15 Tips to Avoiding Food Dye and Preservatives – Part 2

We saw the effect that certain foods had on our son. We knew we needed to do something, but what? We have been on this journey for years now. We have made revelations and mistakes. Here are a few of the things I have learned on the way.

1. Every Child is Different

You already know this. Each child had a different personality, a different sleeping pattern, different likes/dislikes, different ways of handling emotion. It is going to be the same with food related reactions. Each child is going to react differently to different foods. One might not tolerate gluten while another may not react at all.

2. People Might Think You Are Crazy

My generation grew up eating Gushers, Dunkaroos, pop-tarts, frozen pizza, and sugary breakfast cereal. Our parents saw convenience not ingredients. There will be people who question your decisions to limit food choices for your children. There will be people who call you “crunchy”. There will be people who think you are depriving your children because you won’t give them Skittles or M&M’s. You will have conversations (some more intense than others) where you have to stand up for your decisions.

3. Beware of the Organic Label

Organic foods are all the rage. We hear about organic fruits and vegetables and meat. There are entire grocery stores dedicated to organic foods. Yet, I see the word ‘organic’ thrown around and placed on boxes and containers of foods that I would never feed to my children – organic fruit snacks, organic gum, organic chips, organic ice cream. The idea of organic food is a good one, but that word is thrown around too much. Don’t trust something simply because it is supposedly ‘organic’.

4. Read the Ingredients

This is the only way to fully trust a food. Read the label. I want to know what is going in my body as well as my children’s bodies. If you know that your child is sensitive to artificial food dye or preservatives, read the labels. Don’t assume that a food is safe simply because it is not bright blue. Vanilla yogurt and marshmallows have blue food dye to make them white. Colby-Jack cheese has annatto in it to make it bright orange. Oranges (yes, the fruit) are dipped in artificial food dye to make the peels look more natural.

5. Your Kids Need to Be On Board

Your kids need to understand why they do not eat the same foods as other kids. They need to recognize what they can and cannot eat. If they go to a birthday party or a soccer game, they need to be able to recognize a trigger food and avoid that food without you taking it away. This is difficult but can be done. If you child understands the reason why they are avoiding a food they will be more likely to choose something else. Ask them how they feel when they eat certain foods – is it causing GI issues, constipation, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, or anger? If so, they will be more willing to forgo foods of this kind.

6. Provide Alternatives

There are things you cannot avoid: trick or treating, holiday parties, birthday parties, a well-meaning relative. Your kiddo is going to end up with something they cannot eat. And it can be difficult to watch other kids eating bright red frosting on a birthday cake when they cannot. While you cannot always be prepared, try to have alternatives. Eggs, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables are safe alternatives to reaction-causing foods. There are plenty of safe treats for kiddos to have. Make a list of things that do not cause a reaction. Talk about it so your child can see that he or she has options.

7. Elimination Diet

This is where the trial and error comes in. An elimination diet is a diet in which you avoid all possible trigger foods until the reaction ceases. Then, you add in one food at a time to determine if it causes a reaction or not. It’s a long and tedious process but completely worth it. I am not an expert in food allergies or food related behavior issues, but I am an expert in what causes a reaction in my own kiddos.

8. Look into the Top Food Allergens

If you research food allergies, there are eight food groups that are thought to make up about 90% of food allergies in the United States. The FDA lists the top food allergens as: Milk, Eggs, Fish, Shellfish, Tree nuts, Peanuts, Wheat, and Soybeans. A child may have an allergy to a food that is not life-threatening. The allergy may be causing GI issues, constipation, depression, or anxiety. Any of these physical aliments could lead to behavioral reactions.

9. Research Food Dye

There is research about artificial food coloring and how it relates to behavioral disorders in children, specifically those with ADD and ADHD. We’ve all heard of someone who reacts poorly to Red40 food dye. However, it is not just Red40 but all artificial dyes that can cause behavioral reactions. And it is not just children with an attention disorder. Read the research. Read the stories. Make your own decisions about whether these chemicals are safe for your children.

10. Research Preservatives and Additives

If a food can last for years without deteriorating, is it really food? Again, do your research. What are these chemicals that we are using to increase convenience? Are they helping us or hurting us? Research individual preservatives and additives. Figure out what they are called so you can spot them in an ingredient list. MSG? BTQH? BPA? For my family, specifically, this was the biggest surprise for us. Seeing a reaction to artificial food coloring was not a shock. However, there were several preservatives that had just as severe of a reaction.

11. Understand that it Might Not Be “The Sugar”

“Oh, he’s had way too much sugar today.” It might not be the sugar in the foods causing the reaction. A piece of homemade (dye-free, preservative free) chocolate cake is not going to cause the same reaction as a bag of brightly colored M&M’s. Yes, too much sugar is unhealthy. But any natural sugar can be fine in moderation. Begin to look deeper into the foods that you and your family are eating.

12. Understand that Sugar Alternatives Might Be Worse

Again, do your research. Artificial sweeteners may be zero calories, but at what cost? Look at the relationship between these sweeteners and medical concerns: seizures, cancer, headaches, mood disturbances, tumors, etc. These chemicals are not natural so how can they be healthy?

13. Remember that “Natural” Does Not Always Mean Safe

I appreciate the companies who are trying to remove artificial colors/dyes/preservatives from their products. However, some of them have replaced them with “natural” options that are just as bad. Carmine is a “natural” red food dye that is made from ground up beetles. Annatto is an orange coloring that you might find in Goldfish, mac and cheese, yogurt or other children’s snacks. Annatto is made from the seeds of a tropical tree. It also has been shown to cause severe behavioral reactions in children. For my son, this is one of his BIGGEST triggers.

14. Know That It’s Not Just Food

Fragrances, shampoos, lotions, body wash, make up, sun screen, or anything you put on your body will be absorbed into your body. Read your labels. Many companies put artificial food coloring and preservatives into these non-food products.

15. Eat Clean

Honestly, this is the best advice I can give to anyone. If your food has more than three ingredients, you probably shouldn’t eat it. And if you cannot pronounce or explain the ingredient, you really should avoid it. Fresh, clean food is the best choice for everyone regardless of food allergies.

We hear so much about allergic reactions to foods, but behavior reactions are rarely mentioned. The list above is what works for my family. What are some tips that you can add to our list? We’d love to hear from you.

To read A Mother’s Journey to Eliminate Food Dye and Preservatives: Part 1, click here.

 

 

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