This is the final week of our All Natural Challenge! Wow, can you believe how much things have changed since you began this challenge six weeks ago? So far you’ve learned all about how artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives effect behavior in children. You’re reading the list of ingredients on your food and actually understand what those words mean! Take a minute this week to reflect on the changes you’ve made during the challenge and how much your family’s health and well being have improved. Are you seeing fewer tantrums? Are your children having an easier time in school? I know many of you are seeing those things happening because I’ve read your emails. The role of food and nutrition in our children’s health, both mental and physical, can not be overstated. As I tell Sophie almost daily, put good stuff in and you’ll get good stuff out.
If you’re new to the Six Week All Natural Challenge, and wondering what this is all about, please read my article on Circle of Moms called How Artificial Ingredients can Lead to Artificial Kids. You can also click on the “All Natural Challenge” tab at the top of this page to read all the related articles on how eliminating artificial ingredients can dramatically improve your health, and the biggie, your child’s behavior. My daughter was on the verge of being diagnosed with ADHD until I cut artificial ingredients from our diet. Within 36 hours her symptoms vanished. You’ll also find lots of tips and tricks there for how to easily make the transition from an artificial to an all natural diet. I encourage everyone to read theSuccess Stories at the top of the page as well to hear first hand accounts of how the All Natural Challenge has helped families who thought their only option was medication for ADHD symptoms. You’ll find a Shopping List tab with some of the items that I use as well as products that have been suggested by readers. And the reader favorite Grocery Bag Menus - two different weeks worth of easy, all natural, family pleasing meals along with a shopping list to help you save time and effort. (A third menu to be posted soon.)
In our final week of the Challenge we’ll cover all the thing that didn’t really fit into any of the big categories. The information may seem a little bit scattered and mismatched this week, but it’s no less important than any of the other weeks.
So you’ve eliminated all the artificial colors and flavors in your food, your home care products, and your body care products, but have you thought about your medications? This is something I learned the hard way after Sophie battled a high fever one weekend. I pulled our kid’s fever reducer from the cabinet, gave her a dose, and when her fever was gone so was her sweet disposition. D’oh. How did it not occur to me that the purple colored liquid had artificial colors and flavors? So what do you do if you want to avoid all those additives in your medication? The best advice I have to share is to find a compounding pharmacy, usually an independent pharmacist. We have one near us that has been a fabulous resource for not only things like fever and pain reducers for the kids but also vitamins and other supplements. If you don’t have a compounding pharmacist nearby then you can talk to your regular pharmacist about options that are free of colors and flavors. It’s a good idea to have these on hand for those middle of the night emergencies. When your doctor writes a prescription ask if there are options that are free of colors and flavors. I know when I was a kid my medicine didn’t taste like bubble gum, and somehow I still managed to swallow it. Be sure to check your vitamins and any supplements you use for the same additives. There are several new gummy vitamins on the markets that are free of artificial ingredients.
For the adults, the plain old fashioned white Tylenol works just as well as most anything else. So for this part all you need to do is check your medicine cabinet and replace the things with artificial colors and flavors. Easy.
A few other things to watch out for:
There are a few other things I wanted to make you aware of when you’re working towards eliminating artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, so you don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made in the past. They are short and sweet, so I purposefully saved them for this week since the topic was an easy one.
First, kids rub-on tatoos: that dye does the same thing son your skin as it does in your stomach.
Second, magic markers: Again, the dye from these markers is absorbed into the skin. I’m not saying that you need to completely remove markers from your child’s life, but be aware that if they mark on themselves you could be dealing with a reaction in a very short time. The worst reaction we’ve ever had from Sophie came after she colored the palm of her hand with a red marker. It lasted for several days and was a good reminder of why we went through such pains to eliminate all those artificial ingredients in the first place. I’ll never, ever forget that week.
What about you? Is there anything you’ve encountered that’s caused unexpected trouble? Or have you found some artificial ingredients that we haven’t covered so far? Leave a comment and let us all know!
So that’s it. Congratulations! You are now armed with the information to eliminate artificial ingredients from your home, improve your family’s health, and make changes in your child’s behavior. I hope it’s helping you as much as it’s helped my family. Now go tell your friends and family about how easy that was and encourage them to take the Challenge too! I need your help to spread the word. As always, I’m just an email away if you have any questions or need a little help along the way. If you’ve followed to Challenge and are still concerned that you’re not seeing the improvements you hoped for PLEASE contact me at contact.ourfamilyeats [at] gmail [dot] com. Most people will not need to go further than what I’ve outlined in our Six Week Challenge, but there are some children who are highly sensitive and can benefit from a few additional steps. I’d love to help you pinpoint anything that may be a cause of trouble for you or child.
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