FAILSAFE #60
Newsletter of the Food Intolerance Network
April – June 2009
|
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
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The FAILSAFE Newsletter is
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THIS MONTH
Poor behaviour linked to the Western diet
Increasing use of sorbates (preservatives
200-203)
Research: Colour causes developmental delays in mice
In brief: National Healthy School Canteens,
Arsenic in rice, Medical warning about salicylates in Bonjela, The Food
Investigators
Colours again, 30 minute video interview with Sue
Dengate, Farewell Margaret Sassé, The Kids First Campaign
Readers' stories: [797] -
[814]
Product updates: detailed help
and information.
Questions: detailed help and
information.
Cooks Corner: Sausage Sizzles and School
Fetes, BBQ choko, One-minute omelette, Nic’s Chicken Nuggets, Home-made flour
tortillas, Poached tamarillos in syrup
Hello
everyone
Apologies
for the delay in this newsletter: the disastrous
Meanwhile
food additives are in the news: see diet and behaviour studies below and our
additive free netball team trial soon on the SBS show Food Investigators. One
failsafer wrote: “
Also below,
some fascinating reader reports including diet and morning sickness, reactions
to sorbates, depression due to the Western diet and many more.
And
finally, thank you to everyone who has written with success stories. I
especially liked this reader’s comment: ‘I think every mother should be
discharged from hospital with their baby under one arm and your book under the
other arm!’ - see the story below.
Happy failsafeing - Sue Dengate
Poor behaviour linked to the Western diet
A
new study of nearly 3000 adolescents in
While
it’s good see a study confirming what we already know about the link between
diet and behaviour, this study did not prove that a lack of micronutrients such
as folates and other vitamins causes these behaviours. Yet the way this study
has been reported in the media (‘It might be tricky to get kids to eat their
fruits and vegetables …’) will do nothing to help parents and teachers who are
struggling with children’s behaviour. As one failsafer wrote: ‘I just have to
shake my head at those who investigate diet, because be it mental health or
physical health there are always categories like processed and red meats, as if
a steak is in the same dietary category as hotdogs and salami!’
More
information: The association between dietary patterns and mental health in
early adolescence: http://tinyurl.com/rx2twa
Increasing use of sorbates (preservatives
200-203)
Until
recently, sorbates didn’t bother failsafers because they weren’t in any foods
we could eat. However, if you read labels regularly, you will see that sorbates
are creeping into all kinds of foods, mostly as sorbic acid (200) and potassium
sorbate (202). They are even in some foods describing themselves to be ‘all
natural’. This is misleading because although sorbates occur naturally in some
fruits, for commercial use they are manufactured synthetically. They are one of
the five groups of preservatives listed in the RPA Elimination Diet to be
avoided, along with benzoates, sulphites, nitrates/nitrites and propionates.
If
you have never done a sorbate challenge, you could use foods such as cream
cheese and Woolworths fresh pikelets, and possibly some breads, see our new sorbate
factsheet for many other suggestions.
We would love to hear about your reaction (which product, which
symptoms; to suedengate@ozemail.com.au). Thanks to Kathleen Daalmeyer for
supermarket research.
Books and DVD now available through www.fedup.com.au
You can buy
Sue’s books and DVD individually or as “the set” (Fed Up, the Failsafe Cookbook
& the DVD Fed Up with Children’s Behaviour) at very competitive prices.
Colour causes
developmental delays in mice
Adverse
neurobehavioural effects of tartrazine (colour 102) have been shown throughout
several generations of mice by researchers at the Department of Environmental
Health and Toxicology in
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.
The Kids First Campaign would like to see Australian
children better protected. More than 15,000 people have signed the online
petition at www.additivealert.com.au
- spread the word to your friends and email networks!
Arsenic in rice The UK’s Food Standards
Agency is advising that infants are not given rice drinks as a replacement for
cows’ milk, breast milk, or infant formula, following a new study that
indicates potential to exceed maximum intake of arsenic, http://www.foodnavigator.com/Legislation/Arsenic-rice-study-prompts-new-advice-for-parents. The Australian regulator FSANZ advice is to
only feed children below the age of five with rice drink when needed as a dairy
or soy replacement and as part of a nutritionally balanced diet. Their updated
factsheet is at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2009/cerealbasedbeverages.cfm
Medical warning about
salicylates in Bonjela One of the most commonly used teething gels for babies has
been linked to a potentially fatal disease. British authorities say the active
ingredient - choline salicylate - in Bonjela may put children at risk of Reye's
syndrome, a rare brain and liver disease. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/24/2552251.htm
The Food Investigators TV series is now showing
on SBS Wednesdays
Colours again Thank you to CHOICE
magazine for their investigation of additives in cakes: "Not quite like
mother made. Many supermarket cakes are packed with additives, including
artificial colours linked to hyperactivity in children ... any use of
artificial colours that raises safety concerns is hard to justify" http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=106788&catId=100228&tid=100008&p=1&title=Supermarket+cakes.
The FSANZ response is that the presence of a colour on a label did not
necessarily mean the colour was present in the final product (!), and that you
can always read the label and make an informed choice. Unless you are in a
restaurant, of course. http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/foodsurveillancenewsletter/autumn2009.cfm
30 minute video interview
with Sue Dengate (we were pleased at how well this one turned out) http://maxawareness.com/members/featured/fed-up/
(You’ll need to join Maxawareness and pay $1 using a Credit Card).
Farewell Margaret Sassé I am sad to report the
passing in May of Margaret Sassé, the irrepressible and indomitable founder of
Toddler Kindy GymbaROO; a strong failsafe supporter; at the age of 80,
following an aortic aneurysm. Margaret had been attending a Maternal Nurses
conference where GymbaROO was the major sponsor when she collapsed while line
dancing at the conference ball. Margaret’s latest book Smart Start: How
exercise can transform your child’s life had just been published.
The 648
previous stories from Food Intolerance Network members published since February
1999 have been collected into a single 316 page PDF file (1.6MB) so that it is
easier to download and search using Control/F or the PDF search function: http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/stories/failsafestories.pdf.
You can see
all current stories at www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/stories/story10.htm
- here are some of them:
[814] Depression and anxiety due to processed
foods (June 2009) COURAGE AWARD
I am total
agreement with your stories regarding depression etc due to food intolerance. I
suffered for about ten years trying all sorts of things. I was depressed,
anxious and had a host of strange sensations and numbness, foggy, bad tempered,
the list goes on.
The diet I
followed was basically to eat non processed foods, and I believe what I was
actually eliminating was flavour enhancers, including HVP and other hidden
enhancers. I have felt that MSG has been my downfall, although things like
other additives are excluded.
I continue to
work now at 66, with a clear head and vitality. I am angry at the time I have
spent seeing doctors and withdrawing from society due to low esteem and
negative feelings. Angry is a little strong and just relieved that I have found
relief without drugs/medication of any sort.
As with some of
the other people who have written in, I found relief by my own experimentation.
Dangerous, but I did it. And it worked. I have relayed my story to many people
and doctors, and I would say most of them don’t really believe that this will
work, and that is the problem. I understand that, because in my earlier days I
would have thought the same.
Following my
diet was very difficult with only a little change in the early stages (like the
first week), and in the early days, I didn’t think it would work. Luckily I
stuck to it. I try to impress people that the diet appears boring but in the
end one’s sanity is the objective. It took me about two weeks for a reasonable
and significant improvement, and two months for complete and total freedom from
symptoms. – Ralph, by email
[813] Amines causing a ‘locked in’ reaction in a
2 yo (June 2009)
I had to email
you to say THANK YOU for saving my sanity!
My 2 yr old was
having some terrible behavioural problems, in the form of waking up either from
her day sleep or night sleep in an absolute distraught state. She would be
inconsolable and it would go on for nearly an hour until I could somehow
‘break’ it. I could never predict what mood she would wake up in and I dreaded
it every day. I described her as being ‘locked in’ and I couldn't reach her.
Her eyes would glaze over and nothing I did could snap her out of it. All I could do was let her burn out. I knew
something wasn't right because why should any child wake up in a tantrum? But it was worse than a tantrum.
Thankfully I
mentioned it to the right mums at playgroup who got me onto your book. What an eye-opener!!!! I think every mother should be discharged
from hospital with their baby under one arm and your book under the other arm!
After educating
myself with your book, I ransacked our pantry and threw away about 50% of what
I had. I found the Vegeta seasoning I used nearly every night on our dinner was
full of MSG. I found the cheesy rice crackers the girls were having every day
were also full of MSG. This was not
good.
However, I
finally pinpointed what it was that made her so volatile - amines!!!! She was having bananas and grapes every day,
some days she would even have two bananas.
I quickly banned these two foods and the difference in my child was
amazing. She now wakes up a happy child! Recently I let my guard down and let her have
bananas again and saw the effects after about 4-5 days of having one each
day. I even suspected she was having
night terrors. And then I remembered the amines! After three days of no
bananas, she was back to her usual self.
Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you! – Pauline, QLD
[812] Asthma researchers ignore the evidence -
breathlessness, sleep apnea, tachycardia, pins and needles, anxiety from preservatives
(June 2009)
What is amazing
to me is that the researchers don’t seem to be aware that some preservatives
and flavour enhancers can also give you asthma or make symptoms worse. I've
experienced this first hand. I regularly consumed a so called healthy cereal
every day that contained dried fruit which was laced with preservatives. My
symptoms of breathlessness, sleep apnea, tachycardia, pins and needles, anxiety
etc. kept getting worse. I ended up in casualty at the local hospital several
times, but they could not discover the cause. I had heart checks, x-rays,
stress tests and still no answers. Finally at a party one of the guests refused
certain food and proceeded to tell me about her allergic reactions to food
additives. As she was describing her reactions, I realised her symptoms were
identical to mine. She told me about your website. I went home that night and
threw out everything in my pantry with food additives and I slowly recovered.
I'm very careful now, but eating out is a challenge and that is where I get
caught out, even when I choose healthy options such as a salad or sandwich. At
the airport I had a turkey and salad sandwich and within 20 minutes I was
really struggling to breath - Miryana by email.
[811] Terrible debilitating headaches/migraines
from salicylates (June 2009)
I have always
suffered terrible, debilitating headaches/ migraines! After several brain scans
the doctor recommended I take medications as a preventative measure, this would
be a life long therapy. Not being keen I went armed with your books and stated
I wished to try this failsafe diet first. My doctor supported my wishes with
some skepticism. My success has been life changing! I have lost 8 kilos (not
that I was looking towards this goal), no headaches until my salicylate
challenge and a healthy and happy family all round. Thank you for your time and
efforts. – Tania, QLd
[810] 635: My sister’s reaction to 635 in Thai
food (June 2009)
My sister ate
Thai food 3 days in a row (Fri, Sat, Sun). On Monday morning she had an itchy
rash and face that looked like she had been hit (red, swollen, hive type rash).
Over the next 4 days the rash only got worse. It moved from head to chest, to
legs, all over her body – a different spot every day. Antihistamines had no
effect. Eventually she went to the Emergency Department and a doctor thought
"not food related" but a nurse suggested it might have been.
They prescribed
a corticosteroid (I think) which began to make an impact. But reading the info
on your website re ribo rash - it all made sense. She has since noticed the rash on a smaller
scale after eating CC's with 621 and 635. – by email, Vic [The 635 in Thai food
can be in the soy sauce or fish sauce]
[809] Failsafe holiday on the road (June 2009)
We've just
finished a great 3 1/2 week driving holiday around
The trip was
great - it would be fantastic if other people could pass on their experiences
about how they maintain their diet when travelling - especially those going
gluten-free. – Jodie, by email (send other failsafe holiday reports via suedengate@ozemail.com.au
[801] Potassium sorbate makes my son clingy,
crying (June 2009)
I have a 6 year
old son who I already knew was intolerant to some foods. He has periods of
eczema (which we have been able to control with his diet) and we have avoided
these things for years. Luckily, because he was basically born with eczema, I had
been very careful about introducing foods. I started giving him crumpets for
breakfast when he was 2. He would be fine after eating them, however when he
woke from his sleep he would be screaming and hitting me, very violent and
uncontrollable. I initially thought it was hunger, as I found that when I gave
him something to eat he would calm down. Anyway, to cut a long story short. I
found out about preservative 282 and cut it out completely. He was normal
again!!
On and off over
the years I discovered other things that affected him, so I added those to my
list of things to avoid. A few months ago we went over to
[800] 200, 160b, 320: Big “no-no’s” cause
cramping and diarrhea (June 2009)
I am a 43
mother and have done the RPA elim diet. I have Colitis that was triggered by a
single episode of food poisoning ten years ago. It took a long time to get a
diagnosis of microscopic colitis. For a long time I was told that it was
irritable bowel. Finally a colonoscopy and biopsy showed it - a very
under-diagnosed condition. My big 3 "no-no's" are: annatto 160b,
synthetic antioxidants such as BHA 320, and sorbates. All of those cause cramping and diarrhoea. –
Kate, by email
[808] From multiple daily tantrums to none in
two weeks of failsafe eating (June 2009)
I have five
children aged 1, 7, 8, 10 and 11. It was the behaviour of my 8 year old
daughter which prompted me to try FAILSAFE. Since about the age of 2 this
daughter has had what seemed like multiple daily tantrums – consistently over
10 per day. Prior to this she was an
extremely easy going toddler, but a reflux baby (as were all my children). She
was so easy in fact that I used to call her my calming factor in the family and
her daycare carer once described her as a little pot plant that you just placed
in the corner, fed and watered her and watched her grow.
Earlier this
year I reached a rather scary place where, even though I love my daughter to
death, I often didn’t like being with her because the tantrums would start the
moment she got up and seemed to go on until she finally went to sleep at night.
I dreaded picking her up from school as it inevitably meant her storming out to
me at the car and immediately complaining about something which soon resulted
in constant sibling rivalry with my 7 year old daughter increasingly becoming
the victim of my 8 year old s assault. The entire household was on edge and her
behaviour was extremely disruptive to all of us.
Over the years
I have read several parenting books and tried many approaches: reward charts,
time outs, consequences, firm approach, soft approach and nothing seemed to
work. The bigger she grew the worse her tantrums became, reaching a climax
earlier this year when she started to throw any item she could find at any of
us. I should also add that over the years my daughter has developed several
food aversions.
The turning
point for me was when I saw her behaviour change before my eyes after eating
food at a party. It suddenly dawned on me that perhaps the food she was eating
was affecting her behaviour. That’s when I conducted some internet research and
stumbled across your website. Despite my family eating what I would call a well
balanced healthy diet, I was surprised to learn that there were still several
healthy foods which could affect behaviour. The most fantastic thing about your
website for people in my position was that I could download The Failsafe
Booklet which provided me sufficient information to try the diet out without
having to spend money on purchasing books upfront when I didn’t know if it
would work or not. I started the whole family on Failsafe following this
booklet to the best of my ability.
To my absolute
surprise, within 24 hours I had a totally different daughter. After 2 weeks of
no tantrums my husband was forced to agree that the diet made a huge difference
also. I reclaimed my calm, happy and pleasant daughter which was very emotional
for me because I had forgotten how sweet she could be. The entire household was
calmer (mainly down to my 8 year old’s improvement but I did notice a slight
improvement in behaviour in my other children in terms of them being less
irritable and more cooperative) and I not only looked forward to picking up my
daughter from school again but she would actually skip out to the car and greet
me nicely - what a transformation. Her teacher reported her concentration in
class was better and the sibling rivalry was what I would call normal. At this
point I purchased the books and DVD. The recipe book is fantastic and gave me a
larger variety of meals and baking options to choose from, plus a much more
detailed shopping list.
I have
struggled to keep my family Failsafe, mainly due to time constraints, but there
are a few dietary changes which have stuck. For example, I bake my own bread
now, my 8 year old daughter drinks magic cordial instead of commercial cordial
and uses 100% maple syrup on her toast instead of honey, peanut butter or
vegemite/promite, and I purchase Failsafe grocery products whenever I can. She
doesn’t consume much fruit as this is an area where she has developed several
aversions over the years. Overall, we seem to have reached a happy balance
whereby we are no longer 100% Failsafe but my daughter’s behaviour has improved
immensely.
Thank you for
your wonderful website and all the incredible insight into the world of
additives. I truly had no idea. – Nikki,
by email
[785] Morning sickness and intolerance to
lactose, salicylates and amines (June 2009)
I have been
failsafe now for 4 1/2 years and am very sensitive to salicylates, all of the
artificial additives I have challenged, lactose, and especially amines. In my
first two pregnancies I had strong cravings for cheese, cheese flavoured
snacks, and cola soft drinks, I also had horrendous morning sickness (actually
all day sickness for the whole pregnancy), and during the second pregnancy I
was hospitalised for dehydration due to non-stop vomiting. By my third
pregnancy I had become more aware of my lactose intolerance and did not touch
any dairy products or cheese flavoured anything (by luck I stuck to failsafe
soymilk), thereby unwittingly eliminating almost all amines from my diet and a
lot of the additives I normally consumed. I was so well throughout the
pregnancy, compared to the first two. I stumbled across the Fed-Up book when my
youngest child was 12 months old and as we worked out our intolerances I slowly
realised why I had had such terrible ‘morning’ sickness. Now that I am so much
healthier it is almost tempting to conduct a Failsafe experiment and have
another baby just to see what a completely Failsafe pregnancy would be like.
However three is enough right now. – Jen, NSW
[782] Morning sickness and other symptoms in
mother and children due to diet (June 2009)
We only found
out about "Fed Up With Food Additives" when Maternal & Child
Health nurse suggested we look at a possible problem with food chemicals for
our youngest child’s (14 months) eating disorder. However, now that I think
about it, I was violently ill during my pregnancies after eating high
salicylate foods - particularly broccoli, cucumber and citrus fruits – even the
smell of these foods would make me queasy.
My IBS symptoms
have cleared up since I have reduced the number of high salicylate foods in my
diet (I was doing it for the kids so also have adjusted my husband's diet and
my own). I used to think I was doing the
right thing by eating a huge fruit salad every day, and wondered why my
digestive system was so messed up. I
have also suffered from a hives-like rash all over my thighs for the past few
years and couldn't work it out - I now have long rash free periods after
avoiding dried fruit as much as possible, as well as msg, yeast extract, 627,
635 etc. We avoid additives as much as
possible but occasionally I slip up and we really notice the effects now.
My 9 year old
daughter seems to become very vague and forgetful with amines - especially
cheese - and we have found our 3 year old son to react badly to glutamates - he
becomes quite aggressive and uncontrollable.
The other thing we have noticed is the effect of colours - my daughter
becomes very silly and hyperactive - for example, today she had a ‘slushie’ at
the local shops that a family member bought for her - tonight she is jumping
all over the house, falling off chairs, making silly noises and facial
expressions etc. But I'm sure you've
heard all of this before!
I have found
the effects on my kids particularly interesting, as when I was a child, I was
unable to have food with MSG (I got severe migraines including vomiting) and
red-coloured foods/cordial made me vomit badly.
Thank you so much for really making a difference to our lives. –
Michelle by email
[799] Warning: Perfumes in masks for kids’
anaesthetics (June 2009)
I work in an
operating theatre. One day last week we had a few kids on the list and I asked
what the awful smell was. The result after process of elimination was, it was
the oxygen masks. It seems that the kid size oxygen masks now come scented. I'm
referring to the masks they hold over the face as the patient is going to
sleep. I asked why they are scented and apparently it's supposed to be less
stressful for the kid if it can smell something nice.
SO, to the
parents of kids that are sensitive to smells, make sure you ask the anaesthetist
about the masks if your child needs an operation. I don't know if we've still
got unscented ones, I couldn't find any (but that doesn't mean anything). I
made a point of letting them know it could cause major issues for kids with
problems and all I could get as a response was, "but it's non
allergenic". AARRGGGHHHH!! We've
got cherry and strawberry, which don't really smell like they should. - Jane,
by email (Like the fruit they represent, strong fruit flavoured perfumes will
be high in salicylates).
[797] Behaviour and night terror induced by
potassium sorbate (202) in Panamax (June 2009)
When my son had
a nasty chest infection/bronchitis I gave him crushed up Panamax paracetamol
4-hourly for a couple of days, as well as the inners of amoxil capsules.
A couple of
days later, his behaviour was absolutely shocking and it culminated in him having
a night terror one evening, the most severe one he has had since being failsafe
since last September.
I knew
something was going on, and I decided to check up about Panamax – and
discovered it has potassium sorbate (202) in it. We have not yet done any
challenges on additives as we already avoid dairy and salicylates, so decided
to pretty much stay additive-free. However, we do seem to be okay with moderate
amounts of pure MSG and amines.
I strongly
suspect that his behaviour and night terror were induced by the preservative
202. What angers me more is that I was completely unaware of the existence of
the preservative in this product, due to the lack of these medicine companies
having to label their products. Our kids are already sick when we need to give
these drugs to them, and they need to get better, but how can they when their
body is also trying to fight against an artificial preservative?
Even when I
asked at the chemist for a preservative-free paracetamol, they were not able to
tell me what was in the products they sold. If only we could have good
information about what is in these medical items, ie. through labelling. I
don’t accept the excuse that there isn’t enough room on the packaging – if a
box of soap can list its numerous chemical ingredients, so should a box of pain
relief or any other medicine.
Please use our
experience in your endeavours to fight for better information labelling on
medicines – it’s our kid’s future. – Joanne, Vic
Update: this
reader was using an old box of Panamax. The formulation hasn’t changed but the
labelling has: Panamax boxes now list potassium sorbate on the label. For young
children, ask for our recipe for additive-free children’s paracetamol. (We
would like to hear any other reports of reactions to sorbates – email suedengate@ozemail.com.au)
[804] Fragrance free spray on deodorant for
fussy hubby makes a difference (June 2009)
Just a quick
note to say thanks! I react very badly to any synthetic style fragrances and
hubby refuses to use a roll on. My pharmacy ordered in the QV unscented spray
deodorant you recommended and fussy hubby has used it no problems. I also
bought the Schick sensitive shave gel (unscented) that was mentioned in the
newsletter (Big W stocks it). No more headaches, watery eyes and sneezing for
me in the morning now. WooHoo! – Danielle, by email
[802] One-liners (June 2009)
"I thought
I would let you know that one of the dietitians recommended on the list you
kindly mailed me was extremely helpful and was exactly the help I needed with
the elimination diet I had begun. I cannot recommend her highly enough. I think
it is too difficult to complete an elimination diet with just an outline of the
diet from the doctor (as it was in my case) as your only guide" - Donna,
Qld
"Failsafe
(in a nut shell) saved our daughter and family! Thank you for the change in our
family and quality of life for our daughter!!!!
It means so much to have people like you out there!!!" –
"We have
been following failsafe since November last year and the changes have been
wonderful. If there is an occasional slip-up then we know about it! My son
doesn't have violent tantrums any more. He still gets upset over things, but we
can reason with him and he calms down quickly. My daughter doesn't wet the bed
unless she has salicylates so we can minimise that." - Alison, NSW.
"Your work
is very admirable and I personally thank you for educating me about food and their
effects on our health / behaviour. You both deserve an award for what you
do!" - Kelly, QLD is this one too many Your work type comments?
“It's of
comfort (and inspiring) for me to know there are others doing FS, GF, DF and
low fructose” – by email - see our new fructose
malabsorption factsheet
“Regarding
chemicals not food: my son had an allergic reaction to the current Auskick
brown and yellow striped socks. I forgot to wash the socks before he wore them
(as recommended by the manufacturer). He got hives on his feet and ankles” –
Lara, by email
“Your books and
the Failsafe Network are huge lifelines for me with my 2 year old daughter who
has IBS reactions to a wide range of foods and food chemicals” - Janelle by
email
The full list
of product updates for the last quarter is available at www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/updates.htm.
Here are some key updates from that list:
Success with pears in
syrup! We are
pleased to announce that, thanks to lobbying by Food Intolerance Network
members, Woolworths will be bringing back pears in syrup once their current
stocks are exhausted. Thanks to members and Woolworths. Coles have also advised
that they will continue to stock pears in syrup, from
More A2 products Freedom Foods are considering
making A2 cream, ice-cream, yoghurt and cheese.
Their website has a survey running for them to determine which would be
the most desired product to introduce first. You can win money by participating
in the survey. I've emailed them telling them that I would buy all of the A2
products they produce. Perhaps other failsafers might like to contact them also
and let them know their interest. If
they know there is a big demand for it, they may hurry up and start production.
Website address is www.a2australia.com.au
– thanks to Tam
Little Lolly Shop Alison at the www.littlelollyshop.com wants to let
everyone know that, although she was flooded out in the first
***WARNING*** Maggi
Noodles The actual
noodles in Maggi 2-minute noodles used to be OK, but now contain synthetic
antioxidant 319 TBHQ, so not even these are failsafe.
***WARNING*** Willow
Confectionery This
company has been sold and may not now be allergen free. We no longer recommend
these products. Thanks to Lyndall
Failsafe sausages and
organic meats in Sydney Sam the Butcher switched to
organic when he himself developed an allergy to the preservatives used in
meats. His 4th shop in
Failsafe sausages in
Penrith NSW Bush's
Meat in Centro Nepean Shopping Centre Station Street Penrith now stock both
chicken and beef failsafe sausages (new listing – always check the recipe for
yourself). The butcher said there have been a few people asking about these.
They get a delivery once a week on a Friday and they always have plenty in
stock. - Debra
Dishwashing-up
liquids Hard to get a hold of, but
absolutely fantastic, is the Seventh Generation Free and Clear Dishwashing
Liquid (http://www.seventhgeneration.com/Free-and-Clear).
It is the only truly smell-free liquid and it works brilliantly – thanks to
Anna
Dishwasher powders We recently got a new dishwasher. I
made the mistake of using the free Finish powerball tablet that came with it.
It stank the whole house out for days, I don't know how anyone can use that
stuff. I use 'ECO Store Auto Dishwash Powder' which has a mild citrus smell but
is bearable. There are no harsh chemicals in the powder which I think makes a
big difference. Vinegar makes a great rinse aid but mind and avoid the smell if
you are salicylate intolerant - I find it makes me feel quite ill. – thanks to
Anna. Squeek brand is supposed to be lower in chemicals, has no phosphate and
is Australian owned and made. When I use Finish we can all smell it right
through the house but we can't smell Squeek at all. Available from Woolworths
supermarkets, thanks to Debbie.
Hair Products I use Natural Oil Workers Unscented
shampoo and conditioner and have been doing so for some time now. You get it
from health food shops, it is in a bright blue bottle and is quite economically
priced compared to other products ($9 for 500mL). It is based on coconut oil. I
find it works far better than any other products I have used, you don't get the
usual build-up and it has no smell at all. I was a little worried about
reacting to it but haven't had any noticeable problems. Ingredient List for the
shampoo is: Coconut Oil, Mountain fresh water, glycerine, sodium chloride,
citric acid, natural emulsifier derived from vegetable castor oil, canpres BNPD
a herbal preservative. The Conditioner is similar. – thanks to Anna
Pain medication I notice you mention Panadeine for
extra pain relief but also mention Panadol brand has preservative. I react to
Panadol so avoid all their products. I needed a stronger painkiller last week
and went searching. I found Terry White chemists own brand 'Extra Strong Pain
Relief' which has no gluten, yeast, artificial colouring, preservatives or
alcohol. According to the pharmacist is also has no flavourings. I used these
for a week without any major trouble so thought it might help for other people
to know of as it is pretty horrible to be worrying about having a major
reaction to your medication when you are already sick! – thanks to Anna
All
questions from Food Intolerance Network members that have been published since
September 2002 have been collected into a single 54 page PDF file (330Kb) so
that it is easier to download and search using Control/F or the PDF search
function: http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/failsafequestions.pdf.
Some of the information, particularly that about specific foods and what they
contain, may be out of date – always check the Product Updates section on www.fedup.com.au for the latest
information.
Q. I read somewhere that McDonalds
Soft serve was okay (if you don't eat the cone). Is this true???
A. When I checked the McDonald's website in May 09 (you
can search Google for <McDonalds ingredients>), the Soft Serve mix
contained water, sugar, non fat milk solids, butterfat, glucose solids, coconut
oil, four vegetable gums and added flavour. According to RPA, coconut oil is
high in both salicylates and amines but as the sixth ingredient this would be
OK occasionally. The flavour is probably vanilla and would be OK if not too
strong. The cone contains artificial colour (110) so is definitely not failsafe
- you can usually ask for icecreams in a paper cup. Thanks to Nicole.
Q. My son adores peanut butter, and
I m having a big struggle to find a substitute for him. I have tried the cashew
paste in your cookbook, but he hates it. I also notice that Freedom Foods soy
butter is no longer available. Yesterday however I came across a product called
Eskals FreeNut Butter. The ingredients are sunflower seed (85% minimum), sugar,
emulsifier (471), salt and antioxidant (306). Is it considered failsafe?
A. Unfortunately, Freenut Butter is NOT failsafe
because sunflower seeds are listed as high in salicylates and amines by RPA.
For children who hate cashew paste, try the option with carob powder added,
it’s much nicer. Thanks to Annette.
Q. My 2 year old daughter is addicted
to salicylates - she loves breaking into the bathroom and sucking on her minty
Wiggles baby paste. Is there a low fluoride plain toothpaste for kids?
A. Young children shouldn’t swallow
fluoride toothpaste, because too much fluoride can affect the formation of
permanent teeth and possibly other health problems. An advantage of plain
toothpaste – other than lack of salicylates - is that children aren’t tempted
to eat it. Normal toothpastes contains about 1 mg of fluoride per gram of
toothpaste and low fluoride toothpaste contains about half that. I don’t know
of any low fluoride children’s toothpastes that are free of both flavours and
colours but you can use Plain Toothpaste from Oral Hygiene Solutions (http://www.oralhygienesolutions.com/page/plain_toothpaste.html)
or Soul Pattinson pharmacies. The current medical recommendation for children
under six is to use only a pea size amount of low fluoride toothpaste or a smear
of regular fluoride toothpaste twice a day.
Q. Our school has announced they are
installing new carpet in my son’s classroom. Can you put me in touch with some
information about why this is not acceptable for my food and chemically
sensitive son?
A. The Carpet Institute of
Q. After attending one of your seminars
about 4 years ago we have managed to change our now 15 year old daughter’s life
by eliminating preservatives, colours and flavours. We are travelling to the
A. We took our teenagers around the
world, including the
My recommendation
about traveling is to cater for yourself whenever possible. For flights, take
your own food. I always pack lots of sandwiches – e.g. preservative free cream
cheese with finely sliced celery (or cucumber if you can manage salicylates)
travels well. If you happen to find any food in airline meals or airports that
you can eat, regard that as a bonus. In airports, you can often ask for a
milkshake/smoothie with nothing but banana (or real mango) and milk.
Contributions from readers are welcome: email to suedengate@ozemail.com.au.
Q. My 12 yr old son has taken
penicillin for tonsillitis twice in the last two months. Both times I have
noticed my son’s behaviour became much more moody and disobedient. The
medication was LPV capsules. Could there be a problem with the drug itself or
am I looking for an unlisted culprit?
A. I did a Google search in May 09 for
<LPV capsules> and found the CMI (Consumer Medicines Information) leaflet
at http://www.mydr.com.au/medicines/cmis/lpv-capsules.
The "inactive" ingredients are listed at the bottom of the CMI. They
include three artificial colours which are listed by names and Colour Index
(CI) numbers but are also known as colours 110, 127 and 133 – all artificial
colours we recommend to avoid. At that time, the CMI claimed "LPV does not
contain gluten, sucrose, tartrazine or any other azo dyes" but this is
incorrect as sunset yellow (110) is an azo dye. I notified the manufacturer and
they promised to change it. You can see more information and a list of Colour
Index numbers on our Medications
factsheet.
Q. My daughter recently went from
taking 10mg Losec to 20mg (half twice a day). I noticed the colour of the
tablets is quite different. When I contacted the manufacturer they told me that
the darker colour in the 20mg is due to the fact that it has iron oxide red and
iron oxide yellow in it (although they did say there is also a small amount of
iron oxide red in 10mg) do you know anything about these colours and whether
they are OK or should be avoided?
A. Iron oxides (red, yellow and black) are all
variations on natural colour 172. They are considered to be well tolerated by
failsafers and were consumed without problems for years in the RPA-recommended
Macro M vitamin supplements that have since been discontinued.
Q. Could Vegeta stock powder be
causing my son’s bad behaviour? We have it nearly every night.
A. Yes it could. The vegetable flavour
Vegeta gourmet stock powder contains MSG (flavour enhancer 621) which has been
associated with a range of reactions including behaviour. The other Vegeta
flavours (chicken, beef and chicken salt reduced) contain the newer flavour
enhancer disodium inosinate (627) which seems to cause even more problems than
MSG.
Q. Can you tell me if processed
eucheuma seaweed listed as a stabiliser in a homemade icecream mix is failsafe?
A. Processed eucheuma seaweed is
vegetable gum (407a) also known as PNG-carrageenan or semi-refined carrageenan.
Vegetable gums are regarded as failsafe although if eaten in large quantities
or by extra sensitive people they may cause symptoms of IBS such as stomach
discomfort and bloating. The other version of carrageenan (commonly known as
additive 407) is controversial because some studies have suggested it is
carcinogenic. However, others say that only degraded carrageenan (never used in
food) is carcinogenic.
Q. My son has been getting into
serious trouble at school and has been hitting children (he does not have
ADHD). At home, we seem to have a very difficult time with him. Our children
eat at least 3 fruits a day - mainly kiwi, pineapple, mangoes, apples and
tangerines - and these seem to be the worse offenders.
A. Most of the fruits you mention wouldn’t have been
eaten every day by young children 30 years ago. Kiwi fruit, pineapples and
citrus are all rated as very high in natural chemicals called salicylates and
amines that are known to cause behavioural effects and most varieties of apples
are high in salicylates. Blueberries, strawberries, grapes and sultanas are
some other fruits commonly eaten every day by young children that can cause problems.
Some families can see improvements by avoiding additives and possibly reducing
fruit and tomato intake, while others get best results through doing the RPA
elimination diet supervised by a dietitian. This family saw a big improvements
when they cut out additives.
New factsheets Factsheets are becoming
our major way of making information available, now in printable format as well
as online.
Women’s
health and diet, covering Premenstrual symptoms (PMS/PMT), Period pain
(dysmenorrhea), absence of periods (amenorrhea), painful or heavy periods,
Morning sickness, Pregnancy, breastfeeding and young babies, Postnatal
depression, Infertility, Symptoms of menopause, Urinary Tract Infections
(UTIs), Cystitis, Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS), Urinary urgency,
incontinence, bedwetting, bladder problems, Thrush, candida, Breast cancer and
Combining failsafe and very low fat
Additives
in medication, answering questions like Why aren't all ingredients listed on
the label?, What DO they have to list on the label?, How can I find out if my
medication contains nasty additives? Why can't I understand the names of the
colours in my medication? And what you can do.
Artificial
colours around the world. Why are the regulations all different?
Talking point
Sorbate
preservatives If you have seen a reaction to sorbates, please let us know. If
you would be prepared to challenge sorbates, you can follow the RPA rules of
challenge: wait for 3 symptom free days in a row, eat preserved cottage cheese,
low fat spreads or Philly cheese every day for 3 days or stop when you see a
reaction. If you already know you aren’t sensitive to salicylates and amines
you could use Tip Top muffins which contain both vinegar and sorbates. Please
let us know what happens. See other foods on the new Sorbates
factsheet and email suedengate@ozemail.com.au
Can you help?
Food
intolerance survey: advance notice of upcoming survey and request for
participants
My name is Dr Karena Burke, and I am currently
working as a researcher in Rockhampton.
I have recently been awarded a small grant to examine the relationship
between food sensitivities and psychological health, and would like to invite
everyone who is part of the Food Intolerance Network to participate. The
project focuses on the symptoms felt by both adults and children, and also
looks at the added pressures people with a food intolerance face when it comes
to making decisions about food. The
survey is targeted at everyone, you or your children do not need to have a food
intolerance to participate, however I would like as many people as possible who
do have an intolerance themselves, or care for someone who does, to take
part.
The survey will be available in online form in
coming weeks (I anticipate by mid-July), with a link provided on the Food
Intolerance Network site. If you have
any queries or questions please feel free to contact me via email k.j.burke@cqu.edu.au.
New OMO
Sensitive 2x concentrate Has anyone has tried the? We would like to hear about good
or bad reports - suedengate@ozemail.com.au
Support in
northern NSW Mother in
Support
More than 1.6 million people have now visited www.fedup.com.au – about 1,000 per day.
See http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/support/support.htm
for local contacts who can generally answer some questions about failsafe eating
- many have brochures and a copy of the DVD to lend out. They can also advise
on supportive dietitians locally.
Email support groups: we currently recommend failsafe3
for beginners. It is the smallest of the big general groups. You can join by
sending an email to failsafe3-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
with ‘subscribe’ in the subject line.
Talks
Coming talks by Sue Dengate -
full detail at http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/support/talks.htm
July 2009
August 2009
Bingara NSW Monday 17
Warialda NSW Monday 17
Inverell NSW Tuesday 18
Killara (Sydney) Monday 24
Springwood (
Tumbarumba NSW Wednesday 26
Albury/Wodonga NSW/VIC Thursday 27
Wangaratta VIC Monday 31
September 2009
Ballarat VIC Wednesday 2
Mildura VIC Thursday 3
Tatiara SA Saturday 5
Adelaide SA Wednesday 9
Thanks to
organisers of talks at Yamba and
Coming talks in
Brochures
NOW AVAILABLE in Dutch, French, Italian,
Portuguese, Spanish, Nepali and
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
$A0.33 each plus postage. See instructions on the website for accessing pdf
versions. Email confoodnet@ozemail.com.au
with enquiries.
Newsletters
All Failsafe Newsletters from 1998-2006 inclusive have been gathered into a
single 576 page (3.6Mb) file which you can download and search. There is a
wealth of research, issue discussion, recipes, personal reports and recipes now
available in one place. But some of the links are out of date and you must
always check current products rather than relying on historical information – download all past Failsafe Newsletters
Hints
Sausage Sizzles and
School Fetes: two tips from the SAFE Newsletter, thanks Kathleen, Jenny &
Marianne www.additiveeducation.com.au
- Organise an 'Additive Free
Option' when there's a sausage sizzle at your school! Send a note home with
a slip to be returned with the money prior to the day. Some schools
organise it this way already, to minimise wastage. One school that offered
this was amazed by the number of families that were happy to pay an extra
$1 for an additive free sausage in bread. Their local Brumby's supplied
bread at no cost, which was spread with Nuttelex and topped with a
FAILSAFE sausage. See http://www.honestbeef.com.au/
for preservative free sausages, if you've not got your local butcher
trained up yet!
- At school fetes, fairy floss
can be made without the pink colouring. It still tastes exactly the same
so it's a perfect Additive Free treat. Ask the Fairy Floss Machine hire
company to ensure it's cleaned to remove all traces of pink. I've done
this before (called it SNOW) and made just as much money as a pink floss
stall and also used it as an opportunity to hand out information to the
community too.
BBQ choko: cook choko quartered,
peeled, with some salt and oil in foil on the bbq (Ihad never eaten choko
before, I LIKE it!)- thanks to
One-minute omelette: break egg into a mug
or bowl and beat well, pour into a well oiled saucer, microwave on high for one
minute or until set. Good in sandwiches, wraps, foldies – thanks to Jill
Nic’s Chicken Nuggets
I
made chicken nuggets with just chicken breast but my 5yo is a bit lazy when it
comes to chewing. So for a more commercial look and texture I made up the
following.
2-3 potatoes peeled, boiled and mashed
500g
chicken mince
Chives
chopped
Garlic
(optional)
Mix
all together and shape into nuggets. In another bowl beat an egg. Dip nuggets
into egg. Then mix together rice crumbs and toasted fresh breadcrumbs and roll
egg dipped nuggets into this mix. (Bit messy!). I shallow fried mine in wok for
colour and then transferred them to baking tray and finished them off in
moderate oven. YUM! – Thanks to Nicole
Home-made flour tortillas
A
surefire way of getting my 2 boys (age 5 and 3.5) to eat a meal is to wrap it
in a tortilla. I was dismayed at the number of additives in our favourite brand
so now we make our own and my boys love helping.
3
cups of plain flour
1
tsp salt
1/3
cup failsafe oil eg canola
1
cup of warm water
I
make up the dough in the breadmaker and then cut, roll and cook but you can
make it without a breadmaker. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Make
a well in the centre, add the oil and water, and mix with a fork or blunt knife
until a soft dough forms. Transfer to a floured board and knead for five
minutes until smooth. Put in a clean bowl, cover and stand in a warm place for
an hour. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each out into a 20cm circle –
this might take practice. Heat frypan over medium heat and dry cook tortilla
for one minute each side, pushing down gently if it puffs up a bit. Stack on a
plate and serve immediately or allow to cool, stack, wrap in foil, then freeze.
Can be reheated in microwave or pan. - thanks to Anne
Poached tamarillos in
syrup
A
good source of Vitamin C and A, tamarillos are rated as moderate in
salicylates, no amines.
4
tamarillos
1
cup sugar
1
cup water
Dip
each tamarillo into boiling water for 1 minutes, then the skin should be easily
peeled off. Boil sugar and water and slip in sliced tamarillos for about 3
minutes. Serve as a topping over failsafe custard, yoghurt or icecream.
The FAILSAFE Newsletter: You can have this Newsletter
emailed to you for free about every three months, and also see it in colour
with graphics on www.fedup.com.au.
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Dengate (text)