At a time when public schools are desperately short of funds, many of them are wasting money by making dumb choices in the food they serve to the students. The December 2010/January 2011 issue of Pure Facts focused on some of the more outrageous practices by various schools, and by the agency that oversees the school lunch program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
This issue also contains a satire (Page 3 below), pointing out the absurdity of public policy by describing what would happen if parents made the same choices in their home that these schools are making on their campuses. The satire is set in a homeschooling large family – please understand, we think homeschoolers are cool. We had to create this imaginary situation in order to translate the public school food program into the way it would be done in a family, where it would be obviously absurd to all.
If you don’t receive Pure Facts, you may click on these links to read Page 1 (the main article) and Page 3 (the satire).
On the bright side, there are good things taking place in many of our public schools. Now that the epidemics of childhood obesity and its accompanying illnesses are finally gaining attention, a growing number of schools are taking a look at what they are feeding the children. They are recognizing that food has a direct impact on health; we are hopeful that they will eventually recognize that food is also directly linked to behavior and learning. For more details on school foods and how to change them, look on our home page (www.feingold.org) and click on the button for “school lunch” on the left side of the page.
Click here or on the picture to see a very funny comedy skit about Total Blueberry Pomegranate Cereal.
All comedy aside, there really are NO BERRIES in this cereal — just Red #40, Blue #2, “other color,” and artificial flavoring to make up the imaginary blueberries – and some BHT to preserve them. By the way, they even hide some sucralose (Splenda) in the middle, right before the molasses and the honey – which means that the amount of molasses and honey must be really small!
Another video by Food Investigations with the HealthRanger about the disappearing blueberries in many products can be seen on Natural News TV, called, not surprisingly, The Blueberry Deception.
ADHD & Diet
“Children who react favourably to this diet should be diagnosed with food-induced ADHD”
“… dietary intervention should be considered in all children with ADHD”
“Our study shows comparable effect sizes in patients who are representative of the general ADHD population, supporting the implementation of a dietary intervention in the standard of care for all children with ADHD.”
We have been waiting a long time to hear these words, and there they are – in a new study by Dr. Lidy Pelsser et al, published February 5, 2011 in The Lancet. This study used a low-salicylate oligoantigenic (few foods) diet without additives. Dr. Pelsser did not specifically investigate food dyes in this study; in fact, as in other countries in Europe, any products containing food dyes in the Netherlands must carry a warning to say “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” See page 18 of the regulations of 2008 in the Official Journal of the European Union.
According to the study, 78% of the 41 children who were put on the elimination diet improved dramatically. Symptoms of both ADHD and Oppositional-Defiant Disorder (ODD) dropped dramatically. 0% (yep – that’s zero) of the children in the control group improved. In order to prevent special attention from being a factor, both groups had to keep detailed diet and behavior diaries, the control group followed specific “healthy diet” guidelines, and the assessing doctor did not know or discuss with parents any dietary information. At the end of the study, all the children in the control group were offered the diet.
In the double-blind “challenge” part of the study, they used foods identified as high-IgG or low-IgG for each child. These were identified by blood tests at the beginning of the study. When added back to the diet, both the high-IgG and low-IgG foods caused reactions equally. Therefore, the scientists concluded, an elimination diet is useful, but IgG blood testing can be avoided.
According to a Lancet commentary by Dr. Ghuman of the University of Arizona, the study is extremely well done. He wants more studies to see if the diet is effective for the long term. I guess we already know the answer to that one.
January 27, the US Department of Agriculture chose to completely deregulate the growing of genetically modified alfalfa. And just a few days later, on February 4, they gave farmers the go-ahead to resume planting Roundup Ready sugar beets — claiming it’s the only way to avoid a nationwide shortage of sugar! This decision ignores the order of district court judge Jeffrey S. White, who said a full environmental impact statement (EIS) needed to be done first; preparation of such a statement normally takes several years.
It seems to me that considering we all eat way too much of it, a nationwide shortage of sugar wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Meanwhile, if you want to avoid genetically modified beets (or if you just want to vote against them with your dollars), stick with pure cane sugar. See more about the alfalfa and the beets.
Stories like the Toxic Waste Candy last month and recalls on products sometimes make us forget that the FDA does do a vital service for all of us. Click on the picture at right to see what the FDA refused to allow into our country during the week of Christmas.
Are you new to Feingold and having trouble giving up some favorite snacks or transferring your taste buds to new snacks? It may help you to get “fooducated.”
Click here to get details of what’s in Dorito’s Cool Ranch chips.
Recently, my neighbor’s little girl came to my door to sell Girl Scout Cookies. I know none of them are acceptable, but I didn’t think giving the child a lecture about it was a good idea. And she’s our neighbor. So I bought two boxes, which I suppose I will feed to the birds when they arrive. Somehow, it makes me think … that while of course the supermarkets are full of unacceptable cookies, the ones sold by the Girl Scouts should be a cut above. They should be natural. They should be safe for children to eat.
In fact, the more I think about it, while every flavor of Girl Scout cookie today is laced with the preservative TBHQ, I can assure you that the first Girl Scout Cookies – in the 1930’s – were not.
If you feel the same way I do, you just might like to call or email their corporate offices to tell them why you think they should bring their cookie up to their early standards at least; to tell them why our Girl Scouts – and their customers – deserve a better quality cookie. Their phone numbers are: (800) 478-7248 and (212) 852-8000, and they can be emailed from this form.
Donate by using Goodsearch as your search engine. Go to their web site and add Goodsearch to your toolbar or make it your home page. Designate the Feingold Association as your “designated cause.”
For every search you make, the Goodsearch (Yahoo) people will donate a penny to FAUS. And you can see your pennies add up when you click on the “amount raised” link. Moreover, you will be amazed at the number of companies willing to donate a generous percentage when you make on-line purchases through Goodsearch. Even eBay!
Volume 2
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From the Mailbox
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 We have had quite a collection of comments since last time;
not all could be included:
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CPR 