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 this file.
If you want a question
answered, please email me on sdengate@ozemail.com.au. My mailing address is PO Box 718
WOOLGOOLGA NSW 2456
(August 2008)
Q. My son who has just turned 4 has just been diagnosed with
his 54th ear infection. He has had 13 perforated ear drums with bleeding. His
speech is affected and his hearing. He has had two operations: the first for
grommets and the second for grommets and adenoids removed. I'm at the end, I
cry all the time, he cries in pain and keeps us up at night. He is just such a
sad boy. He has these really loud naughty outbursts that take their toll on the
whole family. Please help me.
A.
The answer for this child – as for many others with frequent ear infections –
was dairy foods. The child improved so much on dairy avoidance that the mother was
able to cancel the next grommet operation. After a week-long dairy challenge
the problems recurred. While dairy foods seem to be the main culprits with
frequent ear infections, other common culprits (additives, salicylates, amines,
gluten) can be involved, depending on individual sensitivity.
Q. My husband gets severe eczema from amines. A couple of
months ago he was watching an action movie with Harrison Ford in it. Lots of
fighting, guns etc. He doesn't normally watch these sort of movies. By the end of
the movie his skin had gone red, weepy and very itchy. Within a half hour of
the movie finishing his skin had settled back down. Could an adrenaline rush
cause a reaction?
A.
Yes. Adrenaline is an amine.
Q. We can’t find cauliflower mentioned in your book – it is
failsafe?
A.
Cauliflower originally tested as moderate in salicylates but has been upgraded
and is now listed by RPA in Friendly Food as *very high* in both salicylates
and amines. Fruit and vegetables mentioned in the shopping list and recipes in
my books are low in salicylates and therefore permitted on the strict
elimination diet unless otherwise specified. If moderate, they are listed as
optional -not suitable for the strict diet. If high, they are in the challenge section.
If not mentioned at all they are probably very high in both salicylates and
amines. If you’d like more information about salicylates or amines, write to suedengate@ozemail.com.au.
Q. Cornflakes are not on the shopping list but I can't see
what is wrong with them. Please explain!
A.
The salicylate content of corn products depends on the variety of corn and the
processing method:
·
corn,
cornflakes and other corn cereals (e.g. Nutrigrain), cornmeal and polenta are
listed as high in salicylates by RPA
·
corn
chips (crisps), tacos and corn oil are listed as moderate
·
highly
refined corn products totally lacking in flavour such as corn cornflour (e.g.
White Wings) and cornstarch are listed as low
·
corn
syrup hasn’t been tested but is probably moderate
·
in
Dr Swain’s salicylate analyses, canned corn was much higher (up to 0.39 - in
the high category) than fresh sweetcorn on the cob (0.13 - in the moderate
category), so fresh homegrown sweetcorn on the cob may be moderate
·
popcorn
has not been tested but I’m guessing it’s high
·
highly
refined maize starch is probably low but maize meal and wholegrain maize would
probably be high.
Q. My son (now 22) ate very limited salicylates for much of
his younger childhood. It made a dramatic difference to his personality and
behaviour. He now wants to eliminate them again to see if it helps him to
focus, become more organised, and gain a bit of self-control to assist him in
his uni studies.
A.
We have heard from many parents that their grown up children – including mine -
have good motivation and do well on the diet at university.
(May
2008)
Q. I regard potatoes more as a starchy carbohydrate than a
vegetable and wonder if my son has too many.
A.
Often called uber tubers, potatoes contain all the vitamins, minerals,
proteins, calories and cellulose necessary for life. A healthy adult can survive
indefinitely on potatoes alone. A potato crop can grow in any climate and can
yield four times the calories of a grain crop. (http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2263286,00.html).
Jamie Oliver lists potatoes as the top crop for home gardeners: 'Everyone
deserves to experience home-grown potatoes - what a pleasure!' To be low in
salicylates, potatoes must be large, old, brown skinned, white fleshed and
thickly peeled. Potatoes that are small, new, red skinned or have coloured
flesh - even cream colour like Kipfler - are higher in salicylates.
Q. I seem to have troubling neurological symptoms due to
Rosemary Extract, commonly used as an antioxidant in almost all vegetable oils.
The amounts are so small as to avoid labelling laws, yet enough to upset a
sensitive soul like myself. Even rabid herbalists concede rosemary can cause
gastric and neural problems in some people. Are you aware of any reports on
reactions to rosemary?
A.
Rosemary extract would be very high in natural food chemicals called
salicylates. These chemicals occur in most plant foods in varying amounts and
can cause the same problems as additives if consumed in large doses or by
sensitive people, see our salicylate
factsheet. Compare the following figures from Swain et al's 1985 paper
'Salicylates in Foods': pears 0.00 (mg per 100 mg); carrot 0.23; strawberries
1.36; sultanas (dried white grapes) 7.80; cinnamon powder 15.20; rosemary
(dried) 68.00.
Q.I have just started my son on the elimination diet, he is
in the 3rd week and we have slowly seen some improvement.
A.
By the end of the 3rd week most people see spectacular improvement if they have
the diet right. Have you read the Checklist of Common
Mistakes on the website? You are welcome to send me a list of everything
your son eats in a typical day so I can look for possible mistakes. I can
usually find about five mistakes - some serious enough to prevent improvement -
in food lists from people who swear they are sticking strictly to the diet.
Q. I am finding it hard to come up with enough variety of
foods for my son as he is very fussy and this seems to limit what sort of foods
he can eat. Do you have any suggestions?
A.
Fussy eaters usually improve when you get the diet right. One mother whose two
young daughters had previously been picky described how they turned into 'clean
plate' eaters after three weeks on the diet. For suggestions regarding a
variety of foods I recommend the Failsafe Cookbook. One mother whose son was
lunch swapping wrote: 'I was able to buy your cookbook, so now he is getting
enough interesting things and variety that he feels he is not missing out!'
Q. Since we started our elimination diet I have been
experiencing a lot of diarrhoea, at one point, every day for a week. I thought
maybe it was a withdrawal reaction, but it has continued. I have stopped my 2
blocks of chocolate a day habit and to get me through I am using xylitol which
the homeopath said was completely safe. Is xylitol not recommended as a sugar
substitute?
A.
Xylitol is not safe for some people. It doesn't cause the full range of food
intolerance reactions such as behaviour or headaches, but any of the sugar free
sweeteners ending in '-ol' (e.g. Sorbitol, Mannitol) can cause diarrhea and
irritable bowel symptoms, especially if eaten frequently. See our Sugar Free Sweetener factsheet for
more details.
Q I've noticed that my brand of contraceptive pill has
artifical colouring. I really don't want to be consuming this every single day!
Do you know of any brands of the contraceptive pill that are failsafe or where
I might find out?
A. Contraceptive pills aren't great for women with food intolerance because
female hormones can make symptoms of food intolerance worse, i.e.
premenstrually and when taking oestrogen in medication. For pills without
artificial colour, you can browse through the Consumer Medicine Information
(CMI) sheets for ingredients of oral contraceptives at http://www.mydr.com.au/drugs/mediresults.asp.
(February
2008)
Q. I bought green grapes two weeks straight – they were so
cheap and I haven’t bought them since last year. My son loved them but for
those two weeks he was screaming and hitting me and going crazy until I put it
together - behaviour + grapes. I was
talking to another friend and she said her daughter was reacting the same
way. We took the grapes away and both
the kids calmed down within a couple of days.
There was a warning at the supermarket about sulphur dioxide next to the
price sign on the grapes. Is this a common phenomenon?
A.
Since the ‘salad bar’ asthmatic deaths in the 1970s due to overuse of sulphur
dioxide on lettuce, sulphur dioxide has been banned on fresh fruit and
vegetables except for grapes. These days they use sulphur dioxide generator
pads instead of sprays. However, growers are warned that high temperatures can
cause excessive sulphur dioxide in the grapes. January was the hottest month
ever in
Q. Would removing the crusts on bread get rid of the
preservative?
A.
In
Q. Can you tell me is bocconcini cheese failsafe? I assumed
it was since it is a fresh white cheese.
A.
White cheeses such as cottage cheese or ricotta are low in amines and failsafe
as long as they are recently made and preservative-free. Bocconcini are small,
mild, white, young mozzarella cheeses kept moist by storage in natural whey or
brine. Fresh bocconcini are probably failsafe but if kept will develop amines.
Q. We have benefited greatly from failsafe eating. However
we are in a newly renovated house and although my son is on the full
elimination diet, his behaviour which we discovered to be due to food has now
returned to pre-diet due to the effects of paint smells etc. Any suggestions?
A.
The best way to deal with new renovation smells is to ventilate - leave all the
doors and windows wide open as much as possible and run fans. If there are any
smelly removable items such as mattresses or new furniture, you can put them on
a verandah or leave them in the garage to gas off. Some people have dealt with
this problem successfully by getting their kids to sleep in a tent in the back
yard. Or could you stay with someone else for a month or two until the worst of
it is over. Formaldehyde (a common VOC in renovations) is a carcinogen so it's
not something you want to be exposed to anyway.
Q. My son aged 12 months is allergic to soy. Do you know the
number codes for soy derived emulsifiers etc?
A.
From a reader who is sensitive to both soy and legumes: “As well as 322
(lecithin) I also avoid additives 476,471,492 (emulsifiers), vegetable gums
410,412,415,416,461 (not all soy but derivatives of various beans), vegetable
gums & vegetable protein, TVP (textured vegetable protein) and vegetable
starch (even if they do not specifically state soy, I don't take the chance).
Soya beans, soya meal, soy flour (very common in breads and cakes), soya sauce,
miso, tofu and chickpeas. In fact quite a lot of 'health foods' are grossly
unhealthy for me. Packaged health foods nearly always contain a soy additive.”
See more details in story [314] “13 years of intolerance to soy” (April 2004).
Q. It is easier for me to buy goats’ milk than A2 milk. Is
it the same?
A.
Goats milk contains the same A2 beta casein protein as A2 cow’s milk, but it
has a different nutritional profile. Babies who have goat’s milk may need extra
supplements including Vitamin D and Folic Acid. Your dietitian can advise about
this.
(November
2007)
Q. I came across "1422 - thickener" in a packet of
frozen meals. What is this please and is it a no no? We really enjoy your
informative site.
A. Thickeners are only a problem for coeliacs and others who are very
sensitive to gluten. Also called modified starches, thickeners 1400-1450 may
contain trace amounts of gluten if they have been derived from wheat. If gluten
is in the product, it will be listed on the label.
Q. I would like your opinion on whether fresh coriander is
failsafe or not. Also interested in seeing if there is a difference between
fresh coriander and ground seed?
A. Technically, fresh coriander is moderate in salicylates. It contains
0.20 mg per 100 mg (compared to fresh parsley leaves with 0.08 and Red
Delicious apple with 0.19, according to the Swain et al 1985 analyses). An
occasional small amount is probably okay for most salicylate sensitive people,
but I recommend caution if using it in a product you eat every day. It is so
easy for salicylates to build up when you are not looking. Ground coriander
seed was not tested but you would expect it to be much higher in salicylates.
Q. My son’s aggression has been increasing. He has been
eating a lot of the new all natural jelly cups, strawberry flavour
(ingredients: sugar, thickener (401), food acids (355,331), mineral salt (341),
flavour, colour (120).) What do you think, is this jelly failsafe?
A. Those jelly cups are fine for families who are simply going
additive-free but they are not failsafe because of the strawberry flavour which
contains natural chemicals called salicylates. Salicylates can cause the same
problems as additives if consumed in large doses or by sensitive people. Note
that colour (120, cochineal) doesn’t cause behaviour problems but because it is
made from insects it should be used with caution by children with a family history
of food allergy (also not kosher).
Q I feel very
confused about which is the lesser of two evils - the trans fats in butter
(which is listed as 'natural trans fats' - what does that mean???) or the
preservative 202.
A. It is the unnatural trans fats that are the problem. We ourselves eat
pure butter (Mainland Buttersoft from NZ) and totally avoid 202. We also avoid
synthetic trans fats. Nuttelex additive-free dairy-free margarine is low in
trans fats. However, we minimise our intake of saturated fats including butter.
For example, when baking I will often choose to make muffins or a cake recipe
with vegetable oil rather than rather than butter or margarine. For vegetable
oil, we use canola oil. It's a monounsaturate with one of the best omega ratios
despite scientific-seeming internet criticism probably started by an opposing
industry. Olive oil is similar but we can't eat it because of salicylates.
Q. I recently asked our Swedish food safety authorities if they
do tests on additives themselves, or do they rely only on the tests done by the
producers of the additives? They answered that neither they, nor the EFSA
(European Food Safety Authority), do any tests at all. The approval of an
additive is based solely on tests performed by the producer of the additive.
Isn´t this a bit like asking Phillip Morris if smoking is safe? – Stefan from
A. It’s even worse than that – before
additives are approved there are no tests at all regarding their effects on children’s
health, behaviour and learning – and there is no monitoring afterwards. When
consumers report adverse effects, they are advised to carry out their own
double blind placebo controlled studies.
Q. I found the
following radio story a bit of a worry: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/20/2095831.htm [A leading CSIRO scientist says there is no
reason to fear that future gene technology will threaten food safety. Deputy chief
of plant industry research, Dr TJ Higgins, says consumers have been using oil
from genetically modified cotton for the past 10 years. Most of the fish and
chips that we eat are cooked in the oil from cotton seed, and there are 33
other foods have been approved for consumption. "So there are already many
products that are in the food chain that we have been consuming safely."]
A. We are worried too. Dr Higgins says
there are strict regulations to protect consumer food safety, but as we have
already seen, regulations about food additives haven't done anything to protect
our children. Here's what you can do. This Saturday, vote for your local Green
candidate and vote Green in the Senate. The Greens have a strong policy about
GM foods, including mandatory full labelling. Of course they won't win, but
every vote sends a message and if there are some Greens in the Senate, there is
a chance of controlling what happens with GM foods.
(August
2007)
Q. I have just read your fact sheet
on 635 (riborash). It seems that any
time we eat a food with this in it (particularly cream of chicken and corn soup
used in risotto), my 16 month old gets severe nappy rash. Could this be a reaction to the
additive?
A. Yes. The rash can appear differently in different
people. One of the original observations of ribo rash was in twin 10-month-old
boys who suffered severe rash in the nappy area and extending down to their
feet and on their faces when at its worst.
Q. I have been using a saline spray
for my son’s seasonal itchy nose with great success. However we have
experienced aggressive episodes since using the product (Narium). I did a double check and found a preservative
Benzalkonium Chloride (BAC) is in the product. Have you had any experience with
this?
A. There have been some reports of nasal burning,
dryness, or irritation due to nasal sprays preserved with BAC. There are also
reports in the medical literature of contact dermatitis due to BAC. We
generally find any additive that can cause the very obvious signs of contact
dermatitis may also be associated with more subtle behavioural symptoms such as
aggression. It is possible to make your own preservative free saline: a
teaspoon of salt in half a litre of water, boiled and cooled. Store in the
fridge and discard after 24 hours.
Q. Why is sulphur dioxide added to
wine?
A. According to Erl Happs, maker of the excellent Happs
range of preservative-free and low preservative wines, sulphur dioxide ‘hardens
the palate’ of a wine, see http://www.happs.com.au/pages/PFQandA.html.
Q. Is there a product like muesli
bars that can be bought directly off the shelf that is homemade without all the
additives?
A. Thanks to Jenny Ravlic from Additive Education (www.additiveeducation.com.au) for
the following answer: We don't suggest any of the standard packets of muesli
bars available in supermarkets because they all have either sulphites, annatto,
flavours and/or nasty antioxidants in the oil. There is a great product called
Naturally Organic Oat Slice (few varieties) made by the All Natural Bakery.
They are sold individually in 100g slices with no artificial flavours, colours
or preservatives - very much like a homemade product. There is also the Amore
Fruity Nut Bars, sold in multi packs. Both of these are available in Coles,
possibly Safeways and IGA. Please note that these suggestions are additive free
but not failsafe (low in salicylates and amines).
(May
2007)
Q. What is the best way to stay with the most current info
on the salicylate content in foods?
A.
See the latest edition of Friendly Food by the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Allergy Clinic, http://www.cs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/Allergy/default.htm
Q. My daughter suffers from dizzy spells. Specialist
testing, from MRI scans to epilepsy, has found nothing. I was wondering if
intolerance to certain foods can cause dizziness, I am at my wit’s end as my
daughter cannot even close her eyes sometimes at night because her head starts
to spin.
A. Dizziness and a spinning head (vertigo) can be related to chemicals in foods
and medications. The most likely culprits are: synthetic salicylates in
medications such as aspirin, nurofen and other pain killers or
anti-inflammatory medications, acne cleansers, wart medication, sports
liniments and medicated lotions; artificial colours and preservatives in foods
and medications; natural salicylates in most fruit and some vegetables -
particularly high in tomato sauce, juice, broccoli, grapes and citrus fruits -
(see the Salicylates and Meniere’s factsheets). If avoiding salicylate-containing
medications doesn't help, the best way to find out if foods are your daughter's
problem would be to do a 3 week trial of the RPAH (
Q. I would like to contact Woolworths with an enquiry about
their Home Brand products. Do you have an email address for them?
A. Go to www.woolworths.com.au
and click on Contact Us
Q. Since we are off dairy I thought we would have to do an
amine challenge without chocolate, otherwise how will we know if we are
reacting to amines or the milk solids in the chocolate?
A. You can buy dairy-free chocolate (read labels, e.g. Sweet William www.sweetwilliam.com.au, contains
soy flour and soy lecithin).
Q. Where can I get the dietician’s booklets for information
about challenges?
A. Your dietitian will give you one or you can buy them direct from Royal
Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Clinic: www.cs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/Allergy.
Q. My husband and I
are having severe relationship problems, and I'm not sure how much of it might
be due to ODD (oppositional defiance). When he is calm and rational and nothing
immediate is happening, he seems normal, mature, etc. Says all the right
things. But if a situation arises where he is confronted with a problem he
seems to react badly. His behaviour is like that of a child throwing a tantrum.
I am finding it very hard to cope and have noticed this comes in cycles. This
is really difficult for me because it feels like I have 3 children sometimes,
not 2 and honestly, our children behave better than he does, and appropriately
for their ages whereas he doesn't. The symptoms that really stood out when
reading the ODD factsheet were “deliberately annoying other people” (He says he
knows he does this sometimes and to the point where he can't stop himself)
“blames me for mistakes or problems related to him” (He is very good at this,
most of the time I end up wondering what it is that I have done wrong). Living
with him is like walking on eggshells. I don't know what might set him off -
what triggers him one day doesn’t trigger him the next. He keeps putting off
responsibilities and either refuses to do them or puts it off so long that I
end up doing it or he is too tired to do it and leaves it for the next day. If
I remind him or ask him, he often reacts with anger, resentment and refusal.
I'm aware of a few food additives such as tartrazine that trigger aggressive
moods in him but I feel there are other things influencing his behaviour. His
mother told me recently he was a problem child and on drugs for ADHD. Is this
possible - that adults can have ODD too?
A. Yes. The most important behavioural effect of food chemicals is
irritability, which is also the core feature of ODD. There are numerous reports
of ODD-type symptoms improving in the father or mother when the whole family
goes on the diet to support a difficult child.
Q. Recently my husband has awoken with awful headaches after
eating a "Healthy Choice" meal which is supposed to be "good for
you". One was a stuffed shell dinner and another one was a beef stroganoff
meal, which he used to eat without getting a headache. I wonder if they're
currently sneaking in things which produce the same thing in him that MSG does;
i.e., bad headaches?
A.
Since you already know your husband gets headaches from MSG, it is most likely
he is affected by some new flavour enhancers that can enhance the effects of
MSG by up to 15 times. Here in
Q. My daughter who is 3.5 years old suffers from eczema and
around the age of about 10 months she 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. I am wondering if you are aware
of any food additives which may have triggered this condition?
A.
Alopecia areata (patchy baldness) or totalis (total hair loss) has been
associated with coeliac disease and may respond well to a gluten-free diet, see
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Symptomalopecia.htm.
Coeliac disease is a serious condition, if you suspect you have CD, see more
information at www.coeliac.org.
Q. Is strawberry Nesquik OK for a homemade milkshake on the
elimination diet? The ingredients are:
cane sugar, maltodextrin, natural colour (120), natural flavour.
A.
No. The natural flavour is obviously strawberry. It’s probably in a very
strong, concentrated flavour and would contain at least as many salicylates as
a milkshake made with real strawberries, possibly much more.
Q. Do you know anything about brilliant scarlet 4R CI6255?
It is one of the active ingredients in Polaramine antihistamine tablets. I gave
this to my son (10yrs) tonight under instruction from my pharmacist for
sedative reasons. My son’s reaction to the tablet was very defiant/angry,
definitely did not want to go to sleep etc and we could not reason with him at all.
A.
That’s another name for artificial colour (124) also known as Ponceau 4R. It is
one of the worst of the artificial colours – known as synthetic coal tar dyes
and azo dyes – that have been associated with irritability, restlessness,
inattention and sleep disturbance in children, and also with asthma and many
other problems such as hives. Children who have a big reaction to an artificial
colour are likely to be sensitive to a range of other additives, and
salicylates as well. If your son has problems enough to need medication, you
might want to try the elimination diet supervised by a dietitian to find out
exactly what affects him. You can request our list of friendly dietitians from confoodnet@ozemail.com.au.
Q. Sago pudding is on your recipe list (and we like eating
it) yet every brand of sago I have seen so far contains 220. Do you know if it
possible to buy sago without it and from where?
A.
Howard tested Lion brand sago from Anchor foods with sulphite test strips. This
brand lists preservative 220 but Howard couldn’t detect any either cold
(uncooked) or when cooked. We also buy Cock brand Tapioca Pearl (really sago)
from
Q. My 5yr-old daughter has been diagnosed with severe food
intolerances and a moderate allergy to soy. I do not have the finances to use a
private dietician. I went to the public hospital yesterday with no positive
outcomes – they can’t offer the service of their dietician as they are
understaffed and are not taking outpatient appointments – and I was told to go
home and try the elimination diet again. This is hard work on your own. I need
some support. – by email
A. I recommended the Failsafe
booklet and our email support groups to
this mother. A week later, she replied “Thank God for the Failsafe booklet. I
am now managing to keep the whole family on the elimination diet due to the extra
recipes”. She had also joined an email support group.
Q. We have dairy and soy issues. Is there a substitute for
yoghurt?
A.
We have been unable to make yoghurt or kefir out of rice milk and have found it
only works with soymilk and cows’ milk, due to the protein content. If you can
tolerate A2 milk you can make your own A2 yoghurt using sheep’s yoghurt as a
starter. If you are asking because you want an alternative to eat, see Narni’s
custard recipe in the new version of the Failsafe Cookbook. If you are asking because of the probiotic
effects, an alternative is the Inner Health Plus dairy-free probiotic capsules
– these are not on the RPAH elimination diet list so you would have to
introduce them as a challenge. Note that there is little scientific evidence
for the effectiveness of probiotic supplements other than Lactobacillus GG;
however, some people say they help and others report no effect.
Q. After eating a lot of dried fruit we noticed our sons’
behaviour worsened as well as asthma.
Are sulphites also likely to cause hyperactivity and/or aggression?
A.
Yes, but they are not the only problem with dried fruit - most dried except
pears contain high levels of natural salicylates and some (e.g. sultanas)
contain very high levels of both salicylates and amines. Although sulphites have been associated with
a range of symptoms including asthma, headaches, irritable bowel and behaviour,
so too have other food chemicals including salicylates and amines. It is worth
suspecting sulphites in dried fruit first for asthma, but everyone is
different, and you might need to consider any or all of these food chemicals.
Q. Is Aussie mite (vegemite alternative) failsafe?
A. Yeast extracts are never OK because they are loaded with natural
glutamates (MSG is a yeast extract) as well as high in salicylates and amines.
Q. Is benzoyl peroxide (for acne) failsafe? My teenage son
seems to have had a reaction to it.
A.
Benzoyl peroxide breaks down into benzoic acid and is excreted as benzoate, so
unfortunately it is not suitable for failsafers. It would be like drinking
products preserved with sodium benzoate (211). (Would the person who sent this
question please write again as I deleted your email by mistake. S)
(January
2007)
Q. Over the last two months I have consumed 4 bottles of a
special juice from the
A.
I agree with your sister. Benzoic acid and other benzoates (310-319) can be
associated with a very wide range of adverse effects. Reactions are related to
dose and delayed, so the effects will be worse when you are consuming a
benzoate-preserved product every day. The effects can build up so slowly you
would not be able to notice the connection between a new food and how it is
affecting you. You could test this for yourself by avoiding your special juice
until your eye symptoms disappear. Then reintroduce the special juice in the
same doses that you have been consuming while keeping a diary of your eye
symptoms. If you want to test the benzoates without the juice - there is always
a possibility that something in the juice itself is affecting you - you could
use Schweppes lemonade in cans (contain preservative 211) not bottles
(preservative free).
Reply (two weeks later): As
you suggested I went off the special juice. It has been 2 weeks now and my eyes
have improved 100%. Who would have thought that something like that could do
this? Thank you for your reply because if it was not for you and my sister I
would probably still be taking it.
Q. I’m confused. On page 16, Friendly Food says shallots are
low in salicylates, but the recipes and shopping list refer to “spring onions
(scallions)”?
A.
These members of the onion family lack a fully-developed bulb and are milder
tasting than other onions. I call them shallots but they have various regional
names (scallions, spring onions, eschallots, green onions). See what to buy on
our DVD, Friendly Food p7 or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scallion
Q. We're on day seven of our elimination diet for my
six-year-old daughter, and every day since we've been on this new diet she's
gotten a little worse - more insolent, less able to keep still than normal,
much MORE day-dreamy and going off on tangent-ish, slightly 'violent' - absolutely
driving me crazy! How long does it take to see positive effects?
A.
These turned out to be withdrawal symptoms, and the answer was, it took 8 days
to see positive effects.
Q. The website is so handy and I refer to it frequently, but
I often get lost looking for a piece of information I know I have read
somewhere. A search tool would be very useful!
A.
You can search our website using google. Search for: fedupwithfoodadditives
<whatever you are looking for>
Q Can you direct me to any research that shows how diet can
affect an adolescent with ADHD & ODD?
A.
Superintendent Peter Bennett from the West Yorkshire police did a diet trial
with 12 chronic juvenile offenders (aged 8-16) who had an average arrest rate
of more than once a month. All improved. Those who remained on the diet did not
re-offend. These were children whose ODD had progressed to Conduct Disorder,
see citation below. You can see this study on our DVD. It is very difficult to
do diet with adolescents unless 1) they themselves want to try it and 2) they
get support from the community (e.g. school etc). The participants in the
Shipley Project had to stay at home in the care of their parents for the first
three weeks of their elimination diet. Further reading: Bennett CPW and others,
The Shipley Project: treating food allergy to prevent criminal behaviour in
community settings, J Nutr Envir Med 1998;8:77-83.
Q. Can the elimination diet help these children: • a four
year old girl who can be quite defiant when asked to do something she does not
want to do, blames others for her behaviour (mainly her six-year-old brother),
is very loud and chatty, and sings all the time when she is not chatting • a three year old boy son is very defiant,
answers back "no", won’t listen to instructions, almost shouts when
he speaks and wakes early (5.30am) in the foulest mood?
A.
The symptoms described generally improve if you can get the diet right.
Q. I have a son in
his thirties who has been on the diet since the age of 6 (salicylates,
preservatives, colours and dyes are the problem, not amines). Unfortunately, he
has recently begun getting quite serious depression and is seeing a
psychiatrist who just keeps prescribing different anti-depressants as none seem
to work. I recently wrote a letter to
the psychiatrist explaining my son’s dietary problems and the symptoms he gets.
The psychiatrist told him that all food intolerance is psychosomatic. You can
imagine how much help that was. Are there any psychiatrists or counsellors who
understand this chemical sensitivity problem? While he does try to stick to his
diet, I do suspect there may be too frequent diversions from it or something is
catching him out he is not aware of. Trying the elimination diet again is
something I think I shall try to persuade him to do.
A.
Symptoms of food intolerance can change throughout the lifespan, and it is not
uncommon to find the foods that caused hyperactivity in childhood can cause
depression in adulthood. There is case history describing a young adult with a
history of childhood ADD whose severe treatment-resistant depression improved
dramatically on a low salicylate elimination diet (Parker G and Watkins T,
Treatment-resistant depression: when antidepressant drug intolerance may
indicate food intolerance, Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 2002). The article concludes
that clinicians should be aware of food intolerance-related depression and that
it may be worsened by psychotropic medication. You can request our list of
supportive health professionals - including some psychologists – from confoodnet@ozemail.com.au. It may
be worth consulting a dietitian, as safe foods for this diet change constantly
and your son could be following an out-of-date diet. To send the article’s
abstract to your son’s psychiatrist, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Select+from+History&db=pubmed&query_key=1
Q. I know it is a mistake to buy anything without checking
the ingredients, but the name on the packet of "Traditional Home Style
Preservative Free" Egg Noodles sort of lulled me into a false sense of
security. These egg noodles contain two artificial colours Sunset Yellow (110)
and the dreaded Tartrazine (102)! ... I wouldn't have even noticed if the water
I cooked them in hadn't turned a sickly yellow colour! The back of the packet
talks about how the family began making traditional noodles back in the
'thirties from a time-honoured family recipe and also says that that the family
has a commitment to quality and hand-made authenticity ... isn’t this a bit
misleading? I intend to email them to register my disappointment.
A.
It is always worth emailing a food company with feedback about their product.
Let us know about their reply and if you need any backup. Or nominate it for
our Nasty Food Awards – send us the packet or a good photo of the packet and
ingredients list.
Q. Because everything on the elimination diet is so 'green'
I decided it would be a great idea to get red cabbage to liven my fried rice up
a bit! ... problem is (being a novice) I had no idea that the red cabbage would
colour the eggs in the fried rice an amazingly rich blue!!! ... lovely but it
didn't look so appetizing! Then the next day I was thinking of using the
cabbage to colour icing for some 'gingerless pigs'. How do I extract the colour
without my icing tasting like cabbage??? ... Also, although I noticed the eggs
went bright blue, water left in the bowl with some leftover cabbage in it went
a kind of a beetroot 'red'... Just curious as to why, how and whether I can
make two different colours out of my cabbage?
A.
Cabbage juice will be different colours depending on whether it is acid or
alkaline - you can make it acid by adding citric acid (red; that will also take
care of the cabbage taste), and alkaline by adding soda bicarb (blue).
Q. I believe my six-year-old son may be affected by food
additives as he is erratic, runs, yells loud and then fights with his two older
brothers, although he can behave when he wants to. After observing my son, our
paediatrician decided that he did not have ADHD nor did the food he eats affect
him, instead he said it was my parenting skills. I do not believe this as I
have two older boys who do not behave badly. The paediatrician refused to write
me a referral letter. I need help.
A. There are a number of ways around this. If you need to prove to the
paediatrician that behaviour management isn’t the answer you could do a
parenting course such as 123 Magic (many community organisations are now
offering this) or see the 123 Magic DVD (there’s a link from our website). You
would probably find it very helpful to join one of our email support groups
(see EMAIL SUPPORT GROUPS on the
website) You could ask your group or
local contact if there is a supportive dietitian who can help you or write to confoodnet@ozemail.com.au for our
list of supportive dietitians. Or you could cut down on problem additives and
foods such as tomato sauce, citrus and broccoli, see the free downloadable
Failsafe Booklet (under FAILSAFE EATING on the
website).
Q. Are there any laxatives that can be used during our
elimination diet?
A.
Your dietitian may recommend one of the following laxatives – though obviously
not the coloured or flavoured options:
• psyllium hulls or husks -
a type of dietary fibre that is used as a bulk forming laxative, the husks
swell when they come in contact with liquids so should be taken with plenty of
liquids - available from your health food store or as plain Metamucil from
pharmacies
• Ispaghula husks act in
the same was as psyllium, available from your pharmacy as Fybogel
• guar gum - a vegetable
gum sold in health food stores as a gluten free baking aid that you can add to
muffins, bread etc, or as Benefibre in pharmacies
• lactulose - a synthetic
sugar available as Actilax from pharmacies
• Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate
- do not confuse safe sulphates with nasty sulphites, only for occasional use
as a laxative). A bath of Epsom salts is sometimes used to calm autistic
children, see www.epsomsaltcouncil.org for health benefits including a claim to
ease migraines. Consult your pharmacist about dosage.
• vanilla parachoc.
(November
2006)
Q: I have heard that the US National Academy of Sciences
concluded in 2002 that the only safe intake of trans fats is zero, and that the
World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended that governments phase out
partially hydrogenated oils. In Australia, are trans fatty acids identified on
food labels? Is our government taking action to reduce trans fatty acids in
food?
A: Trans fatty acid contents must be declared if a nutrition claim is made
in respect of cholesterol or saturated, trans, polyunsaturated or
monounsaturated fatty acids; or omega-3, omega-6 or omega-9 fatty acids. Some
food manufacturers voluntarily list the amount of trans fatty acids in their
products. FSANZ is proposing to allow manufacturers to use a claim that a food
'low in trans fatty acids and saturated fat can reduce the risk of heart
disease' when they introduce a new regulation on health claims on foods in
2007. This will assist consumers to make healthier choices and encourage the
food industry to develop healthier products.
The Australian Government
has also set up a National Collaboration on Trans Fats that includes
representatives from the Australian National Heart Foundation, the Australian
Food and Grocery Council, the Dietitians Association of Australia and FSANZ.
The primary aim of this group is to work cooperatively in reducing the amount
of trans fatty acids in the Australian food supply without an associated
increase in the amount of saturated fat. The group will promote wide
implementation of current industry and public health initiatives for reducing
the levels of trans fatty acids and increasing consumer awareness and
understanding. http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2006/transfattyacids24oct3388.cfm
Q. I know that failsafe eating is meant to help with PMT,
but my almost 15 year old daughter who has had monthly cramps but no period for
4 years suddenly got her period. We have been on the elimination diet for 3
weeks. Is this a coincidence?
A.
As well as an improvement in PMT, failsafe women have reported reductions in
period pain, postnatal depression and clots during menstrual bleeding. There
have also been several reports of overcoming infertility - in other words, a
pregnancy within months of starting failsafe after years of trying. So your
daughter’s experience is possibly not a coincidence. We’d love to hear of any
similar reports (email suedengate@ozemail.com.au).
Q. My daughter’s skin prick tests show a moderate allergy to
cows milk and we have trialled soymilk several times but it makes her
depressed, intrusive, argumentative and very negative (feels the whole world is
against her). She seems totally unaware of this occurring, even when pointed
out. Is this a reaction you are aware of?
A.
Some children do have behavioural reactions to soy milk. We would like to hear
from anyone else who has experienced soy-related depression. (suedengate@ozemail.com.au)
Q. My 18yo son has been a failsafer for 8 years now and has
always been excellent with his diet. We recently had a very upsetting time when
over a period of months he deteriorated into an angry, swearing, depressed
young man. The cause turned out to be that an avid gym goer, he was taking
Musashi Protein food (powder) mixed with water, every single morning after
going to the gym to build himself up and as an additional protein source. The
ingredients included, amongst other things, a couple of flavour enhancers,
although not numbered. Would full cream canned milk powder or Sustagen be an
alternative for him to take? He says he needs to get the extra protein but
obviously can’t cook himself up a meal as he goes straight to work from the gym
so something he can mix with water like he did with the protein powder would be
ideal.
A.
If he can tolerate dairy foods, milk powder or Sustagen is okay. Pure egg white
powder is another alternative you can sometimes find amongst body building
supplies, it goes well in a milk or soyshake.
Q. Can you tell me what sort of cooking oil I should use to
avoid macular degeneration (AMD)?
A.
A recent review in the Medical Journal of Australia found that the evidence
regarding dietary fats and AMD is conflicting regarding saturated,
polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats; that three out of nine studies found a
diet rich in dark green or yellow vegetables helpful; that the only proven
modifiable risk factor for AMD is smoking; and that a low fat healthy diet with
vegetables is probably a good idea. See the full details at http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/184_09_010506/guy11072_fm.html.
Q. Can pool chlorine affect children’s behaviour?
A.
Yes! This is a common problem every summer when schools start the swimming
programs, see story number [466], Swimming pool chlorine triggers oppositional
defiance.
Q. We’ve been meaning to do a dairy challenge but there
always seems to be a reason not to.
A.
From the beginning of January and right through first term is usually an
excellent time to do challenges because the party season is over.
Q. My oppositionally defiant amine-sensitive daughter is
having a hard time at the moment and I am wondering if it might be due to
spring flowers?
A.
It is well known that salicylate responders can be affected by the scent of
flowers and plant products such as bark, potpourri, essential oils and incense
and a salicylate-sensitive failsafer from
Q. My daughter has had severe reactions to cochineal pink
colour (120) in a strawberry milkshake and some sweets. The reaction seems to
occur within minutes and presents as a significant rash from the part way up
the nose across the face to the jaw line. She gets significant swelling,
although no breathing symptoms. Why is this not in your banned list?
A.
Reactions to cochineal (120) are true allergic reactions to proteins in the
cochineal which is made from crushed beetles. As such, they are quick and easy
to identify - which is what you have found. The treatment for true allergies
like this is avoidance of the allergen. Allergy to cochineal is quite rare
whereas the additives on our banned list cause a very wide range of intolerance
reactions in large numbers of consumers. Unlike allergies, intolerance
reactions are usually delayed and can be difficult to identify except through
the use of an elimination diet. (Further
reading: Chung K and others, Identification of carmine allergens among three
carmine allergy patients. Allergy. 2001 Jan;56(1):73-7, abstract on www.pubmed.com)
(August
2006)
Q: I see there have been food recalls and publicity in
A: If a change is made in international specifications for an additive,
which usually takes years through a committee known as JECFA, then the new
specification will be picked up when the Australia and New Zealand Food
Standards Code is amended and updated.. For instance, the permitted level of
lead in sunset yellow (110) has just been reduced from 10 to 2 mg/kg. Not that
any of us are eating such stuff.
Q: I have found a commercial bread, at a good price, made of
unbleached flour but it contains 282. The ones I can find without 282 contain
bleached flour. What is your opinion - which is worse ?
A:
282 is worse. The Bread Research Institute in
Q. For at least 2 years now I have constantly suffered from reflux
and could never work out what was the common ingredient. After seeing the 635
TV segment I found that 635 was a common element in the foods in our cupboard.
As an experiment I stopped eating foods that contained it and after two days
the reflux disappeared. About three weeks later I suffered another bout of bad
reflux and looked at what had changed. That night I had eaten some BBQ chips
that contained, you guessed it, 635. Are there other people for whom 635 has
had this effect?
A.
Yes! People react differently to food chemicals so any food chemical can cause
any reaction. While 635 is often associated with itchy rashes, it can also be
associated with any other food intolerance symptoms including reflux and
children’s behaviour. On our DVD, one woman talks about itchy rashes, swelling
of the lips and tongue and extremely painful spasms of the oesophagus due to
635. “I thought I was going to die,“ she says. Although food regulators claim
consumers are protected by food additive labelling, in our experience both
consumers and their health care providers are usually unaware of the effects of
food additives, resulting in years of unnecessary pain and medication.
Q. Is it possible that fish oil could have caused an
increase in my Aspergers son’s behaviour problems? It may purely coincidence
but it appears that his behaviour seriously deteriorated when we started giving
him the fish oil and it improved (or rather went back to what it was before the
fish oil) a couple of days after we stopped giving it to him.
A. Fish oil is thought to benefit
about 30 per cent of children with learning or behaviour problems. Others can
be badly affected due to the presence of natural salicylates (in ingredients
such as thyme oil, evening primrose oil and lemon or lime flavouring) and
natural amines in fish oils. Failsafers have reported adverse reactions
including behaviour problems, depression and migraines to a range of fish oil
products. See below for reader reports regarding children's reactions. Some
families do a fish oil challenge for a week or more while keeping a careful
food and symptom dairy - at the end of the time, parents can review the diary
and decide whether their child is better or worse. For more details and reader reports regarding
the fish oil’s claims to be salicylate and amine free, and some children's
reactions, see the new factsheet: Fish
oils, Vitamins and Vegetables.
Q. With depression etc at record highs, I’m just wondering
if anyone has done a study on tartrazine (colour 102) and its effects on
emotions, more specifically, depression.
I have been challenging things from my seven year old daughter’s diet.
Yesterday we had some fruit mentos and afterwards she was teary, her eyes were
purple and red and blotchy. As for me I
felt suddenly stressed and angry. This lasted about 1/2 hour for me and about 1
hour for her.
A.
The link between food chemicals and depression is generally not recognized by
the medical profession, and there is only a little research about it, see the Depression factsheet on our website
and also the Sleep Disturbance factsheet.
Most of the studies on food colours have concerned hyperactivity but food
chemicals including artificial colours and salicylates can affect people in
different ways. Some children may become hyperactive, loud or aggressive after
exposure to artificial colours or salicylates while others may become quiet,
inattentive, tearful or anxious. Effects of food chemicals can change with age,
so that children who react with hyperactivity in primary school may react with
depression in high school. If they are eating food chemicals that affect them
all the time, the condition will appear to be chronic as reported in the Parker
and Watkins 2003 paper described in the depression factsheet. This issue is so
overlooked that medications for depression are coloured with artificial
colours!
Q. My sister says I should take my kids to Advanced Allergy
Elimination (AAE) to get them desensitized. Can you tell me if that works?
A.
There is no scientific basis for AAE and it can be very expensive. Some people
say it has helped them. Others say it hasn’t.
Q. Is home brand OK
for soy drink, wheat bix, rice bubbles and 2 minute noodles (the ingredients
say wheat flour, vegetable oil (palm) water and salt?
A.
Read the labels carefully. Some home brand products are OK but if you buy a product
that contains any vegetable oil (that includes
2 minute noodles or soy drink), it probably contains unlisted
antioxidants like BHA (320) in the vegetable oil. It is impossible for us to
get accurate information about legally unlisted antioxidants in vegetable oils
in homebrand products so we don’t recommend them.
Q. We have been through the RPA elimination diet but my
three year old did not fit the mould.
She has major reactions to anything orange or yellow such as corn,
pumpkin, apricots, citrus fruits, pineapple, egg, etc Her reactions occur almost instantly at the
slightest amount of any of the above – there is no build up. It is enough to use the same spoon to serve peas
as carrots to give her a reaction.
A. I can’t find anything in the medical literature about allergy or
intolerance to beta-carotene but you are not the first to report this problem.
I would like to hear from anyone else who thinks they may have a sensitivity to
this food chemical. (email confoodnet@ozemail.com.au)
Q. My son had a severe outbreak of hives while taking
Robitussin ME for a cough. The doctor was surprised with the reaction to the
Robitussin, but as soon as we discontinued using the product the hives went
away.
A.
This is the second report of severe reactions to Robitussin ME we have
received, so it is worth reporting it - the Adverse Events Medications Hotline
ceased to exist from June 2006, due to lack of funding but the Adverse Drug
Reactions Advisory Committee can be contacted with reports of reactions.
Although this is technically not their role, they are apparently very concerned
about the situation and will take note of any reports. ADRAC phone 1800 044
114.
Q. I saw a dietician but she seemed quite vague about it and
I got a lot more information from your site than she gave me anyway. I really
need to see a good dietician so any recommendations would be appreciated.
A.
We receive a lot of feedback like this. Our list of supportive dietitians is
available on request from confoodnet@ozemail.com.au.
If you are prepared to travel, ask for one of our miracle workers, a small
group of dietitians who are very experienced and talented. If you see someone
who is less than helpful, please give us the name so we can warn others.
Dietitians in hospitals and community health centres are free, some are
helpful, some are not. There are some good free dietitians on our list. To find
a private dietitian, you can go to the dietitians’ website www.daa.asn.au, click on Find an APD, choose
Allergy and Food Sensitivity (under Area of Practice), and your suburb or state
as your search terms, then look for anyone near you - and let us know what you
think of them! The best way to judge a dietitian is to ask them how many years
experience they have in supervising the RPA elimination diet.
(May 2006)
Q. I am wondering if you can tell me what food groups
aggravate arthritis as my father is suffering from arthritis in his feet. He
has already noticed that when he eats tomatoes and also dark chocolate, his
feet are a lot worse for the next few days.
A.
Salicylates, amines, additives, dairy and wheat – any or all can affect
arthritics. Suspect salicylates first. Tomatoes contain both salicylates and
amines, chocolate contains only amines, so it could be both affecting him or
only amines – also in cheese, wine, tinned or frozen fish, broccoli, tomatoes,
bananas, mushrooms and many others.
Q. I have read your books, which have been terrific! I have
applied your facts to my own children and I am forever getting credit for their
good behaviour, many thanks to you!! I was wondering if you have yet got a DVD
out. I know a lot of friends that would
take the time to watch a DVD rather than sit and read a book!
A.
Thanks for asking - yes we have, it was released on
(our new easy to spell website name).
Q. I was also wondering if you are going
to do a talk in Ballina or Lismore soon?
Q. Is there anywhere to get soft
canned pears? Lately they’ve been like rocks.
Q. I saw
Velcorin listed on a fruit juice label. Is it a safe additive?