FAILSAFE #50
Newsletter
of the Food Intolerance Network
October
- December 2006
|
The Food Intolerance Network supports people worldwide using a low-chemical elimination diet free of additives, low in salicylates, amines and flavour enhancers (FAILSAFE) for health, behaviour and learning problems. |
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Also available as a downloadable PDF file http:www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/newsletters/FAILsaf50.pdf
The FAILSAFE Newsletter is available free by email. Just send your email
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THIS MONTH
2006 Lobbying report
Fed Up with Children’s Behaviour – the DVD
Research:
Mothers’
diet during breastfeeding can affect babies, Propionic acid in rats can cause
autistic symptoms,
In brief: Perfume sensitivity, Asthma increase at
school start
Targeting…Kraft Foods
Readers' stories: [459] - [474]
Product updates: detailed help and information.
Questions: detailed help and information.
Cooks Corner: Evil bean bruschetta, Sam’s Barra Cakes, Nell’s
cake (with egg-free option), Birthday bombe
Hello
everyone
A few years ago when a
mother reported her two-year-old’s seizures had stopped on switching to
preservative-free bread, I thought ‘how will anyone believe this?’ Now overseas
research has shown a link not only between propionates and seizures in rats,
but also with autistic symptoms. New research also confirms the link between colic
in babies and what their mothers eat. On the lobbying front, there’s continuing
good news. And thanks to all who have contributed fascinating reader stories,
as well as helpful insights on the particularly important talking point about
punishment. Coping with Christmas parties? Nell’s cake makes an easy party
plate, and for those after indulgence, see the amazing Birthday Bombe.
I wish you a happy and safe
festive season.
Sue Dengate
2006 Lobbying report
Many thanks to everyone
who has written and phoned food manufacturers this year, we are pleased to see
that at least two of the products on our Nasty Food Awards list are now
additive-free! A failsafer who has just returned from the UK tells us that
labelling is better there and there are more additive-free foods available, so
this is what we are aiming for – manufacturers won’t make the change unless we
tell them what we want. Thanks also to all those who have joined the
subscription list for this newsletter (email "subscribe" in the
subject line to: failsafe_newsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com)
- we now have nearly 4,500 members, enough for food companies to take notice of
us as a lobbying organisation, and we look forward to a successful 2007. As
this newsletter goes out, Howard is meeting FSANZ in Canberra for a review of
their activities in relation to food intolerance and food additives, and also
to hear the next step in our submission to have all synthetic antioxidants
shown on labels.
Fed Up with Children’s Behaviour – the DVD
Thanks to everyone who
has emailed to say how useful and entertaining Sue’s new DVD has proven. Many people are buying
it for their schools as a resource, daycare centres lend it to parents, schools
use it to teach children and lend it to parents, parents lend it to educate
their doctor, mothers lend it to less-than-supportive ex- spouses and grandparents, kids enjoy it more than a
book….you can buy it through the website, or order from any Angus &
Robertson’s bookstore, or Australia Online Bookstore http://www.bookworm.com.au, Capers
Bookstore http://www.capersbookstore.com.au,
some Dymocks Bookstores, Informed Voice Magazine http://www.informedvoice.com.au,
Learning Connections http://www.learningconnections.com.au,
and many more places. An NTSC version (for USA, Canada, Japan and South America)
is available – check the website.
|
Research |
Mothers’ diet during
breastfeeding can affect babies
A Melbourne
study has shown that colic in babies is associated with the mother’s diet.
Mothers of 90 breastfed babies aged less than 6 weeks were asked to chart the
times their baby cried/fussed while changing their diets for one week. All of
the mothers were asked to avoid food additives; as well, half of the mothers
were asked to avoid common allergens (cows milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts,
wheat, soy and fish) while the other half deliberately ate these foods. At the
end of the study, researchers found that nearly 40% of the additive free group
and 75% of the additive and allergen free group had improved significantly,
although two thirds of the babies still had colic. Hill DJ and others, Effect
of a low-allergen maternal diet on colic among breastfed infants, Pediatrics,2005;116(5):e709-15,
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/116/5/e709.pdf.
A previous study found that rates of colic were higher on days when mothers had
eaten fruit or chocolate (Evans RW and others, Maternal diet and infantile
colic in breast-fed infants, Lancet 1981;1(8234):1340-2) but we couldn’t find
any studies that specifically looked at an additive free, low salicylate, low
amine diet despite numerous positive reports from breastfeeding failsafers.
Propionic acid in rats can
cause autistic symptoms
A study from the University of Western Ontario
is being hailed as further confirmation of the link between food and autism.
Researchers focused on propionic acid, one of the propionate group (280-283)
commonly used as a bread preservative. Interest in propionates has arisen from the neurological
symptoms suffered by children with a build up of propionates due to a metabolic
disorder called propionic acidaemia. When propionic acid was injected into the brains of lab rats, they showed reversible
repetitive behaviours, hyperactivity, turning behaviour, seizures and signs of social impairment resembling that in autistic
patients. Brain analyses showed an inflammatory response closely resembling
those found in a recent study on autistic brain material. From Food link to autism found by Jennifer
O’Brien, Sun Media, October 18, 2006; Derrick F MacFabe et al,
Neurobiological effects of intraventricular propionic acid in rats: Possible
role of short chain fatty acids on the pathogenesis and characteristics of
autism spectrum disorders. Behavioural Brain Research (2006),
doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2006.07.025, full free text available under publications at http://psychology.uwo.ca. At the same
time, another study found that propionic acid can
cause seizures in laboratory rats - Rigo FK and others, Propionic acid induces
convulsions and protein carbonylation in rats, Neurosci Lett 2006;408(2):151-4
(abstract at www.pubmed.com); and German
biochemists investigating how propionate can inhibit the growth of mould
concluded that despite the different metabolism in fungi and humans, ‘the
accumulation of propionyl Co-A [propionate metabolite] might show severe
effects not only on fungal but also on human cells …’ See Brock M and Buckel W,
On the mechanism of action of the antifungal agent propionate, Eur J Biochem
2004;271(15):3227-41, free very technical text at http://content.febsjournal.org/cgi/content/full/271/15/3227.
Diet not working as well as you'd hoped?
One tiny mistake can make a huge difference. For fine-tuning, see the Checklist of common mistakes.
Readers tell us this list is very useful.
|
In brief |
Perfume
sensitivity - Powerful synthetic perfume formulations that can be used at
higher levels have been blamed for the increase in fragrance sensitivity and
MCS cases since the 1980s. See Hell’s Smells by Elisabeth King, The Age,
Asthma
increase at school start – research shows there is a significant jump in asthma each
year when school starts. Cases in hospital emergency departments can jump from
about 300 in January to as high as 1600 in February, although doctors have no
idea why. Parents are warned to monitor their asthmatic children at this time.
From Parents warned to watch for asthma
attacks as school returns, http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/sophie_scott/newsitems/s1558403.htm
.While the National Asthma Council tells doctors that asthma is not related to
food, our experience, WHO recommendations and research disagree, see the first
item in One-liners, below.
|
Now targeting… We team up with Western Australian-based www.additivealert.com.au to target a different additive in each newsletter. |
Now targeting: Kraft Foods have added preservative 200 (sorbic
acid) to all their tub-style
Thanks to
Sonia who wrote: ‘I sent a "please explain" email querying why on
earth they would do this, when I really thought the message was getting through
that preservatives are bad … I told them all the reasons they shouldn't - that
adults and children alike suffer can suffer an endless list of physical and
psychological/behavioural disturbances from the use of preservatives, and that
I for one would have to seek out an alternative brand.
And thanks to Lyn who wrote: ‘Deanne from Kraft customer relations suggested that if there were enough complaints lodged they may revert to having no preservatives. She said they had added the preservative because they had complaints about mould growth in the tubs (never an issue in our house!) Please encourage all failsafers to get onto this one either by emailing Kraft or ringing them.
Kraft
Foods Limited
187 Todd Road
Fishermans Bend VIC 3207
Tel: (03) 9676 5555
http://www.kraft.com.au/philadelphia/contact.cfm
|
Readers' stories |
The first story is the Courage Award
for the best story in this Newsletter, with the prize being a copy of the DVD
“Fed Up with Children’s Behaviour”. If you have some helpful comments on this issue, please
email suedengate@ozemail.com.au:
[459] Dealing with
ex-husbands (November 2006)
Hi. I can already give you some feedback, as my 3 children and I have
been on the elimination diet for 3 days. My eldest child is 14 (depression,
asthma, sleeplessness, fatigue, restless legs, easily irritated, unmotivated
etc): this morning she got out of bed without being nagged, had a shower
without being told, all while smiling! I stopped taking antidepressants 2 weeks
ago, and today for the first time since, I am not feeling my normal symptoms of
depression. My youngest, 3, is hyperactive and today has been a lot calmer. He
also normally wakes about
(later) thank you thank you!
Despite all of my best efforts, my ex-husband is aggressively sabotaging
my efforts with my children, constantly telling them that failsafe foods are
'silly' and if they ask for failsafe foods he gets cross at them. They spent
one night at his house (Day 11 of the elim.diet) and he gave them everything he
could think of that was on the list of 'Don'ts'. Consequently they came home
silly. Neither of the boys (6 and 3) could get to sleep that night, the
littlest one crying and rolling around in bed sobbing 'I can't stop, I can't
stop'. In desperation I gave them both a half teaspoon of bi carb, thinking
'this isn't going to do anything' (I should know better!). As it tasted so
awful I let them chase it with a Werther's. Within 10 minutes they were both
asleep....- by email. See also Talking
point, below.
[474] One-liners (November
2006)
After seeing your DVD, we immediately cut out all dried fruit and muesli
bars from our two-year-old’s diet and were absolutely stunned to see that her
persistent cough that usually kicks in around
I first read Fed Up seven years ago when my then 3-year-old was
suffering severe eczema. I started eliminating additives and colours and her
eczema went in a week and has not returned.
We solved my father-in-law’s severe eczema after visiting your website.
He was using Wintergreen and Deep Heat to relieve joint pain symptoms and dermatologist
couldn't cure his problem at all. Since following the low salicylate diet, he
is 100%. He can not believe that the stiffness, aching joints and bad eczema
have all disappeared.
We are attempting to do this in a split family. When I first started my
son’s dad was not on board, however, he is now seeing the amazing changes and
is slowly becoming more failsafe as time go on.
My three-year-old son has been on the diet for three months now and it
has been a miracle for our family. He has no eczema, his behaviour is fantastic
(the sweet gentle caring child I knew was hiding in there somewhere), his
faeces are back to normal, he has not had a runny nose since starting the diet,
no abdominal pain and he goes to sleep and sleeps all night with no night terrors
(we were dealing with three or four a night). WOW, what a difference. We have
found he is sensitive to amines and salicylates.
Thank you for providing such an informative website without requiring
payment to view the information - it shows that you all really care about
helping these kids and their families.
My 10-year-old daughter recently started becoming tearful and depressed
sometimes - I was amazed when she worked out it was a reaction to sharing her
Dad's chips - 'It's the flavour enhancers Mum, they just make me want to cry
for no reason'.
You were right about salicylates! My six year old son has improved so
much more now that we are avoiding them.
My hayfever has completely disappeared and my two children have become
angels on this diet - my 2 year old has stopped her temper tantrums and is
sleeping better and my 5 yr old son is like a new boy, happily playing on his
own for hours, drawing, building blocks. He realises that "food with
colours and chemicals make me silly" - I can't believe he is actively
trying to avoid those foods because he feels so much better!
Your information has helped me overnight. After 36 years of difficulties
and the last 5 years of stomach problems I am in a state of euphoric bliss. I
have read so much on health over the years but have felt I was fighting a
losing battle, I can’t believe how simple this has been to fix. Thank you for
it is an amazing journey this life which I am sure I will (permanently) no
longer feel like ending. I’m off for failsafe toad in the hole now with a big
smile on my face.
[473] Two weeks of hell from
coloured antibiotics (November 2006)
‘Middle ear infections suck!’ Words from my own son’s lips - he is
suffering today, poor darling. So of course it was off to the doctor for some
antibiotics and of course they are in an attractive bright yellow capsule. I
painstakingly undid all the yellow caps one by one and repackaged them in clear
caps. Took me almost 30 min to do 21 caps but well worth the effort in not
having diet issues together with illness. Had that issue before and it's not
fun. It took my son almost two weeks to get over the "junk" hit the
last time he was sick, it was hell. Just thought it might be a good tip for
others, providing their children can swallow capsules. Finding pre packaged
anti B's in clear or white caps is hard (see Surgi Pack clear gelatin capsules
under product updates). – Michelle, by
email
[472] ‘Years of difficult
days, tears of frustration and questioning myself as a mother’ (November 2006)
Two years ago I made the link between certain breads and my then
two-year-old’s out-of-control behaviour. He had been born with reflux, and at 8
months we found he was allergic to wheat, which later became an intolerance. I
have endured countless judgements from people regarding my "theories"
that even preservative free breads from the supermarket still affected his
behaviour considerably. Making my own bread has had a major impact on improving
his behaviour, he is like a different child, but I have been struggling to find
compassionate people to help me take the next step in assessing his diet
further. He is a great child, but is "more excitable", "over
active", "emotional". Many words have been used to describe him
but I've always been told that I lack parenting skills and I am hiding behind
excuses to explain his behaviour. In your website I have found people that
understand me and him. In other people's stories I read my own, countless
times. After years of difficult days, tears of frustration and questioning
myself as a mother, I feel I've finally found people who are "on my
side". I feel validated. – by
email,
[471] Chronic tic disorder
from synthetic antioxidants (November 2006)
My three boys have been avoiding a number of additives for many years
now because of obvious affects on their behaviour and health. Last year my
oldest son – then 8 years old - was diagnosed with Chronic Tic Disorder which
is one step before Tourettes Syndrome. He could not sit still, having tics in
his face, neck, shoulders and arms. After a period of time, I realised that
this behaviour coincided with an increase in eating hot chips. I stopped my son
eating hot chips and the tics went away. I have since tried him on hot chips
and the same thing happens. The culprit is the synthetic antioxidant 320
(and/or 319) that appears in most chips and oil used for deep frying. However,
manufacturers of frozen chips, and other products such as packet chips/crisps
and dry biscuits do not need to list the additive on the label if the oil is
less than 5% of the product. Not good enough! How can I help my son be “tic
free” if we don’t know when these nasty additives are in certain foods? – by email
[470] Overcoming resistance
(November 2006)
I purchased Sue's book "Fed Up" 8 years ago and tried to
implement it into the family but met with resistance. The one thing that all in
the family agreed was that our daughter was food colouring intolerant. Now
after viewing the DVD the entire family and grandparents agree that she needs
further help. We removed preservatives
also from her diet and have seen some amazing results. Not only has she calmed
down, but so have her brother and sister. Thank you both for all you are trying
to do. We do need to encourage more people about the dreaded inclusions in our
diet. I am a primary school teacher and I see too often the detrimental effects
of additives on children’s behaviour. Our children are screaming out for help,
if only the officials would open their minds and hearts to listen – by
email
[469] ‘Old fashioned butcher
is safer’ - asthma from amines in meat
(November 2006)
My amine-sensitive asthmatic daughter has been back on Ventolin daily
for the past five weeks. The only amines she gets are from lamb from our local butcher
who I know well. When I rang him he said that he changed lamb supplier five
weeks ago (the same time my daughter’s asthma commenced) as our local abattoir
closed down, and this is complicated by the drought as the butcher will only
buy large carcasses and these are not always available in the drought.
I have located another butcher who tells me his lamb is at local
saleyards on Wednesday, slaughtered Thursday and they get delivery late Friday.
My daughter is better today after nearly a week off lamb and hasn’t required
Ventolin for the first time in five weeks. I worry as to how new failsafers
would pick up things like their meat not being entirely fresh as it appears
harder and harder to get. The safest butchers appear to be the 'one man'
butcher i.e. small business operator who runs the old fashioned butcher shop. I
have found failsafe eating harder and harder to achieve and I am experienced
with the diet. This makes me very sad as I know it is the answer, just hard to
achieve! – Susan, NSW
[468] Lots of mistakes at
first (November 2006)
My daughter Samantha is now eight and has been failsafe for about two
years. To begin with we were making a number of errors with the diet and it
wasn't until I started referring to your web pages that I was able to better
refine the diet and start to work through some of the possible reasons why the
diet didn't always seem to be working.
Samantha was always a fairly demanding baby but as she was our first we
didn't really know any different. As a
toddler she was not the sort of child that was easy to take out to a café for
lunch - sitting still wasn't something that she could do, frustrating but I
could cope with that and didn't really worry about it.
The first signs that started us thinking were a little eczema after
eating dried fruit and complaining of her skin burning after urinating, which
seemed to be much worse after eating oranges and tomatoes. At about the same time that we started taking
note of these I met someone whose child was failsafe and I started reading
about food intolerances. It all started
to make sense. Pity that we didn't find your material straight away however we
fiddled around eliminating some of the very high foods from her diet. Some
improvement on the skin irritations but her behaviour although not extreme was
becoming noticeable at times
When Samantha went to school she was displaying some behaviours that were
inappropriate. We could never really put our finger on the type of behaviour
that she was displaying it was just silly inappropriate behaviour, silly
noises, crawling under the desks etc. As she is a bright child we were
perplexed about why she couldn't seem to understand and learn how to behave at
school. It was at about this time that
we discovered your material although it was not a total success straight away.
When Samantha eats food that is not failsafe it seems she displays symptoms of
oppositional defiance. It took time to realise just how sensitive Samantha is
and to sort out some of the common errors we were making.
We are extremely lucky as Samantha is absolutely wonderful about
sticking to the diet. I grew up on a
farm where my mother did all the cooking so I guess I have learnt pretty good
cooking skills. As I now cook just about everything, it does seem to be a bit
of a bonus. – by email,
[467] 635: Ribo rash and
increased sensitivity (November 2006)
I suspect my daughter has an intolerance to flavour enhancer 635 because
we have noticed reactions to the noodle flavour sachet and since then she has
had a few reactions (itchy rash) to other snack-food products containing 635. A
recent bout seemed likely to have been set off by eating sour cream and onion
flavoured Pringles. Although the tiny print on the box does not list 635 or
ribonucleotide, it lists the two other flavour enhancers which 635 is made from
(627 and 631). We had let our guard down as she had not had a reaction for some
time and begged on the school holidays to have the Pringles. Her rash seems to
also flare up when she goes in the swimming pool, so obviously it is more
complicated than I thought ... once a few years ago she got an insect bite
which swelled, and then for about a week she'd get a rash when going in the
school pool or our pool at home. It eventually went away, and she's been fine
swimming for years, until now. But the cross reactivity (is that what you call
it?) in the past with the insect bite, and now with the 635 (if that is indeed
what it is) and the pool water shows how allergy/intolerance ain't that simple.
Has anyone else noticed subsequent problems with rash flaring up when going in
a swimming pool? – by email
[466] Swimming pool chlorine
triggers oppositional defiance (November 2006)
Part one:
In the last five weeks our son’s ODD behaviour has been getting steadily worse.
A lot of the time he is fine (with flashes of naughtiness), and then BANG,
major, violent tantrum. I have just gone over the diary fairly meticulously and
noticed that exactly five weeks ago he started swimming lessons in the local
swimming school. The very next day after his first lesson, I noted that he
seemed to be a bit irritated, and was a bit irritated on a couple of other days
that week.
The following Saturday, after the lesson, I noted that he seemed grumpy,
but it was short lived and reappeared off and on a couple of days later. By the Tuesday we had a screaming tantrum
(unheard of for weeks and weeks). From there on the irritation was there much
more often, and every couple of days he would be in timeout, mouthing off (ODD
raising it's ugly head).
The last three weeks have been not good for him (or us) and this
morning, I could see it coming on before school and sure enough we had a huge
tantrum, where he was threatening to hit me with the toilet brush (he was
timing out in the bathroom), he was being really nasty calling me names etc and
was out to hurt me. When I got him to
school (he had calmed down and was really sorry by then), I had to warn his
teacher. I was thinking of taking him
out of school until he calms down again, or at least until we find what is
causing this.
Could this all be coming from chlorine?
Usually after the swimming lesson we would take him to the local pool next
day to practice so there's a double dose. He has always swum in our spa and his
cousin's pool with no ill effects, however is it possible the swimming school
and public pools would be more heavily chlorinated than the normal backyard
one?
(Sue: It is common for ODD kids to react badly to chlorine, and yes, the
chlorine level in public pools is usually much heavier than home pools. Some
people get around it by having the child wear goggles -you can easily absorb
toxic chemicals through your eyes - and shower immediately after leaving the
pool. Others prefer to swim in fresh water swimming holes, the sea, salt water
pools, or low chlorine pools.)
Part two: another
look at the diary shows that for the last three weeks we have had a major
tantrum on the afternoon following the lesson and then again the next day after
the local pool - the reason for the behaviour was staring me in the face, and I
didn't see it as I was looking for food triggers.
I have looked back further in the diary, where it showed the last real
tantrum was during the last school holidays. I had noted that he had been at
the local pool that morning, and lost the plot in the afternoon, so I don't
think I need any more proof than that! I wish I had twigged earlier, I kept
looking for food reasons. I'm really
pleased it wasn't food. – by email, NT
[465] Trip report: food in
We are just back from a 5 week trip around
[464] Food intolerance
developed in an adult (November 2006)
Seven years ago at the age of 55 I had a very nasty gastro-intestinal
virus which led to CFS and IBS. Because
of the severity of the IBS, I had many tests - some nasty, with scary
implications. Finally, a very helpful
dietitian (who works closely with the RPAH allergy unit) put me onto the
elimination diet nearly 2 years ago. We
have found that I have numerous intolerances:
lactose, gluten, salicylates, amines, soy, MSG, sorbitol, sulphites,
benzoates, annatto - to name a few.... –
by email
[463] “Tell Sue I’m not a
cranky pants anymore” (November 2006)
I am a primary teacher and thought I had done everything 'right' to
prepare my daughter for school. I was surprised and shocked when the teacher
was less than enthusiastic about her first day. Despite her apparent high
intelligence, Amelia has progressed slowly and her teacher describes her as
inattentive and unaware of what is going on in the classroom.
After three terms of this I finally relented and took Amelia to see a
paediatrician. She was diagnosed with ADHD (it is also suspected that my
husband had ADHD as a child and has leant to channel his energy into work and
sport). I was very reluctant to give Amelia the prescribed dose of Ritalin,
particularly as her behaviour wasn't unmanageable at home. (After reading your
book, perhaps I have been an 'immersion' mother and have fooled myself by
thinking 'my child isn't a bad as that'.)
After much discussion my husband and I decided to trial Ritalin. I only
lasted two days before maternal guilt, severe anxiety (particularly after
looking at www.Ritalindeath.com) and
Amelia's racing heartbeat helped us to make the decision to stop the
medication. It was after my husband talked about our experiences at work, that
one of his colleagues suggested we look at your website.
That was a significant day in our household. The next day, with the help
of my children we emptied out the cupboards and started failsafe. The changes
that your suggestions have made to my family are impressive. After 11 days on
the diet, I received my first unsolicited positive comment from Amelia's
teacher about her work and she also got two awards in the same week.
My 2 1/2 year old son has demonstrated even more dramatic improvement.
Even though we didn't think there was a specific need for him to be on the
diet, we are doing it as a family. Behaviours that I put down to being a boy –
climbing on everything, running everywhere, talking loudly - have all stopped
and he is now a gentle, quiet little boy. His day care teacher is amazed by the
changes in him.
As for me, the headaches that I have experienced every few days have
stopped and the psoriasis on my arms is starting to heal. I have read three of
your books and it is if I have woken from a dream. Your description of your
daughter in year 1 and husband could be about my family. When I read p38
"She'll grow out of it" Fed up with ADHD I was astounded - that is
Amelia!!!! She is also very good at drawing and is a creative, lateral thinker
(not that these qualities have been recognised at school).
Sue, I thank you for the years of trial and error that you have gone
through to make this so much easier for all the families who are experiencing
problems now. Amelia asked me to say thank you from her in this letter. 'Tell
Sue I'm not a cranky pants anymore' she said. – email, NSW
[462] Failsafe homeschooling
(November 2006)
My daughter is nine years old now and I intend to keep her home schooled
for the rest of her school years. Not only is she behaving better because she
eats only failsafe food but her concentration has improved, she enjoys learning
and is learning more and is a far happier child as a result. I'd strongly
recommend home schooling for parents of kids with ADHD. Before we started home
schooling, my daughter exhibited strongly ODD behaviour patterns and was
becoming a very unhappy and unsettled little girl. It's so good to see her
playing happily with the others and being able to hold a conversation instead of
fighting and tormenting.
Socialisation is no problem for us. We are already a large family,
however, we organise outside activities as well. Our kids do a horsemanship
course (their choice) as well as other activities that bring them into contact
with others. Last year we tried our daughter with ballet for a while but would
have been better with all-in wrestling. This year she's doing trampolining.
It's more her style. Largely, I think that kids in schools get too much of the
one kind of socialisation. I personally think they develop better if they learn
to socialise with people across all age groups.
To get permission to home school is easy, in NSW you download the
application forms from the Board of Studies website, fill them in and send
them, but there are a few things that need to be in place.
Firstly, you need to develop a plan of what you are going to teach. To
help with this, the website of the Board of Studies has a site that tells what
subjects have to be taught and what sort of components in each subject you need
to address. It's the normal school curriculum that has to be followed. I found
this a bit worrying at first but it ended up being fairly easy. I am a trained
primary school teacher which did of course make things much easier, but I found
the greatest amount of help from other home schooling parents on the internet.
You do not have to be a teacher to home school but you do need to develop a
pretty good program. I'm pleased to say that the Board of Studies has approved
the programs that I've written for my girls and has asked if I would help other
homeschooling parents in my area, which I do and I'd be happy to help
'failsafers' with theirs if they need it.- Chris (vwilder@optusnet.com.au).
[461] At 8 my daughter was a
horrible bully suspended from school (November 2006)
My story started with an uncontrollable daughter who at 8 years of age
was already getting suspended from school and was a horrible bully. The school
wrote me a referral to a paediatrician. At the time I thought would only mean
having her medicated to control her which I was dead set against.
I have two older boys that were very well behaved so I wanted to find
the cause of the problem and not just cover it up with medication. Three days
after Christmas 2002 my daughter went off to such a degree that all I could do
was hold on to her while she bit, kicked and screamed until she was physically
exhausted. That was when I knew there was something seriously wrong so I went
to see a child psychologist who fortunately for me recommended your book Fed
Up.
Within a month I went from thinking my daughter was destined for jail to
thinking what a lovely young girl she is turning into. The results were
noticeable that quickly. And from my daughter’s point of view she felt better
within herself. She was no longer on an emotional roller coaster every day.
Because of how she felt on the diet it made it easy to keep her on it. She was
feeling a whole lot more in control of herself.
Since cleaning out our cupboards I noticed that my eldest boy no longer
suffered migraines and no longer took so long with gut aches on the toilet. So
obviously he also was affected by these chemicals but in a different manner
than my uncontrollable daughter.
Now in our family two of my nephews and a niece have also gone on the
diet with the same excellent results. One of my nephews went from struggling to
get through one reader a week to reading one a night almost instantly.
My daughter is now twelve with her full potential being realised and is
the biggest advocate of all for the failsafe diet. We laugh now about what we
refer to as her "psychotic episodes" (which thankfully we haven't
seen in a few years now). I used to think "what did I do so wrong with my
daughter. My boys are good boys where did I go wrong." It was good to
learn that it wasn't anything I did wrong as such. It was the food I was feeding
her. – email, NT
[460] Severe egg allergy in a
3 year old discovered through the elimination diet (November 2006)
Our 3 year old always had puffy eyes, we just thought that was the way
she looked. We don't eat whole eggs, I would only use them in cooking such as
in a cake or at most a quiche because I used to throw up after eating them as a
child. After we started the elimination diet my husband made the home made Mayo
in your recipe book and because it uses raw egg, she had a more pronounced
response. We missed the first response, it’s so much easier with
hindsight! She mucked up at the dinner
table straight away after trying the salad, wouldn't sit still, so we sent her
to her room. After 5 minutes I went in and her eye was all puffy, I asked her
what happened, did she fall? and she said "yes". But I noticed that
the eye didn't blacken like a bruise over the next day or so. Two days later my
husband gave her the same salad dressing. Again she mucked up at the dinner
table, I took her to her room, but I laid her on the change table and that's
when I saw she had hives coming up around her mouth. I knew that was bad so I
grabbed her and took her straight to the hospital. Over three hours she slowly
reacted, the hives went down and then the eyes started puffing up. We saw the
Paediatric Registrar who told us "these things sometimes happen when they
have a virus - take her home and giver her antihistamine". At that stage
one eye was almost closed and the other eye was well on the way and the doctor
had noticed she had a runny nose. I was yet to learn so much. I took her home,
the runny nose wasn't from a cold it was her nasal airways closing up. I gave
her the antihistamine and we stayed up most of the night to make sure she was
okay.
After that I rang the hospital and asked for a referral to get her
checked for egg allergy and the paediatrician tried to fob me off. If there is
one thing I have learnt with my five year old, it is that I have to be my
child's advocate. I stood my ground and pushed until the doctor gave in. When
we eventually got to see the allergist some four months later, my suspicion was
confirmed. My daughter was very allergic to both egg white and egg yolk. Not
anaphylactic, one step away. I have since been to a number of talks and learnt
about anaphylaxis. One of the most important things I have since learnt (for
us) is that children who have a decent allergy to an item, will often turn anaphylactic
if they go on to develop asthma. My husband and I are both asthmatic and are
now very vigilant. – by email, and see
Nell’s egg free cake recipe in Cooks Corner (Failsafe Newsletter #50).
MORE READERS' STORIES on the website, including 49 new stories about
Additive 635 (mixture of 627 & 631) ribonucleotides
|
Product updates |
*** PRODUCT WARNING ***
Kraft cream cheese
– from July 2006 all cream cheese in tubs and mini-tubs contains potassium
sorbate 202 preservative. The
Icecream – several people have asked about
Mototo, the decadent dessert (Alternative Foods Company Pty Ltd, 07 3254 3782, www.mototodairyfree.com). It
contains Filtered Water, Sugar, Vegetable Fat (no additives but contains
salicylates and amines from coconut), Glucose (maize) (60-110ppm sulphites),
Egg yolk, Dextrose (maize), Rice Starch, Maltodextrin (tapioca), Emulsifier
471, Vegetable Gums 401, 466, Mineral Salts 341, 339, Flavour (natural,
vanilla), Salt. Not suitable for your strict elimination diet, OK for an
occasional treat.
Gluten-free ice-cream
cone! Hullabaloo Foods have finally perfected a
cone (but ask for honey-free) available through www.hullabaloofood.com, and other
regular failsafe products (i.e. not just gluten-free) skinless dried pear,
popples, yoghurt clusters and specially for gluten, egg and dairy-free
failsafers "magic cake mix" (Citric Acid for flavour). Hullabaloo Red
is the group which targets failsafers. Jane is also active in (trying to)
change school canteen food - although not failsafe - her canteen range is
preservative/additive free (SAFE), nut free and meets FOCIS (Federation of
Canteens in Schools) guidelines for healthy eating.
Clear gelatin capsules, Surgi pack, code 6034, size
"00" (the big ones), distributed by Tyco Healthcare Pty Ltd Sydney.
Well worth the money. – thanks to
Michelle, see story [473].
***PRODUCT WARNING ***Home
Brand Canola Oil “We
have a new bottle of Home Brand Canola Oil for Woolworths and this one does not
have any item listed other than Canola Oil. Nothing is mentioned about anti
oxidants 319 or 320. A few months ago, this product was removed from the
shelves and was not available for several weeks. I wonder if that's when they made the change?
- thanks to Larry (BE CAREFUL AS SOME STORES ARE STILL CARRYING THIS OIL WITH
ANTIOXIDANTS 319 & 320. Feedback to fedup@ozemail.com.au
please).
Snow's Butterscotch traditional recipe, sold in Big W,
appear to be failsafe although there may be traces of sulphites from the
glucose: Ingredients - wheat glucose syrup; sugar; butter; malt (barley); salt;
soy lecithin. – thanks to Lesley
***PRODUCT WARNING***
Carob Buttons: Mellow Yellow customer service line tells us that BHA 320 is used in the
oil which is an ingredient of the carob buttons.- thanks to Belinda
Sulphite-free dried fruit for people who have no problems
with amines (dried bananas), salicylates (apricot, peach, mango), amines and
salicylates (pineapple): Australian Food Innovators Fresh Attitude brand www.austfoodinnovators.com.au.
Note that although fresh mangoes are only moderate in salicylates, food
chemicals are concentrated by drying. See also Hullabaloo foods above for
skinless, sulphite free dried pears, and below for dried pawpaw – thanks to Julie Eady, Liz, Jane
Sulphite-free dried pawpaw (amines, no salicylates); and other
fruits - www.kakadudriedfruits.com.au
– thanks to
Embossed wrist bands originally for lost children are
popular with allergy sufferers (e.g. ‘no dairy’, ‘severe food allergies’), see
photos at www.buzzmeband.com, mobile: 0407 004 137, phone 1300 BUZZME or 1300 289
963. If you can only have a few words, what will you say? We welcome
suggestions (suedengate@ozemail.com.au) - thanks
to Sam
Failsafe sausages - Quants Butcher 17 Lindfield Ave
Lindfield Ph 9416 1401 - he will make them however you want, he makes his
sausages every Tuesday and does the Failsafe ones first so they aren't
contaminated. He did beef & leek and chicken & garlic for me and my
kids haven't reacted. – thanks to
Sausages - A Cut Above Fine Foods butcher
shops in Beecroft and Westleigh, Sydney, do sausages called RPA using a recipe
from
Many Aldi products seem to
be failsafe - shortbreads,
crispbreads, rice crackers, Lebanese bread, some cereals, oats, pasta, vanilla
yoghurt and icecream, tinned beans, butterscotch and jersey caramel lollies and
Kettle chips, and all at half the price of Woolies and Coles. [Note that you
will have to enquire about unlisted BHA(320) or TBHQ(319) in any vegetable oil
that is less than 5% of the product]. –
thanks to Belinda
Freedom Foods Soy Butter – an extremely sensitive asthmatic
failsafer has reported a reaction to it but my family have had no problems. We
welcome feedback.
Potato crisps/chips –
Kettle and Red Rock Deli chips appear to be the safest. We are still receiving reports about
reactions to Smiths, apparently due to the sunola oil although we are not sure,
and there have been a few reports of reactions to Kettle chips. Approach any
commercial product such as chips and rice crackers with caution, especially if
eaten every day.
Miessence Aroma Free
Deodorant can be
purchased through www.organicaustralia.com.au
(not Golden Glow as it said on our website)
- thanks to Lisa
Puff pastry - for people who can’t find
Millet - the millet crop has failed in
Check out
the Product Updates page on the
website for latest information.
|
Your questions: |
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)
|
Around the groups: getting in touch |
New talking point – how to deal with an uncooperative ex-spouse?
See story
[459] above, which won this newsletter’s Courage Award. Do you have any helpful
and constructive suggestions that might help others in a similar situation?
Send your opinions to suedengate@ozemail.com.au
Last newsletter’s talking
point - should children be punished for bad behaviour after inadvertently
having non-failsafe food? (thanks to Heather)
1) My husband
and I argue about this - he believes bad behaviour is simply unacceptable and
our son needs to get 'consequences'. I think it's unfair to give a child drugs
and then punish him for the way he behaves. When my five year old threatened to
hurt his teacher, I said to my husband "imagine if someone spiked your
drink with a hallucinogenic and then sent you off to school? How would you
behave, and how would you feel if you were punished for your behaviour?"
When the food reaction was over, we discussed my son's behaviour explaining
that it was totally unacceptable in no uncertain terms and he understood. I
think it's best to communicate acceptable and unacceptable behaviour with
children very clearly, but not to punish them for being on drugs.- Rebecca
2) I am so
glad you are covering this because it is something my husband and I have really
struggled with. When my 6 year-old son started failsafe we found that we were
disciplining him when he misbehaved after having a non-failsafe food but we
really felt bad doing it and it wasn't useful because he wasn't learning from
it. So we decided not to be so hard on him when it did happen again, however
doing nothing is difficult because the behaviour is too annoying and also the
behaviour can't be tolerated. So we have started to look at the signs that show
that my son is going to act badly and try to curb it by distracting him, extra
hugs/calmer voice if he is getting over emotional (rather than annoyed and
angry which just made him worse), remove him from the room before it gets out
of hand, etc. We still find it hard not to react with the full on disciplining
but we do try to go easier and smarter and it does help although there are many
times when we still revert to normal disciplining just because we don't know what
else to do and we are too annoyed and frustrated in those times to ignore it. -
Cheree
3) I don't
think punishment is the thing, so much as living out the consequences for the
bad behaviour. Accountability is really important. Eating the wrong food results
in lack of control, which results in being out of control, and any resulting
breakages or rudeness should still be addressed whether it means time out or
reparation for damages, or loss of privileges. - anonymous
4) My
favourite strategy at the moment is to let the child choose. I ask them if they
want the mean, angry mummy or the kind sweet mummy who understands that this is
a food reaction. The kind mummy administers a caltrate tablet, a cuddle and
then gives the child some quiet time until the calcium tablet kicks in. Then we
discuss the behaviour calmly. The child has chosen this path, so everything
runs smoothly.
This
approach doesn't condone the bad behaviour, but it also doesn't escalate it. It
also gives the child an opportunity to get out of the tantrum, whilst still
being in control of the situation (very important to our girl). Only once did
she choose the mean angry mummy - which really put me on the spot. I was
stumped for a moment. I asked if she was sure. Then I took a deep breath, put my
face about two inches from hers and started yelling "how dare you … Do you
think this is acceptable … etc."
Then I picked her up, dumped her in her bed and screamed that she had to
stay there. Five minutes later I came in and softly asked if she was ready for
the kind mummy yet. She was. – Eleanor
5) My son has been punished on several occasions
for his behaviour at school. I have told his teacher and the assistant
principal about his food reactions and I make a note to tell them if we have
had a "bad morning" so they can be on alert for it. Recently they had
a cake stall at school that all the kids take part in. Knowing I wouldn't be
there to supervise his choice I told him the sorts of cakes he could have and
also let his teacher know. When I explained to the teacher that if the cakes
had preservatives in them he would be very hard to control her response was to
tell me that she understood his character and problems and he would be fine.
When I got there in the afternoon he had been sent to the principal because he
wouldn't (couldn't) sit still and do his work and kept interrupting the teacher
when she was speaking.
Despite
their knowledge of his reactions he has had several trips to the principal’s office.
The latest one was for hitting back at a child who had called him a freak
because of the foods he had to avoid. He is only six years old and didn't take
the statement all that well. I know that he should not hit but in this type of
situation and at his age I think the other boy should also have gotten in
trouble. The teacher’s response was to tell me that because the other child
didn't harm my son nothing would be done about it. Does psychological harm not
count any more? Do these kids not have enough to worry about? - Kate
Factsheets and support
material
Two new
Factsheets: Self-harm Palpitations
and heart issues
Updated
Factsheets: School tuckshop support Epilepsy Added
flavours: natural or artificial, what’s the difference?
New:
Symptom discussion sheets have been introduced to summarise group discussion on
particular symptoms. The first is Extreme
sensitivity to noise - hyperacusis
Support
There are
now 88 support contacts in over 50 locations in
There are
now over 2,500 people in our many support groups. We now recommend
failsafebasic for beginners. It is the smallest of the big general groups, you
can join by sending an email to failsafebasic-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
with ‘subscribe’ in the subject line.
New local
group for failsafers residing in or near Sydney, NSW Australia, to discuss
where to buy suitable food, provide local information such as dietitians who
supervise the diet and doctors who are sympathetic to our problems, as well as
sharing our stories and successes. You can join by sending an email to finSYDNEY@yahoogroups.com with
“subscribe” in the subject line.
Two new
local groups for Southern Fleurieu (SA) and Lismore (NSW) – see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/support/email.htm
If you’re
interested in autism, there is a free Perth-based Autism Forum with approx 25
members, (this far) which discusses diet regularly: www.adapt.org.au. Let us know what you
think about it.
Getting in touch
Kate – see
talking point reply #5 - would like to hear from other failsafers in the
Talks
Sue has no
scheduled talks at present. When the expanded and updated Failsafe Cookbook is
available on
Supermarket tours
Kathleen
and Jenny in
Mickaela’s study looking
for young children
Enrolments
for the RMIT/Royal Children’s Hospital diet and behaviour study in Melbourne
will be closing soon but vacancies still exist for a few children on the
younger end of the scale (4-8), for more information, phone: Mickaela
Schelleman on 0410 788 844, e-mail: s2104538@student.rmit.edu.au or
Dr. Amanda Richdale on (03) 99257366, e-mail: amanda.richdale@rmit.edu.au
Brochures
Printable trifold
brochures on food intolerance and oppositional defiance are available. We'll
post two free that you can copy, or you can buy bulk copies at cost $A0.22 each
plus postage. See instructions on the website for accessing pdf versions. Email
confoodnet@ozemail.com.au with
enquiries. We loved this comment from one satisfied failsafer: "Ah, the
answer to my prayers. I had no idea the brochure even existed, but thanks so
much for directing me to it. I am not very Internet savvy, however I found it
easy enough. Regarding possible opposition to failsafeing within the child care
setting ... now all I have to do is hand over a copy of this and let them ask
questions! Thanks again. I highly recommend everyone print this out if you
don't already have a copy, it sure cuts out the "but WHY can't your kid
have (insert food here)?" questions. Great for grandparents too."
|
Cook’s corner |
Hints
For a
failsafe air freshener, you can mix some vanilla essence with water in a spray
bottle. – thanks to Kyria
Evil bean bruschetta
Bruschetta
is a traditional Italian food consisting of grilled bread rubbed with garlic
and topped with olive oil, vegetables or other toppings. This failsafe version
comes from Michelle who says ‘it got its name from a friend of mine who isn’t a
failsafer but she loves it all the same, and she thinks it’s evil!’
1 tin
cannelloni beans
¼ cup of
oil (half of this to cook with and half to pour over the top)
1 clove of
garlic, finely chopped.
2 baguette
rolls, cut as though you were making a bruschetta and lightly toasted.
Cream the
beans in a processor. Mix together half the oil and garlic in a separate bowl
and leave to infuse. Fry the other half of the garlic and oil until they start
to crisp, do this slowly. Add beans and cook gently until hot. Serve hot on
toasted bruschetta and drizzle infused oil on top. – thanks to Michelle
Sam’s Barra Cakes
Barramundi
is the iconic fish from
2 fillets
of fresh barramundi, steamed or oven baked in foil.
10 cups
leftover mashed potato, must be cold
½ a leek
handful of
chives
3 cloves of
garlic