Diet change gives hyperactive kids new taste for life in Norway

Tears streak Rita's cheek as she recalls what it was like trying to
figure out what was wrong with her son more than a decade ago, but she
breaks into a smile when she explains how changing his diet made all
the difference.

"I could tell something was wrong with him as soon as he began eating
solids as a baby. It was if the food was draining him," says Rita, 50,
describing how her son Christoffer had yoyoed between passive and
hyperactive behaviour until she had removed several staples from his
diet including milk and grains.

Christoffer, today a normally developed 14-year-old, is one of 23
children suffering from hyperactive disorders who were put on milk-
free diets in 1996-1997 and whose development has been tracked ever
since by a small group of educators and researchers in the
southwestern Norwegian town of Stavanger.

The group set out to prove a theory by Oslo-based scientist Karl
Ludvig Reichelt that a metabolic disorder making it difficult to break
down certain proteins, including casein (the protein in milk that
makes it possible to make cheese), could cause mental problems like
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

"One of the kids I worked with started on the diet on Wednesday and by
the weekend his parents said they saw a huge positive change in his
behaviour," says special educator Magne Noedland, who helped spearhead
the diet project.

All 23 children, who were between four and 11 years old when the
project started, were suspected of having ADHD and had been shown to
have abnormal levels of peptides in their urine.

The accumulation of peptides, which are short compounds containing two
or more amino acids, is an indication that the enzyme needed to fully
break down certain proteins is inhibited or missing, and can have an
opium-like effect on the brain, according to Reichelt.

Much international research has been done linking such protein
disorders to cases of autism and schizophrenia, and a growing number
of studies also hint that some cases of ADHD are connected with the
digestive problem.

There is however a lot of scepticism to the theory in medical circles,
with many doctors believing medication like Ritalin is the best way to
treat the condition.

Noedland acknowledges the Stavanger project does not meet all
scientific standards, claiming the main problem is the lack of
comprehensive studies on how many ADHD children suffer from peptide
abnormalities.

"There is no reason to put everyone with ADHD on a diet if only 10
percent of them have protein imbalances," he says.

The children in the Stavanger project all followed a strict casein-
free diet the first year, and the results were overwhelmingly
positive, Noedland says, pointing out that 22 of the 23 families
reported clear improvements in their child's behaviour and attention-
span.

A number of the children have since stopped following the diet for
different reasons and some were put on medication, but after eight
years six were still strictly avoiding all milk products and several
had also cut out gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley and to
some extent oats.

"We see a clear difference between those who stopped and those who
stayed on the diet," Noedland says.

"Seeing these kids going from one day not being able to learn a thing
to the next day being receptive; as a teacher that's a wonderful
feeling," says Kristine Fosse, one of the educators involved in the
project.

To illustrate her point, Fosse pulls out a writing test by a six-year-
old boy who took part in the project.

The boy was asked to write his numbers after involuntarily breaking
his diet and ingesting milk on September 22, 1996. The result was a
confused and jumbled mess of squiggly lines. Just two days later,
again strictly steering clear of casein, he repeated the exercise,
this time writing four clearly legible numbers in an even line.

"It's incredible. We've seen intelligence tests that had gone steadily
down suddenly turn around and go back up" after a change of diet, says
Ann-Mari Knivsberg, who covers the research end of the Stavanger
project.

One of the children who still avoids milk and gluten, 17-year-old
Sigbjoern, says any lapse in his diet affects his performance in
school.

"I can tell right away when I've eaten something I shouldn't. It's
really hard to concentrate. I'm always careful before tests," he says,
taking a big bite of gluten and milk-free carrot cake.

Considered a hyperactive problem child with retarded development in
nursery school, Sigbjoern today ranks among the best students in his
class.

"He had a slow start and a lot of trouble learning to begin with, but
by secondary school he was really doing well," says Sigbjoern's mother
Grete, 52.

Both Grete and Rita asked that their families' last names not be used
for fear of stigmatisation.

"It is considered shameful to have ADHD," Grete says. "When they're on
a diet they're just like everyone else. Just look at them. We have two
normal, great kids. I'm eternally grateful that Sigbjoern was included
in the project."

Hundreds of other Norwegian children with ADHD, mainly in and around
Stavanger, have in recent years been put on milk-free diets to help
deal with their condition, but Fosse complains many doctors don't
inform parents of the option.

"We want to get the word out that this can be an alternative. Parents
have to do a lot of searching before they get this information," she
says.

"The scepticism is infuriating. I'm glad I have a good education and
can stand up for myself when I meet doctors who ridicule what I'm
doing," says Grete, putting her arm around Sigbjoern's shoulder.

"I mean, as a parent, wouldn't you want to at least try switching your
child's diet before medicating him?"
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