Sunday, October 9, 2011
Red Dye Free!: What are Artificial Colors? What to Look for.
Red Dye Free!: What are Artificial Colors? What to Look for.: The FDA categorizes food coloring into two groups. Natural and Artificial. There are seven artificial colors. These are Azo dyes that are...
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We took our son off of artificial color when he was 5. It made an enormous difference almost immediately. I also noticed during this same time that fast paced cartoons also caused some of the same effects. We switched to PBS cartoons and Veggie Tales and he "calmed down". He couldn't handle the colors blasting around on the TV screen.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought he had some "over stimulation" disorder. Large crowds, chaos, artificial colors, flashing lights (fun zone type game places) all caused a melt down.
We have nothing in the house with color. We have learned over the years that while somethings obviously have color in them (skittles, starbursts) some things are sneaky. We buy the Walmart brand marshmellows because the name brand has blue in them. We buy pickles from the refrigerated section of the store because the other pickles have yellow.
Our son is 14 now and a freshman in highschool. His negative/defiant/aggressive behavior is on the increase. He is sneaking the colored foods at school and is coming home a monster. Dye free bendryl helps, if we can get him to take it.
I think he likes the "high" that comes from eating the color and there is no incentive for him to not eat it on his own.
We adopted him as an infant and I think he may have some issues stemming from that, and the effects of the color make it that much worse.
It's hard to find help.
Thank you for commenting about your son's experience with artificial colors. So far my children have been mainly advocates for steering clear of artificail colors, but for many children they could feel like they are discriminated against when they can't eat the same enticing foods as their peers. You have a good point about the feeling he gets from eating the dyes. They might make him feel more powerful in a rebelous sense. However, now is the time to really stick to your guns about his healthy choices and what effect that he is having on himself and others when he chooses to eat foods that are contributing to negative consequences. We now know that these dyes have cancer causing ingredients as well as effects on behavior in individuals sensitive to the dyes. You son has only one childhood. There must be a way to help him in his adolescent years. I wish you the best and I hope for a better future for my children as well as they head into their tween years. Keep being an awesome parent! :) I hope to hear more comments from you.
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