Episode 13: Food additives and behavior in children

Episode 13: Food additives and behavior in children

Welcome back to The Easy Feed Podcast, and a very happy 2024 to all you amazing mums out there

In today's episode, we're diving deep into a topic that has been a hot discussion in my Nourishing Kids membership: the impact of food additives and preservatives on children's behavior.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook

Links
https://nourishwithkarina.com/feedingbabies
https://nourishwithkarina.com/3-week-feeding-kids-reset

Highlights:

Introduction (00:00.078)
Artificial Colours in Children's Food (02:17.87)
ADHD: Causes, Impacts, and Gut Microbes (04:36.782)
Artificial Colors, Preservatives, and Nitrates in Food (11:43.47)
Five Tips for Healthy Food Choices (14:05.166)

Show notes

READ TRANSCRIPT

Show Notes

Welcome back to The Easy Feed Podcast, and a very happy 2024 to all you amazing mums out there!

In today's episode, we're diving deep into a topic that has been a hot discussion in my Nourishing Kids membership: the impact of food additives and preservatives on children's behavior.

As parents, navigating the supermarket aisles can be a challenge, especially when faced with an overwhelming array of processed foods containing a myriad of additives. We're uncovering the truth behind these hidden ingredients and their potential links to behavioural issues in our little ones.

Here are five key points we'll be exploring:

1. The Additive Epidemic: A closer look at the astonishing number of additives and preservatives in children's food today. From artificial colours to sodium benzoate, we'll uncover what's really hiding in those innocent-looking snacks.

2. ADHD on the Rise: Exploring the alarming increase in ADHD diagnoses among children over the past two decades. Is there a connection between these diagnoses and the additives present in their diets?

3. Gut Health Matters: Delving into recent research that highlights the crucial role of gut health in influencing inflammatory conditions and its potential link to ADHD. Could balancing gut microbes be the key to better behavior?

4. The Sodium Benzoate Debate: Unpacking the controversy surrounding sodium benzoate, its presence in popular foods, and the potential health risks associated with its consumption.

5. Artificial Sweeteners Unveiled: A critical examination of three concerning artificial sweeteners – aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose – and their potential impact on children's health, including increased risks of diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

If you're a mum looking to make informed choices about your child's diet and well-being, this episode is a must-listen. Join me as we navigate the complex world of food additives and empower ourselves to make healthier choices for our families.

To access additional resources and dive deeper into this crucial topic, check out my Nourishing Kids membership at nourishwithkarina.com/membership. Don't forget to leave a review and send me a DM on Instagram with any topics you'd like me to cover in future episodes.

Wishing you all a wonderful day, and bye for now!

Learn more about my membership program, head over to: https://nourishwithkarina.com/membership

Introduction (00:00.078)
You're listening to the Easy Feed Podcast, episode number 13, food additives and behaviour in children. Hi there, I'm Karina Savage and with over 20 years experience feeding children, including my own, I've learnt all the secrets that busy mums need to get their children eating better and actually enjoying healthy foods. So a huge welcome to the Easy Feed Podcast.

Welcome back everybody. It's great to have you here. I hope that you've made a wonderful start to 2024 and that you're still in rest and relaxation mode or you are starting to warm yourself up heading back to work. But I hope that you are still very much in holiday mode and are feeling very relaxed and refreshed. So happy 2024, happy new year.

Today we're going to be talking about something that I actually talked a lot about with my members in my Narration Kids membership. In December, we had a good Zoom call about this and we talked in detail about the impact of additives and preservatives in food and what to look out for because one of my lovely mums in my membership had noticed that her child was reacting badly to a particular color. Actually, it was two particular colors.

And she wanted to know a bit more about it. So we went into a whole lot of detail and I thought I would share a little bit of that with you today in this podcast. There are so many additives and preservatives in our children's food these days. You only have to head into the supermarket, pick up a packet of kids food, flip the product over. You will be amazed by the incredible list of ingredients and also food additives. Look.

Heading to a New Year's Eve party a few days ago, I said I'd bring all the ice blocks for the kids. And I was in the freezer aisle looking at the different ice blocks. And, you know, it was a struggle to find the icy pole versions, apart from, you know, just basic sugar and water ones that were not containing artificial colors. And I thought this is only going to fuel bad behavior from children that are...

Artificial Colours in Children's Food (02:17.87)
probably high on sugar because they've eaten too much of the sugary stuff and they are hyped up. You know, it's a fun festive time of year. These artificial colours may also be contributing to behaviour issues. So that's why I wanted to talk about it because there is some evidence out there that it's linked and we're going to go through that in a little bit more detail today.

But what I'm talking about are things like colours, preservatives, sweeteners, nitrates, sodium benzoate, to name a few. And I think because they're allowed by our food standards, they're allowed to be put into our children's food by our food authorities. It's natural to assume that it's fine to give our children. And I think when they do the safety testing of these chemicals, it's done.

in amounts that are deemed safe for children. But if our children are consuming a lot of these foods, then perhaps actually going over that safe upper limit. And perhaps we should be really looking to limit our children's intake of these additives. The thing is, I don't think we really know what all these chemically engineered additives, colours, preservatives are actually doing to our bodies and our kids' bodies. And I think there is enough evidence.

I know there is enough evidence to draw a link between chemically artificially engineered food colours and preservatives and children's behaviour. There has been a big increase in diagnosis of conditions such as ADHD, which is known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Over the past 20 years, it's almost doubled. ADHD is a long -term problem that results in symptoms such as inattention,

or poor concentration, impulsivity, difficulty controlling emotions, acting without thinking, and also overactivity. So constant fidgeting and restlessness. And so children will have one or more of those symptoms. Sometimes it's literally just inattention. Sometimes it's that constant fidgeting and restlessness or difficulty concentrating. So children...

ADHD: Causes, Impacts, and Gut Microbes (04:36.782)
will be diagnosed with ADHD for a variety of those symptoms. And it can have a significant impact on a child's learning, social interactions, but also on the family functioning, the family unit. It is estimated that at least one in 20 children in Australia have ADHD, if not more. The exact cause is unknown, but we do know a few things. We know that it tends to run in families, so...

Genetics may play some part. It is certainly not caused by poor parenting. Gut health and an imbalance of gut microbes has been linked to inflammatory conditions and conditions such as ADHD. There was a recent study discovering significant differences in the gut microbes. So basically the bacteria in your children's gut. There was a significant difference between children with ADHD and children without.

Those children with ADHD had more inflammatory microbes and more candida, whilst those without ADHD had more of their healthy bacteria such as lactobacillus. So that's really interesting data. And again, only reinforces that gut brain connection and that link between gut health and brain functioning and systemic health. The authors in that study stated that the inflammatory microbes,

And the yeast, like the candida, actually can affect how much serotonin is produced with less being produced when these bacteria are around. And instead of the serotonin being produced, which is more calming, more of that neuroinflammatory hormone, or more of the neuroinflammatory hormone, which is more, I guess, inflammatory and can activate more behaviour problems.

was present with those bacteria in those ADHD kids. So it's really interesting that they're finding more and more information out now about that, that link between the gut and the brain and behaviour and also yeah, the microbes in our children's gut and the links there to behavioural issues and ADHD. Whilst we know factors such as genetics and gut health can influence ADHD, I don't think we can discount that

Food and ADHD in Children (06:59.118)
Food can also play a role in triggering behavioural symptoms in kids with or without ADHD. But definitely children with ADHD may be more at risk, especially if they've already got pre -existing behavioural issues. And then you layer it with these additives, these artificial additives, food colours and preservatives. Now I think we need to be seriously paying attention to this.

You hear all these anecdotal stories about kids reacting to, you know, red cordial or that red or yellow food coloring. And I'm sure there's something in that. And look, this is what, you know, one of my members was wanting me to talk about because she was noticing this firsthand. And over the 21 years I've been working, I've certainly had many, many parents tell me similar things. And I really do think there's something in that. When you cast the net out.

to start researching this topic, it's incredible what you find. And to be honest with you, it does make me disappointed in my own country. This is not the first time that Australia has been criticised in the area of food labelling. It was only recently that I was interviewed on TV about the fact that 90 % of Australian toddler foods do not meet international nutrition standards because they're too high in either sugar or salt.

In Australia, our food standards still allow concentrated fruit sugar to be used with the labelling of no added sugar, which is deceiving. And there is no restriction on the amount of sugar or salt that can be added to our children's food, which means that our Australian toddlers are consuming more sugar and salt than their equivalents overseas. And that's why toddler foods on average are higher in salt and sugar.

And that's why 90 % of them didn't pass the test. And that's a concern. In terms of additives, when you look at other parts of the world, it's so interesting to see that in Europe, the European Union has changed the food labeling laws, which means that they must warn the consumer about a link between any of the six artificial food colors and possible adverse effects on activity and attention in children.

Australian Food Labels and Artificial Colours (09:19.566)
So why don't we have any of those warning labels in Australia on our food products? Why are we lagging? Again, overseas research, the UK Food Standards Authority funded a study in the University of Southampton with 300 kids aged between three and eight years. They found a significant increase in ADHD type behaviour when children consumed artificial colours and preservatives.

and they concluded that if these additives were banned, the 6 .6 % of children that have been diagnosed with ADHD, that this would be reduced by 30%. And that is incredible. I just want to read you this quote from the professor of psychology who led that research at the University of Southampton. His name is Jim Stevenson. And he said, we now have...

evidence that mixtures of certain food colours and benzoate preservative can adversely influence the behaviour of children. There is some previous evidence that some children with behavioural disorders could benefit from the removal of certain food colours from their diet. We have now shown that for a large group of children in the general population, the consumption of certain mixtures of artificial food colours and benzoate preservative can

influence their hyperactive behaviour. However, parents should not think that simply taking these additives out of food will prevent all hyperactive disorders. We know that many other influences are at work, but this at least is one a child can avoid. And this research was done around 2006, so this is years ago. So you'll notice in his quote that he talks about artificial colours and also

benzoate, which is sodium benzoate. And that the number for sodium benzoate on food labels is 212. Now sodium benzoate is found in soft drinks and some packaged foods and it has anti -mold properties. But the concern around sodium benzoate is that it can possibly increase inflammation. There's also possible increased cancer risk and allergy risk.

Artificial Colors, Preservatives, and Nitrates in Food (11:43.47)
And there's also discussion that it can actually affect appetite regulation, making you hungrier and possibly increasing the risk of obesity. Other additives of concern are nitrates and nitrates are listed as number 250 and 251. Nitrates are found in processed meats, which I have no time for. And so things like bacon, ham and salami are rich in nitrates usually.

And nitrates have been linked to thyroid dysfunction and also cancer risk. Okay. So we've talked about artificial colours. We've talked about sodium benzoate. We've talked about nitrates. Now we also need to talk about artificial sweeteners because they are also of concern. The three that I want to highlight as being of most concern are aspartame, which is 951, 962, saccharin, which is 954.

Both of those increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and possibly cancer, and sucralose, which is 955. And studies, recent studies have linked acralose to potential damage to DNA in human blood cells, increasing risk of leaky gut, and also increasing risk of inflammation and cancer. All of those three artificial sweeteners have also been linked to horror,

gut microbiome because we know that artificial sweeteners negatively impact on gut health and the healthy bacterial communities in your gut can be affected negatively. So they increase the risk of the unhealthy bacteria and can possibly cause what we call a dysbiosis where there's that imbalance, there's more of the bad bacteria and less of the good bacteria. So artificial sweeteners can cause that dysbiosis, which is not what we want. It's not a good thing.

So how do we reduce our kids' intakes of these artificial colours, preservatives and other nasties that could potentially negatively impact their behaviour? And goodness knows what else it increases their risk of. There is a lot of emerging evidence to suggest increased risk of all sorts of inflammatory problems, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, leaky gut and obviously behavioural problems.

Five Tips for Healthy Food Choices (14:05.166)
So here are my five tips. Number one, stick to whole foods as much as possible. And by that, I mean, try to buy it as close as it looks to coming out of the ground or off the tree. Try to reduce the packaged products as much as possible. Number two, choose foods with fewer ingredients.

The less ingredients, the better. If the ingredient is a word that your grandmother would not have recognised or understood, then it's probably best to leave it on the shelf. Number three, choose products that say no artificial colours or preservatives or flavours on the front of the pack. And that's one simple way to reduce your child's intake of these artificial colours and preservatives and nasty additives. Number four, be wary of...

the sugar -free kids options, sugar -free muesli bars, sugar -free lollies, as they may well contain some of those artificial sweeteners that are more risky. Number five, you can read the list of ingredients, and that's where you'll have to do it in a little more detail and check carefully. As I said before, this is something that I have talked in detail about with my members of my Narration Kids membership.

And I've got a checklist of these artificial colours and flavours and benzoates and nitrates going up in my membership portal actually this week. So if you're interested in having access to all of this information and a whole lot more, then check out my Nourishing Kids membership. Head to nourishwithKarina .com forward slash membership. That's nourish with Karina and Karina is K -A -R -I -N -A dot com forward slash membership, but we'll put the links in the show notes.

Okay, I'll wrap up things now. Thank you so much for being here. I hope these episodes are super helpful for you. I would love for you to leave me a review to help get this podcast out to more mums. And please send me a DM on Instagram with anything else that you'd like me to chat about on the Easy Feed. Have a great day and bye for now.