Growing up my mom would occasionally tell me a story about when I was about three years old and we were at the shore. She gave me some kind of fruit loops or something similar for breakfast and she swears that I literally grew horns and turned an evil shade of red. She claims that she had to chase me down the street and when she spanked me (for the first time ever) I laughed in her face.I would always look properly horrified and pretend to believe her, but I seriously thought she should be ashamed of exaggerating like that.
Until it happened to Gwen
I didn't even know my child had that kind of nasty in her!! It all started very innocently. I thought I would try to make something new for lunch called a Polka Dot Sandwich. Polka Dot sandwiches are strawberry cream cheese on bread with slices of banana and raisins.
Well, it just so happens that strawberry cream cheese contains red food coloring. A few hours after lunch she back-talked me, an hour later she was nasty to one of the kids, and by bedtime it was all I could do not to beat her with a wooden spoon. The next day was pretty bad too and the day after that wasn't perfect.
As you can guess, I am pretty ashamed that I never believed my mom.
The thing is, I've always tried to feed Gwen a lot of all natural and organic foods. Not saying I'm perfect about it, but she had never had that amount of chemical food coloring all at once.
Several times since then we have had near misses with Kool-Aid, cake icing, and go-gurt. The thing is, I have had quite a few people look at me like I have grown a third eye and turned purple... reminds me of the look I used to give my mom.
So I'm wondering if a lot of people are as ignorant of the effects of food coloring as I was. According to this article on the Happy Mothering website chemical dyes in food have increased by 500% in the past 50 years!
This article on the CNN website reports about a link between dyes and increased hyperactivity.
I also have stumbled across this book. Rich Food Poor Food is a guide to making healthier choices at the grocery store. It teaches us what to look for and what ingredients should be sending up red flags. I'll be able to tell you more when my copy arrives in a couple of weeks.
If these dyes have this much effect on how we (and especially our children!) think and act...
WHY DON'T WE ALL KNOW MORE ABOUT IT??
As you can guess, I am pretty ashamed that I never believed my mom.
The thing is, I've always tried to feed Gwen a lot of all natural and organic foods. Not saying I'm perfect about it, but she had never had that amount of chemical food coloring all at once.
Several times since then we have had near misses with Kool-Aid, cake icing, and go-gurt. The thing is, I have had quite a few people look at me like I have grown a third eye and turned purple... reminds me of the look I used to give my mom.So I'm wondering if a lot of people are as ignorant of the effects of food coloring as I was. According to this article on the Happy Mothering website chemical dyes in food have increased by 500% in the past 50 years!
This article on the CNN website reports about a link between dyes and increased hyperactivity.
I also have stumbled across this book. Rich Food Poor Food is a guide to making healthier choices at the grocery store. It teaches us what to look for and what ingredients should be sending up red flags. I'll be able to tell you more when my copy arrives in a couple of weeks. If these dyes have this much effect on how we (and especially our children!) think and act...
WHY DON'T WE ALL KNOW MORE ABOUT IT??
It is true! Food coloring is horrible! Both my brother and I were hyperactive children. I wasn't able to have anything as a kid! Good luck with your new food guide!
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