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How to Become a Nutrition Detective


In What’s Eating Your Child?, author Kelly Dorfman teaches parents to become Sherlock Holmeses of the food pyramid food plate. (I guess we should start to phase out “food pyramid” since the USDA updated its guidelines.) Dorfman writes about the unexpected connections between what children eat and their behavior: turns out the wrong food can cause anxiety, hyperactivity, infections, and more.

The minute she gets a new case, Dorfman starts to look for clues, and parents can too–starting with these seven essential questions:

  1. What are the facts?
  2. Which symptoms worry you the most?
  3. When did the symptoms start?
  4. Do the symptoms come and go? Have they changed over time?
  5. What else was going on in your child’s life when the symptoms started?
  6. What was your child’s diet when the symptoms started?
  7. Was your child on any medications? When did they start and stop?

Answering these questions can help you crack the case: Colonel Mustard, in the library, with the candlestick! Or, more likely, Sally, with the gluten, in her pizza!

Kelly Dorfman recently appeared on CNN’s American Morning to discuss the book.

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