I saw this report and wanted to pass it along to remind everyone that FOOD ADDITIVES (chemicals and colors) affect ALL of us, not just our children!
Seven years ago my boys were diagnosed with a autistic spectrum disorder called sensory integration disorder and it prompted many of the changes in the article below. There is a night and day difference in my boys when we have been very careful with what they eat. There is no doubt in my mind that their bodies are extremely sensitive to added colors and chemicals in their food and environment, I also see it with many of my clients. While some of these changes may seem extreme, I seen them as much easier than dealing with frequent trips to the doctor or even worse the emergency room!
Here is the website associated the with following story:
www.allergykids.com
After Her Infant Had An Allergic Reaction, Robyn O’Brien Trolled The
Internet For Information Allergies and Additives
By DEBORAH ROBERTS, CATHY BECKER and IMAEYEN IBANGA
June 23, 2008‹
When Robyn O’Brien served her children scrambled eggs one day for breakfast
early in 2006, the mother of four had no clue it would change her life
drastically and forever.
“I had made scrambled eggs and put them in front of all four kids and
decided to put them in front of the baby,” the 36-year-old said. “I put them
on her highchair and she didn’t want them, fussed and pushed them away. And
I didn’t think anything of it.”
But 9-month-old Tory’s aversion to the breakfast staple had little to do
with taste, as O’Brien soon found out.
“I put her down for a nap. A few minutes later and there was some mother
instinct in me because I went in to check on her for some reason, which I
rarely do, and her face was swollen shut,” O’Brien said.
A life-threatening reaction to eggs caused grotesque swelling of the
infant’s face and instantly shook O’Brien to her core. She said her
daughter’s severe response prompted her to take a closer look at what she
was feeding all of her children and to educate herself on food allergies.
“I did not know what was happening. I was so unfamiliar with food allergy
and what a reaction looked like,” said O’Brien, who lives in Colorado.
“That’s really when my education began.”
Learning About Additives
What O’Brien soon learned was that artificial dyes are used in sugary
cereals, candies, sodas and other goodies marketed toward children.
Sometimes artificial dyes are even used to simulate the colors of fruits and
vegetables.
What further disturbed O’Brien was the fact that U.S. consumers regularly
ingest the additives in their food, but they have been removed from the same
foods in some other countries.
In fact, Mars Inc. responded to pressure from the British government last
year by removing artificial colors from its well-known Starburst and
Skittles candies sold in the United Kingdom, after a British study bolstered
a hypothesis that such additives increase hyperactivity in children.
Food industry giant Kraft Foods Inc. also did the same thing in early 2007
with its British version of Lunchables.
Whereas British consumers have revolted against artificial food dyes in the
U.K., Americans haven’t been as vocal as their counterparts. That is
something O’Brien hopes to change.
“My goal is simply to have the same value placed on the lives of the
American children,” O’Brien said.
Mom on a Mission
O’Brien even created a Web site, which she launched on Mother’s Day 2006, to
serve as a parental resource and forum on children’s food allergies.
The site is specific with its concerns.
“At AllergyKids, our concern is that industry funding ties between the
agri-chemical companies and pediatric allergists who have served on the FDA
‘generally recognized as safe’ panels and testified to the safety of MSG,
aspartame, glutamate and genetically engineered proteins, may prevent full
disclosure of leading global research highlighting a ban of these
ingredients in Europe, Australia, the UK and other developed countries in an
effort to protect children,” the site says.
O’Brien even created a symbol a green stop sign with an exclamation point
in the center to identify a child with food allergies. It can be put on
lunch bags, wristbands and even shoes.
“My goal now is to say, ‘OK, this is what’s happening. Let’s inspire other
mothers to take control so that our children can benefit like the children
around the world,’” O’Brien said.
In her own life, O’Brien has gotten strict about what she feeds her children
and encourages others to do what she has done: Throw out as much non-organic
processed food as they can afford to. Also, avoid anything that’s
genetically modified, artificially created or raised with hormones and don’t
eat food with ingredients you are unable to pronounce.
“I thought, ‘Well, I want to cook like the moms in Europe and avoid these
chemical additives and see if that makes a difference in my children’s
health and behavior.’ And so we did,” O’Brien said. “We moved from the tubes
of blue yogurt to regular yogurt and we started mixing honey into it. ”
Not everyone in her family was happy about the changes.
“I encountered major resistance from my boys,” O’Brien said. “They loved
that blue yogurt and it was easy and it was convenient, but to see the
dramatic improvement in my boys especially as we cleaned out their diets
it was amazing. It was incredibly inspiring. They slept better; they were
able to concentrate in school. Their behavior improved.”
The Allergies-Additives Connection
It remains unclear whether the chemicals pose any real health hazards to
consumers, though two recent British studies found that certain food dyes,
as well as the common preservative sodium benzoate, may have an adverse
effect on some children’s behavior. Researchers said the increase in ADHD
diagnoses could be partly to blame on the preservative.
“It can affect their focus, their concentration. They become more easily
distractible, become more impulsive. I think we’re looking at a whole
population of kids with skewed immune systems,” said pediatrician Dr.
Kenneth Boch, who wrote a book that supports the theory that food additives
could lead to hyperactivity in children.
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