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 Vanillin, BHA, BHT 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

Food Dyes like Red 40, ADHD and More

Could it be possible?  If you are wondering if your child's anger outbursts, temper tantrums, impulsiveness or aggression could be linked to what he eats, keep reading.  If you child has been diagnosed with ADHD or has tendencies you may want to look at what they are eating both at home and school lunch.


If you live in America and eat or serve your kids "snacks" it is most likely you are being subjected to artificial food dyes.  If you are drinking enhanced or flavored water, it is likely you are being subjected to artificial food dyes.   If you are eating soft serve ice cream or going to fast food restaurants...well dyes are in many of those foods too.

What are artificial food dyes?  Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Blue 1 are the top 4 in the US.  These are additives the FDA does not restrict from our nations food supply.  Those pretty colors that make the "fruit punch" red, the gelatin green and the oatmeal blue are made from petroleum (crude oil) which is also the source for gasoline.

You will find them on the ingredient labels, listed as "Yellow No. 5," "Red 40," "Blue #1," etc. The label may say "FD&C" before the number. That means "Food, Drug & Cosmetics." When you see a number listed as "D&C" in a product, such as "D&C Red #33" it means that this coloring is considered safe for medicine (drugs) and cosmetics, but not for food.

Kids today eat differently than their parents and grandparents.  30 years ago a lollipop was a special treat for sitting during a haircut.  A trip to a fast food restaurant was an occasion.  Today, kids are bombarded by food with artificial colors.  Take a look in your pantry and fridge this week.  I bet you'll find some red 40, blue 1, yellow 5 and 6 lurking in there.

If your child has ADHD or tendencies like hyperactivity, aggression, rage, self esteem issues, impulsiveness, take a look at what they are eating.  Try an experiment and remove these artificial dyes for a week or 2.  You may be re-introduced to a brand new kid!

Cereal Bar Comparison

The news that the Food and Drug Administration, in response to CSPI’s 2008 petition will convene an advisory committee meeting to discuss the link between food dyes and children’s behavior is welcome and overdue. Yellow 5, Red 40, and other commonly used food dyes have long been shown in numerous clinical studies to impair children’s behavior. But for years, FDA—which actually commissioned one of the first controlled studies—dismissed the mounting evidence against the dyes.  Fast forward ahead to 2011 and the FDA finally held their hearing.  In a close vote of 4 to 3, warning labels were shot down but there is agreement that more research needs to be done.

I love visuals.  This is one of the first visuals I saw when I started to research artificial colors like Red 40 and how they can effect you. 
You see two packages for Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain cereal bars. One is made here for us. The other is made in the UK for Europeans. Both use food coloring.  In the UK, the coloring is achieved using beet root. But in the US, the coloring is Red No. 40, a dye that has been associated with hyperactivity, and some types of cancer.
Why not use the beet root? The answer is that Kellogg’s probably saves half a penny on each bar using an artificial dye rather than using a natural one.
So why does Kellogg’s use the beets in Europe? Because in Europe the regulator has required WARNING LABELS on products with Red 40. Just like cigarettes. Kellogg’s did the bottom line calculation and decided the loss in sales would cause much more damage than the savings on the food dye.

C'mon US.  Why are we so behind on this issue?

Here is the U.S. ingredient list:

Filling (High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Strawberry Puree Concentrate, Glycerin, Sugar, Water, Sodium Alginate, Modified Corn Starch, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Sodium Citrate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Methylcellulose, Caramel Color, Malic Acid, Red No. 40), Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid), Whole Wheat Flour, Sunflower and/or Soybean Oil with TBHQ for Freshness, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Contains Two Percent or Less of Honey, Dextrose, Calcium Carbonate, Soluble Corn Fiber, Nonfat Dry Milk, Wheat Bran, Salt, Cellulose, Potassium Bicarbonate (Leavening), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Mono- and Diglycerides, Propylene Glycol Esters of Fatty Acids, Soy Lecithin, Wheat Gluten, Niacinamide, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Carrageenan, Zinc Oxide, Reduced Iron, Guar Gum, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid.

Easy Dye Free Easter Treat Recipes

Easter is tomorrow and my kids are anticipating dyeing Easter eggs later today, going on an Easter egg hunt to find eggs and special Easter baskets on Sunday.  Later feasting on Easter dinner and the special treats made that are safe for my kids to eat.  These are things that are made without unnecessary added artificial food dyes.  Nothing is worse than a nice celebration to turn into one that is full of aggression, impulsiveness, uncharacteristic behaviors, rage, and all of it followed by low self esteem with a really negative crash.  Hyped up kids is one thing but watching your child dissolve into this picture is completely another.  Thank goodness we realized what was hurting our kids a couple years ago and can now control it by watching what we eat and avoiding petroleum laced fake food.  It has changed our lives. 
I want to share a few easy recipes that we will be enjoying Easter Sunday. 

Easy
Organic Carrot Cake Recipe from Healthy Cake Recipes

1 1/2 cups organic sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs (or egg replacer)

2 cups organic flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3 cups organic shredded carrots (about 5 carrots)

1 cup chopped organic walnuts

Mix the sugar and oil. Add the eggs and beat for about a minute. Add everything except the carrots and walnuts and continue mixing. Last, add the veggies and nuts. Bake in a greased baking pan at the temperature of 350 F for about 50 minutes.

You can ice this cake if you wish, but it stands alone well or with a glass of cold or slightly warmed milk. (You can even get organic milk!)

Easier
Candy Nests reposted from Mother Nature Network

1 9-ounce bag of organic chocolate chips, Sunspire Fair Trade Organic and Trader Joes also has their own brand.

1 cup (or more or less, depending on your love of coconut) organic coconut

Organic jelly beans, check your local health food stores, Whole Foods or Trader Joes 

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler on the stove (or put them in a heatproof measuring cup, and set that in a saucepan filled with some water). Or you can microwave them for a minute or two.

2. Add the coconut to taste, and stir together with the chocolate.

3. Take a cookie sheet and cover it with parchment paper. Using a spoon, put a dollop of chocolate-coconut mixture on the parchment.

4. Add three jelly beans in the middle and press them down … like eggs in a nest.

Put in the fridge until they are “set.

Easiest

Seedless Frozen Grapes

Take the grapes off their vines, rinse, place in a bowl and place in the freezer for a few hours.  They will last and last and you can take a few out to snack on anytime.  SO yummy!

What is your easiest natural dye free treat recipe?

A Whole Foods Dye Free Easter

We were given a gift card for Whole Foods and wanted to use it for the family in a special way so we decided to wait til now and buy a few goodies for the kids Easter baskets.   Whole Foods is one store that has a nice selection of dye free candy and treats.  We found a big bag of lollipops and gummy bear treats that the kids can share with their friends.   We also picked up a dye free Easter egg dye kit!   Looking forward to comparing this kit to my homemade dyes.

We are a Feingold  family and avoid artificial food dye, artificial flavors, preservatives like BHT, MSG, Vanillin (this is a big one for us to avoid) and high fructose corn syrup.  It's not as hard as it might seem but I still do struggle with artificial flavors and preservatives.  If preservatives are used in the packaging, the companies are not required to disclose that. And I am learning about the dangers of GMO's.  This year we will add an itunes gift card, sleep pants and some art and Spring toys to the baskets.  But NO fake grass!

What are you doing for your kids Easter baskets?  Are you making them?  Do you use Easter grass or something else?

Food dye and hyperactivity

Chicago Tribune health reporter Julie Deardorff and panelists Michael Jacobson and Dr. Keith-Thomas Ayoob had an hour long live chat today on food dyes and hyperactivity.  I wish I could have joined in but the transcript is available.  Click Food dye and hyperactivity to read what they talked about.



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Get Red 40 Out Of Food

Do food dyes make kids hyperactive? FDA to decide.
The FDA is examining the link between dyes found in everyday foods and hyperactivity in children.
I support the Starbucks commercial before the msnbc piece.  Starbucks, like Whole Foods and Trader Joes does not use artificial color in their products.

What do you think of the final comment in the article?  Do you think putting a warning label on products that contain dye in them will create unneccessary consequences?  That statement just makes me laugh. 

Today is Day 2 and the last day of the FDA hearings on artificial color in food.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42338423/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/from/toolbar

FDA Food Coloring Hearings Begin Today

Foods such as Jell-O, Lucky Charms cereal, and Minute Maid Lemonade that use these artificial food colors may worsen the behavior in some children, particularly children with adhd tendancies.  The FDA is considering putting warning labels on the foods that contain the artificial food coloring suspected of doing this.  Will this warning label help you with your decisions?

It will for me.  For now, I read every ingredient list and have a pretty good knowledge of what has dye in it.  Dyes like red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6, and blue 1 are some of the dyes we stay away from due to sensitivities to it.  These dyes effect us in ways ranging from migraines, poor sleep, chewing on collar or shirt, behavioural impulsivity, cognitive abilities and more.  Removing the dye from my families diet has changed all of us.  I am so excited the FDA is hearing this issue this week.

Regardless of the outcome, I know, along with thousands of other parents the effect artificial colors can have on our children and can do something right now, warning label or no warning label and that is to simply refuse to buy the products with artificial color in them.

ABC News Piece on Food Dye and Hyperactivity

CSPI and FAUS have been involved in preparing for the FDA Hearings on Food Dyes later this week.  This is an article and video(s) ABC did.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/food-dyes-hyperactivity/story?id=13221478