Interesting Food Additives that can Impact ADHD

Marguerite

Active Member
On the news this morning over here, was a report that incidence of neural tube defect (spina bifida, anencephaly) in Australia has greatly reduced and tat blood folate levels in Australian women of childbearing age have some very large percentage (over 90% within normal levels, where some years ago the level was about 60%. They recently began adding folate to all bread baked in Australia, to ensure that folate levels would be high enough to prevent neural tube defects.

We also have fluoride added to our drinking water here.

Excess Vitamin A can be dangerous - an Australian polar explorer, Douglas Mawson, discovered this the hard way. He was the sole survivor of his team - they got into strife and in order to survive, killed and ate their huskies one by one. The meat was too tough to eat, so they mostly ate the liver. Unfortunately, it is a very rich source of Vitamin A. Mawson ate less than the others and was the only one to survive. It wasn't until years later that it was discovered why the others had died. Among other symptoms, their skin was sloughing off, including the soles of the feet. A lot of other problems too.

Marg
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I noticed with my boys when they were younger that sugar had no effect on them unless they ate giant quantities that were absurd. Like an entire bag of candy bars or something and even then they just got a tad bit more hyperactive. Not even enough that you could tell much...just a bit more giggly. We did have one school lunch lady who attempted to force her will upon all the kids who took ADHD medications and not allow them to drink the little containers of chocolate milk at school. I was livid. In elementary school, my boys were both in slim pants and needed the extra calories during the day. They both consumed their entire lunches including all the vegetables so letting them have the chocolate milk was not hurting them. Heck Jamie went back for extra fried okra! He traded his pudding cups for other kids fried okra..lol.

I do refuse to buy dyed red hot dogs even if we are from the south. I also dont buy any red koolaid. Not so much for the red dye in kool aid because they actually use beet juice last time I was informed but that stuff stains like no tomorrow. I love the new clear water drinks they have out now that only have like between 5 to 30 calories per serving.

I also dont like MSG because it gives me headaches but I hear the aspartame thing constantly. I have never seen a difference for me. Have tried giving it up, changed to splenda, drank tab before aspartame was put in diet soda...I just dont see any difference in it with me. But Tab...ick...boy was I a happy camper when Diet Coke came out. I simply cannot drink regular soda anymore. Tastes like syrup to me. Sickly sweet.
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
Marg, I've also been seeing studies on too much folate and its effects on women past child-bearing age. Ditto the effects of fluoridosis, where the teeth form/become discolored due to too much fluoride. Double-edged swords.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Just have to add my $0.02 in here...

My friend H has serious reactions to MSG, Red 40 and sulfites.

MSG gives her migraines and makes her spacey - to the point where it is like someone gave her rohypnol. Sulfites and Red 40 make her vomit and gives her a headache. Within minutes.

Saccharin, aspartame, Splenda... All of these make me nauseous and/or vomit. One stick of sugar free gum and I'm hovering over the toilet. My Mom is the same. Plus, they're just too darned sweet!

A while back I quit buying Kool-Aid because Jett would put TWICE the amount of sugar in (I actually put 2/3-3/4 in and no one ever notices). And his mild-as-it-was ADHD? Almost totally GONE. Introduced it back. Within 2 hours he was at it again. So - no more. Besides, I make mean lemonade, which he loves!

As for cooking from scratch - I love to do it. I read mixes carefully - with husband's high cholesterol, Onyxx's borderline high blood sugar (and my borderline low, LOL), and Jett's non-scientific reactions... Plus when H is over... It's just easier. And homemade bread can take out some serious aggression!
 

Marguerite

Active Member
I'm with you on the home-made bread.

Our bread mix (OK, I give in to that extent) is a boutique brand from a South Australian family flour mill. When difficult child 3 was on his elimination diet, this brand of bread mix was the only one he was permitted - all the others had too much added stuff to the bread mix!
Have you tried making foccaccia? I was making bread the other day and goofed, put in too much yeast so I added some herbs and olive oil to turn it into foccaccia dough. I tip it out into a baking dish, press it in with oiled hands, sprinkle it with salt and more herbs, and bake it in the baking dish in one slab. We then cut the end result into six pieces, slice them open, fill them with whatever we want and then cook them in a sandwich press. A fabulous, fast summer meal.
Oh yes, the herbs I add - I grow them myself.

Marg
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I get really sick from artificial sweeteners to the point that now I start to wheeze. I also vomit and get a migraine. Even a sitck of wrigleys gum (last package I read had splenda (sucralose) in the regular big red, doublemint and juicyfruit packages - GRRRRRRR!) will cause this reaction.

My gfgbro and Wiz both get nasty, viciously mean when they eat too much sugar. it is really really ugly and they were like this as little kids. I would rather be around gfgbro when he is drunk than when he has had a candy bar on an empty stomach - and he is NOT a nice drunk!

We don't drink much koolaid. I only have it around for making playdough (makes the most awesome scented and colored playdough and it is very easy and cheap!) but the kids once in a while make it if we run out of lemon juice. We normally drink water or lemonaide or tea. Lemonaide is super easy from scratch - my kids don't even recognize the stuff from the mixes as lemonaide! We just use 1 c of sugar and lemon juice and then water/ice to make a half gallon. Usually we cut the sugar down quite a bit, but that is the basic recipe. I often add 3-4 drops of lemon oil (sold in the candy/cake section of the grocery and Hobby Lobby) because it intensifies the lemon flavor naturally. I have also been known to use true lemon and sugar to make single drink portions of lemonaide to pack with a water bottle for trips. True lemon is dried lemon juice and is awesome to keep in the spice drawer. IT is great for tea because it is much fresher tasting than the packets of lemon juice. It comes in bottles and in individual packets. It also comes in lime and orange.

We also love cherry limeade. I use sprite, cherry juice and lime juice or true lime. I have also used lemonaide instead of sprite.

This isi the only place I have ever heard of others besides my mom and I who get so sick from splenda and nutrasweet and other artificial sweeteners.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
I freeze whole limes and lemons, I zest them as needed from frozen then put them back in the freezer. When I need juice, I grab a frozen lemon/lime and use that.

We have an Aussie fruit called a finger lime - they are related to citrus but look different. They are long like a mulberry and when you cut them open, the little 'beads' inside are not all joined together but can be scooped out loose like little pearls of pure fresh juice. Ideal for sprinkling over oysters in the shell with a splash of vodka...

When we were in Greece the kids developed a taste for the commercial Fanta soft drink they sold. Nothing like the artificial additive stuff sold in Australia - this was clearly made from fruit juice and tasted wonderful. In the village, our friend made her own orange cordial, the kids loved it. I have a recipe somewhere; but it was a concentrate she made form fresh orange juice. She called it "portakali". We ordered the Fanta as "portakalada".

Memories...

Marg
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Wow... I have never heard of anyone besides me and my Mom vomiting over fake sugar. That's cool - we're not alone...

I wonder - Susie - can you smell skunks? I know, off topic, but...
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
StepTo2 and SusieStar, oh, yeah, can't believe I forgot about artificial sweeteners. I can't drink Crystal Light. Or red wine. I get migraines.
Can't figure out why I don't get them with-most white wines.

I have never given the kids artificial sweeteners ... just because. Just in case.

Marg, whew, what a sad, tragic tale about the explorer! And that's not even talking about the A overdose.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
More background on Douglas Mawson.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Mawson

I'm not sure, but it's possible that investigating what went wrong is what led to the discovery that too much Vitamin A can kill you. Especially in the Antarctic!

On the subject of artificial sweeteners, husband used to be able to tell if I had been drinking anything that had cyclamate in it. We had it in Australia long after it was banned in the US, and sometimes it would sneak into a lo-cal drink brand that previously had been cyclamate-free. One mouthful, and he could tell, even hours later. He said I smelled different.

Marg
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
One mouthful and you smelled different to him? That's about where I would say you can remove the question mark about him being Aspie, lol. Unless he's part bloodhound.
 

Marg's Man

Member
Unless he's part bloodhound.
Dunno about that but my mother used be able to smell the difference in shades of glass - upwind!

I've always had a good sense of smell, useful to a chemist when a small change in background smells can mean real trouble in a laboratory.

Marg's Man
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
It's quite useful I agree. And sometimes it's a bane. I quit smoking a couple years ago for about nine weeks. On the 3rd day I walked outside, took one sniff, and remembered why I enjoyed smoking instead. Even at a pack/day for 20 years there are smells I can pick up that a lot of non-smokers I know can't.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
I've also got a sensitive sense of smell. mother in law has mostly lost hers now, but she was phenomenal. I've never smoked, never liked the smell of cigarette smoke especially when it's really strong. I can smell it on clothes even if someone has just sat in a seat on the train where a smoker sat - even if the smoker was not smoking at the time. We have no smoking on public transport here. easy child 2/difficult child 2's car was driven by her smoker mother in law and our girl has inherited the sensitive sense of smell She worked hard to deodorise that car. It literally took her years.

Back to topic - even tough we no longer do the elimination diet (because it turned out difficult child 3's symptoms were not diet-related) we still read labels carefully, because we do have allergies to food colouring. And where you have one allergy, you risk another developing with ongoing exposure. Right now we're at easy child & SIL1's cottage, the apple trees are loaded and I've got the kitchen to myself all day!

Marg
 
Top