One of the things I love most is helping families transition to a better way of eating. And seeing their family flourish as a result.
The reality is every parent wants to do the best they can for their family. But the other reality is that life is busy and product manufacturers and their marketers play to this. What get’s put on the front of the label is designed to get us to buy the product. And because we are time poor, many of us take what’s on the front of the packet as gospel and it ends up in our trolley.
With my family transitioning coaching, one of the first things I do is teach mum’s how to read packets. We go through the packets in the pantry, look at the ingredients for additives and preservatives which may be affecting the health of the family. We pull out those that need replacing, then look for alternatives including recipes to replace these.
Recently I was helping a mum with her pantry and she pulled out this gluten free bread which they eat because her husband has a gluten intolerance. So like with the other products, we looked beyond the marketing on the front, turned over to the back and looked at the ingredients.
So like with all other packets, we looked up all the numbers in the app Chemical Maze (seriously, the best $9 investment you will ever make). Here’s what we found – you will be shocked.
- Modified Tapioca Starch (E1422) – Also known as Acetylated distarch adipate. Potential effects are:
- Concerns about safety have arisen because of babies resistance to chemicals is in question
- People on a gluten-free diet may wish to avoid => remember this product is marketed as Gluten Free
- It also says is maybe derived from GMO
- Preservative (282) – Also known as Calcium Propionate. Potential effects are:
- Developmental delay
- Headaches, migraines
- Inattention, irritability
- Itchy skin rashes
- Learning difficulties
- Neurological problems
- Prohibited in foods for infants
- Restlessness
- Sleep disturbance
- It also shows this ingredient is derived synthetically and from petroleum, and may also be GMO. The symptoms are aggressive behaviour, asthma, behavioural problems, gastrointestinal ailments, headache and migraine, hyperactivity, learning difficulties and sleep disturbance.Just for the record, preservative 282 is used by many companies in their breads.
- the others 464 and 412 were considered ok, although the first one may be GMO
The reason why I am sharing this is because I want you to beware of marketing.
This product is marketed as Gluten Free but the second ingredient should be avoided if you are a person on a gluten free diet. Is this Mad Food Science or what? How can a product that’s marketed as Gluten Free, be using an preservative that is recommended to be avoided if you are on a gluten free diet
And then there is preservative 282 which is prohibited in foods for infants and a host of other issues. I can testify to this preservative affecting behaviour first hand. When Indrani was 3, her behaviour started getting really erratic. My mother-in-law asked me if we had changed bread recently and told me to look out for this additive. She suggested this because her son (my brother-in-law) was affected by this when he was young. Sure enough I looked at the bread we were using and preservative 282 was in it. I changed back to Brumbies bread (which did not have this preservative), and her behaviour improved.
My mother-in-law gave me a book called Fed Up. It opened my eyes to the additives and preservatives going into our food. But even then, I did not make the change. It wasn’t until my husband (Israel) was diagnosed with depression 4 years ago, that my research uncovered just how significantly food can affect mood, behaviour, concentration, sleep and so much more.
So what I’d like you to take away from this blog is just 2 points:
- Beware of marketing – do not trust the front of a packet. Turn it over and read the label
- Invest in the Chemical Maze app and made an informed choice about what additives and preservatives you allow in your families diet.
If you want help with transitioning your family to healthier food choices, then pop me an email belinda@therootause.com.au and we can chat about how I can help you with my family transitioning coaching.