Health and Nutrition
A Healthier Diet, A Sharper Mind: Our Family’s Journey
“Right now, your child has a focus issue. If you don’t want it to develop into a disorder, you’ll need to change his diet.” A neurologist’s advice that became our lifestyle — and a journey others may find helpful too.
I posted this at the end of the school year in a Facebook group about children’s nutrition:
I want to share our story with you. Before I received any call from the preschool, aftercare, or another parent, I would take a deep breath and prepare myself mentally to defend my son. Once again, Itamar had been acting out—bothering others, hitting others, losing focus, and disrupting the class.
We tried everything: explaining, getting angry, comparing him to other kids and to his sister, bribing him… all the classic amateur parenting mistakes. Nothing worked.
Then a wise preschool teacher gently suggested that we visit a child development center for an evaluation.
We spent half a day with a neurologist. After the assessment, he handed us a long written summary, but explained the bottom line very clearly:
Right now, your child has a focus issue. If you don’t want it to escalate into ADHD—meaning Ritalin by first grade and so on—here’s what you need to do:
Remove the drawer full of salty and sweet snacks.
No more white sugar, white flour, or white rice.
Read ingredient lists. If there’s something you don’t recognize—don’t buy it.
Limit screen time to a total of two hours a day. Flickering overwhelms the child’s nervous system.”
We took his words seriously, and our home went through a transformation. It was gradual, but the change was real. Today, I’ve become some kind of a “health guru.” Mothers from school come to me for guidance—and I’m always happy to help, voluntarily and wholeheartedly, because I’ve seen firsthand how these small changes can make a huge difference.
Our kids now start their day with a healthy muffin. Lunch is whole grain pasta with lentil patties, whole grain couscous with vegetables and chickpeas as the protein source, and so on. I make homemade pizza, dairy desserts, ice cream, chocolate—all with healthy, natural ingredients.
And Itamar? He finished kindergarten as a happy, calm child. In first grade, we received countless compliments from the teacher. Now, when parents call, it’s to ask if Itamar can come over to play.
This week, thank God, Itamar finished first grade. At the school ceremony, the principal invited the top student from each class to receive a certificate of excellence. When it came to first grade, the principal called Itamar’s name.
The post received many comments and private messages.
I see this as a mission and a tremendous blessing from Hashem—the ability to share my experience and help others. Every thank you from a mother, every child’s smile—it means the world to me.
Because of the overwhelming response to that post, the idea for this column was born. Anyone who benefits from it—may they be blessed. I want to thank the Hidabroot website for giving me this platform—may Hashem bless you.
Since that Facebook post, so much has happened. When Itamar moved on to second grade, I started my “first year” too—studying naturopathy at the Earth College in Givat Washington.
Through the naturopathy program I learned nutritional medicine, herbal remedies, guided imagery, iridology (diagnosis through the iris), aromatherapy, natural cosmetics, Chinese nutrition—many tools that allow me to continue this mission in a deeper, more professional way.
With God’s help, in the upcoming articles I’ll share tips, recipes, things to watch out for, and general guidance on family nutrition.
