"Daughters Against Dyes" because aren't all mothers a daughter? The acronym D.A.D naturally includes Dads. Mother's and father's lives are both touched and altered when their child struggles with an allergy to food additives like dyes. Weather working together under the same roof or a single parent going it alone - checking those labels for not only sugar content, sodium intake, artifical sugar additives or artificial dyes can seem daunting and finding AFFORDABLE alternatives even more overwhelming.
In a time where our food is highly processed, more than ever before there should be certain things that don't NEED to be in our already complex ingredients list. Being that food dyes are mostly for asthetic purposes, meaning they make that already naturally orange orange look oranger and they make that candy grab your little one's attention or even yours with that feeling of fun when you gaze upon them, food dyes do something for us we are all accustomed to weather we realize it or not - they match that color with a flavor, which I have to admit is pretty cool but that is where the allure stops.
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One thing that doesn't quite sit well with me and I'm sure with other parents is the fact that they use these almost like tactics to influence us to buy certain products. They in a sense trick us by masking the true shade of the food item: natural color loss that occurs over time once things have been harvested. These artifical colors hide changes essentially from light, moisture, temperature or storage conditions.
More often than not these synthetic colors may make nutrient poor foods seem more appealing to consumers. Reminds me of how nothing looks the same as it does on the box or in a picture and unfortunately thats just kind of the accepted norm. This all leads to the buying and consuming of less than ideal food items creating a vicious cycle of nutrient poor diets.
Some of those brands that use these super bright, fake colors also have Titanium Dioxide in their products as well...be on the lookout for this genotoxic ingredient in your favorite candy or even whipped cream and coffee creamer - it causes damage to your DNA and is carcinogenic to rats. Companies know it and still include it, saying reassuring things about it being such a tiny amount....bottom line is, there are not enough individuals speaking up about this. In other countries the crap allowed in our food is not allowed in theirs. They assumed a standard over there and we need to demand the same. The companies make two different products, one for over here and one for over seas. If they can do it for them at a reasonable price then they can do it over here and skip the cheap ingredients that cause so many problems. Problems that just get chalked up or blamed on other things or the dots don't even get connected. Families go through so much heart ache trying to figure out what is going on with their child, not to mention the torment the child goes through because of these additives in their food. IN OUR CHILDREN'S FOOD! THE FUTURE OF OUR PEOPLE! OUR BELOVED CHILDREN, IF WE DON'T PROTECT THEM THEN NO ONE WILL..WE MUST DEMAND BETTER FOR THEM..WE MUST DEMAND A CHANGE IN THE NORM. We need to normalize healthy food instead of it being something so sought after, it should be something common! "Healthy" should be amongst the majority not the minority. It shouldn't be just the wealthy that can afford to further their children with healthy foods posted all over Insta and Pinterest...it should be the mom just scraping by to make ends meet, she should be able to rest assured knowing her kids are getting the best as well!
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As a mother of 4 healthy children, it wasn't until our 3rd child starting exhibiting behaviors that didn't align with his normal behaviors that I became aware something may be addversly affecting him.
I had always heard about the negative effects of dyes, most specifically Red 40 but had seen no evidence it was having an impact on our first 2 kids so it was always just a passing thought. It wasnt until our 2 year old would eat brightly (bright is a huge indicator of artifical) colored foods that his behavior would become erractic towards me and his siblings. He is usually a good spirited, high energy when needed and loving child. Once dyes hit his blood stream within about 30 minutes of him cosuming them he was no longer reasonable or understanding of our rules or anyone's personal boundaries. After quite awhile and a lot of redirecting with activites plus drinking lots of water he would slowly settle down.
It is through these difficult experiences that I have decided to bring awareness to other parents in hopes of helping even just one child. There are so many other undesirable things put in our foods I could touch on but I am specifically talking about, learning about and bringing awareness about dyes.
I know I am not the only one!
Please visit our "About" page and together we can make a change for the betterment of every child and parent affected by this topic. ❤