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In This Issue:
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- Designing the research
- Who are these people anyway?
- Curl up with a good read
- Say it ain't so!
- Who can you trust?
- To frack or not to frack
- Wow! and natural too!
- Uncle Sam wants your vitamins
- For portable filtered water
- School treat bags
- Vaccine ingredients calculator
- Coca-Cola / New health food?
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Wow!!
And natural too!!
Who said you can't have a delightful colorful cake without petrochemical food dyes? I think I count six layers in this cake, which is a little beyond my own cake-baking abilities, but it gives us all a goal to aim for. Or bring the picture to your local bakery.
More . . .
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Red Alert Issued
Received 3:51 am Sep.13
They've tried it before, but people like you rose up and protested. They've waited 17 years and are trying it again. Maybe "they" think you won't notice? Dr. Mercola says the new plan is to (1) require repeat testing that would raise the price of vitamins dramatically, and (2) classify vitamins as food additives, requiring a dose limit that would (by definition) have no effect.
More . . .
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For Portable Filtered Water
You may be filtering your water at home, but what about when you go out for a car ride or a run? For those who are concerned about possible BPA or other toxins seeping into their bottled water from the plastic bottle material, or who want to save bottles or save money, this one looks like a good resource.
more . . .
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Keep a treat bag at school for your child so he will not be left out when there are unscheduled snacks or parties in class. You can make your own bag or box with any snacks your child likes that are acceptable, but if you would like to buy a bag of goodies, Squirrel's Nest can help:
- Stage 1 Treat Bags
- Stage 1 & 2 Treat Bags
In fact, why not donate a bag of lollipops to the whole class?
- Stage 1 Lemon Pops
- Stage 2 Fruit Flavor Pops
Or go for the (Stage 2) five-pound bag of about 325 Yummy Earth lollies sold on Amazon, which is the best buy I have found, and free shipping too. Don't miss the discounts offered which can save you 15% or even 30%! Heck, if my math is right, that is only about 7¢ a lolly -- you might want to donate a bag to your local bank, too.
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Vaccine Ingredients Calculator
Various vaccines have different ingredients. To help you plan which vaccines to give your children, or yourself, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) has prepared a Vaccine Ingredients Calculator.
See it here.
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New health food?
Dietitians - via a new program organized by Coca-Cola - are expected to be instructed to inform the public that "any connection between artificial colors and neurotoxicity, or fears of the dangers of fluoride, are imaginary and come from hysterical (or at least unduly concerned) parents." This is part of the American Dietetic Association's new effort to bash “urban myths.”
Dr. Ronald Kleinman (see main article above) is the presenter. You can listen to him here and then can test yourself here.
Wow - I am listening to him as I write, and he believes strongly that schools should put artificial sweeteners in school foods, thereby allowing more desserts and flavored milks without extra sugar.
Registered dietitians will actually earn Continuing Education Credits ... which is rather alarming when you review the questions they must answer.
Example: Question #4
True or False?
"The body of scientific research shows that artificial food colorings cause behavioral problems in children."
The only answer they accept as correct is "False."
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Australians?
Your new forum has had no visitors for the past month. Is there a problem with the Board? With the log-in? With the weather Down Under? Please don't tell me you're all mad at each other and not talking!
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It's here!
Now is a good time to order multiple copies for holiday gifts. See you in the Shopping Cart!
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Time to
Renew?
If you have not
been receiving Pure Facts, you may have let your subscription lapse.
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If your family has
benefited from the Feingold Program, please remember us when it's time to give
to
charity.
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Designing the Research
Following the FDA hearing on food dyes, there has been an upsurge of interest in studies on the subject of food dyes and ADHD. I was excited to find a paper recently published in Pediatrics entitled A Research Model for Investigating the Effects of Artificial Food Colorings on Children With ADHD. See it here.
The authors begin by discussing recent developments in the UK and Europe where, they say, the new regulations "reflect the judgment that the risk of developing symptoms of ADHD as a result of AFC (artificial food color) exposure outweighs the considerable problems associated with replacing AFCs with natural substitutes ..."
They go on to assert that if AFCs really do increase the risk of developing ADHD in a subgroup of  children, this risk group should be provided a modified diet, as is done for children with phenylketonuria (PKU).
Did you notice? Sensitivity to food dyes will become an illness, like PKU. However, PKU involves the inability to metabolize a particular protein normally found in foods. It is an actual lack of an enzyme. These children need a specific diet because they really do have an illness. 
Being unable to tolerate petrochemicals should not be termed a disease, however -- petrochemical additives were not used in food in the history of the world, until recently. (I wonder if medical insurance will have to cover the cost of medically-necessary real food? Will it require a prescription to buy real food?)
The authors make all the usual (old hat) complaints about how all the studies were done before the 1990s and used small samples. I don't know how they missed the study by Schoenthaler on a million kids (HOW can you miss a million kids???) or the studies done in the 1990s by Sarantino, Pollock, Rowe, Novembre, Boris, Carter, Egger (2), Uhlig, Reyes, Ward (2), Schmidt, and Bennett.
When they discuss the proposed model, the researchers say they want to find out whether (1) AFCs change ADHD symptoms in ADHD kids and (2) whether AFCs will cause ADHD symptoms in normal children. It seems to me, however, that if the normal kids got ADHD symptoms from low dose AFCs, then they would have been diagnosed with ADHD already. But nobody asked me.
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Missing?
There is no mention of eliminating other additives, which we know can cross-react with dyes, nor how long they will have the children on the dye-free diet before testing them ... a day? a week? a month?
They also did not mention whether researchers should use children on medication, taken off medication, or never having had any.
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The researchers propose two phases: A Phase II study at school (week 1) and home (week 2), followed by a 6-week Phase III study designed to measure the effects of AFCs on ADHD symptoms in children with ADHD, and using the control  group without ADHD to see if the AFCs have any effect on them too. There does not appear to be any Phase I in this paper. It is also not clear how they are going to separate school and home weeks (surely they won't be sleeping at school?)
Rather than give meals with or without AFCs, the researchers plan to give the children dye-free meals, and give them capsules containing the dye or placebo. They plan to test a range of AFCs from 0% to 200% of .... something .... well, they don't say what. They just say that they will determine an "average" AFC amount from "a representative sample of meals." I cannot help but wonder what they will consider a representative breakfast ... Froot Loops? Or scrambled eggs? Or will they "average" the two?
The problem with using capsules is that children don't eat AFCs in capsules in the real world. AFCs are absorbed through the mouth, tongue, and esophageal tissues. Where, in the body, are the capsules going to dissolve? Will the AFCs so delivered even make it to the bloodstream?
Who are these
people anyway?
It is unfortunate that people who have a monetary interest in the outcome are designing the research.
According to the authors, this paper represents the opinion of a group of experts convened by the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst Food Science Strategic Policy Alliance. This Alliance receives funding from Cargill, Coca-Cola Company, ConAgra Foods, Kraft, Mars, Nestle, Pepsi Cola, and other companies.
Lead author, Dr. Ronald Kleinman, is Physician-in-Chief of MassGeneral Hospital for Children, and has been Chief of Gastroenterology and Nutrition since 1986. He is very aware that food influences behavior, judging by his 2002 study called Diet, Breakfast, and Academic Performance in Children.
The following information was included for each of the authors in the "Financial Disclosure" (conflict of interest) section of the Research Model paper:
Ronald E. Kleinman, MD
has served on the scientific advisory boards of General Mills, Beechnut, Hero Foods, the Grain Foods Foundation, and Burger King, and has consulted for Elanco, Mead Johnson, and Cantox.
Ronald T. Brown, PhD, has served on a scientific advisory board for Shire Pharmaceuticals and has received grant support from Eli Lilly.
Gary R. Cutter, PhD has consulted for, or been on committees of, the following pharmaceutical companies: Accentia Pharmaceuticals, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Antisense Pharmaceuticals, Barofold Pharmaceuticals, Bayhill Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Biogen Idec Pharmaceuticals, BioMS Pharmaceuticals, Daichi-Sankyo Pharmaceuticals, Enzo Pharmaceuticals, Esai Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals,
Genentech Pharmaceuticals, Genmab Biopharmaceuticals, Incyte Pharmaceuticals, Medivation Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Peptimmune Pharmaceuticals, PTC Therapeutics, Somnus Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Vivus Pharmaceuticals.
George J. DuPaul, PhD receives research grant support from Shire Pharmaceuticals.
Fergus M. Clydesdale, PhD is on the board of directors of
Sensient Technologies Corporation, one of the foremost producers of food colorings and flavorings, and
has served on the scientific advisory boards of General Mills, Mars Snackfood US, McCain Foods, Tate and Lyle, ConAgra, Unilever, and the Coca-Cola Company.
See more about him
If you like to curl up with a good read . . .
I've spent the holiday weekend in my favorite playground - MedLine - and come up with a bunch of new and old texts. I have listed some of them below, and more are at the top of my personal research list in the yellow September box, or alphabetically in the main list.
When needed, the username is "myfile"
and the password is "4Studies"
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BORA 2010 -
Pitfalls in Salicylate Toxicity.
- CORTESE 2008 -
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, and restless legs syndrome:
The iron hypothesis.
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DiGIROLAMO 2009 -
Role of zinc in maternal and child mental health.
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GAO 2011 -
Effect of Food Azo Dye Tartrazine on Learning and Memory Functions
in Mice and Rats, and the Possible Mechanisms Involved.
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GORKER 2004 -
Autistic-like findings associated with a urea cycle disorder in a 4-year-old girl.
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HILLS 2011 -
The effect of thiamin tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide on behavior of juvenile DBA/2J mice
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KAMEL 2011 -
The Potential Health Hazard of Tartrazine and Levels of Hyperactivity, Anxiety-Like Symptoms, Depression and Anti-social behaviour in Rats.
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MARTI 2010 -
Effectiveness of nutritional interventions on the functioning of children with ADHD and/or ASD. An updated review of research evidence.
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WURTMAN 2011 -
Non-Nutritional Uses of Nutrients.
Say it ain't so!!
It seems just yesterday we were announcing that Necco was introducing all-natural Necco Wafers. They filled out our forms and we put them in our Foodlists.
However, we have just been informed that they are not happy with the sales and are abandoning the natural line. I called them to verify it, and was told that while that is true, their candies have a two-year shelf-life, so we should continue to find them in the stores for about that long. So - go ahead and stock up if Necco Wafers are on your favorite candies list. You should also still be able to get them from Squirrel's Nest for quite a while. Nancy at the Nest just informed me she bought the entire stock of the warehouse she uses.
If you would like to contact Necco, their phone number is 781-485-4500 and an email form is at www.necco.com/ContactUs/Default.asp.
Who can you trust?
A member posted this question for our Product Information Committee (PIC) --
"I
know they have manufacturers fill out forms...but how does Feingold ensure that these companies are being completely honest in reporting what's in their products? If they aren't required by law to list it as an ingredient, then what is their motivation to honestly report it to Feingold?"
Since the Foodlist and Shopping Guide book is the core of our Program, and our members depend on the listed products to not contain the prohibited additives, this is an important question. I sent it to our National Director, Jane Hersey, and our PIC Director, Cindy Harrell, for their answers:
Jane says, "My short answer is that it is unlikely a company rep would deliberately lie and then sign his name; any company that does not want to tell us the truth will just ignore our request. Also the PIC form specifically asks about the preservatives in particular components such as pan grease, bag linings, etc., so this is something the company cannot just forget about answering. But the acid test is that we often get  feedback from experienced members who not only can recognize a change, but can also often pinpoint the cause. This is how we first learned that McDonald had added TBHQ to their frying oil. Additionally, our PIC people have always been very savvy about identifying mistakes that are sometimes made on the forms."
Cindy says, "When a product such as a cereal is researched, we don't limit our questions to the ingredient list; we also ask questions about packaging and the process by which the products are made. This would include things like the packaging or plastic wrap for cheese, unlisted ingredients such as pan sprays used in the baking process of breads, etc., and secondary ingredients, like 'natural flavor' that must also be investigated to make sure they are safe for those on the Feingold Program.
"It is true that some manufacturers can't be trusted, or use products that they would rather not reveal, but we find that most of those just decline to fill out forms and refuse to work with Feingold in any way. I have been at PIC for 12 years and I have never caught a manufacturer lying to us. It could happen, but I doubt it."
A drilling team from Minard Run Oil Company pull out steel pipe during a fracking operation at a 2100 foot natural gas well in Pleasant Valley, PA in 2008. |
To Frack or Not To Frack ...
Although this may not seem to be directly related to us as Feingolders, anything that affects the quality of our water is important. No matter how good your diet - if the water you drink and bathe in contains toxic chemicals or heavy metals, your health (and behavior) will deteriorate.
Fracking - as seen in the picture at right - involves drilling thousands of feet into the earth to fracture the bedrock by injecting pressurized water mixed with proppants (sand etc.) and chemical additives to keep the crack from closing.
Of course, like so many subjects, there are two sides (at least) to this question. First, see some general information on fracking at Wikipedia here.
The pro-frackers say this "proven and well-regulated technology" has been producing billions of cubic feet of natural gas per day and is good for the local people who get jobs, and the consumers who buy the gas. See article here.
The anti-frackers say that this process causes health problems and destroys the environment. The Marcellus Protest, consisting of people in the area of Pennsylvania undergoing fracking, is calling for a "stand down" on fracking. See more.
And the non-profit Food and Water Watch is aggressively fighting to ban fracking nationally. They say that billions of gallons of the toxic fracking fluid stays underground indefinitely, threatening to contaminate vital groundwater resources for generations. See their alert which was sent out September 7, 2011.
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From the Mailbox
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- New member in OH, explaining how she heard about us -
Book … Why won't my child behave? (purchased book after a friend tried the diet being recommended by a neurologist). Learned about the group from book.
- New member in TX -
Wish I had heard about you all sooner. Have been seeing specialist for 3 years for our son; no one had ever mentioned this program. With the few changes so far have seen much improvement!
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From a doctor ordering brochures and information -
A patient showed me your brochure, told how it really helped her child. I work with ADD, ADHD, LD and autistic spectrum children and adults and have recommended these dietary changes for years. I have heard of the Feingold Diet but never saw printed materials before.
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New member purchasing a teacher's information packet -
Just rec'd the program. You should have an option of including the teacher guide in one of your start up packs. Love the program! Miracles!!
-- Note: many new members do buy the teachers' information packet (separately) at the same time as the Program, but others prefer to buy it later or make their own with a brochure, a bluebook, and handouts printed from the website. See some useful handouts here.
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New member in PA Buying 2 professional packets -
Can't wait to give this to our doctor. He has heard of it but does not know anything about it. We could have used this many years ago and spared ourselves a lot of heartache !!!
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New member buying a cookbook in PA - it has only been a few months ... we have seen extraordinary results and I dont even know what I'm doing yet !
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Coming in OCTOBER 2011 PURE FACTS:
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How to get those healthy and hard-to-find items without leaving home. Even better, you can buy them for less than retail!
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What's the big deal about school food? Why it's so important to all of us.
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Pure and lovely cosmetics -- including lip gloss and nail polish. Once thought to be impossible, they are now available, and at affordable prices!
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24 years and counting -- one Feingolder's roller coaster ride from scholar to school failure to fabulous.
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Face painting for Halloween and whenever -- have fun without the reaction.
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Coming Attraction!!
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 The Holiday Gift Baskets will
be available again this year, and for the first time we will be offering a choice of Stage One only, or Stage One-and-Two, baskets!
We have many new donations
and will begin to take orders
on November 1st. More details
coming soon.
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Website links in this eNews
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Some of you have written to say you have trouble clicking on the links in the eNews. The link may be blocked by your email service. If you have trouble clicking on links from the email, copy and paste this link to see the eNews on line:
www.feingold.org/enews/09-2011.html
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