Additives such as benzoate acid (benzoic acid) are commonly used in foods as a preservative. These additives cause more harm to the consumer than good. Sure the product may last longer, but what's the price to be paid?
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There are never any nutritional value to food additives such as benzoate acid. The additive will either be dangerous or be neutral in the body. The food industry is just like any other business they seek to MAXIMIZE profit and MINIMIZE cost while producing a palatable product with a maximum shelf life.
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I took an introductory course to food science at the University of Guelph. The course only taught what food additives were and the uses for each. The course demonstrated to me why they were used ranging from preservation to even the way in which the food would 'feel' in the consumers mouth. The course taught about how these corporations create a 'desirable' product.
You wouldn't believe the amount of research that goes into the making of the product. It is not about health it is about enhancing the production, processing, storage, packaging and creating a food that will be deemed desirable by the consumer.
These corporations eat up and use every new health craze: organic, green, DHA, low carb, low sodium, heart healthy, low fat, probiotic blends... etc. All these labels are, are marketing ploys to get you to purchase the product. Just because the frozen pizza or box of pancake mix says it's organic doesn't mean that it is actually good for you; or the riboflavin content in cereal.
To put things into perspective the total US market for food additives is roughly .8 billion, in 1978 it was .3 billion. About 10,000 new food products are introduced annually. 50+ years ago our reliance on grocery stores was about 20% as a whole (Canada and U.S.) now it is a whopping %80 as a whole.
If you really think about it, what foods do you not buy in the grocery store? Most of us are %100 reliant on these establishments but the averages are brought down by the handful of people who can still take care of themselves.
Now that you have had a bit of an introduction to food additives, let's focus on a couple specific additives that have actually been linked to child behavior, specifically my child's behavior.
Why are sodium benzoate, acid and sulphites a cause for some concern?
The main reason for me writing this article is that I have a 20month old daughter whom I have discovered is quite sensitive to certain things. We have narrowed it down to sodium benzoate, acid and sulphites. I am still unsure why certain acids cause problems with her. She's fine with naturally occurring acid but not with anything manufactured.
My child is not at all used to food that is full of additives or even that is not organic, but my husband had been laid off for quite some time so we had to shop accordingly. Since we relaxed a bit on what she was consuming her attitude seemed to change for the worse. Everyone told me it was normal and the terrible twos were coming, I just didn't believe it.
My daughter is very calm and very gentle. She has some trouble with getting to bed though and always had. Did not nap well and would take up to three hours to get to bed at night even if she had not napped all day.
But the thing I noticed was that there was no consistency in this, some days she would nap for 2 hours, others she would not sleep.
Some days she was her calm self and others she was very defiant and would throw temper tantrums all day.
It wasn't until I began writing down the foods and drinks and her mood and behavior for that day.
When I noticed a link between certain things (syrup, ketchup, dried apricots etc.) and her attitude I began doing some research.
I had given her pancakes with table syrup (no sugar added, so I'm a good mom right?). Then she was INSANE for the rest of the day. She fidgeted and I couldn't get her to focus on anything at all. I took her for a walk in the stroller for over an hour and she wouldn't go to sleep. We came home and laid down for two hours and she just would not go to sleep and it was way past nap time. I finally gave up and when bedtime came she threw a tantrum, wouldn't read a book (she loves books) and cried long past 9:30pm. My goodness what a day that was.
There was an exceptional amount of sodium benzoate in the syrup so I looked it up and found that it had been directly linked to child behavior; especially ADHD. Enough said, no more of that.
The only thing that did not make sense to me was her reaction to dried apricots. Aren't they really really good for her. I wasn't feeding her candy or even juice so dried fruit, I thought, was the way to go.
So I plugged it into Google and would you believe that there is more than the RDI (recommended daily intake) of sulphites in ONE inorganic dried apricot than is suitable for a ten year old boy?
Sulphites specifically affect asthma, they cause wheezing and asthma attacks. I was feeding my asthmatic child about 10 times the RDI for a ten year old a day or more; she loves them and I really thought I was doing a good thing. The removal of all sulphites have made a tremendous difference.
I removed them from her diet and what do you know, she is her calm self again. Since we have removed additives such as benzoate acid specifically, we put her down to bed, she says goodnight and puts herself to sleep (no crying at all). She listens and doesn't over react to things; like no.
It is important, not only to feed our children right, but to feed ourselves right. This is where they will adopt their eating habits. I found and am finding that the best possible solution is to research, read labels, stop buying this crap and help your body eliminate all the toxins it has stored in the fat cells. You don't have to take anything, just eating right will do the job and then your body will do the rest. It's really funny though, when you do a huge cleanse you feel like you start over and not only with your body.
Food Additives - A Must Read For Parents - What Sodium Benzoate, Acid and Sulphite Do to My Toddler
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