The Institutes prescribes a series of very specific nutritional goals and guidelines for Alexander. For the first year and a half, Al was on an “elimination” diet which removed all common allergens: wheat, soy, dairy, corn, sugar, peanuts, tomatoes, bananas, and a number of other ingredients. Aside from the goal of perfect nutrition, this program works to maximize brain development and greatly reduce seizure activity. There was a huge learning curve involved when we adopted this nutritional program. Our early attempts to get all the requirements–three vegetables, a protein, a carbohydrate and an oil, all in very specific proportions–onto a plate resulted in some pretty strange meals. We’ve gotten a lot of help from friends and done a lot of research, and now our meals look really normal, though! If you came to our house for dinner you’d never know you were having a super restrictive meal plan meal. We are now adding another layer to the nutritional program: a rotation diet has begun, which means that Alexander doesn’t repeat an ingredient over a four-day period. This works to isolate and identify food sensitivities.
Specialized Nutrition
