considering full Feingold

I'm trying to figure out how and when to start a full scale attempt at Feingold. We've gotten rid of the dyes and most of the preservatives for a while. We've drastically reduced high fructose corn syrup. I've recently suspected apples and grapes may be a problem as well. I guess I'm still a little hung up on the fact that fruit is supposed to be healthy and how could it really be such a problem. It's that, and the fact that I want to cook normal for Thanksgiving, but then I guess that went out the window when I figured out Crescent rolls have food coloring.

I had hoped that were going "over kill" by keeping Alex off wheat and dairy, but now it seems that he's once again much better off both. He can think better, behave better, write better, and the rash and bowel problems both cleared back up.

So, if it seems I'm not posting as much, it's mostly due to lots of appointments this week and trying to read the rest of Jane Hersey's book, "Why Can't my Child Behave." It's been very enlightening.

More petroleum in my food

Just when I thought I had enough to obsess about with food dyes, I read in Jane Hersey's book, Healthier Food for Busy People, that artificial vanilla, usually called vanillin, is often made from petroleum and used paper pulp ingredients. So here's another one I'd like to weed out of the family diet. I wonder exactly what it was that made people decide that synthetic chemicals were better than real food. Well, money, I'm sure. But how can this be good for us our for our kids? Have they ever really studied what petroluem does to a developing brain? I've been scanning ingredients, cookies, chocolate chips, you name it, it's got vanillin. Sigh. Ignorance would be bliss at this state.

Do you eat crude oil?

The answer is YES any time you eat something with synthetic dyes (red #40, yellow #5, yellow #6, blue #1). They are all made from petroleum, YES that's the same stuff they use in gasoline!
Does anyone else think that's just gross? The current food industry norm is to add a little petroleum to just about every food targeted to kids. No wonder we need so much Ritalin! The same card states that Red 40 is banned in Canada due to concerns about it causing cancerous tumors in test animals. So research shows it makes kids hyper and irritable. Other countries ban it, and here in the US we crank it into more and more foods at higher and higher doses. Am I the only one that thinks that is just plain wrong?

I received this information in a packet sent by Jane Hersey at the Feingold Association yesterday. She was kind enough to send me copies of her books, newsletters and other handouts from Feingold. Thanks Jane! It's really worth reading.

Previous post about Jane Hersey on my blog

report adverse reactions to food dye

I was excited to hear from Jane Hersey, the national director of the Feingold Association this week. She has written 2 books on the topic of improving children's behaviors by removing preservatives and food dyes. Here is a link http://www.feingold.org/pg-book.html.

Jane also reminded me that parents can report adverse reactions to food dyes at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. I filed a report for each of my 3 children before I started this blog. Please do the same so we can get the FDA to take action. The FDA continues to be in denial that this is a problem so the best way to change that is for parents to speak up.