FAILSAFE #61
Newsletter of the Food
Intolerance Network
July
– September 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. |
To
see this FAILSAFE Newsletter in colour on the web: http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/newsletters/FAILsaf61.htm
Also available as a downloadable PDF file http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/newsletters/FAILsaf61.pdf
The
FAILSAFE Newsletter is available free by email. Just send your email address to
failsafe_newsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
THIS MONTH
Australian
supermarkets doing “the right thing”
The great Macca’s experiment
Research: Nitrates
and Alzheimer’s
In brief: Politicians recognise colours, Fragrances,
Fragrance free workplaces, Court rules aspartame is ‘nasty’, Health problems
from new mattresses, Folate in bread, Consumer power
Two
new articles, Report adverse reactions to medications in
Readers' stories: some here, more in the
new factsheets.
Product updates: detailed help and
information.
Questions: detailed help and
information.
Cooks Corner: Hint: a failsafe sports
drink, Lamb Meatballs, Easiest ever pear pie
Hello everyone
Howard and I are about to embark on a four week speaking
tour to 16 locations (details at http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/support/talks.htm)
and we look forward to catching up with many of you.
We're all delighted that Australian supermarkets are
now working to remove artificial colours and some other additives! However,
this may lead to wider use of additives of concern such as natural colour
annatto 160b. My apologies for recommending Maccas's soft serve in the last
newsletter, it was a mistake, see The Great Macca's Experiment below.
It is common for longterm failsafers to report that
their frequent colds, flu and various infections decrease on diet and recur
when they break the diet. The answer to "Has any research been done on why
we don't get colds or flu when we are failsafe?" is YES, see FAQs. And if
you needed any more reasons to feel good about being failsafe, see interesting
new research about genotoxicity of artificial colours and a possible
Alzheimers/nitrates link.
Also below, for those of us who have ever wondered how
we could be sensitive to 'good' foods like fruit and tomatoes, see the Courage
Award winning story 'my dad migrated from southern
And finally, thank you to everyone who has written
with their success stories. I especially liked this comment from Miriam in
Victoria: 'The difference this diet has made to my boys is amazing ... it was
like taking them back and getting them exchanged for ones that worked
'properly'.
Happy failsafeing - Sue
Dengate
Australian
supermarkets doing “the right thing”
Last month the ALDI supermarket chain announced that artificial
colours and some preservatives would be removed from own brand products because
it was “the right thing” to do. Woolworths issued a similar statement and Coles
products are changing too. Of course we are delighted that manufacturers are
prepared to act despite foot dragging by Australian food regulators. It is
already obvious that there will be more products available for failsafers.
I can’t help wondering whether the manufacturers’
new-found social conscience could be partly due to a new laboratory test.
Designed to measure
The great Macca’s experiment
In
the last newsletter, we told you Macca’s soft serve mix was safe as long as you
avoided the cone (with artificial colour 110). A mother wrote: "I just
thought I would let you know that we tried the Maccas soft serve again without
the cone. The reaction was less severe but still there." (see the full
story [850] Reaction to McDonalds soft serve no cone, below) I contacted McDonalds and it turns out that
the "soft serve mix" is only available occasionally in remote
locations. Most machines use the sundae mix with annatto 160b. My apologies!!!
Macca’s have promised to remove the soft serve mix from their ingredients list.
We
would like to hear from readers who are prepared to give their children a
Macca’s soft serve (without cone) in the interests of science. Please email suedengate@ozemail.com.au
Books and
You can buy Sue’s books and
Nitrates
and Alzheimer’s
A new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital have found a
substantial link between increased levels of nitrates - in our food and
environment - and increased deaths from diseases, including Alzheimer's,
diabetes and Parkinson's. According to Professor Suzanne de la Monte "We
have become a 'nitrosamine generation’. In essence, we have moved to a diet
that is rich in amines and nitrates, which lead to increased nitrosamine
production ...” Nitrosamines are regarded as carcinogens. Nitrates and nitrites
(249-252) are used in processed meats such as ham, bacon, frankfurters etc.
Overuse of nitrogen based fertilizer can result in nitrates in water
supplies. Further reading: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090705215239.htm
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.
Politicians
recognise colours: the Liberal National Party Conference in Brisbane
unanimously voted "That this Convention of the LNP recognises the impact
that some food colourings are having on the health of Australians, especially
our children, and in line with other countries, calls for the withdrawal of the
following food and drink colourings in Australia within 2 years: 102,
Tartrazine, 104, Quinoline Yellow, 110 Sunset Yellow, 122 Carmosine, 124
Ponceau Red, 129 Allura Red." – this will now go to State and Federal
levels of the party:– thanks to Dr Richard Stuckey and Karen. The national
Country Party and the Greens passed similar motions before the last Federal
election. If you feel like writing to a Labor politician, this would be a good
time.
Fragrances: “Do people
without allergies realize how badly they affect people that have allergies? The
answer would be NO! For instance, well, I'm allergic to everything. Perfumes,
lotions, cigarette smoke, and animals. So, when in class, I have to find just
the right seat, where a girl isn't overly perfumed, but then they take out
their fragrancey lotion and I have a nice allergy attack in the middle of
lecture …” from a prize winning email by
StarvingStudent http://www.collegenet.com/elect/app/app?service=external/Forum&sp=2417.
Fragrance
free workplaces: In
Court
rules aspartame is ‘nasty’: a UK High Court judge has found in favour of
the Asda supermarket chain in its court battle with Ajinomoto over 'no nasties'
labelling. Giant MSG and aspartame manufacturer Ajinomoto launched a malicious
falsehood action against Asda last year over the ‘no hidden nasties’ claim on
its ‘Good For You’ food and soft drink products included aspartame. An Asda
spokesperson commented: “We’re in the business of listening to our customers
and they’ve told us loud and clear that they don’t want unnecessary, artificial
additives in their food.” http://www.foodnavigator.com/On-your-radar/Artificial-additives/Asda-claims-victory-in-aspartame-nasty-case.
Health problems from new
mattresses:
over 150 reports of health problems associated with new beds (including
headaches, hives, sore throat, flu-like symptoms, chemical sensitivity, coughs,
sinus, fatigue, breathing difficulty and carpal tunnel): http://www.chem-tox.com/beds/frame-beds.htm
Folate
in bread: Mandatory fortification of bread-making flour with folic acid starts
in
Consumer
power Major
Two
new articles: Food and
depression, from Australian Certified Organic Magazine (1.1Mb PDF) Autumn
2009 by Sue Dengate, and Food
colours 101 from Reader’s Digest magazine Health Smart (3.6Mb PDF)
June-July 2009. See other
articles too.
Report
adverse reactions to medications in
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!
The previous reports from Food Intolerance Network members published since
February 1999 have been collected into a single PDF file (~2Mb) so that it is
easier to download and search using Control/F or the PDF search function: http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/stories/failsafestories.pdf.
Names have been changed to protect privacy.
You can see all current stories at www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/stories/story10.htm
- here are just a few of the latest:
[853] Additive-free, but favourite foods
were tomatoes (August 2009) COURAGE AWARD
We're
3 weeks in to Failsafe, and I feel as if I've won the lottery!!! 3 kids aged
10, 8 and 5, all extremely active and slightly frenetic. The oldest was
diagnosed with Aspergers and ADD at about 6 years of age, but concerns were
noted since he was about 4 - very fixated on certain activities, difficulty
being aware of his environment, very impulsive etc. He repeated reception as he was really
struggling, very highly strung. We cut
down on additives with some improvement, but he was still very hooked into his
own thoughts and obsessional in thinking and behaviour, talking out in class,
struggling academically. He was still incontinent of number ones and twos, as
he had such poor awareness of his body, and inability to attend to more than
one thing at a time (ie concentrating on schoolwork or a game, and bodily
sensations).
He
was placed on Concerta (a type of Ritalin) at 8 years of age, which led to a
very noticeable improvement in ability to concentrate in school, and less
impulsivity. This was the very thing we
had not wanted to do with our child, but we couldn’t continue with daily sneaky
poos, constantly spacing out at school, and that level of impulsivity was
taking its toll on the whole family. While I do believe medication is
over-prescribed and should only be a last resort, we had done everything we
could, and it did help. I strongly believe parents should not automatically be
judged for medicating their children, we are all doing our best, with whatever
information we have.
He
began to really shut down about 18 months ago, becoming very isolated, spending
every school break time alone reading, and not even responding to questions at
home, instead preferring to read alone. He was very sullen, on bad days yelling
at schoolmates who tried to engage him. He had no friends, and swung between a
sullen and angry boy, or a highly impulsive, giggly and inappropriate "in
your face" kid.
We
had been additive free for some time, and he had a blood test which showed he
was intolerant to wheat, strawberries, dairy and cocoa so those were out also.
We had done the rounds of psychiatrist, psychologist, social skills training,
occupational therapy, etc.
He
is now in year 4 and just prior to commencing diet, he dirtied his pants at
school and then told a classmate about it!
I panicked, I could not pinpoint any additives that would have led to
the behaviour, and I felt desperate. I went to the Autism SA resource centre
where I found "The Failsafe Cookbook", and I haven’t put it down
since!
Our
oldest son's favourite foods were tomatoes, and Nonna's pasta and meatballs -
he would scoff a whole punnet of cherry tomatoes in one go if he could. Our second child could have best been
described as a fruit addict, regularly eating 5 apples after school (I would
find the cores littered around the house).
He is an academically capable kid, but could be very oppositional, and
was diagnosed as having an auditory processing disorder. He was very
hyperactive also. Our youngest daughter had an almost normal diet, I think
because I was so exhausted from meeting the needs of the older two that I
didn’t have the energy to say "No", to be honest!! I did notice that she was much harder to
settle to sleep than the other two, especially after eating raisin toast (even
with "no preservatives on the pack!), and flavoured snacks, which were
given by friends etc.
Since
the diet, the improvements have been extraordinary! I had to have a meeting at
home with a colleague, and my children played lego together, without arguing
mind you, for about 1.5 hours!!! My
oldest has dry pants at the end of the day, responds when asked questions, engages
in appropriate conversation, and most heartwarming of all, has had several
successful playdates with a boy from school. I was able to leave all three with
my mother last week while I worked without her having a breakdown. She was
shocked at the difference, and my father reported that my oldest pruned a whole
row of grapes for him!
The
"fruit addict" is the most changed!
He is polite, helpful (someone pinch me, please!). Our daughter is sleeping better, still has
made an artform of irritating her brothers, but our home is overall much more
harmonious, and I am so grateful.
My
husband and I are both southern European, and it seems strange that our
children could be intolerant to tomatoes and the like. I'm still a bit puzzled, but I chatted about
it to my dad, who migrated from southern
It
makes me incredibly angry that even basic foods are laced with additives that
are harming our children. I see parents at breaking point and children whose
self esteem and learning are compromised, and it is incomprehensible. I for one
am TIRED of it.
Thank
you so much for your care and compassion in the important work that you do.
- by email,
[852] One-liners (August 2009)
Upon
starting school this year my normally bright, happy six year old became depressed,
aggressive and hyperactive. A pattern of
school canteen usage emerged at which point I requested a list of ingredients
for some of the things he was buying. To my horror, the slushy he was ordering
contained two artificial colours, benzoate preservatives and sorbate
preservatives. -- Leesa, by email
When
strictly failsafe, we have a wonderful loving attentive child. Your works have
been as no doubt you have heard before life saving for our family. Although
considered a little weird at times for his diet, I’d rather him known as weird
than that naughty kid, shoved in the too hard basket. - Peta, Vic
Just
wanted to inform you of another success story in regards to my 9-year-old.
We’ve been on failsafe for 7 weeks now and my son is now calm, settled and an
absolute delight thanks to your books. I’ve spread the gospel around my local
area with many parents and teachers genuinely interested. His teachers are all
very supportive as they’ve seen the metamorphosis right before their very eyes
– by email,
My
story is similar to many on your website: a
5yo boy and a 2yo girl. We had concerns with our little boy, realising
he did not seem happy, energetic, compliant, everything was negative, and a
drama. After many bad bad evenings and lots of screaming / crying and being
upset that my child was not happy we decided to watch the DVD read as much info
as we could and did something about it. Well, we now have a very happy child
with a much bigger control on what goes into their mouths and the outcome I can
say is also a complete turnaround. So ... thank you - Michelle, NSW.
I
was pretty annoyed when I checked the yoghurt ingredients and found 160b in the
vanilla. I had been buying the yoghurt for my 4 year old as it is no
preservatives, artificial colour, flavour etc. His behaviour can definitely be
seen in the side effects outlined in the book! - Cassandra by email
[847] Pictures worth a thousand words
(August 2009)
I
cannot begin to thank you for all your work!!
I am only nearly 3 weeks into our Elimination Diet (sal, amines and
glutes) and was suddenly confronted with this!!! The first picture is an example of my 6
year-old daughter's regular colouring, perhaps 2 months ago. The next 2 are in
the last couple of days. I don't need to explain this to you, do I! I was not paying much attention while she coloured
and I suddenly realised what I was looking at. Complete, solid colour. Thought
put into which colour she'd use. I would hardly have believed she did it, but I
saw it happen!
To
be picky, if you look at Spot's hat and the horse's head, you can see that she
gets a little 'fast' there. This was on
a day when she was 'out-of-sorts' and she finally told me she'd had a chocolate
muffin at school. As she sat down to
colour I was disappointed she'd chosen to finish this one because I felt that
she'd now wreck it. But I see it serves
a good little 'illustration' for me.
Something
this tangible was fabulous to have as I think I may have converted my
in-laws!!! They felt she just needed
more vegies. ha ha. – by email,
[835] Alzheimers, asthma and apnoea (July
2009)
I
thought I would share with you briefly my experience of treating my wife who
was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Apart from the Alzheimer's
diagnosis, she suffered from asthma, sleep apnoea, was unable to speak more
than one word at a time and was going down hill very fast. After a lot of research
I decided to put her on to a 90% raw food diet and after one month, she started
to speak the odd phrase. This was marvellous and only encouraged me to
continue. However the amazing thing was after a few months her asthma symptoms
began to disappear and she was able to reduce her dependence on puffers. After
six months even the preventer puffer was reduced to almost zero and a year
later in consultation with the doctor stopped using puffers altogether. Two and
a half years later, she has been symptom free for two winters so confidently
predict it has gone forever. Oh by the
way her sleep apnoea has gone as well. This experience of curing asthma with
raw food is not unique as I have subsequently found out. When visiting your
website I realised the raw food diet was eliminating additives. Commercial raw
food has other problems i.e. pesticides, growth promoters etc but the
experience of using commercial raw food has been worthwhile. Would like to eat organic but currently
that's not possible. When visiting, we eat normal food and don't expect others
to provide the food we use at home. - by email
[850] Reaction to McDonalds soft serve
(no cone) (August 2009)
We
avoid McDonalds soft serve since our 5 yo son had a reaction in the evening
after eating a soft serve with cone in the afternoon. It had been the only
thing he had eaten that day that we could think had caused it. After reading
Failsafe Newsletter #60, we tried the Maccas soft serve again without the cone
(in a plastic cup - upside down sundae lid). The reaction was less severe but
still there. He was affected about 4 hours after eating the ice-cream both
times (with and without the cone). This, for him, is typical for colours. Our
normally quiet son bounces, jumps, shouts, makes silly loud noises, blows
raspberries, uses nonsense words, and generally just can't sit still. The acute
reaction generally lasts about an hour. The icecream without cone caused a
shorter period of the acute reaction, with less volume and intensity. Probably
lasted about 35 minutes and was more bearable but still consistent with the
typical reaction he gets from colours. Peters Original and other failsafe
varieties (eg Sara Lee and the organic ones) have never caused the same
reaction. – Susan, Qld
(Can
you help: we would like to hear from any failsafer who has observed a reaction
to McDonalds soft serve (no cone) – same day or next day? suedengate@ozemail.com.au)
[837] Feedback on the salicylate and
amine mistakes info (August 2009)
Thank
you, these information sheets are most helpful. I have been doing the diet with
my son for almost 4 years and there is always more to learn. He has been having
trouble at school of late and I see where I may have been exacerbated things
with my slip ups. I did not realise that not all pumpkin was moderate in sals
and that chat potatoes were high. There were also a few other tidbits that was
a great help. – Dianne, by email (you can request these updated information
sheets from suedengate@ozemail.com.au)
[806] Story [342] Part 2: Helpless,
hopeless depression five years on (June 2009)
I
wrote story 342 (Helpless, hopeless depression due to salicylates: I have
suffered depression since at least age 15 and am 38 now …) five years ago when
I was relatively new to Failsafe, about a year and a half in. It has taken me a
long time to figure out all the finer points, and I'm probably still learning.
But it's a journey back to myself. I am now not the same person I was even five
years ago, discovering new parts to me all the time, as I take back control.
The secret for me is to keep looking, recording what I eat, and asking
questions.
When
I have too much of the chemicals that I react to (I can tolerate a bit more of
the three natural chemicals now) the following happens: amines make me angry,
like ODD. Salicylates (now) make me vague and panicky, uptight with others,
because I can't think straight. Glutamates make me cry, uncontrollably sad.
Synthetic antioxidants make me very anxious, but it's a build up effect. I
didn't realise this for a long time, as I very rarely have too much of things
like take away hot chips, until a recent long holiday. I also suspect soy and
dairy as having a build up effect on my mood, and must be totally gluten free.
I only took out gluten about 1.5 years ago, as I still had some unexplained
joint pain. Didn't realise it was connected with my moods, till I came off it
and had severe withdrawals - headaches, depression, diarrhoea. On challenging
it, I had severe depression, disconnection with reality, had trouble making my
body respond to my brain, like I couldn't make a decision to move, and terrible
anxiety. So even though I was doing very well on Failsafe and not gluten free,
I'm doing even better off gluten. My body just doesn't want it back now, and I
sure don't either! – by email, Vic
In addition, nine factsheets have been extensively
updated since the last newsletter and there are many more new reports in these:
Women’s issues such as 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, Combining failsafe eating with a very low fat diet, Women and
fragrance, see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factwomen.htm
[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
[788] Coeliac
diagnosis results in pregnancy (June 2009)
I attended one
of your talks 12 months ago where you mentioned a link between coeliac disease
and infertility. Since we have been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant, I
had a test for coeliacs and it was positive so I went gluten free and am now
the very proud mother of a new baby. I just wanted to say thank you! – by
email, Vic
[789]
Failsafe plus low fat for peri-menopausal symptoms (June 2009)
I am a woman in
my mid 40s and have been failsafe for 5 years or more. I notice I am starting
to have a little more insomnia, and irritability, and some other symptoms which
I attribute to peri-menopause. Thank you so much for your extra information
about low fat diets for menopausal symptoms. It really makes sense. I know when
I indulge in a big steak with potatoes, lots of butter and whole milk I get
extreme breast tenderness the next day and feel warm all over. I will keep you
posted, but I really think this could greatly help some of my symptoms. 6
months later: Thank you for your information regarding menopause, it seems to
be working - by email, U.S.
[796] Kids
get thrush from salicylates (June 2009)
My kids
(3-year-old and 15-month-old) get thrush as a sals reaction … Many thanks for
all of your work. I just can’t thank you enough for the difference in my
kids – M from NZ
Sleeping issues like insomnia, difficulty
falling asleep, frequent night waking, waking up too early, restless legs,
‘weird’ or ‘vivid’ dreams, nightmares, night terrors, sleep talking, sleep
walking, sleep apnoea, see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factsleep.htm
and http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factapnoea.htm
[825] Weird
dreams due to green food colouring (July 2009)
After I eat
green food colouring, first it gets to my head. It confuses my brain and I
can’t get to sleep until 9 or half past 9 (usually I go to bed at
[822] Lying
awake half the night from megavitamins (July 2009)
I am a 68
year-old with no health problems except the beginning of muscular stiffness.
I’d like to know if [a certain all natural megavitamin supplement with
bioflavonoids and strong fruit extracts] contains any additives not noted on
the labels. I honestly cannot note any difference except that my sleep pattern
has changed. Previously a 'go to bed and drop off' person I now find myself
either lying awake half the night or going to sleep and waking in the small
hours of the morning– from Questions in Failsafe Newsletter #59 . (It is common
for natural vitamins especially when chewable to contain very strong fruit
extracts that can cause this kind of salicylate reaction. In a similar report
to the same supplements a mother wrote: ‘all four kids reacted for a week -
silly jumping around, wouldn't listen, couldn't concentrate, fighting with each
other - the little ones were the worst - I couldn't believe it, just from one
tiny little pill’)
Hayfever and rhinitis see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Facthayfever.htm
[832]
Rhinitis due to dairy foods (July 2009)
A nine-year-old was
taking medication for rhinitis that was so bad that he couldn’t breathe or talk
properly. When this boy eliminated milk as the last stage of going failsafe,
both his behaviour and rhinitis improved dramatically. His mother explained: ‘Our
paediatrician was really surprised. He said he could tell the rhinitis was
better, because the hairs in his nose have grown back.’ - from Fed Up
[831] 282: Runny nose due
to bread preservative calcium propionate (July 2009)
My fourth baby had the
same terrible broken night sleep pattern as the other three. After struggling
for eight months, she did start to settle down, waking perhaps once a
night. This was great until I started her, at 10 months on bread. She
immediately returned to night waking - for no apparent reason- and also had a
clear runny nose. I found that the bread had preservative 282 in it so we
stopped feeding it to her. Within a couple of nights (I guess it had
accumulated in her system) she again settled down to a peaceful nights' sleep!
AND her nose cleared up! I can't believe that it could have been that simple!
Headaches and migraines, see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factmigraine.htm
[836]
Headaches just stopped dead after 9 years! (July 2009)
For 20 years I
have suffered headaches, daily. Rarely a day goes by when I haven’t had one,
often quite severe. There's not a practitioner or therapist that I have not
seen or test that hasn't been done. Pain management is what I accepted my life
to be. I trusted that all these experts knew that there was no identifiable
cause. No one ever suggested it may be diet related!!! I didn’t consider it
either as I ate a healthy diet! Even after reading Fed Up and the Failsafe
Cookbook, I wasn't expecting my world to be turned around.
After 3 weeks
failsafe: I haven't had a headache since last Thursday. It has been
nearly 9 years since I went a whole week without a headache. Given my history,
there's no way that this is coincidental especially given that my headaches
have been quite severe for a couple of months. They didn't just lessen in
severity slowly, they just stopped dead! …Failsafe is no sacrifice. I am not
missing out. For the last 20 years I have been missing out and making
sacrifices to my quality of life … almost everyone I know now knows my brief
experience and I will continue to spread the word! I keep saying to myself if
only more people knew
After 16 months
failsafe …Without a doubt, food is the cause of my headaches! I am now trying
to find the main culprits and find a balance as my tolerance threshold is very
hard to determine. I completed the elimination diet as recommended by the RPA
Allergy unit. The Failsafe Cookbook and Friendly Food cookbooks were great. For
inspiration and a bit of variety, I also modified many cookbook and magazine
recipes. It took me ages to do the challenges because I felt so good and didn’t
want to upset the apple cart. I was completely Failsafe and felt really good.
One day however, I met up with an old friend and I decided “what the heck, I’ll
have that piece of chocolate cake and wash it down with an iced chocolate!” The
next day I woke up feeling sluggish and I had a headache! I decided to do the
challenges so I could determine what the real cause was so I could resume
eating anything that didn’t affect me. Firstly, I challenged salicylates with
no adverse affects. I was expecting amines to be the culprit after what I had
read and because of my chocolate cake experience. The next challenge was
amines. I indulged in large amounts of chocolate and other amine rich foods as
per the RPA diet recommendations. To my surprise and disappointment, there was
no immediate reaction. About a week or two later, the headaches came back with
a vengeance and lasted for about a month. (Incidentally, I have always had different
and worse headaches with my periods. While Failsafe, the period headaches were
minor to insignificant.)
After the amine
challenge and returning to failsafe, the headaches eventually disappeared. I
reintroduced salicylate foods to my diet. I began becoming less strict with
amine rich foods as well, like the occasional use of tomatoes in a pasta sauce
with a sprinkle of cheese, eating nuts, drinking cola, beer and champagne. The
problem is that I don’t get an immediate reaction after eating something so I
don’t know exactly what or how much is too much. I figure that I have a
threshold that I can build up to. Once that threshold is reached however, the
headache can be weeks long, even though I feel that I have just tipped the
scales. The good thing is that I know I can go out and not have to make a
special off the menu order. I choose the least risky, but if it’s going to
contain amines, I just keep to low amines at home for a while to balance things
out. Chocolate, cheese and red wine seem to be definite no-nos, but most other
things I can handle in small amounts stretched over time. We recently went on a
holiday to
Now that I have
control over my headaches, I have returned to study and recently completed 80
hours of work experience as a Teacher Assistant in a noisy classroom. I feared
that the stress and noise would make my head sensitive and more prone to
headaches, but I was so surprised to reach the end of the day and think “I
didn’t have one today!”. There were only 2 afternoons that I had to resort to
pain relief. Before Failsafe, I could not have contemplated study or work
outside the home. Now I am considering going beyond being a Teacher Assistant
and returning to uni to complete a Dip Ed and teach. – Sharyn, by email.
Sorbates (200-203), see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factsorbates.htm
[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
Fructose malabsorption, see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factfructose.htm
[728]
Needed to be failsafe and reduced fructose for full results (June 2009)
I am
still struggling a bit here trying to deal with fructose malabsorption and
failsafe, plus other malabsorptions (raffinose and sorbitol) that mean I don't
tolerate well any fruit, veges or legumes except for potato, celery and
lettuce. If I increase my salicylates then I get anxiety and other symptoms.
Basically pears, onions of any sort and leeks are on the banned list (as well
as other veges and fruit) - which I have been eating a lot of ! This explains
why I wasn't getting full results on failsafe eating. Jane, VIC
MSG and other flavour enhancers, see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/FactMSG.htm
[827] 635: Tachycardia,
arrhythmia and ectopic heart beats (July 2009)
I had been suffering
increasing episodes of tachycardia, arrythmia and ectopic heart beats - two to
three episodes a day. Despite escalating testing with various cardiac
specialists over the past 6 months, nothing was determined apart from the fact
I had high blood pressure and was placed on a low dose of appropriate medication
for that. No known cause for my cardiac anomalies.
Eight days ago I ate a
delicious bowl of my home made potato and leek soup for lunch. I experienced my
usual (but scary and increasingly strong) palpitations and (frustrated, a
little frightened and upset), I broadly Googled "heart palpitations"
on Australian sites. Up came your website that mentioned 'soup' in the first
Google lines that came up. Thinking "that's funny, I just ate soup, I'll
have a look at that one before I find what I'm really after" I looked at
it. Well, that's what saved me. What I found there were countless, comforting,
case studies of people just like me, suffering consequences to MSG (635 in
particular), just like me, who didn't know what was causing it. Just. Like. Me.
For me, it was a
revelation, an epiphany. I was euphoric. My God, what have I been poisoning my
family with, for so many years? Weekly, particularly in winter, I lovingly make
risotto, casserole, beef in red wine, soup, etc, etc. Thinking I'm making
healthy foods for my husband and my children, I've made all these dishes with
more than a liberal dash of commercial stock (cube and/or liquid), all of which
(no exceptions, I find) are loaded with MSG.
I stepped, willingly,
into the world of chemical additives, flavour enhancers, neurotoxins,
excitotoxins and ribonucleotides.
I have strenuously
avoided any flavour enhancers (particularly 635) and all MSG in its myriad
disguises since that last bowl of soup. I did not expect things to settle
immediately, but I've gone from having 2-3 cardiac episodes a day and thinking
I was going to die like my father, at 46, to NOT ONE EPISODE IN MORE THAN A
WEEK.
Gotta be something to
this. I'm eternally grateful for the information you have on your website and
the comfort and advice it gave me. I think you saved my sanity and my
life.
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:
Failafe
Pizza bases: Coles "Pizza Vita Premium Thin &
Crispy" (wheat flour, water, vegetable oil, yeast, salt, flour treatment
agent (920), citric acid - they have twice confirmed that the vegetable oil
does not have antioxidants thanks
Kathleen & Jo (FinM)
Mrs
Mays Pear Fruit Chips are tree ripened, cored and peeled before freeze
drying. Recommended by a number of failsafers. Thanks to Leanne and Anne
Cream
cheese For those who miss the tubs since Kraft added preservative to them,
250g Home Brand tubs of cream cheese have no preservative.
Home
Brand Vanilla Cake mix Safeway/Woolworths - the vegetable shortening
contains 307 and the rest of the ingredients are Failsafe too (but Coles Home
Brand has different ingredients) – thanks to Miriam.
The
new Natural Confectionery Co 'Bear Hugs' sweets appear to be failsafe for those
who can tolerate a few amines. The ingredient list is: Wheat glucose syrup,
cane sugar, water wheat starch, gelatine, natural cocoa powder (3%), salt,
glazing agent (vegetable oil, carnauba wax and/or beeswax). They are quite
yummy and taste like
Wizz
Fizz – all new natural sherberts, may be suitable for failsafers, depending
on flavour. Thanks to Kathleen Daalmeyer. Feedback please.
Butcher
in Rockhampton, QLD Fresh meat - Norm Milner Butcher,
Butcher
in Warrnambool, VIC Norfolk butchers,
Fragrance
free spray on deodorant for men or women Ego 'QV Naked Fragrance Free
Aluminium Free Deodorant Spray' http://www.egopharm.com.au/EgoProducts/QVDeodorant/QVNakedDeodorant.html.
Available from pharmacies all over
Soap
and skin care Ego QV range from pharmacies are all fragrance and
colour free. The range includes liquid and bar soaps, moisturizers and shave
for men. See http://www.epharmacy.com.au/category.asp?id=535.
Food
thermos I recently brought a food thermos, which is a short squat version of a
hot liquids thermos, to pack stuff for my kids school lunches. It's great for
winter as I can send chicken pasta, roasts, soups, stews - all of which have
heaps of nutrients and they're happy to eat. called "Thermos
FUNtainer", and they keep food hot for 5 hours, cold for 7. 290ml so not massive but big enough to fill a
kid's tummy plus my kids complain if I pack stuff that takes too long too eat
ie too much or too big, because they want to get out and play at lunch time.
They're $18.99 from Kmart. Thanks to Cherie
Failsafe
furniture polish Linseed oil rubbed onto furniture or 1/4 cup vinegar
with a couple of drops of linseed oil – the vinegar pulls out the dirt from the
wood and the oil lubricates the wood so it doesn't dry out. The vinegar should
be white distilled vinegar as others could stain furniture. The linseed oil should
always be food grade as the oil you buy at hardware stores has synthetic
chemicals in it that could stain furniture. Thanks to Debbie.
eatingsafe.com no longer
has information. See link
http://www.eatingsafe.com/ - thanks to Jenny
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. In the last newsletter you said
that McDonalds Soft serve was okay (if you don't eat the cone) but we tried it
and saw a reaction. Have I missed something?
A. My answer to this question in the previous
newsletter was wrong. There was a colour-free soft serve mix listed on the
McDonald’s website (since removed) but it is only available occasionally in
remote areas The sundae mix sold in most outlets contains 160b so it is not
failsafe. Please let me know if you tried it and saw a reaction (suedengate@ozemail.com.au)
Q. Yesterday I went to a new
dietitian ... I became frustrated yet
again as these professionals just don't seem to be passionate about what they
do. It is as if I have to justify my son’s behaviour. The first thing she said
was do you know what to expect for a 4 year old boy. I am sick of having to
justify myself, being on the elimination diet has changed our whole family life
for the better. Why is it that even the professionals come across as not being
fully aware of how food affects behaviour? I usually end up feeling let down,
confused and disappointed.
A. We have received several similar
reports lately. There are some excellent, extremely supportive dietitians. If
you are not happy with your dietitian, please tell us (suedengate@ozemail.com.au) so that
we can warn others and ask for our list of dietitians who have been recommended
by other failsafers.
Q. Do you think that eating a food a
child/adult is intolerant to weakens their immune system, leaving them more
prone to colds and the like? I've
noticed this pattern in my kids and myself, but when I ask Paediatricians and
GPs they dismiss it, saying it could have been coincidental and that there's no
evidence to prove this.
A. It is common for failsafers to
report that they no longer suffer frequent colds, flu and other recurrent
infections once they are established on failsafe eating - and yes, there is
scientific evidence. Studies have shown that certain artificial colours and
preservatives act as immunosuppressants, that is, they can actually suppress
the immune system, making us more likely to suffer from recurrent infections.
This has been shown in the laboratory by Greek researchers with artificial
colours tartrazine (102) and amaranth (123) using small doses normally
considered to be nontoxic, and by Brazilian researchers with propionic acid
which is part of the group that includes bread preservative 282. As well, a
- Koutsogeorgopoulou L
and others Immunological aspects of the common food colorants, amaranth
and tartrazine.Vet Hum Toxicol. 1998;40(1):1-4.
- Wajner M and others
Inhibition of mitogen-activated proliferation of human peripheral
lymphocytes in vitro by propionic acid.Clin Sci (Lond). 1999;96(1):99-103.
- Hansen WH and others
Chronic toxicity of two food colors, brilliant blue FCF and indigotine,
Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1966;8(1):29-36.
Q. My sister-in-law was diagnosed
after a long few months with Vasculitis - she now has to avoid things like
aspartame and 635 and a few others other wise she breaks out in the rash. Just
wondering if you know if there is a link between Vasculitis and Ribo Rash???
A. Vasculitis simply means
inflammation of the blood vessels that can be due to a variety of causes.
Allergic or hypersensitive vasculitis is caused by hypersensitivity to a drug
or foreign agent that leads to inflammation and damage to blood vessels of the
skin. Ribo rash has been diagnosed as many conditions including hypersensitive
vasculitis, see reader story [273] ‘At death’s door’ (http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/stories/failsafestories.pdf).
If the symptoms go away when you stop eating 621-635 and start again if you eat
more 621-635, it seems to me it is ribo rash. Other culprits for itchy rashes
include artificial colours, flavours and preservatives, and salicylates. There
are some unconfirmed suggestions that Aspartame (951) could have a similar
effect to flavour enhancers, or it could be other nasty additives in the same
foods and drinks.
Q. My girls were on elimination for
3 weeks. Our eldest - we did it for her - was a new calm tolerant child. We
were thrilled. We did the salicylate challenge and after 4 days we had to abort
it as she had enormous stomach cramps, diarrhoea and bad behaviour. Since then
she has gone downhill and we have not been able to do another challenge yet (3
weeks). Her behaviour and concentration have plummeted and even the netball
coach commented this week. The only thing we have done differently is that we
have a new hairspray, my husband feels that must be problem and I am getting
suspicious too. Even though her diet is true elimination could one small spray
of this hairspray each morning be the culprit??? She is miserable and we are
back to being exhausted with her. I feel sorry for our eldest as she had been
making such progress. If it is hairspray
is there one that is ok to use or are they all bad????
A. Hairspray can definitely cause all
the symptoms you mentioned (See Failsafe Stories [379] Sleep and behaviour
problems due to hairspray, airfreshener).
Aerosol products are particularly bad but any fragranced product can be
a problem for some people because e.g.
citrus, strawberry or flowery fragrances contain salicylates and in some
cases amines. I don’t know of any commercial fragrance free hairsprays but you
can make your own with half a cup of water and 3 tbsp corn syrup: http://organic-oil.blogspot.com/2009/06/natural-organic-hairspray.html.
Update: Well, our daughter has already
settled down after about 2-3 days. She even said this morning gosh I feel
better. Made up the hairspray recipe, very sticky so I think you could dilute
it by half.
Q. My 2 yo son is highly sensitive
to salicylates. We find that he is having a very strong salicylate type
reaction whenever he eats bread. He can only have 2 slices a day or he goes
ballistic. Would this be due to yeast or vinegar?? The bread is 282 free. He
has also reacted to pitta bread.
A. Vinegar is definitely NOT OK for
salicylate responders - all white vinegars are VERY HIGH in salicylates and
that is what they use in bread (I've checked). I am very surprised he can
manage 2 slices per day. That’s why we recommend Brumbys, Bakers Delight and
Banjos. Check ingredients in pitta bread - most wraps, flatbreads, tortillas
and pizza bases etc contain 282 and/or sorbates (200-203) or vinegar or
unlisted antioxidants e.g. BHA 320 or TBHQ 319 in the oil. Mountain Bread is
safe and so are the new Coles thin pizza bases (see Product Updates). Another
problem can be soy flour in many breads for those who have soy intolerance.
Nonna’s bread (available in
Q. I'm amazed to discover rosemary
extract is very commonly used as an antioxidant in vegetable oils. The amounts
are so small as to avoid labelling laws, yet enough to upset a sensitive soul
like myself (troubling neurological symptoms). Reading food company reports, I
see comments that rosemary extract is 'free of known allergens’. Are you aware
of any reports (solid or anecdotal) on rosemary allergy?
A. Reactions to rosemary extract are
most likely intolerance (reactions to chemicals) rather than a true allergy
(reaction to proteins). The chemical in rosemary most likely to cause problems
is salicylates.
Q. Have you found that eliminating
problem foods makes you more sensitive when you DO have them?
A. It is true that failsafers
sometimes notice a big reaction when they break the diet but you have to
remember that previously there was less of a contrast between good and bad. You
can choose to go back to the old diet but you will have to put up with the old
symptoms again. The best time to break the diet is on holidays when there is
less stress. If concerned about reintroduction of foods, see an experienced
dietitian (ask for our list of supportive dietitians: confoodnet@ozemail.com.au)
Q. I have a 9-year-old son with autism
who has been on a gluten- and casein-free diet for 7 years, which has helped
his behaviour and digestive problems immensely. We have noticed/wondered over
the years whether certain foods, including eggs, citrus, tomatoes, and others
cause him problems. We have not done a systematic removal of any other category
of foods from his diet besides gluten and casein, mostly because he was doing
fairly well and we couldn't bear to limit his diet any further--he enjoys foods
and is not a picky eater. Lately, however, he has had problems with wetting his
pants and more difficulty keeping up in school. I would like to try reducing
his intake of salicylates to see if this helps him. If we reduce but not
completely eliminate these foods, should we see an improvement, or is a
complete elimination necessary? How long does it generally take to notice
improvements?
A. Regarding reduced salicylates, one
mother wrote: 'I cut back my five year old daughter's intake of fruit to about
a quarter of what she normally had. Within days we saw dramatic changes. Her
behaviour evened out - she was more sensible and obliging, less aggressive and
defiant - and altogether much more pleasant to live with.' As a result of seeing such positive changes
she then went ahead and did the full elimination diet and was very pleased she
did. It is a difficult decision: while socially the diet is awkward, children
are then able to be themselves and reach their full potential rather than be
held back by something they are eating. For more information, ask for our
Salicylate Mistakes information sheet (suedengate@ozemail.com.au)
Q. I recently asked a big
confectionery manufacturer what is in their chocolate frogs because they list
'flavours' on the ingredients list, but do not stipulate which flavours.
According to them under legislation they are not required to divulge this
information to consumers. I am utterly astounded and it certainly makes me
suspicious - what exactly are they using?
A. There are over two thousand flavour
additives permitted in our foods. These flavours do not have to be listed on
the label because they are considered to be trade secrets. It would be
difficult for manufacturers to list flavour additives and hard for consumers to
understand because for example a strawberry flavour may contain twenty or
thirty chemicals that sound more like a chemistry laboratory than a pantry.
However, I have heard that plain chocolates may contain flavour ingredients
such vanilla and cinnamon. Obviously cinnamon would not be failsafe. Failsafers
are safest avoiding all flavoured products except vanilla flavoured products,
and even then the amount is limited. Chemically it doesn’t matter to us whether
vanilla/vanillin flavour is natural, artificial or nature identical. What
matters is the size of the dose. For more information see http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factflavour.htm.
Q. Help! what is the best brand of
paracetamol for failsafers? Preservative, colour and flavour free - I tried
Herron tablets and they have a vanilla flavoured coating.
A. You can use Herron brand tabsules
(white, no flavouring, no preservatives). Another alternative is Herron
Capseals or Panadol Mini-caps – discard
the gelatin capules which are artificially coloured and use the contents mixed
with magic cordial, milk, or 1 tbsp failsafe icecream. Dose for children is
15mg paracetamol per kg body weight. For children under two, ask for our baby
paracetamol recipe.
Q. I’ve been failsafe for two years
and have got the stage where I can tolerate some high salicylates but I’ve got
thrush for the first time since going failsafe, should I eliminate sugar?
A. From the RPA point of view, thrush
is just one more food intolerance symptom - it means that the diet needs
fine-tuning. It does NOT mean you need to eliminate sugar and yeast - the so
called candida diet is not scientifically proven. When failsafers develop
thrush it always turns out they have let the diet slip. Usually it is too many
salicylates as in the example above but it can be any of the other culprits,
including amines or dairy products. See more in the Women’s Problems Factsheet http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factwomen.htm
Q. The ingredients in my baby’s
formula include nucleotides guanosine 5’-monophosphate and inosine
5’-monophosphate. Aren’t they the same as flavour enhancer 635
(ribonucleotides) that causes Ribo Rash?
A. Yes, in the body these ingredients
are chemically the same as flavour enhancer 635 (which is a mixture of disodium
guanylate and disodium disodium inosinate). Presumably they are added in much
smaller doses. I agree it does seem odd that ribonucleotides can be added to
infant formula while prohibited as additives in foods for babies and young
children. However, as we all know with food intolerance, reactions are related
to the size of the dose. Ribonucleotides occur naturally in human breastmilk
and are thought to boost immunity, which is why they are added to infant
formulas. Ribonucleotides in baby formulas have probably been much better
tested than ribonucleotides as flavour enhancers – at least, one hopes so,
particularly with regard to later development of allergies. We are concerned
that since ribonucleotides are known to boost the immune system, it seems
possible that large uncontrolled doses (e.g. eaten by pregnant or breastfeeding
mothers or in chicken flavoured chips or soups and sauces often given to babies
in family meals) may contribute to the development of allergies which are
essentially over-functioning of the immune system. Childhood allergies started
increasing about the same time that ribonucleotides became popular as flavour
enhancers and experts have no idea why. Ribonucleotides are used to boost the
effects of MSG up to 15 times and in our experience they boost the adverse
effects too. Some people in our network have started off with a food
intolerance reaction to 635 that has developed into an allergic-type reaction;
and some babies exposed early to 635 in food have developed allergies. Oh, and
one more thing: since ribonucleotides occur naturally in the body, allergists can’t
test for IgE mediated allergic reactions to nucleotide flavour enhancers.
(Further reading: low-birth-weight babies fed preterm formula with and without
ribonucleotides: comparison with human milk http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/62/5/943.
Later studies increased the dose.)
Q. Recently I purchased a quality
fresh homemade style chicken and leek family pie. On reading the ingredients I was overjoyed
that here was a fast food that had failsafe ingredients, listing salt but no
stock. Anyway I was hit with severe tiredness, heavy eyes, thirst and unusual
(for me) bad mood within one hour of eating it that lasted over 24 hours. My breastfed 10-month old baby had a bit of
an unsettled night, bit of a cough and … some red blotchy rash on her torso. I
knew for sure that there must be an ingredient unlisted like stock or flavour
enhancer. I rang the company (who said)
“there is no stock, just a bit of chicken salt”! What is “chicken salt” and is
there somewhere I should report the label being incorrect?
A. Chicken salt is usually ordinary
table salt with added flavour enhancers, often in quite large quantities. That
would account for all your symptoms. Our updated MSG factsheet might be useful:
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/FactMSG.htm.
In
Q. My food intolerant teenage
daughter has had extreme skin irritations with weeping, red, scaly and flaring
spots all over body since purchasing a latex mattress. She is a responder to
bananas, strawberries and avocadoes.
A. Sensitivity to those fruits can
indicate latex allergy and people with latex allergy can’t use latex
mattresses. Update: the skin irritation improved within 2 days of removing the latex
mattress. For more information:
- latex allergy - http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Latex_allergy?OpenDocument
- natural bedding
alternatives - www.blessedearth.com.au (10% off if you mention the Food
Intolerance Network) .
New
factsheets Factsheets are becoming our major way of
making information available, now in printable format as well as online.
Women’s issues http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factwomen.htm
Sleeping issues http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factsleep.htm and http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factapnoea.htm
Hayfever and rhinitis http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Facthayfever.htm
Headaches and migraines http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factmigraine.htm
Sorbates (200-203) http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factsorbates.htm
Fructose malabsorption http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factfructose.htm
MSG and other flavour enhancers http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/FactMSG.htm
Psyllium and constipation http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factpsyllium.htm
Talking
point : Grandmothers raising grandchildren. Here is a typical
email “I am a member of GAPS, a support group for grandparents raising
grandchildren and there are many grandchildren in this group with behavioural
and health problems and quite a few have been labelled as having ADHD. I now
believe that many of these children would benefit from having their food intake
investigated.”
And we had another grandmother (in tears) telling us
that her daughter one day just put a bottle of vodka in her bag, said she was
"just so over having kids" and walking out on her two daughters, not
to heard of again. What a tragedy for them all.
Sometimes we hear that the emotional issues are blamed
for the food intolerance, but we think the facts are the other way around: the
kids are so difficult to look after due to food intolerance that the emotions
become an overload. Alcohol and drugs are often attempts to self-medicate to
overcome the effects of food intolerance too and we have had emails from people
who can stop the drugs when they get the diet right. Food cravings are a clear
sign of food intolerance.
Can
you help?
Still coming: Food intolerance survey
Participants Needed! As you may recall, in
the last newsletter I advertised an upcoming study examination food
sensitivities and psychological health… it is still coming!! We’ve had some software issues which are out
of my control. But on the up side - the
survey should be up and running in mid August
sorry about any inconvenience in the delay! A link to the survey will also be provided on
the Food Intolerance Network website as soon as I’m able to make it
available. So please sit tight - and
thank you in advance for your patience. If you have any queries or questions
please feel free to contact me (Dr Karena Burke) via email k.j.burke@cqu.edu.au
Two Perth failsafers would like to order a low salicylate toothpaste
specially formulated to be free of chemical nasties (eg sodium laurel sulfate,
sodium benzoate, colours, flavours and fluoride) and suitable for kids on the
elimination diet. If you would be prepared to buy the product at least once
please email Cherie: alm3@optusnet.com.au
A mother writes: “I am
finding birthday parties a problem,
even though I have explained the effects of food to my son, he still wants the
party food and the dreaded lolly bag and says that its not fair, any
suggestions?” We would love party ideas, suggestions, hints, recipes, photos
for a party factsheet: suedengate@ozemail.com.au
The mother of a 12 year
old daughter with Juvenile Rheumatoid
Arthritis who is doing well on failsafe would like to hear from similar
(reply via suedengate@ozemail.com.au).
Support
Nearly 1.7 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
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
August
2009
Bingara NSW Monday 17 August
Warialda NSW Monday 17 August
Inverell NSW Tuesday 18 August
Killara (Sydney) Monday 24 August
Springwood (
Tumbarumba NSW Wednesday 26 August
Albury/Wodonga NSW/VIC Thursday 27
August
Wangaratta VIC Monday 31 August
September
2009
Ballarat VIC Wednesday 2 September
Mildura VIC Thursday 3 September
Bordertown SA Saturday 5 September
Naracoorte SA Monday 7 September
Adelaide SA Wednesday 9 September
Kimba SA Thursday 10 September
Thanks to organisers of talks on
Coming talks
in
Brochures
Printable trifold brochures on food intolerance and oppositional
defiance are available. We'll post two free that you can copy, or you can buy
bulk copies at cost $A0.33 each plus postage. See instructions on the website
for accessing pdf versions. Email confoodnet@ozemail.com.au
with enquiries.
Newsletters
All Failsafe Newsletters from 1998-2008 inclusive
have been gathered into a single 716 page (3Mb) 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
Hint:
a failsafe sports drink (for those who can tolerate
dairy). Skimmed milk has been shown to be more effective than Gatorade type
drinks for post exercise recovery, more details at http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Skimmed-milk-better-than-isotonics-for-post-sport-rehydration
Lamb
Meatballs
“This one was enjoyed by the adults and scoffed down
by the most picky kids.”
1 large swede (about 500g)
1 leek
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon citric acid
500g lamb mince
¾ cup gluten-free flour (we used Deb’s from Failsafe
Cookbook p233)
Peel and dice swede. Slice leek into semi-circles. In
large microwave-safe bowl, microwave swede, leek, water, salt together until
soft. Puree with stab blender. Add citric acid and mix in well. Add lamb mince
and flour. Mix well. Form into small
meatballs or little patties. This mixture is quite moist and a bit tedious to
form – it’s a bit easier if left in the fridge for a while after mixing. Cook
in 170 degrees C fan-forced oven for 20 minutes in dish with lid on. Served
with Pear Ketchup (p192 Failsafe cookbook), although they were nice by
themselves - even by adult standards! Cooking with the lid on the dish reduces
browning for amine responders. – thanks to Cheryl
Easiest
ever pear pie and ice-cream
Not really a pie, you just mix together bits of
home-cooked pastry, pears and icecream.
4 pears, cored, peeled and chopped; or chopped, warmed
canned pears
50g sugar
Pastry
125g caster sugar
1 egg
250g flour
50g cornflour
½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
200g soft butter or Nuttelex
Failsafe icecream
To cook the pears, put them in a pan with a splash of
water. Add sugar and cook really gently with lid until soft but still holding
shape. Set aside to cool. To make the pastry, cream butter and sugar, then beat
in the egg. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix together then drop it onto a
baking tray, and roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. Put it into fridge to
rest for 10 minutes, then into the oven and bake at 180’C for 10-15min. minutes
until golden brown. Allow to cool and then break or crumble into small pieces.
For gluten free, use gf pastry.
Just before you eat, add cooked pear and pieces of
broken pastry to the ice cream and mix together. – adapted from http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2632106.htm.
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. Subscribe: failsafe_newsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Frontpage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/failsafe_newsletter
Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to failsafe_newsletter-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
© Sue Dengate (text)