Here are some of the
interesting and frequently asked questions from the past few years concerning
the diet and the effects of food on health, behaviour and learning. There's a
wealth of useful information to be found by scrolling and reading. Don't forget
that you can search for symptoms, foods etc by using your browser search
function (usually Control+F). The latest questions are in Frequently asked
questions 3.
If you want a question
answered, please email me on sdengate@ozemail.com.au. My mailing address is
(September 2003)
Q: Has anyone tried
failsafe for Lupus?
A: Yes, the Illawarra failsafe group
reports great success with both Lupus and arthritis. More details from Bernard:
btrudget@ozemail.com.au.
Q: I read about
Lactobacillus GG, probiotics and Vaalia yoghurt in your book 'Fed Up with
Asthma'. Are you aware that Vaalia yogurt contains natural colour 160b?
A: You should be able to get Vaalia
natural yoghurt which is colour-free. It is only the vanilla and
fruit-flavoured Vaalia yoghurts which contain 160b. Please let me know if your
Woolworths supermarket refuses to stock Vaalia natural (give the location of
the supermarket).
Q: Sometimes I have this
uneasy feeling when I breathe, it is as if I am on a plane flying at 40 000
feet and having that dry feeling in your throat and eyes. I keep thinking that
it must be something that I eat or drink. I have had it after a fruitcake and
also from raisin bread. My daughter avoids cask wine for the same reason.
A: For breathing problems within 15
minutes of food or drink, suspect sulphites (220-228). Raisins and dried fruit
such as cherries and artificial cherries in fruit cakes etc may contain
sulphites. Wine is the other most common source of sulphites. Asthmatics who
see an occasional reaction to sulphited foods are probably affected more than
they realise.
Q: I came across the new
Cottees Lemonade the supermarket today, and was wondering if it is failsafe?
The ingredients are carbonated water, sugar, food acid 330, natural flavour.
A: These ingredients are the same as
in 7UP and Schweppes lemonade. The natural flavour is lemon juice, which
contains both salicylates and amines. For the elimination diet, the RPA
recommended limit is 150 mls per week (less than one glass). In my experience,
most parents give more than that and then complain that their children react.
Best to save it for treats such as birthday parties.
Q: We live on a farm in
WA and I am planning for the whole family to do the Elimination Diet. I am
determined to persevere this time, nearly 5 years after our first attempt. I
think the best way for me to ensure we stick at it is to do a thorough menu
plan, including lunch boxes and snacks; to do a big shop in Perth for food and non
food items; discuss incentives and rewards before commencing; clear my diary of
all unnecessary time-consuming, stress-inducing appointments, meetings etc;
advise the school and other relevant people; keep a food and behaviour diary;
communicate frequently with the dietitian. Have I missed anything? Is Amway
still OK for washing clothes and Imperial Leather for personal soap? (I see
toothpaste is available by mail order). We buy our meat in bulk (about every 3
months). Our butcher cooks a chook for me on the rotisserie without anything
added. I use the white meat only (no skin) for the children's lunches. Is this
OK?
A: It all sounds good except the meat.
Meat should be cooked the day you buy it or frozen and used within 4 weeks. If
you pass your amine challenge you can go back to buying in bulk every three
months.
Q: A few months ago, I
developed a cough and tight chest which got worse and now I have been diagnosed
with asthma for the first time in my life (I am 35). I am on a weight loss diet
and have been snacking every day on a mixture of dried fruit and nuts. I saw
your factsheet about asthma and muesli bars. Could dried fruit cause chronic
asthma?
A: Dried fruit such as apples,
apricots and coconut contain sulphur dioxide (220 also called sulphites). Sulphites
are strongly associated with asthma. It is possible for some people to develop
chronic steroid-dependent asthma simply by eating dried fruit in muesli bars or
trail mix nearly every day. If cutting out the trail mix doesn't help, you may
need to investigate the effects of other food chemicals including salicylates
(more details in Fed Up with Asthma).
Q: Is there a failsafe
lipbalm?
A: I haven't found one yet. I use
vaseline. Any suggestions from readers?
Q: My problem has been a
severe burning sensation on my face, especially temples and nose, on and off
for the past year. I have recently started the failsafe diet and on the
salicylate challenge my skin became so painful and my face was swollen, that I
had to use liberal amounts of cortisone cream. I work in a shoe shop and have
always had a bad reaction while at work. As soon as I leave work I have no
discomfort. This happened on the challenge, but the reaction was only on that
day that I worked. I have not had such a bad reaction since, but even this
week, there was a slight tingling on my skin, but only while I was at work.
Could my reaction be coming from something at work?
A: Exposure to toxic chemicals (such
as the glues and solvents used in shoe manufacture) can sensitize you to other
chemicals including food chemicals. You can identify occupational exposure
because of the timing: your symptoms will occur at work, (or for asthma, more
often on work nights) and stop during holidays. If you continue to be exposed
at work, eventually your symptoms will become irreversible. The best cure is to
change your job. Easy to say, hard to do, but you run the risk of becoming far
more sensitive if you don't. See the Fumes and Perfumes factsheet on the
website and the section on occupational exposure in Fed Up with Asthma.
Q: I have been reading
some information about a new milk product called A2 milk that will soon be
available in
A: If you can tolerate cows or goats
milk, A2 (it's a form of milk protein called beta-casein) will be suitable for
you. Most milk in the world is A2 milk - Asian and African cows milk, goats
milk, yak milk etc. Most milk in Western countries is not A2, except for
occasional breeds such as
Q: Are there any
failsafe worm tablets?
A: None of the standard pharmaceutical
treatments are failsafe but one reader's pharmacist recommended large doses of
garlic - three cloves a day, with the garlic in the biggest chunks the child can
swallow, to allow pieces of garlic to actually get right through the intestines
(Nuttelex on the lumps makes it easier to get down) plus four odourless garlic
tablets a day, plus a multivitamin supplement (we recommend Macro M or Amcal).
He also recommended no sugar for a week although you can have permitted fruit.
Q: I am 5.5 months
pregnant and have had chronic insomnia since being pregnant. I have gone to a
sleep clinic and am beginning to think that my insomnia is closing related to
MSG. I have been keeping a sleep diary and it appears that on the nights after
I go out for lunch or dinner I may not sleep at all or only get a few hours
sleep. Just recently I bought Woolies BBQ chicken not realising this would
contain MSG, both nights after these chickens I did not sleep at all. Ever
since becoming pregnant I have been going out to lunches an awful lot, so I can
look back and say 'yes 3 times a week, no sleep, yes could MSG be the problem
here?' Do you know of anyone else that has insomnia from MSG? I find I am
thirsty, have nightmares, have developed a rash on my calves and do not fall
asleep. It is very hard to find out which restaurant foods may contain MSG. Do
you have a list?
A: Other people are affected by MSG
too, see Reader's story 'Bad insomnia caused by MSG and preservatives'. For
detailed information about how to avoid MSG, see pages 193-196 in Fed Up with
Asthma. Since you developed a rash after eating Woolies chicken, I would also
suspect ribonucleotides (flavour enhancers 635, 627 and 631). If avoiding MSG
and ribonucleotides doesn't stop your insomnia, you may want to try the
failsafe diet to see if other food chemicals are contributing to your problem.
Q: Are Neways products
failsafe?
A: You will have to judge each product
individually. The Radiance toothpaste without peppermint oil (there are two
Radiance toothpastes) is OK without the mouthwash. The only other products I
have tried (shampoos and conditioner) are not failsafe because they contained
very high salicylates in ingredients such as tangelo oil, despite the
'fragrance free' label. I normally use Palmolive Naturals shampoo and
conditioner for normal hair, available from supermarkets. They are not 100%
failsafe but I can tolerate them, unlike the Neways products. Dermaveen shampoo
and conditioner from pharmacies are 100% failsafe.
Q: My baby is 4 1/2
months old. He's never been a great sleeper and since I started him on solids
three weeks ago at least one breastfeed a day is a nightmare - he will drink
for a minute or two then pull off and scream and arch his back. People told us he
would be more settled on solids! I've given him potato, sweet potato, pumpkin,
apple and avocado and I can't say I've noticed any of these really affecting
him. Can you suggest what foods I should be giving him?
A: Some babies are more sensitive than
others. You won't always see an immediate reaction but effects build up. Apple
and especially avocado are not great for babies with food intolerance because
they are high in natural chemicals called salicylates. Homemade baby rice
cereal (cooked and blended rice) is generally very safe and you could try
potatoes and baby pear. Bananas are good unless your baby reacts to natural
food chemicals called amines. If you are breastfeeding you may have to change
your own diet too. There are more details in The Failsafe Cookbook, or you
could see a dietitian.
(June 2003)
Q. I had two sips from a
bottle of the new Pepsi Blue and within 30-40 seconds I became violently ill. I
was taken to hospital and it took me approximately ten days to recover fully.
A. Pepsi Blue contains two
artificial colours, Allura red 129 and Brilliant Blue (133, Blue #1). Except
for ribonucleotides (flavour enhancer 635), it is very unusual to experience a
ten day reaction to food additives, but we have once before received a report
of a dramatic ten-day reaction to Brilliant Blue.
Q. We have been doing to
the diet now for 2.5 weeks and we are really struggling. My daughter's behaviour
seems to a be a little worse than before, crying, pains in tummy, tantrums,
irritable, and my son is very grumpy. I have read stories/frequently asked
questions and I may be feeding them too many LCM's ( only 1 per day). I have
just discovered that Helgas ( which we have been living on) is not failsafe! …
I'm now off to Brumbys.
A. The diet will not work
if you make mistakes. Read the Checklist of Common Mistakes on the website. I
don't recommend any LCMs until your children have already turned into angels,
and even then, be careful. Many children can't manage them. If they set up a
craving, avoid them. It is also essential to get your bread right.
Q. We have definitely
seen an improvement overall in my son at school since going failsafe, but not a
total elimination of all behavior issues, just more tolerable - so it may mean
we haven't gotten it all yet. How much vanilla is too much? My children have
vanilla in cookies, vanilla flavoured soy milk and icecream.
A. Vanilla is supposed to
be limited to 2 drops per day, but if the diet isn't working 100 per cent for
you, try cutting it all out for a few weeks, and especially the vanilla
flavoured soydrink.
Q. Mannateck Phytobears
changed my daughter into a squealy, unsociable little two year old. What's in them?
A. Phytobears are very high
in salicylates and/or amines (in broccoli, cauliflower, kale, tomato, turnip,
onion, carrot, papaya, pineapple, ambrotose, aloe barbadensis, larix decidua,
astragalus gummifer, anogeissue latifolia) and also contain annatto 160b
natural colour, the only natural colour which affects some kids as badly as
artificial colours although it is often a next day grumpy reaction. A few
people have reported that their children improve on phytobears - they must be
kids who don’t react to salicylates, amines or annatto.
Q. Are you able to help
me with ideas on how to change school lunch order choices? My daughter's school
has a terrible list (party pies and choc donuts).
A. See the website for the
School Tuckshop Factsheet. People say it is very helpful.
(April 2003)
Q. My son is 4 years old
and he has been diagnosed with borderline ADHD and the children's doctor has
recommended I take him off all preservatives and colours. I am wondering if
there is a list of what preservatives are the best to avoid?
A. It is good to hear that doctors are
now recommending avoidance of food additives. However, children with ADHD are
equally likely to be affected by natural food chemicals called salicylates. It
would have been more helpful for your doctor to refer you to a failsafe-friendly
dietitian for a 3-week trial of the elimination diet (a list of
failsafe-friendly dietitians is available, ask us).
Q. My butcher is going
to try and make bacon or corned beef without nitrates. Its all too complicated
for me but am happy to let him try BUT he needs to know if he can use
saltpetre. Have you ever heard of this? He said this is what butchers would
have used before nitrates. He wonders if it is nitrates under an old fashioned
name.
A. Saltpetre is an alternative name
for potassium nitrate and
(February 2003)
Q. The front page of
your website lists frequent nose bleeds as an FI symptom. Under what conditions
do these nose bleeds occur and what foods seem to be implicated? My wife gets
unexplained nosebleeds fairly often. Her doctor can find nothing as a cause.
A. In my experience, dairy foods are a
big contributor, but everyone is different so you would have to consider the
usual suspects (additives, salicylates etc).
Q. How can I eat well and
stay sane at the same time? I would like to lose a bit of the weight that I
have put on in the last 12 months and altogether I need to lose about 8 kgs.
A. See the new factsheet on the
website, Failsafe Weight Loss, I've tried it and it works.
Q. Our pediatrician
recommended Fergon elixir iron supplement. I was wondering if my daughter can
take this while on the elimination diet? This supplement contains Glucose
liquid, Ethanol and Saccharin Sodium.
A. You can't trust labels on
pharmaceutical products, because they don't have to declare all additives. Here
are the actual contents of Fergon, as listed on the CMI (Consumer Medication
Information sheet), available in the packet or at www.myDr.com.au :
Active Ingredient: Ferrous
Gluconate 300mg in 5mL
Other Ingredients: Glucose
Liquid, Glycerol, Ethanol (alcohol), Saccharin Sodium, Gluconolactone, Apricot
Superarome, Water - Purified
The strong apricot flavour
('super-aroma') is not failsafe. All strong fruit flavours are very high in
salicylates.
For more details, see the
new Supplements factsheet on the website.
Q. In the last 2 or 3
months, my stomach has been almost continuously bloated. On occasions the
amount of gas in my stomach is so extreme that I have to force myself to burp
to relieve the pressure in my stomach. I doubt that my diet is a problem as my
wife and I eat low fat and very healthy. I am an otherwise healthy 31 year old non
smoker and very mild drinker. However, I have recently begun chewing 'x.cite'
chewing gum several times a day, ingredients: maltitol, gum base, flavour,
thickener 414, emulsifier (322, from soy), colour 171, sweeteners (951, 950),
glazing agent 903, antioxidant 320. Do you think that the gum may be the reason
for my problem?
A. Maltitol can cause the problems you
mention. Sugar alcohols including maltitol, sorbitol (420), mannitol (421),
xylitol (967), glycerin (422) and hydrogenated glucose syrup (965) are used in
'sugar-free' chewing gum and candies and in low joule or carbohydrate modified
food including icecreams and jams. Although sugar alcohols are chemically
related to sugars, they are not as sweet, don't cause tooth decay and are
poorly absorbed into the blood stream. This poor absorption means they can work
their way through the digestive tract, causing bloating, abdominal pain and
severe diarrhoea. The FDA requires a warning about 'laxative effects' on foods
containing more than 50 grams. The trouble is, consumers are affected by a lot
less than that. In 1999, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org) petitioned the FDA to require
foods containing more than one gram or more to bear a label stating: 'This
product contains sorbitol (or whatever) which may cause diarrhoea, bloating and
abdominal pain…'. No response from the FDA so far.
Q. Thanks for your
website. I was excited to see your section on "Additives around the
world" listed but sorry not to see a section about
A. I didn't write much about
Q. I notice that you
don't include Helga's in your list of preservative free breads, however
according to the label it contains only emulsifiers - is there something else
in there?
A. Helga's bread usually contains
either vinegar (which is not failsafe) or extras such as linseed and corn which
are not failsafe. If you only have to avoid propionates it is OK.
Q. My 5 yr old son has
Williams Syndrome. What I have read on your web page sounds like my son since
birth. He has a learning disability but we have also experienced behavioral,
sleeping and feeding problems and he never relaxes even while watching TV. Does
the diet work for this syndrome?
A. It is possible to have food
intolerance by itself or in association with a number of conditions. If your
child's behaviour is related to food intolerance, then the failsafe diet will
help. There are failsafe families using the diet successfully for children with
Fragile X Syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Porphyria and Down Syndrome as well
as ADHD, PDD (pervasive developmental disorder), learning disabilities, autism,
ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) and CD (both conduct disorder and coeliac
disease). The diet will take care of the food-related symptoms but you may need
other inventions such as behaviour management, special education, speech or
motor-sensory programs. Parents usually find that other interventions are much
more effective once the diet has kicked in. See Factsheet - FI and Behaviour.
Q. Can you please give
us more info on the asthma meds. Our son is on maximum dosage, what are the
alternatives???????????
A. You might like to look at what he
eats - see my new book "Fed Up with Asthma".
Q. My daughter is
allergic to sulphites, and we have had some very scary and life threatening
moments. She is being treated at the allergy clinic but I can't seem to find
any detailed information on sulphites.
A. See sulphite list in the asthma
feature on the website, and the "how to avoid sulphites" section in
my book Fed Up with Asthma.
(September 2002)
Q. My failsafe son has a
very bad cold at the moment and I can't seem to find any thing to help ease his
symptoms - do you have any recommendations?
A. See the Failsafe Cookbook page 174
for home remedies. Basically, drink lots of fluids - warm magic cordial is
excellent - and squirt warm salty water up the nose to unblock. Avoid coloured
or preserved syrups and medications. You might like to try white Panadol
tablets for pain, Bisolvon white tablets - not elixir - to dissolve mucous and
another failsafe possibility is Claratyne white antihistamine tablets, which
will dry everything up.
Q. My question is about
annatto colour (160b). We get vegetarian sausages (have been vegetarian since
birth) from Sanitarium which have annatto and carrageenan (both listed as
"natural" additives) in them. When I phoned Sanitarium they said they
weren't aware of any negative reactions with either and were, therefore, not
prepared to substitute them for something considered safer. I was wondering
what annatto is and what reactions to annatto have been reported.
A. Annatto is a yellow colour made
from the seed coat of a tropical tree. It is one of 50 additives identified by
researchers at
Q. I have a autistic and
hyperactive son with a lot of challenging behavior. I have read about your
research on the internet. When I went to the bakery to buy bread, I was told
that it has no 282 but it does have another preservative, is it alright to give
my son?
A. Bread preservative 282 is not the
only food chemical which can cause behaviour problems but for many families it
is one of the worst. You can try bread without 282. If your son still has
problems, I suggest you read my books Fed Up or the Failsafe Cookbook.
Q. I recently purchased some rice pasta from Freedom Foods. It has Inulin
(dietary fibre ) in the ingredients. Do you know what this is derived from? Is
it safe?
A. Inulin is a starch derived from
the root of a lily. It is highly refined, like cornflour, and thus failsafe, we
would have thought. However, there has been one possible adverse reaction
reported from a very sensitive member of the network.
Q. Can you recommend a
non-toxic way of sealing a timber floor?
A. Bio Paints do natural organic
varnishes as well as paints, freecall 1800 809 448 for information and free
coloured brochure. Try also Berger "Breathe Easy" brand.
Q. My doctor says that
if my son's behaviour can be controlled by diet, it's not ADHD.
A. Your doctor's information is out
of date. He needs to read "Diet, ADHD and behaviour: a quarter-century
review" by the highly regarded and unbiased (that is, not industry-funded)
Centre for Science in the Public Interest. You can download the 40-page report
from their website (www.cspinet.org) or see my website for a summary.
Q. Can you tell me if
tonic water and soda water are OK? (ie: gin and tonic, scotch and soda) and if
these alcohol mixes should be limited (from a chemical rather than an alcohol
point of view)?
A. Soda water should be OK, tonic
water varies. Schweppes is preservative-free, Kirklands is not and don't drink
tonic water on tap. Purely from a food chemical point of view, gin and
preservative-free tonic and scotch and soda are unlimited …
Q. I was so impressed by
the change in my son's behaviour just by going failsafe that I would like to
lobby the school where he attends to change the foods sold from the canteen. I
am really dedicated to making these changes as I believe that even by changing
the breads used you can make a huge difference to kids' behaviour. What is your
opinion of how to approach the committee?
A. You might like to print out the
tuckshop factsheet on the website. It includes: CSPI recommendations that
schools should minimise their use of behaviourally harmful additives; a story
about a school that achieved great success by banning additives; and a
suggested low additive tuckshop list with some failsafe options. A ban on
colours, MSG and the bread preservative is achievable and worthwhile.
Q. Are there any
failsafe moisturisers?
A. Look for products without perfume.
Sorbolene is the product best tolerated by very sensitive people. See also the
Q.V. range by Ego Pharmaceuticals, and the Dermaveen range by Dermatech.
Q. Isn't canola oil
dangerous?
A. This might be an urban legend
running wild on the internet. See http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/canola.html
Q. What is your personal
opinion of medication for ADHD?
A. I agree with the CSPI report (see www.cspinet.org): parents should be warned of the
adverse effects of medication, offered the option of diet, and use medication
as a last resort rather than the first and often only option.
Q. I've been doing the
failsafe diet with my son for two weeks. Already he seems to be less angry and
has more self control. Two days ago he had king prawns for tea and today he
seems more uptight again. What is it in prawns that that causes this reaction?
A. Prawns - and most seafood - are high
in amines. The only exceptions are very fresh white fleshed fish (not tuna or
salmon) and white fleshed seafood, eg fresh crab, lobster, calamari, scallops
and oysters. Caviar is very high in amines.
Q. Is sake failsafe?
A. Sake is low in salicylates but
contains amines.
Q. What's the colour
that makes some egg yolks much darker than others? My son seems to react to
them.
A. I am waiting for a reply from the
Australian egg industry. In
Q. My son refuses to
have any vegetables.
A. Have you tried vegetable soup? I
started with just potato, cabbage and salt blended well so you couldn't tell
what was in it, no lumps. My kids only had to lick the tiniest amount off one
teaspoon (just touch it with their tongue) the first night to get a reward - a
small toy. The next night they had to have more (lick a small amount off the
teaspoon) to get another small toy. The next night it was twice as much and so
on. By the end of two weeks they would eat a mug of vegetable soup. Then we cut
out the rewards and established the most important rule of the house - no
dinner until soup is eaten. Since then they have eaten vegetable soup nearly
every night of their lives. My 19 yo daughter has been living away from home
for a year now. She cooks failsafe vegetable soup once a week, freezes it in
one serve portions and has a cup every night. My 16 yo eats a huge serving of
soup every day. I can put any failsafe vegetable in the soup including Brussels
sprouts, lentils and dried beans and he will eat it without complaint.
Q. Which book of yours
should I buy?
A. My books are all different and they
are all worth reading. Failsafers tell me that The Failsafe Cookbook is the
best one to start on because it is so clear and easy to follow.
Q. We live in
A. I haven't seen Tate and Lyle golden
syrup for years, but Rebecca used to react to it. It must contain salicylates.
It tastes better than CSR, and the rule is "if you like it, you can't have
it". Stick with CSR golden syrup or see the FS Cookbook page 161, for mock
maple syrup. You can use that instead but omit the vanilla if your child hasn't
turned into an angel yet.
Q. We'd like to break
the diet occasionally but not too much. Can you recommend some not-too-bad
treats?
A. Everyone is different. It depends
what affects you the worst. You have to work it out for yourself. We always
avoid additives. Dairy foods are the least of my problems but amines (and
salicylates) are bad so a treat for me is a chocolate covered icecream like an
eskimo pie. I can manage the occasional slice of rockmelon or watermelon but a
whole serve of commercial fruit salad isn't worth the consequences. My daughter
can manage some dairy foods, has to be even more careful of salicylates but can
manage amines. She sticks to her diet strictly for weeks before important
occasions (like exams and performances) then will have a treat like a Sara Lee
Chocolate Pudding, Chocolate Bavarian, caramel top n fill on icecream, or
Paul's custard (with 169a). She also likes to have a few Dick Smith's
shortbread cream biscuits every so often, but she doesn't eat sweets like
Werther's original butter candy, Fantales or Pascall's Chocolate Eclairs
because they set up a craving. However, my son and I can eat these as
occasional treats. Some failsavfers recommend Fads (used to be Fags, imitation
cigarettes) and Chuppa Chups cola flavoured - as once a month treats.
Q. Is white chocolate
failsafe?
A. White chocolate does not contain
any cocoa product, so it won't contain amines to the same extent as brown
chocolate. RPA cautiously restrict the amount allowed as they're not sure and
the milk itself (because it's 'aged') will probably contain amines. "Flavours"
in both white and brown chocolate can be a problem.
Q. Is Sanitarium Organics Simply Soy milk
safe or is it too high in salicylates as it contains raw cane sugar?? The
ingredients are "Organic whole soy beans, organic raw cane sugar, food
acid 332, mineral (calcium phosphate), filtered water added".
A. Not failsafe, sorry. Raw sugar is
moderate in salicylates which is definitely not OK if you are drinking it
constantly. The fresh Sanitarium So Good with linseed is not failsafe either.
The UHT version is failsafe.
Q. On the weekend I gave my 10 yo son a
Hungry Jack's strawberry thickshake and fries and within an hour he was
extremely rude (threw money at me at the shopping centre because I would not
buy him an iced donut). This behaviour happened a few weeks ago after the same
food so obviously he won't be getting that again. I wondered if you knew of
major problems with these foods?
A. I couldn't find a Hungry Jack's
ingredient list on the internet but because he reacted so quickly, your son's
reaction is most likely due to artificial colouring in the milkshake. It could
be any of the red colours 122, 123, 124, 127 or 129 and possibly some
tartrazine as well (102). You might like to reply to the petition above! Also
possible is an antioxidant from the range 310-312 or 319-320 in the fries, but
these usually cause irritability the next day.
Q. What is it about
Weetbix that affects children?
A. I wish I knew. I used to think it
was salicylates in the raw sugar, but my daughter reacts even worse to
VitaBrits which are sugar free. RPA suggested it could be the wholegrain wheat.
A few people report that LiteBix are better.
Q. When our son went to
university, he started eating several packets of Burger Rings a day and
drinking lots of Diet Coke. He developed a facial tic and failed all subjects.
We've never had those kinds of foods at home. Could they have anything to do
with his problems?
A. Burger Rings contain the following
unsafe additives: colours (102,110,155), antioxidant (319) and MSG (621). Diet
Coke contains preservative (211) and artificial sweetener (951). All of the
additives above have been associated with adverse reactions by RPA except 951
which has not been tested but is not recommended. Common reactions to food
additives include restlessness and inattention which can obviously result in
student failure. Tics are less common reactions to food chemicals.
Q. I've just spent more
than $200 on a psychiatrist. I told him my son had gone ballistic after eating
Chinese takeaway (we ate the meal one day and the leftovers the next day). He
told me there was no evidence that food affects children's behaviour, and
mentioned a study at the
A. Your psychiatrist was referring a
study which tested only food colouring and found that parents could not
distinguish the effects of colours from placebo. Excluding food additives alone
is not helpful for the majority of ADHD children, so challenges must be carried
out during a comprehensive elimination diet. There are many highly successful
studies, including two at
Q. I'd like to write a
book about my experiences. Can you give me any hints?
A. Writing is time-consuming and
poorly paid. The Australian Society of Authors (www.asauthors.org) calculate
that authors are paid less per hour than any other occupational group including
fruit-pickers. I would have made more from one year of teaching than from 2
best-selling books over 8 years. Publishing houses pocket 90% of the RRP, so
the author gets about $2 for a $20 book. You keep a lot more of the profit if
you self-publish, but the publishing houses get bigger distribution so spread
the word much better. Only about 1% of manuscripts submitted to publishers are
accepted. See the Writers and Artists Yearbook in your library for information
about publishers.
Q. What's in Coke? I'm
addicted to it and I'm sure it's bad for me.
A. Most people blame caffeine, which
is a drug and does cause addiction. The definition of addiction is doing
something that makes you feel good until it makes you feel bad. Caffeine can
cause anxiety, jitters and agitation. Some people are more sensitive than
others. Diet Coke contains aspartame artificial sweetener (951) which is very
addictive for some people. It also contains sodium benzoate preservative (211),
one of the worst preservatives. People who drink a lot - sometimes one can/hour
or up to 7 litres a day - are exposed to very high doses. Coca-cola is free of
aspartame and preservatives but the flavours include essential oils of lemon,
orange, nutmeg and cinnamon, so it is high in salicylates (about the same
salicylates as a glass of juice), especially in large quantities. If you want
to support the Coca-Cola company, buy Mt Franklin spring water. Use soda bicarb
to overcome cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Q. What exactly are
those kids eating on the cover of the Failsafe Cookbook?
A. It was a ham and tomato roll - not
failsafe, but it's a great photo. So I asked the graphic artist to make the ham
look like chicken and the tomato look like beetroot which is moderate in
salicylates. I would prefer the lettuce to be iceberg but you can't have
everything.
Q. Where is the evidence
that whey powder is a natural form of calcium propionate (282)?
A. Bonita Glatz, professor of food
science at
Q. Help. Where do I
start?
A. This is definitely the most
frequently asked question. Write down everything your child normally eats in a
day. Now check whether they are failsafe by going the list of failsafe foods
(in the booklet from your dietitian, also page 206 Fed Up, page 195 FS Cookbook)
or the recipes. If not, write down a substitute for each food. For example,
breakfast: Nutrigrain. Not failsafe. Use Rice Bubbles or rolled oats instead.
Raw sugar. Not failsafe. Use white sugar instead. Milk. Decide whether you will
include milk or not (eg if frequent ear infections, switch to Vitasoy
Calciplus). Toast. Read label on bread and switch to preservative-free bread.
Margarine. Read label and switch to Nuttelex. Vegemite. Not failsafe. Switch to
golden syrup, pear jam, or Nuttelex with sprinkle of salt. Eggs. Failsafe.
Pancakes. Failsafe. Read label on maple syrup and switch to pure. Vitamins.
Throw out chewable child tablets and switch to Macro M or Amcal One-a-Day.
Morning tea. Fruit. Not failsafe. Switch to peeled ripe soft and juicy pear, or
read through snack suggestions in the recipe section and choose something your
child will like. Eg. Saltine crackers with nuttelex, or Margie's lunchbox
muffins … and so on. If you have the FS Cookbook, read "How to Start"
on page 18 and the Checklist of Common Mistakes on page 207 (or on the
website). Any questions, join the discussion group, phone your local contact,
or email me for support.
Q. Help! Where do I
start?
A. Thanks to a reader for this answer:
"I think the biggest hurdle is that first shopping trip. I picked out
several recipes I wanted to try, and carefully reviewed the list of acceptable
foods. I made sure I put all the ingredients I needed for the recipes on my
shopping list, along with acceptable foods, including goodies like chips,
pretzels and ice cream. At the supermarket it did take a long time to find all
the new things I was buying, but when I got home, I had a kitchen full of
failsafe products and all the ingredients I needed for some failsafe recipes.
Having all those things in the house made following the diet a lot easier. I'm
such an organizational freak that I have my shopping list on the computer. I
print out copies and post them on the refrigerator; then I check off the things
I need as they run out. On the back, I print out the additives to avoid, so I
always have it with my shopping list when I'm shopping."
Q. We have just done the
amine challenge with our children. My three-year-old daughter reacted but my
son actually improved. How can this be?
A. It is not unusual for
non-responders to improve during challenges. There can be three reasons for
this: 1) normal improvement over time. Improvements on this diet will continue
for about 9 months if the diet isn't broken eg by challenges 2) Challenge foods
such as bananas and chocolate have replaced small "treats" or
mistakes with problems such artificial flavours. 3) Avoidance of a staple which
has been causing problems, eg a boy who improved dramatically during the dairy
challenge because he had been reacting to soymilk.
Q. I have a child - not
diagnosed - with some behavioural problems. Currently I am working with his
doctor using behaviour management and his teacher using diet to try to tone
down or eliminate the behaviour problems. Any tips or dietary recommendations
would be appreciated.
A. I presume your son's teacher has
noticed the effects of foods on your son sometimes. Artificial food colours
generally cause the most obvious problems. However, if your son reacts to
colours, then he probably also reacts to a wide range of other food chemicals
with effects which are more subtle, delayed and difficult to identify. I would
immediately remove the bread preservative calcium propionate (282) from his
diet (you also have to avoid whey powder, which is a natural source of this
additive). Brumbys bread is safe if there is one near you and I believe
Sunicrust makes preservative-free bread. Have you heard of salicylates? If not,
I suggest you read my book "Fed Up", available in most libraries and
bookshops, and in particular, have a good look at chapter eight, "What's
wrong with fruit and other healthy foods?" Salicylates are natural
chemicals in most fruit and some vegetables, which can cause behaviour problems
in about 75% of children with irritability, restlessness, inattention or
difficulty falling asleep. Hard to believe but true, as this mother reports:
"Since purchasing your book "Fed Up" and reading through it last
week I immediately cut back my 5 yo daughter's intake of fruit to approximately
one quarter of what she would normally have. By the weekend we already saw huge
changes in our girl. Her behaviour was more evened out (not so many HUGE highs
and lows) and just more sensible, obliging, less aggressive and defiant - just
a much more pleasant girl altogether."
Q. How am I going to do
the amine challenge? I'm sure my kids won't eat dark chocolate.
A. Buy some Nestle dark chocolate Choc
Bits in your supermarket baking section. I will be very surprised if your kids
don't eat those. They need to eat about 60 grams a day. You can make the
lunchbox choc chip muffins, Fed Up page 230, as a loaf (put in extra choc chips
and bake for one hour) and slather it with a thick layer of chocolate icing,
using pure cocoa powder and pure icing sugar. With challenges it is terribly
important to eat enough, right from the start. If you don't use chocolate the
results are likely to be confusing. As well as chocolate, eat at least 2 ripe
bananas a day. Bananas go well in milk or soyshakes or frozen on a stick and
dipped in homemade chocolate sauce, or in banana cake. Don't forget you can
also eat tinned fish like tuna in springwater, lots of gravy with roasts and
pawpaw, which also goes well in milkshakes. Reactions are often delayed, day 3
or later. Stop as soon as you see a reaction. If you are not totally sure because
of other factors like bullying, wait for three good days and start again.
Q. Shallots in WA shops
are small brown onions which look like pickling onions from the outside but
inside are pinky white- are these ok ?
A. The shallots we mean are like thin
leeks, green at the top and white at the bottom but with no onion-like bulb. In
the
Q. My 5 yo son has been
invited to a birthday party at Macdonalds. What do you recommend?
A. You might like to try this reader's
approach: "My son is in kindergarten and has been invited to three
Macdonalds parties this year. At the first one he ate everything and it
resulted in hyperactive behaviour and tantrums. For the next two he ate only
the chicken nuggets, chips and drank water. I supply the lollybag, and tell him
not to eat the icecream cake - which seems fine with him. We haven't had a
problem with this." Some children will react the next day to the
antioxidants in the oil. Minimise the amount he eats by feeding him just before
he arrives. Then what he will eat most of is your approved lollybag, and he
will be happy about going to parties.
Q. I am curious as to
what kind of behaviour a 2 1/2-year-old child might exhibit due to an
intolerance to some foods?
A. The most common behavioural effects
of food chemicals are, in this order, irritability (touchy, easily annoyed,
short fuse), restlessness, inattention and sleep disturbance (difficulty
settling to sleep or frequent night waking). Quoting from the 1994 study by
Rowe and Rowe (see references on website): "The younger children (aged 2
to 6) had constant crying, tantrums, irritability, restlessness and severe sleep
disturbance, and were described as "disruptive", "high as a
kite", and "out of control". Their parents were exhausted
through lack of sleep and the demands of their children who were unable to be
comforted or controlled." Children are not necessarily hyperactive, as you
can see this story from a reader in
Q. I was reading through
your list of common mistakes and was shocked by "confrontational
parenting/teaching". This I'm afraid may well be me and at present, my
son's teacher. I thought we were doing so well with the diet, he seemed to be
much better at home however, his mid year report showed a worsening in
behaviour and the comments were fairly destructive. What exactly is
confrontational parenting/teaching ? I feel I am missing something and this may
be it.
A. When children are oppositional and
defiant, a negative, angry cycle of arguments, screaming, prohibitions,
criticism and punishments can become almost the only way in which parents or
teacher and child relate. They bring out the worst in each other. The key rules
of managing oppositional behaviour are to remain calm, to avoid conflict and
confrontation, to avoid backing children into a corner and to emphasise rewards
and positivity. Parents or teachers may need advice on how to break the cycle by
finding areas of common interest (for example, a father may invite his son to
go fishing with him and discover his son enjoys it.) This can provide a warm
and enjoyable experience shared by both as a basis for change. This is much
easier to do once diet has been implemented successfully, but you still have to
take the steps to reverse the cycle. An authoritarian teacher who seems to be
"picking on" your child can ruin the effects of the diet at school.
Sometimes a change of teacher or school is required. You can read more about
this topic in "Different Kids" especially p224 (point 2), and the
following articles on the website under Order in the House: Self esteem
(article about teachers), issue 14, front page; A calm approach to oppositional
teenagers, issue 17, front page; and Oppositional Defiance, further down in
issue 17. For children under 13 it is also worth watching the video
"1,2,3-Magic" (you can borrow it from the LD Coalition, phone 02 9540
3300). For older primary and teenagers, the Lavoie video "When the Chips
are Down" is excellent.
Q. I tried phoning a
dietitian but she told me she didn't really like to do elimination diets. I was
wondering what to do next?
A. Where do you live? We may be able to
recommend a sympathetic dietitian for you. Or you can phone all the private
dietitians in your phone book plus the hospital dietitians to see if there is
anyone who will supervise the
Q. I find it difficult
when we are out somewhere and the kids start the "I'm hungry, Mum"
whine! What can they have if we are at the movies or out shopping for instance?
A. Some suggestions for movies: buy
spring water or soda water and take your own food - Pascall's white
marshmallows or Kettles chips. Some kids can manage violet crumble bars if they
do not react to amines. Handbags or the pockets of cargo pants are good for
smuggling food or you can write for permission to bring your own food.
Suggestions for shopping: preferably, don't take the kids. Or feed everyone
before you go. Or take a packed lunch, eg homemade chicken and salad sandwiches
(lettuce, chives, FAILSAFE mayonnaise, beetroot as a treat, salt), hardboiled
eggs, homemade cookies. Or you can buy spring water, Kettle chips, Pascall's
white marshmallows, fresh rolls from Brumby's or Baker's Delight, celery juice
from a juice bar (with half a carrot as a treat), So Good Soyaccino, cup of
decaf coffee, Glengarry shortbreads, grilled fresh fish and a tiny serve of
chips to share, steak sandwich with no extras - only bread and steak, order a
plain BBQ chicken and take your own preservative free bread, have a picnic in
the park. This all gets easier as you go, but there are some excellent tips
about how to deal with whining in the video 1,2,3-Magic. Some toy libraries
have it, otherwise you can borrow it from the LD Coalition, phone 02 9540 3300.
Q. I have observed that
small amounts of salicylates seem to disrupt my child's ability to regulate his
blood sugar. Is this possible?
A. As far as I can see this is not
documented in the medical literature but I have observed the same effect in my
daughter. She can even suffer from attacks which are like a diabetic hypo,
particularly induced by exercise, overheating or shock (eg from an accident).
The attacks can include weakness, lack of cooperation, belligerence, swearing,
mental confusion and paranoia. Normally she is not like that at all. They come
on very quickly and can improve equally quickly if she eats a spoonful of
sugar, which she normally resists while in that state. This is described in my
book "Different Kids". She also reacts behaviourally to sugar while
eating salicylates. If we avoid salicylates,a dditives and flavours, she has no
problems with sugar.
There is a condition called
ketonic hypoglycemia which was relatively common in children 20-30 years ago,
when children were often given aspirin (salicylates). The condition became very
rare when aspirin was no longer recommended for children. One of the children
in our network was recently diagnosed with it The treatment of glucose polymer
caloric supplement throughout the day as well as FAILSAFE foods made a huge
difference to him.
The only other medical
journal article I've found about a possible salicylate-blood sugar connection
was written by a marathon running doctor. His paper describes collapse during a
marathon which he attributes to the interaction of aspirin for a knee injury
plus exertion and overheating, the point being that he had run many marathons
before and taken aspirin before but never both at the same time. He concluded
that the interaction contributed to his collapse.
Q. I am looking for
bought lollies that I can use for my sons birthday. I have looked for all
lollies mentioned in Fed Up (in several shops) but apart from Pascalls vanilla
marshmallows I cannot find anything. Darryl lea white jelly beans have lemon
oil in them so that may be why my son has reacted badly to them. I phoned up
Snows confectionery to find out what is in the 'flavour' listed on their
packets is. They said "it is a trade secret". Could be old boot
polish for all I know or something worse. Many packets of lollies do list
'flavours' on the packet. Would these be FAILSAFE? My son's birthday is next
week and I really need to know if there is anything left that is FAILSAFE.
Could you please help me with this?
A. I share your frustration. It would
be so easy for manufacturers to make a wide range of additive and flavour free
delicious caramels, toffees, butterscotch, barley sugar, caramel fudge, and
milkbased lollies, but they don't. Darryl Lea butterscotch and honeycomb crunch
are FAILSAFE. After that it gets more difficult. If the label says flavours
(even natural flavours) then some children will react, especially if they eat
more than one. Many children react to the white jelly beans permitted by RPA,
so I no longer recommend them. If your son can manage amines, you can try
Violet Crumble Bars. My daughter can manage only a few Werther's Original
Butter Candies because of the flavours, same with Moo Choos. Allen's milkshake
lollies seem fairly safe. We used to get Fantails or Chocolate Eclair lollies
for lolly bags - a few for our kids and lots for the guests. If you look around
local shops sometimes you can find caramel fudge made without flavours. White
fairy floss (cotton candy) is FAILSAFE if you can find a person willing to do
it. One of the schools here hires out a machine and an operator but you'd have
to have a pretty big birthday party.
Q. Can this diet not
work?
A. There are many mistakes which will
cancel the benefits of the diet. The most common problem is too many mistakes.
Next is too many salicylates, often in the form of pear juice, or snack packs
of pears in natural juice, or pears which are too hard, too many pears or pear
jam. Or too many treats, like white jelly beans, Kellogg's Rice Bubble Treats
or too much 7UP. Some people are better off avoiding these. If you have to
drink 7UP, less than one glass a week is best. For young children,
mint-flavoured toothpaste or chewable vitamin tablets are enough to ruin their
diet. Added "flavours" in processed foods like sweets or yoghurt can
be too much. Antioxidants (310-321) in oils are a common problem. Any
commercial food which contains vegetable oil is likely to contain these
additives and they don't have to be listed on the label, eg biscuits, snack
foods, fish and chips. Commercial chickens are usually cooked with MSG and
other flavourings on the skin. This affects the meat. There are many complaints
of reactions after Red Rooster meals or BBQ chickens. Some people need to avoid
extra foods such as dairy foods, wheat, gluten or soy. Watch out for non-food
factors like perfumes, or cleaning chemicals, new carpet or new car smells.
Illness and prescribed medication can cause extra problems. Stress can also
cause the diet to fail. A child or adult who is angry or forgetful cannot be
expected to become a cheerful high achiever in an authoritarian, punitive,
hostile atmosphere at home, school or at work.
Q. Do you think that
everyone should try this diet?
A. This is a hard question. You should
only try the diet if you have a problem, but I have seen many people who didn't
realise they had a problem until they did the diet because of another family
member - and found that they felt much better. If there is no one in the family
with migraine, itchy skin rashes, asthma or irritable bowel symptoms, it is
probably worth just cutting out additives for three weeks, then reintroducing
them. But it is almost impossible to avoid additives unless you really know
what you are doing. One of the advantages of the elimination diet is that it is
basically a three week course in how to avoid additives. A good compromise is
to do the elimination diet but to include unlimited fresh fruit and vegetables.
The result is additive-free but quite luxurious from the point of view of
someone who is doing the diet strictly.
Q. I have been
wondering since reading your book if my son may have always been intolerant to
foods, even my breastmilk. He had skin rashes/eczema in the first weeks of his
life and was a very difficult baby (reflux, colic) until I stopped
breastfeeding him. At the time it was felt that this was because I had enough
milk for two babies and very heavy let down that this little baby was trying to
guzzle! I wonder now if he was so unsettled because I was eating foods he
reacted to.
A. Food chemicals including additives
and salicylates can go through breastmilk to affect a food sensitive baby with
any reactions from the range of food intolerance symptoms including itchy skin
rashes, irritable bowel (colic, reflux), irritability, restlessness, difficulty
falling asleep and frequent night waking. I wish I'd known about this when my
kids were babies (see "Different Kids", chapter 1).
Q. Having just finished
reading your book "Fed Up" this morning (great thing to do on Mothers
Day), and then rushing around the kitchen to look at the ingredient labelling on
many of the foods we eat, I felt that I must e-mail you promptly to ask if you
know of any elimination diet friendly dietitians in and around Fremantle,
Western Australia???
A. It is very difficult to find
elimination diet friendly dietitians in WA, particularly around
Q. I was wondering if
you could offer any suggestions as to how to get my son to take the 'antidotes'
you suggest. He's not able to take tablets yet and I 'wore' the bicarb I tried
to get him to have!
A. Bicarb tastes horrible. You can buy
some Caltrate tablets (at any pharmacy), crush up a half and serve it in a
spoonful of golden syrup or pear jam. The limit per day is 2000mg for adults,
so halve that for children. One tablet contains 600 mg.
Q. We have found that
our daughter, who has a mild case of ADHD, may be having some reaction to
different food colourings and flavourings. We have noticed that every time she
stays with her grandmother, who feeds her Froot Loops, she is unbearable. We
are looking at the elimination diet and hopefully she will improve. We
explained to her why we are doing this and she seems to be quite co-operative
with it. Now it is waiting and seeing time.
A. Froot Loops no longer contain
artificial colours, although they do contain natural yellow colour annatto 160b
which is one of the Big 50 additives known to cause problems. Your daughter's
behaviour might also be triggered by the other flavours and colours in Froot
Loops which contain salicylates.
Q. Our children aged 6
and 10 yrs become uncontrollable after eating some foods, we had previously put
it down to being sugar. Can you see any other links between cordial (pale
colours as we have always been wary of colouring), apple juice (no
preservatives listed), muesli bars, chocolate and lollies? The reactions are
almost immediate with the children going "hypo".
A. The link in all these foods
(including chocolate if it contains fruit or mint flavours which many do) is
salicylates. Most people have a slow delayed reaction to salicylates but there
are a few who react straight away. Or you might be misinterpreting the reaction
by looking at the food last eaten when they are really reacting to something
they ate yesterday, or "going over the top" because of the cumulative
effect. The only way to find out is to do a proper elimination and challenge. It
took me six years to understand salicylates:
- All plants produce toxic chemicals to protect
themselves from insects.
- Some humans are sensitive to these.
- The most widespread toxic chemicals in plants
are salicylates.
- Aspirin is a member of the salicylate family.
- The average daily Australian diet can contain
almost as many salicylates as an aspirin tablet. This is enough to affect
people with salicylate sensitivity.
- There are some people who can't tolerate any
amount of salicylates.
- In salicylate-sensitive families, salicylates
are more likely to cause problems than any other food chemical.
- Most aspirin and salicylate sensitive people
(perhaps more than one million Australians) are not aware of their
sensitivity.
- Salicylates occur in some fruits, vegetables,
nuts, seeds, spices, herbs, processed foods containing these foods or
fruit flavours, herbal medicines and vitamin tablets.
- People who react to salicylates will also react
to some additives such as colours, flavours and preservatives.
- Salicylates can provoke a very wide range of
problems including (but not only) itchy skin rashes, irritable bowel,
asthma, arthritis, difficulty settling to sleep, irritability,
restlessness, hyperactivity, headaches, tinnitus, impairment of memory and
concentration, depression, panic attacks, epilepsy and anaphylaxis.
Q. After four weeks on
the elimination diet, I gave my kids one Usana children's chewable vitamin pill
(Usanimals) each. All four kids reacted for a week, like "silly cats"
- silly, jumping around, wouldn't listen, couldn't concentrate, fighting with
each other. The little ones were the worst. I couldn't believe it, how could
one tiny little pill be so bad?
A. Usanimals, like all children's
chewable vitamin supplements, contain flavours, usually strong natural fruit
flavours such as cherry, raspberry or orange, which are very high in
salicylates. This also applies to flavours in children's antibiotic and
painkilling syrups. Food sensitive children nearly always react to these. As
well, some vitamin preparations contain bioflavonoids or herbal supplements
which are a potent source of salicylates.
The only recommended FAILSAFE
vitamins are Macro M, Amcal one-a-day, and MVM (not the children's chewable)
multivitamins, and plain white Vitamin C tablets. Adult capsules can be emptied
and white tablets can be crushed and served in a spoonful of golden syrup or
rice syrup (half dose for children). The same with antibiotics and painkillers.
Q. There is a new herbal
supplement in the
A. Herbal supplements all contain
salicylates. Sometimes the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, usually not. If
you want to use a supplement such as Efalex, then you can test it in a careful
challenge after you have finished your elimination diet. Wait for three good
days in a row, then take the maximum dose every day for 7 full days while
sticking strictly to FAILSAFE foods. Keep a food/symptom diary. If there is a
strong reaction, stop the challenge. After 7 days, review your diary entries
and decide whether the supplement is making you better, worse, or no change.
Q. Does the failsafe
diet work for people with Aspergers or autism?
A. Yes, but as well as failsafe you
should try glutenfree and dairyfree. Then do your challenges. There are a
number of ASD children in our network. Some have come to us already doing an
GFDF diet. They usually find it is worth looking at salicylates and amines as
well, for instance, this mother: "your advice was wonderful. My daughter
is on a gluten/dairy free diet for her autism. I had been cooking coconut bread
(from a recipe given to me from the
Q. My son is now 8. He
was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5. He has been on Dexamphetamine, Ritalin,
Catapres, Melleril and many others. He has not been on any medication for some
time now. He developed tics at about the age of 6, which he still has. Will
this diet also help Tourette Syndrome? All the doctors and specialists I have
seen told me that the elimination diet does not work. Well, after what we all
have been through, I am at the point where I feel the doctors aren't helping us
at all.
A. Tics are definitely food-related in
some people. Families in this network report that tics reduce and may go away
altogether while on failsafe foods but will return when children break the
diet, or late at night when very tired.
Q. Does diet help with
sleep apnoea?
A. As far as I know there is no
connection recognised in the medical literature, but we have received reports
of sleep apnoea disappearing completely while on failsafe foods, and returning
during transgressions (so far reports of yum yums and some preservatives).
Q. Is there a link with
diet and ADD in adults?
A. This question was asked recently on
our email discussion group. A surprising number of members responded that yes,
they were ADD adults controlled by diet.
Q. My husband sometimes
gets pains in his left arm, spreading up to his shoulder and in the region of
his heart. Of course, the first thing we considered was heart attack but when
he goes to hospital they can't find anything wrong.
A. There is a report of an incident
like this 30 years ago during a study of the effects of MSG (Schaumberger,
1969). One of the volunteers who was a GP took himself to hospital with a
possible heart attack. He later realised his symptoms were triggered by MSG. We
have received two similar reports of emergency trips to hospital hours after
dinner in a Chinese restaurant, only to find nothing is wrong.
Q. I am alarmed about a
story on the internet about a teenager in the
A. The 14-year-old died at home while
playing on his skateboard. The medical examiner found the cause of death to be
cardiac arrest secondary to blockage of coronary arteries that supplied blood
to his heart. Such changes in the blood vessels are not ordinarily found in children
so young. It's well known that amphetamine and cocaine affect the coronary
blood vessels and the heart itself. The
Q. Is aspartame
FAILSAFE?
A. Aspartame and other artificial
sweeteners are not permitted on the RPAH elimination diet.
Approved sweeteners are
white sugar, brown sugar, icing sugar, caster sugar, golden syrup, glucose
syrup, rice syrup and pure maple syrup. Although FINA has never received
complaints of food intolerance reactions to aspartame, there have been overseas
reports of itchy skin rashes, headaches and children's behaviour problems. We
have, however, received a number of complaints about serious aspartame
addiction. These consumers may drink up to 15 cans a day of aspartame-sweetened
drinks, representing a can an hour while awake plus one or two in the middle of
the night. Obesity can also be problem. People who consume large quantities of
aspartame may gain weight rather than lose it. Aspartame's effect of increased
appetite, which defeats the whole purpose of a low-joule sweetener, is reported
in the Lancet (1986). The best reason of all for avoiding aspartame is a
possible association with brain cancers, which have been increasing in children
and adults in westernised countries during the period that aspartame has been
available on the market. Olney's studies with rats (1996) showed that rats fed
aspartame developed a higher rate of brain cancers than those not fed
aspartame. A study by aspartame manufacturer G.D. Searle to test the toxicity of
diketopiperazine, a metabolic by-product of aspartame which may be responsible
for brain tumours, found that both experimental and control rats developed a 16
times higher rate of brain tumours than average. The Bessler Report on an FDA
investigation of Searle laboratories noted evidence of failure to maintain and
feed control and experimental animals separately. It is possible that both
groups were eating aspartame-containing feed. The FDA did not act on this
report or other scientific evidence urging caution before approving aspartame
for public use. (See references in Fed Up, p 127-128, 339)
Q. According to your
shopping list, Kellogg's Rice Bubble Treats are permitted. But my son reacts to
them.
A. Some children are more sensitive
than others. Any food listed as "limited" may affect some children.
My daughter also reacts to Kellogg's Rice Bubble Treats. She says when she eats
even one, it sets up a craving so she'd rather not have them in the house.
Q. We did the diet
strictly for 2 months with our 10-year-old son. There was absolutely no change.
What did we do wrong?
A. The most common reason for failure
to improve is tiny frequent mistakes. If there is no improvement at all within
10 days, it is worth contacting your dietitian, or our email support group to
check for mistakes. The other, less common, possibility is a small mistake only
once a week (eg a seasoned chicken, one ordinary sausage, too much parsley) for
a type 3 responder (slow to react, slow to recover - up to a month in some
people), so improvement never happens. The most common mistakes are listed
below:
- Pear juice or pears canned in juice instead of
syrup. Those handy little containers of pears in natural juice, which fit
into lunchboxes, will cancel the benefits of the diet.
- Too many pear products, fresh, tinned, pureed,
jam and ketchup. There is a limit of two pears pears per day, less for
some people, note that pears must be soft
- Too much parsley - use for colour not for
flavour
- Too many Darryl Lea white jelly beans (limit of
4/day but many children are better with none)
- Too much 7UP (less than 150 ml/week) or Peter's
Lemonade Icypoles (1 per week)
- Cold-pressed oil, even canola - the only safe
cold-pressed oil is soy
- Coloured or mint-flavoured toothpaste
- Antioxidants, not listed on the label, in any
biscuit which contains 'vegetable oil'. Ritz and Jatz often cause
problems. Low-fat crackers such as water crackers, Saltine and Saos
contain less oil, but the more you eat, the more likely you are to react
- Hot chips and potato crisps (eg Arnott's Lite)
cooked in oil with antioxidants
- BBQ chicken with seasoning or stuffing - it is
NOT OK to eat the meat and avoid the skin or stuffing
- Flavours, even natural vanilla, will affect some
children, eg in vanilla soymilk, flavours in commercial custard and
yoghurt but watch especially for flavours in caramels, toffees, lollies
- Natural or artificial fruit flavours in vitamins
or children's syrup medications eg such as paracetamol and cold
medications, flavours or colours in antibiotics. We have many reports of
people with presumed antibiotic intolerance that is really a reaction to
the coloured capsule. Ask if you can empty the capsule contents into
golden syrup or a glass of water.
- You may need to exclude more foods, like dairy
foods, wheat, gluten or soy
- Some people do better on free-range eggs, or no
eggs.
- Some people are sensitive to citric acid or
cashews (not common, but it happens)
- Exposure to chemical fumes like paints,
household cleaners, workplace chemicals, aerosol deodorants, cosmetics,
garden pesticides, weedkillers, new carpets, mattresses, shopping malls,
service stations
- Sometimes there is a non-food cause like too
much stress, confrontational teaching styles, or even a need for more
praise from parents
Q. How can I find a
dietitian?
A. There are free dietitians in
hospitals and community care centres, and private dietitians are listed in the
yellow pages. Ask for a dietitian who has experience in supervising the
Simplified Elimination Diet from
Q. We have always bought
in bulk, exploiting a rather large freezer in the basement. It makes economic
sense, and saves us time too. Who would have dreamed this policy might
aggravate my children's conditions?
A. Other families with large freezers
have reported problems for amine responders. Meat should be frozen the day you
buy it and used within a month.
Q. I notice you mark, as
salicylate, many items that feingold.org does not, such as pineapple. Perhaps
you avoid even the smallest traces? Feingold does this too, in their special
SAS diet, but I've never looked at that one.
A. Pineapple is definitely not a small
trace. It is the salicylate equivalent of dynamite, but yes, we do avoid even
small traces. I believe the SAS diet is the same as ours regarding salicylates.
Most people have no idea how sensitive their children are to salicylates until
they avoid them all. Some children react even to pears. I have seen desperate
families exclude dairy, gluten and soy when the only problem was salicylate
sensitivity, plus additives of course.
Q. Between salicylates
and amines, are there any fruits left?
A. Only pears, they have to be peeled,
ripe soft and juicy (limit 2 per day), or canned but only in syrup not in
natural juice because the juice usually contains peel which contains
salicylates. This is not forever, but until you find out which foods are a
problem. After challenges, small quantities are reintroduced systematically to
build up tolerance.
Q. We use to use lemons
all the time, as a form of salad dressing, since we can't trust anything from a
bottle. Do you have any other dressing ideas?
A. Try Robin's dressing:
¼ cup maize cornflour
3 tsp citric acid
1 tsp salt
½ cup sugar
1¼ cups water
2 eggs
175 ml canola oil
Cook together cornflour,
citric acid, salt, sugar and water. When thickened, pour into blender and while
whizzing add eggs and drizzle in canola oil. Keeps well in refrigerator for
approximately two weeks. (with thanks to Robin Fisher)
Q. Like fruits,
virtually all nuts seem to be bad. Are there any good ones?
A. Raw cashews are limited to 10 per
day
Q. I know cheese is a
problem but what about dairy foods like milk, butter and pure icecream?
A. Some children react to dairy foods,
some don't. If there is a history of frequent ear infections, grommets, or
lactose intolerance, it may be necessary to avoid all dairy during your
elimination diet and do a systematic challenge as soon as you have obtained five
good days in a row. All healthy foods must be challenged according to the
protocol so that you are not avoiding them unnecessarily. If dairy foods are
not suspect, then plain milk, fresh white unpreserved cheeses (like ricotta and
cream cheese) butter and pure ice cream (eg Sara Lee rich vanilla) are ok.
Vanilla yoghurt can be ok, limited, but watch out for annatto colour (160b).
Q. Most natural sugars
are ok, but what about corn syrup?
A. Corn syrup contains small amounts
of salicylates, as does raw sugar & cane juice
Q. Since sunflower seeds
are high, how about sunflower oil for cooking?
A. The only recommended oils are
sunflower, safflower and canola, not cold pressed and free of antioxidants
(gallates and TBHQ, BHA and BHT). Cold pressed soy oil is OK, the others have
too many salicylates in them.
Q. How long can cooked
meat or fish sit in the fridge before it becomes a problem?
A. The same day, but preferably
leftovers should be frozen as soon as possible. Note that fish should be frozen
within 12 hours of being caught and eaten within 2 weeks.
Q. Do the comments about
chicken (skin livers etc) apply to all poultry, such as duck and turkey?
A. The stronger the flavour, the more
amines, so approach duck with caution.
Q. These restrictions
can make for some rather bland meals, if we can't use some spices. Which ones
are ok?
A. Garlic and salt, nothing else.
Nothing is bland if you use garlic! You will find your taste buds adapt very
quickly and food tastes stronger and better than ever. You'll wonder why you
ever needed all those strong flavours. Most people find processed food is far too
strong after they have eaten FAILSAFE food for a while; their taste buds had
previously been seduced by the food industry.
Q. How about rutabega?
This is in the same family as broccoli and cauliflower, so I thought I'd ask.
A. We think that this is what we call
swede, which is OK. You can't go by food families. Broccoli and cauliflower are
out, cabbage and brussel sprouts (same family) are FAILSAFE .
Q. How about soy oil,
or, partially hydrogenated soy oil. The latter is in many commercial products,
even the purest products at the healthfood store.
A. Soy oil is OK, see conditions
above, but we always have to phone the manufacturer to find out whether it
contains BHA or similar because it does not have to be listed on the label.
Q. How long can eggs sit
in the fridge before they form amines?
A. Most people can manage eggs, except
for those with a true egg allergy (less than 1% of adults, less than 3% of
children under 5). Sensitive people can react if the eggs are obviously stale.
Some people manage free-range eggs better. Also it depends what the chickens
are eating. Some sensitive people react to the feed that is now used to make
the yolks orange.
Q. I know canned
fish/meat is a problem. Is this because the proteins age or something to do
with canning?
A.