[Hokulele]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this post, but hopefully someone here will be able to offer their experience.<br><br>
I am starting to think that DD reacts to dyes in food. (She is almost 5yo). Her behavior changes drastically sometimes. It happens often when she's been playing with friends, so for a long time I thought it was just because she was tired and over-jazzed up from playing.<br><br>
But now I think it actually is caused by the foods / drinks she eats at friends' houses. We don't have a whole lot of over processed foods here at home. But many of her friends offer her juice boxes and popsicles etc. that are loaded with dyes.<br><br>
So... if you have a child who is sensitive to food dye I have a few questions:<br><br>
- what were the first signs your DC was sensitive and how did you determine what it was?<br>
- what happens to your DC when s/he has some dye?<br>
- have you narrowed it down to specific dyes and if so, which ones?<br>
- are there any online sites you can recommend for me to find out more info?<br><br>
and also:<br><br>
- how do you avoid dyes when you are in specific situations?<br><br>
I've already told DD that I think food dye is an issue and that sometimes I'm going to say no if someone offers her a drink or whatever. She fully understands why etc but I know that in the moment she may put up a fight about not being allowed something. It isn't as though the reaction is concrete like an immediate rash (thank goodness) but it might be hard for her to understand not drinking this now is going to avoid a bad episode two hours from now, you know? Especially when we are at birthday parties or places where all the other kids are getting to eat everything.

 

[JaneS]

Absolutely. My DS has only gotten food dyes a few times (once in food and a few in medication) and he was a hitting, screaming, no sleeping mess! I've also seen other kids react with ADD/ADHD type behavior as well as hives and asthma like reactions as well.<br><br>
Center for Science in the Public Interest pages:<br><a href="http://www.cspinet.org/fooddyes/" target="_blank">http://www.cspinet.org/fooddyes/</a><br><br><a href="http://www.feingold.org" target="_blank">www.feingold.org</a><br><br><a href="http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info" target="_blank">www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info</a><br><br>
Kids can also have reactions to common additives in breads, cereals and milk too: preservatives such as BHA, BHT, TBHQ and calcium proprionate, benzoates and the like.<br><br>
Even natural color such as annatto (in orange cheese, cheese crackers and orange colored mac and cheese) can cause a reaction. Any lowfat milk with vitamin A added has BHA/BHT that is not on the label, Feingold Org recs whole milk only (better for their brain development anyway).

 

[tanyalynn]

I'd like to add on to Jane's post...<br><br>
My understanding of the reason that these chemicals cause problems in people is that some people are having a hard time excreting them (not that they're healthy even if we're not seeing reactions). Our bodies break down a lot of chemicals, lots that our bodies make and then are done with, but also the external ones, from food, drinks, the air, whatever.<br><br>
Our bodies have multiple ways to break down and excrete chemicals. A lot of artificial colors and flavors are excreted by a specific chemical pathway, and if that pathway is overwhelmed, either there are too many chemicals to deal with (and some of that work is chemicals our bodies create, just as part of being human, so the load can't ever go to zero), or there are not enough nutrients to fuel those chemical reactions, or a mix of the two, then those chemicals are bopping around in our bodies for longer than they should be.<br><br>
A while back I summarized a bit from one of Andy Cutler's books, he's discussing these pathways, and the Feingold diet limits quite a few things that our bodies excrete via sulfation....<br><br><a href="http://mothering.com/discussions/showpost.php?p=13754058&postcount=61" target="_blank">http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...8&postcount=61</a><br><br>
Here's a more detailed discussion of sulfation (and the other pathways), go down about halfway, and there's a summary closer to the bottom....<br><br><a href="http://tuberose.com/Liver_Detoxification.html" target="_blank">http://tuberose.com/Liver_Detoxification.html</a><br><br>
Not that we should make a goal of consuming this stuff every day, but to me, it looks like reacting visibly to them means that a nutritional boost may be in order (our family uses supplements).<br><br>
As for how to deal with the issue: there are two ways to go. Our family is gluten and dairy free, and I won't compromise on that barring a catastrophe during which we just need food. So depending on how you feel, you could deal with it like that, just say hey, we can't eat that stuff, it's bad for our bodies, and discuss from that perspective. And I can say that at 5-6yo, the social aspect got a lot harder for my daughter, I didn't realize that age was so difficult in terms of wanting to be like peers.<br><br>
My son (just turned 4) has a few foods that he's intolerant of, but he does have some tolerance, so I just try to limit/eliminate those at home and then not worry about occasional away from the house consumption. For those foods, I let the fun/social aspect overrule the negative health consequences, which are fairly mild and short-lived.<br><br>
It's possible that if you look at the nutrient side and make tweaks there, her tolerance could increase a bit so that the reaction is liveable for you both, and over time she can learn how she feels when she consumes them and eventually decide how she wants to manage it herself.

 

[JaneS]

<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/yeahthat.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="yeah that"> thanks Tanya <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[JaneS]

Just came across such a great description from another list I belong to I had to put here:<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">Any deviation from XXXX's diet will likely result in severe behavioral symptoms, which may include:<br><br>
Running away, jumping, climbing, hyperactivity, kicking, hitting, throwing, screeching, lack of concentration, shorter attention span, decrease in processing ability, stubbornness, disrespectfulness, lack of cooperation, sleep disturbances and overall increase in sensory issues.</td>
</tr></table></div>
My heart aches for the zillions of kids with medical "diagnoses" when it's really certain foods and lack of nutrients that does this to them.