QUESTIONS

Here are some of the interesting and frequently asked questions from the past few years concerning the diet and the effects of food on health, behaviour and learning. There's a wealth of useful information to be found by scrolling and reading. Don't forget that you can search for symptoms, foods etc by using your browser search function (usually Control+F). The latest questions are in Frequently asked questions 3.

If you want a question answered, please email me on sdengate@ozemail.com.au. My mailing address is PO Box 718 WOOLGOOLGA NSW 2456 Australia.

(November 2005)

Q. Could nausea and vomiting be due to fluoride? Our 3 year old failsafe daughter has been suffering regular, unexplained bouts of nausea since we moved from Brisbane to Canberra 6 months ago. The vomiting has waxed and waned in accordance with other illnesses but became particularly bad after a bout of gastro a few months ago. She was vomiting about once a week for about five weeks after recovering from the gastro. We went to see a paediatrician who could find nothing wrong. Eventually, we remembered that she had reacted with nausea during breastfeeding every time I had taken fluoride tablets. A similar result occurred when we tried to give her fluoride drops in her water after weaning. I tested my theory numerous times during breastfeeding and afterwards with very obvious results and although taking fluoride was recommended by experts, I decided that it was not worth it as it obviously made my daughter ill. My husband noted that Canberra has fluoride in its water while Brisbane does not. Although we have always filtered our water, we have found that carbon filters do not filter fluoride. We put our daughter on to bottled water about 4 weeks ago and she has not had any vomiting since. We have also noted a marked improvement in her health, not just in the areas of nausea, and she is generally a more contented child.

A. It is estimated that most people currently ingest about four times as much fluoride as they did during the early days of water fluoridation, approximately equally divided between drinking water, food, other beverages, and dental products, so fluorosis (illness due to excessive intake of fluoride) is increasing. Abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting can be some of the first signs of fluoride toxicity. Small children are more vulnerable than adults. At follow up a year later, the child above was still happy and healthy on fluoride free bottled water and dentists have advised that fluoride is not necessary as long as her diet is good and she has good dental hygiene. Further reading: Das TK and others, Toxic effects of chronic fluoride ingestion on the upper gastrointestinal tract. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1994;18(3):194-9; http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C627523.html.

Q. Just wondering if others have experienced their girls getting sore vaginas? Most afternoons my little darling cries her eyes out, I have been putting it down to not wiping properly or very concentrated urine as she does not drink huge amounts, but could it be connected with salicylates? She only drinks water and nothing else but she adores fruit, especially canteloupe, watermelon, grapes and apples. The doctors are saying it is sensitivity to urine and is common amongst small girls.

A. You're right, sore vaginas in little girls are often related to salicylates and generally improve when families go failsafe.

Q. How healthy are the new 'healthy' choices (salads etc) that McDonalds now offers?

A. In Australia, the garden mixed salad without dressing contains 74 calories and 3.9 grams of fat and one nasty additive (sorbic acid 200) but I couldn't find nutrition details for the dressings which is where most of the fat comes from. Compare this to a cheeseburger at 285 calories, 16 grams of fat, and 5 nasty additives (calcium propionate 282, annatto colour 160b, sorbic acid 200, potassium sorbate 202 and sodium benzoate 211). The American website has more information and most people are surprised to find that a salad can contain more fat than a burger when you add dressing. For example, in the US, a bacon ranch salad with grilled chicken and Cobb dressing contains 380 calories, 18 grams of fat and 5 nasty additives (hydrolysed plant proteins HPP, artificial colour, disodium guanylate 627, disodium inosinate 631 and sodium nitrate 251) compared to a cheeseburger that contains 310 calories, 12 grams of fats and 4 nasty additives (potassium propionate 283, calcium propionate 282, sorbic acid 200, artificial colour ). When buying a salad in any restaurant consider the research on the nutritive value of bagged salads (Failsafe Newsletter 46). All of the meals mentioned contain high amounts of salicylates, amines or natural glutamates. You can buy McDonalds toys at the drive thru ($2). You can buy water. You can use the playground and toilets without having to buy a meal. More at www.mcdonalds.com.au

and note that the French fries now contain BHA 320.

Q. My 4 year old daughter is doing well on a low salicylate/amine diet with absolutely no preservatives but sometimes, even when her diet has been constant, she has mood changes, irritability etc. especially after days at kindy although she has none of the food from there. Can she be reacting to environmental chemicals?

A. Most common would be colours from coloured playdough but you also need to consider smells of perfumes, solvents etc. See the playgroup factsheet on the website for suggestions.

Q. Is Massel stock powder failsafe (ingredients: salt, rice, flour, sugar, dextrose, yeast extracts, vegetable flavours, vegetable protein extract (wheat derived), dehydrated onion, pure olive oil, chilli)?

A. The first five ingredients are failsafe; the next three contain natural glutamates (flavour enhancers); the last three contain salicylates.

Q. I recently started my two year old son on an elimination diet as advised by my paediatrician to see what effects foods are having on his behaviour. We were going quite well over the last four weeks until his doctor prescribed antibiotics for an ear infection and his behaviour started to deteriorate. My paediatrician also put my son on an iron supplement Ferro-Liquid (Ferrous Sulfate Oral Liquid Solution 30mb/ml) and Roche Pentavite Liquid which says it has no artificial colours or preservatives but has a citrus fruit flavour. Since his ear infection he has had a cough from a runny nose at night and in the early hours of the morning.

A. Many doctors, paediatrians and pharmacists do not seem to understand that children's flavoured vitamin, antibiotic and other medicinal syrups are never failsafe and will prevent the diet from succeeding. The Ferro liquid is particularly bad because it contains both sulphite and benzoate preservatives that could be causing your son's cough and nasal problems. Plain unflavoured adult tablets instead, using a half dose for children, are more suitable, e.g. Amcal One-a-day multivitamins and FGF tablets for iron. See the vitamins and supplements factsheet on the website for how to get tablets into kids.

Q. My 4.5 year old son has been eating failsafe for 5 months with amazing results. I have read all your books, belong to your discussion groups and have done the PPP program. Thanks to you and only you, when failsafe he is a loving and compliant angel with a dry nose and no physical problems. When he is not failsafe he is aggressive, defiant, never satisfied, loses his temper, discipline is ineffective and he has difficulty falling asleep, along with continual runny nose, recurrent ear infections, bright red ears, sore tummy etc. Our doctor said that so long as I kept my son failsafe, I would keep his behaviour at bay but suggested I would not be able to do this forever (tiring, time consuming, school canteen etc), and because of that, he would probably be diagnosed with ADHD in the long run, where other strategies would be looked at - I'm presuming medication. I would love to hear your opinion.

A. My kids are at university now, living in a hall of residence where they have to cater for themselves. They choose to be failsafe, still with amazing results, so it can be done. Only a few years ago most doctors said diet didn't work, so it is a big step forward to find a doctor admitting that diet is effective. The next step is for doctors and schools to help us with our loving and compliant angels by minimising the use of nasty food additives and supporting failsafe food for those who need it. The more we spread the word, the sooner it will happen.

Q. I was watching Today Tonight on TV last night and a story on Flavours came on. One of the pictures they aired was of a person with a red rash on the body. I have been getting a rash like that, as well as swelling on the eyes and mouth for the past three years and doctors, allergists and skin doctors can not find the problem. Could you please tell me what flavours are most likely to cause this reaction?

A. Flavour enhancers 627, 631 and 635. See the Ribo Rash factsheet on the website for more information.

Q. The list of ingredients in our sunscreen sounds pretty nasty but unfortunately it means nothing to me. What should I be looking for? Sunscreen plays a daily part in our life on the Gold Coast, and I have always been concerned about what I am been putting on our children's skin.

A. Laboratory tests suggest that some of the ingredients especially methoxycinnamate can provoke cancerous growth in test tubes (not necessarily in people), so I try to minimise sunscreen use by sun avoidance and covering up - widebrim hats, sunshirts, long pants. Failsafers also need to be wary of perfumes (salicylates) and benzoate preservatives. However, there are times you have to use sunscreen. It is important to avoid sunscreens based on PABA (Para AminoBenzoic Acid) as they contain large amounts of benzoates similar to what you get in preservative sodium benzoate (211). Hydroxybenzoate preservatives can also affect failsafers through skin absorption especially if you get large doses and continuous exposure but it is not possible to get sunscreen without. Sunscreens for toddlers or sensitive skins are generally best tolerated, e.g. from the Ego sunsense range. We use the Cancer Council Everyday Lite because the smell isn't too bad.

(July 2005)

Q. Is Peters Original Vanilla Ice Cream with “new improved recipe” marked on the top right hand corner still failsafe?

A. The flavour has changed and we have received many complaints from failsafers. Comments from adults and children include "yuk", "vile", "disgusting" and "fake". My kids say it doesn’t taste that bad but don’t want to eat it. The consumer hotline officer explained to one failsafer that “original” on the label does not refer to the recipe being original, as you may have thought, but is a trademark. You can try other brands in your supermarket. Sarah Lee French Vanilla is still a good safe brand as far as I know or you can buy that icecream maker you always wanted. Our Breville Scoop Factory icecream maker has been working overtime during the holidays. See our favourite new recipe in Cooks’ Corner below.

Q. Does thrush improve on the failsafe diet?

A. Yes. Several failsafers have reported that they find the failsafe diet much easier to stick to than the candida diet and their lifelong thrush problems have cleared up.

Q. My ADHD son is only five, in prep and he has trouble in the playground. Typically he won't eat his sandwich or whatever and goes off to the senior playground - preps have their own playground but are not policed to stay there – where he has been bullied several times so I have come up with a plan to assist my son with his diet and the playground dilemma. We live straight across the road from school and I work three minutes drive from home, so I am going to take an hour for lunch and bring him home for lunch everyday. I can then make sure he eats and I can actually cook him lunch, so that beats the boring sandwich problem. It will help him by not being around kids eating brightly coloured prepackaged food and coming home for lunch is a treat. It will also help me to take some time out from work which can be extremely stressful at times and I love coming home for lunch, especially having something cooked. We may even invite a classmate occasionally to help him form friendship bonds - he can relate to and play well with other children much better in a controlled environment). So it’s a great plan, hey?

A. Yes, it’s a wonderful plan! Your son is lucky that you are able to do that for him. Playgrounds are terrible places for kids with food intolerance. When my kids attended a supportive private school, the library was open at recess and lunchtime for kids who do better in small, quiet controlled environments, and for one marvellous year an exceptionally talented teacher opened her classroom for lunch, allowing students to use classroom resources including books, computer games and board games. Having a ‘withdrawing room’ option to the playground would be one of the most supportive steps schools could take for kids with food-related behaviour, health or learning problems.

Q. I recently ate Seafood Salad in mornay sauce at my father’s house for lunch. There was some left over so I took it home and ate it again for dinner. A few hours later I started feeling strange, my face went red and my eyes started swelling alarmingly. I was scared I was going to get worse so I rushed to hospital where they treated me with antihistamines. I’d like to know what caused it, because I don’t want to go through that again.

A. From your symptoms, I would expect the culprit to be flavour enhancer ribonucleotides 635 (or its components 627 and 631) so I visited our local fishermen’s co-op to check. They sell several brands, a ‘seafood extender’ sold recently thawed and unlabelled, and two frozen packets “Seafood Salad” and “Seafood Sticks” both from Thailand. The ingredients lists are similar (white fish, egg white, crab extract, crab flavour, tapioca starch, sat, wheat starch, sugar, natural food colour 120). It is rare but possible to have an allergic reaction to colour 120 (cochineal). However, the delay in your symptoms suggests ribonucleotides. While the crab extract and crab flavour have no numbers on the Seafood salad, the crab sticks list crab flavour (631, 627) as well as MSG 621. So I am guessing that’s your problem – unlisted ribonucleotides.

(March 2005)

Q. My doctor says that the salicylate level drops and the vitamin C level increases in the last three days before the fruit drops off the tree. Is this true?

A. I haven’t been able to find any research that mentions three days, but yes, it is true that beneficial antioxidant vitamin levels rise at the end of ripening, and that salicylate levels are lowest at the beginning and end and highest in the middle of the life of the fruit – which is often when it is picked for supermarkets and processing. Also, salicylate levels are lowest between sundown and sunup, so windfalls and ripe fruit picked before dawn for farmers markets and in Asia will be at the lowest possible levels, especially if from old fashioned varieties that haven’t been bred for pest resistance and to stay firm. This would explain why we found we could eat soft, sweet, ripe pineapples, oranges, mandarins, tomatoes and strawberries with no effects in Indonesia, Nepal and Egypt. It is also possible that artificially ripened supermarket fruit is chemically different from fruit ripened on trees. More information from A Comprehensive Explanation of Plant Hormones by Paul Pruitt (he regards salicylates as hormones) on Wikipedia.

Q. My husband’s boss has invited us to an Indian restaurant and we can’t refuse – any suggestions?

A. It won’t be failsafe but you can minimise the damage. Indian restaurants often use artificial colours so avoid any tandoori dishes (artificial reds). Yellow rice can be due to saffron (failsafe) or artificial yellow but most places will cook white rice for you. Sunset yellow (artificial, 110) is sometimes used in any dish containing yoghurt and some restaurants use other artificial colours as well. You could phone beforehand to ask about colours. Choose failsafe ingredients, eg lamb, chicken or lentils rather than prawns, eggplant or spinach, and ask for mild curries. Indian breads such as roti are probably made on the premises and are usually safe. Vegetable samosas (potatoes and peas) can be quite mild. Cucumber raita – a small amount of cucumber in a large amount of natural yoghurt – is fairly safe. Water or soda water are the best drinks. Wine is a problem but if you must have it to be polite, drink one glass slowly, refusing refills. Indian sweets such as gulab jamun or kulfi (mango icecream) are fairly safe unless they contain artificial colours or you have a problem with dairy foods. When I have to eat out, I have a tsp of soda bicarb in a glass of water as soon as I get home and several times the next day.

Q. Could you please tell me what others do for Easter celebrations? We live in country NSW and I don't have a clue. My son has asked me if the Easter Bunny still comes. He can eat carob without any adverse reactions.

A. Most people can buy commercial carob Easter eggs. If not, you can make your own by melting carob blocks and pouring into commercial Easter egg moulds or spoons – when set, warm the flat edges slightly to stick them together, then wrap them in foil. Another suggestion is to use some of those tiny chocolate Easter eggs - as a treat - in a big Easter egg hunt, so the hunt itself is more fun than the eating. You could also join one of the email discussion groups for suggestions. One mother bought the Tigger/Pooh Bear Mask Easter eggs from Big W to use the mask for making carob versions and also suggested making marshmallow and carob eggs using moulds.

Q. Can you help with the name of a worm tablet that is suitable? I can't find one which is colour, flavour, and preservative free.

A. There are no failsafe worm tablets. If your kids react, you might want to tell the Adverse Medications Event hotline (1300 134 237). It is our chance to change the system. If they get enough reports from us, they might introduce colour-free, preservative-free, flavour-free medications. Failsafers say the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful.

Q. Our pediatrician has basically said that my son has ADHD, but he is not into foods as a cause. I need some help.

A. I’ve sent you our dietitians’ list and suggestions about how to find a dietitian. If you can’t find one in your area, a number of failsafers have also recommended doctors through the list at ACNEM, the Australasian College of Nutrition and Environmental Medicine (www.acnem.org). While most of the ACNEM health professionals are not able to fully explain the failsafe diet – you need to study that for yourself – failsafers report they are aware of salicylates and amines, prepared to listen, respect your opinions, encourage you, test for coeliac disease if appropriate, and check your child’s nutrition.

Q. How does the Glycaemic Index (GI) apply to failsafe foods?

A. The GI measures the rate at which carbohydrate foods are digested and absorbed in the body. Low GI carbohydrate foods are considered to be healthiest because they provide a gradual energy release – keeping your blood sugar level - throughout the day. High GI foods provide a quick energy boost. Overall it is best to have a combination. See a list of the GI per serve for failsafe foods below. You can turn a high GI food into a low or moderate GI food by mixing it with a low GI food. However you need to apply some commonsense. Since fats and oils have low GI, in some commercial products, the low GI rating comes from high fat, which is not desirable. Potato crisps are a good example. Saturated fat is now considered to be far worse for people with diabetes than sugar. The moral of the GI story is that it is good to limit your intake of dietary fats, to include low GI carbohydrate foods such as nuts, lentils, beans, oats, pasta and cereal fibre such as bran (from wheat, oats, rice or psyllium) in your diet and to eat balanced meals and snacks rather than to consume sweets or sugary drinks alone. More details from The GI Factor by Dr Jennie Brand Miller and others, Hodder, many editions.

100 Glucose

90 Bread, gluten free (adding fillings will reduce the GI)

83 Rice bubbles (serving with milk or soymilk will reduce GI, but see porridge at 42)

70 Bread, white or wholemeal (average)

70 Mashed potato

69 Milk arrowroot biscuits

66 Magic cordial (and non failsafe soft drinks)

65 Sugar (sucrose)

65 Rye bread

61 Icecream (average)

55 Oatmeal biscuits

55 Banana (FS for non amine responders)

54 Pound cake

54 Potato crisps

59 Rice, Doongara compared to 87 for Calrose

48 Peas, green, fresh or frozen half cup (FS if moderate glutamates tolerated)

42 Porridge made with water, same as All-Bran

41 Spaghetti, white, cooked

38 Pear, fresh compared to about 50 canned in syrup

31 Soy milk (So Good)

28 Sausages, fried

28 Lentils, boiled

27 Milk, full fat

27 Kidney beans

25 Barley, pearled

19 Rice bran (psyllium is also low, failsafe and can be added to cereals)

14 Cashews (assuming same as peanuts)

Q. I am worried that the failsafe diet contains too much sugar.

A. Many failsafers find they need extra treats to help them get through withdrawals and the food chemical cravings stage. After your family is settled on the diet, you can reduce sugar and increase vegetables. (“I just gave up baking, and it’s much easier now” said one failsafer 12 months after starting failsafe). However, you can choose failsafe foods without sugar from the beginning if that’s what you want. See Ethan’s menu in Newsletter 43 for an example of a child’s glutenfree, dairyfree failsafe day with little sugar. One mother was pleased to hear that you can feed children dinner recipes such as pasta, mince and vegies for lunch and snacks - “I never thought of that,” she said. I myself like sugary desserts for treats and special occasions but what I ate yesterday is an example of my regular weekday diet – it’s fairly low in fat and sugar, and contains many low GI foods:

cooked porridge with chopped tinned pear half and home-made soy yoghurt

toast with bean or cashew paste and fresh pear (sometimes half a mango - my moderate salicylate allowance)

Mountain bread wrap with Howard’s bean paste (Failsafe 43, or sometimes a hard boiled egg) and Mighty Salad (see recipes below)

small handful of raw cashews (if bean paste used on toast above)

vegetable soup with red lentils and barley

panfried fresh white fish (can be lamb stew, chicken stirfry, egg stirfry, kidney beans) with rice, green beans, cabbage, brussel sprout and carrot (my moderate salicylate allowance)

bowl of quick cook oats, canned pear and soy yoghurt for dessert

drinks – water, decaf, hot carob with soymilk.

See also the Failsafe Weightloss factsheet.

(November 2004)

Q. What is a shallot and how is it different from different types of onion?

A:

Q. How does the recent link between macular degeneration (blindness) and certain fats affect the failsafe diet?

A. Trans fats are created when manufacturers make liquid oils into the more solid partially hydrogenated oils used in margarines, shortening and thousands of processed foods. Twenty years ago, scientist through that these trans fats were safe but in the 1990s scientists found that trans fats raise LDL (bad cholesterol) as much as saturated fat does. Now new evidence indicates that trans fats also lower HDL (good cholesterol) and studies in the US - where trans fat consumption is four times greater than in Australia - have associated trans fats with macular degeneration. The makers of Nuttelex have advised us that they are very close to production of a low (less than 1%) trans fat Nuttelex and hope to have it in stores by Xmas. Since macular degeneration is also linked with overweight and smoking, consumers are advised to maintain a healthy weight, choose healthy fats in moderation (fish and nuts are protective), stop smoking, and eat lots of vegetables and fruit. More details: http://www.csiro.au/ProprietaryDocuments/fat_and_macular_degeneration.pdf

Q. My son’s teacher and I had a verbal agreement that he would not give my son any food or drink. Well, last Friday he gave my son a piece of chocolate cake and said ‘don't tell your mum’ but my son told me, ‘I'm not going to bother lying to you mum, because I know you can tell when I've had something just by looking at my eyes’.

A. One failsafer achieved a high level of cooperation from her school by telling her story in the school newsletter, see our new factsheet “Please Don’t Feed My Child”. Perhaps you could tell your own story in your newsletter in a similar way, or ask your school to reprint our factsheet.

Q. Just wanted to know if you can eat Subway on the failsafe diet?’

A. As you can see from the Subway ingredients list, most items contain non-failsafe additives. The safest choice would be roast beef and lettuce on Italian bread, no pickles, no dressing, although we are not sure about azodicarbamide (927) bread improver, which has only recently been approved in Australia. Perhaps you could take your own failsafe ketchup or mayonnaise. If you don’t care about salicylates and amines you could also have fresh cucumbers, yellow mustard and tuna, see http://subway.com/subwayroot/MenuNutrition/Nutrition/frmUSIngredients.aspx

Q. Do sulfites mainly affect asthmatics or are they mood altering?

A. Like other food chemicals, sulfites (or sulphites) can be associated with any of the symptoms of food intolerance including irritable bowel, headaches, itchy skin rashes and mood. This is particularly concerning as sulfites are the most commonly used preservative, present in nearly all processed foods.

Q. When my ADHD son eats kiwi fruit, his behaviour doesn’t change. Since kiwi fruit is very high in salicylates, does this mean he isn’t affected by salicylates?

A. Very few parents ever notice a reaction to salicylates in foods because salicylates are eaten many times a day, every day. Most children don’t react to a few serves of fruit, but the effects build up slowly. You will only see the difference when you avoid salicylates then do a challenge -note that failing to eat six good serves of high salicylates per day during the challenge can cause confusing results. If in doubt, it’s a good idea to repeat the challenge.

Q. I bought a black winter coat labelled ‘made in China’, and didn’t realise until I got it home that its horrible tar or creosote-type smell gives me a nasty headache.

A. A failsafer with exactly the same problem reported that airing and drycleaning had no effect. Despite the ‘dryclean only’ label, he achieved a wearable garment by soaking his coat in Lux flakes for three days, running it through the washing machine at least six times, and storing it in a drying room for months. Surprisingly, the coat did not shrink.

Q. Chic Nuts roasted chickpeas are so delicious, are you sure they are failsafe?

A. According to the manufacturer, Chic Nuts are made from locally grown chickpeas soaked in pure spring water overnight before being roasted in Monola oil (a more monounsaturated and therefore healthier version of Canola). Then they are tossed in natural seasonings to give them various flavours – the ones we can eat are pure garlic powder and sea salt. There are no anti-oxidants in the Monola oil. The sodium is low compared with popular salty snacks (480mg per 100g) and the GI is 37. More information from www.partnerfoods.com.au Chic Nuts are available from Safeways and Woolworths, in the Naytura aisle. Information about Monola oil: http://www.csiro.au/index.asp?type=mediaRelease&id=Prmonola&stylesheet=mediaRelease

Q. My husband’s gout has improved since our family went failsafe. He’s not really on the diet but eats a lot of our failsafe food. Is the failsafe diet for gout?

A. People with gout are affected by food chemicals called purines. Many high-purine foods such as wine, beer, tea, anchovies, gravy, meat extracts and sardines are avoided on the failsafe diet because they are also high in salicylates or amines. However, some failsafe foods such as dried beans and lentils contain moderate amounts of purines. For more information, see http://dialadietitian.org/resources/handouts/goutdiet.html

Q. I bought normal white Panadol tablets and the children’s chewable Panadol for my 5 year old son because the lady in the chemist’s thought it was ok. I’m confused as it says on the packet 'no added colours or flavours' but also says pleasant tasting.

A. I was unable to find the inactive ingredients in chewable Panadol (unfortunately they don’t have to be listed on medications), but pleasant tasting chewable tablets obviously contain flavour. The dose recommended on the children’s packet for 3 - 6 year olds is 2 tablets, which are 120mg paracetamol each, so 240mg in total, in which case 1/2 plain white tablet is the same. You can crush it and mix with golden syrup etc, see the Supplements Factsheet. Please, anyone whose child has reacted to flavoured tablets, tell the AME hotline (Adverse Medications Event - 1300 134 237). It is only by complaining that we can get authorities to realize that unlisted ingredients in medications can affect our children.

(July 2004) 

Q. The new 'Explogo' dairy snack contains colour 160c, listed as not permitted in Australia. Is it a bad colour?

A. The Food Standards Code has changed recently to allow many more additives including colours in Australian foods. Colour 160c is Capsanthin, a natural extract from red peppers. Since food additives are not tested by authorities for their effects on children’s behaviour and learning (or indeed, on asthmatics, people with eczema, irritable bowel symptoms or headaches), we do not know yet whether this additive is good or bad. It might be safe (such as 160a, betacarotene) or not (like 160b annatto). When it is added to a product which is otherwise failsafe (Explogo is not), failsafers on their elimination diet will be able to do a challenge with it to see whether we can use it or not.

Q. I’d like to do the diet for my asthma but I’m not prepared to give up wine.

A. If you only have to avoid sulphites there are good preservative-free wine such as the 1999 Happs PF Red from Margaret River (www.happs.com.au). If you need to avoid salicylates etc as well, see the new Product Updates section – we think we have discovered a completely failsafe fruit wine.

Q. I have an overactive bladder with urinary urgency and frequency. I am on Detrusitol but find that it has unwanted side effects and is very expensive. I heard that some foods may cause this condition.

A. Everyone is different, and basically any food chemical can cause different symptoms in susceptible individuals. In my experience, the food chemicals and foods most likely to be related to urinary urgency, incontinence (and bedwetting in children) are salicylates, amines, propionate bread preservatives (280-282), other additives, and dairy products. You could try switching to preservative-free bread and drinking only water. This works for some people. Or you could try the elimination diet with challenges to find out exactly which components of your diet might be affecting you.

Q. I had an annoying reaction to Pampas Puff Pastry with Canola. I only had a small amount - about 1/6 of a piece - and was awake at night for a few hours around 2am or 3am. I tried a few times with the same result. Very annoying because the pastry is delicious!

A. My apologies. The last information on the website was reversed. The Pampas Butter Puff Pasty is failsafe, the Puff Pastry with Canola contains listed preservatives.

Q. We are taking our 5-year-old failsafe son on an overseas holiday. Are additive numbers the same globally?

A. Additive numbers in Europe are the same as Australia with an E before the number, so tartrazine yellow colouring (102) is E102. Additives do not have numbers in the USA, so you will have to learn names. For example, for 200, it might say ‘sorbic acid as a preservative’, or for 319 ‘TBHQ (to preserve freshness)’, for 282 ‘calcium propionate (preservative)’. There is a different classification for artificial colours so tartrazine is Yellow 5, more details in the Failsafe Cookbook page 16.

Q. To the person who enquired about failsafe travel in Norway, I accidentally deleted your email.

A. Our Swedish contact is a failsafe Australian family living in Sweden and will be able to help you: ‘Faye’ <fayesdesk@hotmail.com>

Q. I noticed that some of the symptoms listed on your site are also related to chemicals, especially in the home.

A. We recommend avoiding a wide range of household chemicals (see the Factsheet on fumes and perfumes). For home cleaning, we recommend soda bicarbonate, hand dishwashing liquid, automatic dishwasher powder, vinegar, microfibre cloths and steam mops. See the virtual house at www.checnet.org for a room by room explanation of toxic chemicals.

Q. Have you had any reports from people with multiple sclerosis who have responded to the elimination diet?

A. Yes, see our new ‘Multiple Sclerosis and diet’ factsheet.

Q. I have been on the failsafe for one month. Yesterday I took 2 Ibuprofen for menstrual cramps.  Last night I woke up with my heart pounding and little muscle tics and twitches all over my body.  I felt agitated and depressed, and have felt bad all day.  I am trying to figure out what caused this reaction.  Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal  anti-inflammatory drug, not aspirin, and it doesn’t have salicylates in it. What caused the reaction?

A. People who are sensitive to aspirin (which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and salicylates generally react to other NSAIDs as well. Although Ibuprofen doesn't list salicylates as an ingredient, you need to avoid this and any medication which says ‘if you have an allergy to aspirin you should tell your doctor’ on the CMI (Consumer Medicine Information) sheet. If you don’t have a CMI, you can look it up on www.drugs.com.

Q. In Brisbane (and Sydney) there is a clinic called ‘Advanced Allergy' using kinesiology (for diagnostic reasons) and while the patient holds a vial of the offending substance, they use a treatment to strengthen the body so that it associates the offending substance as something good. I was wondering if you knew of any other families who had used this and if they found it helpful.

A. There are numerous alternative therapies which claim to improve tolerance. None of them are scientifically proven. In my experience the failsafe diet helps by far the greatest number of people and the more strictly it is done, the better the results. Alternative therapies can actually stop the failsafe diet from working properly either by encouraging people not to follow it strictly, or by using supplements which are not failsafe. Children will continue to improve for at least nine months after you get the diet right so it is worth giving the failsafe diet a really good try for about 12 months – it takes many families that long to really settle into it. Usually alternative therapies help some people but not others and they can be extremely expensive. Therapies which are not intrusive and do not interfere with failsafe include AAE, NAET, No Phenol, osteopathy and chiropractic. Enzymes therapies are nearly but not fully failsafe. Therapies which can actually interfere with failsafe include supplements such as Effalex fish oil capsules and other vitamin and mineral supplements. There is more scientific evidence for Effalex capsules (available from pharmacists) than for other supplements but they definitely make some children better and some worse. You need to test them as a challenge. We have received numerous complaints about the aggressive marketing techniques associated with some expensive supplements that are additive free but not failsafe. I am always extremely suspicious of any product that has to be purchased through from a distributor who make money by signing up other distributors (Multi Level Marketing).

(April 2004)

Q. We usually have a huge Easter egg hunt and my son keeps asking will he be able to have any eggs. Can he have a chocolate challenge over Easter?

A. You can't use regular Easter eggs for the amine challenge because they contain too much flavour (salicylates). Dark chocolate is recommended so Nestle dark choc bits (unflavoured) are ideal. You can make your own chocolate eggs out of that, by melting it down (in a double boiler) and using commercial chocolate egg moulds or you can use two spoons.

For non-amine responders, one failsafer has recommended the Lindt chocolate carrots available this year in Coles supermarkets because they are unflavoured.

Otherwise, you can buy carob Easter eggs. One failsafer wrote 'I have one 80gm carob egg, ingredients: milk solids, vegetable oil (palm kernel), carob powder (3%) and emulsifier (soya lecithin). I also have a small plastic rabbit container to put Pascall white marshmallows in.'

Or you can regard Easter as a treat, buy a packet of the very little chocolate Easter eggs as a way of minimising the harm, and use them for a big Easter egg hunt, so the hunt is more fun than eating the eggs.

I am usually inundated by emails from parents telling me how horrible their kids are in the week after Easter because the amine reaction is generally delayed and can last up to a week or more.

Q. Do you know anything about BeCALM'd?

A. Two families have reported that this product really works. Ingredients include natural amino acids 5HTP (L-5- hydroxytryptophan) and phenylalanine. In 1989 L-tryptophan supplements were associated with eosinophilia myalgia syndrome (EMS) including 37 deaths which may have been due to a bad batch. In 2001, the FDA warned that EMS and related disorders are also reported to be associated with exposure to L-5-hydroxytryptophan, which is not made in the same manner as L-tryptophan. (http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-tryp1.html). Phenylalanine may interact with certain psychotropic medications to cause movement disorders. Consult your medical professional before combining it with ADHD medication.

Q. A lady in a bakery told me this week that she was waiting on a delivery of new bread bags, as they had to list all ingredients now! (yay) Do you have the particulars of the new legislation?

A. The 'new' legislation is the new Food Standards Code, which was introduced in December 2002. Manufacturers were given until December 2003 to use up old packaging. The new code requires nutrition information and reduces the labelling loophole from 10% to 5%, but still doesn't require all ingredients to be listed. For example, it still means BHA (320) or TBHQ (319) can be hidden in products such as chips and biscuits in amounts which can affect our kids, especially if eaten every day (see disastrous Christmas story [316] ).

Q. Can you tell me how badly this preservative in 7UP lemonade would affect my child, and an alternative drink I could give her?

A. The preservative is sodium benzoate (211). It has been implicated in everything from asthma to itchy skin rashes to behaviour. Behavioural reactions are likely to be next day irritability, lasting all day, with outbursts if things go wrong. One woman who hadn't noticed the new preservative wrote 'My son had temper tantrums 20-24 hours after having the 7UP. We have stopped buying it now'. As an alternative, Schweppes bottled lemonade is preservative-free but limited to 150 ml per week because of salicylates and amines in the natural lemon flavour. You could try the Magic Cordial recipe in all my books and on the website brochures.

Q. Last summer I took a vitamin supplement and about 5 minutes later my heart started beating so fast and I couldn't breathe, and felt weak and cold-sweaty. I honestly and truly thought I was going to die. My mom sped me to the hospital emergency where they performed some tests, but according to them I could not be in better health. After about an hour of being tested all the symptoms went away just as suddenly as they came. I never had that before then or since, and I am 100% sure it was brought on by the supplement, although at the hospital they did not believe me.

A. Heart palpitations are a well-documented reaction to some of the B group Vitamins B1( thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin, niacinamide, nicotinamide, nicotinic acid) and B6 (pyridoxine, pyryridoxol, pyridoxamine). Another failsafer described a sudden rash, dizziness, shortness of breath and 'my whole head became hot, flushed and red, so much that a colleague came over concerned' five hours after taking a multivitamin tablet which was free of additives and herbs. Niacin is known to cause flushing. There could also be hidden colours or herbs that affect some people.

(December 2003)

Q. We gave our son some soda bicarb in a glass of magic cordial when he was having one of his hissy fits and he calmed down immediately. How does this work?

A. Salicylates and similar food chemicals (colours, preservatives) delay gastric emptying and accumulate in the stomach thus allowing continuing absorption. Sodium bicarbonate increases excretion by increasing the pH of the urine. It is used in hospitals when patients present with acute or chronic salicylate poisoning. According to many failsafers, half a cup of soda bicarb in the bath water works 'brilliantly' for both eczema and behaviour, and can be used 3 times a day. Many mothers say that 1/8 tsp in a glass of water works well but not if used more than once a day. Adults can have 1 tsp up to 3 times a day. If you have to break your diet (eg Christmas day), don't wait for reactions to appear. Take soda bicarb as soon as possible.

Q. I tried your pavlova recipe and it turned out brown and rubbery. What did I do wrong?

A. There are two possible causes. First, don't over-beat the egg white and so break down the protein fibres. Whip it to stiff peaks and then add the sugar. Second, make sure that all the sugar is fully dissolved in the egg white by beating for long enough. The stiff baked structure depends on water being taken from the egg white by the dissolved sugar. Test by putting a little bit of the mixture on your tongue - if you can feel any crystals, keep beating.

Q. I know I get migraines from MSG but I have had a migraine for two days so far from eating a Divine Classic Passionfruit Pannacotta by www.natfoods.com.au. As it didn't have any flavour enhancers I thought it would be OK. It has 8 numbers including 1442 Halal Gelatine Thickener, 410 Vegetable Gum, 415 Vegetable Gum, 466 Vegetable Gum, 331 Food Acid, 120 Natural Colour, 160b natural Colour, 200 Preservative. Which one would be the culprit?

A. Vegetable gums, thickeners and food acids are generally OK. Natural colour 160b (annatto) has been associated with violent headaches (and headbanging in toddlers) and preservative 200 (sorbic acid) can be a problem. You might also have to worry about natural food chemicals called salicylates or amines. Passionfruit is very high in both and is much more concentrated in a dessert syrup than a fresh passionfruit.

Q. We started on the elimination diet for our 2-year-old with eczema a week ago. There was no improvement and the eczema has spread each day until now the only parts of her body not covered with this lumpy raised itchy rash are her feet and her upper back. Please help! I am trying so hard to do the right thing by her, only I seem to be making it worse. The eczema started about the time she started solids at 6months.We have creams and oils that I put on her at least 3 times a day and even in the night when the itch wakes her up.

A. This problem turned out to be herbal creams containing salicylates. When the mother switched to soda-bicarb baths 3 times a day, her daughter's eczema started improving, but flared up dramatically for a week after 8 Darryl Lea White Jelly Beans (see product warning). A girl with a similar eczema problem was using a doctor-prescribed cream containing methyl salicylate. Salicylates in medications and herbs are well-absorbed through skin and must be avoided during the elimination diet.

Q. I have not found references to tinnitus as a symptom in your Cookbook yet increased tinnitus is a sure sign of a food reaction for me. What do you think?

A. Sorry, that is an oversight. Tinnitus (the sensation of sounds in the ears in the absence of an external sound source) is a well documented side-effect of salicylates in drugs and foods, as well as food colours and preservatives. It tends to be age-related, rarely occurring in children, frequently occurring in over-65s.

Q. I wish someone told me that the best way of preventing future allergies may be not to feed the usual allergenic foods to young babies (wheat, eggs, fish, milk etc) when my son was weaned from breastfeeding. He is now allergic (not just intolerant) to all these food groups. How are parents supposed to know until it is too late?

A. It is recommended that mothers of babies with a family history of true allergy (asthma, eczema, hayfever) avoid the main allergens (as above, but also especially nuts) during the last month of pregnancy and during breastfeeding, and delay introduction of these foods to their babies. See Fed Up with Asthma for more information.

Q. I wrote to you early this year about my son's skin ('incessant picking/scratching at his skin. It's as though his whole body is alive and crawling and he just can't keep his hands off it. At night in bed he scratches non-stop until he finally drifts off to sleep'). When I couldn't link it to any particular food, you suggested garlic. You were right. Not one of the numerous doctors and other health professionals we saw mentioned that. How on earth did you know?

A. I had the same problem with itching when I had infectious hepatitis. I was so itchy I would scratch my skin with a wire hairbrush yet there was no rash. Garlic turned out to be a big problem. You might want to have your son tested for hepatitis.

Q. Sam Tinsley's lollipops are quite a hit with the kids. Is cochineal OK?

A. Cochineal is made from beetles not plants and is safe unless you come from an allergic (as opposed to intolerant) family. Be careful if you have a family history of allergy to horses or insects. There have been a few reports of occupational asthma and one report of non-occupational asthma worldwide but no intolerance effects. If buying cochineal for yourself, make sure it is preservative-free. Glucose syrup contains sulphites but when it has been heated commercially to very high temperatures, as it would have to be to get such hard, opaque lollipops, the sulphites have probably all been driven off. So far there have been no reports of reactions to the lollipops (www.sweettreats.com.au) despite extensive testing by enthusiastic failsafers. Thanks to all those who were so understanding when the Christmas candy canes travelled badly and arrived in pieces.

Q. My daughter was diagnosed last year with petit mal, the mildest form of epilepsy, when I noticed that she was 'zoning out' every now and then. I didn't think too much about it but when I mentioned it to the pediatrician, he said this form of epilepsy is common in young children and ordered tests. She has to take medication twice a day. If she misses one day of medicine, she doesn't 'zone out'. But after about 3 days, it starts back up again. Is there a chance that changing her diet might help with her condition?

A. If there is a history of food intolerance such as migraines in the family, it is worth a try (see factsheet on website). You might like to switch immediately to preservative-free bread. A number of families have reported similar 'zoning out' reactions to the bread preservative (282). Artificial colours are another group of additives worth avoiding. If that doesn't work it's probably worth trying the full failsafe diet.

Q. I'm just wondering what's involved in being a support person? I've notice that country Victoria is not represented and the way people treat you when you try and discuss issues with them. Our local Bakers Delight has been wonderful with their assistance but supermarket shopping takes hours. I'm sure I could get a few families together.

A. Thank you for your offer. We prefer contact people to have followed the elimination diet for at least three weeks under the supervision of a dietitian (if possible); completed at least two challenges; and belonged to an email discussion group for at least a month (if possible) - although we do realise that not everyone can do this. There are big benefits in failsafe families getting together to organise foods such as sausages, bread, treats, failsafe-friendly dietitians and other health professionals, or support in schools. Everyone does it differently. Some people run meetings, or local email groups, or offer telephone or email contact. We can lend you videos if you want to run a few meetings. If you'd like to be on the contact list, send me your email address or phone number and I can refer people to you.

Q. When we challenged MSG, my daughter's bedwetting returned. Is this a typical characteristic of MSG?

A. As with other symptoms, children are different and can be affected by any of the usual suspects. MSG has been implicated with bedwetting.

Q. My ten-year-old son's behaviour, concentration and bedwetting have improved on the elimination diet but seems to have a reverse effect on my 4-year-old daughter. She has become quite out of character - very disruptive at preschool and even to the extent of being rude to the teacher. She has also had bouts of teariness. Have you heard of this happening before?

A. When children get worse on the diet it is usually because they are eating a lot more of an item such as dairy foods or wheat, or a new item such as soymilk. See the checklist of common mistakes. You are welcome to send a list of everything your daughter eats in a day for me to check for possible culprits.

Q. There is no doubt at all in my mind about the great affect that foods have on my children although it has taken me about 3 years to accept it. But I still can not 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

A. Researchers at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Clinic suggest that certain chemicals in foods cause an irritation of the nerve endings. With dairy foods, researchers at CSIRO in 1985 found that hyperactive children excrete five times more of a chemical called para-cresol than non-hyperactives. Para-cresol is a breakdown product of the amino acid tyrosine which occurs in large amounts in dairy foods. Para-cresol is known to be neurotoxic to rodents and is also permitted as an unlisted food additive in artificial flavours. Presumably, it depends which nerve endings are irritated as to which symptoms develop. There is a wide range of symptoms including loud voice, seems not to listen, temper outbursts, etc. During my bread preservative study, I noticed that loud voice was the symptom most often reported as improving by mothers, yet I have never seen it mentioned in the medical literature. If you ever get a chance to go to one of my talks, you would probably enjoy to see the "Little Monsters" video that I show of juvenile offenders in Britain - you can see the huge difference that 3 weeks of diet makes to their behaviour, and it might make you feel better to know that you are not the only one.

Q. We just returned from a 4-day camping trip. Before we left, I made lots of bread, rolls and FAILSAFE muffins, and I packed lots of pretzels, Kettles chips, milk shake lollies, pears and red delicious apples. I would have packed some Peters vanilla ice cream if I could have figured out a way to keep it frozen! In spite of all this preparation, I still found myself frequently saying, "No, you can't have that." When we stopped at petrol stations or mini-marts, or in supermarkets or the one restaurant we ate in, my son always seemed to find something he really wanted and couldn't have. I'm just so tired of having to tell him "No", but I know I pay in the end anyway if I say "Yes". I feel I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. I'm tired of always baking, baking, baking. Sometimes, I just want to pitch this FAILSAFE diet out the window, and buy all our food at the supermarket. But I know life would not be any easier if I did. It's just hard to always have to say, "NO".

A. I couldn't agree with you more. I, too, sometimes feel like shouting that everyone can eat what they like because I'm not going to all this trouble any more. But of course, it doesn't happen because we all know what the results would be. We have found that if you can buy just one treat in a roadhouses or supermarket (such as Peters Dixie Cup icecreams, or the old Peters chocolate billabong icypoles, which contained a small amount of cocoa but were otherwise FAILSAFE), then life is easy. But when there is absolutely nothing your kids can buy, then life is very difficult indeed. This is why we need to be vocal about it - to the food manufacturers' freecall numbers, politicians and especially the media. Otherwise, the situation will get worse. We live in a society where it is acceptable to drug children and even babies for food reactions like restlessness, irritability and sleep disturbance, but not acceptable to remove from our foods the additives which cause these reactions. It is time for a change. You might be interested to know that the diet and behaviour story on A Current Affair was prompted by the number of people who phoned in after each program on ADHD and said "but what about diet?" We can make a difference!

Q. I rang the consumer hot line to find out which vegetable oil is in some biscuits my daughter loves. The oil is palm oil. Is it FAILSAFE?

A. Palm oil is "probably OK". In other words, it hasn't been tested but people don't complain about it. It is not as healthy as canola oil in terms of heart disease. The biggest worry with vegetable oil is what kind of antioxidants it contains. If your daughter reacts to antioxidants (310-321) then she is likely to react to the biscuits if she eats a lot of them, or if she eats them every day, because the reaction is dose related and cumulative. Whenever you phone a consumer hotline about oils, always remember to ask about antioxidants. They won't tell you if you don't ask!

Q. I have been following your FAILSAFE diet for about a year after reading "Fed Up". Your book has saved my sanity and improved my 5 year old's quality of life. We are fairly strict with her diet and have a supportive teacher, which is great. My query is, do you consider the Soy Life custard to be FAILSAFE? Thanks again for all your information and hard work, we have a lovely calm daughter most of the time.

A. Soylife custard is considered to be FAILSAFE, as are some dairy custards which do not contain annatto colour 60b. Note that colour 160a (betacarotene) is FAILSAFE. Any product which contains "flavours" might affect sensitive children and adults especially if eaten frequently, so watch for a slow buildup reaction.

Q. I am wondering if your book would help my girl. I live in the US. I have tried the Feingold diet and not had much luck with it.

A. First, please understand that I greatly admire Dr Ben Feingold's work and his book "Why your child is hyperactive", which nearly 30 years later, is still a thrilling story by an observant pediatrician who noticed (and was prepared to speak up) about the effects of food chemicals on children! Unfortunately, in Australia, we have noticed that the Feingold diet is often ineffective and sometimes makes children worse. This could be, among other things, because pineapples are permitted on the Feingold diet. Australians tend to consume a lot of pineapples and pineapple juice, which are rated as very high in salicyates in the latest research. This research suggests that Dr Feingold's diet fails to exclude many provoking foods, including a whole category of food chemicals called amines.

The diet that we recommend is the elimination diet from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) in Sydney. It is based on more than 20 years research and well over 20,000 patients with food intolerance. It was developed for patients with symptoms like urticaria and other itchy skin rashes, migraine and irritable bowel. Along the way, researchers noticed that it helped children with hyperactivity although that is not their main interest.

Basically, the RPAH diet excludes more than the Feingold diet: more additives, especially calcium propionate in bread, and annatto natural yellow colour; and more salicylates, as well as natural amines and natural glutamates and wheat, gluten, dairy products and soy if required. It involves a 3-6 week period of elimination of all provoking substances, followed by careful challenges of specific food chemicals as described in a research letter in the Lancet (Swain AR and others, 'Salicylates, oligoantigenic diets and behaviour',1985; ii:41-2). At the end of three months, you should know exactly which food chemicals cause problems, what kind of problems, how long each reaction takes to start, how long each reaction lasts, and how much of a tolerance your child has for each food chemical.

Q. Isn't the RPAH diet too hard for ordinary families?

A. Here is a comment from a mother in New Hampshire who has done the RPAH diet: "My family would not have done well on the Feingold diet because we would have eaten an increased amount of the allowed fruits ... Some people talk about how your diet is too hard and how could a single mom with an ADHD child possibly cope with this kind of diet ... I think the mom would be better able to cope if she had a healthy, pleasant child to raise!!!!

Q. What are amines?

A. Amines come from protein breakdown or fermentation and there are large amounts in cheese, chocolate, wines and fish products like canned tunafish. Amines are also found in some fruits and vegetables like bananas, citrus, avocados and tomatoes, and most nuts. Amines can develop as a result of handling, processing or cooking methods, for example, fresh white fish and most other seafood within twelve hours of being caught is low in amines but amines will build up rapidly with time and also freezing or canning. Age, charring, slow cooking or long freezing will cause amine build up in eg beef. Chicken is low in amines but chicken skin is surprisingly high. If there are any relatives (eg grandparents, parents, uncles or aunts) with migraines or headaches, then it is a very good idea to look at amines.

Q Can you send me a list of foods containing amines?

A. I have been asked by RPAH to not put the food lists on the internet. This is because the lists alone are not enough. And I do agree with this. In our experience, no one succeeds just by getting the food lists. One small daily mistake is enough to negate the benefits of the diet.

Q. Then how can I get more information?

A. We find that the RPAH diet booklets, which are available only from dietitians, by themselves do not contain enough information and support. This is why I wrote "Fed Up". It is essentially a parents' manual for the RPAH diet with information, explanations, examples, food lists, shopping lists, recipes and suggestions. ("Fed Up: understanding how foods affect your child and what you can do about it"; Random House Australia, 1998; 351 pages; RRP $Australian 19.95 which is about $US12.17 at the current exchange rate; available from the Australian Online bookshop at a discounted price which partially covers postage. I believe you can also order "Fed Up" from a Cambridge, Massachussets bookstore: Shoenhofs, 1-617-547-8855. http://www.schoenhofs.com/ Cost $US25.00 plus $5 S&H.) However, I would hate you to think this is simply a way of promoting my book.

If you would prefer to get the booklets from RPAH, this is how to do it. They are called "The Simplified Elimination Diet" (33 pages) and "Salicylates, Amines and Glutamates" (16 pages), cost $A6 (US$3.66) plus postage. You would need to write to The Allergy Service, Suite 210, 100 Carillon Avenue, Newtown NSW 2042, Australia, giving the name of your dietitian or doctor (they will not post straight to private individuals). Now you begin to see why I wrote a book about it!

As well as the information in "Fed Up", we at the Food Intolerance Network of Australia provide updates in regular free newsletters and an email discussion group to give on-going support.

Q. My son has ADHD but we've never seen him react to any foods. Does this mean he's not affected?

A. Most people whose children are affected by foods have never noticed a reaction. This is for two reasons. Firstly, most reactions are delayed. If a child drinks a can of coloured soda on Monday and reacts with temper outbursts on Wednesday, no-one will connect those two events. Secondly, children who eat foods to which they are sensitive every day will develop recurring symptoms with no obvious cause.

Q. We've tried the Feingold diet and it didn't work.

A. The Feingold diet is very different from what I call foods. Australian research shows that children are affected by more additives and more salicylate-containing foods than are excluded by the Feingold diet. As well, some people react to foods containing natural amines and flavour enhancers which are not considered at all by the Feingold diet. So for some people, the Feingold diet might not work. It may even make them worse.

Q. My doctor says children's behaviour is not affected by food additives.

A. In 1980, a group of scientists in the U.S. decided that a suggestion by Dr Feingold about the effect of food additives on children's behaviour and learning was incorrect and that few if any children are affected by food additives. The latest research shows that Dr Feingold's diet failed to exclude enough food chemicals. Since 1985 there have been many scientific studies, especially in other countries, which have shown a clear association between various foods and children's behaviour. Many doctors are unaware of these studies.

Q. My 4 year old daughter doesn't have ADHD. When she's happy she's just perfect but she can be very demanding, with temper outbursts when she doesn't get what she wants and she sometimes takes hours to get to bed.

A. The most common behavioural effects of food chemicals are irritability, restlessness, inattention and difficulty settling to sleep or night waking. Your daughter might be calmer and happier if you changed what she ate. For some people, cutting down on processed food can make a big difference, but others will need to find out exactly which food chemicals are causing the problem through careful elimination and challenge.

Q. Wouldn't food additives be banned if they were harmful?

A. Food additives are not tested for their effects on children's behaviour or learning ability. Other effects, like itchy skin rashes, asthma and irritable bowel symptoms, are well documented but regarded as minor by food regulatory authorities. Consumers who suffer from these problems are warned to avoid food additives which cause them. Unfortunately, most consumers don't realise they are affected or don't know how to avoid food additives.

Q. How can I tell if my child might be affected by food?

A. If you have ever seen your child react to any foods like colours, chocolate or party foods - even once - then this is an indication that your child might be affected in less obvious ways by other foods. A family history of migraine, eczema or irritable bowel is also a good indication of a food sensitive family.

Q. I feel so alone. I'd love to talk to other families who are doing this. All the people I know give their ADHD children medication.

A. Families using dietary management can benefit from support at least for the first few months. An email discussion group and monthly newsletters containing updates, information and answers to readers' questions are available through my website: http://www.ozemail.com.au/~sdengate

Q. I have an eight year old son who is, according to the specialist, suffering from ADD. The specialist wants us to put him on Ritalin and various other medications. We are afraid to pump our son full of drugs ... here must be another way! My wife and I are considering changes to his diet, but the doctor says we will be wasting our time. Is this true?

A. Dietary management of ADD can be extremely successful but it is difficult to do properly. One mistake a day can mean the diet will not work at all. So you have to be well-informed and committed. "Fed Up" will give you a good idea of what is involved. Eight is an excellent age to try dietary management - old enough to reason with, young enough to still have control over food.

Q. Do amine/salicylate intolerances ever develop in adults?

A. Unlike IgE-mediated allergy, food intolerance is common in both children and adults. Women are twice as likely to be affected as men. The presence of food intolerance symptoms combined with a family history of food intolerance (eg, grandparents, parents or siblings with migraine,eczema or irritable bowel) suggests that salicylate or amine intolerance is a strong possibility. A bout of gastrointestinal infection such as giardia might also be the precipitating factor. Exposure to chemicals (agricultural, industrial, solvents) is another common trigger. And of course stress can exacerbate the problem.

Q. It seems from your book and web site that children are the main sufferers from food intolerance. However, I know a couple of adults who have intolerance problems, and while many of the symptoms are the same as for children, there appear to be some differences. For example, adults appear to have more digestive problems ("irritable bowel syndrome"), and less like hyperactivity (although some aspects are still apparent...). Has any work been done on problems common in adults and how they are different to those of children?

A.. Symptoms come and go and change throughout the lifespan. Everyone is different. Children and adults can suffer from irritable bowel, itchy skin rashes and respiratory problems. Adults are more likely to be irritable and restless than hyperactive. Some children who are hyperactive when young become lethargic as adults. People who have lethargy and impairment of memory and concentration are usually the most sensitive of all and are likely to react to even small quantities of a large number of food chemicals for a long time.

Further reading: Loblay RH and Swain AR. Food intolerance. In: Wahliqvist ML, Truswell AS, editors. Recent Advances in Clinical Nutrition. London: John Libbey 1986. p.169-77.

Q. Is it possible to test for salicylate intolerance by taking aspirin?

A. Salicylates are one of an enormous range of poisonous chemicals which all plants have developed in order to protect themselves. Humans have developed the capacity to detoxify many of these poisonous chemicals. However, there are commonly eaten foods containing enough of these chemicals to cause reactions in sensitive people. The most widely distributed of these chemicals is the salicylate family. Intolerance to aspirin which is a form of salicylate was first reported around the 1900s. The association of aspirin with "allergy" and cross-reactions with tartrazine (102) and benzoic acids (210-212) is well recognised. However, most people are unaware that that significant amounts of benzoates and salicylates occur naturally in many different foods such as fruits, fruit juices, vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, wines, tea and coffee. According to researchers at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, an average Australian diet may contain up to 100 mg of natural salicylate per day. This quantity can easy trigger food intolerance symptoms when eaten daily by sensitive people. Failure to react to aspirin while on a normal diet does not exclude salicylate intolerance, since many patients will only react to a challenge after dietary salicylates have first been completely eliminated for several weeks. A 300 mg aspirin tablet can be used for the salicylate challenge, but is only recommended at teaching hospitals. Because this kind of challenge introduces a much bigger dose at one time than food challenges, asthmatics with severe bronchial hyper-reactivity are routinely hospitalised for this challenge, as well as capsule challenges with metabisulphite, MSG and tartrazine.

Q My daughter is extremely food intolerant. She recently had an endoscopy/colonoscopy with the results being-food-induced colitis. I was wondering if you have heard of this before? Is it a fancy way of saying food intolerance?

A. Your daughter is lucky to have this diagnosis. It is much more common for people to contact us with colitis for which they have been advised to take sulpha-based drugs - which sometimes make them worse - and told to eat whatever they like. When these people discover for themselves that they can control their symptoms by diet, they are usually very pleased.

Q. We have completed the dairy challenge and failed miserably. My son exhibited severe behavioural reactions within only two days. He became extremely clingy and wouldn't leave me for regular weekly activities, having temper tantrums etc. Monstered his sister continuously, extreme defiance. Then a week later his eczema flared up badly. I continued for a week and suddenly felt just about every symptom there is, flamy throat, fuzzy head, stomach pains, gastro, short temper etc. Someone has suggested goats milk fetta cheese may possibly be OK. Is this so?

A. It is unlikely that you will tolerate large quantities of it but it is worth a try. It is best not to eat it every day. People generally react more to some dairy products than others. Fresh white and cream cheeses and cream are less likely to affect you than yoghurt, cooked milk and UHT milk which are less likely to affect you than fresh milk. But that is not to say that they won't affect you. Some dairy-intolerant people can manage a small quantity of dairy foods, others can't manage any.

Q. I have bought an Easiyo yogurt maker but we don't like the taste of the soy yoghurt sachets that they make. Do you have any other suggestions on how to use this to make my own soy yoghurt?

A. SOY YOHGURT

2 tbspn water

2 tbspn gelatine

500 ml soymilk

1 tbspn starter yoghurt ( soy or dairy if you can tolerate it)

Scald (rinse with boiling water) a glass jar which will hold 500 ml. Place water in jar with gelatine and microwave 30 seconds. Stir to dissolve gelatine. Add soy milk and starter yoghurt ( soy, or dairy yoghurt if tolerated). Whisk with a fork. Leave in yoghurt maker overnight. Refrigerate.

Q Where can I get a book containing the amount of salicylates in food (eg .06 mg in apples)?

A. It's not a book, it's in a scientific paper published in the Journal of the American Dietetics Association (see page 340 in Fed Up). You can order it from your state reference library or a medical library. Although it is interesting, it will not help you much because you cannot go strictly by salicylate contents since people who react to salicylates usually react to other natural chemicals, such as benzoates. Basically, the categories of low, moderate, high and very high as defined by Royal Prince Alfred Hospital are the best you can do.

Q. What do you mean by shallots? Are they the same as spring onions?

A. Shallots are onion substitutes which are green at the top and white at the bottom, but long and thin all the way down. By comparison, spring onions have a rounded white bulb at the bottom. Shallots are , spring onions are not.

Q. What is in a Cadbury's Double Gum Monsta? After three successful weeks on the elimination diet I let my boys have one each as a treat. Three days later we saw a "bad & sad" reaction in both boys. The nine year old is only doing the diet to keep his brother company. He is usually very confident and has lots of friends so we didn't expect him to react but even he said "I don't like myself". The seven year old wanted to hurt himself, wanted to be dead, wanted to run away from home. It was awful and so dramatic. Both boys were aware of what caused the reaction and never want to eat one again.

A. Each Double Gum Monsta contains 20 doses of food additives plus artificial flavours. Of these, the additives which are likely to cause problems are: artificial flavours, colours 102 (tartrazine yellow), 110 (sunset yellow), 122 (azorubine red), 124 (Ponceau 4R brilliant scarlet), 133 (brilliant blue), 142 (brilliant green) and preservative 320 (Butylated hydroxianisole, also known as BHA - see next question). Reactions to food additives are dose-related and theoretically, anyone will react if the dose is high enough. It is reasonable to assume that the doses in this case were fairly high.

Q. Is there something in Ingham's chicken nuggets? My son loves them but always behaves badly afterwards.

A. It is most likely that your son is reacting to antioxidant 320 (Butylated hydroxyanisole, also known as BHA) which is used as a preservative. BHA is the most widely-used antioxidant for oils and fats either alone or with a gallate (310-12) which can also cause problems. There is a lot of evidence to support the safety of BHA at likely levels of intake. It even seems to be a protection against some carcinogens. On the other hand, there are also scientific reports which cast doubt on its safety. At high levels there are frequent reports of toxicity, particularly its ability to promote forestomach cancers in rats. Humans have similar cells lining the mouth, throat and gullet. Since children who eat foods containing BHA are particularly likely to consume more than average, their parents may be wise to choose foods free from BHA. As added vitamin E or better storage and packing allow manufacturers to do without BHA, there would seem to be a good reason for limiting its use. (Reference: The New Additive Code Breaker, M Hanssen, Lothian, 1989).

Q. Can there be a problem with Kelloggs Rice Bubble Treats? I was foolishly giving them to my son each day as I thought they were a reasonable treat. A very irritable little boy yesterday after having had them three days in a row. More settled today but not as good as he had been prior to having them. Roll on tomorrow.

A. Some children are more sensitive than others. Any processed food with 'flavours' listed must be treated with suspicion for some children. That includes Kelloggs Rice Bubble Treats.

Q. Is the Teletubbie custard sold in NZ OK? The ingredients are: skim milk, whole milk, modified maize starch, non-fat milk solids, flavour, colour 120, emulsifier 450, stabilizer 407.

A. The potential trouble spots here are "flavour" (flavours are not regulated so we have no idea which one this is) and colour 120 which is cochineal. Although not listed as one of the sixty "can cause adverse effects" additives, cochineal is regarded as moderate in salicylates, so this custard is definitely not a daily item.

Q. We are having difficulty sourcing two of the items on the shopping list detailed in "Fed Up": Macro-M Multi's and Calcium Carbonate Powder.

A. Macro-Ms are available in many supermarkets and pharmacies and you should be able to order them from pharmacies. The manufacturer is Whitehall Laboratories in Punchbowl NSW and Auckland NZ. You can buy calcium carbonate as Caltrate calcium supplements available in most pharmacies. (Manufactured by Lederle Laboratories, Baulkham Hills, NSW)

Q. I can't find a plain vitamin C tablet. Can you recommend a brand? I've resorted to taking ascorbic acid powder, but it's not very convenient.

A. If you have access to Soul Pattinson's pharmacies, they stock a plain unflavoured white vitamin C tablet. Otherwise you can generally buy or order Bioglan Cal C in pharmacies.

Q. Do you know what is in McDonalds vanilla thick shakes? My husband let my son have one last night while shopping. What a mistake! I have had the old behaviour back for the last 24 hours.

A. Ingredients in MacDonald's vanilla thick shakes: "Shake mix: whole milk, sugar, skim milk powder, cream, carrageenan gum (407), guar gum (412), vegetable gum (466), mineral salt (450c), water added. vanilla shake syrup: sugar, glucose syrup, flavour, caramel colour (150), sodium benzoate (211), citric acid (330), water added" (From MacDonalds Ingredient List).

The additive above most likely to affect children (and adults) is sodium benzoate. A common reaction is irritability and a short fuse starting within 5-8 hours and lasting a day although other responses and reaction times are possible. Another problem might be flavour which is usually artificial unless 'natural' is specified, although some children react even to natural vanilla in large doses.

Q. What's in hot dogs?

A. In Watsonia frankfurts and saveloys we found:

• Preservative 250 (sodium nitrite).

Nitrites can change the nature of the red blood cells and cause breathing difficulty, pallor, dizziness or headaches. For this reason, nitrites are not permitted in foods intended for infants and young children. Nitrites can also react in the stomach to form nitrosamines which are potentially carcinogenic. Eating fresh yellow and green vegetables in the same meal is considered to give protection against stomach cancer.

• Preservative 223 (sodium metabisulphite)

Sulphites are considered to be a particular problem for asthmatics.

Treatment of food with sulphites reduces the vitamin B1 content, so is not recommended for meat products.

• Preservative 318 (sodium erythorbate)

An antioxidant like BHA and BHT.

All three of these additives have been associated with problems such as headaches, stomach aches, asthma, eczema, restlessness, irritability and sleep disturbance. Symptoms may occur a day or two after ingestion.

We found two brands of frankfurters (Watsonia and Chapman's) which contain colours, 120 and 160b annatto, not listed on the label.

Further reading:The New Additive Code-Breaker by Maurice Hanssen, Lothian, 1989 and Friendly Food by Dr Anne Swain and others, Murdoch, 1991

Q: "Can you publish a list of which additives cause specific problems?"

A: In Australia there are approximately 350 permitted food additives. While most are harmless, about 60 of these additives have been associated with adverse reactions. Effects are related to dose. Some people will react to even a tiny amount. Nearly anyone will react if the dose is high enough. Most likely to be affected are:

• children

• women of child-bearing age

• the elderly

• people with cognitive developmental disorders

As additives in our foods increase, more people will be affected. Most reactions are delayed and are therefore difficult to identify.

Before approval, these additives are tested only for their cancer-causing potential, not for their effects on health, behaviour or learning ability.

Typical reactions include:

• skin (itchy skin rashes)

• airways (asthma, stuffy or runny nose, frequent ear infections)

• gut (colic, reflux, bloating, stomach discomfort, cramps, diarrhoea, constipation, sneaky poos)

• neurobehavioural (headache, migraine, tinnitis, epilepsy, lethargy, impairment of attention, memory or concentration, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, restless legs, sleep disorders, irritability, restlessness and hyperactivity).

These additives can cause problems

• artificial colours 102, 107, 110, 122-129, 133, 142, 151, 155 plus 160(b) annatto natural colour

preservatives

• sorbic acids 200 - 203 in processed fruit, vegetables, drinks

• benzoic acids 210 - 213 in soft drinks, cordials, juice drinks

• sulphites 220 - 228 in drinks, wine, beer, bread, meat, processed foods, fruit/salad bars

• nitrates & nitrites 249 - 252 in processed meats like ham

• propionic acids 280 - 283 in bread, crumpets, buns

• antioxidants 310 - 321 in margarine, oil, chips, fries

• flavour enhancers 620 - 635, HVP in tasty foods (621 is MSG)

• added flavours in many processed foods

Any of these additives can cause any of the above reactions in a sensitive individual.

Some commonly noted reactions are:

• bread preservative (282) and irritability or mental fog

• flavour enhancer (635) and skin rashes

• colours and irritability, restlessness, sleep disturbance

• sulphites and asthma

• nitrates and stomach ache

Naturally occurring food chemicals of similar molecular size can cause the same problems.