Dear Feingold Association Members & Friends,NEWS:
MEMBERS SAY: SCIENCE: FOOD & FOODLISTS:
- ACN Newsletter - first issue
- AUCTION: One Copy of Feingold Cookbook
- Feingold Volunteer Makes Front Page
- School Calendar
- Papa Johns Pizza Restaurants - clarification
- Hershey's Candy - Product Alert
- Members without Foodlists
- Look What You're Missing
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I would like to introduce you to the Association for Comprehensive NeuroTherapy (ACN), another organization providing help and information relating to autism, Tourette Syndrome, ADD/ADHD and learning disabilities.
At http://www.latitudes.org/acntoday.html you will find the first issue of their new on-line newsletter.
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Every year at the Feingold Annual Meetng, we end the working sessions by having a fun auction. This year we raised $270 for FAUS by auctioning off everything from silk suits to plastic flowers.
In the book offerings was a copy of the original glossy softcover Feingold Cookbook for Hyperactive Children and others with problems associated with food additives and salicylates, written by Ben F. Feingold, MD and his wife Helene in 1979, and published by Random House.
While the information in this book on how to "do" the Feingold diet is outdated, the recipes themselves are still priceless, and this out-of-print cookbook has been much requested by members and non-members alike. It is treasured by us old-timers who still remember what it was like to make our own mayonnaise.
We are therefore offering this copy, in "new" condition, to the highest bidder. Simply send your bids to shula@feingold.org. I will post the currently highest bid on the website, linked to the home page, so you can decide if you wish to bid again. Bidding will close at midnight September 15, Eastern Time, the winner will be contacted, and results will be announced at the website. Money spent on this book will support our financial aid program for needy families who wish to use the Program.
For those of you who are out-bid, Amazon.com is selling used copies. They currently have 17 available ranging in price from $4.95 to $37.63 with two "collectibles" available at $42.00
Please remember to always go to Amazon.com by visiting the Feingold Bookstore first since that way a small donation is made by Amazon to FAUS every time you buy a book.
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One of our volunteers has also taken on the battle for clean air. A retired nurse-practitioner, Colleen Smethers says that air pollution leads to children born with birth defects*, and an increasing number of children and adults with asthma and heart disease. Here she makes the front page in her home-town Southern California paper, the Press-Enterprise. The article is very long; we just bring you her picture and comment.
* Beate Ritz, an epidemiologist at UCLA's Center for Occupational & Environmental Health, found that women exposed to high levels of ozone and carbon monoxide were 3 times more likely than others to have babies with cleft lips and palates and defective heart valves. The study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology Jan 2002.
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The Feingold School Calendar has recently been sent to all Pure Facts subscribers in the U.S. Not only does it have the usual calendar information, running from September 2002 through August 2003, but the it also contains seasonal hints to make life on the program easier and more successful.
If you would like to order a Calendar, or if you have received one and would like to order more, simply call our office at 1-800-321-3287 between 10 am & 3:30 pm Eastern Time.
We often get questions from parents wondering if the diet will work for their teenager (or adults). Some doctors and even some researchers claim the diet works "only for children under 5 years old."
This is based on research using very small "challenge" doses of coloring. Think of it this way -- if you did a study on aspirin but you used only baby aspirin, you might "discover" that aspirin only works for babies, but not for 200-pound men.
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Although members have often complained that their doctors just don't understand the use of the diet for ADHD or asthma, here's one who does. See his story.
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One of the early studies on food dyes and behavior, by Dr. Bennett A. Shaywitz at the Yale University School of Medicine, found that exposure to a low dose mixture of artificial colors can result in hyperactivity in young rats.
In their website in which they report on the research relating to the effects of chemicals and pesticides on health, Wayne Sinclair, MD, (Allergy, Asthma & Immunology) and Richard Pressinger, M.Ed., have described this study in detail.
Dr. Shaywitz gave the rat pups a mixture of 5 dyes in amounts calculated to equal the average daily intake for American children, which they estimated at 1 mg per kg of body weight.
For comparison, Shaywitz created hyperactive rats by exposing some of them to another chemical known to reduce dopamine levels in the brain. It took 15 days or more for this chemical to take effect and alter the rats' behavior - which makes one wonder if all studies on food additives should perhaps also be done over an extended period of time rather than using an acute or one-time trial as has usually been done.
According to Shaywitz, the rats exposed to .5mg/kg -- only half the dosage he had estimated as "normal" for American children -- took over twice as long to escape from a maze that they had already learned to do. The researchers concluded, "Our results provide additional support for the belief that administration of food colorings may exert significant effects in the developing organism. Thus, it is apparent that food dyes affect activity levels during the first month of postnatal life."
-- Neurobehavioral Toxicology, Vol. 1:41-47
Last week, for a college class presentation, my daughter measured the amount of green coloring (Yellow #5 + Blue #1) required to turn Heinz Ketchup green. The Heinz people had assured her that they do not bleach their ketchup, but simply add the coloring to it. They declined to reveal the amount of coloring used, although they did not mind revealing the amount of salt and sugar, since those are "nutritional" components, whereas the amount of coloring is "proprietary" and is a closely guarded secret.Using an analytical balance, it was determined that it takes about 150 mg (a generous pinch of powdered coloring) to turn one tablespoon of ketchup green.
It takes 1 Tb of ketchup to cover a hamburger, and at least one more for the French fries. A child weighing 20 kg (about 44 lb) would thus be eating over 300 mg of artificial coloring at lunch, not counting the Red #40 in his punch. This translates to 15 mg/kg -- or over 30 TIMES the amount used by Shaywitz.
No study has EVER been done on human beings at that level. I am also not aware of any studies published on rats in mazes at that level..... perhaps because the poor rats are still wandering the maze forevermore?
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Those of you who are members and signed up to receive product alerts via email have recently received a warning that Papa John's Special Garlic Sauce and their Thin Crust Pizza now contain artificial flavor. A member has sent the following idea on how to have a thin crust without the artificial stuff, as well as a warning about another item on the menu.
She spoke to the staff at the Papa John's that her family uses, and they said they would roll out a thin crust from the regular dough if she asked them to do so. However, she notes, the cheese sticks have the Garlic sauce brushed on the dough before the cheese is added. If you have been ordering the cheese sticks, this may explain some unexpected behavior problems.
We were extremely sad to learn that Hershey has changed the formula for a couple of their candy bars. Almond Joy and Mounds have been on the Feingold Foodlist for many years - actually ever since the beginning of the Feingold Foodlist - but now must be removed as they have begun to add artificial flavoring.
When this product alert was sent to our members, many of them were very distressed and have offered to contact the company and complain. We feel, therefore, that such a change in this popular candy may be important enough to tell all of you about it.
If you would like to contact the manufacturer as a consumer with an opinion, please feel free to do so at info@hersheypa.com or call: 1-800-468-1714 or 1-800-HERSHEY weekdays 9-4 EST, or write to:
Hershey Foods
Consumer Relations Department
100 Crystal A Drive
Hershey, PA 17033
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Many of our members are comfortable using the Program and continue to do so without product updates or a new Foodlist for several years. Products do change, and if your information does not change with it, sooner or later you will be using products that are no longer acceptable - and you will wonder why symptoms are returning.
On the other hand, hundreds of products are added to the Foodlist each year, and you should not miss out on them. The product lists provided by the Feingold Association are the only source of accurate and up-to-date information relating to the Feingold Program.
See the section below on how to come back and get the updated information.
Normally, specific products are not singled out in this email newsletter. Such information is available to our members in Pure Facts, and is also included in email product alerts sent to those members who have signed up for them. If you are a member, but have not signed up for email product alerts, please do so -- don't miss out. Send an email to PICALERTS@feingold.org
Even if you have not kept up with the Pure Facts or bought a Foodlist for several years, you are eligible to receive the product alerts as long as you are a member of record -- this means you were a member in 1994 or later, so you would be in our computer data base and eligible to receive the product alerts, to order a new Foodlist at any time, etc.
If you have never been a member, please join us. You can become a member of the Feingold Association and receive the Program Kit by using the website order form, or by calling 1-800-321-3287 from 10 am to 3 pm, Eastern Time.