November/December 2001 Feingold Email Newsletter
Dear Feingold Association Members & Friends,
- Yellow #5 - Again
- Alert - Palmer's Candy no longer acceptable
- Change in Additives List
- AAP New Practice Guidelines for ADHD
- AAP - Recommendations to Doctors
or "Why your doctor said that" - Car Donation Benefits FAUS
- For Pete's Sake to Close
- Holiday Reminder
- YELLOW No. 5 - AGAIN!!
- ALERT - Palmer's Candy
is No Longer Acceptable
We don't usually mention brand names in this newsletter to protect list members. That way archived material may be used at any point in the future. Unfortunately, we made an exception for Palmer's Candies. The ones without artificial coloring were made using pure vanilla, were acceptable on the Program, ane were widely available. Palmer's has informed us that ALL their candy now contains the artificial flavoring vanillin. Do NOT use these candies as stocking stuffers for anyone following the Feingold Program.If you should find some Palmer's candy with the old wrapping that looks like it contains pure vanilla, remember that they may be allowed to use up their old wrappers. You can check by contacting them at
Phone: 712-258-5543
Fax: 712-258-3224
Feel free to let them know how disappointed you are that they have chosen to use the cheaper artificial vanilla flavoring. - CHANGE IN ADDITIVES LIST
In our listing of additives, the numbers E-325, E-326, and E-327 were previously listed asLactates
It has been brought to our attention by the manufacturer, PURAC Biochem in The Netherlands, that this is not correct. These additives are made by fermenting sugar. The only link with milk is the use of lactic acid bacteria which do the fermentation. Furthermore, if lactose (milk sugar) is used, it would be fermented by the fermentation process itself and any residue would be removed by further purification.
Possible adverse reactions if lactose-intolerantOur incorrect data was based on information provided by the Northern Allergy Centre's Guide to Food Additives. Since we are unable to find a contact number or email to inform them of their error, and it is not our policy to utilize websites with no contact information, we have removed this link from our page.
If any of you happen to be connected to the Northern Allergy Centre, please let them know about the correction.
- AAP --
NEW PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR ADHD
In October, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its new guidelines to doctors for diagnosing and treating ADHD. [press release no longer available online - 3/10/08]For treatment, they recommend medication and behavioral therapy - only. There is no mention of any other approach, or even what other conditions might mimic ADHD.
Dr. L. Eugene Arnold, professor emeritus of psychiatry at Ohio State University, prepared a report on the status of all alternative treatments at the request of the National Institutes of Health in 1998. The AAP seems to have chosen to ignore his work.
For your benefit, we have asked Dr. Arnold to give us his advice, and here it is:
Dr. Arnold's advice to parents:
Ask for a complete history and physical exam to look for medical conditions that might mimic or cause ADHD, such as thyroid, congenital heart problem, lead or other toxicity, allergies and sensitivities, dietary deficiencies (e.g., junky diets), and side effects of already used drugs or herbs (both prescription and OTC). This is especially important for preschoolers. If a specific cause is implicated, treat that first. If no specific cause is found, stimulant medication is likely to be the most powerful treatment, but not necessary for all cases. Adjunctive/complementary/ alternative treatments might reduce the dose of medication needed for optimal benefit and thus save side effects. Anything contributing to good general health won't hurt and might help the ADHD symptoms. Remember that there are many causes of academic underperformance and restless inattentiveness, and they don't all require the same treatment. Be alert for learning disorder, depression, anxiety, and poor school environment as possible causes other than ADHD.The guidelines developed by the AAP are consultative, not binding. They are expert opinion, not law, and as you can see, there can be disagreement among experts.
- AAP --
RECOMMENDATIONS TO DOCTORS
OR: Why Your Doctor Said That
Parents frequently write me to ask why their doctor assures them that the Feingold Program does not work, that there is no scientific support, and that they are wasting their time. I explain to them that their doctor may be unaware of the growing scientific evidence that dietary intervention can affect behavior. See some of it hereMuch of the information about treatments for ADD and ADHD comes from biased sources. For example, a policy statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that doctors should educate themselves about "alternative and complementary" treatments so that they can "tell the parents of the dangers" and give their patients unbiased information.
Unfortunately, going to the four resources recommended by the AAP for physicians , I found the following information about the Feingold Program:
Website #1 had no information at all about ADHD.
Website #2 had a "current assessment" dated 1979 which claimed that the Feingold diet had no scientific support. In the past few weeks, this web page seems to have disappeared from the Internet.
Website #3 AND Website #4 are both written by the notorious Stephen Barrett - a self-proclaimed "quackbuster" who opposes anything he considers "alternative" or "complementary." He calls all such treatments "questionable" and advises pulling the license to practice medicine of any doctors using them. You can see more about what he says - and the facts.
- CAR DONATION BENEFITS FAUS
The first test run of the car donation program was trouble-free for both the donor and the Feingold Association (FAUS), and the $1,005.20 which FAUS received will significantly help support outreach and public awareness and grants for families in financial need who are unable to afford membership.It was a '95 Geo Prism that didn't start and according to the records that came with the check, sold for $1,600 at an auction.
If you have an old car sitting around, go directly to Car Donation Charity at www.cardonationcharity.org and choose "Feingold Association." They will take care of the rest, and FAUS will receive a donation of 70% less the towing and auction fees.
- FOR PETE'S SAKE TO CLOSE
Pam of For Pete's Sake called to tell us (with regret) that as of the end of the year she will be closing down her mail-order business.As with the Squirrel's Nest, her business was a "labor of love."
Pam will share information with Nancy of the Squirrel's Nest, so people who have come to depend on For Pete's Sake should still be able to find the things they need.
Visit the Squirrel's Nest website at www.squirrels-nest.com
- HOLIDAY REMINDER
We at FAUS wish you all a safe and happy holiday. For recipes and hints, be sure to look at the October, November, and December enewsletters from previous years.Remember that it is no favor to your child to let him go off diet "just this once" as a treat -- besides possibly resulting in a scene embarrassing to your child and uncomfortable for all when he / she has a reaction in public, it also leads to the idea that cheating is desirable and "special."
If you are doing the cooking, everybody can eat "Feingold" food and goodies. If you are eating elsewhere, have a little advance discussion with the cook, and perhaps bring some "safe" goodies on a special platter that your child can recognize as food he /she can have without having to ask.
And if you are doing the diet at home with your child for moral support, please remember that you are your child's model - don't go off diet in front of him in another's house. Actually, staying on the diet yourself, full-time, is not a bad idea since this sensitivity does run in families. Your coworkers, friends, and family may begin to notice how much more relaxed and less cranky you yourself have become.
Back
Happy Holidays,Shula Edelkind
Feingold® Association of the United States
http://www.feingold.org
http://www.ADHDdiet.com
TO SUBSCRIBE: Send e-mail to ON@feingold.org
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TO CHANGE ADDRESS: Send e-mail to CHANGE@feingold.org
Recently, you were asked to tell the FDA about your experience with Yellow #5 (Tartrazine) and the reason why you believe it should be banned. At that time there was a deadline for this petition.
The deadline has been extended, but the FDA has only received about 700 letters. They NEED to hear from more of you. Don't expect that someone else will tell a story like yours -- they need to hear YOUR story. If everyone on this list shared their experience, that total would swell by 10,000.
If you don't know which color induced a reaction, Yellow #5 is certainly in most colored things, so you can expect it is involved in a multi-color reaction. But it is OK to write that the problem occurred as a reaction to various, multiple, or unknown colorings in the food, paint, marker, or whatever, and that you wouldn't mind banning them all.
Tartrazine (Yellow No. 5) is only one of the chemicals eliminated by the Feingold Diet, but it has been one of the most heavily studied of all the additives, and has been implicated as a trigger both for ADHD and asthma, although this is denied by the FDA and other official sources.
Please email your comments and experiences to the US government (no matter what country you live in!) Send your email to:
In the subject of your email write: Docket #01P-0345, Delist Yellow #5
Make sure to put your name, address and phone number on your email.
See more information about this petition.
See more about artificial colorings and what
they contain.
See what the FDA would like you to know about the
artificial colorings.
Thank you for your participation -- let's let our voice be heard!!