Whoever brought up food dyes and kids...

[callalily]

I want to say it was @jermys? Thank you!! DS has SPD and we removed all food dyes from his diet 4 weeks ago and it's made a huge difference. He's calmer, sleeping better and overall way less touchy. Life has been more managable lately. It's heaven.

[4speedy]

how did you go about removing all food dyes from his diet? I've thought about giving it a try but it seems so daunting. Even oatmeal seems to have yellow dye in it these days. Did you have to eliminate pretty much anything prepackaged?

What does you son typically eat? What kind of snacks does he eat?

[callalily]

Nov 23, 2014 12:41:09 GMT -5 4speedy said:

how did you go about removing all food dyes from his diet? I've thought about giving it a try but it seems so daunting. Even oatmeal seems to have yellow dye in it these days. Did you have to eliminate pretty much anything prepackaged?

What does you son typically eat? What kind of snacks does he eat?

I read every package of food. You'd be shocked at how much food has dyes. Snacks are fruit, carrots, cucumbers, Cheerios, almonds, cheese and crackers, pretzels. It removed a lot of prepackaged stuff, but not all. It's SO worth it. I can't even begin to tell you how it's helped him. I've made my own oatmeal with steel cut oats and fresh fruit, he loves it. There's really a lot of options even for a not so kitchen savvy people like me

[isabel]

Nov 23, 2014 12:41:09 GMT -5 4speedy said:

how did you go about removing all food dyes from his diet? I've thought about giving it a try but it seems so daunting. Even oatmeal seems to have yellow dye in it these days. Did you have to eliminate pretty much anything prepackaged?

What does you son typically eat? What kind of snacks does he eat?

You can buy instant oats in bulk. Cooks up the same in the microwave as what you would buy in a packet. Add a bit of cinnamon, fruit, honey, etc. and you're good to go.

[cbwm1]

I posted about this recently, and also that we added an omega 3 chewable to the routine and we've noticed a HUGE difference in how Will has done sensory-wise.

I'm glad it's working for your kiddo!!

[cbwm1]

Nov 23, 2014 12:41:09 GMT -5 4speedy said:

how did you go about removing all food dyes from his diet? I've thought about giving it a try but it seems so daunting. Even oatmeal seems to have yellow dye in it these days. Did you have to eliminate pretty much anything prepackaged?

What does you son typically eat? What kind of snacks does he eat?

The biggest one to remove is Red 40. That seems to be the worst. Yellow, orange, green and blue don't make a huge difference go Will. But Red 40 is the devil.

[callalily]

Nov 23, 2014 13:40:28 GMT -5 cbwm1 said:

Nov 23, 2014 12:41:09 GMT -5 4speedy said:

how did you go about removing all food dyes from his diet? I've thought about giving it a try but it seems so daunting. Even oatmeal seems to have yellow dye in it these days. Did you have to eliminate pretty much anything prepackaged?

What does you son typically eat? What kind of snacks does he eat?

The biggest one to remove is Red 40. That seems to be the worst. Yellow, orange, green and blue don't make a huge difference go Will. But Red 40 is the devil.

Red 40 is the worst here too. DS had some hawaiin punch at a bday party a few weeks ago and it was disastrous. It truly is the devil.

[MrsAxilla]

Nov 23, 2014 13:39:23 GMT -5 cbwm1 said:

I posted about this recently, and also that we added an omega 3 chewable to the routine and we've noticed a HUGE difference in how Will has done sensory-wise.

I'm glad it's working for your kiddo!!

We started omega 3 based on your post and it's definitely made a difference.  Thanks!  

[wildfloweragain]

We are also dye free for DS. It doesn't seem to bother the girls, but DS reacts horribly. He is off all dyes including white (titanium dioxide - fine as a sunscreen, but he can't ingest it.)

It's become our habit to read all labels when buying things, and making it our norm to keep to those things when buying in the future. (He can have wegmans or stouffers frozen mac n cheese but not other brands, can have wegmans chocolate pudding but not jello or swiss miss, etc.) We recheck periodically, especially if we notice a change for the worse in him because products do sometimes change their ingredients.

You can tag me if you have any questions as you continue.

H is on his way to a natural food store to see about a dye free gummy for worms and dirt. He doesn't like the sour ones.

[lilac05]

I'm glad it's working for you!

I've been thinking about trying it. DS1 doesn't have SPD, but sometimes he just gets flat out WILD and completely out of control. (Beyond what is typical for a child his age.) I've been meaning to keep a closer eye on his food intake and see if there's a correlation.

If nothing else, eliminating dyes in foods generally leads to a healthier, more nutrient dense diet, which is bound to make ANYONE feel and act better!

[Mrs. ChanandlerBong]

Nov 23, 2014 13:40:28 GMT -5 cbwm1 said:

Nov 23, 2014 12:41:09 GMT -5 4speedy said:

how did you go about removing all food dyes from his diet? I've thought about giving it a try but it seems so daunting. Even oatmeal seems to have yellow dye in it these days. Did you have to eliminate pretty much anything prepackaged?

What does you son typically eat? What kind of snacks does he eat?

The biggest one to remove is Red 40. That seems to be the worst. Yellow, orange, green and blue don't make a huge difference go Will. But Red 40 is the devil.

This has been our experience, too.

I'll let the others slide on occasion, but she absolutely can not have Red 40

[Mrs. ChanandlerBong]

Also want to say that if you have a Trader Joe's nearby they have affordable, non chemical dye jelly beans, gummy bears and suckers.

edit to add: also watch out for caramel color.
consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/01/caramel-color-the-health-risk-that-may-be-in-your-soda/index.htm