Additives

There are many hundreds of additives in food, drinks and medicines.

More and more studies are suggesting that the use of artificial additives can have a dramatic effect on our children's behaviour. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), allergies, asthma, and migraines are just some of the problems attributed to food additives. The danger is particularly great if your children are very young, where the long-term effects of taking in additives on their developing bodies can include serious malnutrition, obesity and even neurotoxicity. It is astonishing that some additives, regulated in processed food, are used without regulation in children's medicines.

Some studies suggest that hyperactivity can be induced or aggravated in some children when they eat food containing additives.

To a child diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD), particular colourings and preservatives are a danger.

"Children ... are aroused by them [additives], made very miserable, and virtually uneducable." (Dr Peter Mansfield, Good HealthKeeping (Kindred Spirits, Issue 4, Summer 1999)

Food manufacturers and government representatives claim that without the use of preservatives foods would soon spoil. This is true in some cases but it is also true that a major proportion of additives are used purely for cosmetic reasons and as colouring agents.

The same people argue that because additives are present in such tiny amounts they are completely harmless. When additives have a reversible toxicological action then this is correct, but if they are found to be carcinogenic, for example, the human body will be unable to detoxify itself. Eating minute doses of these additives on an ongoing basis will put an irreversible toxic burden on the child which could - ultimately - lead to the growth of cancers and foetal damage.

A little and often...

The amount of additives per food item we eat may not, on its own, be harmful. But the cumulative effect of what we eat over our lifetime that can be problematic. This, of course, means that our children are at the forefront of those at risk. There is also evidence that some additives can combine and become neurotoxic, an effect not seen in them individually.

Around 75% of our Western diet is made up of various processed foods, which means that each one of us eats on average 8-10 lbs of food additives every year.

Look behind you!

Some food and drinks are sold with very misleading labels. You have to study them very carefully to discover that the food they are advertising on the 'glossy' packaging is mysteriously absent, whether it is the fruit in a fruit juice or other food 'flavouring' such as bacon or cheese. Take a good look at the list of ingredients on the back of the product - and see what you are really buying. (See panel "Go on Mummy - buy me a Strawberry Milkshake" below).

We believe that regular intake of any additive is best avoided.

What can be done

There are many steps that can be taken by parents, producers and authorities to limit children's intake of unnecessary food additives:

• Avoid non-essential food additives, particularly all cosmetic agents such as food colourants.
• Avoid food additives from foods which may be consumed by infants and/or young children.
• Demand clear labelling of all foods which include additives - such as those with carcinogenic properties - with the appropriate warning.
• Demand that TV advertising which encourages children to buy and eat unhealthy junk food should be banned. Abolish moves towards school snacks and re-introduce free nutritious school meals, preferably using organic food.
• Insist that schools deliver health education lectures stressing the prime importance of good nutrition in both physical and mental health.
• Screen young children diagnosed as hyperactive, including children currently seen by psychiatric services, for evidence of a possible food/chemical intolerance. Even the simplest dietary changes - such as avoiding foods containing food additives such as coloured sweets, fizzy and sugary drinks - can bring about a remarkable improvement in their health and behaviour.
• Tell your MP that you want a law refusing permission for the food industries to continue adding into our everyday foods and beverages toxic additives that are for cosmetic purposes only.
• Buy locally produced organic food wherever possible. Avoid processed food. Always check the labels. Farmers' markets often sell eggs, meat, fruit and vegetables at cheaper prices than the supermarkets.
• Sign up to a 'veg box scheme' where organic produce can be delivered by local producers direct to your door.
• Eat 'five a day' - that is, five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, as recommended by the government. This is good advice, but it would be even better if we were advised to eat organic - modern farming methods have resulted in a dramatic depletion of the essential nutrients in vegetables, up to 50% in some instances.
• Be aware of the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for any additive you may take on a regular basis. But avoid if possible!

Go on mummy - buy me a Strawberry Milkshake!

If you visit your local burger restaurant with your children and you buy them a strawberry-flavour milkshake it will typically contain: Amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenol-2-butanone (10% solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthylketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, y-undecalactone, vanillin and solvent.

BUT NOT A SINGLE STRAWBERRY!

Links

• www.curezone.com
• www.organicconsumers.org