As you continue your journey to improve your health, there may be other factors you might want to consider. When you are purchasing commercially made foods, you are being exposed to ingredients that are harmful. In fact, there are many chemicals and toxins present in the foods we eat, including the sweets we eat.
After the holidays, whether it is Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving or Halloween, you may find yourself with a plethora of leftovers and you may be tempted to buy all the candy while it’s on sale. Your kids may love it, and you may enjoy indulging on it once in a while (me included), but here are some reasons why you should pay attention to the ingredients and swap them out for better quality sweets to enjoy occasionally.
Most commercially made foods are made with artificial food coloring that can have negative neurological effects in children. Not only are these artificial food colorings in candy, but in most cereals, cakes, “fruit” rollups, yogurts and commercially made sweets.
Artificial food colors are also linked to inattentiveness, hyperactivity and restlessness in sensitive children. https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/california-agency-acknowledges-synthetic-food-dyes-link-hyperactivity-and.
ADHD in kids living within the US has doubled in the last 20 years, and studies show it is linked to foods that contain chemical additives such as artificial food coloring.
Studies even shown that a very small amount (1 mg) of these chemical dyes can affect kids. Some of your kids favorite foods contain much more! Sunny D citrus punch contains 20 times more than that, brightly colored breakfast cereals can contain more than 30 mg, and a cupcake with chemically dyed icing (dye is sometimes even in the cake itself) can have more than 50 mg.
Why are these dangerous food dyes still being used? Federal Law on food dyes date back to 1960 and any newly approved colors do not ever have to be reassessed. These laws need to change!
Your best bet is to start weaning you and your kids off of these types of foods and replacing them with healthier choices. Listed below are some ways you can start:
- Look at the ingredients of the foods you are buying. Avoid foods with long lists of ingredients with unpronounceable names. Choose foods with fewer ingredients. Use real, whole foods and limit packaged foods, especially ones using artificial coloring and flavoring.
- Choose organic foods when you can. There are no artificial flavorings or artificial colorings in USDA Organic products. Shopping websites like Misfits Market can help reduce the cost of organic foods and help our planet out so that these products don’t go to waste.
- Organic dark chocolate bars sweetened with honey, maple syrup or organic sugar is a healthier choice than commercially made chocolate candies.
- Avoid commercially baked cookies and cakes with colored icing and try your hand at making some delicious home-made goodies instead. There are a lot of great baking options with organic, gluten-free, and healthier sugar ingredients on the market now, such as brands like Simple Mills, Bob’s Red Mill or Birch Benders if you prefer to purchase baking mixes for cakes, breads, cookies, or brownies.
- Go to https://www.ewg.org/foodscores/ to see their list of approved foods.