Now, half of you probably just rolled your eyes and muttered something about "Hippie nonsense," and that more or less used to be me. I thought the whole food dye thing was something way overblown by people who had nothing better to write about. But then, I started having problems with Client One.
Now Client One is the kind of child who is kind and considerate. She is gentle and sweet. She's the kind of kid who says, "please" and "thank you" without being told. She goes out of her way to help others. And above all, she's extremely loving.
But then she has "moments." She screams and hits and just goes crazy. Now, I am aware that three-year-olds have tantrums. I've seen them first hand. But these fits are worse than tantrums. They are above and beyond what any tantrum is or should be. They are uncontrollable. She would lash out at everyone and everything, including her little brother whom she loves more than anyone else in the world.
At first I thought these breakdowns might be related to all the TV she had been watching lately. Towards the end of my pregnancy with Client Two and the weeks following his birth I was super tired so she got away with watching a lot of TV so I could rest. TV watching became a bad habit that was consuming too many hours a day. Anyone, myself included, gets grumpy when she sits around and watches TV all day. So, I cut her TV down drastically to one or two episodes of a favorite show or one movie a day. It helped a little bit with the grumpiness and some of the smaller fits, but the big blowouts were still happening. Then, I found an article on food dye in one of my parenting magazines.
Skimming through the article, I found that food dyes, especially Red 40, can make kids go CRAZY. In fact, the description of the kids fits and tantrums fell perfectly in line with the way Client One had been acting. So I did more research. Did you know that food dyes have actually been outlawed in a few countries? While food dyes have not been proven to cause ADHD or other similar disorders, they can provoke them. They can help to tip the scale in a negative direction. Kids, like Client One, that have a lot of energy can be most affected in a negative way, making them act out in an uncontrollable manner. Sometimes these symptoms from food dye are confused with ADHD and often misdiagnosed. All these kids need is a change in diet that does not load their systems up with artificial food dyes. (I am not saying that all ADHD children can be treated by changing their diet. Some children may need actual medication.) These artificial dyes provide nothing to food beyond color. They are pretty much unnecessary, and yet they are in almost everything. I started pulling down all her snacks and foods off the shelf and was bewildered at how many "healthy" things had food dye. Some you expect (Fruit Loops have food dye- shocker, I know.) while others were not as obvious (why did applesauce need food dye?). So, we made a trip to the store for all natural, dye free foods. Luckily, Aldi has a brand called "Simply Natural" that provided us with a variety of kid snacks like fruit bites.
Since we have changed her diet, her attitude has changed with leaps and bounds. Now, whenever she has the occasional snack or treat with food dye, we can see an almost instantaneous reaction. My mother, who has been teaching for twenty-something years, was originally a bit skeptical of the whole food dye thing until she say the effects of a snow cone. Client One went off the walls throwing an uncontrollable fit because the blanket in her lap wasn't situated correctly. My mother admitted that if she had not known any better, she would have thought Client One was ADHD or worse.
Most days, we can go through the day completely avoiding food dyes and those days are good and mostly drama-free. I mean, Client One is three, so tantrums ARE going to happen and no amount of diet manipulation can change that. I do let her have the occasional treat of food dye, but I try to limit to non-red and only one thing a day to keep her from exploding.
Now, I am not a medical professional. I took one science class in college and I flunked it really badly. I can't tell you if food dye is making your kid cray-cray, but it has helped us a lot by removing it. Maybe it can help you, too.
Now Client One is the kind of child who is kind and considerate. She is gentle and sweet. She's the kind of kid who says, "please" and "thank you" without being told. She goes out of her way to help others. And above all, she's extremely loving.
But then she has "moments." She screams and hits and just goes crazy. Now, I am aware that three-year-olds have tantrums. I've seen them first hand. But these fits are worse than tantrums. They are above and beyond what any tantrum is or should be. They are uncontrollable. She would lash out at everyone and everything, including her little brother whom she loves more than anyone else in the world.
At first I thought these breakdowns might be related to all the TV she had been watching lately. Towards the end of my pregnancy with Client Two and the weeks following his birth I was super tired so she got away with watching a lot of TV so I could rest. TV watching became a bad habit that was consuming too many hours a day. Anyone, myself included, gets grumpy when she sits around and watches TV all day. So, I cut her TV down drastically to one or two episodes of a favorite show or one movie a day. It helped a little bit with the grumpiness and some of the smaller fits, but the big blowouts were still happening. Then, I found an article on food dye in one of my parenting magazines.
Skimming through the article, I found that food dyes, especially Red 40, can make kids go CRAZY. In fact, the description of the kids fits and tantrums fell perfectly in line with the way Client One had been acting. So I did more research. Did you know that food dyes have actually been outlawed in a few countries? While food dyes have not been proven to cause ADHD or other similar disorders, they can provoke them. They can help to tip the scale in a negative direction. Kids, like Client One, that have a lot of energy can be most affected in a negative way, making them act out in an uncontrollable manner. Sometimes these symptoms from food dye are confused with ADHD and often misdiagnosed. All these kids need is a change in diet that does not load their systems up with artificial food dyes. (I am not saying that all ADHD children can be treated by changing their diet. Some children may need actual medication.) These artificial dyes provide nothing to food beyond color. They are pretty much unnecessary, and yet they are in almost everything. I started pulling down all her snacks and foods off the shelf and was bewildered at how many "healthy" things had food dye. Some you expect (Fruit Loops have food dye- shocker, I know.) while others were not as obvious (why did applesauce need food dye?). So, we made a trip to the store for all natural, dye free foods. Luckily, Aldi has a brand called "Simply Natural" that provided us with a variety of kid snacks like fruit bites.
Since we have changed her diet, her attitude has changed with leaps and bounds. Now, whenever she has the occasional snack or treat with food dye, we can see an almost instantaneous reaction. My mother, who has been teaching for twenty-something years, was originally a bit skeptical of the whole food dye thing until she say the effects of a snow cone. Client One went off the walls throwing an uncontrollable fit because the blanket in her lap wasn't situated correctly. My mother admitted that if she had not known any better, she would have thought Client One was ADHD or worse.
Most days, we can go through the day completely avoiding food dyes and those days are good and mostly drama-free. I mean, Client One is three, so tantrums ARE going to happen and no amount of diet manipulation can change that. I do let her have the occasional treat of food dye, but I try to limit to non-red and only one thing a day to keep her from exploding.
Now, I am not a medical professional. I took one science class in college and I flunked it really badly. I can't tell you if food dye is making your kid cray-cray, but it has helped us a lot by removing it. Maybe it can help you, too.
