FAILSAFE #51
Newsletter
of the Food Intolerance Network
January
– March 2007
|
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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THIS MONTH
Focus on asthma: let’s halve the asthma rate in children
Failsafe Cookbook available from
FSANZ Food Additives Forum
Food Intolerance Network antioxidant submission withdrawn
Changes to food regulations in
Research: Additive survey,
Migraines and Tourette syndrome, Naming and shaming
In brief: Kefir and allergies,
Laughter really is good for you, Former head of US Food and Drug Administration
sentenced, Nonchemical headlice treatment, Fish and whole grains linked to
asthma protection
Targeting…
McDonalds
Readers' stories: [524] - [546]
Product updates: detailed help and information.
Questions: detailed help and information.
Cooks Corner: Hints: Breadcrumbs, Near-Beer Bread, Gnocchi, Moroccan lemon lamb
tagine, Homemade Donuts, Campers Dream icecream balls
Hello
everyone
The highlight of this
newsletter for me – as often happens – is the readers’ stories. From a needless
30 year battle with asthma, to a young couple who went through hell to help
their seemingly autistic son, to a determined mother almost defeated by a
school counsellor, I’m sure you’ll find it as inspiring as I have to read of
the extraordinary results achieved by such individuals in the face of official
denial. There’s more about the effects of food on asthma: on the one hand we
have the World Health Organisation warning about the number of asthmatic
children affected by preservatives and on the other, doctors who know that
childhood asthma rates increased dramatically over 20 years but say they don’t
know understand the cause – and in the middle we have the asthmatics who find
for themselves their asthma goes when they change their diet. Also in this
issue, news from a failsafe Vacation Care program, some important warnings
about mislabelling by food companies who should know better, more failsafe
products, kitchen appliances to help the failsafe cook’s life easier, and
delicious new recipes. Many thanks to everyone who sent us season’s greetings
and to those who nominated me, for the second year in a row, for Australian of
the Year award, I feel very honoured and appreciate this recognition of my
work.
Howard and I wish you a
happy and failsafe 2007 - Sue Dengate (sdengate@ozemail.com.au)
Focus on asthma: let’s halve the asthma rate in children
With students returning
to school, the Food Intolerance Network launched a campaign to focus people on
what their kids eat. Research reveals that when children in NSW go back to
school, their asthma attacks increase by a factor of five. The food they take
to school also contains large quantities of sulphite preservatives, which have
long been linked to asthma.
“You can exceed the
Acceptable Daily Intake of sulphites by eating just two dried apricots”, warns
Dr Howard Dengate of the Food Intolerance Network. “And don’t forget that any
dose of sulphites can be too much for many asthmatics.” Dried fruit and muesli
bars containing dried fruit are major sources of sulphites for children
returning to school, as are luncheon meats, devon, sausages, cordials and
drinks, including some fruit juices.
The conservative World Health
Organisation says 20-30% of asthmatic children react to sulphites while
Australian research has found that up to 65% of asthmatic children are
affected. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended phasing out the
use of sulphite preservatives where possible due to effects on child
asthmatics. If that happened overnight the prevalence of childhood asthma would
probably halve.
Despite this evidence,
the drug company-sponsored National Asthma Council of Australia continues to
say of asthma and food that “Food is not a common trigger for asthma” and
“Foods, drinks and food chemicals affect less than 5% of people with asthma.”
Over 100 years ago the relationship between sulphites added to foods and asthma
led to the first food regulations, but people have forgotten this while the
food industry, government regulators and even asthma associations neglect their
responsibilities for public health education.
“Look out for asthma
sensitisers in your food and always read the label” suggests Dengate.
There are more links and
resources at www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/asthmafailsafe.htm,
including school foods that are recommended. Many thanks to Network members who
responded with stories or said they’d be willing to appear on TV.
Failsafe Cookbook available from
Sue Dengate's
long-awaited, updated "Failsafe Cookbook" will be available in
Australian and
FSANZ Food Additives Forum
Failsafe Leader Jenny
Ravlic participated in a phone/web forum run by Food Standards Australia New
Zealand in December 2006. She reported good information on sulphite usage, to
which FIN contributed, and that the whole forum is on their website http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/webseminars.cfm. “I only asked one question about the need for benzoate
preservatives in products where some brands use the preservative but some
brands don't eg Schweppes lemonade). Another question that I was going to ask
was asked by Julie Eady (of Additive Alert) about the registering of food
intolerances relating to additives. They acknowledged that the food intolerance
issue was a huge problem for regulators and they were looking at possibly
having RPAH keeping a register of reactions to additives - apparently it is not
done anywhere else in the world. There was interesting discussion, prompted by
a question from someone else, about what determines "short term
exposure" to an additive - is it just a few days or weeks compared to 10%
of someone's life during the teenage years, or the high risk category of
preschoolers. The next forum is based on food intolerances, so I would love to
be involved again. Hopefully we can get a few more FIN "leaders" on
board. Overall, I think it was a great forum, and was very happy to be
involved.
Please email confoodnet@ozemail.com.au if you
are willing to participate in the next forum.
Food Intolerance Network antioxidant submission withdrawn
FIN made a submission to FSANZ in
December 2004 asking that ALL antioxidants in fats and oils in foods be shown
on the label, even where the oil content was less than 5% as it is, for
instance, in many soymilks. In July 2006 FSANZ issued an Initial Assessment
Report (A555), calling for public input. We understand that over 500 responses
were made, a huge number, but when Howard Dengate met FSANZ in December 2006 it
became obvious that the submission would be rejected because there were no peer
reviewed placebo-controlled double-blind studies showing negative effects from
synthetic antioxidants at these levels. Never mind that the synthetic
antioxidants were initially approved by FSANZ without any such studies, let
alone studies including children or behavioural effects. Never mind that FSANZ
would probably not act even if such a study was done and provided to them.
Never mind that all we are asking is
that manufacturers tell us what they know is in our food. If we allow the submission
to be rejected then we cannot raise the issue again even with more scientific
evidence, so we have withdrawn it and await a response from FSANZ. We’ll keep
you posted.
Changes to food regulations in England
The good news:
•
reduction of permitted nitrate/nitrite levels due to cancer worries
•
withdrawal of two hydroxybenzoates, also called parabens, 216 and 217. (In
Australia 217 is banned and the only permitted use for 216 is in food colours –
which wouldn’t be listed on the label of coloured foods due to the 5% labelling
loophole.)
The bad news
•
authorisation of seven new food additives including TBHQ (already permitted in
• wider use
of benzoates, sorbates and sulphites in crustaceans (Crustaceans except prawns
are safe for us to eat only when fresh and preservative free )
If you would like to make a comment
about these proposed changes by
|
Research |
* Additive survey People in Britain consume on average
20 different food additives every day, with some eating up to 50, a survey
commissioned by Birds Eye food company has found. Yet many people are unaware
of this figure, with nearly half of the 1,006 people surveyed thinking they ate
only 10 additives each day. The research also found that many people do not
understand which foods are most likely to contain additives. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6233395.stm
* Migraines and Tourette
syndrome A family
history of migraines is a classic indication of food intolerance. A survey of
100 patients diagnosed with Tourette syndrome found that 25 per cent fulfilled
the diagnostic criteria for migraine headaches - nearly 4-fold more than the
frequency of migraines reported in the general population - and 56 per cent
reported a family history of migraines. Kwak C and others, Migraine headache in
patients with Tourette syndrome Arch Neurol. 2003 Nov;60(11):1595-8.
* Naming and shaming As part of a campaign against
childhood obesity, Australia’s consumer watchdog Choice has released the name
of 10 market leading snack foods and beverages that can pack in as many
kilojoules as a Big Mac and a middy of beer in a single serve despite "all
natural", "low GI" and "real fruit" labelling. Leading
brands named in the report included Ribena blackcurrant drink, Arnott’s Tiny
Teddies with pink dipping goo, Nuttella, Uncle Tobys Roll-Ups, Steggles Chicken
Nuggets, Nestle Milo Cereal and Go Natural's berry pieces in yoghurt. http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=105576&catId=100289&tid=100008&p=1&title=Foods+that+make+kids+fatter+faster
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 |
* Kefir and
allergies
There are many studies showing that kefir, a traditional fermented probiotic
drink common in
* Laughter
really is good for you When twenty healthy volunteers watched the American comedy
video There’s Something about Mary, their arterial blood flow increased an
average of 22% - the same as doing exercise – but when they watched the
stressful start of Saving Private Ryan, blood flow decreased by an average of
35%. Miller M and others, Impact of cinematic viewing on endothelial function,
Heart, 2006 ;92(2):261-2; more details at http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000EA775-7465-13CD-B46583414B7F0000
* Former
head of US Food and Drug Administration sentenced Lester Crawford, former head of the FDA and
Chair of its Obesity Working Group, was sentenced in January 2007 for conflicts
of interest and making false statements because he and his wife owned shares in
four major companies regulated by the FDA, including Pepsico. His Obesity Working Group report was widely
criticised at the time for placing no responsibility on the food companies.
*
Nonchemical headlice treatment Resistance to chemical treatments is rising. Scientists found that one 30-minute application of hot air
delivered to the scalp via a LouseBuster device - which blows warm air like a
handheld hairdryer while the area to be treated is slowly combed - has the
potential to eradicate head lice infestations. Goates BM and others, An
Effective Nonchemical Treatment for Head Lice: A Lot of Hot Air, Pediatrics.
2006; 118(5):1962-70.
* Fish and
whole grains linked to asthma protection Yet another research report that says
that “the rise in prevalence of asthma in western societies may be related to
changed dietary habits” but fails to ask what is it that they are not eating if they eat a lot of fish
and wholegrains. http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/printNewsBis.asp?id=72710
* Birds Eye
challenges consumer perceptions of food additives A Birds Eye study says that “
|
Now targeting… |
This section
is for the growing number of people who ask “Can I do anything to help?” These
people phone food company hotlines and write letters to politicians and food
companies. Judging by the bread preservative reversal, this strategy works. We
have agreed to team up with Western Australian-based www.additivealert.com.au to target
a different additive in each newsletter. Now targeting: McDonalds
“I have 3 children on failsafe (or trying), I recently looked up www.makeupyourownmind.com but could
not find anything on preservatives or the like so I rang them and asked about
alternatives for the antioxidants in chips and so forth. She was very helpful
and told me if enough people made enough requests they do try and change
ingredients - for example the hash browns are now gluten-free due to public
demand. I would like people to know about this - wouldn't that make life just a
bit easier on trips to town or outings when you really need to get takeaway for
the kids’ sake and your own? http://www.mcdonalds.com.au/contactUs/ –
thanks to Leisa
|
Readers' stories |
The first story in the
section wins 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:
[524] Open neglect by medical
establishment (January 2007) COURAGE AWARD STORY FOR JANUARY 2007 NEWSLETTER
Criminal.
It's the only word that comes to mind when I realise that, from the age of 10,
I have suffered terribly from asthma; and yet, over the next 23 years, not a
single - I repeat NOT A SINGLE - so-called "doctor" ever once asked
if my condition might be due to environmental factors", or that it might
be caused by the food that I eat... All they ever did was pop a stethoscope on
my back, and fill out a prescription for ventolin... "See ya next time,
Mark!"
I am so
angry and frustrated at the modern medical establishment for their open
neglect. For years, almost every morning I would wake with an awful wheeze and
a fit of coughing... And it only got worse as my 20's progressed!
When I
think back to those days (although I never made the precise connection myself
at the time), it got to the point where I would need my puffer after almost
every meal! Macca's.. Pizza... Pies... even good 'ole home cooked meals like
curries, stews & roasts! As you can imagine, I became very depressed.
I will also
confess that I was indeed a smoker as well (I know, I know), but I gave them up
around 3 years ago thinking that IT was the main *cause* of my asthma... Oddly
enough, I was wrong ... the daily ritual wheezing-fest continued unabated. I
was, by then, needing up to 20 puffs a day and my depression worsened. I
remember thinking: "I've given up the damn ciggies, so why aren't I any
better?! What's wrong with me?" I began to accept that I would NEVER
recover from this ailment.
Then I
discovered your website, "Fedup!" ... And oh what a life changer!
I bought the video a few months back and have read much of the material on the
website, and with what I now know about salicylates, amines, preservatives and
additives of all kinds, it finally all makes sense!
So far, my
family and I have managed to stop the intake of preservatives and additives (That's
the EASY part!) with noticeable improvements too, I might add, especially for
my asthma! However, I have not completely recovered yet, and my eldest son -
although improved - still has temper problems; so, over the last two days we
have finally started tackling the salicylate/amine issue... It's harder I'll
admit, BUT, I can already see definite positive-changes from my first-born son,
and in my own well-being as well.
It's been around 6 months now since we actively started amending our diet, and
overall, my asthma is now highly manageable... (I now use the ventolin only
rarely, and the morning-wheeze is completely gone!) But, it's not just that: I
finally feel "in control" for the first time ever; I feel that there
is now real hope that it could perhaps, go altogether! I really do.
Thank God
for you, Sue. Thank you for caring enough about human beings in general, to do
what you do. Alright, I'm falling to tears now... so I best go - Mark & family, Vic
[546] One-liners (January 2007)
If no one's
told you recently, thanks so much for all the work you do - you have changed
our lives! It's good to have a asthma free, medication free, tummy ache and
diarrhoea free child after many wasted futile hours and $$$$ spent in
specialist surgeries!! And even now I've found the answers (thanks to you),
still the doctors are not interested in hearing about it. That's what I find so
hard to believe! - Fran, NSW.
We've just
had Christmas Day down at my nanna's who is very very supportive, her
traditional christmas "feast" of things processed, bought ready made
to save her work went out the window in 06.
We went totally failsafe for everyone and you know no-one missed out, we
had what the kids could have and everyone had a top time not like Christmas 05
with it ending it tears etc. - NSW
I am a
mother of five children who has recognised the benefit of a failsafe diet. My kids were never really 'bad' just a bit
naughty sometimes, and having trialled full failsafe we are now on a
preservative, additive, flavours etc free diet and all doing well. - Qld
My five
year old son was a ‘bread brat’ as you describe in your books - as soon as he
stopped eating preserved bread and started drinking magic cordial he changed.- Tas
I work in
health and am constantly amazed that there is not more connection made to food
related reactions as I can recognise them a mile off - asthma, eczema and so
on. – NSW
Thank you
so much for everything, without your work my family would still be wheezy,
itchy, rashy, cranky and doped up on medication for all these ailments! – by email
[545] Failsafe Vacation Care program
(January 2007)
At present
I'm doing Vacation Care for children aged 6-12. I have done this program for
the last two holidays and this year I have changed the program so that we
provide morning and afternoon tea. From my results so far - a week and a half -
it has been fantastic, and the difference in the children is amazing. The
parents have been very understanding and have not complained about the extra
$1.00 charge per child per day. We cook things from your Fed Up book and the
children love the food. When they bring things they shouldn't, they put it back
in their bags. We can have up to five children with ADHD or behavioural
concerns but now you wouldn’t know they were in the program. – Nicole, NSW
[544] "parlate
dell'introduzione in Italia
Ho sentito
che oggi parlate dell'introduzione in Italia del farmaco Ritalin per i bambini
con ADHD.
Prima o
invece di dare Ritalin ai bambini, e' opportuno fare un "elimination
diet" per individuare eventuali intolleranze a salicilati, ammine,
glutammati (che sono "natural food chemicals"). Inoltre, sarebbe un
controsenso dare Ritalin a un bambino che continua a bere bibite colorate! Anche l'annatto, un colorante giallo
naturale, ha un forte effetto sul comportamento di molte persone.
In Italia
siamo piu' tutelati rispetto all'Australia per quanto riguarda gli additivi
alimentari, ma poco tutelati riguardo alle sostanze inutili aggiunti nei
farmaci. - by email,
[543] Covered in
eczema at age of three (January 2007)
By the time
she was three, my daughter was covered in eczema and watching videos all day as
she couldn’t keep up with other children. We now have a healthy five-year- old
after one year on the diet. Her energy improved within three weeks of starting
the diet. Reading your book was a comfort as I thought I knew lots about
allergy and eczema. She had been on the healthiest foods: wheat free, sugar
free, chiropractors, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, biocom, skin specialists …
I was exhausted and pretty fed up when I started learning about failsafe foods.
One year on we have a clear picture of what we can have and it is expanding
every month. Sulphites, benzoates and salicylates are our main problems, but we
stay off any preservatives and colours. Thank you for helping us. Reading your
book helped me feel not so alone and laugh at some of the crazy mistakes I
made. – by email,
[542] Palpitations and MSG (January
2007)
Having
suffered panic attacks and palpitations on-and-off for years I started
seriously looking at the foods and additives I was stuffing into my system. I
can now tell you that the prime trouble maker for me is flavour enhancers. As
others have done before me I visited doctors and hospitals after bad attacks
only to be sent home with a "nothing wrong with you" report. Then one
day, I had taken a double dose (flavoured corn chips and kebabs) which
well-and-truly landed me in hospital. The interesting point to this story is
the specific effect the MSG had. While I was on the heart monitor (for about 12
hours) the doctors and I could see what my heart was doing and we were able to
determine the safety of the situation.
The sinus
node (the electrical trigger) was firing and was firing regularly. This was a
good thing! The troublesome aspect was the MSG was somehow interfering with the
distribution of the signal around the heart. This meant that although the heart
was beating/pumping, it was doing so at a reduced flow rate. That is, the
contractions weren't as strong as they should have been. Although it was
pumping enough blood to keep me lucid/conscious, a beat could not be felt by me
in my chest, nor could a pulse be felt at my wrist. NOTE: it felt as if my
heart had stopped but in fact was just beating weakly. I tried to convince the
doctors this was MSG-induced, but they just closed their ears, their eyes
glazed over, and told me they couldn't understand why my heart was behaving the
way it was.
Now I know
what my heart is doing, I no longer have panic attacks triggered by a few
'missed beats'. The difference is knowing that the ectopic beats aren't going
to kill me, and even though I can't feel the beats, I reason that if I'm still
alive and not suffering chest pain etc. then I'm just having another 'episode'.- by email
[541] Unable to focus eyes properly
after additive-laden treats (January 2007)
I have
excluded artificial colours and preservatives where possible and this seems to
work with my children however I noticed some reactions over these holidays as I
have let them have some treats. Corn chips caused a really silly reaction in my
5 year old son, he was even not able to focus his eyes properly, and the same
reaction from a BBQ meatlovers pizza. –
by email
[540] Heading towards a diagnosis of
autism before - the difference in him is so dramatic the paediatrician was in
shock (January 2007)
When I
originally wrote to you, my three-year-old son had a severe speech delay, many
behavioural problems, refused toilet training, was having upwards of 6 dirty
nappies a day and the paediatrician was heading towards a diagnosis of autism.
The first
two weeks on the elimination diet were "HELL". My son’s behaviour was
so bad I was in tears when the day was over and he was in bed asleep. My
husband and I were determined to give this a go and we stayed strong together
to get him through the rough patch. Four weeks after starting, his behaviour
improved each day, the tantrums decreased dramatically, he became calmer, his
attention span increased, he was happy to try sitting on the toilet for me, the
autistic traits stopped, he would sit and do activities with me and the most
impressive of all in one week he said - "Dad", "Mum" and
his own name "Sam". He has never called me mum & it brought tears
to my eyes - he has since then said love you mum and tries hard to string words
together.
The
difference in him is so dramatic the paediatrician was in shock, he is a
non-believer of diet having an effect on children, however, after seeing the
difference in Sam he was blown away. He said he was pretty sure after the last
visit he would end up making a diagnosis of autism for him, now after seeing
him six months later he is thinking it is just speech delay and is not so
worried about the minor autistic traits.
We are focused on sticking to the diet especially with the progress Sam
is now making. He does on occasions slip on behaviour - but he is only three.
We feel we have our beautiful little man back. – by email, Qld
[539] Possible autistic spectrum if
not failsafe (January 2007)
My husband
and I have two lovely children. We have been through the whole thing of
oppositional, erratic and violent behaviour and for us the worst part was insomnia
and extreme restlessness at night. No-one ever got a rest. This all was cured
with the invaluable assistance of your books, and a profound response to the
elimination diet especially for our youngest child who is a 7 year old girl,
Lily. She is extremely sensitive to everything – salicylates, amines, chemicals
- you name it. Our son is affected, but not as badly.
At times I
have wondered if Lily perhaps has Aspergers, or is somewhere on the autistic
spectrum, but we had her assessed at age 4 (after being failsafe for three
months) and were told that she is bright, possibly gifted, and that she can be
extremely anxious because she is clever enough to be able to think about things
and therefore worries about things. We prepared her very carefully for school
and so far have had no problems - until this month.
Twice this
month Lily has lashed out at school, due in part to chemicals. She started
swimming lessons every day and the other thing was a class party with heaps of
bad food which no-one helped her to avoid. Today she has been "red-booked
"and placed on detention for the second time, for hurting someone. The
school counsellor who was called in told me "there are NO studies that
prove that food intolerances are in any way related to behavioural disturbances".
She went on to tell me that it was all in my head, and that it is coincidence
that withdrawing a food substance or chemical would have a positive effect on
our daughter. She then proceeded to tell me that Lily probably has Aspergers
and that the paediatrician probably didn't want to tell me that. I am feeling
so enraged. She hasn't even met Lily.
We follow
the failsafe lifestyle to the letter, and are eternally grateful to you and
your family for sharing your stories, and for your tireless work. Our family
wouldn't have survived without Fed Up and how some one can say the things that
this counsellor said belies belief. Our son who is now 13 is easily able to
make good food choices and knows only too well what bad choices do to him. He
was shocked at the response of the school counsellor. My husband - who was a
total sceptic 4 years ago - was absolutely livid with that school counsellor.
He knows how bad it was here, and how much work I have put in to making our
little family happy and calm. I guess we will just keep soldiering on and
spreading the word, but this person nearly got the better of me. – by email, NSW
[538] My three sons (January 2007)
I have 3
sons, aged 11, 10 and 6. I started the elimination diet about six months ago
and have seen a great improvement in my two younger sons. The middle son is by
far the worst effected by all the things that you say to avoid. At times he
will have things he shouldn’t and for the afternoon he is off the planet. When
he settles down I ask him how he felt and he'll say he knew what he was doing
but could not control it. Now he even tells his grandmother “No, I can’t have that”.
Even a friend of his grandmother’s noted how quiet he was. Last month my
mother-in-law gave the three boys an icecream as a treat. She is from the old
school and didn't really believe what I had said. Within minutes the two
youngest were off their tree, so this was a real wake up call.
[537] Is there anyone else with
salicylate intolerance misdiagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome? (January 2007)
I have
completed the elimination diet and found that I have an intolerance to
salicylates. My father is a gastroenterologist and when first had symptoms of
this intolerance (stress, constipation, headaches, sinusitis etc) he thought it
was Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). He referred me to his colleague, who also
stated the diagnosis was IBS. Both of
these gastroenterologists never considered that the problem may be related to
diet, and they didn't even know what salicylates were! I might add that both of
them are very professional doctors and have both been head of the
gastroenterology department at hospital - so you would think they would know
something about it. It took my dad a
long time to recognise that salicylates exist - I had to show him websites and
papers that linked it to behavioural problems for him to really believe me. He
just thought I was on some crazy diet and that there was no real basis to it!
My concern
is this – that there are many people out there, particularly young women, who
may have this food intolerance and be provided with the easy diagnosis of
IBS. As you would be aware, an IBS
diagnosis really doesn’t help anyone because there isn’t much you can do for
it. And unless you keep searching for a
solution (which I did, and my GP eventually came up with it) then you may never
know you have an intolerance because salicylates are in everything!
Do you know
of many other people who have been provided with an incorrect diagnosis for
this food intolerance? I only know of
one other person, and if there are more, then I think this should be brought to
the attention of the national body for gastroenterologists. – by
email [if you are in this category, please write to suedengate@ozemail.com.au with your
story]
[536] PMS, period pain and diet 1
(January 2007)
Replies to the question in
newsletter #50 – “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?”
I too have
had lots of success in regards to the diet with my whole family but the main improvement
for me was dealing with PMS. I am a 28 year old woman and have had two
children. As a teen I had very irregular periods and would sometimes not have a
period for 3 or 4 months, quite often becoming physically sick when the period
did come, not to mention the cramps and mood swings, and I always had PMS
symptoms when I was due, whether the period came or not. Having children
actually seemed to help my symptoms, but without realising, I was eating
differently through my pregnancy and then afterwards because I was breast
feeding.
Two years
ago all my symptoms started again and six months ago I figured out why. I had
gone back to work and was relying on prepackaged food a lot more where I always
used make my own, and as a result my whole family suffered. My then six year
old had all sorts of trouble emotionally and my then two year old turned into a
monster. My husband was diagnosed with irritable bowel and I had all my former
problems including depression. Now thanks to a friend who recommended failsafe
I am pleased to say we are now back on track and I can safely say that it is
all down to food. We tried, through trial and error, all different sorts of
treatments to help all our ailments, but simply changing our diet has helped us
all. -
by email
[535] PMS, period pain and diet 2
(January 2007)
I read in
the newsletter that you were interested in reports about improvement in PMT and
infertility and the diet. Prior to
failsafe I was having irregular cycles, really really bad irritability for
almost two weeks prior to my period and bleeding which sometimes lasted for
three weeks for each cycle. I had sore breasts from about day 17 of each cycle,
sometimes they were so bad I couldn't hug my little boy without being in
pain. Since being on the diet I no
longer have sore breasts prior to my period.
I only have very mild irritability about a day or two prior to my period
and I am having 27 day cycles every month with bleeding only lasting about 5 or
6 days and no clotting. Also, my period
pain has lessened a great deal too.
I have been
trying for 2 and a half years to conceive and I'm now hoping I will be able to
get pregnant if I stay on the diet. It
took 13 months to become pregnant with my first child. My PMS seemed to become worse after I had my
son. – by email
[534] Soy and depression 1 (January
2007)
Stories [534-532} are replies to the
question newsletter #50: “my daughter has tried 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?”
Whenever my
son drinks soy or eats soy products he spends most of his time crying ….often
about nothing that he can pin point. He becomes resistive to discipline and is
reluctant to do his work at school. He becomes tired and will often fall sleep
in the afternoon. I’m obviously not 100% certain that this is what it is but it
sure does seem coincidental… - email, Qld
[533] Soy and depression 2 (January
2007)
Just
responding to question in newsletter #50 about depressive reactions to soy - my
daughter reacts the same to cows’ milk as to soy, even small amounts of soy in
anything. Exactly as the question in the
newsletter said, "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".
– reader, Vic
[532] Soy and depression 3 -
unexplained “fevers” and hallucinations (January 2007)
As a baby
and toddler, my son had constant unexplained “fevers” as part of his never
ending list of reactions. It wasn’t till
he was 6 years old and he had had a few unexplained fevers with hallucinations
that we found these came from soya beans.
He has always been “picky” with soy products, usually refusing them
himself – but mum didn’t always trust him fully - now I know they do him no
good!
His
hallucinations were shocking to witness – they happened only in the evening or night,
usually just after falling asleep or when disturbed in sleep, e.g.picked up for
toileting. He often didn’t have a high temperature according to the thermometer
but woke in an unconscious way with eyes open and talking and listening. He saw terrifying things around him and
removal to another room with comfort helped a little but only usually for
seconds. The only solution that worked properly for us was cool wet towels for
reducing fevers round his neck and forehead whilst cuddling him. He usually dropped
off to sleep again with these. On a bad night this continued again after a
couple of hours.
As usual
doctors here were at a loss to explain these and claim them to be most probably
fevers related to viruses. They
suggested continued treatment as we do perhaps with paracetamol too keep it at
bay. It was only after that I connected intake of soya beans 36 hours
previously on the last occasions and I tested it with a very small intake which
showed a minor reaction - still hallucinations but for a much milder and
shorter period. Consequently soya beans are off our menu and I respect my son’s
taste buds when he refuses foods – he is usually allergic or intolerant of
them. Allergy specialists here avoid giving soy milk to milk allergics as much
as possible due to the close connection of the two allergies and the fact they
believe soy allergies develop quicker in such cases. – reader,
[531] ODD reaction to spring flowers
and Floriade (January 2007)
A reply to the question in
newsletter #50: 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?
The question
about ODD and spring flowers in the last newsletter rang a bell with me. My
daughter Louse also gets really cranky and her ODD symptoms worsen during the
period when all the wattle begins to flower, and then in early spring when the
flowers start to bloom in abundance. Unfortunately, this also happens to be the
exact time when she has to be most in control of her temper and emotions due to
her Irish dancing commitments - the state and national championships.
This year
was particularly bad - there seem to be so many more wattle trees around here
now, and they started blooming at the start of July. Louise was extremely
bad-tempered - her quality of schoolwork declined, her spelling declined (even
though she is now a voracious reader) to the point of going backwards, maths
dropped back to grade 3 level (age-wise, she is year 8) and there have been
many arguments and temper tantrums with all family members. It got to the point
where I was beginning to doubt my sanity! and also, whether she was sneaking non-failsafe
food from other sources - but I know my friends wouldn't give her anything
unsafe, and her friends just don't like her behaviour when she deviates from
the diet, so that wasn't a factor.
I was
thinking that the culprit might be pollens. It was totally validated when we
went to
It's
getting better now, I've cracked down on a few infractions, and she is asking
her friends not to spray their deodorant near her (and at dancing, spraying
deodorant, hair-spray or perfume inside the hall is now banned) and she's
taking a claratyne daily to help with the pollens. She's definitely a reactor
when it comes to pollens and spring! – reader,
Vic
[530] Salicylates are our nemesis
(January 2007)
We have
been on the elimination diet for 6 weeks using a dietitian from your list and
she has been great. Salicylates, well that's our nemesis - I get cranky,
stressed and short tempered, my 8-year-old daughter gets teary at the drop of a
hat - crying, stressed and the “what ifs”.... . My three year old is extremely
sensitive to amines - defiant, disruptive and hyperactive. Antioxidants don't
affect her behaviour but her cheeks flare so something isn't right. More than 5
plain Sakatas or LCM bars send her off the planet.
It’s hard
as you would know trying to ensure they have food without the nasties. I am
educating Day Care and they are trying to buy failsafe foods as they are sure
other children are affected as well, not just my daughter. Next my challenge is
going out to Little Athletics where they only sell "crap" icy poles
when it is a stinking hot day. – failsafer, NSW
[529] 635: Hives from 635 and
swimming (January 2007)
For the
last month, my daughter has been suffering from hives on average about every
two days. It is driving me crazy not to mention how she is feeling. It started
when we went to a friend’s place for swimming lessons, something that we had
done every week for three months. She broke out in hives all over her body,
arms, legs, chest, vagina, and bum, everywhere; luckily, it did not affect her
breathing. I took her to the doctor straight away and he thought it must be
from the chlorine in the pool, my friend then told me that it was a salt-water
pool, so then we thought it must have been something that she ate. Four days later Emma got hives again on her
arms and thighs, this time after eating salted peanuts. Two days later again at
[528] “When we started the diet to
help our daughter, we didn't realise it would help our son’s asthma too …”
(January 2007)
After years
of friends and teachers telling me that my child needed medication (she was a
"Jekyll & Hyde" according to one teacher) and doctors who just
assumed her problems were hormonal, a girl guide leader noticed my 9-year-old
daughter’s behaviour problems (fighting, defiance, stealing etc) after eating
certain foods and suggested failsafe eating. Within weeks, apart from a few withdrawals,
everyone noticed an improvement and now, nine months later – what a difference!
When we decided to do the diet to help our daughter, we didn't realise it would
help our 6-year-old son’s asthma too but he hasn’t had an attack or been
hospitalised since we started.
Unfortunately
my doctor is not very supportive, but I have found a great paediatrician. As
she said in the last appointment, the food companies market all of these so
called good foods to our children, but she ends up dealing with the backlash
e.g. behaviour problems etc.
My son and
daughter are now at the stage where they don't ask for "bad” food any more
because they know what it does - at a friend’s workplace recently he bought
them a huge packet of lollies, to which they politely stated "No thank
you". When he persisted as to why a couple of 9 and 6 year-olds didn't
want lollies, they said "Because I choose to be healthy" which is
what they have learnt to say when teased at school about having to be on this
diet.
I know now
that what I thought was healthy, e.g bread, devon, tomato sauce etc, wasn't
healthy for them. During the challenges, my daughter reacted to amines, colours
and preservatives. My son reacted violently to the colours with his asthma
mostly but hasn’t had an attack since we started failsafe. My son couldn't care
less what the kids at school say anymore. When they open their packet coloured
foods, he says "my mum makes better anyway". When we had a fete at school in September, we
had a failsafe sweet stand and the kids loved it. My daughter's 9th birthday
went wonderfully - no hyped up kids, a few kids didn't want to come because of
the "diet" food, but they missed out. The parents commented on how
well they all behaved, even the magician I'd hired couldn't believe how well
they played, participated and listened.
My Mum and
Dad, Before and After School Care, Church and Girl Guides have been totally
supportive of my children’s diets. If they have a party/special day etc they
always phone me and either ask me to make food (which I'm more than happy to
do) or they will ask for certain recipes and all the kids cook. My mother-in-law‘s "let's not tell mummy
and daddy" attitude towards little surprises changed very quickly when she
saw how my 9 year old reacted after a "Happy Meal". Ironically, not
such a happy time was had!
We have a
wonderful restaurant round the corner from home which we used to go to once per
month as a treat for the kids – after the diet I phoned them, feeling a little
silly, but as long as I tell them what they can make, skinless chicken, sauces
etc, they are happy to do it and we haven't had a reaction yet.
At school,
even though she has come such a long way in 9 months, my daughter is still
being stereotyped by certain teachers, and sadly even the principal thinks
she's not being given a fair go. So, we are starting off at a new school in
January 2007 and are all looking forward to this change.
So many
people told me not to be stupid, not to do all of this work etc, just put her
on medication - I work full-time, plus do the normal mum and wife things in the
home, but no matter what happens, we won't go back to "normal" eating
ever again. I know it mightn't work for
everyone, but it has worked for us.
I would
like to say to all parents and caregivers, THE EXTRA HARD WORK IS WORTH
IT!!! If you slip up, these things
happen, just keep going! It has made our
lives soooo much happier. To the Schools: help us parents out - stop having so
much processed crap to sell the kids, they get used to having homecooked food
without the nasties in it and your days will go much smoother. – ‘Maitland mother’, NSW [Maitland
mother would like to get in touch with other failsafers in the Maitland area,
please email via suedengate@ozemail.com.au]
[527] Maya’s story (January 2007)
One mother
reported that her two year old daughter Maya was a “huge dried fruit eater”,
consuming two or three packets of dried apricots or similar and two or three
fruit bars per week. At three packets of dried fruit per week that’s roughly
250 mg per day, or 20 times the Acceptable Daily Intake for an average two year
old (0.7mg per kg bodyweight or half a dried apricot for a 2 year old) set by
the World Health Organisation. Sulphites are associated with both asthma and
cough.
Maya had
been diagnosed with suspected bronchiolitis at nine months. “Ever since then,
she has had bouts of coughing on a regular and frequent basis, often only two
or three weeks apart, usually with a cold but occasionally following a slight
fever,” wrote Maya’s mother. “The coughing can last all night at its worst -
but usually is about 40 minute bouts every few hours. There is no apparent
wheeze, although sometimes doctors have found a slight wheeze with a
stethoscope. Very occasionally, it will resolve gradually after a week or two
but usually becomes worse and requires antibiotics”. When Maya’s cough was diagnosed
first as asthma, then as hypersensitive cough receptors, “the paediatrician
advised that there was no link to diet and that she would probably grow out of
it”. Although her mother had never noticed any connection, since avoiding
sulphites Maya has been free of cough. –
reported by phone
[526] Diet has been a lifesaver
(January 2007)
We have had
excellent results with diet for our five-year-old daughter who had severe
asthma attacks with daily singulair, ventholin, atrovent and also 3 lots of
prednisilone within the space of about 3 or 4 months at the beginning of 2006.
Since going failsafe in August, not even a cough. I attribute a big part
of this success to eliminating both sulphites and artificial colours in
particular.
I always felt that there was something more we could do, but just didn't know
where to start. My children had what I thought to be such a healthy diet, no
cordials, lollies and lots of fruit and dried fruit for snacks. Now I know
better.
If telling
our story assists in being a catalyst for positive change for other families in
situations like ours, that will be wonderful - Monica, NSW
[525] “a second lease on life”
(January 2007)
Without
sounding corny, it is like my daughter has been given a second lease on life.
Our
youngest daughter was diagnosed with asthma at 3 years of age and we then spent
many times in and out hospital, with still no improvement. She missed so many
days of Preschool, could not run without puffing and requiring her asthma
puffer all the time, she also had permanent grey colour under her eyes. We
really did not think we would be able to send her to school.....it was that
bad.
Then a
friend of mine from work went to a Sue Dengate talk … and the light went on. I
contacted my husband immediately and told him about it, cause we had been so
worried and that night I cleaned out all my food cupboard and fridge and made
it additive-free.
Our
daughter is now 6 and is going into Year 1 and has not been in hospital since
the month we stopped the additives. We have a liitle girl who runs, jumps for
ages on the trampoline, has lost the grey under her eyes and very happy
parents.
Abbey knows
that she can't have food with additives and has had to make a lot of
sacrifices, but when she said to me a few months after stopping all of that,
that she feels better then I know it is all worth it - Kathy, NSW
MORE READERS' STORIES on the website
|
Product updates |
**** WARNING**** possible unlisted annatto 160b colouring in Nestle peach vanilla yoghurt. From a
failsafer whose son is sensitive to 160b but not salicylates: “ Got a phone
call from NESTLE on Friday saying sorry about not having 160b on the packaging
[of the Nestle peach vanilla yoghurt] and they reckon they are aware and fixing
it immediately!!” – thanks to Marg
**** WARNING**** possible unlisted synthetic antioxidants TBHQ 319 and BHA
320 in NZ Family Choice canola oil – Do not buy this product until further
notice - thanks to Brendan
**** WARNING**** McCormick's "Natural Sea Salt" contains 99% sea
salt and 1% Natural cardamon flavouring, so not failsafe due to salicylates - thanks to Jessica
**** WARNING**** Products can have different ingredients depending on the
wrapper, e.g. Pampas frozen puff pastry in sheets is preservative-free but
rolls contain preservatives, Schweppes lemonade in bottles is preservative-free
but cans contain preservatives.
**** WARNING**** Philly cheese - Kraft have recently added preservative 200
to their spreadable philly cream cheese in tubs (blocks are still
preservative-free). If failsafers want
to object they can fill out an online feedback form at www.kraft.com.au/philadelphia/contact.cfm
- thanks to Jacqui
FAILSAFE SAUSAGES
Honestbeef frozen failsafe sausages
are made by a farmers co-op from freshly slaughtered good quality beef – no
offal (delivered to you by a nearby farmer’s wife, they phone to make sure you
will be home). With two hungry university students in the house we ate 10kg of
these sausages in a month starting at Christmas and have never tasted such
excellent sausages. East coast of
The butcher at The Pavilion,
Lenard's stores have been asked not
to make preservative-free sausages for customers on food safety grounds but
they have been encouraged to suggest that the customer use plain minced breast
meat that can be made into patties or skinless sausages. – thanks
to Sue A. Note that preservative-free sausages must be eaten fresh or
frozen immediately.
Quants Butcher at Lindfield makes
sausages on Tuesday and will do failsafe ones first so they aren't contaminated
(beef and leek, and chicken and garlic) –
thanks to
Frozen chips Woolworths
Homebrand straight-cut chips and Woolworth Select French Fries are failsafe
(potatoes, sunflower oil, citric acid as antioxidant, processing aids are
sodium pyrophosphate (E450i) and antifoam). Unlike the McCains range, there are
no unlisted synthetic antioxidants.
Dried Fruit Totally
Pure Fruits freeze-dried pears from health food stores or phone Bio-Dynamic
Marketing 03 5966 7370
Dairy foods Cheese
slices (for those who can tolerate amines and dairy: Coles Farmland slices and
Woolworths tasty cheese slices are additive-free but most of the other brands
contain annatto 160b – thanks to Marg
Persimmon wine
The 2006 vintage is now available by mail order from fruitwine@netxp.com.au. This appears
to be low in salicylates and contains no preservatives, great as a treat for
failsafers.
Household cleaning category McLintocks Vanilla Fresh Fridge wipe & deodoriser:
ingredients: ethyl alcohol, water, ethyl vanillin, vanillin - thanks to Jessica
Check out the
updates
page on the website for latest information.
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>