One day last week I picked Luke up from school. The moment he got in the car I knew something was drastically wrong. The poor kid was practically vibrated with with energy. He was all but crawling out of his skin. All the behaviors that had diminished under the new diet were suddenly horribly back. Homework took two hours before I finally gave up. He absolutel COULD NOT FOCUS . I was convinced that I was wrong, maybe he did need to see a doctor. I finally asked if he’d eaten anything at school other than the lunch I packed. Apparently as an award in a contest the kids were given M&Ms. I quickly goggled the ingredients list. OH MY GOD.
INGREDIENTS: , Milk Chocolate (, SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, SKIM MILK, MILKFAT, LACTOSE, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS) , SUGAR, CORNSTARTCH, LESS THAN 1%- , CORN SYRUP, DEXTRIN, Coloring (, INCLUDES , BLUE 1 LAKE, RED 40 LAKE, YELLOW 6, YELLOW 5, RED 40, BLUE 1, BLUE 2 LAKE, YELLOW 6 LAKE, YELLOW 5 LAKE, BLUE 2) , GUM ACACIA, M&M\’S© CANDIES MAY CONTAIN PEANUTS
Yeah, they’re a veritable chemical soup of artificial coloring. They even put Red 40 in the chocolate to make it look “more chocolatey.” Far from the far more calm and relaxed kid we’d been seeing, it was nearly ten before he finally fell into a fitful slumber. Even worse he reminded me of kids I saw when I was a social worker. Kids with ADHD so bad they were practically uneducable. They were in constant motion, their eyes moving from side to side so much I called them my “little snipers.” How many of those kids simply needed to be taken off these godawful petrochemicals the food industry is putting in this so-called food? Instead they were drugged to the gills with another alphabet soup of chemicals. I told Luke he is to eat nothing unless I give it to him. He can read labels, and he doesn’t like feeling crazy either, so I think he will listen. Yesterday in Target I found this Unjunked Candy. No artificial ingredients of any kind. Pricey, but as an occasional treat it is so worth it.
I’m so frustrated with the food industry in this country. It’s not like there are no studies showing the link. Nestle stopped putting artificial color in its candy in the UK, why not here?
the one who writes 
That’s awful! America really has to get a handle on the food regulation situation. I remember the First Lady being practically scorned because she said as much, and this is further proof she was just paying attention to what’s before us all. We love all this stuff, but there has to be a solution for this.
Sundrops are a good alternative to M&M’s. It looks like you are doing a version of the Feingold diet. Google it. It costs approximately $60.00 to join the the food guides are invaluable. The diet kept me sane during the time my children were young.
I feel and think soy is just as bad. I have observed that its causes hyperactivity in black male children. But no one seem to address this. Also the Feingold diet helped me to keep my sanity when my son was young. Well worth every penny.
That’s interesting Carolyn. I haven’t seen that, but then we don’t eat a lot of soy so that’s not surprising. Frankly at this point I could believe anything. I’ve always avoided soy because of it’s estrogenic effects.
I think you have to watch GMO (Genetically Modified) foods which are causing these problems as well, and has given soy a bad rap. If the product is labeled NON-GMO it’s fine. Corn is used for everything, and is one of the top foods to avoid due to being genetically modified. Have you seen, Food Inc? or Heard about Monsanto?
Keep doing your research.
Tracey
Yeah, I’ve heard about Monsanto and GMOs. We don’t eat a lot of processed food, and I try to avoid corn. We rely more on rice, beans, lentils and quinoa.