This is so frustrating....
So research is being done to show food additive effects on kids' behavior. Unfortunately, the research is sort of unfinished, since they didn't separate the different additives to narrow down the culprit - aka ALLURA RED aka RED 40!!!
At least folks are still talking about the potential problems the dye is causing kids. What I find annoying is the statement, "If you think certain foods affect your child's behavior, try eliminating them for a time to see if it helps. However, diets that are too restrictive may result in nutritional deficiencies in growing children." WHAT???!! They don't put red dye in milk, eggs or chicken. They put red dye in sweetened cereals, gummy worms, pop-tarts, Code Red Mountain Dew. How could "eliminating" these foods cause a "nutritional deficiency" in my child????
I can see how the "ritalin-type" drug companies really would not want the public to focus on this issue for too long. No matter what the studies say, I know for a FACT that my child has increased attention, is calmer and much more enjoyable to be with since we have banned Red 40 from his and his sister's diets. The added benefit of removing this is that we are forced to search out more healthy snacks and treats. Quel horreur!!! :D
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Why We Detest Red40!
I have spent the majority of the past 2 1/2 years blogging about my child who was diagnosed with cancer at 2 years old. Now my focus is on my older child. He was recently diagnosed with ADHD, which seemed to be pretty easy to convince the professionals of. Our problem with Red40 picks up about 3 months ago.
My son, 8 years old, has always had difficulty with hyperactivity and rambunctiousness. This school year, things were going normally, with constant complaints from his teacher at school, lack of friends in school and at church, and just in general being a "pest". Some issues we assumed were due to his age and that he is "all-boy", and then other things we attributed to the recent years' focus on his sister's cancer battle, and all that entails.
One miraculous day in October, Bryant came home with a couple of A's in conduct IN A ROW. We were elated, but also confused. What was different now? Nothing had changed in his environment, same teacher, same friends, what happened? As I recalled, he had been out of hot dogs for the week, so he was eating different food at lunch, that was the biggest change I could figure. I recalled reading about the food dyes in kids' lunches, so I started researching online several stories of children, especially ADHD-prone kids, and how the food dye effected them.
I found enough information online to cause me to practice my own experiment at home. I quickly went into the kitchen and checked the first suspect - hot dogs. YES - Red 40 is in some hot dogs! I went further into the pantry and found this creepy substance in cereal, fruit candies, sweet and sour sauce, pop tarts, EVEN VANILLA ICE CREAM!!!! I tossed it all in the trash.
I didn't really tell many people about the change, and wanted to get some opinions about his behavior outside of the house. Nearly everyone I asked, agreed that he was much easier to deal with! I couldn't believe it! I found the "magic bullet" - to REMOVE from our lives.
It is still a daily struggle to avoid Red #40 or red 40 or however you want to say it. I don't tell people that he has an "allergy", since he doesn't display any official "allergy" symptoms (breathing, sneezing, coughing), but that he is "sensitive" to the dye. I have also found that blue and yellow dyes do not cause him to be hyper, so some things are okay. He is also old enough to explain to teachers and other adults that he is not allowed to eat those things. Sometimes he has to use his own judgment, especially if the packaging has been thrown away. He had to learn to just say no when he wasn't sure.
Not only is our home life much more peaceful, but also his friends at church have been warming up to him. We still keep him on the medication for hyperactivity, but now it actually WORKS since the sensitivity has been controlled.
Now I am aggravated that food companies put this substance into our kids foods, even food they wouldn't suspect (VANILLA ICE CREAM), and medicines! There are so many kids who have problems with hyperactivity, and to think that their diet could TOTALLY prevent the need for medication...how can they be allowed to harm our children?????
I decided to vent my frustration and items that I find with red40 on a blog. If I could contact other families with the same frustration, maybe something could change. At least I feel like I am sharing my experience with this.
Tammy
PS: If anyone has any links to lists of food with Red 40, please comment and I will link to it from here!
My son, 8 years old, has always had difficulty with hyperactivity and rambunctiousness. This school year, things were going normally, with constant complaints from his teacher at school, lack of friends in school and at church, and just in general being a "pest". Some issues we assumed were due to his age and that he is "all-boy", and then other things we attributed to the recent years' focus on his sister's cancer battle, and all that entails.
One miraculous day in October, Bryant came home with a couple of A's in conduct IN A ROW. We were elated, but also confused. What was different now? Nothing had changed in his environment, same teacher, same friends, what happened? As I recalled, he had been out of hot dogs for the week, so he was eating different food at lunch, that was the biggest change I could figure. I recalled reading about the food dyes in kids' lunches, so I started researching online several stories of children, especially ADHD-prone kids, and how the food dye effected them.
I found enough information online to cause me to practice my own experiment at home. I quickly went into the kitchen and checked the first suspect - hot dogs. YES - Red 40 is in some hot dogs! I went further into the pantry and found this creepy substance in cereal, fruit candies, sweet and sour sauce, pop tarts, EVEN VANILLA ICE CREAM!!!! I tossed it all in the trash.
I didn't really tell many people about the change, and wanted to get some opinions about his behavior outside of the house. Nearly everyone I asked, agreed that he was much easier to deal with! I couldn't believe it! I found the "magic bullet" - to REMOVE from our lives.
It is still a daily struggle to avoid Red #40 or red 40 or however you want to say it. I don't tell people that he has an "allergy", since he doesn't display any official "allergy" symptoms (breathing, sneezing, coughing), but that he is "sensitive" to the dye. I have also found that blue and yellow dyes do not cause him to be hyper, so some things are okay. He is also old enough to explain to teachers and other adults that he is not allowed to eat those things. Sometimes he has to use his own judgment, especially if the packaging has been thrown away. He had to learn to just say no when he wasn't sure.
Not only is our home life much more peaceful, but also his friends at church have been warming up to him. We still keep him on the medication for hyperactivity, but now it actually WORKS since the sensitivity has been controlled.
Now I am aggravated that food companies put this substance into our kids foods, even food they wouldn't suspect (VANILLA ICE CREAM), and medicines! There are so many kids who have problems with hyperactivity, and to think that their diet could TOTALLY prevent the need for medication...how can they be allowed to harm our children?????
I decided to vent my frustration and items that I find with red40 on a blog. If I could contact other families with the same frustration, maybe something could change. At least I feel like I am sharing my experience with this.
Tammy
PS: If anyone has any links to lists of food with Red 40, please comment and I will link to it from here!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
