By Tegan Benfell, Co-Author of Additive Free Kids Parties
So often when people are discussing the effects that artificial food colours have on children, I hear the comments, “It’s just every now and then” or “Just a little bit wont hurt.” I honestly wish that they were correct in saying this, but I feel that it is just the same as saying, “well, its only one cigarette” or “”I only smoke every now and then” The truth is, nobody knows exactly how many doses of a toxic substance it takes for the damage process to begin.
Every person is different and therefore will react differently. What causes one child to spiral down into an uncontrollable fit of rage or break out into a horrendous rash within minutes, may take another child hours or even days to react in a far less obvious way, but this does not mean that they are not reacting at all, it simply means that their reaction is not as visible to us. Unless we can see into our bodies and into the bodies of our children we have no real way of knowing weather or not those chemicals are causing any damage. I would say the only real option to guaranteeing that these toxic food colours aren’t harming our children, is to simply not feed it to them at all.
Putting It In Perspective
You wouldn’t give your child a cigarette or allow the smoke to be blown in their face because after decades of research scientists and the health authorities finally acknowledge that they were wrong to allow and encourage people to smoke and we are now bombarded with warnings and legislation to protect us from the potential risks involved. Now I’m not judging people who smoke, I am a former smoker myself (teen rebellion) so I understand how difficult it is to quit and acknowledge that some people simply choose to smoke, that is not my business.
I am simply using cigarettes as an example of one of “mans” ingenious inventions which was consumed by millions of people without knowing the full risks associated with it, just like many artificial food colours which are consumed by our children on a daily basis. In another 2 decades will scientists be coming forward, saying that they can conclusively say that food additives are the main cause of many childhood illnesses and therefore are the reason why so many children are having to live their life on medications, which then lead to further health risks in their future?
What Are Food Colours?
What exactly are food colours? Food colours are added to many different types of food for one simple reason, to make food appear different and more appealing. There Are 2 types of food colours permitted for use in Australia, natural and artificial, a natural food colour may be considered natural as long as it is primarily derived form a natural source, but this does not mean that these natural colours are safe or free of chemicals.
Artificial colours are made from petroleum, petrochemicals and coal tar. I know there is no way you would allow your child to be consuming petrol or eating bitumen off the road, yet every single day, scientists in labs are creating these toxic chemicals and food manufactures are adding them to our children’s food and trying to make us believe they are safe.
Australian Food Standards Sadly Behind The World
Here are a few examples of just some of the nasty food colours which are permitted in Australia, yet are banned in other countries because of the health effects they have been associated with. I recommend never allowing your children to eat any of these and I also recommend purchasing this fabulous book which I love and recommend to all people who need to eat, it’s called The Chemical Maze by Bill Statham and I have used some of the information in his book below.
102: Tartrazine is banned in Norway and Japan and is being phased out in the UK as it is known to cause behavioural issues, learning difficulties, poor concentration, headaches, asthma, and skin rashes and is a suspected Neuro toxin.
104 Quinoline Yellow is banned in the USA, Japan and Norway and is known to cause hyperactivity, tantrums, asthma, dermatitis rash, and anaphylaxis and is also a suspected carcinogen.
110 Sunset Yellow is banned in Norway and Finland, and is being phased out in the UK. Sunset yellow has been linked with causing hyperactivity, nausea, hay fever, vomiting, and nettle rash and is a suspected carcinogen.
129 Allura red is banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Norway and is being phased out in the UK due to being linked with causing hyperactivity, tantrums, hypersensitivity and severe allergic reactions in some cases.
133 Brilliant Blue is banned in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland and is a suspected carcinogen and suspected mutagen as well as being known to cause Neuro toxicity, allergic reactions, hay fever, nettle rash and has been linked to causing hyperactivity.
The Natural Alternatives
Now I know you never want your child to ever feel like they are missing out on the bright, colourful and fun looking foods or that they have to be different and boring to be healthy, and I totally agree with you! Just because you want your family to lead a super healthy and chemical free lifestyle, does not mean that they should ever have to miss out on all of the fun stuff. So I have put together a bit of info for you on how to colour your food in a bright and fun way, naturally, which I use in my house and recommend to you. I hope you can find it super helpful.
YELLOW
When baking at home, the simplest thing to use for yellow is Turmeric, not only is it a natural spice, but turmeric is also know for having wonderful antiinflammatory and anti cancer properties so is obviously a far safer option. When purchasing turmeric, I always choose organic, but if this isn’t an option for you, just be careful that you are purchasing real turmeric and not “artificial” or ‘imitation” turmeric. Turmeric does have a strong flavour on its own, I always add a squeeze of lemon juice, some vanilla or another natural flavour to hide it, and you will need to remember that the yellow will take a while to develop, so there’s no need to add a lot of turmeric, it will get much more intense and brighter colour over time.
GREEN
Spinach is what we use to create a bright green colour, adding mint leaves or coriander leaves also adds a unique flavour, otherwise you can add lemon juice or vanilla to cover up the taste. My children love the green treats which I make, and as spinach doesn’t have a very strong natural flavour, it is very easy to hide the taste. Spinach is also known to be very high in fibre, calcium, magnesium and zinc so is a far better option than its artificial alternatives. To prepare a batch of green simply steam or boil your spinach until it wilts, then blend and press through a sieve, collecting all of the thick, squishy stuff in a bowl. I always make a huge batch of this and store it in the freezer. If you do this, you will not need to make a new batch of green every time you would like to make a green treat.
PINK
Having two little girls, pink is the most commonly used colour in my house, so I always make sure I have plenty of strawberries and raspberries in the freezer. All you need to do to prepare the perfect pink is heat the strawberries or raspberries in a saucepan until they begin to yield their juice, then mash and press through a sieve to remove all of the seeds. Strawberries are best for a lighter pink and raspberries will produce a glorious bright, deep pink. These two delicious fruits add such a wonderful natural flavour and colour to your foods with very little effort.
PURPLE
Purple is such a simple colour to make naturally and is so delicious and good for you too! It is as simple as heating blueberries until they become squishy and yield their juices, just the same as with the strawberries or raspberries for pink, then press them through a sieve. It is the same process with either frozen or fresh blueberries, so I always have blueberries stored in the freezer too. To make a more intense purple, you can add a small pinch of aluminium free and gluten free baking powder. Blueberries are known to be very high in antioxidants and are great for boosting the immune system and improving blood circulation, as well as tasting amazing! Why would anyone choose to use a combination of coal tar dyes instead?
BLUE
Blue can be a little difficult to get the colour perfect at first, but you will get the hang of it. Blue is simply a combination of the blueberry juicy used to make purple and some aluminium free and gluten free baking powder, more baking powder than you would use in the purple. This blue colour will develop over time, so it is best to mix your combination of baking powder and blueberry juice in with your food and leave it for a while before assessing if you need to add more baking powder or juice. If you add too much baking powder, the colour will eventually develop in to a grey or green colour, this can be easily fixed by adding more blueberry juice and more of the ingredient you are trying to colour, for example, if it is blue icing you are making, you would also add more icing sugar.
References:
Statham, B. (2005). The Chemical Maze Shopping Companion (3rd Ed). POSSIBILTY.COM.
Haigh, C. (2005). The Top 100 Immunity Boosters. Duncan Baird Publishers Ltd.
Dingle, P. (2004). The Deal for Happier, Healthier, Smarter kids: a Twenty-first Century Survival Guide for Parents. Dr Peter Dingle.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1440815/
http://www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2008/apr/08_65.shtml
You can find the exact recipes for making these natural food colours as well as over 100 more additive free recipes for children in Additive Free Kids Parties. Tegan is selling the last 400 copies of her book, at a discounted rate via Healthy Shelf:
http://www.healthyshelf.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=10&products_id=259
To show their support for families dealing with ADHD and to help all families embark on joyous additive free kitchen adventures together, Healthy Shelf are offering an awesome discount on purchases of Additive Free Kids Parties made before October the 13th 2010, or until sold out. To redeem this discount just head to Healthy Shelf using the link above and type in this code: NPT400 at the checkout. ($10 off discount on all purchases of $50 or more (not including postage) when buying a copy of Additive Free Kids Parties)
