Children and Additives: Adding Up to No Good?

The safety of food additives is usually examined by varying the dose of a single additive administered to animal models or cell cultures. However, British researchers at the University of Liverpool and the University of Ulster report in the March 2006 issue of Toxicological Sciences that combinations of additives can produce neurotoxic effects at dosages that are safe when each additive is tested alone.

Food blues? Certain food additives including common dyes may combine to cause toxic effects.
 
The authors examined four common food additives: Quinoline Yellow (FD&C Yellow No. 10), Brilliant Blue (FD&C Blue No. 1), L-glutamate (the major constituent of monosodium glutamate, or MSG), and aspartame. Quinoline Yellow is banned from foods in the United States, Japan, and Norway; Brilliant Blue was banned from foods in most European countries but has since been reapproved. Coauthor Karen Lau, a doctoral student, says these additives were tested because they are commonly used in foods targeted for consumption by children.

Neurotoxicity was measured by the relative growth of neurites from mouse NB2a neuroblastoma cells after exposure to the additives. Two combinations of additives stunted neurite growth: Quinoline Yellow paired with aspartame, and Brilliant Blue paired with L-glutamatic acid. Other pairings showed no effect. Lau hypothesizes that ingestion of the well-established neurotoxicants aspartic acid and L-glutamic acid as additives could lead to a high enough body burden to kill neurons by a mechanism called excitotoxicity.

Lau says young children may be especially at risk for the type of toxicity observed in the nerve-cell cultures, because effects were seen at concentrations of additives she says are theoretically achievable in plasma by eating foods and drinks typically consumed by children--for example, a snack of corn chips, which may contain MSG, and a fruit juice drink, which may contain aspartame.

Scientists at the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) question whether these results are relevant to the human consumption of these additives. "[The Lau study assumes] that both MSG and aspartame are absorbed one hundred percent in the gut, but [other studies] show that this does not seem to be the case," says FSA senior press officer Shaun Whelan. "It is . . . extremely unlikely that the plasma levels predicted by the authors of this study accurately reflect the actual situations in vivo."

Whelan says glutamic acid and aspartic acid occur naturally in many foods, and there is no evidence that they are treated differently in the body when they are ingested as food additives. Lau counters, however, that consumption of glutamic acid in its free form or as MSG has a more dramatic effect on plasma levels than that of glutamatic acid in protein, and can lead to high concentrations in the body. More research is needed to clarify these effects.

Other studies have suggested that non-nutritive food additives are associated with behavioral disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. These effects are controversial, but Lau's team believes their results warrant further investigation of such possibilities. Whelan says the FSA is currently funding research on the effects of ingested chemical mixtures, including color additives, on the behavior of young children.

Michael Szpir
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2006/114-4/forum.html#beat

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Optimum Nutrition For Your Child's Mind
by Patrick Holford

Maximise your child's potential
If you want to maximise your child’s potential you need to feed them the best brain food. Whether it's their first toddle on the kitchen floor or, their sudden plunge into emotions and relationships as teenagers all depends on how well their brains are working. And that in turn depends, in large part on how well their brain is nourished.

Below outlines an easy to follow five-point plan to help you balance your child’s mood and improve their concentration both at school and at play.

1.Take your child off foods with additives or added sugar

Sugar creates imbalances in energy that can contribute to erratic behaviour, hyperactivity and mood changes. Sweets, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, some breakfast cereals, soft drinks, puddings and many other foods all contain sugar in one of its many forms. When checking labels, avoid foods that contain sucrose, glucose, malt, dextrose, inverted sugar syrup, golden syrup, corn syrup and honey. Also check for additives – artificial colourings, sweeteners, preservatives and flavourings can all contribute to adverse behaviour, particularly the orange colouring tartrazine (E102) found in some orange squashes and sweets, mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) and caffeine. It’s better to avoid giving your child processed foods and instead opt for natural, sugar-free alternatives.

2. Increase fruit, veg and foods rich in vitamins and minerals

Rather than letting your child fill up on junk food, give them whole, nutritious food to eat. White bread, rice and pasta have the nutrients stripped out, so opt instead for wholemeal varieties, which are also more filling and contain fibre to encourage healthy digestion.
Ensure too their diet is rich in fresh fruit and vegetables which provide vitamins and minerals essential for building a strong healthy body. Some children may be reluctant to swap the sweets for an apple, but if you hold firm, often their sweet tooth will recede. Also use your imagination to make fresh food more exciting – tempt them with bite-size snacks of cherry tomatoes, berries or grapes, bake apples or pears with cinnamon and serve with creamy Greek yoghurt, cut vegetables into fun shapes to eat with dips, or puree and ‘disguise’ in sauces and soups.
For children who are used to a diet of processed food such as chicken nuggets or fish fingers, it may help to switch across first to a home made equivalent such as chicken strips and fish cakes and then gradually introduce more vegetables into the mix e.g. fish and broccoli cakes etc. That way their taste buds gradually adjust to natural vegetable flavours.

3. Boost levels of essential fats

Some types of  fats called trans fats found in processed foods should be avoided. These are hydrogenated fats and are typically found in packaged foods with a long sell by date.  However, there are other fats that are essential and a deficiency could negatively impact on your child’s behaviour. For example, the brain and nervous system needs a good supply of special essential fats called omega 6 and omega 3 to function and develop effectively. To ensure your child gets enough of these fats give them the following:

Oily fish i.e. salmon, mackerel, tuna (preferably fresh not tinned tuna as there’s more omega 3 in fresh) 3 times a week;

AND

A heaped tablespoon of freshly-ground seeds on their cereal or sprinkled on soups or in salads every day. The magic formula is mix half pumpkin, sunflower and sesame with half linseeds, store in a glass jar in the fridge then grind fresh in a coffee grinder before serving.

AND

Supplement essential fats. This could either be a fish oil (which contains omega 3 fats) or a seed oil (which contains a blend of omega 3 and omega 6 fats). These are available as liquids or capsules from health food shops. Try Essential Omegas (with both omega 3 and 6 oils) or, for young children who can’t swallow, Smart Fish. It tastes great.

4. Supplement the diet

It’s hard to get all the nutrients we need from our diet, so to be sure your child is not deficient, supplement their diet with a good-quality daily multivitamin and mineral such as the Optimum Nutrition Formula. Small children who cannot swallow may prefer multivits which are chewable, such as Dinochews.

5. Eliminate allergens from the diet

If you suspect your child is intolerant to a particular food – for example, you notice they react badly after eating the [same thing] certain foods, or they seem to crave a particular food – eliminate it from their diet and monitor the reaction. If after two weeks you see no difference in behaviour/symptoms, reintroduce it and see if there’s a reaction. If not, then try a different suspected food group until you find what’s bothering them (or find that food’s not in fact the problem). The most common  foods that cause problems are wheat, gluten (the protein found in wheat, barley and rye and a slightly less allergenic version in oats), dairy foods and eggs. Your can test your child for food intolerance using Yorktest’s Home Test Kit . They also test for ‘homocysteine’, a test that can determine if your child might benefit from additional B vitamins.

Some ideas for healthy eating:

Breakfast – Avoid sugary cereals and opt for oat based cereals such as porridge (sweetened with grated apple) or museli, fresh fruit smoothies (fruit blended with yoghurt and seeds or  milk and Get Up & Go) poached or boiled egg with wholemeal soldiers, or kippers.

Lunch – a sandwich made with wholemeal bread with a tasty filling (e.g. tuna, egg, cheese, humous, salad), hunks of cheese, cherry tomatoes, vegetable sticks, a slice of quiche for packed lunches; jacket potatoes, soups, scrambled or poached eggs or salads at home.

Supper – It is important to make sure there is some element of protein in every meal - fresh (not processed) meat, fish or vegetable protein (soya, beans or lentils) with fresh vegetables, wholemeal spaghetti with a fresh tomato sauce, chilli with brown rice or fresh vegetable risotto. If your child eats a very limited range of vegetables find something new that they like and introduce it in small quantities.

For healthy snacks – fresh fruit (for faddy eaters it often helps to cut fruit into bit size pieces and place on the table in front of them - they will gradually eat it without noticing!), oat cakes or wholegrain bread with peanut butter, almonds and pumpkin seeds, oat cakes or carrot sticks with humous, or Nairns oat biscuits or homemade flapjacks sweetened with dried fruit or honey.

Source:  www.patrickholford.com