It seems a never ending quest to find a treatment plan for Anthony’s ADHD that doesn’t include medicating him. We tried going the organic food only route with some success, but unfortunately, finances just don’t allow us to shop 100% organic. I can’t say that all organic really helped with Anthony’s symptoms though. He may have chilled a little, but it wasn’t a huge eye-popping difference where we could say “YAY!”
I have successfully eliminated most processed foods and try to cook as much from scratch as possible. I just wish the boys liked the “Canadian” Mac & Cheese recipe as much as I do! {I only refer to it as “Canadian” because it’s my friend Cheryl’s recipe and she lives in Canada…it’s not some special Canadian blend of noodles or anything}
So now I am on to experiment #2:
Eliminating Red Food Dye
Reactions [to red #40] include temper tantrums, hyperactivity, aggressive behavior, uncontrollable crying and screaming, kicking, nervousness, dizziness, inability to concentrate and sit still among other findings. Physically you may get frequent headaches or migraines, upset stomach and feel ill after ingesting this additive. Often when Red 40 is eliminated from the child’s diet a remarkable change is noticed immediately. (Credit: associatedcontent.com)
That’s what I’m talking about!
Eliminating red food coloring is not going to be easy. It is in everything. It is really pretty disgusting if you think about it. Why do we allow them to put all these preservatives and artificial shit in our children’s food!? Food does not need Red #40. They put it in there to make it “pretty” and so that children will want to eat it. And, did you also know that Red #40 is made out of coal? Nice.
Last night I started going through and reading the labels on stuff in my pantry. It sucked that there was red dye in my kids’ chewable pain medicine. But other than that, I have not found a lot in my pantry with red colors. Go me! It will suck the first time we stop at 7-11 and he begs for a cherry slurpee though.
Amanda has had good luck finding red dye alternatives for her kids, what about you? Have you tried eliminating any of the food dye’s from your children’s diets? Did you see any difference? I’m really interested to see how this works.
Welcome to OhRheally?, My name is Rhea and I share stories of life raising 3 sons, my experiences as a (recently retired) 
Good luck with this Rhea. I’m a firm believer that our diets – the processed foods we eat with crap like artificial colors is the cause of half of the problems our children have it, be it ADHD, allergies, etc.
I totally agree, Kim! No wonder our kids are fat and crazy! We fill them up with chemicals and hormones and shit nobody should eat. It’s SO sad!
I hope you can get some answers. Ill be taking nutrition next semester and will see if I can get more answers for you. This whole food situation in the country is so sad. We were learning about what transfats do a the cellular level today and it really made me cringe. I cant believe companies are so greedy that they dont care about the welfare of the people anymore.
BAHAHAHA Canadian blend of noodles! We talked a little bit about this tonight, but it seems awfully coincidental that more and more children are getting diagnosed with medical problems as opposed to how WE grew up. The numbers are kind of shocking!
I have never really thought about this much, but I can honestly say you have opened my eyes to this. Joshua’s ADHD was at a point where we chose to medicate him. It has made a huge difference and has not adversely affected him, but I can see the benefits of doing this as well. Thanks for sharing the great info.
It’s crazy what’s allowed in our foods. Did you know that the USDA allows things in our foods here, like the artificial dyes, that other countries have banned? If it’s not good for them, why is it good for us? I’ve also chatted with an Aussie friend of mine about our organic food prices, and she can’t believe it. They can get good foods for much less than we do here. I’m still convinced “organic” is code for “the way we used to farm.”
We too, have chosen to finally medicate our soon. The results are that he is doing much better in school, he’s more even-tempered and his relationships with peers and his self confidence has improved. I continually struggle with his appetite, and there’s no way that anyone can tell me that his growth rate isn’t suffering. His doctor monitors it closely, but I have this angst inside myself every single day that I give him a pill… I am looking forward to going through my pantry tonight and getting rid of anything with dye in it. We do eat some processed foods (mostly crackers, cereals, jello snacks, that sort of thing). One surprise when I starting looking at stuff in the pantry last night after seeing the new surge of stories on the news about this? Cinnamon Life, something that I thought was a really good cereal choice for my family (which my son LOVES) apparently is not! Check out this ingredient statement:
Ingredients
WHOLE GRAIN OAT FLOUR, SUGAR, CORN FLOUR, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, RICE FLOUR, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SALT, CINNAMON, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, CARAMEL COLOR, REDUCED IRON, NIACINAMIDE*, ZINC OXIDE, DEXTRIN, YELLOW 6, BHT (A PRESERVATIVE), YELLOW 5, RED 40, NATURAL FLAVORS, THIAMIN MONONITRATE*, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE*, RIBOFLAVIN*, FOLIC ACID*, BLUE 1.
*ONE OF THE B VITAMINS
Yellow 6, BHT, Yellow 5, Red 40 and Blue 1. So disappointed!
It is REALLY disappointing how much dye is in so much of my kids’ food. It breaks my heart to tell my son that he can’t have certain things when his brothers do.
But so far, since I’ve eliminated dyes, I do see a difference in his behavior. I need to wrote a post about it.
I have been trying to eliminate artificial food dyes from my own diet due to the fact that I think some of them cause psoriasis flares for me. Unbelievable how much stuff it is in, including stuff that isn’t even “pretty” colored (Cinnamon Life cereal, one of my favorites, has Red # 40).
I think we should all start writing to companies when we drop their products from our lives because of these dyes. People writing letters have gotten companies to stop advertising on TV programs those folks objected to, maybe it will work for us to get them to drop dyes, especially when it would barely be noticeable (I doubt Twizzlers will be made without dye, but I can at least hope for my favorite cereal to be changed).
Good luck, hope it helps with his problems.
Whoops! Didn’t read the other comments first, didn’t realize MEP had already pointed out Cinnamon Life.
I have to take all color additives out of my daughters food because she gets these itchy red spots that look like bites. No Dr. will confirm that’s what it is, but I know that’s what it’s from. I was researching articles and saw your blog. No behavior problems for us though, thank God, but the itching makes her miserable. Good thing school is almost over and I can control what she eats. End of the year party should be fun though! I am going downstairs to clean out my cabinets now and then write a note to her teacher.