Over the past 12 months, I have learnt so much about additives and preservatives and the impacts they are having on our childrens’ health.
We don’t have a lot of packaged products in our house anymore but when I do buy something, I always check the additives and preservatives in the Chemical Maze app.
This week I was out shopping with our 8 & 4yo and my little guy kept wanting to grap those Cadbury Santa stockings that they have right at the check out. Of course, I told him emphatically he was not getting one. My 8yo daughter told him, “don’t worry mate, Santa puts one of them in our stocking.”
Mmm… yes it is true, Santa has in the past put one of these in their stocking. But that was before Santa had his eyes truly opened to the detrimental impact additives and preservatives were having on children’s health. Ignorance is bliss does not exist anymore.
I told my 2 cherubs that given Santa is magic and knows everything that happens in each house, he will know that mummy and daddy prefer real food, so I didn’t think they would be getting one of those this year.
You can imagine what happened next… what does a 4yo do? Wail, grab one anyway, try to walk out of the shops with it. Thrash around wildly when a mother picks him up and ‘tells him emphatically’ to put it back. Eventually we made it out of the shop – without that stocking! The crying abated but I was told “I don’t like you anymore mum” and more sobbing in the car.
I thought a little education was in order!
When I got home, I showed my 2 darling angels (who don’t normally have this cr*p packaged as food anyway) what goes into a Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate treat. I shared with them this Product Comparison of the Cadbury Dairy Milk To My Marvellous completed by Tanya from Additive Free Pantry (scroll down to December 17 2014). I explained I can no longer turn a blind eye to this sort of thing being put into their food. It was my job to protect them and make sure they had the best possible health as they got older.
So last night, I went out after the angels were in bed to see if I could send Santa some tips telepathically about what he may put in their Santa Sack. Loving Earth Coconut Mylk Chocolate… FIMO moulding clay for a bit of holiday craft. Then I went to look at maybe some sort of lolly too. I steered clear of Allens, and those so called Natural Confectionary Company packets. I already knew about the horrendous colours in those.
I looked at Werthers. I use to love Werthers – until I read this.Wethers have additive 950 in them so I looked this up in my Chemical Maze App. See the image a the top of this post. This sweetner is 200 times sweeter than sugar. No wonder you can never stop at one. It’s synthetically made. Prohibited in foods for infants (this is so common by the way) and its reported to have produced tumors etc in animal studies. Yes, it says animal studies not human studies but I do not want to risk exposing my children to this potential. Not even for just one – for Christmas.
I can no longer turn a blind eye now that my eyes have been opened to what manufacturers are ‘slipping’ into our food. To do so, I would be knowingly doing something that could harm my kids. In addition this this, by buying the product, I would be sending manufacturers the message that it’s ok to be harming our children’s health. And quite frankly – IT IS NOT!
If there is one thing I an impress on you, it’s this.
No-one loves your child the way you do. Manufacturers and the Government do not have our children’s best interests at heart, so it’s up to us to be diligent and make a stand for what we are going to accept as ‘food’. Check everything you buy to ensure it is adding to your child’s health not taking away from it.
My rant is over.