We are asked this all the time, “Where do I start?” and there are many answers to that question but I would suggest…

👉🏼 Start with your pain point. Is it behavioural issues? Asthma? Skin issues?
👉🏼 Start making simple swaps. Just swap one product for a better choice.
👉🏼 Start cooking more from scratch.
👉🏼 Start scanning the ingredients listing to make better choices

So let’s break it down into bite-sized pieces.

For me, it was behavioural issues, so we removed anything linked to hyperactivity, aggressive behaviour, ADHD like symptoms, concentration problems, sleeplessness etc.

But… what are they??? Keep reading…

Here’s what we removed first.

   AVOID – Artificial Colours

   102 – Tartrazine (yellow colour)
   104 – Quinoline (yellow colour)
   110 – Sunset yellow (yellow colour)
   122 – Azorubine/carmoisine (red colour)
   123 – Amaranth Black (black colour)
   124 – Ponceau (red colour)
   127 – Erythrosine (pink colour)
   129 – Allura Red (red colour)
   133 – Brilliant Blue (blue colour)
   151 – Brilliant Black (black colour)
   155 – Brown HT (brown colour)

   Colours May Be Linked To 👇🏻

   ❌ Hyperactivity
   ❌ Aggressive behaviour
   ❌ Thyroid issues
   ❌ Asthmatics should avoid
   ❌ Itching skin
   ❌ Skin rashes
   ❌ Blurred vision
   ❌ Insomnia
   ❌ Upset stomach
   ❌ Irritable bowel symptoms
   ❌ Headaches
   ❌ Suspected carcinogen
   ❌ Kidney tumours
   ❌ Chromosomal damage
   ❌ Mutation
   ❌ Brain dysfunction

It’s even listed on the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand website that children with ‘food intolerances’ can have a reaction to food colours which may include rashes, irritable bowel symptoms, headaches, and behavioural changes.

Another detrimental additive we would avoid:

Natural food colour – Annatto | 160b

   Annatto 160b

   ❌ Hyperactivity (extreme)
   ❌ Aggressive behaviour (extreme)
   ❌ Head banging on walls or floors
   ❌ IBS symptoms
   ❌ Headaches
   ❌ Migraines
   ❌ Sleeplessness
   ❌ Insomnia
   ❌ Diabetics advised to avoid

   Where Can It Be Found?

   ➡ Ice-cream (most common place)
   ➡ Cereals
   ➡ Dairy products (mainly cheese)
   ➡ Confectionary
   ➡ Biscuits
   ➡ Cakes
   ➡ Pastries
   ➡ Juices and tinned nectars
   ➡ Spreads
   ➡ Margarines
   ➡ Frozen chips
   ➡ Salad dressings
   ➡ Puddings
   ➡ Pharmaceutical products
   ➡ Plus more

   Always read the ingredients!

How to spot it

Our family was eating colours and annatto (and glutamates also linked to restlessness) multiple times a day and we had NO IDEA!…

  • Cheerios for breakfast or Vegemite on toast
  • Mission Spinach ham & cheese wrap for lunch
  • Kraft ‘plastic’ cheese
  • Margarine
  • Packet snacks with flavour enhancer (eg. Shapes)
  • Meat & veg with tinned instant gravy for dinner
  • Ice-cream with sprinkles for dessert

But we also ate loads of fruit, vegetables, and I thought I cooked a lot from scratch.

I honestly had no idea what was in our food. None.

So when I heard additives could be linked to behavioural issues, I started to read ingredients.

AND IT CHANGED OUR LIFE!

  • Breakfast became eggs on toast, Weetbix or granola.
  • Lunch became leftovers, or homemade scrolls, or a salad or shredded chicken with homemade wraps.
  • Snacks became more fruit/veg and homemade or plain salted thins from the store.
  • Dinner was still meat and veg, but with homemade gravy.
  • I got annatto-free ice-cream (Häagen-Dazs) and naturally coloured sprinkles (Hoppers).

And as a result, our daughter started to concentrate, the behavioural issues went away, and our whole life changed.

Not one Doctor ever told me that sulphites could be linked to asthma, or some additives could be linked to behavioural issues… But I wish they did!  It’s as easy as making simple swaps.

We created our Additive-Free Lifestyle App so that you don’t have to figure it all out on your own (like we did). We wanted to make things EASY for you!

Inside the app, you can scan the ingredients listing, and it’ll detect any additives! It will then tell you how they’re made, what they are linked to and rate them from safe to risky.

DOWNLOAD APP HERE

It’s as easy as making simple swaps.

Scan the ingredients and find the better choice. This isn’t about going without!

But whatever you do, start, and… START SMALL!

Avoid going down the rabbit hole, because that hole never ends. Trust us! 🤣

Much love,
Jo & Tracey x