The diet takes some effort, especially in the initial stages. Most parents find that the success rate of over 80 percent more than makes up for any additional work.

I put my daughter, Jenny, on the Feingold diet for hyperactive children over thirty years ago. It would be more accurate to say that our family went on the diet, as it’s nearly impossible to have a 4-year-old on a different diet from the rest of the family.

People would often remark that they thought it would take too much work to keep food additives out of their diet. Obviously, they didn’t know how much “work” a hyperactive child required. The effort for the diet seemed easy in comparison.

Angel shows her blue tongue after eating artificial colors.

That was over thirty years ago. Despite the diet’s success, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Advisory Committee has yet to require warning labels on food containing artificial ingredients. Food additives are very big business. Foods which rely on additives are generally extremely profitable (chemical additives are far cheaper than real food). Drugs for treatment of ADHD are also big business. There is no profit for a diet free of additives.

Synthetic Color Additives in the News
March 31, the FDA voted 8 to 6 against recommending warning labels on foods with synthetic color additives. The one bright spot is that the panel did call for more studies to determine if there is a link between food colors and hyperactivity in children. FDA will consider the committee’s recommendations in the next few months and decide how to respond to the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s request to either ban food coloring or mandate warning labels.

The use of artificial food dyes has increased 50 percent since 1990. That’s twice as many products than I had to eliminate with Jenny. Today, synthetic colors are found in everything from pickles to bread. Artificial food colors were once made from coal tar but now derived from petroleum. (Read the last sentence once more: “Artificial food colors were once made from coal tar but now derived from petroleum.”) Yes, the bright colors you see in all processed foods are derived from PETROLEM.

Artificial dyes are more stable and cheaper than natural colors derived from fruits and vegetables. The real sticking point is natural colors are more expensive than the petroleum colors.

I remember my daughter’s pediatrician thinking I was a bit nutty when I told him of Jenny’s improvement when I took all the synthetic colors out of our food. I could tell that he didn’t really believe me. (I changed doctors.) I had my own accidental double-blind studies to affirm how they affected Jenny. When an artificial color or flavor was consumed by accident, Jenny’s ADHD would surface once again. To add insult to injury, it could take several days for it work its way through her system.

I guess nothings changed. Do I care if they can prove it in a double-blind study? Nope. Perhaps your children don’t have ADHD or ADD, but do you want them consuming products with petroleum colors? Don’t wait for the FDA to rescue your child.

You must be your family’s advocate. Read labels and vote with your dollar. If enough people stop purchasing foods with artificial chemicals, the retailers would use natural ingredients. Jenny is now grown with a family of her own, yet my husband and I don’t eat food with artificial additives. We are voting with our dollars, you should too.

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Yikes, experts are now saying that Yellow 5, Red 40 and Blue 1 really cause kids to bounce off the walls! Say what?

Thirty-three years ago, my 4-year-old daughter’s pediatrician told me I was imagining that artificial colors and flavor contributed to her hyperactivity. It’s true, although he made a vain attempt to be tactful.

Actually, he said it was all the “extra attention” she got when I altered her diet, that made the difference in her behavior. (I switched pediatricians and didn’t ask for his opinion on the matter.)

I guess, it’s not entirely pediatricians’ fault for misinformation. After all the FDA has insisted for years that artificial food dyes are perfectly safe, despite some parents knowing otherwise.

Link To Hyperactivity
If you have a kid, who bounces off the walls after eating a red and green treat, you know what I mean. As many parents with hyperactive children have long suspected (and the Feingold Association affirms), artificial food colors, flavors and preservatives commonly found in processed foods wire some kids. Finally, investigators agree. It’s about time. Up to now, intuitive parents have been made to feel foolish.

In a recent study, three year-old children fed one of two drink mixtures containing common food dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate had significant increases in global hyperactivity scores compared with their behaviors on a placebo drink, reported Jim Stevenson, Ph.D., of the University of Southampton, and colleagues.

A similar effect was seen among eight- and nine-year-olds, who showed signs of hyperactivity in both subjective ratings and a computerized test when given either of the two chemical concoctions but not an all-natural placebo the investigators reported online in The Lancet. In addition, the effects of food additives on behavior can occur in as little as one hour, the investigators reported.

Cancer & Allergies, Too
Even if your child doesn’t appear to be bothered by artificial colors, food dyes have also been linked to allergies and cancer.  Red 40, Yellow 5 and yellow 6 are contaminated with known carcinogens, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Blue 1, Red 40 and Yellow 5 & 6 have long been known to cause allergic reactions in some people.

The FDA announced it’s holding a public hearing in March. For food companies, dye removal recommendations AND warning labels would be a problem. That’s because 15 million pounds of synthetic dyes are used a year in everything from cereals, mac and cheese, baked goods, candy, etc.

A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but what’s with the artificial stuff? When your kids are sick you have to ask for medications that are not full of artificial colors and flavors. If your child has ever been on antibiotics, you know they’re bright pink and bubblegum flavored.

Food Distributors Avoid Natural Food Colorings
There’s good reason food distributors avoid natural food colorings. Naturally derived colors are 8 to 20 times more expensive than the synthetic counterparts. The good news is natural coloring replacement is already commonplace in other parts of the world.

Products loaded with chemical dyes in the U.S. are made with natural colors in some countries. In fact, in other places like the European Union, many U.S. companies (McDonalds and Coke) already sell chemical dye-free version of their products. There’s hope. If the E.U. can do it, so can we!

This Year, May Your Holidays Be Happy And Healthy.

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Rita left this comment on my Summer Food Fun blog, ”That’s sad. Are we really so health concerned that we’d deprive a kid of cotton candy or ice cream during the summer? I’m not saying you have to eat that every day, but come on.”

Rita has a point. Happy memories are tied to special summer foods, like cotton candy and ice cream. So what’s the harm?

Cotton candy and shaved ice are purchased at carnivals, fair grounds, and amusement parks. They’re synonymous with fun. Their very essence is sugar, artificial colors and flavors. These treats are eaten a few times a year, but they aren’t the only foods our kids eat containing artificial colors and flavors.

Artificial colors aren’t reserved for special summer treats, but are continuously consumed throughout the day.

Many children begin their morning with artificially colored breakfast cereals and synthetic vitamins made just for kids. They snack on orange colored cheese puffs, gulp down colored pop, kids’ drinks, and powdered lemonade.

Medicines are artificially colored bright pink and have an artificial flavor like bubblegum.

Roxy is afraid I’ll take her cotton candy!
Now, why would I do that?

Kids brush their teeth with tri-colored toothpaste. Jell-O^TM, is often served as a summer salad, but in reality it’s sugar and chemicals. Bread and bakery products may have yellow coloring added so they look buttery. Lunches, picnics, and barbeques are often nitrate-filled. Nitrates are added to preserve luncheon meats; they give hot dogs and bologna their pink color. Even boxed macaroni and cheese usually include artificial colors. Our kids are eating a steady stream of chemicals.

Food coloring not what it used to be
Natural plant and vegetable compounds were used to add color to foods until the 1950s. Red colors were derived from beets, green from chlorophyll, yellow and orange from extracts from plants and spices like saffron. After WWII, man-made chemicals were created. They have brighter colors. They are more convenient, cheaper to use, and have an unlimited shelf life.

The majority of artificial food coloring ingredients today are made from crude oil. Any artificial food color which is followed by a number, such as Blue 1, Yellow 5, or Red 40 is derived from, yikes…PETROLEUM. They’re mostly made in China and may even contain heavy metals such as lead and mercury.

These chemicals should under no circumstances be ingested by humans or even pets. They have been linked to cancers, tumors, asthma, headaches, kidney damage, skin problems like eczema, and hyperactivity (ADHD & ADD) and other behavioral and learning problems in children. The FDA and EPA do not require detailed testing of these chemicals to determine the effects they might have on adults or children.

What can you do?
Don’t give your children anything containing artificial food coloring! Today, you can easily avoid purchasing products with artificial colors, by reading labels. There are alternatives to processed snack foods in the grocery store which are free from artificial colors and flavors. Of course the healthiest choice for your family will be organic, natural foods which don’t contain man-made disease-causing chemicals. Watermelon and cherries are natural, healthy summer memory-makers.

Many fun foods can still be occasionally enjoyed and not be detrimental to health. Often it’s just a matter of choosing a more healthful alternative. Today, grocery stores carry ice creams made with real milk and eggs, which do not have any artificial colors or flavors added. Even highly processed chips and cookies can be purchased without artificial colors and flavors.

You can make gelatin deserts and salads, without Jell-O’s^TM package of chemicals, by using unflavored gelatin and adding real fruit and fruit juices for color and flavor. You can purchase or make real fruit juice Popsicles. There are natural sodas in the grocery store and you can even make your own with fruit juice and carbonated water. You can enjoy shaved ice made at home with real fruit juice.

Would I take cotton candy from a baby?
Sorry Roxy, you can be sure that I would…or rather she’d never get it in the first place! There is no a way around this one. Cotton candy contains only sugar, corn syrup, and petroleum (artificial colors and flavors). I never purchased cotton candy for my kids. They didn’t feel deprived and grew up loving healthy foods. The amount of fun you have and memories you make this summer are not determined by the amount of sugar and chemicals ingested.

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