Family Science Project

It's been 2 years (at least!) since I've posted anything on "the blog." Why am I posting now? We are starting a family project...removing unnatural food dyes from our diet. I thought that blogging about it would help with my tracking of the outcomes. I am now officially committing to this and committing to documenting it. I work well under pressure.

I will start out by stating that the FDA has not required the bold labeling on the front of packages warning the consumer. They (FDA) has looked at the research of these petroleum based dyes and found the conclusions inconclusive. But, after reading quite a few mommy blogs and posts, I think it's worth checking into. This is what has become the the Crowell Family Science Project.

I have yet to explain my motivation. My youngest has a diagnosis of moderate mixed ADHD. Many parents, although the FDA doesn't deem the research results conclusive, believe that these petroleum based dyes negatively alter their child's concentration, moods and basic daily functioning. If part of his hyperness & lack of focus is due to dyes, then let's eliminate them from his (our) diet. My child is currently on an ADHD stimulant, which is also expensive since our insurance doesn't acknowledge the ADHD diagnosis. We will keep him on it during the initial science project initiation, mainly because he is so much more functional in school while on it. He also tends to not spit on others while he is on the meds. So, that's a bonus to the meds. I think we'll know if the food dye removal project is beneficial even if we don't remove the meds. We still have the lovely morning routine when his morning medication haven't taken effect. If the mornings become more sane and pleasant, then we'll consider a day trial of "no meds." This reminds me that I need to call in for next month's script. It is a controlled substance so "refills" do not exist!

 Here's the plan:
 -all family members participate
 -parent evening beverage is excluded from the science project...no judgement please

 Avoided ingredient list items:
 -red #3 (ring pops)
 -red #40 (fruit snacks, candy, m&m's, cereal, popsicles)
 -blue #1 (marshmallows, tooth paste)
 -blue #2
 -yellow #5 (sunny d, popsicles, lemonade)
 -yellow #6 (sunny d, popsicles)
 -sodium benzoate (e211) this is a preservative. Threw this one in there for fun. (syrup)

 So, good luck to us! If this is a factor in our daily chaos, then we should know. If it isn't, then we're a little healthier for 2 weeks. It's a win-win for us all. Today I did the shopping for this experiment. A couple of surprising changes to our daily intake. More on this later.