A Rude Reminder of Junk in Food

from Feed Our Families blog

I don't know where to start. I'm so upset. You know how you watch your child and you know something isn't right but you can't really know what it is?

That was us Friday afternoon. My son was a little out of sorts after school but nothing terribly unusual since he's usually ready for some rest and a snack when he gets home. School is tiring and he reminds us often.
As dinner time approached things weren't so usual. But unfortunately, familiar. I didn't recognize the behaviors at first but they quickly ramped up to the point where reality slapped my cheek. Oh yes, I remember this. Thus the questioning begins: what did you eat today that we didn't give you?

Artificial food coloring. High fructose corn syrup. And it was literally drops of each. Proof that the chemical reaction that occurs in his body doesn't take much quantity.

I won't share details because I believe it was an honest mistake that won't happen again.
What I will share with you is the terrible night we had where my son couldn't control his body. He couldn't make eye contact with me for more than three seconds. He mentally couldn't process simple things like he typically can. After about two hours of increasing frustrations and challenges for all of us, we put him to bed early and wished for the best in the morning.

I'll also share with you my emotions through this as I went from frustration with him for "not listening" (repeatedly) to feeling furious that this happened to begin with. We've worked so hard, we thought, to make sure that everyone around him knew what he couldn't have. But maybe it wasn't enough. Clearly, it wasn't enough.

Then, my heart broke.

My son finds it comforting to be rolled up tightly in a blanket, sort of like a burrito. Until we found his food sensitivities, we did this often because we faced similar situations often, but I don't think we've rolled him up in many months. He usually lays there, totally relaxed, while we talk, read or listen to music.

Not tonight. He couldn't lay still. Couldn't relax. Couldn't look at me. His little body just kept moving, not within his control, while he stared at his closet door. He told me it was more relaxing to look at the white closet door because my face was too busy. As I stroked his head, I prayed that he would fall asleep peacefully and wake feeling better.

I can't begin to imagine what he felt like but I know that I don't want to see him feel that way again. As long as the food manufacturers, candy makers and beverage providers continue to use artificial ingredients, children will be exposed and at risk. I wish they would do away with these ingredients, like they have in other countries. Our children, my child, deserves better food.

A friend who has a child with similar food issues helped me see the positive in this: the reminder that all of our hard work cooking real food, scrutinizing labels, and teaching our children about healthy foods, is worth it. They are totally worth it.


If you're new to Feed Our Families and want to learn more about high fructose corn syrup, here's the link to Our Experience with High Fructose Corn Syrup and an overview on Discovering Food Issues. I encourage you to share this with friends and family so that together, we can protect our children from the impact of artificial and potentially harmful ingredients.


My special guy that I'd do anything for