I've been so busy, I haven't had time to rant and rave about this one. My son came home from school a week ago and sobbed on and off for a couple of hours. Several things were going on that he was upset about, but his reaction seemed unusually severe (very much like a food dye reaction). He swore he had not eaten anything. I'm finding it a little too coincidental that he has reacted twice to handling dyed foods at school (Easter eggs and now jelly beans). That was part of what he was crying about. The class did a jelly bean activity. He was supposed to sort, count and taste jelly beans and then write about it. I was not informed they were doing this, or I would have sent dye free jelly beans for him. Jelly Belly and Surf Sweet both make dye free jelly beans.
He was upset that he had to make up which flavor he liked and that he had to watch the other 2 boys on his team consume 144 jelly beans, since he couldn't have any. Now am I just a mean mom that I would not consider letting my child have 50-75 jelly beans in one sitting? And even if I did want my child to eat that way, should my school promote that as an academic task? I like teachers who make education fun and interactive. But isn't there a way to do it without sugar and food dyes? Now I think this is a good teacher, who does a nice job most of the time, but when I have sent my request in writing and made several reminders about my son needing to be "dye free" I just wish I didn't have to continually start over. It's always one step forward, two steps back.
Would you feed your child chemicals that would cause them to be hyper, moody, or distracted? Of course not, no parent wants that. Well, this blog is to help parents understand that your kids probably eat foods at every meal that could really keep them from being their best. It's time to get the word out.
IF YOU ARE NEW TO MY BLOG, START HERE
you get more smiles when you eat dye free
LINKS TO THE RESEARCH
- 2007 Lancet Study
- BBC research and news about school lunch foods
- Center for Science in the Public Interest
- Cut ADHD by 1/3 with ban on dyes
- Die dyes on Squidoo
- Dyes can double ADHD
- Feingold research on dyes
- Food coloring and ADHD
- Food dyes rainbow of risks
- food-dye-rebellion-starts-now
- Fooled by petrochemicals
- Health Observatory from IAPT
- Twin study from the BBC
LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION
About Laurie
- food dye diaries
- I'm a mother of 3 and a part time Counselor. I'm interested in improving the health and well being of children. I have found food coloring to play such a crucial role in the well being of my own kids, I want to get the word out. I think we should all work to make the world better than we found it. If even one family finds their child better off by not having food dyes, than this blog is successful.
Followers
More about me
First I was a therapist. I have a Masters degree in Community Counseling. I have treated children with emotional and behavioral problems for over 15 years. Never once in my advanced clinical studies or in my extensive reading and web searching about ADHD and other behavioral issues, did I ever hear about food coloring.
I am also a Mom. It took me 7 years of parenting to discover that food coloring was a trigger to many of my children's worst behaviors. I didn't go looking for something to blame. I didn't really think there was anything wrong with my kids. I only found the connection by accident. When I first starting telling people that food coloring was bad for my children, they looked at me like I was nuts. I wondered if it was some weird trait carried only in my family. Now I know better. I'm not the crazy one. Entire countries are banning dyes from their markets. I hope the FDA or Congress catches up soon. So many children will be better off, if we can just get the word out.
I am also a Mom. It took me 7 years of parenting to discover that food coloring was a trigger to many of my children's worst behaviors. I didn't go looking for something to blame. I didn't really think there was anything wrong with my kids. I only found the connection by accident. When I first starting telling people that food coloring was bad for my children, they looked at me like I was nuts. I wondered if it was some weird trait carried only in my family. Now I know better. I'm not the crazy one. Entire countries are banning dyes from their markets. I hope the FDA or Congress catches up soon. So many children will be better off, if we can just get the word out.
3 comments:
I'm always baffled that teachers aren't willing to buy in to the dye-free idea. I've never been a teacher, but knowing what 20 kids hopped up on "kiddie crack" could look like, I would think they would be the first ones to adopt the program since they would benefit the most dramatically. Imagine a classroom of 20 attentive children, each excited about learning and sharing ideas......
That really stinks!!! My son came home today happy to have four pretzels instead of the three M&M's that the other children got after their kindergarten performance. They were given them as they were leaving. I'm sure the other parents won't have a clue why "Johnny" is acting so crazy today. Not all of the kids have the visible reactions, but there are a few in there that could be affected. I am so glad that the teacher takes our request seriously. Generally, only dye-free snacks are offered for all - probably because she was a former OT and really understands dye-induced behavior. I'm sure a well-intended parent brought those M&M's in. My children have always announced that they don't want the red dye foods and they have even told others that they are bad for them. My three year old cracks me up whenever we go to a store he says - "oh those are the red dye candies....yuck I don't want to eat them!" It used to be hard for my oldest to see the candies passed out and reject them but now he is an advocate too. I really want to get schools on the healthy foods bandwagon!
I found this when I googled dye free jellybeans. We try to keep our 3.5 yr old and 20 month old dye free. It can get hard when we go to friends' houses. The 3.5 yr old especially finds it challenging to see her friends eat candy so I try to find her better alternatives even though personally I'd rather she eat no candy at all. So back to my hunt for dye free jellybeans for her easter basket.
Julie
http://theadventuresofbear.blogspot.com
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