After all the excitement of Easter was gone and I had everyone tucked into bed, I went through the Easter candy secretly. I felt really bad about it at first, but I had to keep reminding myself of my intentions. Something that has become a big issue lately in the media and in our home is the subject of artificial dyes in our foods. Most are not even necessary, they are for aesthetic purposes. A website I follow all the time is www.100daysofrealfood.com and they recently launched a petition to Kraft to take Yellow 5 & Yellow 6 out of macaroni & cheese. They were even featured on the Dr. Oz show! The amazing thing is these additives are banned in Europe and are NOT in Kraft mac & cheese there. They require a warning label in many countries, but our country allows them. Yellow 5 & 6 are made from petroleum. I knew all of this and we do not purchase these items anymore. It just doesn't seem right to me. Well, for a few weeks, and off and on we had had trouble with Emilynn going to sleep. The kids had been taking Benadryl for seasonal allergies they were suffering with. I did not think anything about the Benadryl until I was reading the 100 days website and something just clicked. I ran to get the Benadryl Emilynn takes and sure enough, it had Red 40 in it, which is known to make many kids hyper. Let me tell you, at bedtime she would take her medicine and then be up until 11, 12, or later with no plans to settle down. She kicked the walls, jumped around, acted out and we were all frustrated. I normally buy only dye-free meds, but that particular day we were out and Walmart only had regular. (go figure, shopping at Walmart is a post in and of itself!). Carson did not like the regular Benadryl, so I had found him the dye-free elsewhere.
I started Emilynn on dye-free Benadryl the very next night and she was asleep within 10 minutes. We've had no problems since except noticing her a bit more hyped up after having a popsicle and also some strawberry ice cream (not at the same time). I checked and sure enough-Red 40. It is really frustrating that so many known carcinogens like Yellow 5 & Yellow 6, and Red 40 are allowed in our foods. It all boils down to money, an artificial coloring agent is cheaper than a natural one. It is just a reminder that we truly have to be advocates for our children because no one has their best interest at heart like their parents. I feel strongly about avoiding these dyes (my cake decorating is one area I am frustrated about this...how do you dye icing naturally. I will have to research that!). Yet, I still felt very guilty raiding the Easter stash while my kids were asleep. The thing is, they will never miss anything, they still have plenty to eat on and play with. Luckily, most everyone gave them very useful items- like body washes, coloring packs, small toys, beach towels, etc. I didn't take a lot of candy, but it was a small bag full. I was actually surprised at some items that had the dyes in them. I found myself disappointed when something had them in there. The solution to all of this would be- take out harmful ingredients so no one has to "police" the candy after their kids go to sleep. Why can't we eat food the way God intended? Pure, simple, and tasty. Not made in a lab somewhere.....made by the Lord! That's my rant about food dyes!!!
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