Interesting Information: March 27, 2011
“Autism, Chemicals and Food Additives”
Jane Hersey’s eldest daughter “showed symptoms of autism until her diet was changed.” Says Hersey: “Most parents of autistic children do not realize that help may be as close as their kitchen cupboards.”
Autism in the United States has “increased from 1 in 2,500 children to 1 in 110 children.”
Ben Feingold, MD, a pediatrician and allergist, formed The Feingold Association, which explores the link between diet and behavior.
“Many parents have seen their children’s behavior and attention improve when they removed synthetic food dyes, artificial flavorings and certain preservatives from their diet.”
“Children’s increased consumption of petroleum-based food additives may account for some of this [autism] rise, given that there has been a fivefold increase in food dye consumption per person in the United States since 1955. (They even dye dill pickles yellow according to an article I read on food dyes in the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) newsletter–“Nutrition Action” in the past 6 months.)
“Try to limit your children’s exposure to scented cleansers, germicidal sprays, furniture waxes, room deodorizers, carpet and oven cleaners, insecticides, moth balls, oil-based paint and solvents like paint thinner.” Also, wash new clothes and linens to stop “the off-gassing of formaldehyde and fire-retardant chemicals used in many fabrics.”
Choose “toothpaste, mouthwash, medicines, vitamins, soaps and lotions that have not been synthetically colored, flavored or scented.” (I’d say if you have bad breath, eat more probiotics like those found in high-quality yogurt. Bad breath comes from your gut, not your mouth. Cavities are a sign of nutritional deficiencies, not unclean mouths. (See The Weston A. Price Foundation web site for more info.) (We use a half & half mixture of baking soda and sea salt, with a drop of essential peppermint oil on the toothbrush, to brush our teeth, and my gums have not bled at the dentists since I started using it.)
The Feingold Association (www.feingold.org, 800-321-32887) publishes a FOODLIST & SHOPPING GUIDE identifying safe products.
Jane Hersey wrote WHY CAN’T MY CHILD BEHAVE?
Jane Hersey’s article appeared in the March/April 2011 WELL BEING JOURNAL, 33-34. This issue has an excellent article by Sally Fallon Morell of The Weston A. Price Foundation: “Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry.”
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