What's Eating Your Child?: The Hidden Connection Between Food and Childhood Ailments

by Kelly Dorfman

Why treat your child with drugs when you can cure your child with nutrition? Grounded in cutting-edge science and filled with case studies that read like medical thrillers, this is a book for every parent whose child suffers from mood swings, stomachaches, ear infections, eczema, anxiety, tantrums, ADD/ADHD, picky eating, asthma, lack of growth, and a host of other physical, behavioral, and developmental problems.
Previously published as What’s Eating Your Child? and now with a new chapter on the unexpected connection between gluten and insatiable appetite, Cure Your Child with Food shows parents how to uncover the clues behind their children’s surprisingly nutrition-based health issues and implement simple treatments―immediately.
You’ll discover how zinc deficiency can cause picky eating and affect growth. The panoply of problems caused by gluten and dairy. How ear infections and mood disorders, such as anxiety and bipolar disorder, can be a sign of food intolerance. Plus, how to get your child to sleep, soothe hyperactivity, and deal with reflux using simple nutritional strategies.
Ms. Dorfman, a nutritionist whose typical family arrives at her practice after seeing three or more specialists, gives parents the tools they need to become nutrition detectives; to recalibrate their children’s diets through the easy E.A.T. program; and, finally, to get their children off drugs―antibiotics, laxatives, Prozac, Ritalin―and back to a natural state of well-being.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Health, Food, Nutrition, Self Help, Adhd

334 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2011

About the author

Kelly Dorfman, MS, LND, is a nutritionist who specializes in working with children. She has served, by governor appointment, on the Maryland Board of Dietetic Practice, has consulted for WebMD, and has been a go-to authority on nutrition for The Washington Post. She is a sought-after lecturer who speaks around the country, and lives just outside of Washington, D.C. "

Reviews

[Penelope · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author, an accomplished and experienced nutritionist, postulates that food can effect our bodies in profound physical and psychological ways. Her arguments and research are compelling, if at times anecdotal, but I did not like the structure of the book, making it difficult to skim through to glean suggestions pertinent to my children. If you are ready to read this book cover to cover, you'll find it helpful. If you are looking for a book that is easy to reference certain behaviors or health concerns for your children, I would suggest you keep looking.

[Del · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically readable, with real-life examples and real solutions. My only wish is that she would have been more explicit recommending actual brands (or maybe making them available on a website? I'm sure they can change without notice in quality and content) of supplements she recommends. This should be required reading for pediatricians and gp's, as well as parents!

[Jeniann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is by a pediatric allergist/nutritionist who talks about issues that many children face, such as acid reflux, picky eating, ADHD, speech difficulties, being prone to high anxiety and worrying, frequent stomachaches, allergies, eczema, ear infections, poor growth, but really are preventable conditions that can be greatly helped nutritionally. The book is a series of case studies of children with different difficulties and how she was able to help them through proper nutrition.
One of the most interesting things in it to me was what she said about children (and would also apply to adults) who are picky eaters and have a hard time trying new foods, even though sometimes they really want to try new things but it's very unpleasant for them to eat certain foods. She explains that in many cases they have an underlying zinc deficiency that can cause some foods to be unpleasant to them and how treating the zinc deficiency can greatly help them to be more comfortable eating a broader range of foods. She goes into detail about some simple ways you can know if your child has a zinc deficiency, how to help them with it, and also gives a lot of tips for helping picky eaters.
For me personally the most helpful part was the chapter about children with speech difficulties since I have a child with those, and she had some good tips about that.
I highly recommend this book for anyone with small children, particularly if you have a child with one of the conditions mentioned. This doctor is very much a traditional American doctor who uses traditional medical methods. (This is why for me I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because I felt there were some helpful things that could have been mentioned in this book but were left out because they are not accepted by mainstream American medicine.)

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may revise the 4 stars to 5 after trying out some of the recommended vitamins and minerals. I read this because my daughter has had battles with constipation since she was just over a year old, has taken allergy medication daily since she was almost 3, asthma medication (preventative and rescue) on and off since she was 4, constantly has a runny nose, and last year nearly got tubes in her ears due to recurrent ear infections - she's almost 8, so it seems like she would be too old for that sort of thing. Not to mention the social/behavioral trouble she has at school!

At the recommendation of one of her teachers (off the record), he suggested going dairy free. So as I looked into dairy free and gluten free living and found this book. Her story was like a combination of several of the case studies! I am going to find fish oil,zinc, and probiotics in her recommended doses, which are much higher than in standard gummy vitamins. I will probably stop with my kids' current multivitamins and find ones that have less sugar and more vitamins/minerals, especially vitamin E, the B vitamins, calcium/magnesium, choline, and essential fatty acids.

After reading this book, I know what each of the aforementioned things do! Luckily my daughter is drawn to healthy food, for the most part. And we're starting a new diet free of dairy, sugar, MSG, and several varieties of nuts starting tomorrow.

[Ci · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book to see if it can shed some light on children's eating habit. Given what we know about the eating habit and long-term health consequences observed in adults, I am curious to see if this book would give a systemic explanation of how eating habits are formed, and how such habits can be relevant for behavior and health consequences. But this is not such a book. It is based on anecdotes and relatively thin research. Much of of the suggestions are common sense. The danger to read books largely based on individual case study is that the reader may take each case as the "generalized" diagnose pathway. Two types of errors are likely, false positives (mistakes in assuming the child has a particular nutrition-related problem) and false negatives (because the particular behavior did not exhibit, then the child does not have nutrition-related problems.). This book does not do well to give parents and caretakers a systematic approach for nutrition while at the high risk of spurious self-diagnoses.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was completely blown away by this well-researched and well-articulated book. The purpose of this book is to help one to understand that many childhood ailments or illnesses can be eased or completely eliminated with a proper diet that is customed to YOUR CHILD'S bio-individuality. I read it because my sister-in-law recommended it and I've been more and more interested in healthy eating lifestyles and the connection between food and bio-individuality; especially since we learned of my daughter's intolerance to dairy. I recommend this book to EVERYONE whether you or your child have recurring ailments or not. Food and eating lifestyles has been linked not only to major illnesses in adults been to all kinds of common health problems and behavioral issues in children and adults alike. I'm ranting on my soap box but that's only because I feel these topics and issues are so important and I think EVERYONE should read this book.

[Lacy Danielson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially started this book in an effort to understand more about ADHD and the foods that make it worse, specifically for my 8 year old son. What I gained after reading this book was so much more than I expected.

I uncovered a gluten sensitivity my son had that i didn't even realize he was struggling with. His chronic ear infections as a baby and near constant stuffy nose, that his Dr insisted were just seasonal allergies and told us to fix by taking an antihistamine...forever! After a week of cutting out gluten, he was able to smell again, his stuffiness went away, and his tummy even felt better. Wow. What a discovery.

I was also educated in the value of multi vitamins and buying organic foods. I came to realize just how messed up our Western culture is when it comes to nutrition and difficult it is socially to maintain a diet free of all the junk. (Think holidays, bday parties, basically any social gathering) Basically, this book blew my mind. I'm happy to have read it and educated myself, but also devastated at the realization of how impossible it is to feed our families well in American culture.

[Kara Stroder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could see going to this book as a last ditch effort to try and figure out what could be going on with your kid but overall seemed like her message was don't eat sugar, and most issues are caused by gluten and milk. There was some good information about zinc and fish oils but most of the case studies the kids didn't eat anything but gluten.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was much more engaging than I expected it to be. Every chapter followed the story of one or two children the author has helped in her office, as well as lots of biology sidebars and tips on multivitamins or supplements. The "boring" parts were not long enough to make ant chapter skippable.

[Melody Newby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will be using some of the advice found in this book, not only for my children but for myself too!

[Katie F · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO SO GOOD! This shed light on so many things regarding my children's diet that I had never heard before. Currently implementing her ideas, fingers crossed it works.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is one fabulous book. First, just let me say that every child is different and you can take out of it what you need and leave what you don't. But it all makes sense. Kelly Dorfman focuses on nutritional solutions to children's ailments: constant ear infections, tummy trouble, crazy mood swings and behavior, even picky eating...among many others. (YES, there really IS a reason your kid is a picky eater! A deficiency of zinc can make food literally smell and taste repellant. VERY interesting...) She shares several of her cases and how changing each child's diet solved or helped their problem. It really is amazing how much processed food (and pesticides! yikes!) we eat.

In general, our own family eats a healthy, balanced diet. But there's always room for improvement - I recently realized we were not eating enough vegetables, particularly my son, who could go literally weeks without any, even though I'd prepare veggies for dinner each night. I started forcing them down him and then began reading this book after - and realized he was no longer lethargic, complaining of tummy aches, and didn't look as sickly with dark rings around his eyes. There were obviously certain vitamins and nutrients he was not getting! But DUH, it just wasn't obvious until I read this book.

I liked this book enough to purchase my own and have marked many passages - particularly those about kids' multivitamins and what needs to be in them, passages about bad sleepers (my oldest has always had a hard time falling asleep), and info about fish oil. This is really a great resource for every parent to have. Dorfman's way of treatment is rare in the fact that it gets to the root of your child's problem and tries to get RID of it, instead of prescribing medication to mask its symptoms, like most doctors are trained to do today. The right food really can heal our bodies.

[AnandaTashie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"... you have enormous influence over the raw materials going into the biochemical soup that is your unique and wonderful child."

This is a decent starter book if you're just learning about nutrition & starting the path toward investigating food sensitivities. If you've read others, then it's not quite so ground-breaking.

The first part of the book covers the basics - the importance of nutrition, how to do the detective work necessary, and her approach to helping picky eaters. The other sections in the book focus on specific problems, featuring children that she's helped - for example, stomach aches, bipolar type behavior, constipation, skin bumps, ear infections, sleep problems. The book talks a lot about things like gluten & dairy intolerances, zinc & essential fatty acid deficiencies. If your child has one of the specific overall issues that the author addresses, then this format works fine; otherwise, a little repetitive or disorganized.

Things I do want to remember (not direct quotes):

- High iron can cause bacteria to thrive & antibiotics to not work.

- Multivitamin recommendations: 800-1000 milligrams total calcium (when combined with food); added selenium, zinc, magnesium, and chromium; 800-1000IUs of D.

- Zinc deficiencies can cause picky eaters or slow growth. Zinc Tally from Metagenetics & Zinc Assay from Premier Research Labs can test for deficiencies. (No deficiency and it tastes like old eggs; a deficiency and it tastes plain.)

- Essential Fatty Acid deficiency: Dry, scaly skin, dry hair, excessive earwax buildup or visible earwax, excessive thirst, rare or no thirst, toe walking, eating butter or margarine by itself. Kids ages 3 to 5: 500 to 1000 milligrams of some combo of EPA, DHA, LA, and ALA (gram of the oils, not just a gram of fish oil). 5 & up: at least 1000 milligrams of combined EPA & DHA.

[Darcy Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book extremely helpful when our youngest child would go from speaking clearly to not understandable from day to day and I couldn't figure out what was going on.
Our pediatrician had told us 'kids develop at different rates' and though I trusted her (we have 3 older children as well) I knew that it was not a developmental issue when one day she would sound completely fine. A child doesn't learn to speak clearly and then regress completely every other day or a week at a time.

This book, as well as "Is This Your Child" helped me to identify a reaction to both the casein protein found in dairy as well as gluten. On days when she received too much gluten and dairy our daughter was virtually not understandable. Once we removed both from her diet things improved both in her demeanor (no more screaming fits and sinus issues/headaches) and in pronunciation. Now-at more than a year and a half after we discovered this, she can have limited amounts of both, but when she becomes a little too irritable and has trouble articulating, we know we need to pull way back with both.

I HIGHLY recommend both books if you suspect something like this but don't know what the problem is. It takes some testing at home (which I recommend over going through office testing....you don't need to wait to see if it works. You can try a rotation diet or just cut one thing out at a time. For instance, when we cut out dairy...just ONE meal without the dairy was such a drastic change in behavior and speech I almost didn't try eliminating the gluten. I am glad I did both, though. We ended up realizing that our youngest son and myself react to both, as well and we have both felt much better limiting ourselves.).

[Nupur · Rating 4 out of 5]

My two favorite things about this book:
1. It is written without judgement in a sensible tone with practical advice.
2. It is highly readable, presented in the form of case studies where the readers get to play along as "nutrition detectives". It is not every day that a book on this subject is such a page-turner.

Some interesting concepts that I took away from this book:
1. Nutrition problems fall into two categories: either something that the child is eating is bothering the body, or the child is not getting enough of something. Sometimes both these things can occur at the same time.
2. Kids act badly when they are not feeling well. They are often unable to express discomfort or pain and instead they act out and misbehave. Instead of punishment, parents may need to dig deeper and find out if something in the diet is making the child act this way.
3. Many children are picky eaters (often eating only plain "white" foods like bread, rice, pasta, milk and little else). There is often a zinc deficiency which causes loss of sense of smell and taste making food unappetizing or even revolting. This problem can be easily corrected with a zinc supplement. The author also provides a simple program for trying new foods one bite at a time to expand a picky eater's food repertoire.
4. Individuals have very different reactions to common foods. Many kids are intolerant of dairy or gluten. If the child has a mysterious illness which has not been helped by conventional medicine, it is worthwhile to look for nutritional causes.
5. This book is about children's nutrition but many of the same concepts apply to adults.

[Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone referred me to this book by saying their sister had really good luck with changing their diet around and the behaviors that improved due to it. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the title and typing in "Eating Our Children" surprisingly didn't have any results!!
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Some of this book was like "eat this food and all of your child's problems will magically disappear." Of course, at some point near the end of the book she acknowledges that it's not foolproof, but so many of her stories just seem like "cut out dairy and voilà, everything's better!
I'm not saying that the book hasn't given me ideas, but I get annoyed when I read that she recommends Magnesium at 200mg for helping calm ADHD children, and if you take the time to read her references section you'll see that the recommendation from the study is really Magnesium and B-6. The purpose of the book is so I don't have to read all of the individual studies!

P.177"When you are evaluating one child, it is hard to say whether his hyperactivity is caused by his eating too much sugar or by the fact that he is taking in too few nutrients because his diet contains so many empty calories from sugar. Studies done in juvenile detention centers where the participants could be watched carefully found that improving diets by taking out sweets reduced aggressive and "deviant" behaviors significantly. My bottom line is this: Even if sugar has not been proven to cause aggression and hyperactivity, it certainly cannot hurt to consider improving the diet before adding medication."

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that should be handed to every parent when a child is born.

I wouldn't bother reading it right away, but as your kids start eating solids, or have any reactions to foods that can't be pinpointed, this book can be a life-saver. It is very validating, when you are dismissed by physicians, or if you have been handed a prescription to deal with a child's ailment....
I didn't even know how much this book would alter my life...but it explained SO MUCH that I couldn't articulate, but that I had noticed in my own children. I love knowing the reasoning behind why specific foods react certain ways in certain people.

I love the way Dofman discusses so many issues, explains so many things so clearly, lists specific alternatives (even a recipe for making your own infant formula!!) and lays it all out clearly.

Through my work I have recommended this book to a number of families whose children seem to have intolerances or unexplained, ongoing 'colds' and are continually on medications. I have also told about every friend I know about it.

I can't say enough about this book. I loved it cover-to-cover. I wish every pediatricians office had a Dorfman to help answer questions before prescriptions were handed out like candy, and that our physicians today had the time/insight to look at the cause of symptoms instead of relying on covering them with prescriptions.

If you are a parent, get this book. Read it. Then tuck it away for a rainy day when it will come in handy for your family, a friend or neighbor. It's wonderful!

[Maria Rickert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelly Dorfman’s classic book, “What’s Eating Your Child?” (now called “Cure Your Child with Food”) is a must-read for parents of children with any kind of digestive, neurological or behavioral issue.

She teaches you, as a parent, to think as a “nutrition detective”, to figure out if there’s something in your child’s diet that is causing ear infections, tummy aches, rashes, constipation, acid reflux, insomnia or even picky eating.

Sign up here for a replay of my interview of her: https://xn123.infusionsoft.com/app/fo...

Ms. Dorfman not only gives us clues as to what might be causing these issues but offers suggestions for supplements that might help as well as tips for working with your pediatrician.

For example, in the a chapter about failure to thrive, which I’ve blogged about, she recommends testing your child for zinc deficiency, as it can be a cause for picky eating.

What most people don’t know is that food and diet also play a huge part in the symptoms of ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder, dyspaxia, autism or Sensory Processing Disorder. In this book, Ms. Dorfman shows us how food sensitivities and nutritional deficiencies contribute tremendously to these symptoms.

I highly recommend this book to any parent who has a child with any of these issues! It’s very well written and easy-to-follow with lots of practical advice.

[Samantha Hodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some new information that I had not previously read, but overall it was not as complete as I thought it would be. It gave examples using the same tricks and tips over and over again. In summary: If your child has any sort of ailment, try an elimination diet. Start with dairy, gluten, soy, and eggs. Also, add supplements of fish oil, zinc, probiotics, and/or magnesium as necessary for the specific ailment. If that still doesn't work, cut out all non-organic and GMO foods.

There. I saved you a few hours of reading.

I was quite annoyed with our pediatrician after reading one chapter with an example of keratosis pilaris being treated with fish oil. Both of my boys have this skin condition. I have been giving them fish oil for over a month in hopes that it will help with other ailments. After reading the chapter, I checked my sons' arms and, sure enough, most of the bumps are gone. Thanks, Doc. No more crappy steroid creams that don't work anyway!

Now to bring up some of this info at the next dr's appt and see how he responds...

[Daina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute must read for any parent or caregiver, and maybe for all Americans. The typical American diet is making us sick - both physically and mentally. The book gives concrete examples of children with various health issues, and how those issues were completely resolved (in most cases) or greatly improved (in a couple of instances) by the author's suggestions on dietary changes.

I was in my mid 30s before I realized that my body just did not like gluten and dairy. I changed my diet drastically, and now can honestly say that I have never felt better. I believe that my poor 4 year old nephew has a dairy intolerance (just like his aunt), which have caused him countless painful ear infections; my mentions of this have fallen on deaf ears. I am considering sending this book to his parents, even if that might cause some friction. Why suffer if you don't have to? (I had my first ear infections as an adult - at a time when I was eating enormous amounts of dairy products.)

Highly recommended book for anyone interested in the health and nutrition of our children and our nation.

[Purpleholic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book as a GoodReads First Reads Giveaway and I am very glad to be so lucky. I did struggle some with all the details but I am sure that the problem is with my reading skills not with the author's writing. It took me a little while to finish reading all the chapters but I did learn many things that I am planning to try. I too have a picky eater in the house and I have gotten tired of catering to his food wants but his dad wants to make sure he eats. This way we both win without fighting and losing family harmony, always a good thing. I am also sharing some of the strategies with my daughter so she can try them on my grandsons. I would love to recommend this book to everyone who has a eating problem in their family. It may not have the cure for everything but it does give excellent advice for anyone who has some concerns.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the format of this book. You have a little introductory material at the beginning, and then real stories about real kids and their families. As a parent, I identified with this. I loved the down to earth explanations about how diet and nutrition can play a part in seemingly unrelated health issues. Upon researching some of these things further I found that Kelly Dorfman was spot on. As a person diagnosed with Celiac Disease, who suspects Gluten Intolerance in some of my children, I was grateful for some things to work on, take note of, and discuss with our Pediatrician. I definitely feel this book is worth reading for all parents, whether you feel your child is having issues or not. Just the awakening I received about possible connections between nutrition deficits and medical/behavior issues made it worth the read.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was helpful in giving nutritional solutions to problems that pediatricians seem to write off as "normal" (such as ear infections, eczema, constipation...). This is more in line with my thinking than the common practice of prescribe rather than prevent. The chapters were all case studies on different ailments and several of them had the same solution: remove milk products, which seemed a little redundant but then, maybe that is a much more common problem that we think. Another common theme was to add fish oil supplements which helps with lots of conditions. Overall, I found it to be a good resource with information that you won't likely get from consulting your pediatrician.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fascinating in its case studies of children with various physical and emotional problems resolves through some intelligent application of nutritional knowledge. I enjoyed the information and way it was presented in the form of a series of case studies. My only criticism is that the information is fairly limited to the few children she discusses. If you have child with very similar symptoms (and you may for many are common) then you may get some good ideas of how to deal with the issues from this book. However, if your child does not respond to the limited suggestions presented there isn't a wide range of other options to choose from. Nevertheless, I would recommend it to any parent or teacher as an introduction into how nutrition can effect children in many ways.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book has single-handedly revolutionized the way i am trying to feed my family. i LOVED this book. i initially checked it out of the library to read, but after finishing it and realizing what a fantastic resource it it, i headed straight to amazon and bought it.

the book is arranged in chapters based on different ailments/issues and presents case studies with real life examples of how they were treated or fixed using nutrition. reading the book helped confirm to me my gut feeling that a lot of my children's behavioral issues can be contributed to nutritional deficiencies. by putting some of the recommendations into practice from this book, i have seen definite changes in my children. i highly recommend this book.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended to me by a close friend who used to work as an Occupational Therapist in my classroom, this is one of the most easy to read and interesting books about nutrition that I have encountered. The book is written by a child nutritionist and each chapter is written as a vignette with a mystery to solve. Deeper and more specific information is included in boxes to the side which help to keep the stories moving but give you more information on the topics that relate most to you. This book lead me to try some changes to my diet that have had major effects, namely adding a daily probiotic has helped me decrease my asthma medication and seriously improved my immune system. I would recommend this book to any new parent or parent with a young child, teacher, health care provider, etc.

[Brenda Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a free copy of this book from a goodreads.com giveaway. I absolutely love this book! I have already come across vital information to help my grandchildren! Especially my granddaughter. My son and daughter-in-law have reviewed the material and have started implementing the course of action recommended for her issue of most concern. We have every confidence this book holds the answers we have been seeking. If your pediatrician is at a loss for your areas of concern regaring your child, I highly recommend reading this book. I'm certain that I will use this book for reference many, many times as my grandchildren grow. Thank you goodreads for a book I never knew I needed so much.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only did give me great ideas for how to encourage my two year old to try new foods, but I realized that the soy milk that I was giving to him for his lactose sensitivity didn't have enough protein or fat for a growing child(there's a great recipe that includes rice or almond milk, a rice protein powder and coconut milk).
I also figured out that my husband was gluten intolerant (at first it was just a suspicion, but confirmed it through an elimination trial.) This was after he went to the doctor with IBS-like symptoms. The doctor just had him take an antacid, which didn't work.
It was an amazingly good read and should be required reading for all parent.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an intriguing read. The author covers many different health issues and how they can be treated with nutrition or supplements. She doesn't make false promises that any one suggestion is going to be a miracle cure or work for every child, but it does give parents lots of options for helping their children. It was an interesting and easy read. Some of the suggestions would warrant further research before implementing, but it is pretty clear which ones those are. I think this information could be beneficial to many families.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this interesting and very helpful as a jumping off point to research whatever in particular is troubling your child. There were links I hadn't seen connected before and some that I had. Both were clearly and briefly outlined for the general reader/parent. I already believe in the link between nutrition and behavior/health, but I think if you are not yet converted it will still appeal.

If you are interested in it, peruse the table of contents and you will know if it deals with an issue with which you are looking for help.