Could This Be An Answer To My Prayers?

In my spare time (okay, at work in my office), I frequent a great website for Mommy's and came across a post a couple of weeks ago that caught my attention. Another mom was voicing her concern for her preschool son's behavior and I thought, "Hmmm, I bet I can relate." So, after some venting about how her son has episodes of aggression and anger and asking for advice, she got many responses from other mothers across the country. Many agreed that they had found a solution to a lot of these behavioral tendencies and it all linked to one thing....Red 40 food dye. According to an article I found, this dye has been linked to temper tantrums, hyperactivity, kicking, nervousness, aggression, etc. Basically, research shows that some kids have a sensitivity to this dye and their bodies cannot process or handle it like others and most adults. This food dye is in many foods such as Cheetos, Doritos, Skittles, chewing gum, Gatorade, suckers.....basically, anything that God did not make red (or pink or whatever), it has Red 40 in it. Now, don't think for a minute that my children's diet consisted of Red Velvet cake and Kool-Aid because they are certainly not given junk food on a regular basis. And it's not to say that he'll never have this stuff in his system again because I can't stand next to him 24/7 (and he can be a sneaky little guy). But apparently, a little goes a long way with this stuff. Even foods you might consider "healthy" often have been altered to make the appearance more appealing (i.e. strawberry applesauce. What I found most interesting about this article is that although the FDA has approved this additive, it has also been proven this dye can kill weeds and be effective as a pesticide. That does NOT sit well with me, as a parent AND as a human being!

In many of my previous posts, I have mentioned d1's behavior and how "mean" he can be at times. It always bothers me because I know he can be such a sweet, compassionate little guy, too. I'm not talking about a couple minutes of fits and ugliness; I'm talking spitting IN MY FACE and calling me names. Names we don't use in our house (thanks, friends at daycare!) and actions that are highly unacceptable! After reading many of the moms talk about the changes that have taken place when they eliminated this dye from their children's diet, D1 and I made the decision to "experiment" on d1 (and d2, although he does not seem to have as aggressive tendencies as d1 just yet) and cut out all Red 40. We went through our pantry and fridge and tossed all that contained this in the ingredients. According to sources, the dye can take up to a week to completely rid itself from the body but after just a few days, we could see a drastic change in d1 and his behavior. He seemed to be able to concentrate longer (his teacher even noticed a change in his level of concentration), he does not have a meltdown over the color of his bowl at breakfast and he does not throw things and call us "Stupid" when he can't wear shorts to bed instead of pants. Many people (usually the older folks) will just say, "Oh, it's just a phase" or "He's just at that age" but I'm not sure I'm buying that anymore. Seriously, the changes are quite obvious and I challenge any and all parents that experience similar situations to give it a try. Even if your child doesn't have these issues, can this stuff REALLY be healthy for their development if it can also be used as Weed-B-Gone? I am not an expert on this and I certainly don't know much about going green, eating organically and voodoo medicine but if I can make a difference in my child's behavior and help him to enjoy life with less timeouts, less Sassy Spray and less wooden spoon paddling, you can bet I will!


ETA on 5/2: Doc put d1 on some antibiotics (Cephalexin) for a possible infection. d1 has been AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL this week and it's quite obvious he cannot control his actions. It finally hit me to search the inactive ingredients for Cephalexin. Yep, first on the list FD&C Red #40. Proof in my eyes that this is no coinky-dink. Bad, bad stuff!