn syrup; a local brand is Scotts of Acton, MA.

vegetable-anything
Unless you know exactly what the vegetables are, you should be suspicious of any ingredient with vegetable in the name, including vegetable oil, vegetable broth, vegetable protein, vegetable shortening, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and vegetable mono- and di-glycerides.

xanthan gum
Xanthan gum is a common thickener, the fermentation product of the bacterium Xanthomonas Campestris. X. Campestris can be grown in various media, including bulk corn sugars. Some brands of Xanthan gum claim to be corn-free; I don't know what growth medium they use. Because Xanthan gum is very cheap, its applications are still growing. You'll often find it in salad dressings, mayonnaise, and fast-food "milk shakes". I've also seen it in cream cheese and I'm told it's in Egg Beaters egg substitute.

zein
My dictionary tells me that zein is "a soft, yellow powder obtained from corn, used chiefly in the manufacture of textile fibers, plastics, and paper coatings" or "a man - made fiber produced from this protein". A helpful netizen tells me that zein is the usual encapsulant for time-release medications.

My MY cuddles. Thank you!!

I kinda thought years ago that u had a food obsession, I can spot that a mile away usually.

But I'm intrigued w ur knowledge of annoying children. :LOL:

A few things that I do at home... you may already do yourself.
I never buy chips, hot pockets, or any other fast and quick microwavable snacks, no soda, no juices except OJ/Welches grape. That's it.
With the exception of icecream... I keep only fresh fruits and yogurt in the fridge

I keep a block of dark chocolate in the fridge (I am a fiend for chocolate)

This way when my kids want a snack they are forced to eat whats there... they love the taste of fresh carrots celery and oranges and stuff... I keep a good variety of those types of fruit.

I buy the same juice over and over so that the kids get sick of that same juice and reach for the water instead My kids drink water so much they actually reach for that 1st.

I do buy whole milk, but lactose free since my kids are allergic to lactose.

I buy the cookies you HAVE to bake, that way you can regulate how much they eat.
(unless its Girl Scout cookies then its a free for all)

I make salads... or my son likes "crunchy" foods so when I cook dinner for him, I do NOT cook certain veggies if he prefers them raw. Like mushrooms and spinach.
I can get him to eat veggies raw if he doesn't like them cooked.

The kids also love to try new things so I tend to buy exotic fruits to have them try it....

believe it or not, this week the kids are eating aloe vera pureed w/ melon and blood oranges.

I have a juicer too.... you may get your kids to eat more veggies that way too.

Oh and a tip: If you can, NEVER go grocery shopping with the kids. They tend to beg for the crap they need to not eat, like sweet cereals and tons of snack foods which makes my food bill go through the roof!

here is a suggestion....anything that is in the outter sides of the walls of your grocery store....is good and anything that is in the center well you get the point. If it is in the center of the store it is processed in cans and well not good. Stick to fresh fruits veggies and well your meats and your dairy.

Also, remember when you buy bread if it contains high fructose corn syrup keep moving. Well, if it is in anything you buy it is not good for you. This turns to fat instant in your system.

Good luck with the changing of your food diet. It is an addiction for people in general and it is hard to break the cycle.

I know you said your child might not be adhd but this may be useful to you.

http://www.oneaddplace.co...d-diet.php

ADHD Diet

ADHD in many cases has been linked to diet, which includes food allergies and nutritional deficiencies...simply eliminating certain foods or adding others may reduce symptoms or eliminate them altogether. Hyperactive children are especially vulnerable as they are ‘hyper' sensitive to sugar and other stimulants. Have you ever noticed how your child's behavior changes very shortly after he or she consumes a soft drink, sugary cereals or chocolate? We believe it is worth attempting to address the ‘root' of the problem first, if it is indeed nutritional, before ingesting the potentially toxin pharmaceutical alternatives that merely mask the symptoms. Making healthy food choices for you and your child is NOT difficult. There is NO downside to adopting a healthy eating program and huge benefits for everyone, whether dealing with a current health issue or preventing future ones.

Another suggestion for a healthy diet may be to consider buying certified organic products...these are foods which are grown without the use of potentially harmful long-lasting pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Since organic foods are also grown without genetically modified seeds, sewage sludge or irradiation, some people feel that this is a more wholesome choice. If you choose to adopt the strategy to "cleanse" the body first to reduce symptoms of ADD, this may be an option you would like to consider. Imagine if we put dirty fuel in our cars and never changed the oil...how efficiently do you think they would run?

Below is a copy of an AHDD diet eating program for ADHD kids and adults. It is not a very strict program unless you are a regular at fast food restaurants. This is a "back to the basics" program and is recommended for every member of the family...not just someone with ADHD.

First, what NOT to eat for TWO WEEKS:

1) NO DAIRY PRODUCTS, especially cow's milk. This is the single most important restriction. Instead try Almond milk, Rice milk, or Better Than Milk. Drink water instead of milk. In fact, drink lots of water. The brain is about 80% water, and increasing your water intake to 7 to 10 glasses per day might be helpful all by itself. Sodas, Gatorade, teas, icees, etc., do not count as water. Water counts as water.

2) NO YELLOW FOODS. Especially Corn or Squash. Bananas are white. Don't eat the peel.

3) NO JUNK FOODS. If it comes in a cellophane wrapper, don't eat it.

4) NO FRUIT JUICES. Too much sugar content. One small glass of apple juice has the sugar content of eight apples. Later on you can have juice, but dilute it with water 50/50.

5) CUT SUGAR INTAKE BY 90%. If you can, cut it down to zero. Sugar is in just about everything, but give it a try. Do your best without going crazy.

6) CUT CHOCOLATE BY 90%. No more than a single piece, once a week.

7) NO NUTRASWEET. None. Period.

8) NO PROCESSED MEATS and NO MSG. Only get meats with labels that say, "Turkey and Water," etc. If the meat has chemicals listed that you can't pronounce, don't buy it.

9) CUT FRIED FOODS BY 90%.

10) AVOID FOOD COLORINGS WHENEVER POSSIBLE. See if your child is sensitive to any particular colors, such as Reds, Yellows, etc. For now, though, avoid all if possible.

SUMMARY: Just eat foods that God made for a while. Eat like people did in the 1940's. Go to a used book store and get a Betty Crocker's Cook Book for recipe ideas. There really are about 10,000 meals that you CAN eat. Just not much in the way of "fast foods" or "convenience" foods.


AFTER TWO WEEKS begin adding these foods back into your diet, one food every other day. Eat A LOT of that food every day for four days. If you have a problem with one of the foods, you will see some kind of a "reaction" within four days. The reaction can vary from big red splotches on the body to ears turning bright red to explosive temper outbursts. If there's a problem, you'll know. If there's no problem, enjoy the food.

WHAT TO EAT TO FEED THE ADHD BRAIN:

1) FOR BREAKFAST SERVE HIGH PROTEIN, LOW CARBOHYDRATE MEALS. Say,
"Good-bye," to Breakfast cereals and milk. Serve 60% Protein and 40% Carbohydrates for Breakfast. Other meals should be 50% / 50%.

2) PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS might be needed to get the added protein for Breakfast. They are often very helpful in the afternoon as well. Here is our favorite recipe for a Protein Shake:

a) Make a cup of coffee, using one of General Mills' International Coffees, or something like that, with a flavor that you or your child will like (yes, I know I'm breaking my own rules here, as these coffees have dried milk and some sugar, but I'm trying to get your kid to actually drink the thing, and also get some caffeine mixed with the protein.). Pour the hot coffee into a blender with about 6 oz of ice. Turn on the blender for a bit.

b) Add a good quality protein powder. There are many good ones available. If you can't find one that you like, ask at your local health food store. Get protein powders that are mostly protein and very little carbohydrate. Add between 15 and 20 grams of protein to the cold coffee in the blender.

c) Turn on the blender again.

d) Drink it up.

This protein shake is helpful for a lot of people. For many small kids, and many adults, this recipe works about as well as a small dose of Ritalin (100 mg of caffeine is roughly the same as 5 mg of Ritalin). So many who might just take a small dose of Ritalin might get away with just doing this.

Don't forget, though, that even caffeine can have some side effects. Every once in a while we find someone that has problems with the caffeine in the coffee. Usually, though, the caffeine in the coffee helps the person to focus better. The protein helps to feed the brain. If you find this helpful, have one with Breakfast, and one around 3 pm. If it is not helpful, then don't bother with it.

3) MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS may be helpful. Colloidal Minerals or fully chelated minerals are the best. We like the MinPac from VAXA, but there are several good choices. Don't buy minerals in the grocery store. Get good minerals.

4) ATTEND, EXTRESS, or MEMORIN from VAXA. We recommend the "Attend" product for everyone. "Extress" is recommended in addition for those with problems with hyperactivity and temper, and "Memorin," in addition to the "Attend," for those with poor concentration or memory. These are strongly recommended. Here is more information on ATTEND, the amino acid based, homeopathic medicine that is a great alternative to ritalin.

5) FLAX SEED or PRIMROSE OIL. High sources of Omega oils. Borage oils and some fish oils are good as well. Very important. Mix about a spoonful a day into foods as you prepare them, or add to salad dressings, etc.

6) EAT LOTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. Avoid Aluminum exposure. Eat in a healthy manner.

Try it out and let us know what you think. Oh, before you email back and ask, "Well what can we eat?" please look through your Betty Crocker Cook Book and you'll find hundreds of recipes that will fit. It's the convenience foods that are most of the problem. Re-discover the lost art of cooking!

Wishing you the best of success,

Doug Cowan, Psy.D., MFCC

Oneaddplace.com gives special thanks to Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. for the use of this information

Love the ADhd info. That's kinda wat I was looking for.

Love the idea of the outter walls of the store. I never looked at it that way but it's true.

I knew to avoid corn products, but corn too? The actual veggie??? Shit my kids love corn!!

The salad is good too. They love salad!

Well, as you know, my kid does have ADHD, and honestly even if I could eliminate processed foods from his diet, and I do try to limit as much as I can, it damn well irritates me how often people reach to give children candy. Especially at school! Espeecially when they want to call me almost damn daily for his out of control behavior and I walk him and he has candy, gum, and all sorts of sugary products that I not only didn't authorize, but have specifically asked that they should not give it to him. Dub teacher even had him chewing gum (which he knew he wasn't supposed to) and I had to have him open his mouth to show her the thousands of dollars of metalwork I had put in there! You would think common sense would tell these people not to give sugary shit to children with ADHD anyway. One day supposedly they allowed him to buy Gatorade, yet I hadn't given him any money

Truthfully though, I believe it's genetic foremost and then aggravated by the processed foods and TV/video games/computer.

The foods we eat these days aren't really good for anybody's consumption. That said, I do love Twinkies and I don't care that they will live in my gut forever and ever

TotalANXiousNESS said:

Artificial food colourings can sometimes make hyperactivity worse.

My advice, as an adult with ADHD, is to pick out a nutritionally sound diet first. The food pyramid's still the best model to work from. But that's not all. Through a process of trial and error, figure out which foods are effective for that individual to calm unruly behaviour. Not everyone is the same, and neither should their diets be.

It's also a good idea to STOP eating three square meals a day. Humans evolved essentially to be scavengers, and so the best way to keep blood sugar levels (a factor in some behavioural issues, as any diabetic could tell you) level, not to mention energy, is to eat several small healthy meals throughout the day. Get out of the idea that gorging yourself three times a day is good for you, because it's not. Mom wasn't always right.

TotalANXiousNESS said:

Corn is NOT a vegetable. It is a GRAIN. A grain that is used to fatten cattle.

Think about it.

I wish I could type all day on this thread, but I must run shortly.


The rule of thumb that helps me is this:

If it no longer looks like something you plucked from a tree or pulled from the earth, then it's been processed too much. Try to eat more raw, non-processed food. I mean, try to ensure 50% of your diet is just that.

It's o.k. to eat sweet fruits so long as it is the fruit itself. Drink the juice from a fruit, even if you squeeze it yourself, gives you a far greater caloric load (10-20 oranges just for one large glass of OJ! ).


His appetite can be controlled by one method (and it's pretty much the only method weight trainers will give you): protein. Increase his protein intake and eliminate processed sugar. Protein controls insulin levels in blood--the side affect of this is appetite suppression.


Gotta run. Love you woman!

^^

Plenty of good old fashioned exercize may help as well - burn off that excess energy

Thank u guys. I gotta wait till I go to work n actually prinylt all this out too.

I had NO idea corn wasn't a veggie btw

Oh n I agree on the excercise to Mach. Were not outside near as much as usual. Thank god spring is on the way!!

Genesia said:

Technically corn kernals are fruit of the corn plant. If you harvest corn early (e.g. sweet corn/corn on the cob), it's a vegetable. Cattle are fed dried and ground field corn; the fact that it's dried makes it a grain. Cattle do not get fed fresh corn -- my dad spent many, many hours fixing fences to keep the neighbor's cattle out of his cornfields. Not to mention field corn is not grown the same as sweet corn (different planting/harvesting times and seed brands). Field corn is not something North Americans generally eat.


Corn is not necessarily used just to fatten up cattle, especially if they are dairy cattle that aren't raised for meat. It is used, in combination with hay, as a food source during the winter. In the spring/summer cattle graze in the pasture on grass. In the fall, after harvest they eat the stalks after corn/soybeans have been harvested. In the winter, when there are no grass or stalks to eat, they are fed feed made of ground corn and soybeans, and hay. At least that's the way my dad and most of the farmers (who happen to raise beef cattle) where I grew up in northwestern Iowa do it.


.
[Edited 2/13/10 20:12pm]

Mach said:

I was just telling someone this the other day....people always think that ADHD people need more exercise to burn off energy, but what I have noticed with this kid is if you increase his exercise you actually make him more hyper and the trick is trying to teach him how to remain calm at all times. What I have been trying to work with him on is meditation and relaxation techniques.

Which is hard because, of course, he feels twitchy all the time.

I notice when he is at school he has more trouble because of all the distractions. When he is at home if I can keep him calm before foolishness occurs, it's usually not quite as bad. This is a child that was literally bouncing off walls at birth (even before he was eating solids), heck actually he was extremely active in the womb.

Another few things I notce is that he can actually focus quite well on what he wants to focus on. The kid also has severe anxiety and probable bipolar so none of that helps, but when he wants something, he gets quite fixated on it. I actually stopped callin it attention deficit and call it I-need-extra-attention-pay-attention-to-me syndrome. Another thing I notice is the hyperactivity disappears if he doesn't want to do anything.

Lastly, make sure your kid is getting enough sleep. This kid is sooooo fixated on everything going on that he doesn't sleep right, and that is probably the biggest issue out of everything. Plus needing to get up very early for school. So he may be getting 5-6 hours of sleep, and then when he is asleep he is still extremely restless LOL. I wonder if these type of people don't fidget just trying to stay awake all the time.

BklynBabe said:

Very valid points.
I notice that even though my boy is only 17 weeks old, he needs winding down time and plenty of sleep.
Whenever he has been over stimulated, it takes him so long to calm down.

We are getting him in a routine where he has a winding down period before naps and bed times. I give him massages as well so he can have time to relax.
Once their brains get over stimulated, it is hard for them to calm themselves.
There are so many things that over stimulate them these days.

A friend of mine's son gets easily overstimulated, but he has been a lot calmer since they started him on a glutton-free diet.

It's a tricky way to eat, but it REALLY works!

jone70 said:

The only differences between the "kinds" of corn are the form the sugar in it takes and how much water it contains. But it's all extremely carb-intensive.

Naturally, I was talking about beef cattle (on the "fattening" aspect).

MrsMdiver said:

This is definitely a world that encourages short attention span.

I don't think this is a "new" disease either. I think people with short attention spans probably didn't make it too long for millenia. Now you have people who are "hyper" but tons of ways to mae them survive longer. This kid would have been killed himself if I didn't have cameras installed in my home (yup, it's that bad!) and such. So far he has 2 scars over each eye from doing stupidness, almost got taken by CPS because he called himself opening the front door and walking out the house at 3, and surprisingly never got hit by a car but refused to stay in the confines of his own large front yard.

Back in the day, I think they called these people "accident-prone"

BklynBabe said:

Key word in my statement was "may" help ...

I am not sure this child ( Dani's son ) has been diagnosed wih ADHD by a professional ... (?)