Another food revelation came after our oldest daughter had attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and I read that there was a link between sweetened foods, preservatives, artificial food colors, and ADD. At that point I was so frustrated with her behavior, the idea that I was aggravating it with the foods I was feeding her caused me to clean the cupboards of everything that had artificial color in it. That was hard for me because I do not like to throw away food.
It is very difficult when you start trying to avoid dyes because they’re hidden. For example, a child sticks the straw in a juice box and drinks the juice without ever seeing it, so why do companies go through the trouble and expense of adding artificial dye? I started buying 100% juice with no sugar, color, or other additives, which is easy to find at the regular stores. More on juice later since I’m on the dye topic today.
The first food program I found while looking for ADD/ADHD solutions was the Feingold Association and I urge everyone to check out their information at Feingold.org because it’s not just for ADD. Someday I’ll revisit all of the health conditions related to dyes. Studies sponsored by food processing companies have tried to prove the Feingold program wrong, but there is way more research that proves it is right. Colored foods can be fine, but they don’t need to be colored artificially. In 2004, M&Ms created a big marketing campaign around updating their colors. The problem is that after years of people trying to get them to drop petroleum-based dyes, they brought them back. I love M&Ms, but I’m going to pass until they drop the artificial colors. Read the whole Feingold site, particularly “How to Begin” – it may freak you out a bit, but you’ll appreciate it. Food colorings (red #40, yellow #5, etc.) and many other additives are synthesized with petrochemicals like butane, butyric acid, propylene glycol, etc.
They are legally permitted to be contaminated with toxic byproducts that include lead, mercury, and arsenic. You can understand how eliminating that from anyone’s diet could be beneficial.
