Avoid the Halloween Candy Blues
Avoid the Halloween Candy Blues
Are you one of the many parents who have to suffer through their children’s temper tantrums and moodiness in the days following Halloween? You may be surprised to learn that these and other behavior problems are often due to synthetic food dyes and certain other additives found in the candy that kids consume on this popular holiday.
“If your children act up after eating lots of Halloween candy, you might be tempted to blame the sugar, but the most likely culprits are petroleum-based food dyes,” said Jane Hersey, National Director of the nonprofit Feingold Association (www.feingold.org), a charity that helps children with special needs .
“Unlike sugar, these additives can lead to hyperactive behavior for days after kids have eaten the offending candies,” said Hersey, whose eldest daughter’s behavior was helped by the low-additive Feingold Diet.
In fact, a Food and Drug Administration panel concluded that synthetic food dyes can have a detrimental effect on some children’s behavior and narrowly rejected requiring warning labels on foods containing these additives. The FDA’s conclusions were based upon numerous scientific studies that support the link between synthetic food dyes and hyperactivity.
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