How Artificial Food Dyes Are Worse Than Moses Using Narcotics to Talk to God
Posted by Heather in I Couldn't Make This Shit Up, Quirky Kid Dossier
If you are going to read this post, then I must ask you to knock on wood the entire time to avoid jinxing my life. Thank you in advance.
As an adult, I’ve always been an occasional tree hugger. We did the recycle thing, the cloth diaper thing, cloth napkins, no circumcising the family jewels. Then we moved to the ‘burbs where they don’t do recycling pick up, the children potty trained, and my cloth napkins disappeared in our move. Thankfully, the family jewels have remained intact.
But I’ve recently had a biblical moment that brought my former hippie tendencies back. It wasn’t a burning bush biblical moment because, unlike Moses, I don’t eat acacia tree bark. It was more like a demonic exorcism biblical moment. After that experience, I solemnly vow to always wear flowers in my hair, along with a do-rag made from natural, organic cotton, and to embrace the hippie in me for life.
Prepare yourself, I’m becoming one of those mothers; the one wearing hemp jewelry and Birkenstocks and hovering over her child’s class party food, shaking her all-natural, organic food choices in everyone’s face.
Look! Organic rice cakes topped with tofu, mmmm! Cupcake icing made from soybeans, yum! Those other children, bless their hearts, what are their mother’s feeding them?
Hold on, though. Before I openly declare myself as a new modern suburban hippie, hippie mothers are allowed to drink alcohol, right? That doesn’t violate some kind of hippie health code, does it? Vodka is a clear liquid, after all, and there’s no reason to get too crazy with this shit.
It’s been over a month since we eliminated all artificial dyes from Payton’s diet and, I tell you, they could do a remake of The Exorcist based on Payton’s personality transformation. I could write a lengthy post on the changes we’ve seen since, it’s been that transformative. Can I say ‘transformative’ once more?
Transformative.
But I won’t write a lengthy post because no one has enough attention span to read 1000 word articles on the internet. By the way, that lack of attention is probably due to artificial dyes in your diet.
Payton went from 5-6 bad behavior checkmarks a day to getting maybe five over the last five weeks. That’s five total, not a day, and one of those was my fault because I forgot to make sure his homework went back in his backpack one morning.
Things have been going so well that I no longer have panic attacks every time the phone rings, nor do I hyperventilate when I see the school number on caller ID. This change in his behavior wasn’t gradual. It takes 3-5 days for artificial dyes to clear your system, and on that 3rd day, Payton’s conduct problems ended. Literally, just like THAT. I suppose it could be a coincidence, but, um, really?
Lucky for Payton (I guess), single-income living required I cook from scratch a lot, which means avoiding processed foods, at least compared to the typical American lifestyle. But I still live in America so l wasn’t a vigilante, which could account for why Payton would have good days, and then suddenly BAM! Hello, Mr. Hyde.
Now that he doesn’t consume any dyes, he’s more calm and easy-going, shows very little anxiety and stress anymore, and, perhaps most important, he has so much more control over his behavior and reactions.
This isn’t a scientific study. I’m just a mom with a story. But as I’ve researched, I’ve found I’m just one mom of many with the same story.
Sure, there’s controversy over artificial food dyes: studies validate the dangers and then are found to be flawed studies. Of course, the people telling us these dyes are safe are (1) the government, who, by the way, pays $50,000 for a toilet seat and (2) officers from the Grocery Manufacturing Association, whose industry would be financially impacted in a negative way if the dyes were removed.
In a capitalist society, we know a company would never mislead us in the name of profit, right? And pharmaceutical companies would definitely let on to us that studies show when food dyes were eliminated, up to half of ADHD kids in the study were able to come off their medication. I mean, they’d have no vested reason to not tell us.
Did you know the FDA doesn’t test these chemical dyes (which some contain crude oil, arsenic, mercury, and lead, oh my fucking god) for neurological effects? Only physical problems, like tumors and disease. But they’re safe! And they don’t affect your kid’s behavior!
Uh huh.
Come on, Heather, everything will kill you if you listened to all the crazies! Even fruit and veggies will kill you if you eat 500 a day, which is how much you’d have to eat to prove these “studies” correct.
Yes, this is true. You can find anything wrong with everything if you look hard. I only know what I’ve seen with my son, and it’s been amazing to see his wonderful, true personality shine through consistently.
So to sum up this lengthy blog post for those of you with artificial dye-induced attention problems: artificial food dyes – very bad for children, really, adults too. You’re better off eating acacia tree bark.
You may now stop knocking on wood. Unless you’re going to comment, which I hope you do because I have a fragile ego. After you comment, you can stop knocking on wood. Unless you’re going to Twitter this post, which would be awesome because more people might learn about this behavior connection. THEN you can stop knocking on wood. Thank you for not jinxing my life.
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You make some incredibly important and valid points. DAMN. I guess I’m going to have to start paying better attention to the crap I feed my kids.
Food dyes are a big issue with me. I eliminated all food dyes from our diet, not for behavioral issues, but just because don’t want my kids ingesting chemicals. I have frequent “discussions” with a food scientist I know who tells me that the amount of dyes in foods in “safe”. BUT…do you know how many foods contain dyes? Things that DON’T NEED THEM. I almost bought a freakin’ pie crust that had red #8 in it?!? huh? So multiply the “safe” amount of food dyes in each product by 1000 and you get what a typical American consumes in one day. SCARY.
I am convinced that if we eliminated chemicals, artificial flavors, sweeteners, etc from our diets we would be so much better off, in so many ways. Behavior issues, cancer rates, etc…
Okay, I’ll stop now. Thanks for posting this!
as a former teacher, i’d always heard about the red dye in particular.
i cannot imagine what my diet would entail if i cutout all the processed (yummy) and dyed foods.
but i know i’d like to give littlebean a great start.
not that i really know where to start…..
very glad to know that you have found something that definitely works for you all!
i’m curious- if he had the occasional food with dye, would it affect him so quickly? or is it something that would have to build up? (like the 3 days out, 3 days in??)
.-= mpotter´s last blog ..96 & 97 explained =-.
I have heard about dyes, but have not fully explored dyes in particular. This summer, my husband and I have focused on unprocessed foods, no saturated fats and healthy eating in general. It has helped everyone in our family. I will look into the dyes next.
mpotter: Well, I actually started eliminating some of the dyes over the summer, but not 100%. I took just the red dye out but I wasn’t super consistent with even it until a month ago. I think going without it actually makes Payton more sensitive to it. At least when he took some (red) cold medicine after almost all summer without it, in less than 2 hours he started showing reactive symptoms to it. It could be he always reacted that quickly, I just never put it together in the past..
I believe it. And I’m curious – what are the biggest culprits, in terms of kids’ food that has dye in it? I’m thinking of the obvious ones like candy, flavored yogurt, sugary cereals, etc., but can you give me some examples of foods you eliminated, because I’d like to try it.
.-= rimarama´s last blog ..Yo-Yo (Ra)ma* =-.
I am with Rimarama…which foods are the worst? I am curious if this would help Hunter, I am about at the point of trying anything.
I am so giddy like a little kid that you found something that worked, and something simple (sort of) like this.
.-= Kellyn´s last blog ..Harry Connick Jr.’s "Your Songs" – review =-.
Interesting. I have no doubt that what a kid eats has a direct correlation to how he feels, thus how he acts. I haven’t thought so much about dyes as I have processed foods. Although I don’t have the grandest culinary repertoire, along with just being plain worn out by dinner time, so even that one’s been hard to eliminate.
.-= C @ Kid Things´s last blog ..Never Take a Girl (Like Me) to a Car Show =-.
Rimarama & Kellyn: I don’t know if there is a “biggest culprit” because the use of these dyes is so prevalent. Once I started closely reading labels, I was shocked. I think the list would be shorter for what doesn’t use the artificial dyes. Yes, almost all kids yogurt has it, barring organic brands and Dannon’s crush cups and drinkable yogurt.
These dyes are in products you wouldn’t have thought they would be in (Pillsbury can croissants, for example) You really do just have to read each product label you pick up. It’s definitely changed how I shop for food and I’m spending more on organic products than in the past, but hell, it still has to be cheaper than a Ritalin prescription & specialists, not to mention the price of peace of mind.
You’re not crazy.
My youngest brother is hyperactive – even as an adult. The pediatrician recommended eliminating red and yellow dyes from his diet. This was about 30 years ago! It was revolutionary then. I remember being angry because I couldn’t have Froot Loops anymore, which lead to my adult obsession with them.
Eliminating them from his diet proved successful, and to this day, if he consumes those dyes, you can tell.
I’m glad you found something that worked for you that doesn’t involve meds. And so what if you’re labeled a hippie. I label you as a great mother.
.-= Sally´s last blog ..A Little Off =-.
WOW. Really interesting, and good to know. Great post.
.-= Al_Pal´s last blog ..My new creative outlet: Bread Puddings! =-.
..and if reading and finding out about food dyes and kids scares you…just wait till you look up and read about MSG and kids. It’s been shown to be a neurotoxin, and isn’t even used in baby food b/c of it’s affect on developing brains. Yup. We have totally eliminated that one from our diets.
From what I”ve read, red and yellow are the worst…especially when it comes to bubble bath and things…the red dye goes right up the urethra and can settle in the kidneys. Worse for girls, b/c our urethra is shorter.
I think you (and all those studies and other moms) are really on to something. People say that there is just more diagnosis of these “bad behavior” issues (ADD, ADHD, Asperbergers, etc., whatever) but I always thought it must be more than just hypervigilant parents, teachers and pediatricians. There must really be something happening to kids/people that accounts for this increase. And our processed diet is one of the biggest changes our country has had in the past decades. Not sure how long these dyes have been around but its safe to say that each year, they become more prevalent in the average kid’s diet. My kids are quite young (10 months) so I am glad I know this now. I am trying to avoid processed foods as much as possible – now I can add this to my reasons why. Thank you! And good luck with it.
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..Weekend Update =-.
I’ve seen how dramatic the change can be, so I am not surprised but I am so SO happy that this is working for you guys (don’t worry, still knocking).
.-= Meredith´s last blog ..Take Us Back In Time Tuesday – 9/29/09 =-.
At least you have a change – good for him!! (whatever the reason)
.-= joeinvegas´s last blog ..Pirates missed =-.
I know with my side of the family’s tendency to be obese that CB and I were planning on monitoring our future children’s consumption, but that also includes additives and food dyes. Good to hear you found something that works and make Payton happier. And you too!
.-= Lilacspecs´s last blog ..Naive =-.
I’ve heard this again and again and again. Artificial dyes = not good for kids. I even wrote an article about this a couple years ago.
Heh, I’ve gotten lazy with letting the junk slip back into the kitchen. I think I’m going to go purge the cabinets now.
.-= Summer´s last blog ..Free Digital Camera Ebook =-.
HEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so freaking excited for y’all! YAY YAY YAY! What an amazing discovery for Payton and what a relief for you and Wally. I am just THRILLED to read this. Awesome. Fantastic. All sorts of superlatives that I could think of if it weren’t nearing 1 AM.
My heart is so happy for you right now.
And welcome back to hippie-dom. We have more fun here. And yes, alcoholic bevvies totally allowed.
Peace.
.-= Megan@SortaCrunchy´s last blog ..WFMW: Reusable Produce Bags =-.
For the record, treehugging hippies ABSOLUTELY can drink alcohol. I know first-hand.
I have quietly and slowly become a hippie. We don’t vaccinate our children. No high fructose corn syrup, no partially hydrogenated anything, no artificial colors, hormone-free dairy. We even see a chiropractor every 2 weeks. And my daughter’s lunch box is completely eco-friendly. Not sure how it happened, but I’m definitely a hippie-mom. Happy to be in company with you
.-= Ashlie- Mommycosm´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: Apple picking =-.
Hello. You may be interested in this site… have a read a bout failsafe eating to learn what effects you and your family. http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/
I dont have any relation to the site, just found it whilst researching the subject myself.
But artificial food dyes are so delicious! Seriously, this is so great. I’m definitely going to look into it. And when the mom is you, Heather, I like the one mom story better than government sanctioned studies.
.-= Marinka´s last blog ..Dear Susan =-.
When Sam had his tonsils out, they gave him red liquid Tylenol and he was just wired all day. The nurses later said, “Oh, ask for the clear stuff that doesn’t have the whacko dye in it and he’ll rest a lot easier.”
That, plus the fact that whenever they eat those little gummy “fruit snacks” their poop turns green, led me to cut out dyes a long time ago.
Yay for you!
.-= Wendi´s last blog ..What I Will Not Be Writing About Today =-.
Can you point to me an article about this? Like, what foods are these dye’s in, how to avoid them, what problams they cause, etc. I would appreciate it.
And I’m so very happy about your son! Talk about the stress level going down.
.-= Robina´s last blog ..Six year old logic =-.
My knuckles are a little sore from all the knocking. I’m a slow reader. We are anti-dye too. I’m definitely a full-time tree hugger and part time hippie living in the burbs too…but we are a recycling bunch of mo-fos. If you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t consume it is my general theory.
I’m trying to move in this direction with my children as well. The boy has mood issues sometimes and the girl just doesn’t need anything else to mess with her already addled mind. I so wish we could get out of the burbs and back to the country where I could raise and “process” (aka can) my own food. Silly yuppy hubster!
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..The P.P.P! =-.
love this post! I am actually a lifestyle coach who focuses on nutrition etc and love to hear when people try to do well with their nutrition. So often I talk to people ages 50 and older who don’t have a clue about nutrition. This is an interesting post. Definitely makes me want to cut out artificial dyes from my own diet.
.-= ReinventingAmy´s last blog ..Life is always interesting… =-.
I believe you. Am forwarding this to my husband (who eats majorly unhealthily) right now.
.-= Trenches of Mommyhood´s last blog ..Half Empty =-.
I had read about Dr. Feingold about 25 years ago, and applied the principles to feeding my son, who is on the autism spectrum. I was convinced when his ears turned red after eating ketchup, then seeing the behavioural changes.
The teachers all used to drool over his lunches which contained home grown veggies and home baked bread. (One of the ingredients in commercial bread is formaldehyde, which is used to preserve corpses for funeral viewings)
I found that he was also quite sensitive to sugar and caffeine, so the child didn’t have a soda until he was nine. (He threw up after) Now that he is older, he is able to tolerate more of the crap that is in our foods, but since he lives at home, we still cook mostly from scratch.
It’s cheaper to eat organic than processed. Just requires a bit of planning.
.-= witchypoo´s last blog ..Poopy Small =-.
I’ve heard this anecdotally from LOTS of people, so I totally think you (and they) are right. It can be as hard to avoid these dyes as it is to avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is also in some brands of everything (ketchup, yogurts, crackers, even things you want to be savory and not sweet). But I find avoiding that makes a huge difference for my kids in terms of avoiding the surges and lows of mood swings. Good for you for sticking to this! I’m so glad to know it’s working for you.
.-= MommyTime´s last blog ..Seriously, It’s My Best Work =-.
Wow. Thanks for writing this. I put much more weight in one mom’s story than in government studies. I am so curious to go into my pantry and fridge now and see what kind of crap I have been feeding my kids.
.-= Kirsten´s last blog ..Who’s Older? =-.
A very timely post as we are rapidly approaching Halloween a.k.a. open season for artificial dye- laden “treats.” *groan*
therese: I know. I’ve been thinking how I’m going to handle that. I’m thinking I’ll have the boys exchange the candy with dyes, which will probably be almost all, for money. I’ll buy their candy off of them. Haven’t come up with any other plan yet, but there’s still time.
Heather, I’m so happy for you! I am going to try it here and see if I notice any difference in my own kids. I don’t think they are sensitive like Payton, but you never know!
.-= Meredith´s last blog .. =-.
Meredith: Even Parker, who isn’t sensitive like Payton, has had better behavior since we got rid of the dyes. He’s not as aggressive, which he was never a real problem before, but I chalked it up to “boy behavior.” He doesn’t play as rough now and he actually spends less time trying to aggravate his brother. With him I can see a lesser tendency to be aggressive where with Payton we see a huge improvement in controlling his impulses.
Win win all the way around.
Peace for Payton….and you.
So great.
.-= mythoughtsonthat´s last blog ..He’s With The Band =-.
Great post Heather! I’ve always tried to feed my boys unprocessed organic foods. It’s not easy to do since there is so much crap out there. Because of our eating habits my boys are very aware of what they eat. We sit around the table and identify where our food came from and how much is local/organic. We get organic grass fed beef, organic free range eggs, and a CSA box from local farmers. It feels so good to support our community and the food tastes soooo much better. Plus we’ve met so many great people and the boys enjoy visiting the farms.
Keep up the great work you do! Your kids are very lucky to have such a great mom.
Hi, new reader here.
Great post. I actually heard the same from a friend of mine. Her four year old was CRAZY. Like bi-polar crazy. Always up and down and seriously all around! She even took him to her doctor to get tested, but of course he was too young for that. So she started him on this all natural diet and within a few days he was a totally different kid. Like night and day. I think it’s a great thing you’ve found what helps your son. Keep it up!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..I’m A Dumbass =-.
I am so happy for you guys! I had heard of all this via my brother-in-law’s history w/ red dye. I hadn’t researched it much, but am now going to check my pantry.
Thank you!
.-= Amo´s last blog ..Please don’t pee in the pompas grass. =-.
Heather, just found this book that is awesome!! It’s only $15, and by a woman, Robyn O’Brien, it’s called “The Unhealthy Truth.” As a mother, she noticed real changes in her children’s behavior when they had food dyes/ etc. She found studies that have recorded hard evidence that children’s behavior does change with food dyes and additives.
Robyn cites a study done in England that had consistent, repeatable findings of children changing when given high levels of dyes/preservatives. This study drew enough attention in England that the companies involved began changing the ingredients of their products.
Anyway, book is called “The Unhealthy Truth”…all about kids exposure to potentially harmful chemicals in so many foods. Worth keeping in your home library.
I just on a whim looked at my son’s Life Cereal box, which I didn’t think was too too terrible as far as sweet cereal goes, and up, lots of yellow dyes.
What do you do when the kiddos go somewhere else and are offerred snacks? Do you let them have them? Or do you bring your own stuff? I realize it’s only been a month so perhaps that hasn’t been an issue yet, but my two are in the care of the after school program a couple of days a week where they offer snacks.
Thanks for all the info!
Heather, thank you for this post. My son struggles at times with behavior problems, more specifically at school as to opposed to at home. He has trouble focusing and completing simple assignments, like coloring, and at first I just chalked it up to adjusting to Kindergarten. But the more I thought about it I realized we had similar problems with Pre-K but at a lower level.
I’ve been wondering what to do with regards to it and unfortunately my first thought was to perhaps take him to his ped to see if they could help in any way. Never, in a million years, did dye elimination ever cross my mind.
I am going to try this. For all of us. Thank you a million times over.
.-= Jodi´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday =-.
I couldn’t have said it better! I created http://www.reddyefree.blogspot.com after I noticed Angel vs. Evil in my child. It was such a dramatic difference eliminating these dyes that I felt compelled to get the word out. Blogging has spread the news like butter! It has been worth it and I hope it continues to spread! Fun site you have!
.-= Cayla´s last blog ..How our Lives have changed after Eliminating Artificial Synthetic Colors. =-.
This is fascinating. And I know this makes me sound pathetic and dumb, but I love it when a mom I trust does this kind of research for me. I’d heard about the controversy over dyes, but I didn’t know it was so serious or that they contained that kind of poison. Shame on me, I know.
My biggest fear: I can not give up chicken nuggets.
.-= anymommy´s last blog ..Tread Kindly =-.
Anyone interested in this should also pick up Michael Polan’s book “In Defense of Food”. Since reading that, we’ve cut just about all processed food out of our diets and have felt so much better (and have had NO desire for the junk food we used to eat). Thanks for this post, Heather–all the crap they put in our foods is a problem not many people are aware of, and it’s a shame. I, too, am interested in how you or others are dealing with food at friends houses and whatnot.
I have an idea for Trick or Treating for you Heather. I let my son pick out 5 pieces of candy he really wants and then trade the rest in for any toy he wants. No I can’t afford it, but I don’t care. I’d rather charge a toy at Walmart then have him eat all that candy. I think I will give him the option that you are trying this year cash or toy. Congrats by the way!
I saw this http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2009/09/cake-and-newborn-envy.html recently Heather and thought of you (while simultaneously thinking.. oh, HELL no.. no matter how much the kids would love it!
My brother was “on the busy side” (as they used to say) when we were kids.. it got immensely better when my Mom did away with the Cherry Kool-aid.
Hey =) I’ve been catching up on all your entries…and when I came across this one I just *had* to comment! This is a great post, and deff something to try–thanks for posting
And yes, I know this will look repetitive, but what ego-stroking isn’t?
.-= Bethany´s last blog ..Bonus!!! =-.
knocking and knocking and trembling a little and cheering.
.-= Ann’s Rants´s last blog ..What To Expect: Your First Blogiversary =-.
We’ve found the same with our middle kiddo–except for him it also includes any processed sugars-especially corn/glucose syrup
The one time he had a cherry flavored candy cane will forever be etched in my brain. He went from smiling happy child to demonic spawn of some creature of the night, hell-bent on the death and destruction of all around him.
I toss us in the crunchy-by-necessity pile