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 this file.
If you want a question
answered, please email me on sdengate@ozemail.com.au. My mailing address is PO Box 718
WOOLGOOLGA NSW 2456
(May 2008)
Q. I regard potatoes more as a starchy carbohydrate than a
vegetable and wonder if my son has too many.
A.
Often called uber tubers, potatoes contain all the
vitamins, minerals, proteins, calories and cellulose necessary for life. A
healthy adult can survive indefinitely on potatoes alone. A potato crop can
grow in any climate and can yield four times the calories of a grain crop. (http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2263286,00.html).
Jamie Oliver lists potatoes as the top crop for home gardeners: 'Everyone
deserves to experience home-grown potatoes - what a pleasure!' To be low in salicylates, potatoes must be large, old, brown skinned,
white fleshed and thickly peeled. Potatoes that are small, new, red skinned or
have coloured flesh - even cream colour
like Kipfler - are higher in salicylates.
Q. I seem to have troubling neurological symptoms due to Rosemary
Extract, commonly used as an antioxidant in almost all vegetable oils. The
amounts are so small as to avoid labelling laws, yet
enough to upset a sensitive soul like myself. Even rabid herbalists concede
rosemary can cause gastric and neural problems in some people. Are you aware of
any reports on reactions to rosemary?
A.
Rosemary extract would be very high in natural food chemicals called salicylates. These chemicals occur in most plant foods in varying
amounts and can cause the same problems as additives if consumed in large doses
or by sensitive people, see our salicylate factsheet. Compare
the following figures from Swain et al's 1985 paper 'Salicylates
in Foods': pears 0.00 (mg per 100 mg); carrot 0.23; strawberries 1.36; sultanas
(dried white grapes) 7.80; cinnamon powder 15.20; rosemary (dried) 68.00.
Q.I have just started my son on the elimination diet, he is
in the 3rd week and we have slowly seen some improvement.
A.
By the end of the 3rd week most people see spectacular improvement if they have
the diet right. Have you read the Checklist of Common
Mistakes on the website? You are welcome to send me a list of everything
your son eats in a typical day so I can look for possible mistakes. I can
usually find about five mistakes - some serious enough to prevent improvement -
in food lists from people who swear they are sticking strictly to the diet.
Q. I am finding it hard to come up with enough variety of
foods for my son as he is very fussy and this seems to limit what sort of foods
he can eat. Do you have any suggestions?
A.
Fussy eaters usually improve when you get the diet right. One mother whose two
young daughters had previously been picky described how they turned into 'clean
plate' eaters after three weeks on the diet. For suggestions regarding a
variety of foods I recommend the Failsafe Cookbook. One mother whose son was
lunch swapping wrote: 'I was able to buy your cookbook, so now he is getting
enough interesting things and variety that he feels he is not missing out!'
Q. Since we started our elimination diet I have been
experiencing a lot of diarrhoea, at one point, every
day for a week. I thought maybe it was a withdrawal reaction, but it has
continued. I have stopped my 2 blocks of chocolate a day habit and to get me
through I am using xylitol which the homeopath said
was completely safe. Is xylitol not recommended as a
sugar substitute?
A.
Xylitol is not safe for some people. It doesn't cause
the full range of food intolerance reactions such as behaviour or headaches,
but any of the sugar free sweeteners ending in '-ol' (e.g. Sorbitol, Mannitol)
can cause diarrhea and irritable bowel symptoms, especially if eaten
frequently. See our Sugar Free
Sweetener factsheet for more details.
Q I've noticed that my brand of contraceptive pill has artifical colouring. I really
don't want to be consuming this every single day! Do you know of any brands of
the contraceptive pill that are failsafe or where I might find out?
A. Contraceptive pills aren't great for women with food intolerance because
female hormones can make symptoms of food intolerance worse, i.e. premenstrually and when taking oestrogen
in medication. For pills without artificial colour,
you can browse through the Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) sheets for
ingredients of oral contraceptives at http://www.mydr.com.au/drugs/mediresults.asp.
(February
2008)
Q. I bought green grapes two weeks straight – they were so
cheap and I haven’t bought them since last year. My son loved them but for
those two weeks he was screaming and hitting me and going crazy until I put it
together - behaviour + grapes. I was talking to another friend and she said
her daughter was reacting the same way.
We took the grapes away and both the kids calmed down within a couple of
days. There was a warning at the
supermarket about sulphur dioxide next to the price
sign on the grapes. Is this a common phenomenon?
A.
Since the ‘salad bar’ asthmatic deaths in the 1970s due to overuse of sulphur dioxide on lettuce, sulphur
dioxide has been banned on fresh fruit and vegetables except for grapes. These
days they use sulphur dioxide generator pads instead
of sprays. However, growers are warned that high temperatures can cause
excessive sulphur dioxide in the grapes. January was
the hottest month ever in
Q. Would removing the crusts on bread get rid of the
preservative?
A.
In
Q. Can you tell me is bocconcini
cheese failsafe? I assumed it was since it is a fresh white cheese.
A.
White cheeses such as cottage cheese or ricotta are low in amines and failsafe
as long as they are recently made and preservative-free. Bocconcini
are small, mild, white, young mozzarella cheeses kept moist by storage in
natural whey or brine. Fresh bocconcini are probably
failsafe but if kept will develop amines.
Q. We have benefited greatly from failsafe eating. However
we are in a newly renovated house and although my son is on the full
elimination diet, his behaviour which we discovered
to be due to food has now returned to pre-diet due to the effects of paint
smells etc. Any suggestions?
A.
The best way to deal with new renovation smells is to ventilate - leave all the
doors and windows wide open as much as possible and run fans. If there are any
smelly removable items such as mattresses or new furniture, you can put them on
a verandah or leave them in the garage to gas off. Some people have dealt with
this problem successfully by getting their kids to sleep in a tent in the back
yard. Or could you stay with someone else for a month or two until the worst of
it is over. Formaldehyde (a common VOC in renovations) is a carcinogen so it's
not something you want to be exposed to anyway.
Q. My son aged 12 months is allergic to soy. Do you know the
number codes for soy derived emulsifiers etc?
A.
From a reader who is sensitive to both soy and legumes: “As well as 322
(lecithin) I also avoid additives 476,471,492 (emulsifiers), vegetable gums
410,412,415,416,461 (not all soy but derivatives of various beans), vegetable
gums & vegetable protein, TVP (textured vegetable protein) and vegetable
starch (even if they do not specifically state soy, I don't take the chance).
Soya beans, soya meal, soy flour (very common in
breads and cakes), soya sauce, miso,
tofu and chickpeas. In fact quite a lot of 'health foods' are grossly unhealthy
for me. Packaged health foods nearly always contain a soy additive.” See more details
in story [314] “13 years of intolerance to soy” (April 2004).
Q. It is easier for me to buy goats’ milk than A2 milk. Is
it the same?
A.
Goats milk contains the same A2 beta casein protein as A2 cow’s milk, but it
has a different nutritional profile. Babies who have goat’s milk may need extra
supplements including Vitamin D and Folic Acid. Your dietitian can advise about
this.
(November
2007)
Q. I came across "1422 - thickener" in a packet of
frozen meals. What is this please and is it a no no?
We really enjoy your informative site.
A. Thickeners are only a problem for coeliacs and
others who are very sensitive to gluten. Also called modified starches,
thickeners 1400-1450 may contain trace amounts of gluten if they have been
derived from wheat. If gluten is in the product, it will be listed on the
label.
Q. I would like your opinion on whether fresh coriander is
failsafe or not. Also interested in seeing if there is a difference between
fresh coriander and ground seed?
A. Technically, fresh coriander is moderate in salicylates.
It contains 0.20 mg per 100 mg (compared to fresh parsley leaves with 0.08 and
Red Delicious apple with 0.19, according to the Swain et al 1985 analyses). An
occasional small amount is probably okay for most salicylate
sensitive people, but I recommend caution if using it in a product you eat
every day. It is so easy for salicylates to build up
when you are not looking. Ground coriander seed was not tested but you would
expect it to be much higher in salicylates.
Q. My son’s aggression has been increasing. He has been
eating a lot of the new all natural jelly cups, strawberry flavour
(ingredients: sugar, thickener (401), food acids (355,331), mineral salt (341),
flavour, colour (120).)
What do you think, is this jelly failsafe?
A. Those jelly cups are fine for families who are simply going
additive-free but they are not failsafe because of the strawberry flavour which contains natural chemicals called salicylates. Salicylates can
cause the same problems as additives if consumed in large doses or by sensitive
people. Note that colour (120, cochineal) doesn’t
cause behaviour problems but because it is made from
insects it should be used with caution by children with a family history of
food allergy (also not kosher).
Q I feel very
confused about which is the lesser of two evils - the trans fats in butter
(which is listed as 'natural trans fats' - what does that mean???) or the
preservative 202.
A. It is the unnatural trans fats that are the problem. We ourselves eat
pure butter (Mainland Buttersoft from NZ) and totally
avoid 202. We also avoid synthetic trans fats. Nuttelex
additive-free dairy-free margarine is low in trans fats. However, we minimise our intake of saturated fats including butter. For
example, when baking I will often choose to make muffins or a cake recipe with
vegetable oil rather than rather than butter or margarine. For vegetable oil,
we use canola oil. It's a monounsaturate with one of
the best omega ratios despite scientific-seeming internet criticism probably
started by an opposing industry. Olive oil is similar but we can't eat it
because of salicylates.
Q. I recently asked our Swedish food safety authorities if
they do tests on additives themselves, or do they rely only on the tests done
by the producers of the additives? They answered that neither they, nor the
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), do any tests at all. The approval of an
additive is based solely on tests performed by the producer of the additive. Isn´t this a bit like asking Phillip Morris if smoking is
safe? – Stefan from
A. It’s even worse than that – before additives
are approved there are no tests at all regarding their effects on children’s
health, behaviour and learning – and there is no
monitoring afterwards. When consumers report adverse effects, they are advised
to carry out their own double blind placebo controlled studies.
Q. I found the
following radio story a bit of a worry: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/20/2095831.htm [A leading CSIRO scientist says there is no reason
to fear that future gene technology will threaten food safety. Deputy chief of
plant industry research, Dr TJ Higgins, says consumers have been using oil from
genetically modified cotton for the past 10 years. Most of the fish and chips
that we eat are cooked in the oil from cotton seed, and there are 33 other
foods have been approved for consumption. "So there are already many
products that are in the food chain that we have been consuming safely."]
A. We are worried too. Dr Higgins says
there are strict regulations to protect consumer food safety, but as we have
already seen, regulations about food additives haven't done anything to protect
our children. Here's what you can do. This Saturday, vote for your local Green
candidate and vote Green in the Senate. The Greens have a strong policy about
GM foods, including mandatory full labelling. Of
course they won't win, but every vote sends a message and if there are some
Greens in the Senate, there is a chance of controlling what happens with GM
foods.
(August
2007)
Q. I have just read your fact sheet
on 635 (riborash).
It seems that any time we eat a food with this in it (particularly cream
of chicken and corn soup used in risotto), my 16 month old gets severe nappy
rash. Could this be a reaction to the
additive?
A. Yes. The rash can appear differently in different
people. One of the original observations of ribo rash
was in twin 10-month-old boys who suffered severe rash in the nappy area and
extending down to their feet and on their faces when at its worst.
Q. I have been using a saline spray
for my son’s seasonal itchy nose with great success. However we have
experienced aggressive episodes since using the product (Narium). I did a double check and found a preservative
Benzalkonium Chloride (BAC) is in the product. Have
you had any experience with this?
A. There have been some reports of nasal burning,
dryness, or irritation due to nasal sprays preserved with BAC. There are also
reports in the medical literature of contact dermatitis due to BAC. We
generally find any additive that can cause the very obvious signs of contact
dermatitis may also be associated with more subtle behavioural
symptoms such as aggression. It is possible to make your own preservative free
saline: a teaspoon of salt in half a litre of water,
boiled and cooled. Store in the fridge and discard after 24 hours.
Q. Why is sulphur
dioxide added to wine?
A. According to Erl Happs, maker of the excellent Happs
range of preservative-free and low preservative wines, sulphur
dioxide ‘hardens the palate’ of a wine, see http://www.happs.com.au/pages/PFQandA.html.
Q. Is there a product like muesli
bars that can be bought directly off the shelf that is homemade without all the
additives?
A. Thanks to Jenny Ravlic
from Additive Education (www.additiveeducation.com.au)
for the following answer: We don't suggest any of the standard packets of
muesli bars available in supermarkets because they all have either sulphites, annatto, flavours
and/or nasty antioxidants in the oil. There is a great product called Naturally
Organic Oat Slice (few varieties) made by the All Natural Bakery. They are sold
individually in 100g slices with no artificial flavours,
colours or preservatives - very much like a homemade
product. There is also the Amore Fruity Nut Bars, sold in multi packs. Both of
these are available in Coles, possibly Safeways and
IGA. Please note that these suggestions are additive free but not failsafe (low
in salicylates and amines).
(May
2007)
Q. What is the best way to stay with the most current info
on the salicylate content in foods?
A.
See the latest edition of Friendly Food by the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Allergy Clinic, http://www.cs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/Allergy/default.htm
Q. My daughter suffers from dizzy spells. Specialist
testing, from MRI scans to epilepsy, has found nothing. I was wondering if
intolerance to certain foods can cause dizziness, I am at my wit’s end as my
daughter cannot even close her eyes sometimes at night because her head starts
to spin.
A. Dizziness and a spinning head (vertigo) can be related to chemicals in
foods and medications. The most likely culprits are: synthetic salicylates in medications such as aspirin, nurofen and other pain killers or anti-inflammatory
medications, acne cleansers, wart medication, sports liniments and medicated
lotions; artificial colours and preservatives in
foods and medications; natural salicylates in most
fruit and some vegetables - particularly high in tomato sauce, juice, broccoli,
grapes and citrus fruits - (see the Salicylates and Meniere’s factsheets). If
avoiding salicylate-containing medications doesn't
help, the best way to find out if foods are your daughter's problem would be to
do a 3 week trial of the RPAH (
Q. I would like to contact Woolworths
with an enquiry about their Home Brand products. Do you have an email address
for them?
A. Go to www.woolworths.com.au
and click on Contact Us
Q. Since we are off dairy I thought we would have to do an
amine challenge without chocolate, otherwise how will we know if we are reacting
to amines or the milk solids in the chocolate?
A. You can buy dairy-free chocolate (read labels, e.g. Sweet William www.sweetwilliam.com.au, contains
soy flour and soy lecithin).
Q. Where can I get the dietician’s booklets for information
about challenges?
A. Your dietitian will give you one or you can buy them direct from Royal
Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Clinic: www.cs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/Allergy.
Q. My husband and I
are having severe relationship problems, and I'm not sure how much of it might
be due to ODD (oppositional defiance). When he is calm and rational and nothing
immediate is happening, he seems normal, mature, etc. Says all the right things.
But if a situation arises where he is confronted with a problem he seems to
react badly. His behaviour is like that of a child
throwing a tantrum. I am finding it very hard to cope and have noticed this
comes in cycles. This is really difficult for me because it feels like I have 3
children sometimes, not 2 and honestly, our children behave better than he
does, and appropriately for their ages whereas he doesn't. The symptoms that
really stood out when reading the ODD factsheet were
“deliberately annoying other people” (He says he knows he does this sometimes
and to the point where he can't stop himself) “blames me for mistakes or
problems related to him” (He is very good at this, most of the time I end up
wondering what it is that I have done wrong). Living with him is like walking
on eggshells. I don't know what might set him off - what triggers him one day
doesn’t trigger him the next. He keeps putting off responsibilities and either
refuses to do them or puts it off so long that I end up doing it or he is too
tired to do it and leaves it for the next day. If I remind him or ask him, he
often reacts with anger, resentment and refusal. I'm aware of a few food
additives such as tartrazine that trigger aggressive
moods in him but I feel there are other things influencing his behaviour. His mother told me recently he was a problem
child and on drugs for ADHD. Is this possible - that adults can have ODD too?
A. Yes. The most important behavioural effect of
food chemicals is irritability, which is also the core feature of ODD. There
are numerous reports of ODD-type symptoms improving in the father or mother
when the whole family goes on the diet to support a difficult child.
Q. Recently my husband has awoken with awful headaches after
eating a "Healthy Choice" meal which is supposed to be "good for
you". One was a stuffed shell dinner and another one was a beef stroganoff
meal, which he used to eat without getting a headache. I wonder if they're
currently sneaking in things which produce the same thing in him that MSG does;
i.e., bad headaches?
A.
Since you already know your husband gets headaches from MSG, it is most likely
he is affected by some new flavour enhancers that can
enhance the effects of MSG by up to 15 times. Here in
Q. My daughter who is 3.5 years old suffers from eczema and
around the age of about 10 months she went completely bald from Alopecia Areata (she lost all hair on her head, eyebrows and eye
lashes), but fortunately the hair started to grow back around 19 or 20 months.
However, we are very disappointed to discover the alopecia appears to be
returning as a bald patch has recently appeared on the top of her head. I am
wondering if you are aware of any food additives which may have triggered this
condition?
A.
Alopecia areata (patchy baldness) or totalis (total hair loss) has been associated with coeliac disease and may respond well to a gluten-free diet,
see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Symptomalopecia.htm.
Coeliac disease is a serious condition, if you
suspect you have CD, see more information at www.coeliac.org.
Q. Is strawberry Nesquik OK for a
homemade milkshake on the elimination diet?
The ingredients are: cane sugar, maltodextrin,
natural colour (120), natural flavour.
A.
No. The natural flavour is obviously strawberry. It’s
probably in a very strong, concentrated flavour and
would contain at least as many salicylates as a
milkshake made with real strawberries, possibly much more.
Q. Do you know anything about brilliant scarlet 4R CI6255?
It is one of the active ingredients in Polaramine
antihistamine tablets. I gave this to my son (10yrs) tonight under instruction
from my pharmacist for sedative reasons. My son’s reaction to the tablet was
very defiant/angry, definitely did not want to go to sleep etc and we could not
reason with him at all.
A.
That’s another name for artificial colour (124) also
known as Ponceau 4R. It is one of the worst of the
artificial colours – known as synthetic coal tar dyes
and azo dyes – that have been associated with
irritability, restlessness, inattention and sleep disturbance in children, and
also with asthma and many other problems such as hives. Children who have a big
reaction to an artificial colour are likely to be
sensitive to a range of other additives, and salicylates
as well. If your son has problems enough to need medication, you might want to
try the elimination diet supervised by a dietitian to find out exactly what
affects him. You can request our list of friendly dietitians from confoodnet@ozemail.com.au.
Q. Sago pudding is on your recipe list (and we like eating
it) yet every brand of sago I have seen so far contains 220. Do you know if it
possible to buy sago without it and from where?
A.
Howard tested Lion brand sago from Anchor foods with sulphite
test strips. This brand lists preservative 220 but Howard couldn’t detect any
either cold (uncooked) or when cooked. We also buy Cock brand Tapioca Pearl
(really sago) from
Q. My 5yr-old daughter has been diagnosed with severe food
intolerances and a moderate allergy to soy. I do not have the finances to use a
private dietician. I went to the public hospital yesterday with no positive
outcomes – they can’t offer the service of their dietician as they are
understaffed and are not taking outpatient appointments – and I was told to go
home and try the elimination diet again. This is hard work on your own. I need
some support. – by email
A. I recommended the Failsafe
booklet and our email support groups to
this mother. A week later, she replied “Thank God for the Failsafe booklet. I
am now managing to keep the whole family on the elimination diet due to the
extra recipes”. She had also joined an email support group.
Q. We have dairy and soy issues. Is there a substitute for
yoghurt?
A.
We have been unable to make yoghurt or kefir out of rice milk and have found it
only works with soymilk and cows’ milk, due to the protein content. If you can
tolerate A2 milk you can make your own A2 yoghurt using sheep’s yoghurt as a
starter. If you are asking because you want an alternative to eat, see Narni’s custard recipe in the new version of the Failsafe
Cookbook. If you are asking because of
the probiotic effects, an alternative is the Inner
Health Plus dairy-free probiotic capsules – these are
not on the RPAH elimination diet list so you would have to introduce them as a
challenge. Note that there is little scientific evidence for the effectiveness
of probiotic supplements other than Lactobacillus GG;
however, some people say they help and others report no effect.
Q. After eating a lot of dried fruit we noticed our sons’ behaviour worsened as well as asthma. Are sulphites also
likely to cause hyperactivity and/or aggression?
A.
Yes, but they are not the only problem with dried fruit - most dried except
pears contain high levels of natural salicylates and
some (e.g. sultanas) contain very high levels of both salicylates
and amines. Although sulphites
have been associated with a range of symptoms including asthma, headaches,
irritable bowel and behaviour, so too have other food
chemicals including salicylates and amines. It is
worth suspecting sulphites in dried fruit first for
asthma, but everyone is different, and you might need to consider any or all of
these food chemicals.
Q. Is Aussie mite (vegemite alternative) failsafe?
A. Yeast extracts are never OK because they are loaded with natural
glutamates (MSG is a yeast extract) as well as high in salicylates
and amines.
Q. Is benzoyl peroxide (for acne)
failsafe? My teenage son seems to have had a reaction to it.
A.
Benzoyl peroxide breaks down into benzoic acid and is
excreted as benzoate, so unfortunately it is not suitable for failsafers. It would be like drinking products preserved
with sodium benzoate (211). (Would the person who sent this question please
write again as I deleted your email by mistake. S)
(January
2007)
Q. Over the last two months I have consumed 4 bottles of a special
juice from the
A.
I agree with your sister. Benzoic acid and other benzoates (310-319) can be
associated with a very wide range of adverse effects. Reactions are related to
dose and delayed, so the effects will be worse when you are consuming a
benzoate-preserved product every day. The effects can build up so slowly you
would not be able to notice the connection between a new food and how it is
affecting you. You could test this for yourself by avoiding your special juice
until your eye symptoms disappear. Then reintroduce the special juice in the
same doses that you have been consuming while keeping a diary of your eye
symptoms. If you want to test the benzoates without the juice - there is always
a possibility that something in the juice itself is affecting you - you could
use Schweppes lemonade in cans (contain preservative 211) not bottles
(preservative free).
Reply (two weeks later): As
you suggested I went off the special juice. It has been 2 weeks now and my eyes
have improved 100%. Who would have thought that something like that could do
this? Thank you for your reply because if it was not for you and my sister I
would probably still be taking it.
Q. I’m confused. On page 16, Friendly Food says shallots are
low in salicylates, but the recipes and shopping list
refer to “spring onions (scallions)”?
A.
These members of the onion family lack a fully-developed bulb and are milder
tasting than other onions. I call them shallots but they have various regional
names (scallions, spring onions, eschallots, green
onions). See what to buy on our DVD, Friendly Food p7 or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scallion
Q. We're on day seven of our elimination diet for my
six-year-old daughter, and every day since we've been on this new diet she's
gotten a little worse - more insolent, less able to keep still than normal,
much MORE day-dreamy and going off on tangent-ish,
slightly 'violent' - absolutely driving me crazy! How long does it take to see
positive effects?
A.
These turned out to be withdrawal symptoms, and the answer was, it took 8 days
to see positive effects.
Q. The website is so handy and I refer to it frequently, but
I often get lost looking for a piece of information I know I have read
somewhere. A search tool would be very useful!
A.
You can search our website using google. Search for: fedupwithfoodadditives <whatever you are looking for>
Q Can you direct me to any research that shows how diet can
affect an adolescent with ADHD & ODD?
A.
Superintendent Peter Bennett from the West Yorkshire police did a diet trial
with 12 chronic juvenile offenders (aged 8-16) who had an average arrest rate
of more than once a month. All improved. Those who remained on the diet did not
re-offend. These were children whose ODD had progressed to Conduct Disorder,
see citation below. You can see this study on our DVD. It is very difficult to
do diet with adolescents unless 1) they themselves want to try it and 2) they
get support from the community (e.g. school etc). The participants in the
Shipley Project had to stay at home in the care of their parents for the first
three weeks of their elimination diet. Further reading: Bennett CPW and others,
The Shipley Project: treating food allergy to prevent criminal behaviour in community settings, J Nutr
Envir Med 1998;8:77-83.
Q. Can the elimination diet help these children: • a four
year old girl who can be quite defiant when asked to do something she does not
want to do, blames others for her behaviour (mainly
her six-year-old brother), is very loud and chatty, and sings all the time when
she is not chatting • a three year old
boy son is very defiant, answers back "no", won’t listen to
instructions, almost shouts when he speaks and wakes early (5.30am) in the
foulest mood?
A.
The symptoms described generally improve if you can get the diet right.
Q. I have a son in
his thirties who has been on the diet since the age of 6 (salicylates,
preservatives, colours and dyes are the problem, not
amines). Unfortunately, he has recently begun getting quite serious depression
and is seeing a psychiatrist who just keeps prescribing different
anti-depressants as none seem to work. I
recently wrote a letter to the psychiatrist explaining my son’s dietary
problems and the symptoms he gets. The psychiatrist told him that all food
intolerance is psychosomatic. You can imagine how much help that was. Are there
any psychiatrists or counsellors who understand this
chemical sensitivity problem? While he does try to stick to his diet, I do
suspect there may be too frequent diversions from it or something is catching
him out he is not aware of. Trying the elimination diet again is something I
think I shall try to persuade him to do.
A.
Symptoms of food intolerance can change throughout the lifespan, and it is not
uncommon to find the foods that caused hyperactivity in childhood can cause
depression in adulthood. There is case history describing a young adult with a
history of childhood ADD whose severe treatment-resistant depression improved
dramatically on a low salicylate elimination diet
(Parker G and Watkins T, Treatment-resistant depression: when antidepressant
drug intolerance may indicate food intolerance, Aust
N Z J Psychiatry, 2002). The article concludes that clinicians should be aware
of food intolerance-related depression and that it may be worsened by
psychotropic medication. You can request our list of supportive health
professionals - including some psychologists – from confoodnet@ozemail.com.au. It may
be worth consulting a dietitian, as safe foods for this diet change constantly
and your son could be following an out-of-date diet. To send the article’s
abstract to your son’s psychiatrist, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Select+from+History&db=pubmed&query_key=1
Q. I know it is a mistake to buy anything without checking
the ingredients, but the name on the packet of "Traditional Home Style
Preservative Free" Egg Noodles sort of lulled me into a false sense of
security. These egg noodles contain two artificial colours
Sunset Yellow (110) and the dreaded Tartrazine (102)!
... I wouldn't have even noticed if the water I cooked them in hadn't turned a
sickly yellow colour! The back of the packet talks
about how the family began making traditional noodles back in the 'thirties
from a time-honoured family recipe and also says that
that the family has a commitment to quality and hand-made authenticity ...
isn’t this a bit misleading? I intend to email them to register my
disappointment.
A.
It is always worth emailing a food company with feedback about their product.
Let us know about their reply and if you need any backup. Or nominate it for
our Nasty Food Awards – send us the packet or a good photo of the packet and
ingredients list.
Q. Because everything on the elimination diet is so 'green'
I decided it would be a great idea to get red cabbage to liven my fried rice up
a bit! ... problem is (being a novice) I had no idea that the red cabbage would
colour the eggs in the fried rice an amazingly rich
blue!!! ... lovely but it didn't look so appetizing! Then the next day I was
thinking of using the cabbage to colour icing for
some 'gingerless pigs'. How do I extract the colour without my icing tasting like cabbage??? ... Also,
although I noticed the eggs went bright blue, water left in the bowl with some
leftover cabbage in it went a kind of a beetroot 'red'... Just curious as to
why, how and whether I can make two different colours
out of my cabbage?
A.
Cabbage juice will be different colours depending on
whether it is acid or alkaline - you can make it acid by adding citric acid
(red; that will also take care of the cabbage taste), and alkaline by adding
soda bicarb (blue).
Q. I believe my six-year-old son may be affected by food
additives as he is erratic, runs, yells loud and then fights with his two older
brothers, although he can behave when he wants to. After observing my son, our paediatrician decided that he did not have ADHD nor did the
food he eats affect him, instead he said it was my parenting skills. I do not
believe this as I have two older boys who do not behave badly. The paediatrician refused to write me a referral letter. I need
help.
A. There are a number of ways around this. If you need to prove to the paediatrician that behaviour
management isn’t the answer you could do a parenting course such as 123 Magic
(many community organisations are now offering this)
or see the 123 Magic DVD (there’s a link from our website). You would probably
find it very helpful to join one of our email support groups (see EMAIL SUPPORT GROUPS on the website) You could ask your group or local contact if
there is a supportive dietitian who can help you or write to confoodnet@ozemail.com.au for our
list of supportive dietitians. Or you could cut down on problem additives and
foods such as tomato sauce, citrus and broccoli, see the free downloadable
Failsafe Booklet (under FAILSAFE EATING on the
website).
Q. Are there any laxatives that can be used during our
elimination diet?
A.
Your dietitian may recommend one of the following laxatives – though obviously
not the coloured or flavoured
options:
• psyllium
hulls or husks - a type of dietary fibre that is used
as a bulk forming laxative, the husks swell when they come in contact with
liquids so should be taken with plenty of liquids - available from your health
food store or as plain Metamucil from pharmacies
• Ispaghula
husks act in the same was as psyllium, available from
your pharmacy as Fybogel
• guar gum - a vegetable
gum sold in health food stores as a gluten free baking aid that you can add to
muffins, bread etc, or as Benefibre in pharmacies
• lactulose
- a synthetic sugar available as Actilax from
pharmacies
• Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate - do not confuse safe sulphates
with nasty sulphites, only for occasional use as a
laxative). A bath of Epsom salts is sometimes used to calm autistic children,
see www.epsomsaltcouncil.org for health benefits including a claim to ease
migraines. Consult your pharmacist about dosage.
• vanilla parachoc.
(November
2006)
Q: I have heard that the US National Academy of Sciences
concluded in 2002 that the only safe intake of trans fats is zero, and that the
World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended that
governments phase out partially hydrogenated oils. In
A: Trans fatty acid contents must be declared if a nutrition claim is made
in respect of cholesterol or saturated, trans, polyunsaturated or
monounsaturated fatty acids; or omega-3, omega-6 or omega-9 fatty acids. Some
food manufacturers voluntarily list the amount of trans fatty acids in their
products. FSANZ is proposing to allow manufacturers to use a claim that a food
'low in trans fatty acids and saturated fat can reduce the risk of heart
disease' when they introduce a new regulation on health claims on foods in
2007. This will assist consumers to make healthier choices and encourage the
food industry to develop healthier products.
The Australian Government
has also set up a National Collaboration on Trans Fats that includes
representatives from the Australian National Heart Foundation, the Australian
Food and Grocery Council, the Dietitians Association of Australia and FSANZ.
The primary aim of this group is to work cooperatively in reducing the amount
of trans fatty acids in the Australian food supply without an associated
increase in the amount of saturated fat. The group will promote wide
implementation of current industry and public health initiatives for reducing
the levels of trans fatty acids and increasing consumer awareness and
understanding. http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2006/transfattyacids24oct3388.cfm
Q. I know that failsafe eating is meant to help with PMT,
but my almost 15 year old daughter who has had monthly cramps but no period for
4 years suddenly got her period. We have been on the elimination diet for 3
weeks. Is this a coincidence?
A.
As well as an improvement in PMT, failsafe women have reported reductions in
period pain, postnatal depression and clots during menstrual bleeding. There
have also been several reports of overcoming infertility - in other words, a
pregnancy within months of starting failsafe after years of trying. So your
daughter’s experience is possibly not a coincidence. We’d love to hear of any
similar reports (email suedengate@ozemail.com.au).
Q. My daughter’s skin prick tests show a moderate allergy to
cows milk and we have trialled soymilk several times
but it makes her depressed, intrusive, argumentative and very negative (feels
the whole world is against her). She seems totally unaware of this occurring,
even when pointed out. Is this a reaction you are aware of?
A.
Some children do have behavioural reactions to soy
milk. We would like to hear from anyone else who has experienced soy-related
depression. (suedengate@ozemail.com.au)
Q. My 18yo son has been a failsafer
for 8 years now and has always been excellent with his diet. We recently had a very
upsetting time when over a period of months he deteriorated into an angry,
swearing, depressed young man. The cause turned out to be that an avid gym goer, he was taking Musashi
Protein food (powder) mixed with water, every single morning after going to the
gym to build himself up and as an additional protein source. The ingredients
included, amongst other things, a couple of flavour
enhancers, although not numbered. Would full cream canned milk powder or Sustagen be an alternative for him to take? He says he
needs to get the extra protein but obviously can’t cook himself up a meal as he
goes straight to work from the gym so something he can mix with water like he
did with the protein powder would be ideal.
A.
If he can tolerate dairy foods, milk powder or Sustagen
is okay. Pure egg white powder is another alternative you can sometimes find
amongst body building supplies, it goes well in a milk or soyshake.
Q. Can you tell me what sort of cooking oil I should use to
avoid macular degeneration (AMD)?
A.
A recent review in the Medical Journal of Australia found that the evidence
regarding dietary fats and AMD is conflicting regarding saturated,
polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats; that three out of nine studies found a
diet rich in dark green or yellow vegetables helpful; that the only proven
modifiable risk factor for AMD is smoking; and that a low fat healthy diet with
vegetables is probably a good idea. See the full details at http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/184_09_010506/guy11072_fm.html.
Q. Can pool chlorine affect children’s behaviour?
A.
Yes! This is a common problem every summer when schools start the swimming
programs, see story number [466], Swimming pool chlorine triggers oppositional
defiance.
Q. We’ve been meaning to do a dairy challenge but there
always seems to be a reason not to.
A.
From the beginning of January and right through first term is usually an
excellent time to do challenges because the party season is over.
Q. My oppositionally defiant
amine-sensitive daughter is having a hard time at the moment and I am wondering
if it might be due to spring flowers?
A.
It is well known that salicylate responders can be
affected by the scent of flowers and plant products such as bark, potpourri,
essential oils and incense and a salicylate-sensitive
failsafer from
Q. My daughter has had severe reactions to cochineal pink colour (120) in a strawberry milkshake and some sweets. The
reaction seems to occur within minutes and presents as a significant rash from
the part way up the nose across the face to the jaw line. She gets significant
swelling, although no breathing symptoms. Why is this not in your banned list?
A.
Reactions to cochineal (120) are true allergic reactions to proteins in the
cochineal which is made from crushed beetles. As such, they are quick and easy
to identify - which is what you have found. The treatment for true allergies
like this is avoidance of the allergen. Allergy to cochineal is quite rare
whereas the additives on our banned list cause a very wide range of intolerance
reactions in large numbers of consumers. Unlike allergies, intolerance
reactions are usually delayed and can be difficult to identify except through
the use of an elimination diet. (Further
reading: Chung K and others, Identification of carmine allergens among three
carmine allergy patients. Allergy. 2001 Jan;56(1):73-7, abstract on www.pubmed.com)
(August
2006)
Q: I see there have been food recalls and publicity in UK
about the carcinogen Sudan 1 in artificial colour
Sunset Yellow 110 and in some foods. What's happening in Australia?
A: If a change is made in international specifications for an additive,
which usually takes years through a committee known as JECFA, then the new
specification will be picked up when the Australia and New Zealand Food
Standards Code is amended and updated.. For instance, the permitted level of
lead in sunset yellow (110) has just been reduced from 10 to 2 mg/kg. Not that
any of us are eating such stuff.
Q: I have found a commercial bread, at a good price, made of
unbleached flour but it contains 282. The ones I can find without 282 contain
bleached flour. What is your opinion - which is worse ?
A:
282 is worse. The Bread Research Institute in Sydney confirmed that there is no
bleached flour produced or sold in Australia, nor is there permission for it.
The only exception is in commercial sponge flour, which you can't buy as a
flour at the retail level. If you buy a cooked sponge cake there is a small
chance that the flour will have been bleached to stabilise
the protein so the sponge doesn't collapse. A lot of the claims on websites for
bleaching of flour relate to US flours, which are made from red wheats which may be bleached to give a whiter appearance.
Q. For at least 2 years now I have constantly suffered from reflux
and could never work out what was the common ingredient. After seeing the 635
TV segment I found that 635 was a common element in the foods in our cupboard.
As an experiment I stopped eating foods that contained it and after two days
the reflux disappeared. About three weeks later I suffered another bout of bad
reflux and looked at what had changed. That night I had eaten some BBQ chips
that contained, you guessed it, 635. Are there other people for whom 635 has
had this effect?
A.
Yes! People react differently to food chemicals so any food chemical can cause
any reaction. While 635 is often associated with itchy rashes, it can also be
associated with any other food intolerance symptoms including reflux and
children’s behaviour. On our DVD, one woman talks
about itchy rashes, swelling of the lips and tongue and extremely painful
spasms of the oesophagus due to 635. “I thought I was
going to die,“ she says. Although food regulators claim consumers are protected
by food additive labelling, in our experience both
consumers and their health care providers are usually unaware of the effects of
food additives, resulting in years of unnecessary pain and medication.
Q. Is it possible that fish oil could have caused an
increase in my Aspergers son’s behaviour
problems? It may purely coincidence but it appears that his behaviour
seriously deteriorated when we started giving him the fish oil and it improved
(or rather went back to what it was before the fish oil) a couple of days after
we stopped giving it to him.
A. Fish oil is thought to benefit
about 30 per cent of children with learning or behaviour
problems. Others can be badly affected due to the presence of natural salicylates (in ingredients such as thyme oil, evening
primrose oil and lemon or lime flavouring) and
natural amines in fish oils. Failsafers have reported
adverse reactions including behaviour problems,
depression and migraines to a range of fish oil products. See below for reader
reports regarding children's reactions. Some families do a fish oil challenge
for a week or more while keeping a careful food and symptom dairy - at the end
of the time, parents can review the diary and decide whether their child is
better or worse. For more details and
reader reports regarding the fish oil’s claims to be salicylate
and amine free, and some children's reactions, see the new factsheet:
Fish oils, Vitamins and Vegetables.
Q. With depression etc at record highs, I’m just wondering
if anyone has done a study on tartrazine (colour 102) and its effects on emotions, more specifically,
depression. I have been challenging
things from my seven year old daughter’s diet. Yesterday we had some fruit mentos and afterwards she was teary, her eyes were purple and
red and blotchy. As for me I felt
suddenly stressed and angry. This lasted about 1/2 hour for me and about 1 hour
for her.
A.
The link between food chemicals and depression is generally not recognized by
the medical profession, and there is only a little research about it, see the Depression factsheet
on our website and also the Sleep
Disturbance factsheet. Most of the studies on
food colours have concerned hyperactivity but food
chemicals including artificial colours and salicylates can affect people in different ways. Some
children may become hyperactive, loud or aggressive after exposure to
artificial colours or salicylates
while others may become quiet, inattentive, tearful or anxious. Effects of food
chemicals can change with age, so that children who react with hyperactivity in
primary school may react with depression in high school. If they are eating
food chemicals that affect them all the time, the condition will appear to be
chronic as reported in the Parker and Watkins 2003 paper described in the
depression factsheet. This issue is so overlooked
that medications for depression are coloured with
artificial colours!
Q. My sister says I should take my kids to Advanced Allergy
Elimination (AAE) to get them desensitized. Can you tell me if that works?
A.
There is no scientific basis for AAE and it can be very expensive. Some people
say it has helped them. Others say it hasn’t.
Q. Is home brand OK
for soy drink, wheat bix, rice bubbles and 2 minute
noodles (the ingredients say wheat flour, vegetable oil (palm) water and salt?
A.
Read the labels carefully. Some home brand products are OK but if you buy a
product that contains any vegetable oil (that includes 2 minute noodles or soy drink), it probably
contains unlisted antioxidants like BHA (320) in the vegetable oil. It is
impossible for us to get accurate information about legally unlisted
antioxidants in vegetable oils in homebrand products
so we don’t recommend them.
Q. We have been through the RPA elimination diet but my
three year old did not fit the mould.
She has major reactions to anything orange or yellow such as corn,
pumpkin, apricots, citrus fruits, pineapple, egg, etc Her reactions occur almost instantly at the
slightest amount of any of the above – there is no build up. It is enough to use the same spoon to serve
peas as carrots to give her a reaction.
A. I can’t find anything in the medical literature about allergy or
intolerance to beta-carotene but you are not the first to report this problem.
I would like to hear from anyone else who thinks they may have a sensitivity to
this food chemical. (email confoodnet@ozemail.com.au)
Q. My son had a severe outbreak of hives while taking
Robitussin ME for a cough. The doctor was surprised with the reaction to the
Robitussin, but as soon as we discontinued using the product the hives went
away.
A.
This is the second report of severe reactions to Robitussin ME we have
received, so it is worth reporting it - the Adverse Events Medications Hotline
ceased to exist from June 2006, due to lack of funding but the Adverse Drug
Reactions Advisory Committee can be contacted with reports of reactions.
Although this is technically not their role, they are apparently very concerned
about the situation and will take note of any reports. ADRAC phone 1800 044
114.
Q. I saw a dietician but she seemed quite vague about it and
I got a lot more information from your site than she gave me anyway. I really
need to see a good dietician so any recommendations would be appreciated.
A.
We receive a lot of feedback like this. Our list of supportive dietitians is
available on request from confoodnet@ozemail.com.au.
If you are prepared to travel, ask for one of our miracle workers, a small
group of dietitians who are very experienced and talented. If you see someone who
is less than helpful, please give us the name so we can warn others. Dietitians
in hospitals and community health centres are free,
some are helpful, some are not. There are some good free dietitians on our
list. To find a private dietitian, you can go to the dietitians’ website www.daa.asn.au, click on Find an APD, choose
Allergy and Food Sensitivity (under Area of Practice), and your suburb or state
as your search terms, then look for anyone near you - and let us know what you
think of them! The best way to judge a dietitian is to ask them how many years
experience they have in supervising the RPA elimination diet.
(May 2006)
Q. I am wondering if you can tell me what food groups
aggravate arthritis as my father is suffering from arthritis in his feet. He
has already noticed that when he eats tomatoes and also dark chocolate, his
feet are a lot worse for the next few days.
A.
Salicylates, amines, additives, dairy and wheat – any
or all can affect arthritics. Suspect salicylates
first. Tomatoes contain both salicylates and amines,
chocolate contains only amines, so it could be both affecting him or only
amines – also in cheese, wine, tinned or frozen fish, broccoli, tomatoes,
bananas, mushrooms and many others.
Q. I have read your books, which have been terrific! I have
applied your facts to my own children and I am forever getting credit for their
good behaviour, many thanks to you!! I was wondering
if you have yet got a DVD out. I know a
lot of friends that would take the time to watch a DVD rather than sit and read
a book!
A.
Thanks for asking - yes we have, it was released on 1 May 2006, see some very
positive reader comments in One Liners. Details on www.fedup.com.au
(our new easy to spell website name).
Q. I was also wondering if you are
going to do a talk in Ballina or Lismore soon?
Q. Is there anywhere to get soft
canned pears? Lately they’ve been like rocks.
Q. I saw Velcorin listed on a fruit juice label. Is it a safe
additive?