Artificial Dyes and ADHD
Does this sound like a familiar story? You’re in the grocery store with your kids and as you turn the corner and head down the cereal aisle, your kids run for Froot Loops, Trix, and Lucky Charms. You know that if you buy that cereal your kids mornings and your mornings will be a struggle. Why? There are 3 reasons why.
- These cereals are laden with artificial colors.
- They have many chemical ingredients.
- They contain high sugar content.
Red #40, Red #3, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Orange B, Green #3, Blue #1, Blue #2, Sodium Benzoate are all things that you want to avoid if your child has ADHD. The ADHD brain has a harder time processing these artificial dyes and thus they are called neurotoxins. Artificial ingredients also need to be avoided. Children have a higher concentration of body fat, so the chemical additives are stored in the fat, so it’s harder for our kids to eliminate them. These are also neurotoxins. So what is a neurotoxin? Well, basically it means “poisonous to the nervous system”. Here’s a list of the Top Ten chemical additives that you need to avoid in addition to the artificial dyes listed above.
- Partially hydrogenated oils
- Artificial sweetners
- MSG
- Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
- BHA
- Acesulfame potassium
- BHT
- Potassium bromate
- Sodium nitrate and nitrite
- Propyl gallate
So, General Mills, has tried to take out the artificial colors in some of their cereals, however, recently, General Mill’s Trix cereal said they are putting those artificial dyes back into their popular cereal because no one liked the natural colors. Well, then I won’t be buying that cereal. There are plenty of other cereals out there that you can try for your kids with natural ingredients.
The last thing I want to touch on today is the amount of sugar that is in these cereals and why so many kids with ADHD want them. The ADHD brain lacks dopamine and therefore looks for that neurotransmitter everywhere. Eating carbs is the fastest way to get dopamine into the brain, however, there is a better way of doing that than eating sugar laden cereals.
Grazing throughout the day on good carbs, like sweet potato, oranges, bananas and pairing it with a cheese stick, almonds, yogurt is a way to feed the brain, but eliminate the crashes that come from eating only sugar laden carbs.
I would love to partner with you and show you how with just a little bit of guidance you can take control of the food that your ADHD child is consuming.
Sometimes you just need some 1:1 tender loving care and that’s what my One on One Family Coaching sessions are all about. We get together and create a plan that’s specifically just for your family and I walk alongside you to help you implement the changes. We do an initial consultation and then we meet twice a month to see how things are going. We can tweak anytime and this package comes with a Pantry makeover along with a virtual grocery shopping trip, 3 recipe revamps, free downloads, and email support 7 days a week. You are never alone on this journey 🙂
If this is something that speaks out to you, please reach out.
Until next time,
Mary
