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2B Daily News – Friday, October 4, 2013 FEATURES Nixing food additives helps kids with ADHD your son's ADHD DEAR DOCis improving with TOR K: My son these changes are has ADHD. inattention, hyperShould I eliminate activity and all foods that conimpulsivity. tain artificial food Inattention in coloring from his kids (and adults) diet? with ADHD is DEAR READER: I've asked my Dr. K reflected in different behaviors. pediatric colby Anthony L. leagues here at Komaroff, M.D. After you eliminate artificial colHarvard Medical School for their thoughts ors and food additives, about your question. They does your son seem less reminded me that some forgetful? Less easily disparents, advocacy groups tracted? Does he complete and scientists have long tasks you've asked him to worried about a link do more often? Is he getbetween artificial food ting better grades at colorings and hyperactivi- school? Improvement in hyperty in children. In March 2011, a U.S. activity usually is easier to Food and Drug Adminis- spot. Is your son less fidtration (FDA) panel gety — does he stay seated reviewed evidence on this in one place more often, topic. The FDA concluded instead of being restless? that artificial food color- Is he more likely to comings do not appear to con- plete a one-person game tribute to hyperactivity, on the computer? As for impulsivity, is distractibility and other behavior problems in most your son more able to wait his turn? Does the teacher children. On the other hand, the say he is less likely to FDA allowed that certain interrupt her and other stuchildren with attention dents when they are talkdeficit hyperactivity disor- ing? Is he less likely to say der (ADHD) may be bad things or hit other kids uniquely vulnerable, not when he gets mad at them? just to food colorings, but If he has been experimentto any number of food ing with alcohol, tobacco additives. ADHD symp- or drugs, has this behavior toms include inattention, quieted down? ADHD can damage a hyperactivity or impulsive child's development. It can behavior. If you're worried about make it harder to develop artificial colorings in your friendships or to do well in son's food, consider the school. It can lead to behaviors, such as experifollowing: — Avoid a radical menting with drugs, that approach. For most chil- can damage the child dren with ADHD, radical physically and emotionaldiets will not do any good. ly. Reducing or eliminatTry not to let your concern ing foods with a lot of artiover food additives dis- ficial coloring or additives tract you from established may not make a difference guidelines for healthy eat- for the average kid with ADHD. But your son may ing. — Try eliminating be one of the kids who are some foods. Experiment a helped by such a dietary bit. Remove the major change, so give it a try. sources of artificial colors Dr. Komaroff is a and additives from your son's diet to see if his physician and professor at symptoms improve. Those Harvard Medical School. sources include candy, To send questions, go to junk food, brightly colored AskDoctorK.com, or write: cereals, fruit drinks and Ask Doctor K, 10 Shattuck St., Second Floor, Boston, sodas. The symptoms to focus MA 02115. on in determining whether Husband bullies wife over extra pounds way for him to vent, and you Dear Annie: I love my are the target of his frustrahusband, but I don't like him tions. Tell your husband you anymore. He is disrespectful are ready to walk and that to me because I am overcounseling may be the last weight, and he has been after chance the two of you have to me for years to lose the extra work things out. If he still pounds. He uses filthy lanrefuses, talk to a counselor on guage when he speaks to me your own and figure out what and says it's OK because I am disrespecting him by not Annie's you want from your marriage and whether it's too late to losing weight. save it. I'm 58 years old, have Dear Annie: I have been back problems, wear a size 8 by Kathy Mitchell and could stand to lose a and Marcy Sugar dear friends with ''Nancy'' for 10 years. I am worried about good 15 pounds. I am an emotional eater. I lose the weight and her mental health. Nancy has had many issues with then gain it back. But he acts as if I am 50 pounds overweight. Meanwhile, he depression. But in the past three is tall, thin, has a small beer belly and months, her mother died unexpectedtakes medication for his high choles- ly, and then her mother's house burned down. Her brother and stepfather were terol. My cholesterol is fine. I've asked him to go with me for still living there. They are now living counseling, but he won't. I went alone in Nancy's tiny apartment. Her brothyears ago, but don't see anything er is a drug addict with a history of changing if he won't go. This is so violent behavior. All of this is taking a toll on her, childish. He is so hateful of anyone who is overweight. I can't take it any- and I can easily see her slipping back more. I'm getting more depressed and into depression. Can you tell me of have been seriously thinking of any free or low-cost places where she divorce. I want to leave and never can go? She has no insurance and come back. Any suggestions? — Any barely makes ends meet. — Concerned Friend in Kentucky Name in Any City Dear Friend: We've printed this Dear Any Name: Your husband has become a bully and a verbal list before, but it bears repeating: Free abuser. If he has an ounce of sense, he and low-cost help is available through would know that this is not an effec- local churches, graduate school countive way to get you (or anyone) to seling departments, medical school change your behavior. It's simply a psychology departments, United Way, Mailbox the YMCA, YWCA, the Samaritan Institute (samaritaninstitute.org), NAMI (nami.org), and through support groups such as the Depression and Bipolar Alliance (dbsalliance.org) and the Abraham Low Self-Help Systems (lowselfhelpsystems.org). Dear Annie: As a breast cancer advocate, as well as being a stage IV breast cancer patient, I am concerned about the letter from ''Torn Sister,'' who says her older sister, ''Johanna,'' is using a breast cancer diagnosis to manipulate her family into buying her things. Receiving a diagnosis of a serious breast cancer, such as inflammatory breast cancer, is quite naturally upsetting. But expecting large sums of money from family members is unreasonable and something I've never heard of a cancer patient doing. Frankly, I wonder whether ''Johanna'' actually has cancer. I would not take her word for it. ''Torn'' could offer to go with her to an appointment with her oncologist or to a chemotherapy treatment. Most of us with a serious cancer diagnosis hope for love from our families, but not money. — Florida Dear Florida: Thank you for writing and for giving us the opportunity to mention that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Readers, to find a screening site near you, go to nbcam.org. Factory fun on family vacations Planning a family vacation? Factory tours can make for great vacation fun, especially when the company manufacturers something kids like. Free samples can't hurt. Currently, more than 550 factories across the USA offer tours to show people what they do and how they do it. Most tours are free; however some require a small admission. Here's a sample: MRS. GROSSMAN'S: Petaluma, Calif. This is the sticker company kids and scrapbookers know and love. Mrs. Grossman's prints 15,000 miles of stickers every year! Your family can see what's behind the fuss on a factory tour of the bright and colorful printing plant. The tour begins with a video narrated by the owner's dog Angus and concludes with a sticker art class and a gift bag stuffed with stickers. A gift shop sells all of the company's 700 sticker designs. Reservations are required. Admission: adults $7; youth under 12 $5; children under 3 free. Call (800) 429-4549 or go to MrsGrossmans.com for more details. TILLAMOOK CHEESE: Tillamook, Ore. Visitors are treated to a free tour, showcasing the entire cheese making process from cow to mouth. free and no reservations are required. There are interactive kiosks For more information, go to JellyBelproviding nutritional informa- ly.com. BUREAU OF ENGRAVING tion that kids of all ages can enjoy. As visitors reach the AND PRINTING: Fort Worth, Texas. At the new Western end of the tour, Currency Facility, adults they are treated to and kids will love learning samples of Tillamall about U.S. paper currenook's famous cheese. cy. Best of all, you can actuFor more information and ally see billions of dollars tour times, go to Tillambeing printed as you walk ookcheese.com. along an enclosed walkway JELLY BELLY: Fairsuspended over the producfield, Calif. Step into the tion floor. Before or after Jelly Belly factory and your tour, enjoy two floors smell the aroma of chocoof interactive exhibits late, peach, cinnamon, Mary showcasing the history of pineapple, or whatever is currency and the intricacies being cooked up that day. of the printing process. Located about an hour's Other features of the visitor drive north of San Francenter include a theater cisco, and 45 minutes film, a gift shop, and a west of Sacramento, this vending and rest area. The 40-minute walking tour is tour and fabulous visitor led by Jelly Belly tour guides who show a real-working fac- center are free to the public. To tory cooking up more than 150 dif- schedule a tour, call (817) 231-4000 ferent sweet treats. You'll discover or toll free (866) 865-1194; moneywhy it takes more than a week to factory.com. To find a list of factory tours make a single bean. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, except on arranged by state, go to FactoryTourholidays. Jelly Belly factory tours are sUSA.com. Hunt Everyday Cheapskate Team Psycho — a bunch of Tough Mudders My friend, Mark Eid- It was cute to see some of man, had asked me a few them practicing on each months back if I'd be inter- other after they left our area. Again, with all the ested in teaching some creeps out there, groups of 6thI have to stress graders self how important it defense skills. is for people to Without giving it get their kids much thought, I some ongoing told him, "Sureself defense I'd love to!" Forinstruction. PAL getting for a sechas some great ond there that I classes for kids, don't relish the and so does Greg idea of working Blanco. Let's with kids. I put it keep our kids out of my head Avery safe. until I got someAs for my thing in the mail obstacle course from the Department of Education Fitness Buff run excursions? I braved the reminding me of Tough Mudder my commitment to Education Day at the fair- in Tahoe on Sept. 28 with grounds. I found out I'd be some of my friends. Fred working with groups of up Lapin, Kimberly Gleason to 30 6th graders every 20 and Shannon Gonczeruk minutes from 9:30 a.m. to and I trained for this crazy noon. I wasn't sure I'd have run that we'd all heard so the energy to survive this much about. We'd heard alone. The week of the about the walls you climb event, I was able to finagle over, the ice bath you had to some help from 2 of my crawl through, the mud you very gracious friends, Shan- had to wade through and, non Gonczeruk and Jessica worst of all, the electric Maxwell. These ladies were lines you had to run through kind enough to show up and while you were intermithelp me provide some much tently zapped. I was appreneeded self defense instruc- hensive for the shock obstacle above all the others. My tion. By the time we were at friend and mudder guru, our 3rd group of kids, we Allison Marshall, gave me were in our zone. Showing ample warning about the various moves and answer- course, and, tough as she is, ing all kinds of great ques- she really downplayed the tions. Dare I say, we were shock obstacle. She is one even having some fun with of the baddest females I the kids. I was exhausted by know- with a very high pain the time we were done, but I tolerance. So, even though was glad I had the chance to she said the shock wasn't speak to some of our youth too bad, I still went over it in about the importance of self my head a million times. It awareness and self defense. was like visualizing my Vilche opponent that I was gearing up to fight. Shannon was a bit nervous and just wanted to get it over with. Kim and Fred weren't too worried. I was probably more apprehensive than anyone. I'd been watching the weather and noticed it was not going to be a warm, feel good event. I get cold really easy, which, I guess, makes me a wussy Eskimo. We had decided to do the run at 8 a.m. since it was a 12-mile run, and we wanted to be done with it before 11 a.m. We got to the starting line, the DJ fired us up and motivated everyone. It didn't seem too cold. I was hopeful. We all got started up that hill and to the first obstacle. You had to pull yourself through a tunnel of water while you were face up. We got through that one with no issues. Next up was the platform jump. It was 15 feet high, we made it off that and swam to the other side no problem. Next was a mud obstacle. Up several mud hills and down through chest deep muddy water. We got through that one unscathed, except for Fred, he tripped and took a header. I had to laugh. After that, we started heading up the hill, and the cold started setting in. A lot of the course was shaded and there was bits of snow on the sides of the trail. We were all soaking wet. My teeth were chattering, and my hands and feet were numb. When we got to the next obstacle, Shannon and I noticed that Fred was just about carrying Kim. She was not looking well. We called for help, and staff picked her and Fred up to get her to a warming station. Shannon and I continued down the hill. Kim got hypothermia. It should be noted that she is very petite with extremely low bodyfat. I, on the other hand, had been preparing for this event for a few months- eating a lot- bulking up. So, yes, I was very cold, but I think my bulk helped me through the frigid temperatures. Shannon and I agreed that we would forgo anymore water obstacles after seeing our friend taken out. We felt like dorks, but our fear of hypothermia was bigger than our fear of looking stupid. I'd have to say, where we shined the most was on the log carry. You had to pick out a log (there were several to choose from- from tiny to huge) and carry it 1/8-mile uphill and the 1/8-mile back down. My pride made me pick a really big one — Shannon looked at me like I was crazy. So, together we selected just a big one. We hauled that sucker up that hill, and, while 1/8-mile doesn't sound like much, it is a long way to haul a big, old log. We were getting lots of support from folks, "Dang, you go, girls!" We noticed a lot of the smarter folks were carrying small chunks of wood- even the big guys. So we finally made it to the end- not at the 11 a.m. time I was hoping for — but closer to noon. There it was, the last, most dreaded obstacle, the shocker. It didn't look too bad. Just a bunch of wires hanging down that you run through in mud. The announcer told me, go through the left, it's easier. Like a fool, I listened to him. I was getting hit by volts every step of the way. He was laughing. It really wasn't too bad. Shannon and I got through to the other side and into the outdoor, community showers. We were looking forward to some warmth to slough off the mud as we were both still frozen. We got in the shower, and lo and behold, more cold water. After a quick brush off and putting on some warm, dry clothes, I finally felt human again. Brad and Donnelle Lazott wisely chose to do the course at 11 a.m. and were able to finish it with a tad warmer temperatures. Kim and Fred met us at the bottom of the hill. Fred was Kim's hero — stayed with her and made sure she was safe. My hero was waiting patiently back in the motel room for me. John, who is always in my corner, was there to give me love and support after the whole thing. We finished off the night at a buffet in Tahoe. I ate enough to put another layer on to prepare for the next run.... in July. One last thing, John asked me if I'd heard that Bret Farve was thinking of coming back out retirement and noted that everytime he does, so do I. He was curious if I was thinking about fighting again. We've been watching UFC a lot, and I have been cheering on a lot of the girls.... But I think I enjoy food and being pain free more than I enjoyed hitting people — at least I'm pretty sure about that. Avery Vilche is a professional boxer and owner of Psycho Fitness & MMA. You can reach her at vilcheavery@yahoo.com or at her website, www.psychofitnessmma.com.