TBHQ and ADHD

TBHQ and ADHD - What do they mean?


TBHQ is a preservative found in many of today's foods and especially convenience and snack items.  This preservative helps the food to not go rancid too quick.  Shelf life is an important part of our food manufacturers.


TBHQ stands for Tertiary Butylhydroquinone.  This is a chemical preservative in the form of butane. The risks and side effects of this chemical creation far outweighs the benefits.


ADHD.  ADHD stands for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.  ADHD is a behavioral disorder that effects 8 - 10% school age children.  I believe it effects far more and reaches far beyond childhood.  Boys are about 3x more likely to exhibit ADHD.  Kids with ADHD act without thinking, have trouble focusing and are hyperactive.  Some kids can display rage.

We were out and about this weekend and although I limit purchases from vending machines, I gave in on a Payday.  This is a peanut, caramel candy bar.  I glanced at the ingredient list and somehow missed TBHQ listed but there it is:


INGREDIENTS:
Peanuts, sugar, corn syrup, nonfat milk, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, contains 2% or less of: Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (soybean and cottonseed oil), salt, carrageenan, mono- and diglycerides, TBHQ (preservative), egg whites, and soy protein.


My son is paying the price for eating that .90 cent candy bar.  He is restless, impulsive and not feeling strong in balance.  He is having a hard day at school and got in to it with one of his best friends at recess.  I so hate seeing the effects of chemical reactions in my kids.  One of the worse parts is the after effect.  His self esteem plummets.


You may be interested to know that TBHQ is in fast food fries.  It is in the oil which allows food preparers to heat the oil at super high temps and use the oil over and over again.  There are just 3 fast food places I know of that do not use TBHQ in their french fry oil and they are 5 Guys, In n Out, and Wendys.


A home remedy that works for us is a warm Epsom salt bath.  The magnesium in the salts help restore balance.  I am also using essential oils and am seeing success.  More on that to come!


We avoid artificial colors like Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, Blue 1, artificial flavors like VanillinBHABHT and TBHQ, as well as high fructose corn syrup.  Its not as hard as it sounds, and if I would have held my own and not caved at the vending machine, I would not have been reminded how miserable these chemical additives are.


Studies on BHT, BHA and TBHQ
http://www.feingold.org/Research/bht.html

6 comments:

  1. Very interesting read. I have read many things about diets as I have a child on the Autism spectrum and many of my fellow mom friends in this community swear by different diets. I do my best to avoid some drinks and snacks, but always looking for new things I should be avoiding.

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  2. Thanks for stopping by C.A.K.
    I am a big advocate for diet therapy. I have seen the effects of dye, srtificial flavors like vanillin and preservatives first hand. My children have different levels of sensitivity and it is very obvious when they have had something unbeknownst to me. We are a feingold 1 family (feingold diet) and also co op shop for organic meats and such.

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  3. Hi! This topic has caught my attention since I’ve been searching the net for valuable information and advice pertaining to ADHD diets for children who had this disorder. Thanks for spreading awareness on food containing this substance called TBHQ. This will help us parents with ADHD kids. Also, I wanted to share these helpful facts I found on this page. It also cited some DOs and DON’T’s on diets for kids or event adults with ADHD.

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  4. Thank you for the link glad. Lots of interesting stuff. We are what we eat, in more ways than 1. 50 years ago fast food was a treat. Candy was handed out for ocassions, pop the same. Today, fast food is darn near on every corner and consumed many times daily. Candy is easily available. And processed and convenient foods are rampant. Preservatives like TBHQ are so dangerous.

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  5. One night my daughter had a major ADHD / panic type attack. My wife and I have been thinking for a while maybe her meltdowns were from having sugar late at night. Well right before my daughters reaction she had a snack. This morning I looked through the ingredients and found TBHQ in the list. I googled TBHQ and found information such as this blog. It definitely effected my daughter negatively.

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  6. hi johnp. thank you for your post. TBHQ ia awful, as is BHT and BHA. More on those in an upcoming post. My son was given a Reese's peanut butter cup the other day and I was shocked to read TBHQ is in the ingredient list. My family has come a long way. I impress on my kids the importance of reading labels and not putting foods and drinks with these dangerous chemicals in their bodies. Still, its hard. I'm glad you are are discovering the negative effects TBHQ can have and I hope your daughter can avoid these kinds of meltdowns. They are awful, I know. TBHQ, BHT and BHA have some of the strongest effects on my kids. Vanillin, red 40, yellow 5 are other awful chemical additives we avoid. I've blogged here some of our experiences.

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