FAILSAFE STORIES

Readers are invited to contribute to this section. Please send your stories and opinions to suedengate@ozemail.com.au. Some names have been changed to protect privacy and surnames are not used. My mailing address is PO Box 718 WOOLGOOLGA NSW 2456 Australia.

All previous stories from Food Intolerance Network members that have been 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.

[1057] 319, 320: Antioxidants and chronic fatigue (May 2011)

In 1995 I gradually developed CFS and was invalided out of work a year later. In late 1999 I began the RPAH elimination diet. Ten days later my brain fog and fatigue were greatly diminished. Challenges confirmed intolerance to dairy and gluten – which I had eliminated years previously – and indicated intolerances to salicylates, amines and glutamates.

In the following years I had a few relapses, usually lasting for no longer than a couple of weeks. The exception was a six months relapse, which ceased five days after I decreased my intake of vegetable oil and changed from canola to sunflower. (Both oils had no additives listed on the label)

In January 2007 I was feeling quite well and had no significant CFS relapse for a couple of years. At the beginning of February my energy plummeted. I needed to spend at least twelve hours a day lying down, instead of eight hours. Physical fatigue and brain fog returned in force. Six weeks later I bounced back, and was quite well for a few weeks, then I plummeted again. These irregular fluctuations continued throughout the year, but the highs got lower and the lows got lower. I became much more sensitive to amines.

In early February 2008 I went to Woolworths for grocery shopping. I picked up a bottle of sunflower oil and glanced automatically at the contents. In a way, I was not really looking because I 'knew' that nobody put additives into sunflower oil in Australia. But there it was: 'Sunflower Oil, Antioxidants E319, E320'. I squeezed my eyes tight, reopened them, and read the same thing. Then I grinned and imagined myself leaping into the air and clicking my heels. Yes!

I phoned Woolworths and was told that their sunflower oil had E319 and E320 since the beginning of 2007. But sometimes my wife bought sunflower oil from Coles. No, Coles had never put antioxidants into their sunflower oil. We take about six weeks to consume a one litre bottle of sunflower oil. I looked back in my diary and found that the length of my ups and downs were in multiples of six weeks. We swapped to Coles sunflower oil. Eighteen days later I was fully well again. – Ian, by email

[1056] 320: Chronic Tic Disorder due to antioxidants in unlabelled hot chips (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

My three boys have been avoiding a number of additives for many years now because of obvious affects on their behaviour and health. Last year my oldest son (then 8 years old) was diagnosed with Chronic Tic Disorder (one step before Tourettes Syndrome). He could not sit still, having tics in his face, neck, shoulders and arms. After a period of time, I realised that this behaviour coincided with an increase in eating hot chips. I stopped my son eating hot chips and THE TICS WENT AWAY. I have since tried him on hot chips and the same thing happens. The culprit ingredient/s here is the synthetic antioxidant 320 (and/or 319) that appears in most chips and oil used for deep frying, however manufacturers of frozen chips, and other products such as packet chips/crisps and dry biscuits do not need to list the additive on the label if the oil is less than 5% of the product. NOT GOOD ENOUGH! How can I help my son be tic free if we don t know when these nasty additives are in certain foods? – by email, Vic

[1055] 320: Winning entry in the "Worst additive competition" (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

In my opinion the worst food additives are those in the range of antioxidants 310-312 and 319-321 "The Nasty Antioxidants". As antioxidants are not considered to be preservatives (by regulators), and the suppliers/manufactures are not required to list these on the label, they are the most frustrating additives by far. At least with colours, you can readily see them and hence avoid them. Same with most other additives, they are usually on the labels in some sort of description. But the good old nasty antioxidants are secret unless you go to extreme lengths to ask the supplier of the food and then the manufacturer of the contents eg. vegetable oil what exactly are in their oils.

There are alternatives to the nasty antioxidants which are failsafe and haven't been associated with cancer in rats and possible genetic changes and also nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium and collapse, children's behaviour just to name a few.

Even 'safe' foods like 'natural' ice cream cones can't be trusted. They change their oils on a regular basis and also the use of antioxidants from friendly ones (300-309) to nasty ones (310-321). I only found this out after my son experienced an ADVERSE REACTION to these cones and I telephoned the supplier and was told that they had changed their oil and it included BHA (320) & tBHQ (319).

What hope have we got for our children and ourselves if such nasty things are HIDDEN in our foods? I would just love for my son to be able to tolerate eating the occasional fish 'n chips on a Friday night just like I used to when I was a child. Is that so much to ask for? – mother from Victoria.

[1054] 320: From a health promotion dietitian (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

The labelling issue for antioxidants in oil ... is one that ticks me right off I have to say. I know the labelling laws have improved things a lot but to have to call the company before you eat a product is crazy. – dietitian from Australia.

[1053] 320: Mislabelling by a major food company (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

Six months ago our daughter developed severe behavioural problems, including depression, lack of motivation, poor sleeping habits, lethargy and loss of enthusiasm. These were very uncharacteristic of a hard-working fulltime student and a complete puzzle to her concerned teachers. As a consequence, her exam results declined, as did her study performance.

Her problems were eventually traced to her consumption of home-baked products containing Dairysoft, a butter-oil blend manufactured by one of Australia's largest companies, the Murray Goulburn Co-Operative Ltd.

Our daughter is known to be affected by antioxidants 310-312 and 319-321 and several other food additives. Before she started using Dairysoft, verbal advice was obtained from Murray Goulburn that there were no antioxidants in the oil which comprised 22% of the product.

After months of increasing problems, we contacted Murray Goulburn again and were now that informed that the canola oil in the product did in fact contain 320, Butylated Hydroxyanisole.

Our daughter removed Dairysoft from her diet and she has since made a complete recovery, although there can be no compensation for the six months of pain and uncertainty which she suffered. Following complaints, Murray Goulburn have now correctly labeled this product, although without any food recall, product safety or public apology notice. – parents from Darwin.

[1052] 320: BHA in food packaging (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

About a month after being home from the hospital [for severe salicylate-sensitive asthma], I was wanting something to snack on and thought that I could eat the rice krispies type cereal, dry, as a crunchy snack. Interestingly, the first salicylate list they gave me had BHT/BHA and tartrazine listed on it. But I never looked at the label on the cereal. I just assumed that cereals were ok. Within 30 minutes of eating the rice krispies, I was wheezing, had hives, was itching and eyes swelled. Wasn't a super bad reaction, but bad enough to have to use medicines for it. We thought, this certainly couldn't be the cereal but it was the only thing that I had consumed different that day. When we looked at the label on the box, it said that the packaging had BHT in it. I couldn't figure out why they would put it in the packaging when it was the cereal they were trying to preserve!! But I did react and being that it wasn't quite as bad as most of my reactions are, I figured that the BHT from the packaging was enough to get into the cereal and give me that reaction. But just to be certain that it wasn't the malt I was reacting to that was in the cereal, we went to the health food store and bought some plain, rice krispies with just the rice and sugar, no preservatives, no fruit juices, etc...and I didn't react. From that moment on, I tried to make sure that I didn't ingest BHT or BHA. – reader from USA.

[1051] 320: Unnecessary diet restriction due to BHA (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

When my daughter was about four, she required Ventolin whenever she ate bread and so she ended up wheat free. The only time she has had asthma since last year was during the antioxidant (BHA, 320) challenge. You were right about the wheat - it is no trouble whatsoever. We realise now that our daughter was wheat free unnecessarily for years. – reader from NZ

[1050] 320: Unlisted BHA under the 5% loophole and told me the wrong thing (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

My 3 year old's behaviour improved on the elimination diet at first but then he started getting worse and went back to what he was like before the diet - screaming fits, teary, really temperamental, waking at night. He was eating frozen oven fries every night but when I phoned the manufacturer (ingredients: potatoes, canola oil, salt) they told me there were no antioxidants in the oil. Two weeks later the company admitted that their product did contain unlisted BHA under the 5% loophole. – reader from WA

[1049] 319: Consumer hotlines not always right (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

A Food Intolerance Network member phoned Goodman Fielder about Gold n Canola oil when she noticed that previously listed tocopherols had disappeared from the label. The consumer hotline officer advised her firmly that tocopherols had been replaced by TBHQ. Another member separately received the same advice. When we pointed out that TBHQ was not listed on the label, the company changed its tune and explained equally firmly that there were no antioxidants in the oil, eventually explaining they had been confused by TBHQ in the New Zealand product. Can we believe them? The wellbeing of our kids depends on word of mouth from people like this. – by Sue Dengate and thanks to readers from NSW and VIC.

[1048] 320: Failure to improve on elimination diet due to unlisted BHA (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

In my study on the effect of the bread preservative on children's behaviour, we asked 27 children to follow a strict elimination diet (additive free, low in salicylates, amines and flavour enhancers) before starting double blind challenges. Only two of the children failed to improve on the diet within the first ten days. When I looked closely at their diet diaries, I noticed that both were eating large quantities of a particular Arnott's biscuit so I called the manufacturer. It turned out that the biscuits contained vegetable oil with unlabelled BHA under the 5% labelling loophole. As soon as the children stopped eating these biscuits, their behaviour improved as much as the others. – Sue Dengate (Arnotts started using oil free of nasty antioxidants throughout their entire range soon after this)]

[1047] 320: Itchy and grumpy from BHA 320 in pappadums (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

Just discovered - too late! - that Patak's plain pappadums (ingredients: lentil flour, rice flour, salt, vegetable oil, raising agent: sodium bicarbonate) contain unlisted BHA 320 in the oil. Very itchy and grumpy! – reader from SA

[1046] 319: Four weeks of hell from 319 (TBHQ) in gluten free bread (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

Our six year old son is intolerant to many preservatives, colours, flavours, gluten, dairy and food chemicals. Unless we control what we feed him on his very restricted diet, he reacts behaviourally and cannot learn at school or go forward in his treatment by his paediatrician.

Earlier this year, we were giving our son a gluten free bread mix which states on the packet, "preservative free". We had reason to trust this product because it was listed on the 'safe shopping guide' issued by the Australian Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, supplied by our dietitian.

This product was wonderful with it being so versatile in producing pancakes, bread, crumpets, wraps and pizza bases all from this one mix. Our son was able to enjoy more variety without feeling deprived. Once I increased the dose of this product for our son, i.e. pancakes for breakfast, French toast for lunch and a wrap for after school, within a day he displayed explosive behaviour and was unreasonable.

We did not suspect foods as it was listed as safe and the company was a reputable company.

We rang our paediatrician who advised us to cut down on his supplement. After a week there was no change, even at school our son's teacher was noticing a big difference in behaviour and learning. The paediatrician advised a blood test, another week passed for the results which in turn came back within normal range. Only then did we suspect foods. The Food Intolerance Network always advises their members to check products containing fats or oils for hidden synthetic antioxidants. I rang our supermarket to double check if there were any changes in their sunflower oil that we use, and they advised there were none. I then rang the bread company and spoke to their Quality Operations Officer. I asked if there were any synthetic antioxidants in their product in question, he said he was pretty sure there wasn't. We insisted that he double check because we were at wits' end and we were ready to have our son's head scanned because he was so aggressive and erratic in his behaviour. The man rang back in shock and was very apologetic, because the oil which was supposed to be 'pure canola oil' as stated on the ingredients list, in fact had synthetic antioxidant 319 in it.

We were relieved but angry, our son was put through four weeks of hell, not to mention us as well, because he could not control what he was doing, and it took well over a week for the affects to wear off. We had our good boy back and he even said, "Mummy please don't give me bad food any more"!

When our son has had foods with hidden synthetic antioxidants in them, we consider the reaction our son displayed as life threatening, for example, when our son becomes enraged with fury, usually over something trivial, he has run out onto the road. Another time when I was driving down the mountain on hair pin bend roads, enraged, our son got hold of my hood on my jacket and was pulling on it while I was doing my best to manoeuvre the car down the road without hitting the guard rails and going over the cliff. We believe that these antioxidants should at all times appear on the label. – L....., NSW [Thanks to this mother, Laucke's gluten free bread is now free of nasty antioxidants]

[1045] 319: Very sick and severe constipation from TBHQ in soymilk

When my son started on the elimination diet at first he wouldn't eat much and was drinking a lot of soymilk. After he had been drinking So Good soymilk for two years, he got very sick and suffered severe constipation for over 6 months. I couldn't get a straight answer from the manufacturer, at first they denied their product contained antioxidants. I was given the wrong information for two years until they agreed they were using an oil containing 319 (TBHQ). After I complained to the council they changed their labelling or was it just a coincidence? I don't think it's good enough. I switched my son to another brand of soymilk and he did much better but I'm just so angry about manufacturers getting away with making our children sick with what they put in their foods. – M....., NSW [Thanks to the dedication of this mother, Sanitarium So Good is now free of nasty antioxidants]

[1044] 320: Stomach and behavioural reaction to unlisted antioxidants in ricemilk (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

I have two young boys with autism and severe food intolerances. They become exceedingly ill when consuming any gluten, dairy or soy product, and I have kept these products from their diet successfully for the past 5 years. My children are also severely intolerant of various food additives, including BHA. Two days ago I purchased a carton of Rice Milk, and after one glass both of my children suffered stomach pains and diarrhoea; and the elder son suffered shaking, sweating, and fever. Both boys behaviour became extremely hyperactive and suffered erratic mood swings. (Thanks to this mother and the one below for contacting the manufacturer, the Vitasoy range is now free of nasty antioxidants) – N..., WA

[1043] 320: Asthma from unlisted antioxidants in ricemilk (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

My 11 year old asthmatic daughter is extremely sensitive to additives. After she reacted to some ricemilk recently, I emailed Vitasoy and expressed my disappointment with their company for not listing the BHA. Today I received a phone call from the manager to apologise for the unlisted BHA. What a turn around, the company were genuinely distressed that their health food had caused an asthmatic reaction and were willing to modify the product in due course. (Thanks to this mother and the one above for contacting the manufacturer, the Vitasoy range is now free of nasty antioxidants) – S...., NSW

[1042] 320: Night terrors and oppositional defiance from fries with 320 (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

We know that our 5 year old daughter is intolerant of all the nasty additives, colours, preservatives etc. I was very surprised in the 'Food Tables for People Sensitive to Ingredients or Allergens' (http://www.mcdonalds.com.au/PDFs/AllergenList.pdf) at what they are claiming - no additives in their nuggets or fries!! Certainly not what my daughter's additive radar indicates because last time she ate there, we had her up in the night screaming with "night terrors" and three days of ODD attitude. – K...., Vic

(Antioxidants are not regarded as preservatives so are not listed in the Ingredient and Allergen table. In the full ingredients list you can see that the fries are cooked in canola oil blend with BHA 320 http://www.mcdonalds.com.au/PDFs/IngredientListing.pdf)

[1041] 319: Serious breathing difficulties due to 319 TBHQ (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

I have always been sensitive to perfumes and cleaning products. Until I was 27, the worst allergy that I had suffered was to hair dye which resulted in an all over body rash and swollen lymph glands.

Then about two years ago I had an allergic reaction to some potato chips. This reaction caused my tongue to swell and slight breathing difficulties. However the swelling went down and my breathing went back to normal with antihistamines. Originally I suspected that flavour enhancers were responsible for my reactions. However I have since eaten food with these additives and have not had any reactions. I began avoiding dairy products believing that I had had an allergic reaction to some milk powder in flavouring on the chips. Following this incident, maybe a few weeks later, I went out to lunch with a work colleague to a fast food restaurant and ordered the chilli. As I was still under the impression it was dairy at this point, I felt it was a safe choice. However about 15 minutes after I had finished eating, I started to have difficulty breathing. This was a feeling of a tightening throat and heavy chest. I took antihistamines and could tell that it was not working. So I was driven to a doctor straight away. The doctor almost immediately gave me adrenaline. With this my breathing returned to normal and I was taken to hospital for observation overnight.

As a result of this reaction I was sent to see an immunologist. After discussing my reactions and having skin prick tests done for "standard" allergens (which were all negative), I was instructed to keep a food diary and cross reference the food ingredients that were in my "bad' foods to see if a process of elimination could determine the allergen that had given me my reactions. My immunologist contacted the fast food restaurant to obtain the recipe for me, so that I could begin to eliminate ingredients that had not caused my reaction.

The result was two food additives: 319 (in the oil the potato chips were cooked in) and 385 a preservative used in the beans of the chilli. My immunologist had never come across anyone with this type of reaction to 319 or 385, but agreed with my food diary analysis. Since I discovered this I read the label of everything that I eat. Unfortunately I have had one more serious reaction to food additive 319, due to a misunderstanding between myself and a relative who used oil with additive 319 to cook otherwise additive-free fresh meat. So I now avoid foods (mainly oils and foods cooked in oils) with these additives and have not had a reaction since. My sensitivity to perfumes and cleaning products has become worse since the development of my allergy. My sensitivity to perfumes and cleaning products has become worse since the development of my allergy and I was warned that since my allergy developed as an adult that there may be other additives that I can become sensitive/allergic too. – Caroline, by email (Presumably the original allergy to a hair dye was to 319 TBHQ, see LaCoz reference in Factsheet)

[1040] 320: Asthma and antioxidants (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

I am writing to thank you for all the help your book 'Fed up with Asthma' has given my family. My daughter is two and a half years old, and was diagnosed with asthma when she was 10 months old. She was hospitalized with croup and later we were told she has asthma. She was put on a steroid puffer and I was told she would need this for most of her childhood.

I knew that food additives were not safe and I tried not to buy anything with 'numbers' on the back of the packs, which proved to be difficult. Still this didn't seem to help, I also put her on goats milk and took her off all other dairy products.

I took her to an asthma pediatrician, three months ago. He gave her an allergy prick test which came back totally negative. She was allergic to nothing! The doctor assumed that food was not a cause of her asthma. I was told that the cold winter nights were triggering her asthma, to go home and put her back on her steroid puffer. This winter she seemed to get worse. As the cold nights set in, her coughing increased to the point that I was up every 20 minutes comforting her. I was desperately trying to keep her off the steroid puffer and I was about to give in, when I saw your book.

My daughter has now been on the elimination diet for three weeks with amazing results. By the end of the first day she coughed only once, same the second day and the next two days nothing. At the end of the second week I made a mistake. I bought a packet of plain rice crackers, the ingredients: rice, canola oil and salt. I thought they would be okay (I realised later they probably contain antioxidants in the oil), so my daughter had quite a lot as a snack. That night she was back to coughing every two minutes and using her ventolin puffer. After 24 hours she was okay again and back on the failsafe diet. I realise that we still need to discover her sensitivities but for now she can breath easy with no barking cough and we can both have a good nights sleep. If it hadn't been for your dedication to this cause I don't where we would be today. Thank you. - reader from WA

[1039] 320: Irritable bowel reactions to 321 BHT and 320 BHA (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

The food that I react to the worst is oil because of the 321 BHT manmade antioxidant and 320 BHA, and then I also react to all the foods that the oil is in. For example: most frozen pastries - like sausage rolls, party pies, family pies, pastry sheets, even some gelati/sorbet as well. Homebrand mint slice biscuits - they are shocking, having both 320 and 321! All margarines, and spreadable butters - if you can spread it, it's in there. Also as you know, because there is a limit on how much they can put in before they have to mention the additive - I get caught out easily with a lot of foods because I don't know if the 321 is in there and I might take the risk. Most foods just frustratingly say 'oil' but they never say what is in the flipping oil! Where I used to live, there were two different fish and chips shops, one I would get very sick from, the other I would be fine. I can only cook with a few brands of oil and pure butter, because even a teaspoon of a spreadable butter mixed into a huge pasta bake makes me very ill.

First thing that happens is I start to get an uncomfortable feeling in my gut, right across the middle. Sometimes, it's only gas, but it's chronic gas - the kind that gives you extreme abdominal discomfort until it's released and then it's foul smelling. And it's never just one, they go for hours. If I don't get extreme gas, I'll get the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach that feels like pain soaking into my gut trickling through like spidery fingers and within 20 minutes if I'm not on a toilet quick smart, I am in extreme pain. Pain that stabs through my guts and makes me intensely sensitive to the cold, so if the toilet is cold, which most usually are and I don't have a big jacket on I am in serious pain/trouble. While all that is happening on the toilet, I am experiencing extreme diarrhoea. - B....., Vic

[1038] 320: A Disastrous Christmas (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

At Christmas we went for a month's holiday to New Zealand. I got slack on avoiding preservatives so he was eating lots of peanut butter with BHA (320). The worst thing is that we didn't really think about what was causing his deteriorating behaviour, but just battled through our holiday trying to cope with it. We returned home but it wasn't until he returned to school and went from an average maths student at the end of 2003 to bottom of the class in a remedial group at the start of 2004, and looking back at the horrendous hour-long tantrums we were experiencing at home, that I seriously started questioning what was going on. Living with him was like treading on eggshells. At the end of one particularly distressing tantrum he said he hated himself and hated the way he felt. His teachers said he has NO concentration. I had noticed this myself at home during the holidays but STILL didn't think of diet! He had also totally lost interest in playing the piano which he was mad keen on before we went on holidays. He said it was too hard.

I phoned Woolworths to double check on the ingredients in their gluten free Kerry Formula bread. They told me they don't put preservatives in their bread. Then when I asked specifically about E320 she said, oh yes, it has that.

Anyway, apart from 320 being in the bread he was eating 2-3 times a day, I'm not sure of what other preservatives he's had, but for nearly 2 weeks now he's been off them all and his behaviour has become quite reasonable. He has again become excited about playing the piano, and I have my lovely little boy back. Even my husband who is a bit of a 'disbeliever' until he is thoroughly convinced has noticed a big difference.

I can't believe I let all of this happen. And when it was happening I can't believe I didn't see it earlier. It's scary that chemicals permitted in our foods can have such an extreme effect. My son avoids gluten because he hates being sick. There is no problem there. But preservatives are more difficult. I can keep him off them now, but when he's a teenager will he have to become antisocial and drop to the bottom of the class again and reach rock bottom before he is determined to avoid them, because at the moment he can't, or doesn't want to, understand the connection. It's very hard, but when I feel sorry for myself or him I just remind myself that at least we know what the problem is. Wouldn't it be awful having that sort of behaviour and not knowing why? – reader from NSW.

[1037] 320: Unlabelled antioxidants in vegetable oil (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

Our very aggressive five year old improved dramatically on the elimination diet. We were quite surprised and relieved that he passed most of his challenges except for a few additives such as artificial colours. However, after several weeks of excellent behaviour, he gradually deteriorated to the stage where he was uncontrollable, breaking windows and punching others. We were at a loss to explain the downturn. Eventually, we found the culprit - unlabelled BHA 320 in vegetable oil used in a gourmet garlic paste that we had started to use more frequently. There was no effect when it was eaten occasionally, but it caused catastrophic results when used every day. – reader from the NT

[1036] 320: Protease inhibitor deficiency (from submission to FSANZ 2006)

Over the years, I have had some quite serious reactions to foods containing the antioxidants BHA and BHT. I have been advised that the reason for my particular sensitivity is genetic deficiency of an important protease inhibitor protein. I have a 70 percent deficiency of Alpha1-protease inhibitor (aka alpha1-antitrypsin, alpha1-serpin).

PI deficiency is the most common genetic disorder, affecting about 15 percent of Australians (The pi gene is co-dominant, with about 1 in 400 Australians carrying the severe deficiency). The protease inhibitor is a down-regulator of inflammatory processes associated with a number of metabolic pathways, particularly the myeloperoxidase (MPO) pathway. Consequently, I have adverse reactions with exposure to a number of substances at levels that are generally considered to be safe for persons with the normal pi genotype.

I am very concerned about the wider use of these substances as food additives, particularly where the use of additive is not described on the product packaging. – reader from NSW.

[1035] One-liners (May 2011)

Your website is a real life saver for all us FED UP with Doctors & Medical Industry & Food Manufacturers - Cher by email

I have a mast cell activation disorder that seems to result in amine and salicylate sensitivity, but I have felt much, much better since discovering failsafe eating – Monica by email.

I just want to say a huge thank you to yourself, Sue and your team of volunteers. We have managed to keep both our children off all medication for hyperactivity and ADHD diagnosis through your diet and recommendations. Whilst it is hard and we slip up - it is worth it. - Leonie, Sydney

The information and support I had from your food intolerance network changed my life incredibly at a time when I really couldn't see an end to the challenges I was experiencing ... and for this I will be forever indebted to you both ... I continually forward people onto your website and books for help – Tina by email

Thank you Sue, we are so blessed that you willingly share your knowledge ... and truly care about people. – Joy, by email

I knew I react to glutamates and I believed intolerance to gluten but I recently went on holiday and ate bread daily - I normally eat bread about once a week – and had very few fruit and vegetables and felt like a different person, looks like a lot more reading and strict elimination may have to be carried out now - Sharon, by email

From your fantastic website I have just found a local butcher who makes failsafe sausages! - by email

I am currently seeing a dietitian for my salicylate problem, which is helping me heaps. I am not on the full strict diet any more as we have worked out I can tolerate Low and a couple of Moderate level foods but if I have too many then the problems start up. I didn't know about medication and perfumes, so I am going to go through my cabinet and start to replace. The funny thing was I didn't link my problems with my daughter’s problems with behaviour until I was reading your website and now I see how it is all linked. - Fiona, Qld

[1034] Brief reports from various school canteens (May 2011)

Beaconsfield: P&F actively aims to have low additive foods: The parents and friends association at Beaconsfield Primary school in Victoria actively aims to have low additive foods in our canteen ... One of the products has artificial colour - flavoured milk ¬ and this product was chosen because it had less additives than other flavours. Most of the other products are “nasty” free, and they even have 2 failsafe products! - Miriam, Vic

Our school seems intent on using "red light" days to the extreme with the selling of "spider drinks" – artificially coloured soft drinks and ice cream.

Sydney Metro school: My eldest has the biggest reactions to non-failsafe food, however my youngest son just started school this year. I have also increased my days at work and taken up tertiary study. With less spare time, I figured using the full canteen facilities at our school would help me out and save me some time. I can order and pay online, up to 1 week in advance, so this suited me. Unfortunately when I look at the menu, apart from sandwiches (cheese, salad, ham, chicken roll, vegemite, jam and honey!!) the other hot or substantial food and snacks are all foods they can’t eat.

· flavoured milk

· fruit juices

· dips with crackers

· raisin toast

· potato with cheese

· Mrs Mac pies

· Hokkien noodles

· lasagne, Mac & Cheese & Spag Bol

· flavoured chips

They go to a great school that does a wonderful job of looking after the children. The canteen is also very proud of the fact that they have rated very highly in the accreditation for Healthy Canteen program (mostly green lights, and only some orange, No red lights), however I too feel they have overlooked the fundamentals when it comes to ingredients.

The school is large with over 800 students, the canteen is very busy and has 1 full time paid staff member and on average of 3-6 parent helpers every day. With this number of student customers, I would like to think they would be very interested in settling them all down by introducing food that has a more beneficial impact on their classroom behaviour.

[1033] Canteen changes came from parents requesting no nasty additives (May 2011)

The school canteen at the Glen Huon Primary School is only open once a week and is run by volunteers. As part of the policy the canteen avoids the additives as listed on your website. There are products available on the shelf at the local supermarket, it is just a matter of reading the labels. Sometimes the products we purchase do cost more and do not last on the shelf as long but it is worth the little bit of extra effort. The changes at Glen Huon came about from the parents requesting 'no artificial flavours, colours and nasty preservatives'. So get other parents to let their school canteens know what they want. – by email

[1032] Canteen sold every food known to man that was loaded with additives (May 2011)

Our canteen at Warnervale Public School used to be "a healthy canteen" that met all the government requirements. It was stocked with every food known to man that was loaded with additives. With a push from a couple of parents and the full support of the Principal and Assistant Principal, the canteen has been slowly changed as foods were sourced to replace current ones, and finally we just deleted every food that didn't meet the no chemical additive requirement. The one exception being the bread, but we're working on that. This included not only colours, but preservatives and flavours as well. The weekly menu was completely overhauled and although it has been difficult at times with a couple of upset parents, we have had far more support for the changes than opposition. It's an ongoing education for parents, as there is so little true understanding of what 'healthy' actually is. What many parents consider healthy actually isn't. We have sourced sausages and meat patties which are additive free and contain 40% vegetables. We sell juice by the cup that is 100% additive free. The only milk for sale is plain milk. We have worked up a slushie recipe (as they are so popular) that is additive free. Anyway, you get the picture. – by email

[1031] “For the first time in my life (I am now 41), I don't have a sore on me” (May 2011)

I would like to mention that I recently purchased all of Sue's books so I could expand on our recipes. When I bought these my husband decided that we (as the parents) should go through the elimination diet. We are both diagnosed adult ADHD. We are on week 2. By the end of week 1, I was overjoyed with a diet response. I have suffered with a "mysterious unexplainable" skin disease since I was about 10. I have seen Chinese doctors, acupuncture, naturopaths, had biopsies taken of the sores, etc. Nobody could give me a diagnosis so we put it down to a stress trigger. I would get a pussy looking pimple that got itchy. I would scratch it and it would blow open into an ulcer. Within 3 days I would have an ulcer the size of the top of my little finger. I had to keep cool bathing and in severe cases wash in Pinetarsol to heal the wound up. Right through primary school, high school - my whole life. First week on the diet and for the first time in my life (I am now 41), I don't have a sore on me. No pimple looking things, nothing. My skin has never been like this. My husband made a joke last night and said he looked forward to having a Christmas party this year where I could wear a sleeveless dress. During teenager years (when I was obviously eating most of the nasty foods) I could have up to 40 ulcers on my legs and arms at a time – Leona, ACT

[1030] Jade’s story: no ventolin needed after 27 years of asthma (May 2011)

I have suffered from severe asthma since I was 18 months (current age = 29). I have been completing the elimination diet with the supervision of my GP because there are no supportive dietitians here.

So far I have passed the following challenges: salicylates, amines, propionates, sorbates, benzoates, colours, nitrates and sulphites. I have failed: dairy, lactose free dairy, and MSG/natural glutamates. When I was little I use to react to milk with asthma after half a glass but always thought it was only milk that set me off, not all of the other dairy products too. I reacted to the milk challenge by day 2. With the lactose free milk, I actually woke up in the middle of the night with quite bad asthma. I have also found that my skin has improved, my post nasal drip has pretty much gone and my sinus pains have been almost nonexistent since beginning elimination.

I completed the MSG/natural glutamate challenge and failed on the 3rd day. Asthma became quite bad and I needed ventolin for next 3 days after. I had to use Buteyko breathing a lot to feel ok. Also found that I fell into a blubbering heap for 2 days after the challenge, not much fun!

I am doing it by myself and have found it extremely challenging socially but I am coping. I was so unwell last year that I just had to do something else. This was suggested by my homeopath. Thank you so much for spending the time on Fed Up.

My asthma has improved significantly, from 1600 mg pulmicort and an average of 8 puffs of ventolin a day (in the week before beginning elimination) to 800mg pulmicort a day and I haven't had any ventolin since failing the MSG/natural glutamate challenge so the last puff would have been a month ago. My doctor is hesitant to reduce this dosage of pulmicort as my asthma is also impacted through environmental factors such as weather changes. I have even been attending fitness classes again, which is so exciting and haven't needed ventolin so far. I have been able to just use my Buteyko breathing if feeling a bit of tightness. Feels like I'm getting control back on my life! - :) Jade, South Australia

[1029] Sneaky poos (May 2011)

We started the strict elimination diet a year ago and have been following it since then for my 6 year old son because he was diagnosed with encopresis, given drugs that didn't work and was soiling his pants every day at school. Horrible. When we started the diet we had amazing success. He started pooing in the toilet every day and the pants soiling stopped almost immediately. The only time that this happened again for all of last year was when he was reacting to something through challenges or by something that snuck into his diet. – Toni

[1028] Trying to pinpoint what went wrong last time (May 2011)

I am about to embark on the strict elimination diet for the 3rd time, but I am trying to pinpoint what went wrong the 2nd time round – I was consistently bloating but not as severely as normal - versus the 1st time round when I felt fantastic. Using your salicylate and amine mistakes information sheets and the product updates on the fed up site, I have so far picked up the following errors: Coles Pears in Syrup snackpacks (contained pear juice), Simply Wize Crusty Bread (maize flour), Dovedale Rice & Chia Bread (Chia seeds), and the wrong Cenovis multivitamin (Once Daily Women's Multi, contains evening primrose oil). Thanks for all of your help and detailed knowledge, I think I would have been doing many more things wrong in the diet without having the fed up site to look at. - Belinda, by email

[1027] Fitting and blisters - damage to children or dogs (May 2011)

I have been looking at the dog food section of your site. Many years ago my dog began fitting much like the dog story reported and he also broke out in blisters. I too removed all preservatives and followed an additive free diet set down by a herbalist and dog breeder. He was fine for a while but then the grandchildren came to stay and as doggies do he was cleaning up after them ... he now has blisters on his skin again but no fitting. My daughter and I have just gone through our cupboard looking for all the additives etc and are astounded by what we found. We will be reading the labels in future to remove the likelihood of further damage to either the children or the dogs. Thanks for the help. Denise, by email

[1026] Reacted to amines in supermarket meat - despite dietitian advice (May 2011)

I haven't been back to see the dietitian again. I found that I knew more than she did, and while she was supportive, she needed to look up information in books that I already knew myself. She would probably be good for someone who hasn't done as much online research for themselves and wasn't as aware of nutrition. She did have some good suggestions, but her advice re: amines wasn't so great either - she said supermarket meat should be fine as long as it was in date, and was determined that my son couldn't be reacting as much as he was - to get me to try meat again (which I did, and got an awful reaction from him). – by email, (If you have found a really good dietitian or someone on our list isn’t good enough, please let us know so we can help others! Also, please email health professionals with feedback if possible; it is the only way they can learn by their mistakes. - S)

[1025] Chronic fatigue, endometriosis and diet (May 2011)

I have had Chronic fatigue symptoms for 6 years and seen heaps of Doctors. I have tried an elimination diet and a vega allergy test diet through a doctor and not found much relief. I started failsafe eating as soon as I read your book last year and found it made me feel much better, but I still felt very lethargic and felt something was wrong. I had been on the merry-go-round of Doctors for almost 7 years and finally they found late last year that I had a severe case of endometriosis. Immediately after the surgery I felt so much better! It was like a miracle. I was very angry because my symptoms had actually started 18 years prior and no one had picked it up!

I think my body had been struggling with it for so long, it was just packing it in. I really believe the diet gave my immune system the break it needed and probably kept me alive and going last year. I at least had the energy to keep annoying the Doctors, who had told me it was all in my head for years. While sick, on the diet, I basically could only stay on the lowest food chemicals. After surgery I gradually tested amines, salicylates and MSG and found I suddenly had no reaction to them like before. I believe this indicates that a stressed immune system doesn't cope with food chemical and additive overload. I have still to test additives/colours, but have just found it easier and healthier to avoid them. Thanks so much for your help, books and yummy recipes. I’m so glad you have started this journey and hope you can keep making a big change to what goes into our food. – by email, Qld (See more on our Womens Health factsheet)

[1024] 319, 320: Antioxidants and chronic fatigue (May 2011)

In 1995 I gradually developed CFS and was invalided out of work a year later. In late 1999 I began the RPAH elimination diet. Ten days later my brain fog and fatigue were greatly diminished. Challenges confirmed intolerance to dairy and gluten – which I had eliminated years previously – and indicated intolerances to salicylates, amines and glutamates.

In the following years I had a few relapses, usually lasting for no longer than a couple of weeks. The exception was a six months relapse, which ceased five days after I decreased my intake of vegetable oil and changed from canola to sunflower. (Both oils had no additives listed on the label)

In January 2007 I was feeling quite well and had no significant CFS relapse for a couple of years. At the beginning of February my energy plummeted. I needed to spend at least twelve hours a day lying down, instead of eight hours. Physical fatigue and brain fog returned in force. Six weeks later I bounced back, and was quite well for a few weeks, then I plummeted again. These irregular fluctuations continued throughout the year, but the highs got lower and the lows got lower. I became much more sensitive to amines.

In early February 2008 I went to Woolworths for grocery shopping. I picked up a bottle of sunflower oil and glanced automatically at the contents. In a way, I was not really looking because I ‘knew’ that nobody put additives into sunflower oil in Australia. But there it was: ‘Sunflower Oil, Antioxidants E319, E320’. I squeezed my eyes tight, reopened them, and read the same thing. Then I grinned and imagined myself leaping into the air and clicking my heels. Yes!

I phoned Woolworths and was told that their sunflower oil had E319 and E320 since the beginning of 2007. But sometimes my wife bought sunflower oil from Coles. No, Coles had never put antioxidants into their sunflower oil. We take about six weeks to consume a one litre bottle of sunflower oil. I looked back in my diary and found that the length of my ups and downs were in multiples of six weeks. We swapped to Coles sunflower oil. Eighteen days later I was fully well again. – Ian, by email

[1023] Victoria’s CFS & perfume sensitivity story (May 2011) COURAGE AWARD

My daughter Victoria is now 13 years old. When she was five she became very unwell with a gastro bug and was quite ill for three weeks (vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea). The sensation of nausea did not go away after she recovered. After some weeks we were referred to a paediatrician who diagnosed nervous dyspepsia. I knew this was not right and asked to be referred to a gastroenterologist. The GP reluctantly did so. The paed gastro specialist did an endoscopy and found a helicobacter ulcer which was then treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately the nausea remained, and diarrhoea started to become more of problem.

We were referred to a dietitian who dealt with intolerances and followed her elimination diet to the letter with very little improvement. I understand now that this dietitian’s diet was quite relaxed and included many foods in the moderate category (yoghurt, mangoes, just ripe bananas, Colby cheese etc). We abandoned the diet after three months and just ate home-cooked plainish food with no artificial additives (this did include a range of organic fruit and veg).

For the next six or so years we battled with Victoria’s health. The tummy problems continued (nausea, diarrhoea). Her immune system was poor (she caught everything going around). She was irritable, impatient and not affectionate. She constantly had dark circles under her eyes. And then about three years ago she began to suffer frequent headaches mainly sinus ones. She was just never well.

We went everywhere and did everything to try to help her (blood tests, acupuncturist, paediatric allergist, naturopath, eye tests, physiotherapist, ear/nose/throat specialist you name it we did it with no improvement).

Now it is relevant to talk about myself for a moment. For 20 years I have had turns where after eating out I would become really unwell. This was usually at a restaurant. First I get nausea, then feel faint and break out in a cold sweat followed by vomiting or diarrhoea or both. Sometimes I do actually faint. Even though we had not had any success with the early (relaxed) elimination diet I did learn about food chemicals at this time, and realised that it was ultra high-amine foods that I was reacting to (e.g. camembert cheese followed by aged beef with wine gravy etc).

Now cut back to mid last year one evening I prepared a meal of very fresh roast organic chicken (with skin) and homemade gravy, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and peas. After eating some of her meal, Victoria had a similar reaction to the ones I described above. This was the first time she had had the same type of turn as me. I recognised that this meal was high in amines (but not too high for me) and realised that amines were a problem for her.

So then I read your books and went to a new dietitian (dealing with intolerances) and discovered that Victoria needs to eat a diet low in all food chemicals. If she does stay absolutely strict she is reasonably well. The nausea problem has reduced dramatically, as has the diarrhoea. She is less irritable and more affectionate. Her headaches have reduced. Her immunity is better. We have seen a real improvement!

Her diet is very limited. (Unfortunately, she is also intolerant to raffinose, so she can’t even eat all the vegies in the low category!) We have to get our meat from a butcher who phones me the day the beef arrives from the abattoir, and I go that day and buy (and freeze) meat for the next month. She is very sensitive.

Victoria’s sinus headache problem is certainly affected by food chemicals - it has improved quite a lot on the elimination diet, but a whole range of environmental allergens seem to trigger it too. The grass being cut affects her. Walking through the detergent isle in the supermarket affects her. The smell of perfume and cosmetics affects her. Household chemicals affect her. Some particular irritants:

· Hairspray and other spray-on hair products: She feels an urgent need to remove herself from the smell of these products. She feels she can taste them and they cause her a serious headache. We can’t go to a normal hairdressing salon - she says they are toxic. We have our hair cut at a home salon and the hairdresser doesnt use any products on us.

· Dust: she is aware of dust if it is around and finds it unpleasant because it irritates her nose, but it is not until later that she develops a sinus headache. These headaches can be quite bad and last for many days.

· Perfumes/aromatherapy scents: these smells are all really distasteful to her. She feels nauseous and headachy in environments that are scented. She has a strong feeling that she needs to leave.

· Garden smells and pollens: she is very aware of them - they make her nose feel sneezy and occasionally she develops a headache.

· The smell of clothes washing detergent and other cleaners are most distasteful to Victoria. The skin on her face flushes and feels irritated, and she develops a headache if exposed to the smell for more than a couple of minutes. For washing sheets and pillow cases I often just use a hot water cycle with no detergent and dry them in the sun. They look and smell clean to us. For washing clothes I use the skin care cycle on our machine which uses more water and does an extra rinse, and just use a little OMO Sensitive or Earth Choice Sensitive. Once again, things come out clean, even with less detergent. We can’t detect a fragrance after washing and drying in the sun.

· If we happen to wear a garment that has been washed in normal fragrant powder for whatever reason, we both feel unwell and get a headache. I developed a very severe headache that lasted for days once (years ago) as I had lent a shirt to someone and they returned it after washing it in normal detergent and using Fabulon during the ironing process. I foolishly wore it to work and became so unwell and dizzy that I had to go home sick! We ourselves use Mitchum unscented deodorant, QV non soap alternative, Bod ultrasensitive fragrance free shampoo and conditioner purchased online from Biome or Simple shampoo and Conditioner ordered in by our local pharmacy.

· Victoria notices and dislikes the smell of petrol, cigarette smoke and basically anything else with a strong smell.

· Oppressive humid weather gives Victoria (and her grandmother) a sinus headache.

I suffer from sinus headaches too, and all of the above affect me, but I am not nearly as sensitive. Victoria and I both have a fantastic sense of smell. We can both smell cigarette smoke from a neighbour smoking in his back yard four big house blocks away. We are both super sensitive to food smells as well, especially protein foods (which of course comes in very handy with catering for an amine responder!)

One of the many specialists we have taken Victoria to is a paediatric allergist. She took one look at Victoria and commented that she looked like an allergy sufferer. She noticed (amongst other things) the dark circles under Victoria’s eyes and a wrinkle or line across her nose that indicated constant rubbing of her nose. Victoria was tested for a wide range of commons allergens, but the skin prick tests did not reveal allergy. The specialist said that she was surprised, and recommended Victoria use a saline nasal spray (which she does) and use antihistamines when needed as she may be allergic to things other than what she was tested for.

The whole body load issue is certainly relevant for Victoria. How badly she responds to irritating food and smells certainly varies according to the load on her body school stress, PMT, illness etc. She is definitely doing better on a diet of all low chemical foods, but it does not take much to upset her balance.

When Victoria is not doing well she feels overstimulated very easily by light, noise, smells (of course) and other stimulants. She also has poor volume control at such times, even though she is usually a quiet girl. Another recurring problem is urinary tract irritation not pain or burning just a constant feeling of needing to dash to the loo.

I have two other things I wanted to mention (for what they are worth):

· Victoria is gifted. She was accelerated a whole grade in primary school and excels academically. I nearly choked on my tea when I read in one of your books that we ‘should not blame bad behaviour on giftedness’ - I had been blaming her prickliness, impatience and irritability with others on giftedness to some degree.

· We have very recently discovered that Victoria’s blood levels of Vitamin D are in the normal range (55), but only barely. Our dietitian (from the failsafe list) says that in her opinion the bare minimum should be 75 and we should be aiming for 100. She says that recent overseas research indicates that there is a link between intolerances and low vitamin D levels. We are trying to get Victoria into the sun for safe periods every day to improve this, and will test again in 3 months …

Update 3 months later: We have actually been faring better over the last month or so. We had a re-test for vitamin D levels and to our surprise discovered that despite trying to increase sun-exposure, Victoria’s levels were still at the low-normal level of 55 (normal range is 50-300). Our dietitian had suggested previously that we should aim for higher than 100. So I decided to try a failsafe vitamin D capsule. I don’t know if that has helped, or it is just a co-incidence, but after a couple of weeks Victoria seems to be back to faring quite well on the low-chemical diet. I am cautiously optimistic.

What a long story - and this is only a small part of it! Thanks very much for your wonderful work. Your books and website are fantastic. I am very grateful. - Carol, by email

[1022] I feel better without FRUIT (May 2011)

You actually brought tears to my eyes when l read, you don’t need fruit, vegetables are best!!!! You know before l knew my problem was food, l used to eat soooo many fruits and vegetables l was sooo sick all of the time, but the sicker l got the more fruit and vegies l would eat. I do know l feel better without FRUIT, it’s just lovely to have someone to talk to that doesn’t think lm over the top! – Helen, Vic

[1021] 635: Ribo rash in a breastfed baby (May 2011)

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! - chicken salt is often ordinary table salt with added MSG type flavour enhancers such as 621 or 635. – Angela, by email (We would like to hear from anyone who has noticed a similar reaction to flavor enhancers in a baby under 12 months, and whether your baby subsequently developed a peanut, egg, milk or other food allergy: suedengate@ozemail.com.au)

[1020] Effects of dairy foods (May 2011)

There is no doubt at all in my mind about the great effect that foods have on my children although it has taken me about 3 years to accept it. But I still cannot get my head around why dairy foods cause such a behavioural response with my daughter. When eating dairy foods, she gets dark rings around her eyes, and is not just bad, she is impossible to live with. I just can not understand how a food can affect her in this way. Her oppositional defiance is incredible. It is also as if she is completely deaf. Her voice becomes so loud it makes me cringe and it also becomes a lot higher in pitch. She is not affectionate at all and is very serious as well. It is as if she has complete focus, driven, locked in, intense, not able to snap out of her bad behaviour. It is only now (she is 5 1/2 years of age) that I am starting to bond with my daughter in a calm and loving way, before this it has been a desperate, lost love.

Since she has been dairy-free she listens, talks more quietly and without intensity, she lets me cuddle her, she does not get locked into bad behaviour and we can negotiate together. She has always been strong willed and very smart but now I can enjoy it. I am so happy now. I guess if there was a logical explanation for this huge behavioural response I would stop questioning my judgement so much. Because it is just behavioural, you can tell our peer group think it is our parenting and they also question the failsafe food idea as a bit odd. I guess what I am trying to ask is how can food affect the voice, make you deaf, fearless, and completely oppositional? - reader, Qld

[1019] Powerhouse brain (May 2011)

I am an 18 year old student. The diet has been immeasurably useful for me. I can now think better, clearer, and I can reason logically where before an idea would just revolve around in my head. I can now do household chores! This might not seem too momentous, but just ask anyone in my household. I actually have fun cleaning up the kitchen now!

I have ventured forth from the den of my room, and have spent less time skulking around the Net and more time socialising ... Thanks to the diet, I am going to try again to pass Year 12 next year, so I can go to university.

It's quite interesting to trace the time in my life when I started doing badly in school. It was the exact time that I moved to the city, and started eating more junk food like meat pies, ham etc. I continued to do worse and worse in school until I dropped out of Year 13 last semester. Now, I can be confident of having my old powerhouse brain back again. – Russell, by email

[1018] Behaviour problems due to hairspray (May 2011)

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. Update a few days later: Well, our daughter has already settled down after about 2-3 days. She even said this morning gosh I feel better. – Nic, by email

[1017] 160b: Annatto 160b in yoghurt - an open letter to Parmalat (May 2011)

Why do manufacturers have to put 160b in their yoghurts? I am really disgusted and disappointed that they can't see what this harmful colour does to children and adults alike. Before I knew of its harmful side effects I would gladly give my 2 year old a tub of yoghurt thinking I was doing the right thing, little did I know at the time that I was giving my child a dose of crazy and irrational behaviour that bordered on vicious and just plain heartbreaking to watch. Now that I know that this colour is detrimental to my child’s well-being - I will never ever purchase something with it in. Why is it not banned in Australia? For a supposed first world country with brains and intelligence - we have made some really bad decisions when it comes to food additives and artificial colours - we are poisoning our children - yoghurt can definitely shoulder some of this blame. Make the right choice, take this colour out of yoghurt! – Tiffany, by email

[1016] 160b: "It wasn't me mum, it was Annatto'' (May 2011)

A few weeks I thought my son decided to kick start the terrible two’s early and begin to show me his quite advanced tantrum throwing. Out of nowhere he would start banging his head! on the floor, wall, me or what ever was in close range. And as most mothers would do I would either kneel down to him and talk with him, place my hand under his little forehead to stop him from hitting the hard tiles, carry him away, distract him, ignored him, you name it, but it continued and got worse! Then started the slapping and hair pulling, he would constantly slap the sides of his head with either one or both palms of his hand and or pull his hair to the point he would cry. His face would frown as he would moan and continue to slap himself.

It wasn’t just the physical actions either, he was again constantly irritable. Now for those mums who have intolerant children, irritable behavior can vary when affected. With my son, it’s a continuous grizzle along with constant disruptive behavior. Again, I know this sounds quite normal for toddlers to behave in this way occasionally, but it was daily and for most part of the day. And it only got more constant as time went on. I would look at him and think “this can’t be just a behavioral issue I have on my hands” my baby was clearly distressed and as I sat in a familiar field of not knowing what to do and at times on the verge of tears I would begin to question myself, what am I doing wrong? What kind of mother am I if I can’t settle my baby….again! Maybe I just have an unsettled, quick tempered emotional child on my hands! I then reassured myself that this wasn’t the first time I had been here, the lonely field of what to do and where to go, this place was no longer unfamiliar, I knew there was an answer I just have to find it and as time went on I did and it wasn’t him, it was Annatto!

Having already established that my son was dairy and food chemical intolerant, I began to sit back and re access his diet. He was still following the recommended RPA Strict Elimination Diet in exception of one or two extra side dishes and began to suspect extra dish 1, the ‘Soy Life’ vanilla soy yoghurt. It was literally the same day when I found a great Australian website where there was story after story of the effect that natural coloring 160b had on children, and what was the most common reaction you ask?........head banging, and where was the coloring? In the soy yoghurt!

I immediately stopped feeding him the yoghurt and just short of a week I began seeing dramatic improvements. My son didn’t show any reactions to the yoghurt the first time he tried it, and it did take quite some time before his change in behavior took place, however as he began teething and his desire for soft cold solids increased over time, it was the constant high intake of the yoghurt that did in fact cause the adverse reaction. - from Happy Tummies blog http://hubpages.com/hub/t-wasnt-me-mum-it-was-Annatto

[1015] Quite shocked by food options (May 2011)

I'm quite shocked by the food options in our school canteen, especially considering the schools push for healthy food choices and the term long curriculum unit for grades 1 and 2 about healthy eating - any suggestions, support or information would be much appreciated. - thanks to Hannah

[1014] Pleasant surprise in school newsletter (May 2011)

I have been concerned about my kids school and their food policies and have been gathering info so I could show the school the link, but yesterday I got a pleasant surprise.

In the weekly newsletter there was information from your Fed Up website informing parents of the risks of food chemicals and preservatives and the symptoms associated with them plus info about what parents can do and suggested foods to buy.

I almost fell off my chair - I am so happy that finally the school is recognising the important factor that food has on kids behaviour.

I am hoping that this will translate in better food at the tuckshop and lessen the push by teachers for dried fruit and cheese sticks (with preservatives) for the kid's brain food (ie snack food). I am writing the principal a "thank you" email for putting this info in the newsletter, hopefully some parents will take note. I thought I would let you know that the word is spreading, even up here in Nth Qld, and I think it is great! - Fiona, by email

[1013] What kids eat during breaks (May 2011)

I work as a relief teacher (primary) and I am appalled by the food kids eat during breaks. Sometime I just want to throw up when I see their brightly coloured muesli bars, yogurt snacks and prepackaged "whatever is on the market". I have often come back from morning break to a totally different class of kids. It's like they went from angels to little devils. It can only be what they ate that has turned them so crazy! I think it is outrageous what they are doing to our food. There is hardly anything left to buy that is prepackaged in the supermarket that is safe to eat! - teacher, Qld

[1012] Eczema exacerbated by dust mite allergy (March 2006)

A few years ago my son's health was declining with eczema attacks lasting several hours, and hives breaking out without us knowing the reason. He was already on a restricted diet but he was awake for 2-4 hrs every night, screaming "please help me, Mummy", and his legs were sometimes so scabbed up that he could not straighten them enough to walk. He was five. Eventually, we found the problem was dust mites. We knew he was sensitive to them because he had been allergy tested by a doctor, but I had "relaxed" a little with the vigilance I had previously had. And then I realised that the whole time, he had a big tear in the dustmite cover on his mattress.

So I went back to using the dust mite wash from the supermarket, and washing his sheets four times in clear water after that, and hanging them on the line all day, every six weeks. And washing his sheets in hot water every three days. And clearing his bedroom of everything except a bed, and wet-dusting once a week. he difference was amazing. The first night, he actually slept through. And now, a year and a bit later, his legs, which were just big scabs from bum to ankle, are beautiful creamy soft smooth skin. And a much happier boy. The emotional scars are still there, and taking time to heal. We got a book about eczema by a dermatologist that discusses the emotional toll on the family, and it is so true.- from the eczema factsheet.

[1011] Allergy to Sorbolene (March 2006)

When our daughter first developed a rash our GP diagnosed it as pityriasis rosea, which is uncommon but not unheard of in babies and resolves itself after about 6 weeks. Two months on the rash was still there, so since then we have been trying to figure out the cause via the GP, naturopath, paediatrician, etc. Then one day I took my daughter to see the clinic sister who has seen her rash LOTS of times and mentioned to me almost in passing that some people can be "allergic" to sorbolene. Apparently people can build up a sensitivity to it over time and we've been slathering it on our poor daughter for months! I stopped putting it on and within a day her rash started improving.- from the eczema factsheet.

[1010] One-liners (March 2011)

I just want to say a huge thank you. We have managed to keep both our children off all medication for hyperactivity and ADHD diagnosis through your diet and recommendations. Whilst it is hard and we slip up - it is worth it. - Leona, NSW

I have been reading the personal accounts of other desperate people who have already put into practice your failsafe plan and I have barely been able to read them without bawling like a baby!! - father of a difficult 5 yo

We have been following Sue's advice for our family for the last 13 years and really appreciate the time and effort you put into keeping us safe from additives!! - Lynelle by email.

Your Failsafe Cookbook has been a fantastic assistance in helping with meal planning. We are 2 days into the diet and already noticing big changes with our 3 yo e.g extended lengths of happiness, co-operation, fewer tantrums and accepting instructions. - Eleanor, NSW

Having followed Failsafe for a week, and being astounded by the loving, fun, happy, laughing 6 year old that came home on Thursday, I am a full convert. (Gone is the angry, aggressive, resentful, contradictory, unhappy, destructive child I have had!). – Karen, by email

I still live by my Failsafe Cookbook we found in a bookshop when my son was 3 – six years ago. It's very well loved by now! – by email

We appreciate your continued dedication to the cause. Generations from now (if we're lucky), may look back to this era as when the human race continually found ways to chemically self-destruct. – Judy, by email

Your Failsafe Cookbook is brill if you're on a weightloss diet - it doesn't have a lot of those fatty sauces!! - love the lamb stew! - Caroline, UK

Our naturopath commented that failsafe eating is very nutritious – Jackie, by email.

[1009] ADHD: Denied enrolment at 2 schools (March 2011) COURAGE AWARD

I just wanted thank you!!! My 9 year old son has ADHD, ODD, OCD, anxiety and a learning disability. He was denied enrolment at 2 schools because they feared his ADHD would disrupt other children. He was constantly in trouble at school and has been suspended. He was frustrated and upset every morning and every night, at times he couldn't sit at the dinner table without crying from the stress he felt, he found it very difficult to cope from day to day. From when he was a very young age, my husband and I worked very hard at managing his problems and saw numerous specialists. Originally we took him off bread with preservatives when he was 2 years old. It wasn't until we were at our wits’ end a year ago, with schools and counsellors telling us to 'medicate him' - that I decided to buy your book.

A year on, our son avoids salicylates and additives and I have to say I have had a recent comment from a friend who hasn't seen him for a year and she said 'we were so impressed with your son’s politeness, his impeccable table manners, you two have done so well with him!, even my sister commented on what a lovely boy he is!'

We managed to get him into a new school, one that I believed would work with us to 'manage' his issues better. Then his new school teacher rang me to say 'I have had a beautiful week with your son, he is very respectful, very caring towards the other children, has lovely manners and we haven't had one episode of hyperactivity or disruptive behaviour, he has a lot to offer and is doing very well'

I have near cried with pure relief and excitement that the little boy I got glimpses off occasionally over the last 9 years is now that nice little boy all day EVERY DAY! and other people can see it.

As a parent who had tried everything to avoid medication, I finally feel we have found the answer to successfully managing a child with behavioural issues. I now tell people – Failsafe, Structure, Management, and above all: Understanding. Your book is gold to us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. – Leonie, NSW

[1008] Fragrance: Our sensitivity to perfumes and fragranced products (March 2011) COURAGE AWARD

I’ve become increasing sensitive to perfumes and fragrances. For me it triggers an intense, immediate burning headache, dizziness, nausea, and a reflexive instinct to want to get away. The longer I’m exposed to the smell, I find it hard to look up, hard to make eye contact with people, my heart rate speeds up and I feel hot and a bit shivery. I feel like I have to keep an eye on the ground to know where it is, have trouble telling where objects are around me, and kind of lose my sense of where I am in space.

Background noise seems to become louder as well, and I feel a rising panic and need to escape. I had a ‘brain episode’ about 3-4 yrs ago, some kind of massive seizure that had symptoms similar to a stroke. Since then, my problems with perfumes have increased dramatically, though I think I’ve always had a slight problem with scents. In March 2009 I was prescribed Methotrexate (an immuno-suppressant) as my psoriasis had become so severe it almost landed me in hospital with a life-threatening version. This has side effects of nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and dizziness, which have gradually lessened over time, but still rear up at least a couple of times each week. Since being on this drug I find it particularly difficult to cope with perfumes. From what my two ASD boys have been able to tell me, I think their responses are fairly similar, but they have difficulty describing the sensations, and they tend to go into Autistic withdrawal / blocking behaviours.

A couple of weeks ago we took the boys to a cinema to watch Despicable Me. A teenage girl entered with a small group of friends and sat in the row in front of us. The perfume smell was so strong I had to shift the four of us back 3 rows to escape it, and still left the cinema with a headache.

The worst places for the boys and I to enter are public toilets with automatic fragrance sprayers. One was introduced to our local shopping centre, and we were caught unawares. I sat down on the toilet, and was suddenly sprayed by a fountain of this horrible scent – it triggered of a bout of vomiting which meant I was stuck in there with the scent. When I finally escaped, I found that hubby had encountered the same problem on taking the boys into the Men’s toilet. The elder was biting his hands and pulling his hair, and the younger was bouncing and squirming uncontrollably. We abandoned the idea of grocery shopping and went home to recover. Now we make sure we go to the toilet at home before we leave.

Windex and whiteboard cleaning spray have an appalling effect on my elder son, trigger out of control behaviours, self harm, high temperatures, headaches, vomiting and diarrhoea. Perfumes and body sprays such as Impulse are awful, incense sticks are a nightmare, car and toilet deodorizing products are the worst, possibly due to the confined, airless space. – by email

[1007] Fragrance: Angry, tantrumy boy punching himself in the head due to airfreshener (March 2011)

A couple of months ago I decided to put an airfreshener in my 6 yo autistic’s room because it smelt like urine due to him wetting the bed a lot. The next day he turned from a calm placid little boy to an angry, tantrumy boy who would constantly punch himself in the head causing big bruises, crying and screaming like there was something in his head and he couldn't get it out. He also didn't sleep much while the air freshener was in his room. It took two days to figure out what I had done to my beautiful boy and once I removed the offender and aired his room out naturally, within a 2-3 hour period he was his calm self again. I hope this can help someone. - Jackie, by email

[1006] Rosy cheeks, colic, poor sleeping, terrible nappy rash due to salicylates (March 2011)

I can’t tell you how much I love your work!! We came across FAILSAFE after months of my infant son suffering from such a terrible nappy rash that he was quite raw. I wasn’t helping matters by using baby wipes & soothing creams that had orange juice etc in them (Gaia brand). The Dr wouldn’t believe that I was using the steroid cream he’d prescribed, & made me tell him exactly how I was using it - is there another way to use it? Finally, through our local Child & Family Health Clinic, one of the Nurses mentioned salicylates. My journey was far from over, however, going through the public health paediatric dietitian (who recommended that I feed my son rockmelon you should have seen him after I took that advice!! Poor little tyke!) & several other Drs & nurses before I stumbled onto a Dr who, when walking past us to her next patient in the waiting room (we were there to see another Dr), looked at my son & remarked Looks like he might have a reaction to salicylates those rosy cheeks that everyone kept telling me was teething was really a dead giveaway!!

From there, our lives improved so much, thanks to a supportive & knowledgeable Dr, dietitian & your Failsafe Cookbook. Our son could finally sleep, and his pesky colic disappeared after only a few days! All that we had been told was normal in a baby, and that we were made to feel like whingers for bringing up, were anything but normal when we got his food right (& mine, as I was breastfeeding).

He’s now 3 years old, and it’s so easy to tell when he’s had something to eat that he shouldn’t! He’s very sensitive, even reacting to red delicious apples. We’ve now got another bub, a little girl, who has been so lucky that she has never had any real food issues, as I was Failsafe the whole time when breastfeeding her & of course feeding her solids. Still makes me feel guilty that my son had to go through almost a year with such pain, but at least we’re all better off now, knowing about this issue. We still get funny looks from people who seem to think we’re on some kind of fad diet, but we know what happens when we don’t follow it. My main problem is that our family, and even myself, think of ordinary food as being a treat so we do give him non-Failsafe foods occasionally. What I need to remember, and I think I’m getting there, is that even if he enjoys eating the food, the way he then feels & acts for the next 3 days is definitely not a good thing. Making my son feel sick, irritable or aggressive is not a treat for him, or any of us. I am getting there, but I wish my family would stop asking me when he’ll grow out of it and suggesting that he’s getting better (only because he’s eating Failsafe!! He wouldn’t be if he wasn’t!) and tempting my son with offers of when I’m babysitting you we’ll go out & get some REAL food chiko rolls and hot dogs & coke . Real food indeed!! Grrr!!

Thanks again, Sue, for everything you’ve done, and continue to do. It must bring you such a feeling of vindication & joy when you read through the many different stories people have I’m often amazed at the different ways people react to various things. Without you, our lives would all be much harder and I thank you sincerely from all of our family. – Lyn, by email

[1005] ‘Huge ankles’ and other symptoms due to diet (March 2011)

I went through the RPAH elimination diet about 3 years ago. The dietician confirmed I was intolerant to dairy, wheat, salicylates, amines and glutamates. Despite following a strict regime I have not been able to reintroduce any of the foods that caused an intolerance reaction. My symptoms I have now as a result of low exposure are: IBS, sinus pain, fluid buildup around my eyes, feet and ankles swelling, sleep disturbance, severe cramps in feet and legs. I am asthmatic. ... Update 3 weeks later: I cleaned up my diet (herbs, coffee and some vegies that I had included are now gone) and immediately had migraine type headaches. But since then it has all been much better. So this is the first summer in 20 years that I have been able to wear short trousers and not needed to hide my huge ankles. - Fiona, NSW

[1004] Challenges: 3 week reaction to amines (March 2011)

My son’s reaction to amine foods is always the same: depression, crying for nothing, being angry, seeking conflicts, ODD like behaviour and many attacks of night terrors (like 5 times in a 2-week-period). He had very strong reactions to pork meat and to chocolate, and the effects to those foods lasted for almost 3 weeks even after stopping the challenge. His reaction to salicylates is the usual hyperactive, silly behaviour, talking too much/too loud and having more little accidents.- by email, Europe

[1003] MSG: AF (Atrial fibrillation) after additives (March 2011)

Was just reading your article on Atrial Fibrillation from additives and I am certainly one who suffers from this, especially with MSG. The latest attack was as recent as Friday last week. I tried out a new Thai restaurant and that night was awake until 2am (after going to bed at 10pm) with a pounding heart. It is an issue for me and the worst is definitely MSG. I have been having these symptoms for 8 years that I know of (I am 39), ever since I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I think the symptoms were present before this but I didn't recognise them.

I realised it was due to MSG, firstly when it seemed to happen whenever I ate Chinese or some Asian foods. Then it was a process of isolating those foods with MSG and without to see if symptoms occurred. I get such a strong reaction that there is no doubt it is related to food. I also experience bloating symptoms along with the heart palpitations. I haven't tried this with other additives but I just generally stay away from all processed/packaged foods and feel a lot better for it. If I do eat the occasional packaged food I make sure there are next to no numbers in the ingredient list!

I have spoken to a doctor about these symptoms in the past but when I realised they were a reaction to additives I didn't pursue it any further. - Georgina, by email

[1002] Under-active thyroid and salicylate intolerance (March 2011)

I've had a long-term salicylate intolerance and avoid salicylates as much as possible in my diet. Last year I was diagnosed with an under-active thyroid and found once I was started on the medication that a lot of my allergic rhinitis disappeared. I was still having reactions to salicylates but not nearly as bad. Thyroid problems are apparently very common and as mine was under-active my metabolism wasn't processing things as it should making my symptoms worse – Caroline, UK

(Note that one cause of underactive thyroid could be iodine deficiency. This has become more common as iodine intake has dropped in industrialised countries over the last two decades due to less (iodised) salt being added to meals. Too much iodine can be as bad as not enough. Failsafe sources of iodine include seafood (2-3 times a week), dairy foods and eggs but not seaweed such as kelp or nori. Dietitians now recommend iodised salt for the RPAH Elimination Diet. Recommended Multivitamins also contain iodine. If in doubt, consult your dietitian.)

More information http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Iodine_explained). http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/scienceandeducation/factsheets/factsheets2010/reformulatedbonsoyso4785.cfm

[1001] MSG: 635: Heart palpitations from flavour enhancers (March 2011)

When I have MSG or other flavour enhancers I get heart palpitations. It feels like my heart is pounding really hard and fast in my chest and will last for about 15 seconds at a time. It's quite scary. I wasn't sure what caused it initially but over a couple of years it established a pattern. A few hours after I'd eaten MSG or other enhancers - Chinese foods, BBQ flavoured chips, red rock deli honey soy flavoured chips, maggi chicken flavour 2 minute noodles, cheese flavoured CCs, 635, 621 are the ones I have noticed on packaging.

I'm 38 and didn't realise until my son was in kindergarten (born 1998) what had been making me so sick and still I was silly enough to give into my craving for these foods some times. He had terrible problems with reflux, even though breastfed and there was no formed poo. He screamed all day every day but they told me I was a bad mother. By kindergarten, he had over 50 days off school with diarrhoea and then was referred to a dietician who hit the nail on the head and that was when I realised how foods were affecting me too. I no longer touch these foods and it hasn't happened since. – Sharyn, by email

[1000] Sorbates, nitrates: Preservatives cause mouth ulcers and irritable bowel (March 2011)

I am in my sixties. I can tell if a product has sorbates by the sore spots that develop in the mouth and then develop into mouth ulcers. With margarine (the RPA recommended challenge) it tends to build up over several meals. I have also worked out the preservatives in meats, particularly bacon and silverside, give a disturbed alimentary canal showing signs at the rear end. - Trevor, by email

[999] The Red Frogs letter to politicians (March 2011)

I am writing to give feedback regarding the recent Today Tonight story in Sydney about artificial food colours.

I can't believe there is still doubt about the effects these additives have on behaviour! I have had experience with the effects of these additives with my own children and can refer you to many other people who agree.

If there is a natural alternative without any suspected side effects why are we using additives that DO have suspected side effects? Additives that have been BANNED in other countries! Why are we not travelling the safer route? This is simple logic.

We avoid these additives as much as possible in our foods, but more and more products have more and more additives. One of the best resources for information and studies I have found is Sue Dengate and her Fed Up books and website. Sue has been looking into the problems with these additives for years and I really feel it is time for further attention and action on this issue. These additives do affect our health!

I hope the government is allowing for increased medical costs associated with the effects of these additives in the future, as the numbers will only keep increasing. The increase in the number of food additives since the 70’s correlates with the increase in health issues such as asthma, eczema and behavioural problems. Information on this can be found in Sue Dengate’s work.

This page on Sue’s site lists some of the letters she has already sent asking for change: http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/support/lobbying.htm. How many more will it take?

Banning these products has far reaching benefits. Not only for the health and temperament of the people who consume them (in particular children) but also for the stress levels of the parents, teachers and carers who look after these children, would likely lead to reduced medical costs to the government and could possibly even reduce juvenile crime statistics.

The General Manager of Food Standards Australia doesn't think food colourings have an 'impact' on behaviour?? Maybe you need me to send my daughter over with a pack of red frogs! – Fiona, NSW (with permission to reprint this letter)

[998] Asthma: How to save a life: the asthma catechism (March 2011)

23 years ago, at the age of 30, I was hospitalised for asthma at Frankston Hospital in Victoria; I recovered quickly with intravenous Theophylline and inhaled Ventolin via a pump. The specialist would not discharge me until I learned what he ironically called The Catechism:

Q: What do you do in the event of an asthma attack in a remote area if there is no puffer?

A: Give them coffee until they shake (lots): this will save them. Decaf coffee will not work.

As it happens, Theophylline is similar to caffeine; the side effects and benefits are similar. – Jonathon, Vic (A Cochrane Database Review, Caffeine for Asthma 2010, agrees: ‘Caffeine appears to improve airways function modestly, for up to four hours, in people with asthma’ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20091514).

[997] Asthma: hospital admissions - from one per week to one per year (March 2011)

First, I have to thank you for the work you have done. It is just over 3 years since I first picked up a copy of Fed Up with Asthma after my then 16 month old son was diagnosed. The medication did not seem to be working as it should, and I knew there was something else going on. He has major difficulties with sulphites, MSG and flavour enhancers (and natural glutamates) and benzoates (although we still avoid all preservatives and artificial colours because we are used to it now!), and after seeing an allergist and finding a nut allergy as well, all the pieces fit together. He is now a happy and healthy little boy about to start pre-school, whose nut allergies have been decreasing over the last two years - in fact his peanut allergy is totally gone - and has gone from one hospital admission a week to one every 8-12 months. We truly thank you, because it was your book that put us on the right track. Clare, NSW

[996] Sulphites & asthma: unlisted sulphites in prawns (March 2011)

Just purchased my Xmas prawns and thinking to avoid any additives, I always buy 'Australian' uncooked prawns. As I purchased 2Kg they came in the original box and shock, horror, I see preservative ticked, and then 223 (sodium metabisulphite). This product was labelled 'Wild caught Australian frozen prawns' from Hervey Bay - all sounds so pristine!

I rang the fish man morning and he informs me that all prawns are treated with 223 to prevent discolouring. This is common practice across the industry, the only difference being that imported prawns may not declare the preservative on the packaging. I phoned the Health department who were completely unaware of this practice. I suggested that as processed foods have to have labelling of ingredients what of the 'fresh' product?

An asthmatic with sensitivities to the sulphur group of preservatives may well react to prawns and then assume this is a seafood allergy, as preservative would not be considered a factor. Imagine if all those wonderful sea food displays at this time of the year were labelled 'contains sulphur metabisulphite'! – Judy, Vic

[995] Salicylates: Nasal polyps & salicylates (March 2011)

I recently went to see an ENT specialist as I have nasal polyps that have bothered me since my 20s and I was due to have surgery to have them removed. The doctor told me that as our town was having problems with the privately owned base hospital I would have to go to the private hospital at a cost of $2400. He did also say when I said I used to have asthma that people who have asthma and nasal polyps are usually salicylate sensitive.

As we didn't fancy paying the exorbitant fee, I got your book Fed Up out of the library, remembering you had said about salicylates. To cut a long story short we cut salicylates out of my diet and one week later I was able to breathe through my nose. THANK YOU Sue. We have since purchased Fed Up and plan to loan it out to anyone we can help. - Geoff, NSW

[994] Salicylates: Aspirin-induced asthma and nasal polyps (March 2011)

I have Samter’s Syndrome (consisting of asthma, aspirin sensitivity and nasal polyps) also known as Samter’s Triad or aspirin-induced asthma. For the last 29 years I have been taking medications and trying to stay alive. When I found the Australian salicylate lists I was so excited, I could finally understand what was happening. I was inadvertently eating salicylates every day. – by email, USA (There are numerous less-than-accurate salicylate lists on the internet. The only figures we support are the updated lists from RPAH; ask for our salicylate mistakes information sheet: suedengate@ozemail.com.au)

[993] Low salicylate versus low fructose diet (March 2011)

My 4 year old son’ behaviour has always been challenging, but has been particularly bad in recent weeks. After complaining of bloating, diarrhoea etc a breath test revealed that he was fructose intolerant (Note: about 50% of people have a positive breath test, so it is not very useful - http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factfructose.htm). So we started on the strict fructose elimination diet. My GP asked me a couple of weeks later how the diet was going. I responded that it was going well and that my son had not complained of bloating, stomach pains, etc since. However the thing I had noticed the most was his improved behaviour. I'm sure my GP thought I was a little odd, and commented that it wasn't something he'd heard of before but perhaps my son's behaviour is better because he doesn't have tummy pains. I wasn't convinced.

After a few weeks, we started a challenge by reintroducing the high fructose foods. He seemed to tolerate them well as long as he doesn't eat too much fruit each day. However, his behaviour has been foul! He seems more angry than ever, and last week I was wondering if he may be ODD. The Magic 123 which worked well for so long, now has no impact as he is just so defiant.

So, I started FAILSAFE eating 6 days ago. We haven't done it perfectly as his diet is very restricted due to food allergies and the fructose intolerance. But I've removed the high salicylate items, particularly tomatoes, strawberries and cantelope; and we're really just having the good ol meat and 3 veg for tea every night. I've cut his fruit intake to 1 serve every 2-3 days.

Day 1 perfect behaviour although it was still like walking on egg shells.

Day 2 bad morning, good afternoon.

Day 3 good behaviour a little less eggshells!

Day 4, 5, 6 great behaviour.

When things are good he is the perfect gentleman, well-mannered a real angel. But when things aren't going his way he still gets grumpy but most of the time he can now control the anger. A week or more ago, he just couldn't.

Update 3 months later after doing the elimination diet with a dietitian: Things went really well for some time. However, my son was desperate for some of the non-failsafe foods, particularly tomato sauce and jam. So I gradually caved in, and allowed him to have some. Initially it was a little bit every few days, then a little each daily. Although I'm still careful with his diet, he mustn't be able to tolerate even these quantities as we've started to notice some of the same old behaviour. The salicylates seem to have a cumulative effect on him. Whilst his behaviour hasn't been as aggressive or defiant, I'm certainly noticing that he is loud and unsettled. He can't concentrate on playing with his toys, but instead races around the house and jumps on the furniture! So this week were back on failsafe - strictly! – Carly, by email.

What the researchers say: (See page 14 of the RPAH Elimination Diet Handbook 2009 available from www.allergy.net.au): ‘Having excessive amounts of fruit especially fruit juice and dried fruit can cause symptoms such as bloating, reflux, abdominal discomfort, wind and diarrhoea. Although incomplete fructose absorption can cause stomach and bowel symptoms, it does not cause other symptoms such as headaches, fatigue or skin rashes … improvement of symptoms after going onto a low fructose diet is most likely to be due to the simultaneous reduction of intake of natural chemicals in fruits and vegetables’.

[992] We cannot believe that all our problems are gone simply by changing food (March 2011)

I am trying to find the words that will express exactly how thankful I am for the work you do and for the information you make available to parents everywhere.

You really have changed our lives and the life of my 4yr old son whom we were afraid was showing signs of being ODD and even Aspergers. He also was exhibiting symptoms that suggested irritable bowel and gluten intolerance. Since making the switch to fresh food made from scratch we cannot believe the complete change in our son. I had hoped to see positive results but had no idea that ALL of our problems with his behavioural and emotional development would be solved simply by eliminating all processed foods. I have cried so many times these past few weeks which to my family and friends would seem normal as I am often reduced to tears over my son s behaviour. However, I now cry true tears of joy... the change in him is that dramatic!

We suspect that 282, BHA 320, 160b and the major artificial food colourings as well as MSG were the main culprits. However, we decided that the risks with these chemicals are too great and that rather than read the labels and get tricked time and again it is far easier to just cook from scratch the old fashioned way. Being in the kitchen all day is a very small price to pay for a happy family environment!

I have attached a couple of images that summarise how things have turned out for us... a picture tells a thousand words!!! – Carley, by email.

<before, and after>

Update May 2011: Prior to implementing the diet in our home my 4yr old had never picked up a pencil other than to angrily scribble swiftly on a page before abandoning the task. This image was taken at preschool only one week after being on the diet. I cried. I couldn't believe it, not only was he writing and persisting and trying hard to perfect his attempt at the first letter of his name... he was proud. Proud of himself for achieving something. That meant so much to me, having not really seen that look, that emotion in him ever before." - Carley by email

[991] Speech: Diet got rid of disfluency and stutter (March 2011)

My 5 year old son has suffered from disfluency in his speech since he started to speak! He was an early speaker, and was putting sentences together very early, but would always talk in a very monotone evenly paced voice, a trait we are now told is quite common with kids who have auditory processing issues. We have recently had him diagnosed with a 'severe' figure ground problem. [the louder the background noise, the more trouble he has in processing what he hears - his actual hearing is perfect] I put 'severe' in italics, because he was tested at a time where he was not baseline; at a time where other factors were in play. Both the audiologist and the speech pathologist had other explanations for the stutter, which was most common at the beginning of sentences. Once he got started, the speech was more fluent, but still monotone.

The speech pathologist said his brain was moving faster than his tongue. He had an amazing grasp of language at an early age and his tongue would catch up with time. We discussed techniques in 'smooth talking' and 'bumpy talking', but aside from that the advice was that he would grow out of it.

The audiologist said that the processing difficulty could be linked to the stuttering as a delaying tactic while the rest of the information becomes accessible.

I don't disagree with these experts, but as time has gone on, I am convinced that other factors are more responsible for these symptoms than either of the explanations above.

We noticed, over time, that sometimes his stutter was worse than other times. A noisy environment always made things worse, supporting the figure ground hearing assessment, but at other times there seemed to be no obvious contributor. Tiredness, we thought? Perhaps new developmental stages?

We had already suspected that colours and preservatives made him 'high' and had eliminated all of those anyway. I made most things from scratch and bought very little processed food.

In about April of this year, we happened upon the 'Fed Up' information. We had just had about 3-4 weeks of hell at home. I was tearing my hair out and the tension in our house with the behavioural problems was unbelievable. His stutter was so bad, that it would take him 3-4 minutes to get through a simple sentence. I was trying to be patient and not draw attention to it as the speech pathologist had told us, but it was not only driving me mad, but for the first time, it was really bothering him. " Mu..Mu...Mu...Mu...Mum..... I....I ....I....I...I.... wa....wa. wa...wa..... Uh, what was I saying mum? " If I'd put in every stutter, it would take up more than a page! Upon reading various fact sheets on the website, I had an epiphany! I had put dried apricots in his lunchboxes for the 2 kinder days and 1 day care day a week for about the last 3-4 weeks. Just 3-4 each time, but I cut them out immediately while I kept researching.

Within 4-5 days of removing apricots [and no other changes], the stutter had improved, but was still apparent. After another week, other people started noticing the improvement.

That was the beginning. While the stutter had not vanished at this point, it was enough to make me convinced that there was something to all this 'intolerance stuff'. We got more serious, and finally started to see the gorgeous little boy that we knew was in there somewhere. The aggression all but disappeared, the frustration and the stutter were much improved but there were still times where things would go downhill again.

After hearing Sue talk, I decided to get much more serious, and undertook the complete elimination diet, including the elimination of dairy and wheat. Prior to starting, I spent about 2 weeks trying recipes, building up my pantry items, stocking the freezer etc. I believe that if I had not done that, I might have given up, fallen in a heap and put it all in the too hard basket. The changes in the household were amazing. I was spending a couple of hours extra in the kitchen every day, but with the elimination of wheat [I am convinced] I had the extra energy to do it. A week in, and his stutter had all but disappeared. It was as if he had suddenly grown up an extra year or two. He took adversity in his stride, he shrugged his shoulders instead of clenching his fists, and any remaining disfluency in speech I felt was because of habit rather than anything else. His voice became more interesting, his pitch patters varied and I am sure that he coped with noisy situations better. All of the 'autistic' tendencies which we had seen for years were improved. He read social cues better, spent much less time with his fingers in his mouth, coped with loud noises better; generally it was an amazing difference. His kinder teacher, who has watched this process with interest, remarked that it almost looked as if we had sedated him!

We are lucky in a way, to have a son who reacts so quickly and obviously to things. It makes identifying problems a lot easier. During our salicylate challenge, he went off the chart for silliness, and the stutter got worse. During a course of antibiotics for a bad bacterial skin infection, he got aggressive, angry ... and the stutter got worse. Every time we have slipped up with food, the stutter gets worse. It is our main indicator that something is amiss.

I have no absolute proof. I am not a scientist. I am not a speech pathologist. I am a mum - plain and simple. But I know my boy. I know who he is and who he isn't and these past 7 months I have watched him like a hawk. I know when he is up and I know when he is down. And I am absolutely convinced that his disfluency is directly connected with his diet. I am not saying that the diet is fully responsible, but added to other issues that he has, the diet is what has made the difference for him. A year ago, I was so worried that when he starts school next year, he would be teased because of his stutter. Now, I know that while we will always face issues with diet and behaviour, at least at baseline, he won’t be that different from any other child.

And of course, I will be eternally grateful to Sue, and all who contribute to the Fed Up website. Without it, life would be a great deal more difficult. The one thing I am thankful for, is that I never let things go. If I had just listened to the experts and not used my brain and my intuition, then who knows....- Kylie, by email

[990] Behaviour & diet: extraordinary tantrums gone (March 2011)

First of all thank you for being my saviour!! My 4 year old little boy had been getting increasingly worse in his behaviour and we had pretty much become isolated due to his extraordinary tantrums that lasted anything up to 2 hours 3 or 4 times a week. I never knew when they would happen and it was normally as soon as we met up with friends in a play centre he would become aggressive, loud, uncontrollable and impossible to calm. Many times I have left a shop or playcentre with him folded under my arm, kicking and screaming, biting anyone or anything that came in his way.

We had already been seeing a paediatrician as he was also under weight and under height for his age. They hadn't found anything wrong but his blood tests were not quite right either. I was getting desperate and he is starting school next Thursday and I couldn't imagine what they were going to say!!

Until 'Fed Up'...... We have been following the elimination diet (mostly) for the last 2 weeks with dramatic results. We have not had any tantrums for 10 days. He is a pleasure to be around and he is sleeping much better. We are not there yet, but so much better. I can’t quite believe he's the same child!! - Fay, UK.

[989] Annatto 160b: eczema, tantrums and head banging (March 2011)

My son William had eczema behind his knees when he was 6 months old and then it went away. In October this year it reappeared (just before his 2nd birthday) with a vengeance! It was behind his knees and then spread to his legs, patches on his arms and his entire chest was rough. Fortunately we got onto it quickly and he didn't suffer with any broken skin, however the key things I took out were vegemite and grapes. He had only had vegemite for a few weeks but it took ages to get the eczema to go again. After spending a weekend with my mum, William had eczema behind his knees again. The only thing she gave him which I never do was Vaalia yoghurt (160b) so I took that out and double checked EVERYTHING he was eating for 160b and bingo! No eczema since, with the added bonus of far fewer tantrums. When I realised he had yoghurt with annatto at my mum’s house (and had a little eczema again) I threw out everything that had annatto in it (Heinz kids muesli bars which I was giving him occasionally). The other reason, apart from eczema that had me throw out annatto was his tantrums. William was headbanging again, which he hadn't done in a while. That day I took out annatto and that was the last time I saw him headbang, and that was in November!

He still gets frustrated and chucks a wobbly every now and again, but there's been a big big change since removing annatto. If a normal tantrum for William is a 3/10, they were 8/10 before I eliminated annatto. – Margaret, by email

[988] Annatto 160b: Head banging due to food causes nose bleeds and deformation of the skull (March 2011)

From introduction of solids when my baby daughter was 4 months old, she banged her head more or less continually, to the point of making her nose bleed constantly and causing deformation of the skull. She was always covered in big bruises and it was so bad we could never go out, I couldn’t even leave her alone to go to the toilet. After 18 months of this, we discovered your website 3 weeks ago (when she was nearly 2) and found she was eating heaps of annatto 160b in yoghurt and Kraft cheese as well as some other suspect foods. Although she improved, removing annatto alone was not enough. After a drastic change of diet (we switched to unhomogenised milk only), the head banging stopped completely and we are now slowly reintroducing foods. We cannot thank you enough. No one else mentioned diet. – parents at Launceston talk, Tas

[987] Annatto 160b: Annatto and years of constant diarrhoea (March 2011)

It took me a LONG time to pinpoint Annatto as the cause of my problems. For years I just lived with constant diarrhea. It was at the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 I started to develop new problems. I started getting severe abdominal pain (like nothing I had before) and then a few months later I started getting extremely bloated. The bloating caused me to have unusual belching fits which just added to the embarrassment of my situation. In Feb 2010, my wife and I took a week long cruise... most of the food on the cruise didn't bother me; for the most part I was symptom-free that week!

When we returned from our trip all my problems returned (much like your story). Then in March a new symptom ... I started to get some very unusual and severe pain in my nether regions to the point that it was uncomfortable to sit down. I went to go see my PCP about the burping, abdominal pain, and my "new" problem.

He diagnosed me as having celiac sprue disease and hemorrhoids. A few weeks went by; the problems continued even with a new diet. The pain in my bottom came and went. Then finally in March, I ended up finding out one of my problems was not hemorrhoids but a perianal cyst that I had to have lanced.

After speaking with the proctologist following my surgery and telling him about all my recent problems he decided to perform a colonscopy to rule out colitis and Crohns. Colonscopy was clean but the only thing they could tell me was that they thought I had IBS.

Finally, in August I went to go see an Allergist. The allergist performed a scratch test and put me on a BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast!) diet. I spent the next three months slowly adding unprocessed food back into my diet. When it was time to add dairy I began having problems again. It was only after speaking with my older sister that she told me she had problems with food dyes. Her problems were skin related (rashes / eczema). She explained to me that yellow cheese has a dye in it (little did I know at the time).

So, I decided to "re-challenge" dairy but this time with just milk--no problems! I then added yellow cheese to my diet--problems again! Finally, tested white cheese--no problems! It was a eureka moment! :)

I still make a few mistakes from time to time but I have been mostly symptom free since making that discovery. I now have no doubt that ALL my problems (including my cyst) were due to my intake of annatto in all the foods I ate. – by email, USA (we would like to hear from others who are affected by annatto with these symptoms or others: suedengate@ozemail.com.au)

[986] Annatto 160: headbanging, rage, trichotillomania (eyelash, eyebrow pulling) (March 2011)

When my daughter was 12 months old she had a headbanging reaction to annatto in yoghurt. The next week she had another episode of screaming, tantrums and banging her head repeatedly on the metal frame of her bed. The very next day my mum saw a story on ACA or similar program with yourself mentioned, and thought the 4 year old kids on the segment sounded like what we had with our 12 month old ... so we looked up your website. I looked back at food she ate and I had given her a kids Heinz apricot bar and sure enough it had annatto too. This was all I needed to prompt me to look at what she, and we, were actually eating!

My daughter is now 6 1/2 and we still have the occasional uncontrollable outburst and know she's had something. We actually had an incident last weekend with her and the wicked 160b. She was at a friend’s place Saturday night and they thought they were doing the right thing when they gave her jelly snakes 'preservative free, no artificial colours'. I didn't know about the snakes but Sunday saw her at her worst. She woke in a rage and was lashing out, hitting, biting, screaming, indecisive about trivial little things and completely and utterly beside herself. When in this state (the worst lasts for about 4-6 hours) she cannot control any aspect of her being. She even goes as far as plucking all her eyelashes and eyebrows out with her fingers (trichotillomania) if left alone. I went to the friend’s house and began quizzing them! A peek at the ingredients on the snakes proved me right yet again when I saw the number 160b. (fyi they were Aldi brand).

After an annatto reaction is somewhat over, she 'sleeps it off' and will often then sleep up to 15 hours (say 6pm til 9am!!). She had a horrific day and finally fell asleep at 11pm Sunday night. She slept it off and woke close to 10.30am Monday morning. She was fine Monday and Tuesday ... But Wednesday evening saw her showing (relatively mild this time) annatto signs again. I asked her about school (started back on Tuesday) and she was hesitant to tell me her little friend had bought a lemonade 'spider'. I went to the canteen today and sure enough... Annatto in the ice cream!!!!

I'd also be willing to bet my husband reacts to annatto... he gets very moody at times and also his sleep patterns are all over the place. Some nights he will be up all night on the computer and just not tired, then other days/nights he too will sleep for 15+ hours. - Skye, NSW

[985] Annatto 160b: head banging now headaches in a 6 yo (March 2011)

My son started head banging at 6 months old with the introduction of solids (an all natural yoghurt with ‘no artificial colours or preservatives’ – but it did contain annatto). He has grown out of head banging but if he eats annatto by mistake now he suffers from headaches. – Jo, ACT

[984] Annatto 160b: Severe delayed vomiting and diarrhea after annatto (March 2011)

I'm a 40 year old physician who has a severe reaction to consuming annatto. If I eat any significant amount, I have the onset of severe vomiting and diarrhea roughly 12 hours later, which then persists for 12-24 hours. I don't have any classic "type I hypersensitivity" symptoms such as hives, just a severe delayed gastrointestinal symptoms. I've managed to effectively avoid annatto since the age of 4 or 5, except for rare exposures every 3-10 years since the age of 4 or 5. I've only recently learned about annatto and concluded that it is the additive that explains my intolerance to certain foods.

Here's my brief story. At a very early age, about age 5, I refused to eat cheese since I insisted it made me sick. My mother tells a story that she didn't believe this, had me eat some, and recalls "sure enough, he threw up!" However, I could drink milk and other dairy products without problem. As a teen, I figured out (the hard way) that white cheese like mozzarella didn't cause a problem, but yellow cheese did. So I continued to avoid yellow cheese, knowing that it made me ill. Everyone around me thought my aversion was odd, and I suspect many people thought it was my imagination. I would accidentally eat something with yellow cheese added every 5-10 years, get severe symptoms, and this would reinforce my belief that I really did have a "physical" intolerance.

I learned of annatto a year ago, and finally my reaction made sense. This connection was reinforced when I got sick a couple of weeks ago, and I assumed it was the flu since I had not eaten cheese. My wife looked in our refrigerator, and sure enough we had some orange yogurt with annatto added. I had eaten two the night before.

I'll also mention that at baseline, with no annatto exposure, I tend to have symptoms consistent with mild irritable bowel syndrome. I've never bothered to ask for a diagnosis, and am used to living with it. So, my pattern hasn't been chronic IBS symptoms with chronic annatto exposure, but severe reactions when I get exposed very rarely. – Physician, USA

[983] Annatto 160b: yellow addiction, nightmare behaviour (March 2011)

After reading on your website the letter from Helen in NSW titled ‘Yellow Addiction’ I felt compelled to write to you.

I realised the adverse effect 160b had on my family approx 3 years ago when my now 6 year old son was about 3. Even at the age of three he was very good at sitting and concentrating at a task, be it drawing, lego or watching tv – except that was if he had consumed 160b within 24 hours. He became a completely different child. He couldn’t sit still, he couldn’t concentrate on anything and authority meant nothing to him – he was literally a nightmare. With hindsight prior to taking 160b out of my son’s diet, yellow was absolutely positively his favourite colour. I can’t remember him being attracted to only yellow foods – he has always been a fairly good eater but definitely yellow “things”. He always had to have the yellow cup and the yellow plate and if he didn’t there would be hell to pay. If you asked him back then what his favourite colour was it was most definitely yellow. His favourite colour today is unknown – it seems to be different every day. Until I read Helen’s letter I hadn’t made the link but who knows maybe it was linked to his 160b intolerance.

Today, obviously I keep 160b out of the house but I can tell straight away if my son has consumed it whilst at a play date! If I personally consume 160b I generally have a terrible night’s sleep and/or are very restless during the day. As you’ve mentioned on your website, 160b does seem to be creeping further into our food supply lately and it is driving me crazy. Aldi in particular seems to be extremely guilty of this. Sue, what can I do to try and get this revolting colouring out. (Contact manufacturers and see our Now Targeting section - S). Obviously we don’t eat a lot of processed food but just being able to let the kids select an icecream treat every now and again has turned into a nightmare. – Donna, by email

[982] Sore vagina due to salicylates (February 2011)

I react to salicylates with pain in my joints, also I get very tender, raw skin in my genital area and intercourse becomes very painful. I saw you mention sore vagina in children - makes me happy to know I'm not the only one - I have always felt like a freak - so thank you for your books - they have helped me tremendously! - by email

[981] Reflux and GI issues: dairy free probiotic made a huge difference (October 2010)

I was just reading in your newsletter a reference to probiotics and thought I would share my daughter's story briefly. In short, she was diagnosed with dairy allergy at 8 weeks, and was finally skin prick tested at 12 months (after Dr's said it would never show up). She had a huge reaction to the skin prick and was promptly issued with an epipen etc. She is also allergic to soy. Her very understanding and experienced gastroenterologist (she has reflux and GI issues as well) suggested that Lactobacillus GG (available in Aust in Vaalia Yoghurt only) had been shown to assist resolution to food allergy. We imported some from the US (called Culturelle there) and she tolerated it very poorly. Her Dr found out that there was a tiny trace of dairy and this reacted with my daughter.

At the end of last year, in desperation because my daughter's quality of life was so poor, we thought we would give Inner Health Plus dairy free a go. It made an enormous difference to her- she started eating again and was not in constant pain. Today she was skin prick tested again with no reaction to dairy. We are about to do patch tests to look for non IG-E allergies- but this is at least a step in the right direction. As dairy allergy is largely outgrown by the age of four, it could just be a natural resolution, but I wonder if the probiotics helped, because it certainly made a huge difference to her life in many other ways. – Sara, by email

[980] Probiotics seemed to change son’s behaviour and tolerance (October 2010)

The introduction of VSL#3 probiotic seems to have changed my 6 yo son’s behaviour and tolerance. The teachers noticed the difference in his learning at school and we too noticed his improvement at home. - by email, NSW

[979] Couldn’t tolerate probiotics due to amines (October 2010)

I am using the RPA diet for management of chronic UTI pain and have found I am extremely sensitive to everything. I used the VSL#3 (probiotic) again) and bammm - burning pain. I think I have learnt my lesson. Just the diet nothing else. - by email, Sydney

[978] Probiotics for antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (October 2010)

After a course of antibiotics I had diarrhoea for weeks but probiotics (Inner Health) sorted me out in a week. - by email, Qld

[977] Two brief reports: Stopped wetting her pants (October 2010)

A week after starting failsafe my eldest (3 1/2yr old) stopped wetting her pants which was nothing short of a miracle and has now gone to bed two nights in a row without a nappy!! – Anna, Vic

My 5 year old has a bladder problem. When she has to go toilet, she has to go NOW or she will leak and wet her pants. We saw a dietitian and started the diet 3 weeks ago. We are dairy free and are going into our 4th week now. We have seen great changes, in all three children. I'm doing the diet too and feel better, less stressed, more patience. Our daughter has had 7 dry nights in a row ... Wendy, Perth

[976] Dry nights and baby’s less frequent dirty nappies on diet (July 2008)

We saw a dietitian and started the elimination diet (including dairy free) 3 weeks ago. We have seen great changes in our children. Our daughter has had 7 dry nights in a row, she is less hyper, less defiant, eczema looks better, no runny nose. Our baby is having less frequent dirty nappies (yeah!). So as you can see it is working for us so far. – Wendy, WA

[975] Bedwetting and salicylates (July 2006)

I have got a 10 yo who is hyperactive and an 8 yo who wets the bed. I recently browsed your website and was astounded with what I found. I was feeding my children with additives just in their sandwiches every day from the bread to the cheese without even realising. I recently changed their toothpaste to a mint one and couldn't understand why one of my children was off this planet with behavioural problems and the other was wetting the bed a lot more. I would never have linked the problems to the toothpaste. I read about salicylates in the mint toothpaste and stopped immediately. The bed wetter has improved already. We have cut additives out of our diet and it seems that as long as we limit the amount of salicylates in fruit and vegetables that he eats, he doesn't wet the bed. – Tania, by email

[974] Geographic tongue (October 2010)

We have noticed our 3 yo has geographic tongue when he is at the Dr for his ears - which is related to dairy. - by email, Tas

[975] Ulcerated tongue improves on diet (October 2010)

My son (aged 4) is very food intolerant. His symptoms include nose bleeds, ulcerated tongue, grumpyness, headaches, oppositional defiance symptoms and the list goes on. My daughter (aged 7) suffers from stomach aches, headaches and ulcerated tongue - although not as bad. We have followed the elimination diet in the past and have had success. But after being off the diet for 6 months both children's tongues are ulcerated again …

[972] 160b: Annatto and IBS in a 3 yo (October 2010)

I first noticed the annatto/IBS connection (bad smelling gas, diarrhea, loose stools) with my 3 year old son specifically with processed cheese singles, so I try to keep him away from those and generally don't have a problem, or if so, it is only small. Recently, we were away for almost a week, and when we came back, he started taking these "gummy vites" children's vitamins ("all natural" and sure enough colored with all natural annatto) he hadn't had for some time, and it was like a switch went off and the symptoms were back full force. - Anna, US

[971] Fructose or salicylates? (October 2010) see update in [993]

[970] Sneaky poos and severe constipation improve within a week (July 2005)

My son is 6 years old and for the past year he has suffered from Sneaky Poos and has also suffered from SEVERE constipation. His bowel was so enlarged that he dirtied his pants on a daily basis. He claimed he could not feel it when he messed his pants.

As you can imagine, this was an extremely embarrassing problem for my little boy. I had taken him to the doctor on numerous occasions and was given Parachoc and Duphalac which I administered on a daily basis, and even though they did work, they did not solve the problem as to why he was dirtying his pants EVERY day. I also took him to the Continence Clinic to determine whether or not he had a psychological problem with going to the toilet. Although they were wonderful and supportive, my son still continued to mess his pants.

I was at my wits end, and very near hysterical when I was blamed for my son’s behaviour. I went and saw my doctor who mentioned that he had heard of a “lady who deals with food additives’ and referred me to a dietitian.

The results are amazing …my son was placed on the strict elimination diet, and the results were clearly seen by the end of the first week. He is now going to the toilet every second morning and not messing his pants during the day. He has lost weight, and his concentration span has slightly improved. I am only in week 3 and still sticking to the diet with him. He loves coming shopping with me and purchasing his special “Treats”. He tasted Brussels sprouts for the first time in his life and actually liked them (no sorry I cannot succumb to them!) I will continue on the diet and commence the challenges soon. I am so pleased with the results. – Anna, Qld

[969] Sneaky poos and salicylates (October 2010)

Regarding my son and salicylates, he found the last of the watermelon yesterday and today we had the worst case of soiling I can ever recall. He told me it just slipped out. He is nearly 6! He did try to clean himself up but as they do he made a bigger mess. We are very strict with his diet, well, normally. There’s no watermelon left now, the chooks enjoyed it. Thanks heaps.

[968] Sneaky poos and salicylates (October 2010)

We did the failsafe diet as a family for our seven year old’s behaviour issues. I would have said there was nothing wrong with the four year old. He used to poo in his pants sometimes but I just put it down to being too busy to listen to what his body was telling him. Now we’ve just finished our salicylate challenge, I realise how wrong I was. It was salicylates! And I used to nag at him to eat fruit and vegetables thinking I was doing the right thing!

[967] Sneaky poos and amines (October 2010)

I’m writing to say thank you for your work that has made such a huge difference to our twelve year old son. He used to live on stuff like cheese, ham, bacon but now he knows his sneaky poos are related to amines, he sticks to his diet really strictly. Of all the problems caused by foods, soiling really is the worst. No one ever talks about it but the stigma at school is terrible. The other kids used to call him names and make fun of him. My heart breaks for him when I think of what he had to go through, and no one else has been able to help us.

[966] Gout, red meat and the elimination diet (October 2010)

My husband and I have been doing the elimination diet for two weeks now. We are both feeling great, our tummies are not bloated, we are not sour in the stomach in the morning. Another thing that we are so pleased about! My husband can suffer with gout, if he has any red meat. There are also other triggers for him, but the red meat is really the big one. Over the past weekend, we were at friends, and enjoyed some beef and lamb (only seasoned with salt). I knew that we were pushing the boundaries, but I checked with my husband this morning, and there has been no sign of gout at all! Thank you. Things are really going well. - Carla, NT

[965] Gout and salicylates (October 2010)

My partner's uncle tells me he used to be addicted to tomato sauce and had to give up because it was causing his bouts of gout.Now he longer gets it unless he goes to Fiji, which he does quite regularly, where he eats a lot of curry (so obviously salicylate related).He had no idea about the connection. Cherie (gout has been associated with low dose salicylates in medication http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2174925/?tool=pubmed)

[964] One-liners (October 2010)

Thanks for your newsletter - the Readers' Stories section is always my favourite bit. - Tony, by email

I had previously looked through your book and believed I already did 'all that' - I cook nearly everything from scratch for my children, it wasn’t until I sat down and read the book and realised that even the margarine I was using to cook my delicious home-made recipes was no good for my son! – by email, NSW

A week after starting failsafe my eldest (3 1/2yr old) stopped wetting her pants which was nothing short of a miracle and has now gone to bed two nights in a row without a nappy!! – Anna, Vic

We have been following Failsafe eating for three months and it has made an enormous change to our 5 year old boy. Pre-diet he was very aggressive and had developed a range of tics, now all the tics have gone and his lovely, funny nature is shining through. So far the challenges that have affected him have been dairy and salicylates – Karen, by email

My husband and I have been a convert to failsafe for 8 or 9 years - my husband heard Sue on radio late in the evening on his way home from work and from that night forward we read labels! Grand-daughter has survived to 13 years of age thanks to Sue – Kay, by email.

Thank you very much for the blood, sweat and tears you have exerted to make life so much easier for those of us who have food intolerances, or who have loved ones with food intolerances - in my case, my husband and daughter - Debra, by email

I am a coeliac, my two sons have coeliac indicators and one has marked behavioural allergic issues. Our home became a far calmer place within just two weeks of beginning the elimination diet. A full night’s sleep from our youngest after 3 1/5 years of multiple nightly wakings is such a gift to us all!! – Vincent, NSW

We are still having positive results on the diet ... it’s amazing, both kids have now added amine intolerant to the list & I am also, I would never have guessed I would have noticed a personal change but I feel great – Deb, by email.

All this just as she gets the bug to learn to cook (finally at 16) all those Masterchef episodes were wonderful. We shall now see if our creativity can extend to Failsafe recipes. - Jenny, Qld

Like the story in newsletter #64, my kids also have reactions to children’s paracetamol - the Panadol brand seems to be the worst for some reason - they become restless, and are then awake most of the night.- Jessica, by email

Please send your paracetamol recipe as our 18 month old daughter seems to get really upset after taking children’s Panadol syrup. – Helen, by email

When researching behavioural issues in my 2 yo daughter and 4 yo son, the information from your website helped me to work out that annatto in the Nestle brand yoghurt for kids was sending them off. – Rose, by email

I am reading your book 'Fed Up with Asthma' and finding it very enlightening. You have included so many alternatives to problematic chemicals and additives to make life liveable. – by email (Fed up with Asthma is out of print but available in libraries. Otherwise, see chapter 7 in the 2008 edition of Fed Up).

I had some bacon the other day and sure enough, the next day I had a migraine. First time in a long time. That has confirmed to me that this is definitely a trigger for my migraines. I also had pre-migraine thirst and a craving for sugary food. – by email

My husband is an amine responder and reacts to chocolate with gout like symptoms.- Rose, WA

My child (on coloured antibiotics) is like a kid on speed today - screaming and yelling, hitting her sister, breaking trees and generally being violent and frustrated at every little thing. I'm taking her off the medication in the hope she will get better on her own as the alternative is not pleasant for anyone, herself included. – by email

Unfortunately I was unable to attend your seminar in Port Lincoln. A few of my friends went and told me how wonderful you were. I borrowed your book Fed Up and read it in two days - unreal! It has been like a light switched on in my head! I also borrowed the DVD and watched it twice the same day!! We have made a few changes, and already I can see the change in my son! - Kylie, SA

[963] Depression and social phobia: diet a lifesaver (October 2010) COURAGE AWARD

I can't tell you how happy I am to have found out about FAILSAFE (by accident). It's only day three and I feel like a different person. However, I will be aware of any withdrawal symptoms over the next few days or weeks.

If this diet works, as I'm sure it will, you will have literally saved my life. I was on the brink of giving up. I felt my life was over. Words can't describe how ill and depressed I had become. Life was miserable. No doctor wanted to help, couldn't help or just didn't believe me. One doctor told me my symptoms were all psychosomatic.

I went to the shops today and didn't have social phobia. That in itself is a miracle. My depression has lifted. My nerves are calm and my tummy is happy. It's not a chore in any way to eat the foods recommended and avoid the others.

Update after one month - Overall, the depression is the best it's ever been. Of course, there have been days where I've felt down and discouraged. Even then, I handled a relapse of chronic fatigue more positively than I have ever done before. My daughter noticed this too and told me so. I just took one day at a time and listened to my body. Many days were spent flat on my back, which is the best thing I could have done anyway.

The social phobia is long standing (since about 8yrs old). Looking back at my childhood, I think that there were many foods that were affecting me. I had terrible shyness, was afraid of everything, had constipation, tummy aches, migraines, bad breath, heat intolerance, fluctuating weight and eating disorders (binges and starving).

Update after six months – I am happy to report ongoing improvements in overall mental, emotional and health conditions. I have had around 40 people now, tell me how amazing I am looking (I must have looked terrible before). They ask me what's my secret? I am happy to tell them- FAILSAFE!! I will never go back to eating the way I was. This diet is for life. - Liz, NSW

[962] Paediatrician impressed with improvement (October 2010)

When I first picked up the two books I chose only the "Fed Up", because "The Failsafe Cookbook" looked just like another recipe book to me. But I was back to the bookstore a few days later buying “The Failsafe Cookbook” and it has become our manual for living ever since, and a permanent fixture on the kitchen bench! PS - the pediatrician was very pleased with my daughter's improvement and asked about the book, he had heard of it but not known anyone who had tried to follow it, so was very impressed when he could see results - Teresa by email.

[961] Extraordinary tantrums (October 2010)

First of all thank you for being my saviour!! My 4 year old little boy had been getting increasingly worse in his behaviour and we had pretty much become isolated due to his extraordinary tantrums that lasted anything up to 2 hours 3 or 4 times a week. I never knew when they would happen and it was normally as soon as we met up with friends in a play centre he would become aggressive, loud, uncontrollable and impossible to calm. Many times I have left a shop or playcentre with him folded under my arm, kicking and screaming, biting anyone or anything that came in his way.

We had already been seeing a paediatrician as he was also under weight and under height for his age. They hadn't found anything wrong but his blood tests were not quite right either. I was getting desperate and he is starting school next Thursday and I couldn't imagine what they were going to say!!

Until 'Fed Up' ... We have been following the elimination diet (mostly) for the last 2 weeks with dramatic results. We have not had any tantrums for 10 days. He is a pleasure to be around and he is sleeping much better. We are not there yet, but so much better. I can't quite believe he's the same child!!

(2 months later) He is now a couple of months in and we are so lucky to have such a gorgeous child now. We have had the occasional bad mood or minor tantrum if we have strayed a little or if we have made a mistake but no major full blown ones since we started the elimination diet - Fay, UK.

[960] Breastfeeding: unsettled 6 mth old became a new baby after 3 days (October 2010)

I first had contact with Sue way back in 2001, when her article called ‘Restless Babies’ in Nursing Mothers magazine saved my life!! I went failsafe as I was breastfeeding our unsettled/ ratty 6 mth old baby. We were amazed after she became a new baby after 3 days of diet!! That baby is now 9, and very conscious of the additives that affect her, and knows that by avoiding them, she feels better.- by email. (You can read ‘Restless babies’ at http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/breastfeeding.htm)

[959] Unexplained diarrhoea & stomach pain (October 2010)

I am a frustrated mother of a beautiful 4 year old boy. I have taken my son to see numerous GPs, dietitians & gastroenterologists, all of who have told me that the Elimination Diet is too restrictive, too hard, not worth the effort or words to that effect. However, upon discovering The Failsafe Cookbook & Fed Up books and starting him on the diet by avoiding the artificial additives, we have noticed significant improvement in his symptoms. The initial symptoms were unexplained diarrhoea & stomach pain. However, an unexpected and exciting benefit of this diet is that his behaviour has dramatically improved. He isn't as irritable, more compliant and a lot more pleasant to be around - Anita by email.

[958] 282: Mumbles and nosebleeds (October 2010)

About 4 weeks ago i removed 282 from my sons diet and he improved greatly, he would only speak in a mumble, he suffered from many nose bleeds in the week, was very negative about everything, not affectionate, didn't interact at preschool, would not co-operate at speech therapy. The change has been great he is talking so much more, he has not had a nose bleed since stopping 282, he is loving to everyone, he was great at speech did everything he was asked and sat still, interacts with others and notices things around him so much more - Reader by email.

[957] Failsafe yellow card results (October 2010)

I recently attended one of Sue's talks, and I have begun by just eliminating the additives on the yellow card I was given at the talk. While I have not weeded out all additives, I have seen a huge improvement in my son's behaviour, which I wasn't REALLY having too much of an issue with as a general rule, but I thought I would try it to see what happened. He has gone from a kid who wasn't getting in a lot of trouble at school, but only got 3 happy notes at school in two terms, to one who got a happy note about every 2 weeks from when I started eliminating the additives, as well as a merit award. While small compared to other people's results, I am really pleased with this, and he is generally calmer and easier to deal with. I never particularly noticed a link between what he ate and his behaviour, but now I see it! He had a lolly bag from a friend's birthday on Friday, and he was defiant and argumentative for 2 days after that. Fortunately, today it seems to be out of his system. – Alice, NSW

[956] Feedback after two years on failsafe (August 2010)

Our family have been following the Fed Up books for over 2 years now for a 5 year old daughter who was reacting severely with rashes on her face & body & a son whose doctor wanted to prescribe ADHD medication.

I can happily report that our daughter is rash-free and in fact after 7 years she doesn't even have eczema anymore. I believe her immune system has improved dramatically since being mostly failsafe. She is a healthy beautiful clear-skinned little girl with a good resistance to illnesses these days. My son is also progressing well with a mostly failsafe diet and fish oils to help with concentration. (our biggest problems - artificial colours & preservatives & in my daughter case - corn as well).

Just as an aside to this story - I put up with dreadful headaches every day for about 15 years, along with the headaches I got muscle cramps in my neck & shoulders. I was on a muscle relaxant for years until visiting a chiropractor. I went off the medication but after some weeks had a return of the problem after eating bacon & ham.....I am now convinced it was nitrates that were giving me the problem, and I have proven it a couple of times since. I have read about headaches & nitrates but can’t find anything on it affecting the muscles - for years I thought I was just being uptight!! - Julie by email

[955] A2: Irritable bowel symptoms transformed by A2 milk (July 2010)

For the past 18+ months my wife has suffered from an increasing problem with gut issues and chronic diarrhea and related symptoms. She has tried various milks and milk substitutes (soy, etc). None have made any difference to her gut problems. Her GP has not found any specific cause and has recommended a range of tests and indicated it was probably "irritable bowel syndrome" which I'm sure you know is one of the catch-all medical labels which basically means "we don't really know".

On pure chance my wife (who had seen your report a couple of years ago on A2) decided about 6 weeks ago she had nothing to lose by trying A2 milk.

Our life has been transformed and this happened literally overnight! Gut patterns are back to normal, a far far cry from many daily urgent dashes to the loo, usually immediately after eating or drinking almost anything but particularly things containing dairy products. Literally life became normal within 4 hours of her first bowl of oatmeal with A2 milk. Absolutely amazing. The transformation has been astounding and we are very grateful to the people that have figured out the A2 story - Russell by email.

[954] 635: OMG! (May 2010)

I found your site quite by accident Googling and I had an 'OMG' moment - I have suffered from rashes on my torso for more years than I can count, also itchy dry skin and bowel upsets when I ate different things. I read about 635 and I was saved. I went through my pantry and was gobsmacked at how many items I was consuming with this additive in it. Since disposing of them all (and believe me there were many) and checking what I buy but mostly sticking to food that looks like food all my problems have disappeared. I cannot tell you, nor would I know myself, how much money I have spent on creams, lotions, powders and tablets, and the misery my life has been because of this -and how it is a different as night and day since I found out about it. Thank God for your site or I would still be oblivious to what was causing my suffering....who would have thought that I would still be learning at age 64!!!!!! - Maev by email

[953] Food on cruise (October 2010)

I recently went on a cruise for 9 nights on a P and O ship. When I booked it sounded like the chefs would be accommodating for any diet, but I found the food a bit difficult! They don’t seem to understand salicylates, even the cooks!! By the end of the trip I was hanging to get home to eat properly - the food was getting very boring. They didn’t make any special gluten-free food other than bread so I was thankful I had taken some cake and biscuits. When we visited a little island we weren’t allowed to take food with us and they were providing a bbq. Well the only thing I could find to eat there was a red delicious apple!!! - Rosemaree, SA

[952] Australia has more preservatives than Britain (October 2010)

I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your guidance on food additives. I noticed a while back, when we were living in Scotland that my daughter (aged 3) reacted to salicylates. I found some information about Dr Feingold's work and kept fruit etc to a minimum. It was only after we moved to Australia that I noticed a big change in her (anxiety, defiance, restlessness, night waking, loud silly noises, aggression towards her brother). We blamed it on the move, a new baby brother etc. But we had no real idea as to what was causing it until we found your website and realised both cream cheese and bread in Australia have preservatives! We never had this problem in the UK so I didn't realise dishing up cream cheese sandwiches (my daughter's favourite) would cause us all such bother! I do hope some changes can be made here in Australia. We are only two weeks into our changed diet and the difference is astounding! - Emma, WA (Australian regulators say we have a higher permitted level of preservatives because of our hot climate - S)

[951] Artificial colour challenge with Black & Gold ice cream cone (October 2010)

I did a colour challenge today with a Black & Gold Icecream cone (102, 110, 133, 155) on my 4 yr old son and within 20 minutes he was jumping around, making silly noises, laughing in a very silly fashion and unable to concentrate on a board game we usually play that he would normally focus on very well. My husband was there this time to witness it (I did it on purpose because the hubs is "cheating" a little with my son a bit too often now when it comes to "other foods"). I saw the look on my husband's face when the realisation hit. I got my point across without nagging. I even asked my son why he thought he was behaving the way he was because he does not usually act like that. I saw my son "try" to calm himself down and to his credit he was able to tone the behaviour down a little but it took over an hour and a half before he was able to settle back to what I would call normal behaviour. There was no anger or stern sounding instructions from me for his behaviour as I knew we had induced it. He was very clingy again too. He just wants a cuddle and tells me he loves me and once he is reassured he is off again bouncing around. Absolutely astonishing stuff. I only wish there had been more family and friends around to see it! – by email, WA

[950] Another dog with fits due to additives in dog food (October 2010)

I was particularly fascinated by the reader story on the dog with fits [922]. One of our rescued dogs was adopted from the vet. She was doing very well on their dry food (additive free) and we decided to keep using this. OK so far. Then we adopted another dog -- this time a pure bred and we fed her the same food. But we decided this was getting very boring and in a creative (oh no!) moment, we decided to mix a bit of canned dog food just to give the dry food some taste variety. Although I was aware of failsafe food, I didn't think to read the labels -- given that the dogs would eat absolutely anything they can find (we live out bush) the last thing I thought of was food sensitivity. Kai started to fit in groups of three about every 2 weeks. Two vets encouraged us to put her on medication (would have been for life) but we instinctively felt we should wait a little longer before we did this. Our neighbour had been a vet nurse and casually remarked that they had found additives caused dog fitting. The tinned foods! We stopped them (have since added fresh dog food without additives to their diet). No more fits. We told the vet who was dubious about the cause of them. We had no doubts after one night when, after being fit free after we removed tinned food, she had three fits. I thought that our theory had been disproved until my husband realised that without thinking he had opened a tin I had neglected to throw away -- and had given her a small amount. No more fits ever since. – Jane, NT (see our Pets factsheet)

[949] 319,320: Itchy red burning rash/eczema due to antioxidants in hot chips (October 2010)

My 14 month old ate some hot chips at a restaurant last weekend for lunch and two hours later she had a very bad red burning rash/ eczema all over her body. She has had eczema from a newborn relating to milk but has out grown this intolerance. I was surprised at how bad her reaction was; very red and angry looking all over her body, very irritable and would not leave my arms. I was also very surprised at how quick the rash came out!! I called the restaurant they said the chips come already cut and packaged with ingredients: Vegetable Oil, Soya bean, Cotton Seed, Sunflower and dextrose. Chips are then cooked in Vegetable Oil with antioxidant E900, E319 and E320. Do you think it might be the antioxidants or something else? The chips did not have chicken flavouring on them - I thought of that and asked them they said no seasoning at all.

Two weeks later: went to a McDonald's Birthday Party today and while I was taking one of my other children to the toilet a friend gave my daughter approximately 10 hot chips (ingredients include antioxidant 320). When I was putting her to bed tonight she had broken out in eczema on her face and body. Only small patches, nothing like when I first contacted you regarding a bad reaction to hot chips at a restaurant and she ate a lot more that day. I am thinking if she had eaten a lot more the reaction would have been worse! I presume I can now say she definitely has a food intolerance to antioxidants as she has now reacted twice to hot chips with antioxidants 319 (TBHQ) and/or 320 (BHA). - Breda, NSW

[948] Red ears in a baby a common sign of food intolerance (October 2010)

My first child was what some would call a colicky baby. There seemed no pattern, and sometimes nothing I did would settle him. When he was distressed nursing helped, but he was restless, pulling off the breast after a few minutes. In fact he snacked all day and night, rather than taking full feeds. My midwife suggested that something could be going through my milk which disagreed with him, and I stopped eating dairy, citrus and onions for a while, but to no effect. I asked many people about an odd thing – when he fed, he often got one red ear. No-one knew what it was or thought it important.

By six months his distress had settled down, though he remained an anxious baby and toddler (a friend described him as a ‘whiny baby’). At 18 months he became very ill with gastroenteritis. From this time on he was never the same. His anxiety increased, he’d have what seemed like panic attacks, clinging to me with a highpitched squeal and a bewildered little face. He kept getting red ears, one or the other or both, flushed cheeks, and red lips. Yet at other times he seemed fine. (It took another 3 years for this mother to discover that food intolerance was the cause of her baby’s problems…) His symptoms changed as he got older, but now we know his main triggers, he is well most of the time. Looking back, we could have been saved all of this if someone had been able to tell us that red ears are a common sign of food intolerance. So are colic, night restlessness, anxiety, panic attacks, mouth discomfort and the desire to suck vigorously and many more symptoms he displayed. – Jan, from http://www.lalecheleague.org.nz/template/articles__information/food_intolerances.pdf

[947] An open letter to the Health Commissioner in my state about pharmaceutical labeling (October 2010)

I'd like to bring to your attention the outcome of my 3 1/2 year old daughter after taking Cephalexin or commonly known as Keflex. My daughter is intolerant to artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. The reaction should she eat foods with them in is the following:

· Lots of violent anger, frustration, screaming, yelling, temper tantrums off the scale

· Throwing objects, hitting people, hitting herself

· Will not listen to otherwise normal instructions

· Sleeplessness, very unsettled at night

This is exactly what happened after 4 days of taking Cephalexin (chemart brand) of Keflex...... My problem is that because in Australia it isn't legal for pharmaceutical companies to list their ingredients on the bottle/box it is very hard for the consumer to know what they are feeding themselves and their families. I had to ask the pharmacist, who looked it up for me, but lo and behold no numbers just a bunch of foreign chemical names, some of which I was able to decipher and found them to be detrimental to my daughters intolerance.

How come a packet of lollies can manage to fit a list of ingredients on it, but a big bottle of medicine can't .... I find it negligent of the pharmaceutical companies and the Australian Government to not tell the consumers what they are taking.

Why does children's medication have artificial colours and preservatives in that aren't necessary in a bottle that has an expiry of only 30 days anyway - it's really really bad and something needs to be done..... I refer you to this page to see how many people are affected..... http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factmedication.htm

Why doesn't Western Australia take a stand and enforce much needed changes on these pharmaceutical companies... some of the additives are banned in some countries - doesn't that tell us something? – thanks to Tiffany

[946] 160b, 635: Poisoning my family with 635 and annatto (October 2010)

When I started to really read food labels, I was horrified by the fact that I was poisoning our whole family - especially with 635 and annatto. You asked me how we are affected by these additives.

635 - Myself (main symptom is migraines): dried, red lips. It looks like I have lipstick on. I feel dehydrated and get migraine style headaches. Photosensitivity in my sight. Lethargy. Unfulfilled feeling of thirst. Frequent urination that seems very diluted. Mmy 4 yo son (main symptom is defiance): dried, red lips also. Dehydration and thirst. Frequent urination. Sooky or whingy type of demeanor. My 2 yo daughter (main symptom is urticaria): After having a piece of bacon the size of a 10 cent piece, it sent her into massive hives. It seemed like she had a headache or faceache and she screamed at a high pitch and then cried for about 20 mins. I nearly called an ambulance. Very out of character for her and she barely cries for more than a minute normally. Our 635 foods were French Onion Soup Powder – I would use in casseroles, potato bake, soups - Smiths brand Crisps, sausages from the butcher, tinned soup such as Spring Lamb with Vegetables, and takeaway BBQ Chicken and chips.

Annatto (160b) - Myself: insomnia, anxiousness, a shaky type of sensation sometimes - a bit hard to articulate it but its sort of like I have a vibration or fluttering going on in my body. I "snap" easily and it does not take much to make me get angry. My son: Difficulty falling asleep. Disturbed night sleeps. Silly behaviour and noises like a monkey (jumps around, clumsy, unable to sit still and focus for longer than 5 mins). Sometimes aggressive with no apparent trigger. Unpredictable around other children. My daughter: disturbed sleep. She was a good sleeper but started to go away from her past pattern of falling asleep by herself and changed into shorter sleeps and waking often at night. Once we took it out of her diet she started to sleep through the night and sleeps for a solid 2 hour stint during her day nap. Our annatto foods were Kraft singles, yoghurts (with Bob the Builder) and ice cream. – Rose, by email

[945] Alopecia universalis in a family full of coeliacs (October 2010)

My family is full of coeliacs - I'm about the only one who can eat gluten. I've had the blood test and I don't have CD. My problem is alopecia universalis - for the last 18 years I haven't had a single hair on my entire body (I wear a wig). What is the most likely cause for that? Gluten!?! But I love bread - it’s my favourite food! It’s the only gluten I eat.

- from the Fed Up Roadshow 2010 (In my experience, relatives of coeliacs may pass the blood test but often do much better when avoiding gluten. It could be that they are not eating enough gluten when they do the test because the family diet is likely to be low in gluten to avoid contamination for the coeliacs – S)

[944] Coeliac, alopecia and Down syndrome (October 2010)

I was interested to read about gluten in your newsletter. I have a niece who is a coeliac, and one of my daughters has alopecia. She also has Down Syndrome. - by email (People with Down Syndrome have a higher prevalence of CD (7%) than the general population which some doctors think as high as 1%.)

[943] Completely bald from Alopecia Areata (October 2010)

Around the age of about 10 months, my daughter went completely bald from Alopecia Areata (she lost all hair on her head, eyebrows and eye lashes), but fortunately the hair started to grow back around 19 or 20 months. However, we are very disappointed to discover the alopecia appears to be returning as a bald patch has recently appeared on the top of her head. Are you aware of any foods or additives which may have triggered this condition? – by email, we are waiting for a progress report …

[942] 621: Supraventricular Tachycardia (October 2010)

Over the past 15 years I have suffered from numerous things - CFS, IBS, Supraventricular Tachycardia, rosacea and itchiness. Post 2000, things were going along fairly okay CFS wise but I developed the SVT after the birth of my son in 2003. I had this corrected in 2007 (very long diagnosis!) but still continued to suffer the odd palpitation here and there. My IBS started in 1999 and I would swing from constipation to diarrhoea. My rosacea had been with me since 1997 and nothing would take it away. The itchiness started in 2008 and so did the headaches.

To cut a long story short, in January of last year I decided it was time to start looking into diet seeing no-one could work out what was wrong with me. So I went totally preservative, colour and sulphite free and purchased your book. Basically followed everything on the list of things to avoid. I did the same for my children. My rosacea disappeared! I also stopped itching and started to have less headaches and heart palpitations. I identified that sulphites affect my breathing, MSG affects my heart, something gives me headaches and 160b makes me itch. However, my diarrhoea and fatigue still remained. Eventually I looked more into salicylates (despite what the dietician thought!) and that was the final piece of the puzzle. - Rachel, NSW

[941] 627: Chest pains from flavour enhancer (October 2010)

I am very food sensitive. Last week-end when I was entertaining I ate one ‘plain’ rice cracker. It was Fantastic brand and had Flavour Enhancer 627. After realising this I threw them out! But never thought about them again. That night I awoke at 2 am with mild chest pains which I had off and on through until 5 am - the pains were mild but enough to cause me grief and stop me from sleeping - I stayed up most of the night. I have no doubt the Flavour Enhancer in the biscuit caused my problem. - Di, Vic

[940] 621: Fast and very irregular heart beats after Chinese meal (October 2010)

From time to time I notice an ectopic heart beat, Dr. tells me nothing unusual, most people get them. However last night after a couple of weeks eating really good and healthy natural foods we went out to a Chinese Restaurant. I like going there, but have not been there for a year or so I'd say. About an hour after I went to bed it began, I think you'd call it Tachycardia, a fast (100) and very irregular heartbeat. Some big strong thumping ones and then some feeble and fast ones. I got up, sat up for another 2 hours. Blood pressure had risen incredibly, and over the 2 hours settled down but the feeling on panic stayed. It's still here this morning actually and I didn't feel I could drive, so had to ask for a lift. Needless to say I am not having any of the left overs for lunch. Back to the straight and narrow. – Joy, NSW

[939] 635: Tachycardia (October 2010)

If I have 635 I get Tachycardia, feel week and dizzy, and come down with flu like symptoms that last for around 2 to 3 days. Peter, by email

[938] 220: Lying awake my heart pounding for hours (October 2010)

I was just reading your article about the link between sulphites and ventricular arrhythmia in the latest newsletter. I could relate to many of the symptoms experienced by Michiko. On several occasions (usually after a dinner party or night out at a restaurant), I've had a similar experience, lying awake that night unable to sleep and my heart pounding for hours. Just like Michiko I felt like I was 'buzzing' as though I'd had some hype-inducing drug. Sometimes I would also feel breathless and I noticed this often happened after drinking white wine or champagne. I'd never heard of anyone else having this experience and wondered what could be causing it. Thanks to this article I now have a good explanation, and will avoid preservative 220. - Michelle, by email

[937] 635: Labile blood pressure & chest pain from weight loss products (October 2010)

I have been suffering from extremely labile blood pressure since 1995. The worst problem associated with this was raised BP within an hour or two of going to sleep. I wake feeling unwell, head hurting, cold extremities, always need to urinate, and at times, shivering uncontrollably. I used to suffer from palpitations with it - but in recent times this is rare. I've been investigated for everything possible over the years. I am inclined to eat organic food and always watch the labels on any packaged food.

About 5 weeks ago I decided to join Jenny Craig as I felt I needed to lose up to 10 kilos and have been struggling to get this weight off. In the first week I was appalled to see how many 'numbers' were listed in the food. I could not eat things like their packaged snacks - with colours, flavours etc in them. At this point I consulted with them and asked for the food to be adjusted to suit not eating some of the colours that I know are not good, any sweeteners and Nitrates/Nitrites. This gave me a very limited list - and I could not avoid some Sulphites and Flavour Enhancers. I began to notice 635 coming up in many of the foods - and even most of the dinners.

By about 3 weeks into the food I woke feeling really bad with the old symptoms - including a feeling of pressure in my chest (which had been vaguely there the night before) and blood pressure that measured 217/114. As it did not reduce after a short while of sitting up (my usual method of allowing my bp to lower) I went to the local hospital. They did an ECG and gave me 1/2 Anginine and O2 which eased the symptoms. When the doctor found that my mother had Angina he suggested a Thallium Stress Test. This has been completed and the results are normal.

I have often since '95 suffered from a slight 'pain' in the chest - once definitely after eating a very tasty bowl of Chinese soup. I lived in Singapore for almost 12 years - from 91, but it was not until 95 when I was home for a short while and working on a camp site - eating mass produced food that these symptoms started to occur regularly...hence the visits to many doctors and specialists - always with a negative result for whatever they tested for. Food additives simply did not occur to me.

A few days after my recent visit to hospital, I thought - how dumb can I be?! ...it's the food! I stopped the weight loss products and within 36 hours began to feel well again. When did they begin to put 635 in food? It keeps being called a 'newer' FE and I wonder if it appeared roughly in the mid nineties. I believe it may be a combination of 627 and 631. Some of the JC foods have these two listed together and some has 635 listed. Many of the foods also contain the hidden MSGs such as HVP.

I now have a letter from my doctor to say that there is evidence that I am highly sensitive to vaso-active food additives to request a refund. This has been an 'interesting' exercise that may finally give me the answer to my very labile BP and all the odd symptoms that seem to go with it.- Ros, by email (Yes, 635 appeared in the mid-nineties and is a combination of 627 and 631 - Sue)

[936] Teeth grinding and little monster behaviour after artificial colours (September 2010)

Most of the time my 5 year old daughter is a nice sweet girl but then sometimes this monster will emerge. When she is in one of these moods she will start grinding her teeth and make monkey type noises and get frustrated very quickly especially with her little brother who has to put up with a lot of punching and intimidation. We get an amount of this behaviour usually everyday but sometimes she will be worse than usual and be completely irrational with inconsolable crying and screaming. When we get one of these more severe episodes we can usually trace it back to something with bright colours like doughnuts with sprinkles etc. After reading your website I have realised that a lot of her staple snack foods have the food colours that have recently been banned in the UK in particular Arnotts country cheese crackers and the Quelch 99% fruit juice Super Doopers which I stupidly thought were healthy choices! - Lyndal, by email

[935] Teeth grinding and salicylates (September 2010)

Over the last week we have already seen some improvement (in behaviour, bed wetting and teeth grinding) over the last week just by changing fruits to pears and bananas, stopping vegemite and tomatoes and switching to low sal veges. - Karen, by email

[934] Teeth grinding in a 6 yo due to amines (September 2010)

My daughter has had migraines since the age of 3. She has always complained of ‘sore legs’. She has had problems with nasal congestion & had been using Rhinocourt nasal spray daily and has always been a nail biter & a teeth grinder at night. On day 2 of the Amine challenge, she got a migraine,droopy eyes,became listless,and a fever.

She stayed unwell for several days with the headache. During the challenge, she also got a blocked nose, sore tummy, sore nose, nightmares & was badly constipated. Since the end of the Amine challenge (nearly 3 months) we haven’t had one migraine! No more snotty nose or blocked nose, nasal sprays, nightmares, sore tummys, teeth grinding, nail biting - her nails are growing for the 1st time in her life - or sore legs. Soooooooo, No more Amines for my daughter! Since eating failsafe we have never looked back! - Tanya, by email

[933] 635: AF (atrial fibrillation) due to flavour enhancers (July 2010)

I would like to relate my experience, which I consider was due to the ingestion of 635. I have in the past had episodes of AF (atrial fibrillation) which vary both in frequency - not thankfully very often - and severity. A couple of weeks ago I had such an attack and had that evening eaten a product called Borg's Chicken & Vegetable rolls. I did not associate these latter with the AF. However we had a few left in the freezer and late yesterday afternoon, I had another.

Last night having gone to bed I awoke about 9 p.m. realising I was having an attack. Various medication I have did not relieve it and the episode lasted for 3 hours. Next morning I examined the Borg's packet and found the 635 ingredient. I would be interested to know whether you have had similar complaints. - Brian, Qld (for similar reports see heart factsheet)

[932] Itchy terrier due to additives in dried dog food (July 2010)

Our Jack Russell terrier was a year old when we got him so I kept giving him the dry dog food his previous owner had used, and like many terriers he always had itchy skin. The vet thought it could be the salt water on his skin from our frequent beach walks. I experimented with rinsing him down in fresh water after a walk, different ointments, shampoos and anti-flea treatments, and changing his diet – everything except for the dry dog food he came with. I kept checking the label and it looked ok. Eventually after two years I removed the dry dog food from his diet and his itchy skin went away within two weeks. I suspect the ‘natural flavour’ in the dry dog food contained flavour enhancers but when I asked the pet food company they gave me a very confusing answer. – Sue, NSW

[931] duplicate deleted

[930] One-liners (July 2010)

’Before the diet, I wouldn’t have said my 2 yo had tantrums because his behaviour was more often than not terrible and constant - but I think I am seeing normal tantrums now’. by email, NSW

[929] duplicate removed

[928] A2: Dairy free but now happy on a2 yoghurt (July 2010)

We were very excited to try A2 yogurt - our 6yo daughter developed stomach pains last year which we finally attributed to dairy, and were very pleased that she responded really well to A2. Our baby son was also super-sensitive to cow's milk, while breastfeeding I had to be on a strict dairy-free diet or he'd be in terrible pain. He's now 18 months and the Jalna A2 yoghurt is his favourite food - no tummy pain at all! We've had to be careful not to overdo it - forgot that it was moderate amines - and he can only have the natural because of the salicylate content in the flavoured ones, but he has it either plain or with maple syrup, and thinks it's the best food ever. - Megan, by email

[927] A2: Brief reports on A2 milk and rhinitis, autism and weight gain (March 2009)

My allergic rhinitis (stuffy and runny nose, chronic cough, congestion, hayfever during pollen season) appears to be entirely related to A1 but not A2 milk. For the last two years I have enjoyed unlimited A2 milk after 12 years on soymilk.

A failsafe-friendly dietitian reports the use of A2 milk during an elimination diet for a boy with autistic type behaviour: ‘I placed him on a milk-free elimination diet, but allowed A2 milk. He consumed several cups of this per day whilst on the diet. His behaviour, concentration and sense of humour all improved. However, when we challenged with normal milk, concentration etc deteriorated. So it is back to the A2 milk whilst we go through other challenges.'

The dietitian asked my skinny 7 year old son – who tested negative for coeliac disease - to go gluten free and he felt better but lost a lot of weight. Then three months ago we switched to A2 milk and now he is doing really well. He has even been able to go back on gluten.

[926] Didn’t realise my daughter was affected by salicylates (June 2010)

I am a primary teacher with 3 children of my own. I first heard about your book 'Fed Up' when a student in my class was diagnosed with ADHD and his mother decided to try changing his diet rather than medicating him. The change in this boy was amazing. I wrote down the details of your book to recommend it to other parents in the future, but ironically I now use your book myself as my six year old has just been diagnosed with ADHD. We had been eating a diet low in artificial additives for years after discovering that my children were reacting to the preservative 282 in bread but have just recently begun failsafe eating after my son's diagnosis. In doing so we discovered that all 3 of our children were reacting to salicylates. Even my 7 year old daughter who had been irritable all the time and difficult to get along with has changed into a happy, co-operative child since changing her diet. We hadn't even realised that she was affected by the natural food chemicals. Our son who was diagnosed with ADHD has changed so much that at a recent doctor's visit the GP looked at him sitting quietly and said, "He doesn't have ADHD!" The doctor prescribed antibiotics to clear his cough and after one dose of antibiotics (with preservative and flavour) all his symptoms returned. We are now more sure than ever that food is the cause of his behavioural problems.- Cara, NSW

[925] 220: Asthmatic son affected by illegal sulphites in mince (June 2010) [COURAGE AWARD]

I tested the mince at my local butcher yesterday. I bought the meat at 16.35pm, got home, tested it and the reading was between 180-400mg! It changed colour so quickly to the deepest shade on the side of the test strip container I didn't need to wait 30 seconds to see it change. On a positive note, I went in to Aldi and tested their meat today and it had no discernible change, so I guess I'll buy my meat there. My son takes daily asthma medication and has been sick since I deviated from my expensive organic butcher to the garbage they sell at the local butcher. My son has been on numerous cortisone courses this year as well as daily antihistamines and antibiotics - I couldn't figure out what was causing it until I came across the sulphur dioxide article on your website. I have reported these people to Primesafe (Victorian Government food regulatory body) and I am thinking of pursuing legal action due to the impact it has had on my son, I can't believe I stood at that butcher earlier this year and they lied to me and told me they did not use preservatives in their mince - they were so helpful telling me what did and didn't contain it and how I could get preso free sausages etc. I should have known it was too good to be true. - Tonya, VIC.

[924] One-liners (June 2010)

I have been receiving your newsletters for several years now and am impressed at the scientific rigour you apply to your research and recommendations. It gives your work significant credibility in this very under-recognised area of clinical practice - a medical doctor, Sydney

I have your Failsafe Cookbook as well as Friendly Food and have already saved money on medication for migraines that I have suffered from all my life and which have just gone away in a matter of weeks. – by email, Qld

After reading your article, I took the time to check the food additives in bread and found 282 in the IGA brand cheap bread, so I thank you for drawing my attention to this. - Silvia, NSW

We’re not ready to start our elimination diet. However we have eliminated honey and peanut butter from our diet and the change over a week was amazing. Our 4 yo daughter became calmer, more animated and happy and she could feel it. - Sarah, NSW

I work with children and I see symptoms of food intolerance all the time. You are really helping to change lives for the better. – Amanda, Vic

I get...really....vague.....with......salicylates......! - mother of three, Adelaide

I don't know where we would be if we hadn't gone down the Failsafe path 5 years ago. - by email, NT

Your books and website are a lifesaver for me and the email groups are brilliant, thank you so much, I would be totally lost without all of this support. – Belinda, Tas

I recently purchased your book The Failsafe Cookbook and this has been a life-saver ... I've now got the freezer stocked with heaps of snacks and meals and stocks and sauces, makes meal time so much easier. You do an amazing job helping all of us "failsafe" families. Thank you! - Jo, by email

"I have to say, ALL children that come to our Failsafe afternoons are really well behaved!! We have more problems with the "normal" kids that visit! - Jenny, NT

What a wonderful network you have created and thank you for having such a wealth of information available on your website. – Briony, by email

635 is the mother of Ribo Rash and in my opinion the worst food additive of all time - Jennifer, Thailand – (more at http://healthybliss.net/the-truth-in-food-labeling-food-additives-to-avoid-hidden-sources-of-msg/ )

When I started to really read food labels, I was horrified by the fact that I was poisoning our whole family - especially with 635 and annatto. Guilt quickly turned into determination to set things moving in a healthier direction and I can already see a vast improvement. – Rose, by email

I wish I had known about food intolerance before - but even if I did, maybe I wouldn't have listened as it wasn't until I saw my daughter start to react that it sparked me into trying to find out what was ailing her. – by email, Qld

I am over my addiction to KFC! I hadn't had it since November last year, then had some last week. Apart from not enjoying the taste at all, I felt quite sickly after one drumstick. My kids didn't like the taste of the nuggets - "please don't make us eat here again". YAY! Score one for the HFC recipe in your book! – Sharon, Vic

I so hope the labelling submission is seriously considered, I feel like I have gained a chemistry degree in the five years we have been Failsafe! In just the last two days I have been approached by another two mums embarking on this journey, and a lot of their questions relate to their confusion over the labelling … numbers vs words along with the issue of unlisted ingredients! – Jenny, NT

[923] How to get a reluctant partner to change diet and DVD feedback (June 2010)

I had been trying to convince my husband just to WATCH the DVD for three months, and although he was happy to go additive free, he wasn't keen to go completely failsafe. At the end of the DVD he turned to me and said "I think we have to do it". We're now in week 5 of the elimination diet, with huge changes for the whole family – Tiffany, by email.

My sister borrowed your DVD because her partner has IBS. He had no interest in watching it, so I gave her Sue's advice to put it on when he was around without asking him explicitly to watch it. She did, and within five minutes he was sitting next to her, glued to the screen. Although they haven't yet gone failsafe, he is now reading all labels and making better choices. My sister is lost for words! – by email

We recently bought, received and watched your DVD (all within a week) and absolutely loved it! I also have the books Fed Up and Friendly Food, and would like to get serious with an elimination diet. – by email

[922] 635: Epileptic seizures in a dog due to flavour enhancer (June 2010)

My dog had epileptic fits as a puppy and I noticed that they always seemed to occur after giving him scraps from junk food we were eating. McDonalds food in particular seemed to cause him to have fits. The vet dismissed my theory and offered to give my dog a highly toxic barbiturate epilepsy medication. I refused the medication and adopted a wait-and-see approach. I researched the relationship between food additives and epilepsy in children because there was not much information about dogs. I found there was a possible link between preservatives in white bread and epileptic fits in children. Based on this, I banned all artificial colours/flavours and preservatives and my dog went from severely fitting to having no fits at all for the past 4 years. When I told my vet he dismissed my theory that food additives were the cause of my dog's epileptic fits and stated he had simply 'grown out of it'.

About 2 weeks ago I let my dog lick a cup from which I had just finished drinking instant soup. As I was doing it I thought: I shouldn't be letting him have this. I had become complacent because my dog had not had a fit in so many years. Within an hour of licking the cup he had his first epileptic fit in over 4 years. I felt terrible and immediately read the ingredients list. The instant soup contained flavour enhancer 635.

I have no doubt whatsoever that food additives caused the epileptic seizures in my dog. I have no doubt whatsoever that giving him an all natural diet cured his epileptic seizures. I have no doubt whatsoever that flavour enhancer 635 caused his recent seizure.

The information on your site confirmed that I was on the right track with my treatment of his seizures. Without sites like yours I would be faced with the dismissive attitude of my vet and my dog may have spent a lifetime on toxic medication for no reason. As it is - I have returned to a strictly natural diet for my dog and he has not had another seizure since. I would never risk poisoning him again with these additives and I hope my experience helps someone else. – Pamela, by email

[921] 282: Acne from bread preservative (June 2010)

Just looking over your website, you are missing one major side effect of 282 in adults - acne. I am a 50 yo adult and I always get a breakout if I eat a bread product containing 282, either because it was in fast food and not tagged (McDonalds use it, KFC and Hungry Jacks don't) or because the label did not show it. – Ric, NSW

[920] 635: Headaches and aching shoulders from flavour enhancers (June 2010)

I have been having a reaction to Aldi’s Vegetable Flavour Stock cubes. I am basically on a fresh healthy diet but stock cubes were my one weakness and I thought not that bad as they state "No Added MSG". I now know this is rubbish. Every time I cook with these my shoulders would ache all night and into the next morning and I would also get a headache. I finally worked out that it was linked to the stock cubes. The ingredients include Yeast Extract, and Flavour Enhancers 627 & 631. - Deb, by email

[919] Snoring, sleep apnea, swollen tonsils and macroglossia due to additives (June 2010)

My five-year-old daughter's two years of snoring escalated a few months ago to sleep apnea. After three weeks of apnea, I consulted two doctors and then decided to feed her only natural foods - nothing out of a package of any kind. After six days, her apnea was gone. After about a month, her snoring was minimal. After two months she rarely snores. Tonight, after feeding her corn tortillas - with preservatives - for dinner, she fell asleep and immediately began snoring.

It was the second doctor, a GP, who noticed her swollen tonsils (I hadn't) and said there was no infection but that they were chronically swollen. After I asked if he thought it could be a reaction to contact with processed foods - because she gets a rash on her face after contact with various sauces - he replied "possibly" and that the darkness under her eyes was a sign of allergies. That was when I decided to take her off all packaged foods on my own until we could have an appointment with an allergist - usually a 2 to 6-month wait here.

We saw a Pediatric Allergist two days ago and she was tested for all the standard things like milk, soy, wheat, dust, cat, dog, etc. and was fine. The allergist suggested she may be sensitive to sulphites because I am allergic to sulpha drugs.

Her face has always turned red exactly where any sauces and liquids out of packages touched her cheeks and mouth. Kraft salad dressings, Heinz ketchup, and canned apple pie filling, plus pear cooler which dribbled over her bare tummy have all cause the redness. I figured that the swollen tonsils - like golf balls - were her internal skin's reaction to a food sensitivity because of how we saw her external skin reacting.

Before removing additives, my daughter's face was always a little chubby-looking with a double chin, although she wasn't chubby. It was the swollen tonsils that were causing the double chin. Now she is more normal in appearance without chubby cheeks and an oversized swollen tongue [macroglossia] that made her speak oddly. Even her voice is no longer nasal. My friends used to comment that she sounded like she had an accent. She also had darkness under her eyes. She is very blond with blue eyes and she always had pinkish-purple bags under her eyes. They are now gone along with her snoring right through the night!

Also, her defiant behaviour really improved and she is far more peaceful after I was able to be very strict with her "no packaged foods" diet. We now have real butter and cream in our house. I make our bread and ice cream too.

I am relieved not to have to put my daughter through surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids, which is very common with children who have apnea. I feel strongly that everyone involved in a child's health should do all they can to find the cause of the symptoms rather than just treat the symptom by removing the tonsils. - Maree, Canada

[918] 635: labelling – you think you’re making the right choice (June 2010)

Thanks to your website, I am on my way to eliminating my three year old son’s behavioural issues. After looking at the list of additives to be avoided, my husband and I cleared out our pantry and found a nomination for nasty food awards - Continental Chicken flavoured rice. The front of the packet claims to have NO artificial colours or flavours and NO added MSG (obviously to make you think you’re making the right choice for your family), however the ingredients listed flavour enhancer (635)!!! – Andrea, by email

[917] Adorable child after one week of cutting out nasties (June 2010)

After cutting out all the nasties in our food, we have noticed a huge change in our little boy after only a week. I was at a loss with how to handle him, and wondering where I had gone wrong (I haven't had this problem with my other two children) until I found your website. Now he is an adorable child and I have even had strangers commenting on how well behaved he is!!!! I have told my sister (who also has three children), our daycare centre and our maternal and child health nurse about your website to get the word out!!! - Tony by email

[916] AAaaaaaaagh! - Reaction to Colour Free Panadol medication (June 2010)

My 5-year-old son has been kept completely free of preservatives, flavours, flavour enhancers and colours for just over 12 months to control behaviour and it has worked wonderfully!

Recently, he had a temperature so I very hesitantly gave him Colour Free Panadol (and only the minimum dose.) Oh my God what a nightmare! Since giving it to him, he went back to his pre diet ways, crying non stop, angry, and rages for the stupidest reasons - completely irrational. It took 4½ horrible days to get out of his system. We had periods where he lay there and would hit, kick and throw anything he could get his hands on, till he would wear himself out - not a nice thing to witness - and of course the night terrors that he had in the past returned. I am reminded of how much of a nightmare my life was prior to going additive-free. Yet other than being highly food sensitive he is a perfectly healthy, intelligent 5-year-old.

Are there any other options for reducing a child’s temperature that will not result in him going crazy for days afterwards? (Katie, by email – and see Q&A)

[915] Autistic 10 yo affected by additives in Lovan medication (June 2010)

I know that you and your group are petitioning for food labels to be specific with regards to all ingredients. I would also like to see this extended to all medications.

My 10 year old son is autistic. Diet (additive, salicylate, amine and dairy free) is an enormous help, but it is not the only solution to all our problems and he is also on medication. We recently swapped over to Lovan, an anti-depressant, and were having terrible behavior. Once I did a full MIMS search on it (only accessible to health professionals), I found that it contained either peppermint and aniseed oil (tablets) or two artificial colours (capsules). I suspect the behavior was due to the cocktail of unlisted ingredients, rather than the drug being a failure. Our paediatrician was quite impressed with the fact that I figured it out; he often prescribes the dispersible tablets, and had not even thought of what the ingredients might be.

We have changed over to Fluohexal (one of the generics) capsules, which we take out of the capsule case and mix with syrup, so that way we have no problems with the colours in the capsule case. We are also trialling Ritalin, which as I found out today, contains lactose! Why do they still use lactose as a filler!!!!! Surely there are alternatives!

I can understand that capsule cases etc have to be coloured, as this helps with identification of drugs when not in their original containers. I just want clear labeling on boxes, including if there is gluten or lactose in the formulation. – by email, Qld

[914] Extreme irritability, moodiness, anxiety, nightmares, night waking due to diet (June 2010)

I have an 8-year-old daughter, who I put on the failsafe eating when she was 6 due to extreme irritability, moodiness, anxiety, nightmares, night waking etc. It worked amazingly within 2 weeks. We had our little girl back, she was so much calmer, compliant, more focused and so much nicer to be around. Even her teacher at the time said "I have never seen a result like that without drugs". She seems to react to many things, however, salicylates, amines and glutamates are the main culprits. – Jane, by email

[913] 160b: Jack’s head banging and annatto (June 2010)

My son Jack, now aged 4, was a great baby, he slept 18 hours a day and was joy to be around except that he would not use his bowels for days and days. We took him to doctor after specialist after scan and no-one knew why. In the end the only way we could get him to use his bowels was to medicate him every day.

Also at about 6 months (at the time of introduction of solids) Jack started head-butting the cot. Honestly I am not exaggerating when I tell you that he had golf ball sized lumps on his forehead – again more scans, tests and drs. No-one knew why. The professionals told me to take him out of a cot and put him into a bed so he couldn’t forward head-butt. Great Idea – he then proceeded to get out of bed and backward head-butt the wall. I have holes in the gyprock in the wall where he would head-butt his way through the gyprock. One night it was that hard the hinges in the door popped out. My neighbours could hear it and if I was on the phone people could hear it. It would mainly happen during the night or when he woke up from a day sleep. People told me he was hot, cold, tired, not stimulated enough, over stimulated, lonely blah blah blah.

I decided none of the professionals were helping so I decided one by one to withdraw foods from his diet. I started with dairy – I removed 95% of the dairy form his diet – I allowed him 1 cup of milk and 1 yoghurt a day and this showed a massive improvement, he would use his bowels without medication - it still required a lot of effort on his part but hey it was better than medication and the headbutting decreased. I took yoghurt off him and amazingly enough my happy little man returned. At the time I did not realise the importance of this find (that there was annatto in his favourite yoghurt).

One year later I gave him his favourite vanilla yoghurt with 160B in it and OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was up on all 4s rocking all night headbutting the pillow moaning and the next morning he woke up with a headache. We let it go a week and then we tried it with icecream and he was the same only this time he was reverse headbutting the wall like he used to do when he was a baby. – Nicolle, NSW

[912] 160b: Rash and head banging with bruises from annatto (June 2010)

From about 12 months of age, my son developed intermittent spots, rashes and blotches on his face and around his mouth. On 3 occasions he swelled up in the face, neck and hands (twice at daycare, once at home). We took him to an allergist who told us it was intolerances, gave us a list of additives to avoid, and told us he would outgrow it. The only additive that I could definitely identify at the time was 160b. Each time he ate it he would get develop a rash or tiny spots around his mouth and the blotches would return. Interestingly, at the same time, he also would bang his head in frustration on the floor. It was usually as part of a tantrum, he would drop to the floor and bang his head. He had a permanent bruise in the middle of his forehead for several months (see photo – it’s really a bruise upon bruise upon bruise, from banging his head on the floor!) I cannot say for sure if the headbanging stopped at exactly the same time as we eliminated 160b, because I never associated them together, but am now thinking it was related.

As it turned out, the allergist was wrong and he did not outgrow his intolerances, they just manifested in a different way and he became a very difficult child around 2.5 years of age... At 3 years of age we went additive free for 6 weeks, and while this did help, it was not enough, so we have now been failsafe since Oct 2007. He is very sensitive to sals, sensitive to amines and cannot tolerate some additives. – by email, Vic

[911] 160b: Head banging stopped when additives were removed (June 2010)

My son is 2 and spent approx 18 mths headbanging. I can’t say for sure, but it could possibly have been approx the time we removed 160b from his diet that he stopped. I removed 160b along with the other additives you recommend avoiding to help manage my son’s behaviour. It has seemed to work very well. Adjusting his diet has made being a parent so much more enjoyable and I would like to thank you for this.

We removed the 160b (and all the other additives) approx 5 -6 months ago. We had a major relapse at Easter. This confirmed my suspicions and made my husband realise that the food additives did affect our child.

On looking back, our son stopped headbanging around this time, but I can’t say whether it was as a result of the changed diet or not. I didn't realise until seeing your talk a few weeks ago, the headbanging could be related to 160b. The foods my son ate that contained 160b were cheese slices, margarine and yoghurt. I’m sure there would have been others, but these are the ones he ate every (or almost every) day. – Heather, by email

[910] 160b: Annatto related head banging in a 2 year old (June 2010)

My two year old daughter was banging her head about ten times per day. I was giving her ‘no artificial colours, flavours, preservatives’ yoghurt but I didn’t know to avoid annatto. When I changed to a different brand (no annatto), she only had one episode of head banging in the next two days. – by email, NT

[909] 160b: Head banging in a 3 year old (June 2010)

I am a fan of your work and have been looking at the Head Banging information, I am going to make sure we avoid 160b because I think that causes my 3 year old son to do head banging. My son has been eating custard, yoghurt (I have switched to the Jalna brand this week), and ice cream (home ice-cream treasure troves, lots of colours in it, so stopped them). He would generally have custard or yoghurt in the morning and either ice-cream, custard or yoghurt around 5pm.

I have taken 160b out of his diet, which I will do for a few weeks and then re-introduce it to see what happens. His head banging can be to put him to sleep and during the night and very early in the morning, approx 5am. He banged his head in his cot, which was probably around the time he started eating solids, custard and baby yoghurt.

Since avoiding annatto and artificial colours his head banging incidents have lessened. He has had one head banging incident this week around 5am in the morning on Thursday morning so he may have had something at child care that caused it. They do have Yoplait yoghurt on alternate days, so they would have had it on Wednesday morning. – Caryn, by email

[908] 160b: irritability, defiance, head and body banging (June 2010)

We adopted our son from Russia two years ago (he is now three). He is sensory seeking and delayed in speech. We have only recently uncovered a link between his food and behavior, particularly with Annatto. It makes him hyper, sleepless, defiant, irritable, and a body banger against furniture (not limited to head banging), starting within 1-2 hours and lasting up to 24 hours.

Our son had been seeing an occupational therapist 2x's per month for sensory seeking behaviors. The OT recommended looking into a link between nutrition and behavior. We met with an allergist first. Her tests proved negative for protein allergies. She suggested that we start saving food labels any time we suspected reactions and compare them for common ingredients. The first food we noticed was Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Goldfish Crackers. Our son was very stimulated and not able to nap. I saw Annatto listed and wondered what it was. I did an internet search and found your website and others. The next time I saw a reaction, Annatto was in the peach yogurt I had fed him. On this particular day at naptime, he sat backwards in his rocking chair and banged it continually into the wall.

We started the Feingold program here in the U.S. and, as you probably know, it does not address Annatto so we eliminated Annatto as well. Our son's issues decreased within the first week. He was less hyper, more compliant, and able to sleep better, except for one noticeable withdrawal episode - his first on-the-floor kicking temper tantrum. My favorite result to cite is when I asked him to put books away. He answered "Okay, Mama" and did it right away. This is the sweet little boy who was there all along. I hate the idea that the foods I thought were good for him were causing him to misbehave and causing me frustration. We are happy to be Annatto-free now.

We are finding it hard to identify products with Annatto since it is not always stated by name or number in the ingredients list. We are learning to stay away from products with "natural flavors & colors" even if Feingold approved. There are many products that we have since cut out of his diet after discovering the Annatto link.

Changing our son's food and skin care products was easier than I ever imagined. He hardly notices, except for the times I have to say no to certain foods that do not have good things in them for him. It does take extra effort but it is well worth it. Still, I look forward to the day when the food-behavior link is widely accepted, forcing companies to eliminate these harmful additives from our supermarket shelves. – by email, USA

[907] 160b: agitated, uncontrollable, full of energy, hyperactive (June 2010)

I have 2 boys, aged 3 and 1 who both react badly to annatto. About half an hour after our 3 year old has had something with annatto in he is uncontrollable, agitated, full of energy, really full on. Hyperactive is how someone has described it.

I had read about annatto by chance and at first didn’t think much of it but I mentioned it to my husband who said he reacted to red and yellow colours as a child so I stopped buying anything with 160b in it. I can’t say I noticed anything for a while but one day we had dinner at a friend’s place and our 3 yo was offered some ice cream. I didn’t think to check it. Within half an hour our son was a nightmare. Kicking, screaming, purposefully doing things to annoy/upset us, refusing to sleep and thrashing out etc. My husband and I were shocked - what had happened to our child? Suddenly the penny dropped and I called to ask if the ice cream had 160b in it - it did! Since then we’ve also seen reactions to cheese, custard and yoghurt (at daycare until I asked not to give annatto to him). – Silvia, NSW

[906] 160b: Restless legs and sleep disturbance (June 2010)

At various times over recent months I have suffered with restless legs and a disturbed night’s sleep. Today I decided to investigate the ingredients of the fish fingers we had for dinner last night, and found that they contained 160b. I believe that this colour is most likely the cause of my restless legs and sleep disturbance. I will therefore be avoiding it at all costs in the future.

… One month later …Since I’ve stopped eating the fish fingers I’ve had no more restless legs. I’m convinced that it is the 160b causing them. I’ve since eaten the fish fingers without the batter and had no ill effects.

I’ve noticed that 160b is in so many foods. Bulla’s mini icecreams too. What a pity. They claim to be free of artificial flavours and colours, but still contain the natural colour 160b.I was hoping to give them to my kids until I read the ingredients list.

Many times in past years I have suffered with restless legs at night and hadn’t known what caused them. Perhaps it was 160b then as well. I wasn’t taking any notice of what was in my food then. Thank-you for such informative and helpful reading. – Sue C, NSW

[905] 160b: Screaming, angry, yelling, defiant and hysterical (June 2010)

Our journey through the numbers maze has recently brought us face to face with 160b. We have discovered through accidental trial and error that our 5 year old daughter who can be the most bright, fun, playful and intelligent little girl can be reduced to a little monster by this “natural” additive. It is so horrible to watch. When I know that she has had something with 160b, we wait for the ticking time bomb. It is usually anywhere from a few hours later it starts and can last for a day or more ... she turns into a screaming, angry, yelling, defiant and hysterical little girl. It breaks my heart. She knows why she gets like that, but there is no reasoning with her when she is in that place. We just wait for her to fall asleep ... only to wake up in the morning like a bear with a sore head.

We first became aware of 160b about a year and a half ago. Custard was the culprit. My mum was staying with us at the time and she was amazed as well when we found out that the custard was the link to her behaviour. She would have the custard at night as dessert and hey presto in the morning the grumpy bum would awake. Cranky, whingey, defiant and tantrums. It would take around about 24 hours for her to come back to us! Ice cream is another one. Every Sunday we would all go down and get icecreams ... same thing (of course this is all in hindsight). Monday morning our alter ego/grumpy daughter would wake up and it would take until about Wednesday to get back to some sort of normalcy only to repeat the cycle again the following Sunday. Now we buy the Peters vanilla icecream and natural icecream cones without colour and have our Sunday icecreams at home. – Sarah B, NSW

[904] 160b: Sneaky poos reaction to McDonalds Soft Serve (June 2010)

It seems every time after Soft Serve Ice cream my 8 yo daughter has sneaky poos. Even when we tried it yesterday without the cone. She gets them about an hour after the ice cream. - Alison, Qld (annatto has since been removed from the McDonalds Soft Serves)

[903] 160b: Attraction to the colour yellow (June 2010)

My 6 and a half year old daughter has been diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Since about 6 months of age, we have given her those kids yoghurts that you buy in 6 packs with the kids themes like Nemo and Bob the builder. We thought that because she wouldn’t drink milk we needed to give her a dairy substitute, and that they would suffice.

While being a generally placid child since birth, she displayed difficulty concentrating on tasks, a great attraction to the colour yellow, meltdowns at times such as leaving a friend’s house or upon being denied a request, sneaky poos, bedwetting, and poor fine motor skills. She was assessed as having a severe speech delay when 3 and a half. Her drawing was at best scribbling in a general area, and she had great problems following dotted outlines of alphabet letters. She displayed very poor short term memory, and repetitive behaviours. She was also wanting food all the time, although she is not overweight. She only drinks water, has never eaten confectionery, has ice cream on the odd occasion, but otherwise generally eats rice bubbles, weetbix, watermelon, grapes, apples, pears, occasionally custard, and plain biscuits. Dinner is usually either rice, pasta or mashed potato with steamed veggies and fish, chicken or beef with no added sauces.

Recently we were made aware of your book and in particular, the adverse effects of the 160b colouring additive. Upon reading up about it in the book, we also looked at the fed up website where we noticed the link to PDD-NOS. After reading some of the testimonials and realising that many of the other parent’s experiences were sounding familiar, we decided to eliminate 160b from her diet.

We initially stopped the kids’ yoghurts, which she had been having up to 5 a day, on 22 February 2009. Within about 4 or 5 days her drawing had improved remarkably, she could follow dotted lines correctly, her concentration to tasks jumped, not one meltdown occurred, her sneaky poos stopped, bedwetting reduced, and her speech started to improve noticeably. After noticing these improvements, we then looked at the rest of her diet and switched to Brumbys bread, eliminated anything else that we thought had 160b such as custard, switched to A2 or Jersey mik, and stopped using fabric conditioner. We have noticed over the last month that she seems to have matured noticeably, is more compliant, and is more focussed on cognitive tasks. Her teachers and tutors have all noticed a dramatic improvement in her learning ability. She no longer seeks food constantly, has lost her attraction to the colour yellow, has mostly stopped her repetitive behaviour, and her short term memory is markedly better. In fairness, we also started a reward scheme to help stop the sneaky poos at about the same time. However, she is a bit unique in that except for the 160b element, she was virtually following a failsafe style diet already. So we have been quite surprised that it seems that removing 160b has had a dramatic effect for her. -Sharon, Qld

[902] One-liners (February 2010)

I've just found your Fed Up website and want to say how amazing I think it is. I was put on the Friendly Food diet from the Royal Prince Alfred and it has helped ... thanks for all your hard work. I feel like I've discovered a gold mine. It’s like finding friends who actually understand what you're talking about - Aviva, NSW

Failsafe gave me the freedom to live and enjoy what weren't hard kids to enjoy, just challenging at times. My best moment would be when our 4 yo trouble child sat with a recently broken arm, very tired waiting for panadol and dinner, quietly no whingeing and playing a game of junior scrabble with his brother.- Karen, Qld

Thanks a million for all your work - our family would not function without you! – Lisa, by email

Our dietitian only recommended Friendly Food as a cook book and although it is a lovely cook book for adults, it is next to useless for young families. Her comment on the Failsafe Cookbook was that she didn't really know it (ie knew of it, but hadn't looked at it). I wonder how many families go through her doors and come out feeling hopeless regarding ideas for practical cooking - by email

My 2 yo daughter and I are still on the diet (12 months now) and are doing really well. As time goes on I am increasingly coming to terms with accepting that this diet works wonders for me and it is simply what I have to stick to - by email, Vic

[901] Has his sights on the Olympic games (February 2010) COURAGE AWARD

We began our Failsafe journey 3 years ago. My now 9 year old was 18 months when the doctors first made the suggestion that he should be medicated. I flat out refused to medicate a little baby, and advised the doctors that food was triggering his extreme behaviour. On almost every occasion I was either laughed at or made to feel a fool and told that 'food doesn't alter behaviour' - this was despite the fact that he already been diagnosed with anaphylaxis to eggs and a severe dairy allergy and suffered chronic reflux as a baby, and I myself had suffered food intolerance for many years - this went on for nearly 6 years ...

As I wasn't particularly well versed in the ways of the internet and had no idea where to turn, I took things on myself, taking a common sense approach to removing things from my son’s diet - if he went 'crazy', the food was removed and replaced with something else that didn't make him 'crazy'... We discovered that wheat was a major player in triggering offensive, violent and extremely hyperactive behaviour and insomnia ... so that was removed, and my son has been wheat free for nearly 9 years now. Whilst the wheat free diet took the edge off his severe behaviors, he was still an unpleasant, uncontrollable child and we tried many disciplinary techniques, play techniques, putting him in sports, we had his eyes and hearing checked and still had no answers.

His severe reflux started again at 6 years old, and once again doctors wanted to treat the symptoms and not determine the cause ... I went along with what the doctors wanted, but the reflux medication appeared to exacerbate the behavioural symptoms. We dealt with the behaviours as they reared their ugly heads, but in addition to the reflux, my son then continued to get more and more physiological symptoms, such as rashes, vomiting, and severe hayfever - I knew this certainly wasn't normal - and he was beginning to have random and bizarre allergic reactions and I had absolutely no idea what he was reacting to. The culmination of these allergic reactions ended up with an anaphylactic reaction, to what has since been determined as an allergy to red meat.

Unfortunately it took an anaphylactic reaction to have to doctors send me in the right direction. We saw a paed who prescribed adrenalin and promptly sent us on to an immunologist ... who explained to us that allergies and food intolerance often go hand in hand. Following all the usual tests and discussing at length my son’s behavioural issues we were sent to an accredited dietitian for help and to be placed on an elimination diet.

We found the most amazing dietitian, who was very supportive and was very eager to help. Once I knew what the problem might be, I began my research as well ... and that is where I discovered the fed up website. On the elimination diet and the subequent food challenges, we have since discovered that my son is completely intolerant to wheat, completely intolerant to amines, completely intolerant to glutamates, colours and preservatives and we have discovered that certain brands of shampoos, toothpaste and hair products trigger negative behaviour, he also has a milder intolerance to salicylates, but we are very strict with what he does have. Luckily, he has grown out of his dairy and egg allergies, which makes the preparation of food that little bit easier.

My son went from a child who slept no more than 3-4 hours a night, couldn't sit still, was compulsive, aggressive, insolent, destructive, hyperactive, would make constant noises, had severe reflux, had eczema, has issues at school with book work and reading, etc, to a child who is pleasant, well mannered, focused and actually sleeps. And it was with the advent of the new diet/lifestyle that we also discovered that my son has quite a talent for sport.

Before the diet, my son didn't have the attention span to stay between the white lines on a running track or didn't think he had to wait for the starter’s gun in a running or swimming race. Within the first 6 months of the lifestyle change he went on to represent his school in swimming and athletics, in the next year he went onto represent at regional level and last year competed at state level in swimming, cross country and athletics, for both the school and at club level. And this year, as a 9 year old, my son has already broken records on the athletics track and is on is way to breaking more records in the pool ... he has his sights firmly on the Olympic games in 2020, he just isn't sure which sport he wants to compete in!!

I find that his discipline in his chosen sport helps to keep him disciplined in his diet, and I am very honest and blunt in explaining to him what is in the foods that he wants to eat and why he can’t eat other stuff. We are about to begin meeting with our dietitian again to ensure that he is receiving adequate nutrition to sustain the endurance that he requires for his sports and to ensure that he is receiving adequate protein for proper muscle development.

People are often perplexed as to how a child who 'misses out' on so much food can be quite so athletic ... I explain to them that the food he doesn't eat actually enables his sporting and academic ability, but sadly, most people can't understand that concept. They can't understand why my son simply drinks water and eats an apple and some rice cakes or a chicken sandwich after a race when every other kid at a swim meet is eating a chocolate bar or drinking a powerade or the newest fad - pouring honey all over a banana to 'restore their energy'.

We still have bad days, and find peer pressure a constant issue, but as a family we are positive towards all facets of my son's limited diet and I am constantly inventing new and interesting things to eat! - Belinda, NSW

[900] Asthma: from one hospital admission a week to one every 8-12 months (February 2010)

First, I have to thank you for the work you have done. It is just over 3 years since I first picked up a copy of Fed Up with Asthma after my then 16 month old son was diagnosed. The medication did not seem to be working as it should, and I knew there was something else going on. He has major difficulties with sulphites, MSG and flavour enhancers (and natural glutamates) and benzoates (although we still avoid all preservatives and artificial colours because we are used to it now!), and after seeing an allergist and finding a nut allergy as well, all the pieces fit together. He is now a happy and healthy little boy about to start pre-school, whose nut allergies have been decreasing over the last two years - in fact his peanut allergy is totally gone - and has gone from one hospital admission a week to one every 8-12 months. We truly thank you, because it was your book that put us on the right track. - Clare, Qld

[899] Really bad eczema in baby (February 2010)

I have been meaning to write for ages to thank you for the Fed Up work and for the wonderful contacts. I am seeing your recommended dietitian. Previous to changing to a low chemical diet our baby has suffered from really bad eczema since 3 months of age, has been to hospital twice and wet wrapping once. Now he has a small patch under his chin only when I eat a suspect food (shallots, golden syrup etc) and that is all! I am a complete convert and find the Fed Up and RPA books wonderful. It is so hard not to run up to strangers with eczema kids to tell them to at least trial modifying diet to low chemical.

The dietitian is wonderful and very encouraging. I am still able to breast feed our baby, and we are alternating challenging him through my diet and adding a new food for him. He now eats rice and choko, and I am challenging soy first. The limitations are tough, especially around this time of year, but so worth it for happy healthy children! Thank you, thank you, thank you.... - Natalie, Sydney.

[898] Wow!!!! sums up effects of diet on tics (February 2010)

(At the start) We have an appointment with your recommended dietitian in 2 weeks, which can't come quick enough. Our 9-year-old son has had (with hindsight) intermittent tics for the last couple of years. Last weekend he was so agitated and had particularly bad tics which seemed to follow him having an ice cone with some terrible colouring/flavouring over it which someone bought him with the best intentions! Traditionally, we have always had plenty of fruit and veg and I think has contributed also. A trip to the GP resulted in being told they were habits which we should ignore and if they hadn't gone in 2 months to go back.

So, we started failsafe last weekend and are now on day 7 having had him off school with a cough, cold and generally irritable. Things improved loads today until a friend of his gave him a starburst earlier this evening at the village movies and within an hour at the most he was incredibly twitchy...is it possible for him to have such an immediate reaction to something?..then improve within a couple of hours?

We have gone through thoughts of Tourette's syndrome, some of the symptoms he seems to have - sniffing, twitching, vocal tics, though the GP said this was unlikely ... he was definitely agitated tonight though we don't know if it was due to the noise / busyness of the place or could have been the starburst. His favourite foods are orange juice, olives, mushrooms, salami all of which have been eliminated, and we are thinking salicylates maybe the culprit ...

(12 days later) Just a quick update on things, it's been an interesting week! Our son's tics had been improving, but he had a terrible cough and kept spiking temps so he is now on antibiotics for a chest infection, and is improving cough/temp wise but his tics seem to have really worsened again. Looking at the ingredients on his meds, it's reassuring to think we are on the right track. We have managed to stick to the elimination diet and he has been really good at chomping his sprouts etc ... not enthusiastically ... but eating them!

(After 5 weeks) Thought it time I put an email together to update you on our son's progress !... wow!!!! sums it up nicely! We have been to see the dietitian twice now and are fine tuning our failsafe eating. I would say he is 80% improved, hardly any physical tics, occasional vocals and bed wetting is still a problem but we are hoping with the fine tuning we may be able to help that. He is more focused on homework, even doing extra to catch up!! It has been a revelation and continues to be so, my husband has lost weight (it needed to go!)and his BP has dropped to normal limits so everyone is better all round.

(After 6 months) Another update! Things all went a bit off track a few months ago and I think the pressure of everything all got a bit too much, especially for our son. However, with the relapse in diet the tics returned and so we have gone failsafe again but without the pressure and fuss this time. Meals out and parties are relaxed and he can have whatever is on offer! Most of the time we are failsafe at home without anyone really realising it ... it has become a way of life! Plus the tics have disappeared which is reassuring to know that we are doing the right thing. Another trigger we are almost 100% sure of is scented candles, we had one of these in the lounge around the time of the return of the tics!

I cannot thank you enough for all the info you and Sue have put together, your books and Friendly Food have to be the most well thumbed books in our house! – Amanda, by email.

[897] 9 year update: From typical ‘naughty’ 4yo boy to different kid (February 2010)

When my son was in 4yo kinder, 9 years ago (he is now 13) we thought he was a typical “naughty” 4yo boy - hyperactive, restless, all the common symptoms of additive overload. I did my homework and came across “Fed Up”. It was like you wrote the book about him. We followed the detox diet and within a week he was a different kid. To this day we still eat following your guidelines. I wish other parents and schools would see the light. – Kirstin, Vic

[896] 635: Rash due to 635 in seasoning and skin of BBQ chicken (February 2010)

My son recently reacted very badly with intense itching and a pimply pustule-like rash to the food additive flavour enhancer 635 - which I did not even know we'd been exposed to until after the event - by eating a store-bought seasoned BBQ chicken. I phoned the store, and they said they use the 635 in the seasoning and in a powder they sprinkle over the skin for flavouring. - Deb, Brisbane

[895] 621: Lifelong severe migraines due to MSG and other flavour enhancers (February 2010)

I have suffered from bad migraines nearly all of my life. My mother said I was only about 4 when they started (or when I could tell them my head hurt).

I used to have about 4-5 per month, usually lasting 1-3 days. They always start with my vision going first. If it goes in the right eye, the pain will be on the left and vice versa, after that comes I get extreme pain and vomiting. I cannot stand to be touched or be around any noise or light, even dull light, the vision usually rights itself in about 3 hours, I have to lie still in a quiet and dark room with a washer on my head. I've been on various medications over the years and had my GP sent me for an MRI last year when my vision in my left eye didn't restore itself for 5 days.

When we put the kids on failsafe eating, I followed it in front of the kids but not at work etc. I decided to go failsafe and challenge myself when I realised there was something to the foods we are eating these days, after what I'd seen with the kiddies. I didn't get any symptoms when challenging with amines, salicylates etc, but found it's only when I eat things like flavoured chips, noodles, those bouillon stock cubes, ham and processed meats and foods like that. HVP is certainly one of the things that set my migraines off.

I have eaten several things while I was challenging and I'd always end up without fail with a migraine, so it is most definitely the food or what is in the foods.

Just before Christmas I ate some noodles from our local noodle bar that opened up, I phoned them and asked if they use MSG, they said no, I should have asked if they used any flavour enhancers and/or MSG, I ended up off work for 2 days and had to get a colleague to take the kids to before school care and my husband to pick them up. When I phoned them back and asked if they use flavour enhancers, they after some prodding, said yes they did, "but it was legal". I assured them I knew it was legal, but they should disclose that to their customers.

I'm sure these people don't realise that people who suffer from migraines suffer from disturbed vision, extreme headaches, vomiting or nausea, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity and it impacts on all who are around them, you can't move, you can't do anything with the kids, you can't work, you can't drive, you can't cook, you effectively are incapacitated by the migraine until it subsides.

I've decided to eat exactly what the kids eat, I've explained to my colleagues at work and they are totally fine with it, I just take my lunch when we go out now, and if the restaurant or pub bucks up, like a certain one did just last week, about me taking my own food, the other 18 of them stand up as if to leave and say "fine, we'll take our business elsewhere, she has dietary issues". It's great support. They backed down last week, it was great!!! - Kylie, NSW

[894] 621: MSG headaches in an 8 year old (February 2010)

My 8 yo granddaughter was getting headaches three times a week or more. Sometimes they were so bad she had to take time off school and lie down. After we watched your DVD we looked at what she was eating and realised the headaches came after she ate pies, party pies, flavoured noodles - anything with flavour enhancers. So we stopped eating them. Now we know - if she doesn't eat flavour enhancers, she doesn't get headaches. - Terry, NSW