Since medication was an imperfect solution at best, we decided to try diet therapy. We began by avoiding all artificial colors and preservatives. This is both easier and harder than it sounds. There are many convenience foods, and even some fast foods (e.g. McDonald's hamburger), that are free of additives, but you need help figuring out which items are safe. Reading labels is not sufficient. More on this later.
Within three weeks his asthma was gone. His peak flow meter registered 250, an excellent score for a small boy. Soon he was able to run and play with his friends. That was three years ago, and he has been symptom free ever since.
Interestingly, his pediatrician has expressed no curiosity regarding the complete remission of his asthmatic symptoms. She knows how serious his condition was, and she knows that it "suddenly got better", but she doesn't know why, and doesn't seem to care. "Guess he grew out of it." she concludes. Sometimes kids do grow out of their asthma and allergies, but John's rapid recovery occurred immediately after we changed his diet. Is this a coincidence? I doubt it.
The obvious strategy was to avoid all artificial fragrances. We purchased hypo-allergenic hygiene products and cleaning supplies, and turned our house into a chemical-free zone. Mary was finally safe at home, But we couldn't keep her cloistered in the house forever, and there would always be perfumes and solvents in public places.
Over the next six months Mary became more sensitive. Even cold winter air was enough to trigger an attack. It seemed impossible to shield her from all those potential triggers. She even started having small attacks for no reason at all. Clearly our avoidance strategy was not working.
Like John, we put Mary on an additive-free diet, and like John, she improved dramatically. It took several months, but eventually she was able to walk down the perfume aisle of a department store and sniff all the samples with no ill effects. Did she simply grow out of her asthma too? Perhaps, but again, it seems an unlikely coincidence. Furthermore, she still reacts to fragrances, two years later, if she consumes artificial additives for several days in a row.
As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of foods, even convenience foods, that are free of additives, but you'll never know which items are safe by reading labels. The laws regarding consumer information are not well enforced, and contain many loopholes. Better consumer laws would help a great deal, but in the meantime, what are we to do?
The Feingold Association is a non-profit organization that performs research on behalf of its members. For a modest fee, they will tell you, by brand name, which products contain additives and which ones don't. You receive a new shopping list every year, and intermediate updates as needed. This is especially important when a "safe" product suddenly includes a preservative. Feingold members are notified immediately via email, and in writing. I would recommend this program to anyone, even those in good health. Sometimes there are two brands, side by side on the store shelf, that cost and taste essentially the same, yet one has artificial colors and the other does not. Why not buy the better brand? If enough of us do this, market forces will accomplish what congress cannot -- encourage companies to manufacture better foods for all of us.
I am keenly aware of the fact that the Feingold diet is, for some people, inadequate, and I would be remiss if I did not say so. For reasons that will be discussed in future articles, we cannot eat most of the convenience foods on the Feingold shopping list. Still, I find the guide helpful. The Feingold association tells me that the ingredients on the box are indeed the true ingredients inside, whence I can make a determination based on additional criteria.
According to a recent report, The color certification program is self-supporting, because the law requires manufacturers to pay the FDA a user fee for each pound of color the agency certifies. In fiscal year 2000, ending Sept 30, 2000, the FDA certified almost 13.5 million pounds of color additives, including more than 3.7 million pounds of FD&C Red #40 and over 2.2 million pounds of FD&C Yellow #5 and #6. Click here to read more on the FDA color certification program.
Since the FDA is paid per pound of coloring certified, how much revenue, and how many jobs, would be lost if they decided to ban or restrict a coloring? It looks like artificial colors are here to stay.
The Feingold program is based upon the work of Dr. Ben Feingold, as described in his book, Why Your Child Is Hyperactive. That research was performed 30 years ago, and the book is out of print, and hard to find.
the book Why Can't My Child Behave, by Jane Hersey, contains more up-to-date information about additives and behavior.
Is This Your Child, by Doris J. Rapp, explores both foods and food additives, and their effects on children and adults. Although some people do react to additives, more people (statistically) react to natural foods, such as wheat, dairy, eggs, or nuts.