Wanting to make some homemade snack bars that the boys love… (made with cereal, granola, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and a few chocolate chips and held together with marshmallow) I picked up some marshmallows at the grocery store over the weekend…
Xavier has been asking me to make them since then…
So this morning I get out a few things and just as I was about to open the bag of marshmallows I noticed the ingredient list…
“colouring”
Why I didn’t check while at the grocery store? I don’t know…
If you have been reading here for a while, or have read the archives a bit we have been avoiding food colouring for the boys for about a year and half… Colin has physical reactions and Xavier has behavioural…
Dr Feingold and the diet he promotes has been telling families with hyperactive children to avoid food colourings (along with other foods and additives) for a long time believing that they are linked to behaviour problems…. and these diets have helped many families dealing with ADHD and an array of other problems… and though I have never read any of the books and don’t follow the diet I do think that there is a lot of truth in his ways of thinking…
however… for many the link between a cracker or a yogourt and behavioural problems is something that is hard to grasp and the fact that food colouring is in so many foods makes it really hard to avoid even when you eat mostly whole foods…
I hadn’t seen but last year there was finally a study…
Though Feingold was proved to be right that food colouring can aggravate the symptoms of ADHD… and that avoiding them can have great effects… the link had never been made officially between “normal” kids and behavioural problems linked directly to food colouring and additives.. until now…
Background
We undertook a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial to test whether intake of artificial food colour and additives (AFCA) affected childhood behaviour.Methods
153 3-year-old and 144 8/9-year-old children were included in the study. The challenge drink contained sodium benzoate and one of two AFCA mixes (A or B) or a placebo mix. The main outcome measure was a global hyperactivity aggregate (GHA), based on aggregated z-scores of observed behaviours and ratings by teachers and parents, plus, for 8/9-year-old children, a computerised test of attention. This clinical trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials (registration number ISRCTN74481308). Analysis was per protocol.Findings
16 3-year-old children and 14 8/9-year-old children did not complete the study, for reasons unrelated to childhood behaviour. Mix A had a significantly adverse effect compared with placebo in GHA for all 3-year-old children but not mix B versus placebo. This result persisted when analysis was restricted to 3-year-old children who consumed more than 85% of juice and had no missing data . 8/9-year-old children showed a significantly adverse eff ect when given mix A or mix B when analysis was restricted to those children consuming at least 85% of drinks with no missing data.
Interpretation Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population.
I know that there are some that brush this off because their kids might not become more active after eating food additives or either don’t believe it or just don’t care… Think if the bad rep that sugar has gotten as parties and how it has been proven to not be the cause for the hyperactivity… what if it was the all of the food colouring and additives that have really been the culprit all along… the fact that food additives that have NO other function than to make a food look prettier and can have such an impact on behaviour is scary at best and I know for sure that I will never be able to turn a blind eye…
and the white marshmallows…. I called the number on the back of the package to ask what colouring was used… they have blue… but couldn’t say whether it was #1 or #2….
My youngest son is avoiding color as well, and feeling very deprived because while he loves sour candy, it’s just not possible for him to eat it – even once in awhile. Through lots of label reading, we’ve discovered that Mambas and a new line of Jelly Bellies are colored with natural dyes, so now he can have his occasional treat without feeling deprived. I figured I’d share that, just in case your kids have similar cravings!
Thanks! I will have to see if those are available here in Canada… My boys have not had too much candy so it is not something that they ask for but we do like getting treats once in a while…
We have found quite a few things that are treats but without the chemicals… There are some natural lollipops that you can buy also that are sweetened with fruit juice and have natural colouring… they are really tasty also… (better imo than the sugar and chemical ones…)
In the organic section at the grocery store and in health food stores you can find all types of other treats also…
Just thought I’d share a quick tip! We don’t eat regular marshmallows…we use an all natural brown rice syrup based vegan “marshmallow”…it’s really good and comes in a plastic container…it has the consistency of marshmallow fluff. But you can use it in the kind of recipe you were talking about…we make brown rice crispy bars with it and you really can’t tell the difference. You can find it in the natural food stores if you’re interested!
I would have to check that out… I have never seen it before at the health food store here… but I will check again and see if I could order some of not (there is not much choice here)
I know, also, that you can make marshmallows. I haven’t tried it yet, but it involves candy-making techniques. I like to make as many things as I can since at least I know exactly what is in them. It sounds like you do, too.