Red Dye 40

I've heard about and read about the possible negative impacts of various dyes, food coloring, additives, etc. I knew it was probably in things that we ate and drank, but I never went looking for it. This is another instance of why this whole process is a journey for me - I hear about something, I learn about it, and then, finally, I get around to doing something about it.

Yesterday, I met a woman with a 15yo autistic son. After years of using medications, she's trying "alternative" means and has seen some results in less than a week. One particular problem she had with her son was meltdowns after school every day. He was fine at school but became extremely upset soon after getting home. One of the recommendations of her consultant (the same person Demi saw last month!) was to discover a source of Red Dye 40 in his diet. After a little investigation, they discovered that he chose red Gatorade for his drink with lunch every day. This choice could contribute to two things: 1) A huge source of Red Dye 40 and 2) A huge sugar high, followed by a tremendous low when he got home from school. Since he's been off the red Gatorade (less than a week!), his meltdowns after school have disappeared and he's sleeping much better (which could be due to Carol's treatments - the alternative health practitioner).


I don't believe Demi ever had a severe reaction to Red Dye 40, had no reason to go looking for it. But this morning, we were out of kool-aid, which I normally put in Demi's milk. Of course, being the cheap-o that I am, we were using Great Value brand drink mix (which I'm beginning to loathe), which was full of Red Dye 40 - both in the Grape mix and the Cherry mix. Ok, no kool-aid from that source any more. At least I could take the unopened Cherry mix back for a refund.

On the subject of Great Value brand, I've noticed that almost every single package, regardless of the contents, has "Manufactured in a facility that also processes wheat, nuts, etc." - the message varies somewhat in specifics. I checked the can of black beans we had last night - "processed in facility that processes wheat"! Beans and wheat together?? I checked several other containers - everything had a message like that or said "gluten-free". I only found the sour cream (which Demi doesn't eat anyway because of CF), garbanzo beans (we use those a lot in homemade humus which Demi loves), and canned corn to be totally gluten free.

Obviously, my shopping habits need a makeover. It's a journey...