I have a friend who just recently shared with me that she has discovered, quite by accident, that her behavioral issues/mood swings were triggered by eating gluten products (flour).
Before I go further, let me explain that my friend is EXTREMELY CONSCIOUS re: what she and her family eat. She shops exclusively at Whole Foods and will eat nothing at all processed. She is, in short, a healthfood fanatic. However, she did NOT know that gluten was an issue for her.
Years ago, when she was continuing her education in Europe, she was in a horrific car accident and was in a coma for 9 days. They didn't expect her to come out of it, but obviously, she did. But she's had issues -- she had to essentially learn how to think as an adult again, as her injuries left her essentially with the mental/emotional capabilities as that of an adolescent girl. She has come a long way, though. She's now married with 3 children and is doing very well.
BUT...she has always attributed her emotional (at times) issues as being related to her former accident. Her nerves would be entirely short by 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. every night. Now, part of this can certainly be attributed to just the normal pace/hustle-bustle of a busy mom. But still, she sensed that something else was contributing to her inabilities to function appropriately -- she just didn't know what it was.
UNTIL THIS PAST CHRISTMAS.
She bakes a lot for the children -- cookies, mostly. She also loves cookies and would have at least 2 chocolate chip cookies a day. She's vegetarian, so I imagine pasta is something they eat -- maybe not a LOT, but definitely, it's in their diet.
Some of you may know that the gluten free diet is used by DAN! physicians to help the behavioral problems of children on the so-called ADD spectrum. The issue with gluten (and I'm no expert on this, so bear with me) is that these kids have metabolisms that just cannot handle gluten. This inability to metabolize gluten THEN causes these kids to just go ape --- they go nuts. Oft times, these metabolic disorders can then cause the emotional/mental issues that you see so often with these children.
Anyway, when my friend discovered at her family's home this Christmas that eating gluten seemed to be a huge issue for her, she quit eating it and was absolutely, totally amazed with the results! Her behavior is so entirely different that her own family has noticed this as well. It's been 15 years since her car accident and all along, they've been attributing my friend's issues as being related to the accident.
Now, it may be that her sensory receptors are involved here, and this may explain, in part anyway, why gluten is now something she just cannot have. Whatever the reason, and at this point, it doesn't really matter, gluten IS a problem, and she's cutting it out of her diet.
She has also noticed a huge difference in her two older children as well. She said they have definitely toned down.
I've read quite a bit that Britney enjoys a fast food diet -- almost exclusively. So, who knows...perhaps combined with her marriage, having babies so soon, one right after the other, her ensuing divorce, and all the complications that go along with that, plus her issues combined, with show business, IF she has a metabolic disorder on top of it, it COULD explain why she is just suffering miserably.
Oh...another friend of mine has two children who are in show business, but she is definitely a great mom and is with her children at all times on the movie sets. Unfortunately, she has witnessed Jamie Lynn's behavior on the set of her TV show and has witnessed the fact that Jamie's mom was not on the set at the time Jamie would be seen going into her trailer WITH HER BOYFRIEND. I don't know where Jamie's Mom would have been during those times, but surely someone on that TV set, whether it be producers, directors...someone...should have immediately taken steps to ensure Jamie was not in that trailer with her boyfriend (Jamie was 14 years old when my friend stated this happened.)
But what a sad, sad story this all is. My heart goes out to this family. I sincerely hope that Britney receives the care that she so desperately needs. And by the way, I find it truly despicable re: what Dr. Phil has done -- not so much his visiting Britney, although Britney had a right, as an adult, to know that he was going to be in that hospital room -- but the fact that Dr. Phil proceeded to take this room visit and make it public really was offensive. If he truly wanted to help Britney, he should have commenced quietly, but he obviously wanted the PR to go along with it, and now, rightfully so, it's backfired on him.
