PumeFaeGs - The Feingold Diet

Newsl€tter ofthe Feingold Association ofthe United Statcs
PumeFaeGs
'fif'
FETNGOLI'@
March, 1986
Vol. 10, No. 2
CancerRisk Acceptableto FDA
In 1958CongressmanDelaney introduceda rider to an appropriations bill. This clausecalled upon the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) to prohibit the deliberate addition to food of any chemical
found to causecancer in humansor animals.
The Delaney Clause is important to Feingold members; it was
responsiblefor the removal of Red No. 2, Carbon Blat'k and other
additivesfrom ourfood supply.Theseadditiveswerebannedbecause
they were found to be carcinogens (cancer-causingagents) not
becausethey canprovokebehavioror learningproblems.In.fact, the
F-DA doesn't even have a procedurefor evaluating the effect an
additive can have on behavior or learning.
TheDelaney Clausealso preventedthe introduction of many new,
potentially dangerouschemicals.
For the mostpart, thefood industry responsehas not beento seek
safer alternatives,but to try to get rid of the Delaney Clause. They
haveJinuIIy succeeded.
Discover magazine(January, 1986)described the FDA's polic,v
changeasfollows:
f I nderthe new guideline, food addi.
lL,,l tives and drugs in meat and fowl
will be banned by the agency only if
they have more than a one in a million
chanceof causingtumors
A similar thresholdmay soonbe proposed for other foods, drugs, cosmetics, and other substancesregulatedby
the agency.
In the late 1950's aralytical techniques were fairly primitive, so
rancherswere allowed by law to continue fattening their cattle with DES,
which was then undetectabiein the animals.
But within a decade,techniques
had
been developedthat could spot several
partsper trillion---€ffectively
one moleculeper cow-which meantthat some
hard questionshad to be addressed:
How high a concenhation of cancercausingsubstancescan be left in food
without posing a danger to human
health?And just what is an acceptable
risk?
FDA leadershavehad a difficult time
zeroing in on a figure for acceptable
risk. They contemplatedsettingthe risk
figure at one chancein 100million, but
that was deemedtoo tough a standard.
Finally, the FDA settledon a figure a
hundredtimes lessstdngent. Their decision was easedby one mant appreciation of the languageof seduction:"[
think we shouldmake it one in a million," an FDA lawyer suggestedlate
one night after many hours'debateduring an agency "rctreat" in Leesburg,
VA, "because['ve neverknown a girl I
could lean over to and say, Darling,
you'reone in a hundredthousand."
The FDA's changeof heart has dramatic implications. "Essentially, we
now say that there are some risks in
living that we must accept," explains
kster Crawford, director of the FDA
Center for veterinary Medicine. "Before, we said we weregoing to get dd of
carcinogens.We've been disabusedof
that fantasy."
BusyCooksCombine
Diets- The Feingold
Diet and Celiac
Disease
('l haron Lana
Lt doesn'tallow problemsto
standin herway;
sheclimbsover
them.
Back in 1977
the Latta'sson
wassuccessfully
on the Feingold
diet but there was no support group to
provide encouragementand assistance
to families in Oregon. And therewasno
channel set up for them to share thelr
good newswith other familiesin their
area.So Sharonand her husband,Tim,
startedthe Feingold Associationof the
Continuedon page 3
5 6 tft oday, not only do we have
I thousandsof additivesso pervasive in our food supply it is difficult
to avoid them, but the original funtion
of additiveshas been altered.
"The primary reason for using an
additive is no longer to protectand preservethe food supply. Todaythe majority of additives have an aesthetic or
cosmeti cfuncti on, i .e., t o beaut if y
food, to make it more attractiveto the
eye and more seductiveto the palate.
As a result, industry and their food
technologistshave overlooked almost
completelythe inherentrisk factor in
most of thesecompounds, particularly
over the long term when carcinogenic
and teratogenicalterationsmust be
evaluated."
Ben F. Feingold, M.D.
address to the California
Food ServiceAssociation
March 20, 1978
TheFeingoldAssociation
ofthe UnitedStates,Inc., foundedin 1976,is a volunteer,
non-profitorganization.
Thepurposeofthe Association
is
to supportmemb€rsin the implementatiodof the Feingoldhogram andto generatepublic awareness
ofthe potentialrole of food and synthetic
additives
in thetreatment
ofbehavior,
learningandhealthproblems.
Thisprogramis basedon a dieteliminatingsyrtheiiccolors,syntheticflavors,
andthepreservatives
BHA, BHT, andTBHQ.
SalicvlatesScientificallv Studied
This past summer the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association published the results of rcsearchby three
Australians,Anne R. Swain, Stephen
P Dutton, and A. StewartThswell.
Their study was an analysisof the salicylate content of 333 foods in the Australian food supply.
Though few of the foods researched
are also commonly available in the
United States,the FeingoldAssociation
sincerely hopes that a similar study of
salicylatecontent in the American food
supply will be forthcomingA review of the information on fruits
is presentedhere, and Pure Facts wlll
discussadditional findings of the study
in coming issues.If you or your family
haveextremesalicylatesensitivities,
you may wish to read the article yoursell It is "Salicylatesin Foods",Joar
nal of the Ameritan Diereric Association, vol 85, number8, August 1985,
pp. 950-960. Look in the library at your
local college.
Did You Know
The Feingold Cookboo&is now in its
loth printing. Random House tells us
they have sold over 200,000 copies of
the softback version!
Dr. Feingold arrangedfor the royalties from the Cookbook to go to the
Feingold Foundationfor Child Development. The Foundation, in turn, donatesfunds to FAUS, so your purchase
of the Cookbook goes full circle to
come back and help you.
Both the Feingold Cookbook and
Why Your ChiLdIs Hyperactive may be
ordered from FAUS.
SoftbackCookbook
Hardback Cookbook
We Already
SuspectedAbout
Salicylates
It will come as no surpriseto expenencedFeingoldersthat the study found
raisins and prunesto be the fruits with
the highestsalicylatecontent. They report:
"We found that most fiuits contained
considerableamountsof salicylates.
Raisins and prunes had the highest
amounts.Most berry fruits are signifi-
Adult Feingolder's
Questionnaire
Many thanksto all who havefilled out the
questionnarie in the Dec/JanPure Fa.ts
and sent it to Dr. Edwards.
The chemically-sensitive
adult is seldom recognizedor understood.We hope
to gatherinformationwhich will be ofuse
in befter understandingour adult members.
If yru would like anothercopy of the
Questionnairc,contactFAUSat our PO.
box.
cant sourcesof salicylate... Apples
showedconsiderablevariation of salicylate content betweenvarieties.
"Dded ftuits haverelatively high saIicylate contents compared with thelr
fresh counterpartsbecauseof the removal of water during the drying process.Heat processingfor canning does
not seemto affect appreciablythe salicylate content of fruit. We had the impressionthat those fruits low in salicylate often have a less piquant flavor,
e.g., mangos,pawpaws,and pears..."
Bananas. peeled fresh Packham
pears, and an A ustral i an br and of
canned Bartlett pears were the only
fruits testedthat were found to have no
measurablesalicylateat all.
Editor's note: Thesearetestsdoneon
Australianproductsand may not necessarily be representativeof their Amerrcan counterparts.
Karen S, Garnett
Next Month: SalicylateSpices
You are Invited. . .
. . .to join Feingold representatives
from all over the country at our l9E6
Conference to be held in Whea(on.IL
(nearChicago)June25-28.
Our hosts, Feirgold PATH of lllrnois, have selectedbeautiful Wheaton
Collegeasthe site and are at work finalizing plans for speakers,workshops,
and {f course the very best in food,
The cost is $225 per person. To receiveadditionalinformationcontact;
FAUS Conference
1804Nolth Summit Strcet
Wheaton,IL 60187
$ 6.00
$10.00
Why Your Child Is Hyperactive
(sofiback)
$ E.00
T he pr ic es inc l u d e th e c o s t o f
postage.
Your Help
is Still Needed
Consider a tax-exempt donation to
the FAUS computer fund. So far we
h a ve r ais ed $2, 02 5 , w h i c h l e a v e s
$1,475to reachour goal.
2
PureFscts/March
1986
Attention:Label Readers
The food industry knows we look to
seewhere the word "sugar" falls on the
ingredientslists ofbreakfastcerealsand
othersnacks.By law, productsmust list
ingredientsin order by weight.
According to Center for Science rn
the Public Interest, Kellogg has taken
advantageof a loophole in the law
which allows them to combine the different flour insredientson the label so
they all appearbefore sugar.So, what
usedto read: "Sugar, Com, Wheat and
Oat Flour." etc., now reads: "Corn,
Wheat and Oat Flour; Sugar;" etc.
This particular product still contains
469o sugar no matter how they say it.
Watchthosesemi-colonsifyou areconcerned about the sugar content of any
processedfood.
LYnn MurPhY
Celiac disease,.from page l
Northwest. This organizationprovides
help not only to families in Oregon, but
coversthe entire Northwest, including
the stateof Alaska.
The Lattashaveworked both for their
local associationand for FAUS in many
capacities,and with their colleagues,
hostedthe annual FAUS Conference
held in Portlandin 1982.
Sharon'sscheduletoday is busier
thanever.ln additionto her full time job
as businessmanager of her church,
Sharonis co-authoringa book on children who needto follow a specialdiet.
She draws from her personalerperience as her daughter,Gina, has celiac
dlsease.
What is CeliacDisease?
C€liac sprueis an inheriteddisorder
aff€ctingapproximatelyonepersonin
2,500in theUnitedStates.It goesby
manynames,including:glutensensitive enteropathy.
non-iropicalsprue,
idiopathicsteatorrhea,
celiacdisease,
andsprue.
The smallintestinallining of perbya
sonswiththisdisorder
isdamaged
proteinfractionof gluten,calledglia
din. Gliadinis presentin wheat,rye,
barley and probably oats, umdthese
gainsmustbelotallyeliminaled
from
thediet.
I nformation providedby
TheGlutefiIhtolerance
Group
of North America
ombiningthe Feingolddiet with a
f\
\./ gluten-freediet is not Sharon's
only challenge.The Laltasalsocarefbr
foster children, many of whom have
been found to have allergies or sensitivities. Sheconsidersthe lactose-free
diet to be the hardestofall thoseshehas
encountered.Compared to it, "the
Feingolddiet is a breeze-it s so basic
and easy,"
Gina's diet eliminateswheat, oats,
barley and rye; so Sharon substitutes
foods made from soy, com, potato or
rice flour
Food in the Latta householdis seenrn
a very positive way, with the emphasrs
on thosethings which the entire family
PIC Report
Liquor Labeling
Vita-FreshVitamin Companyhasrespondedto the FAUS inquiry form conceming their Scooby-Doo Children's
Chewable Vitamins.
Althoughthey are listedas containing All Natural Colors & Flavors, plus
"no preservatives", the company reports that the fat-solublevitamin preparationsand the vitamin A Acetate contain BHT,
FAUS regrets it cannot approvethis
vitaminfor useby our children,but the
company'scooperationin providing
this information is appreciated-
In the latest step of a four-year long
cou battle,a U.S. DistrictCounjudge
hasorderedthe TreasuryDepartmentto
reinstatea regulationrequiring alcoholic beverageproducersto list ingredientson beet wine, and liquor labels,
or rnstructlonson how to obtaln rngredient information by mail.
JudgeJohn h. Pratt ruled October 30
that the Tieasury Department'sBureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco,and Firearmshad
illegally rescindedthe labeling regulation. He orderedthe governmentto begin enforcing disclosure requirements
by April 30. 1986.
The court's decision is the most re-
can enjoy. The children understand
their own dietary limitations and they
keeptabson eachother- but generally
in a cooperativewaytf! he most imporlan( advice Sharon
I offersfamilieswith multipledietr
is to plan ahead.with plenty of'safe'
food on hand, there isn't much temptation to cheat.
In the Latta household,the planning
and preparationof food has a high priority. With careful planning and plenty
of cooperationfrom Tim and the children, Sharon is able to combine her
activelife with the specialcare herchildren need.
Oneof her favoritebusydaymealsis:
meatloaf, baked potato and vegetable.
hoparing meatloaf when you can't use
breadcrumbsor oats was quite a challenge, so Sharon developed a recipe
which usestapioca.
She preparesthe meatloaf recipe ln
quantity and freezesit in loaf pans. ln
the morning she puts a frozen meatloaf
in the oven, along with baking potatoes,
and setsthe oven for timed bake. When
she gets home, dinner is nearly ready.
Sharon is an active member of the
Cluten lntoleranceGroup, PO. Box
23053,Seanle,WA 98102.Shehighly
recommendstheir packetof gluten-free
"GreatRecipes"("$16, but well worth
i t." )
cent battle in the fight to require manufacturersof alcoholicbeverages
to disclose their ingredients. The effort
beganwith a petitionback in 1972.
Nutritiotr Action
HeaLthletterIl86
hoduct Alert
FAUS has contactedthe Richardson
Vicks Co. to determineifartificial colors
or flavorings are nrnvbeing used in Vicks
Formula 44 Cough Mixturc. we are
awaitinga responsefrom the company.
presented
in this newsletter.
TheFeingoldAssociation
doesnotendorseor assume
responsibilily
for anyproduct,method,service,or treatment
This is providedfor thereader'sinformation.
PureFsctdMarch
1986 3
SimpleRulesfor Pre-TeenDecision-Making
By CyndyWitzke
We havea twelve year old Feingolder
...a bright kid who reads,writes, adds
and subtracts,is an asset to his class
accordingto his teacher,and claims abject stupidity when it comesto judging
on his own whether a food is Feingoldsafe.
It was easier when he was six. I alwaysknew where he was (with me) and
what he ate. I'd say "Yes, you can have
th i s, " or " No, y ou c a n ' t e a t th a t."
There were few kids in our neighborhood, so we imported friends for play,
and I fed them from my bounty of Felngold-safesnacks.
Now we're living in a neighborhood
with more kids than blades of grass.
Our son is oldet more independent,
and mostoften at someoneelse'shouse,
eatingsomebodyelsebsnacks."l can't
rememberthe SafeFood List, " he complains,"and I don't know how to tell
what's ok to eat."
Despitethe fact that my husbandand
I consider this excuse to be total hogwash, and short of tattooing the Foodlist on the child's arm, we have devised
some easy-to-rememberrules, gearcd
to his and our incorrigible sensesof
humor Thesearerulesfor him to usein
judging an unfamiliar food item away
from home. It's a non-judgmental
approachhe understandsand accepts.
The scientific community will find
flaws in our home-brewed approach,
but we can live with that. (More important, we can live with our sonl).
3, Doesit promiseto do thingsyou've
neverheardof food doing before?(Pass
tr u Pl
4. ls the grocery storeoffering 956 of
them for 29 centsl (Don't evenSMELL
Ir.)
5. Does your grandmotherremember
it from her childhood'i Why not? (Perhaps not for you.)
6, How long is the ingredientslist?
Does your mind wander while you're
readingit? (No good.)
7. Does it stain your friend's sweatshi, teeth,andgeneralattitudeafterhe
eatsit? (Offer it to the dog.)
l. Read the ingredients. If you can't
pronounceit, don't eat it.
2. Is thereany color exactlylike it in
nature?(Nothing is inherently chartreuse.)
Here ComesEaster
The Attack of the Jelly Beans is not
far away. Reach for your Feingold
Handbook for hints on warding off the
invadersand providing a basketof good
goodies.
Also, review Dr. Feingold's comments on suga6 of all types found on
pages14 and 15 of The Feingold Cookbook, and page l2 of the Handbook.
4
hrcFacrs/March I98b
8. Can you add water to it and it's
readyto eat?(Example:pudding, chocolatechip brownies,dinnerfor two.. .)
9. Would your mother offer you $10 if
you don't eat it? (As in Halloween
candy.Go for the loot, but don't eat the
goods.)
10. Doesthe worst behavedkid in your
class pack it for lunch? (Don't trade
with this poor soul.)
11. Offer it to the friend's cat first. Did
ir's eihe tum it down?tQuestionable:
thera veggieor loadedwith additives.)
12. Would you like to havea posterthe
samecolor? (Avoid.)
Can't make a decision?This is your
phonenumber; call your Mumsie, who
loves you.
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Pure Facts
Editor: Jan? Hers?\'
Subscriptk,nM anaSer: G\\tt Wertz
Co tributing Editors
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D.troh: Karcn Dorries
Fort Worth: Carolv Allen
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