FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK FACTSHEET
Diet, sleep disturbance and insomnia
I think my sleep
problems might be related to foods. What can I do?
• insomnia
• difficulty falling asleep
• frequent night waking
• waking up too early
• restless legs
• ‘weird’ or ‘vivid’ dreams
• nightmares
• night terrors
• sleep talking, sleep walking
• sleep apnoea
Sleep disturbance,
including difficulty settling to sleep and frequent night waking, is one of the
main behavioural effects of artificial colours and other additives. People who
are sensitive to additives may also be affected by some natural food chemicals
including salicylates, amines and glutamates. See scientific references below.
Reactions to food chemicals
are a pharmacological - or food intolerance - reaction, not an allergic
reaction to the proteins in foods.
The foods and food
chemicals that can be associated with sleep disturbance include:
·
Artificial
colours, natural colour annatto, preservatives, synthetic antioxidants, flavour
enhancers and flavours (more details below)
·
Naturally
occurring chemicals called salicylates, amines and glutamates
·
Dairy
foods are less likely to be a problem than additives and salicylates although
dairy foods as well as the food chemicals above may be strongly implicated with
stuffy/runny nose, snoring and sleep apnoea
·
Wheat
or gluten are less commonly a problem. However, wholegrain wheat in products
such as wholemeal bread and cereals such as Weetbix are likely to be more of a
problem than refined wheat products
·
Sleep
disturbance can also be the unintended side effects of the additives or active
ingredients in medications, dental products and supplements.
·
Some
people are affected by VOCs – Volatile Organic Compounds – such as perfumes,
fragranced toiletries e.g. hairspray and airfreshener, pesticides, household
cleaners, renovation chemicals and especially chemicals such as flame
retardants in new mattresses and pillows
Anyone of any age can be
affected. When whole families embark on their elimination diet to support a
child with behaviour problem, it is common for them to report that everyone is
sleeping better.
When an entire class of 6
years olds in the
Food chemicals can pass
through breastmilk to affect breastfed babies.
I think my sleep problems might be related to foods.
What can I do?
People have different reactions
to various food chemicals so any or all of the above food chemicals can cause
the problem.
·
Some
people improve just by reducing their intake of additives or fruit
(salicylates), see some of the reader stories below.
·
I
recommend you read my book Fed Up for a greater understanding of the chemicals
– natural and artificial - in our food supply, the elimination diet and helpful
recipes and support.
·
If
symptoms are serious enough to seek help, it is quicker and easier to do the 3
week elimination diet from RPA Allergy Clinic.
·
You
can email for our list of supportive dietitians: confoodnet@ozemail.com.au
From story [009] First whole night’s sleep in seven years
(April 1999)
In November 98 a friend
gave me Sue Dengate's book Fed Up. I started the diet that day and on the first
night of the elimination diet my two children slept through the night. That was
the first whole night's sleep I had for nearly seven years.
[825] Weird dreams due to green food colouring (July 2009)
After I eat green food
colouring, first it gets to my head. It confuses my brain and I can’t get to
sleep until 9 or half past 9 (usually I go to bed at
[824] Vivid dreams reduce on diet (July 2009)
For more than 20 years I
had dreamt vividly and had woken each morning exhausted until I started on the
diet and in the last couple of months I have had about 10% of the dreams I used
to have. Shona, by email
[823] Salicylate dreams ‘like war movie’ (July 2009)
I started on failsafe ten
years ago when I was a teenager. Salicylates are the worst for me. They cause
what I call 'salicylate dreams'. They’re like watching a war movie, and I am
unable to stop it. – by email
From story [595] after two weeks on the diet he is asleep in
15 minutes (November 2007)
My husband and I watched a
news program on the children at
From story [474] goes to sleep and sleeps all night with no
night terrors (November 2006)
My three-year-old son has
been on the diet for three months now and it has been a miracle for our family.
He has no eczema, his behaviour is fantastic (the sweet gentle caring child I
knew was hiding in there somewhere), his faeces are back to normal, he has not
had a runny nose since starting the diet, no abdominal pain and he goes to
sleep and sleeps all night with no night terrors (we were dealing with three or
four a night). WOW, what a difference. We have found he is sensitive to amines
and salicylates
[617] Nearly crazy with fatigue and confusion –baby’s
insomnia (February 2008)
Since birth, my son Noah
had trouble with sleep it didn’t matter what I did or what time of day or night
it was, it would always take him at least 2 hours to get to sleep, and then if
I put him down in his cot, he would wake 10 minutes later screaming. Then it
would take another 2 hours of pacing the dark hallways before he’d doze off
again. In the end, I spent the first 12 months of Noah’s life sleeping in the
rocking chair with him, just so he would sleep. I nearly went crazy with
fatigue and confusion. I tried everything I (and everyone around me) could
think of.
In the end, I insisted that
there was something going on because the times he wasn’t crying, I could see
that he really had a very social, gentle and loving nature that was at odds
with the furious, red screaming insomniac he was the rest of the time! He was
breastfed and everything got much worse when I introduced solids. I was advised
by a homeopath to stop eating dairy and give him slippery elm powder to help
settle his guts. Everything got so much worse after that. The only thing he
could have been reacting to in the slippery elm was salicylates so she put me
on a low-salicylate diet. Noah improved but I didn’t take it fully seriously I
was naughty a lot! I continued drinking coffee and some other things like that.
Finally, when Noah was 18 months old, I discovered your website. It changed my
entire life, and you will never truly know how indebted I am to you for the
work you do. – Alison, Qld
[822] Lying awake half the night from megavitamins (July
2009)
I am a 68 year-old with no
health problems except the beginning of muscular stiffness. I’d like to know if
[a certain all natural megavitamin supplement with bioflavonoids and strong
fruit extracts] contains any additives not noted on the labels. I honestly
cannot note any difference except that my sleep pattern has changed. Previously
a 'go to bed and drop off' person I now find myself either lying awake half the
night or going to sleep and waking in the small hours of the morning– from Questions
in Failsafe Newsletter #59 . (It is common for natural vitamins especially when
chewable to contain very strong fruit extracts that can cause this kind of
salicylate reaction. In a similar report to the same supplements a mother
wrote: ‘all four kids reacted for a week - silly jumping around, wouldn't
listen, couldn't concentrate, fighting with each other - the little ones were
the worst - I couldn't believe it, just from one tiny little pill’)
[821] Snoring and sleep apnoea due to foods and new mattress
(July 2009)
A nine year old boy from
the NT suffered from snoring and sleep apnoea. The elimination diet revealed
that a few food additives were responsible
sunset yellow (110), the bread preservative (282) and MSG (621). When he
later developed the problem while avoiding his food triggers, fumes from a new
mattress turned out to be the cause. – from Failsafe Newsletter #1. See http://www.chem-tox.com/beds/frame-beds.htm
for hundreds of reports of health problems mostly in adults due to chemicals in
new mattresses.
[616] Getting to sleep was a major problem - additives
(February 2008)
I have had my 7 year-old
daughter on an additive free diet (eliminating colours, preservatives, flavour
enhancers and synthetic antioxidants) for one week and I cannot thank you
enough. I have got my beautiful girl back. Looking back now I can see that she
has probably always been intolerant of additives. The dramatic change in her in
nothing short of amazing. Getting to sleep was always a major problem.
Extremely emotional outbursts were constant, this is only to mention a couple
of problems we were dealing with. The last two nights she has fallen to sleep
within 20 minutes of going to bed. It used to take anything up to 2 and a half
hours (frustrating for both of us). This morning I was able to brush her hair
without tears for the first time in her life.
Two months later … She is
still going along really well and we have been able to add back some food back
into her diet. The main ones she had reacted to are orange flavour and Twisties
and any take-away food along the lines of McDonalds burgers or Hungry Jacks.-
Kerri, by email
[820] Sleepwalking from synthetic antioxidants (July 2009)
We’d been failsafe for
several years when we ate some hot chips (BHA 320) several times while on a
holiday. My son’s sleep talking and sleep walking which had stopped on the diet
came back again the nights we had chips. – by email See also Failsafe Story
[596]
From story [596] Nightmares and trouble going to sleep and
staying asleep (November 2007)
In this painstakingly
recorded case of a full elimination diet case, nightmares and sleep disturbance
were related to synthetic antioxidants (310-312, 319-321)
[647] Can't believe the house is so silent (May 2008)
After only 2 weeks of making
a thin edge of the wedge start on failsafe, we are seeing drastic improvements
in our 4.5yr son, 2.75 son and 1yr old daughter, and me too. No rages, no
nightmares, easy to bed, sleeping all night till a reasonable time and no
[146] Restless babies from tartrazine (yellow#5, colour 102)
(February 2002)
"Thank you so much for
the "Restless Babies" article (available on website) I recommended it
to a distraught mum in the
Here are the foods that the
[366] “My babies woke up 8 times every night” (March 2005)
A friend gave me your book
"Fed up" to read and I simply can't believe the difference it has
made to our lives. I have four children. Three of them have been terrible
sleepers right from birth. I have spent a week at Tresillian house with my 3rd
child, where he was handed back to me at the end of the week unchanged. My
babies all woke up on average 8 times every night and I have been so sleep
deprived over the past 8 years that I became postnatal. I have a Degree in Early Childhood and have
worked as a Director in a Pre-School for many years, and thought that I could
control their behaviour by employing techniques acquired through professional
training. It was frustrating to find that I couldn't cope. My first child was
such a shock! I simply couldn't leave the house with him.
This book came in time for
my 4th and final child. My daughter fell into the same terrible broken night
sleep pattern as the others. After struggling for 8 months, she did start to
settle down, waking perhaps once a night.
This was great until I started her, at age 10 months, on bread. She
immediately returned to night waking - for no apparent reason - and also had a
clear runny nose. I found that the bread
she was having had 282 in it. SO we stopped feeding it to her. Within a couple
of nights she again settled down to a peaceful nights' sleep! AND her nose
cleared up! I can't believe that it could have been that simple!
My question to you regards
my children when they were babies, constantly struggling to sleep - could this
additive (calcium propionate, 282) have been passed on to the baby through my
breastmilk, causing a similar reaction??? – by email [The answer: YES, food
chemicals are passed through breastmilk, see also little Christopher and the
bread preservative on our DVD – Sue]
[363] “Sleep apnoea, incessant snorting and inability to
breathe at night” (March 2005)
Before the diet, my son presented
with headaches, itchy skin (in elbows, on legs, usually scratching until it
bleeds), black circles under his eyes, "jumpy" behaviour,
irritability, day and night pants wetting, pains in the tummy and awful loose
bowel motions, blocked ears and sleep apnoea as well as incessant snorting and
inability to breathe at night. As a baby he had eczema, colic, could not sleep
and fussed with breast milk from 4 months ... somebody needs to support
vulnerable new mothers to help their fussy kids, not make it worse by shoving
disguised dairy foods (or whatever the particular issue is) down their throats,
and then advise the mother to let them scream it out because they obviously
have us fooled with sleeping and behaviour problems! – by email
[131] We just love the effects of the diet (December 2001)
"We have recently gone
onto a fairly strict version of the elimination diet - and have seen fantastic
results in our 4 year old son. He is sleeping better, has become very loving
and affectionate with his father, more agreeable, less tense and generally
calmer and more 'angelic'. We just love it. The hardest part was just getting
used to what foods were safe and allowed."- reader, email
[819] Night terrors gone in two weeks on diet (July 2009)
“My sister’s 3 yo son suffers
from night terrors. He is a bright, happy boy during the day but his constant
inconsolable screaming at night is distressing. He eats large amounts of fresh
fruit and vegies.
3 weeks later: “My sister
cannot believe the difference. She is making everything failsafe. Her son has
had his first week in more than two years, without waking, screaming etc.” – by
email
[390] “I was angry because I couldn’t fall asleep” (March
2006)
My 6 ½ year old son, Tim
(not his real name) is currently undergoing investigation of mixed depressive
disorder with anxiety and obsessive ruminations. We have used the failsafe diet
in the past with one of our other children, but had not ever thought of foods
being linked to Tim’s mood problems. When you mention the “gifted and
depressed” child in your recent talk my ears immediately pricked up and took
note. Tim has been identified as highly gifted and everyone has been saying
that is the cause of his problems but I have always felt there was something
else underlying that was contributing. We will be contacting our GP today and
hopefully starting the failsafe diet ASAP…
Two months later … Since
starting the elimination diet Tim has not self harmed once! He is much calmer
and has noticed this in himself. He no longer seems to be as restless and has
been falling asleep easily at a reasonable time in the evenings. We started
with the salicylates challenge this week and there seemed to be no reaction,
until day 5/6 when we started to notice his behaviour was getting worse. We will
stop this challenge tonight and wait to try some other groups. His GP and
Clinical Psychologist are both thrilled with the change as are well!
One week later ….After I
emailed you we finally had the BIG reaction we were looking for. It happened on
Day 7 of the salicylate challenge - we had already stopped the challenge that
morning. Tim went to bed as normal then began to write swear words all over his
bed, his sheets and his body. ("I was angry with you because I couldn't
fall asleep") This is the behaviour and obsessive ruminations this poor
boy was experiencing on a daily basis before. - WA
[379] Sleep and behaviour problems due to hairspray,
airfreshener (November 2005)
I stopped wearing hairspray
about 6 months ago when we went totally failsafe and saw great results with our
children's behaviour. Two weeks ago I was going out without the kids, so after
putting them to bed I sprayed on some Sunsilk hairspray and liked the way it
looked. So the next day I did it again and within a couple of hours my 3 year
old son's behaviour changed. He was overactive, very fidgety, hitting and
kicking, and headbutted his sister hard enough to give her a blood nose. As
time went on he was crying a lot with loud silly behaviour and wanting demands
met immediately. That night he could not get to sleep. I wore the hairspray for
three days not putting two and two together then we realized it must be the
hairspray as their diet is so failsafe it couldn't be the food he was eating. I
stopped wearing hairspray and his behaviour returned to normal. I have also
noticed that when I visit my mum who uses airfreshener - lots of air freshener
- my son's behaviour deteriorates after a few hours. - Vic
[125] (restless legs) (September 2001)
Around February of 2000 I
was searching on the internet for some clues to my life long digestive
problems, when I came across the food allergy section on the About.com website.
The featured food allergy topic happened to be salicylates ... just out of
curiosity, and for the heck of it, I clicked on the link, and started to read
about it … I first off read the list of common symptoms. As I read it the list
was all too familiar to me … I answered Yes to every symptom. Needless to say,
I started to follow a salicylate free diet. To say I felt better would have
been the understatement of a new millennium … ALL of my life I have suffered
from very frequent urination, constipation, stomach bloating, short temper,
irritability, inability to concentrate, memory problems, severe acne, dry skin
(especially on my hands and feet), those restless legs, and more
...<sigh>… The worst of it for me though was the constant urination, and
constipation which led to a lot of gas ... Thank you so much for your work, and
your book. Both have changed my life forever. I am finally free of a problem
which has literally ruined my life. In case you're wondering, I'm 37 years old
... And yes, 36 years is WAY too long to suffer with this health problem.
Sometimes I don't know how I made it this long with my sanity intact. - from
the
[818] Apnoea, Alzheimers and asthma (July 2009)
I thought I would share
with you briefly my experience of treating my wife who was diagnosed with early
onset Alzheimer's. Apart from the Alzheimer's diagnosis, she suffered from
asthma, sleep apnoea, was unable to speak more than one word at a time and was
going down hill very fast. After a lot of research I decided to put her on to a
90% + raw food diet and after one month, she started to speak the odd phrase.
This was marvellous and only encouraged me to continue. However the amazing
thing was after a few months her asthma symptoms began to disappear and she was
able to reduce her dependence on puffers. After six months even the preventer
puffer was reduced to almost zero and a year later in consultation with the
doctor stopped using puffers altogether. Two and a half years later, she has
been symptom free for two winters so confidently predict it has gone
forever. Oh By the way her sleep apnoea
has gone as well. This experience of curing asthma with raw food is not unique
as I have subsequently found out. When visiting your website I realised the raw
food diet was eliminating additives.
Commercial raw food has other problems i.e. pesticides, growth promoters
etc but the experience of using commercial raw food has been worthwhile. Would like to eat organic but currently
that's not possible. When visiting, we eat normal food and don't expect others
to provide the food we use at home. - by email
[817] Nose full of swollen tissue – now sleeping better
(July 2009)
My 6 year old son is
allergic to dust, cats, and sensitive to some food additives. So far we have
had reactions to 621-635 and 160b and are looking at 282 now. Just wanting to
thank you for putting us on the right track to start with. Our son's nose was
90% full of swollen tissue. He was working 20% harder to breath giving him
terrible headaches etc. He is now starting to feel better, sleeping better,
behaving better (prev we were told it was adhd - have my doubts now) and
generally feeling better - by email
[816] Rhinitis due to dairy foods (July 2009)
A nine-year-old was taking
medication for rhinitis that was so bad that he couldn’t breathe or talk
properly. When this boy eliminated milk as the last stage of going failsafe,
both his behaviour and rhinitis improved dramatically. His mother explained:
‘Our paediatrician was really surprised. He said he could tell the rhinitis was
better, because the hairs in his nose have grown back.’ - from Fed Up! (included on the Rhinitis factsheet because
rhinitis can contribute to snoring)
[815] Runny nose due to salicylates including mint flavoured
toothpaste (July 2009)
Three years ago I started
the RPAH elimination diet and discovered I was suffering intolerance (to dairy as
well as other food chemicals. Although other symptoms cleared up) there were a
few niggling things, particularly the blocked and running nose, always having
my sleeve or back pocket loaded with tissues, ready for the inevitable moment.
I had always suffered this morning and evening ritual of a running nose so
'just lived with it'. (Trying the diet again 3 years later) after a week of
full elimination, the runny nose persisted. I read and re-read through your
checklist of common mistakes and decided to try plain toothpaste which I never
did 3 years ago as my dietician at the time said, 'oh you don't have to give up
toothpaste if you don't want to - everything else though' and I never really
considered it could cause me such suffering.
Well well well. A truly amazing
change has occurred for me. No more nose blowing at breakfast time or when I'm
settling into bed at night. The tap has officially been turned off! (included on the Rhinitis factsheet because
rhinitis can contribute to snoring)
[216] "Had to walk out of the house" (October
2002)
My daughter is 3.5 years
old. Last year when she was 2 years old she had two nights where she only slept
for 2 hours, and was a flailing, intolerable child. I literally had to walk out
of the house, I was very close to losing it. I realised that this reaction was
likely caused by the 'party foods' she had eaten for the first time at a
playgroup Christmas party. I took her to the doctor, and was then referred to a
paediatrician, and then onto a child psychologist. The psychologist agreed that
her diet needed to be taken into account, as she was a very busy little girl,
who never stopped, and never slept much. But the sudden outburst of defiance
had me worried. He gave us practical advice, and we went on our way. Six months
ago, a friend gave me your book 'Fed Up'. During the first two weeks of the
elimination diet, our little devil turned into an angel … - by email
[150] “I have spent the better part of my adult life wanting
to sleep” (April 2002)
I have been an insomniac
since I was 16. From my mid 20s it has been a major issue in my life. I have
lived on approximately four hours sleep a day. I have spent thousands of
dollars in trying to find the answer. I have seen naturopaths, homeopaths,
medical doctors, Chinese herbalists, acupuncturists. I have been to a sleep
centre where they tried to teach me to sleep. I have tried every imaginable
trick to try to sleep. For three years, I stopped drinking or eating anything
with caffeine. I would drink warm milk before bed. I would take a run before
bed. I would read a book before bed. Have a bath before bed. You name it, I
have probably tried it. By the time I turned 30, I decided that I had to learn
to accept my insomnia - 'this is as good as it gets' sort of thing. In the worst
scenario I would read till all hours of the morning. Having said that, I had to
also accept the fact that I was tired most of the time.
I had my son at the age of
31. He was a colicky baby, a terrible sleeper. He also had heartburn at night,
which his paediatrician attributed to the fact that my son still breast fed at
night, up to the age of 25 months. I never understood the relationship between
breastfeeding at night and heartburn, so continued doing it. My main resource
and my inability to accept my paed's advice was due to my own travels to
primitive cultures, where I saw babies and toddlers breastfeeding constantly;
24/7 days a week and these babies were NOT colicky, did not suffer heartburn.
In fact, they seemed very happy, content, and rarely cried. When they did cry,
it was more of a whimper rather than the cries I hear in western society.
Being a 30 something Mum, I
also was fully aware of what sort of Mum I wanted to be. I had clear visions of
being a compassionate Mum; this entailed no spanking, no yelling, but rather
validating feelings, finding alternatives whereby both of us would be happy,
and in the worst scenario just accepting that my child and I would not always
agree, but I would still respect this difference rather than fight it. My son's
temperament, however, tested me to the core and I failed often in living my
maternal visions. Yes, I have yelled at my son, yes I have spanked him (to
date, three times - he is 2.5 years old and each time I think about it, I do
cringe with disappointment with the evidence of my weaknesses). My son, from an
early age was high need and wanted full on hands on care, was constantly on the
breast, slow to unwind, wanted in-your-face attention, constantly in my arms.
In a nutshell I found him draining, and highly strung. I remember when he was
only five months old, having this real desire just to throw him across the room
and the reality of my feelings shocked me to my core. I am by nature sensitive
to other people’s feelings, gentle, gracious, etc.
I took him to a sleep
centre, where the staff tried to teach me to help my son to fall asleep on his
own and all I kept thinking about was "seen this movie before". I
thought I was going insane; my son took two hours to unwind before he would
fall asleep and when he did, he would sleep only for one hour, waking up and
then would demand the breast to go to sleep again. After the sleep centre
experience with my son, I decided to go by my instincts; one thing I was sure
about was that I would never let my son cry it out, no matter what. Part of my
reasoning stemmed from 'what if he has the same problems as me? Maybe its
genetics?' another real reason for me was 'he must be waking up for some
reason?'...to my mind, it may be hard to fall asleep, but once asleep, a person
wakes up for a reason...so I decided that if my son woke up every hour, I would
just learn to live with that too and together we would get through it. I put up
with it literally till my son was 25 months old and by that stage, I am sure
the night nursing was more a habit rather than a real need, ie, whatever was
causing the night waking as an infant/baby, no longer existed by the time he
was a toddler.
He was a very active little
boy, who seemed too busy to sit for any period of time. His thoughts also were busy,
talking constantly without taking a breath. As a result, he always looked like
he was misbehaving because he seemed to have no physical self control, although
he was very gentle, loving and extremely aware of the needs of others. But
then, he would all of a sudden display vocal aggression, and physical
aggression, seeming to get pleasure in hurting. I could not understand this
Jekyll and Hyde personality.
Most people that I turned
to, either suggested more discipline, in the forms of spanking or severe
punishment. Others suggested that I was giving him too many sweets. Others
suggested that I train him at home, for instance sitting with him for ten
minutes today, then fifteen minutes tomorrow. Others suggested that my son and
I were too attached and he was playing on my weaknesses. Others implied that I
was not a consistent mother regarding discipline. But I saw my son for the
person he was. I had these real glimpses of his real personality. I thought
about taking him to a naturopath or a homeopath. I resisted though because my
real fear was that his behaviour would become an issue in our life like my
sleeping disorder became an issue in my life. Again, I turned to my own common
sense here and decided that I preferred to accept the package rather than fight
it all the time. Then I stumbled on your book at a health shop and bought it.
I have only read probably
one quarter of your book. But the next day I eliminated wheat, dairy and all
preservatives/additives. Within two days, the son that I only had glimpses of
suddenly emerged for a period of five consecutive days ... and I suddenly found
myself able to fall asleep in ten minutes. My son would still wake up, and I
would still respond in the same manner, but again, I would be able to fall
asleep without any problems. Day six was the day that I cried. I have spent the
better part of my adult life wanting to sleep and feeling tired. I have wasted
years of my youth thinking about sleep. I am at times angry and at times
relieved to just get out of the woods. I just can not believe that I no longer
have to describe myself as an insomniac.
My son now sleeps much
better, but I have realized only today that I think he is also salicylate
sensitive and probably so am I. Both of us, I realize now, demonstrate
aggression for unknown reasons. I can control that side of me because I am an
adult, but my son is more honest with himself and his world.
Today, my son was pushed
over the edge, so tomorrow, I am getting stricter with salicylate and amine
side of the challenges - but I feel good about it. I know where I am going now,
I have direction and that my undisciplined boy does not need more discipline.
In fact in the five days that he was his real self, I had absolutely no
problems. There was such harmony between us that my heart upon just writing
that, is swelling up ... more importantly, it has nothing to do with my
adequacies as a mother, or my son’s personality. It is all external to the
problem. This makes me feel more confident than ever ...
I wanted to tell you my story
and to thank you from the bottom of my heart. If only someone had told me at 16
what was causing my insomnia ... but then, I also know that my insomnia stopped
me from resorting to ignoring my son's cries and if I was not going to find the
motive of his behaviour and cries, I was just going to accept this boy as he
was ... for better or worse ...
I have learned one thing in
life and that is, that it is the worse situations that are character building
and through them I can choose the path I decide to tread ... I am just happy
that you wrote your book 'Fed up' and I am just happy that I chose to read it
... thanking you very very much ... - Ingrid, Melbourne
See abstracts for the
papers below in www.pubmed.com
1. Breakey J. The role of
diet and behaviour in childhood. J Paediatr Child Health 1997;33(3):190-4.
2. Dengate S, Ruben A.
Controlled trial of cumulative behavioural effects of a common bread
preservative. J Paediatr Child Health 2002;38(4):373-6.
3. Fitzsimon M, Holborow P,
Berry P, Latham S. Salicylate sensitivity in children reported to respond to
salicylate exclusion. Med J Aust 1978;2(12):570-2.
4. Kaplan BJ, McNicol J,
Conte RA, Moghadam HK. Dietary replacement in preschool-aged hyperactive boys.
Pediatrics 1989;83(1):7-17.
5. Loblay RH, Swain AR.
'Food intolerance'. In Wahlqvist ML, Truswell AS, Recent Advances in Clinical
Nutrition.
6. McCann D et al, Food
additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in
the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet.
2007 Nov 3;370(9598):1560-7. (This is the study that led to a ban on artificial
colours in the
7. Mikkelsen H et al,
Hypersensitivity reactions to food colours with special reference to the
natural colour annatto extract (butter colour), Arch Toxicol Suppl. 1978;(1):141-3.
8.
ARTIFICIAL COLOURS
102
tartrazine, 104 quinoline yellow, 110 sunset yellow, 122 azorubine, 123
amaranth, 124 ponceau red, 127 erythrosine, 129 allura red, 132 indigotine, 133
brilliant blue, 142 green S, 143 Fast Green FCF, 151 brilliant black, 155
chocolate brown
NATURAL COLOUR
160b
annatto
PRESERVATIVES
200-203 sorbates (in margarine,
dips, cakes, fruit products)
210-213 benzoates (in juices, soft drinks, cordials,
syrups)
220-228 sulphites (in dried fruit,
fruit drinks, sausages, and others)
280-283 propionates (in bread,
crumpets, bakery products)
249-252 nitrates, nitrites (in
processed meats like ham)
ANTIOXIDANTS - synthetic antioxidants in
vegetable oils and margarines
310-312 Gallates
319-320 TBHQ, BHA, BHT
FLAVOUR ENHANCERS
621
MSG (in tasty foods, fast foods,
snack foods)
627, 631, 635 disodium inosinate,
disodium guanylate, ribonucleotides (can be associated with itchy skin rashes)
HVP HPP hydrolysed/formulated
vegetable/soy/wheat/plant protein, yeast, yeast extract, broth
ADDED FLAVOURS
- there are thousands of artificial flavours which don’t have to be
identified by number because they are considered to be trade secrets. Flavours
may contain unlisted artificial colours and preservatives.
People have different
reactions to various food chemicals so any or all of the above food chemicals
can cause the problem.
I do recommend my book Fed
Up for a greater understanding of the chemicals in our food, the elimination
diet, support and helpful recipes.
If reducing your intake of
nasty additives doesn’t help, it may be worth doing a full elimination diet to
find the cause of the problem. You can email for our list of supportive
dietitians: confoodnet@ozemail.com.au
The information given is not intended as
medical advice. Always consult with your doctor for underlying illness. Before
beginning dietary investigation, consult a dietician with an interest in food intolerance.
You can find a supportive dietitian through the Dietitians Association of
© Sue Dengate update July 2009
