Is This Your Child? by Doris Rapp, M.D.

“You are what you eat.”  And this book tells you some of the ways what you (or your child) ingest affects you (or him/her) in ways you didn’t think were possible.

Is This Your Child? Discovering and Treating Unrecognized Allergies in Children and Adults by Dr. Doris Rapp is full of great info.

Many people are negatively affected by what they eat; they just don’t realize the connection.  Food allergies are not just hives and swollen throats.  Food allergies can manifest themselves in neurological and emotional ways, as well.  Depression, aggression, hyperactivity, learning problems, general feeling of being unwell, and many other issues can be caused or, at least, exacerbated by food allergies.

As with the other Parenting books in my collection, there was something on the cover that caught my eye.  On Dr. Rapp’s book, it was the back cover.  There are pictures of some of the lesser known results of food allergies – eye wrinkles, red cheeks, dark circles under eyes, red ears, and more.  I recognized two of these in Boe and because I’ve been concerned about them for some time, I decided to read on.

The charts and tables are especially helpful for us visual learners and the step by step plans are easy to understand.  We are using the rotation diet as we delve into the world of Gluten-Free-dom.

Similar to the Feingold Diet (explained in Jane Hersey’s book Why Cant’ My Child Behave?), the idea is to eliminate in order to build up tolerance, then slowly re-introduce the “trigger foods” – if possible. Ms. Hersey’s book dealt more with the chemicals within the processed foods we eat (and some fruits and veggies). Dr. Rapp’s book deals more with the whole foods that typically cause problems. I am so grateful to both of these women for sharing their knowledge to help kids (and adults).

Be sure to read the Foreword – it is especially helpful in deciding which chapters pertain to your situation.