I am a doubter!  A seething skeptic and quite frankly, I was wrong.  I don’t know about you but I love food.  All kinds of food, the kind that is good for you and the kind that can send you to an early demise.  I am not sure if it was my upbringing or just a personal preference, but food seemed like a must have regardless of the activity.  It didn’t matter if it was after church, family reunion, the super bowl, or after a little league game, it wasn’t a party till the food arrived.  With that said you can imagine my hesitation when I first heard about dietary interventions that could benefit both a child’s development and behavior.  The benefits sounded great, but the change not so much.  I know that thought process is really selfish, but I loved my food and my life and change meant…well change, limitations, restrictions.  Do you see my point?  So Like any good husband I deployed a series of stall tactics.  Honey I am not sure about that diet stuff.  You know I am going to look into that statistic this week.   

The bad thing about stall tactics is that eventually you have to own up to fact that you have in fact been stalling, and begin to consider the subject matter on a semi-serious level.  So I read a book that was recommended to me by a friend who is a subject matter expert of sorts.  The book was called the China Study written by Dr. T. Colin Campbell.  The book is hailed as the most significant study on human health that has been done.  I will never forget reading the statement that simply said, “The science is clear. The results are unmistakable.”  Armed with a new perspective I began to consider just how important food was to the way I felt, how long I lived, and what illnesses I might have to contend with between now and day I kick the bucket.  

A few days later I agreed to my first official dietary intervention, although I must admit that the deciding factor was my wife who believed that I was moving too slowly and the potential benefit for our daughter far outweighed my selfish procrastination.  As the saying goes, old habits are hard to break!  The first few weeks felt like torture, but I began to see a familiar behavior that my daughter was now displaying…withdraw.  My twenties were spent in urban areas helping people with many issues, addiction was one of them.  I could not believe the mood swings, rummaging, and general chaos in our house.  Needless to say it was no fun, but I knew that good things would come after the withdraws were over, and they did.  

Overtime I realized how pointless it was for me to resist what makes such perfect sense.  We are what we eat.  If we eat good things we feel good.  It is impossible to refute study after study that says diet matters to development, happiness, and long life.   Nutrition is important for all of us, but especially for our kids with special needs……Think About It!