Hope this is the right spot - there are a few options so I've picked this one!
Basically, I've been lazy with my diet. I'm usually not too bad, but life has been really up in the air and it's been far too easy to just grab junk food quickly. I need to fix this for me, because I'd like to be healthier and fitter, but also for DD because I realise what I eat, she eats.
I'm also wondering if my poor diet contributes to DD's poor sleep. It's not all that bad right now, up three or four times a night and usually two naps up to an hour long during the day. But sometimes it's truly awful - up every hour - and sometimes it's fantastic. I can't ever remember what I ate on those days though, and if it could have contributed.
So, I figure just fixing my diet will be a good thing anyway, and if it helps with sleep then that's a bonus! But what should I aim for? Do I just go for generally healthy food, like fruit and veg? Only organic? Do I have to be careful of absolutely everything that comes pre-packaged? Do I have to be careful when I'm baking and cooking, could the ingredients include baddies too?
My gosh i could have just written that post!!!! The exact same things are going through my mind right now, weight loss (or watching it better), just wanting to be more aware about what i'm really putting in my mouth (and my whole families) and hoping for better sleep, for me and DD
I just don't know where to begin, there is so much out there to contend with in the way of nasties that they put in our food. How do i really know these things are affecting us anyway? Even the health food aisle seems to have all the hidden no no's (220). I've been trying to have a read of Sue Dengates website (thanks Willow5 ) and it's great, it's just a little over whelming though too. To take such a big step in changing our diet is a little scary.
I'd suggest you had a read and then you could decide for yourself where you want to go with it. Lots of interesting reading throughout the whole site.
My impression was that Aldi was supposedly all preservitive and additive free but i've been checking everything lately with my 'little book' and it's not. How good would it be to shop somewhere where they have checked everything out for us?!
Bread can be a real nasty and they are saying that Bakers Delight, Brumby's etc are the best way to go. Doesn't have 282 in it.
Some fruits are known to have natural preservitives that can be trouble makers.
I am no expert i'm trying to learn and get my head around the do's and don'ts.
Have to go clean up after dinner but i'll be back if i think of anything else.
Exactly EJ! How do I know what is and isn't causing problems, and if these things cause problems for so many people (and aren't really good for anyone anyway) then why the heck are they in so much of our food?? Sometimes it just feels like the only way to be certain is to just grow my own food lol.
I'll look up that site, thanks Just Googling Sue Dengate should work right?
We have always eaten healthily so the next step for us was to eliminate the hidden baddies in breads and every day foods. If you haven't been eating that well then going for more wholesome foods is a great start. Go for foods that have had the least handling such as fruits, veg, whole grains etc. Cut out sugary, salty treats and substitute with fruits and nuts etc. I recently got an app called the chemical maze, it tells me' what affect those baddies have on the body and because I know what they can do I try my best to avoid them. Good work on wanting to be healthier Hun and good luck. I hope you see a change
Oh and I noticed a loaf of bread I got from Aldi the other day didn't have 202 or 282 in it. It was grainy and was really nice actually. Alot of those nasties can really affect sleep, cause headaches, mood swings and gastrointestinal issues. It's shocking. My app also tells me' that alot of the nasties in our everyday foods are banned in infant foods.
I have found it a little overwhelming but once you know what brands don't have the colours, flavours and preservatives in them then it's easy. It's just that initial time it takes to figure that out that's a pita.
Yep googling Sue Dengate should bring up what you want.
Babyluv i think Aldi are definately on the right track but i dont' think they are 100% free yet. I made dinner tonight with a pasta bake sauce and it had 220 in it plus quite a few others that were not good. But some biscuits i buy the kids are all good. The Chemical Maze is the book i have
Kaytee it's about emilinating things and i get the feeling it'll be a really long process, it could mean really bland and boring meals and a lot of discipline. I think it comes down to how dire the situation is and how much you would benefit from it as to how seriously you take it on. Growing your own or going organic could be the way to go, it's just that it can get pricy and difficult to source. Unfortuatley we don't have many orgainic farmers markets around here apart from the supermarket organic range.
And as MadB says it is reccommened that you do the serious elimiation process with a dieticians guidance.
ETA: Just for a couple of examples: I bought some well known icy poles as a treat at my DD's bday party last year, they were not my normal choice but you got more in the packet so i thought i'd go with them this once. So on a seperate occasion i gave my boys one before bed (bad idea i know) as DS2 some how got a blood lip, didn't see the cause but i assume it had something to do with DS1's foot . I tried to get DS2 to suck on a cold facewasher but he wouldn't so i thought next best thing... an icy pole. DS1 chose a pink one. Twice through the night he was up with nightmares. One of the times he was crying out really distrught which is really unlike him. Occasionly he'll come down to us saying he'd had a bad dream but he's never upset. I blame the icy pole %100.
Another occasion on christmas eve i allowed my kids to have some lemonade (cheap supermarket brand, a special treat), i figure lemonade was the better choice but they went crazy. Jumping on the couch, throwing the cushions off, loud and silly, and not listening to a word we said. Maybe usual kid behavior but again i blame the outburst on the lemonade, they are not normally so silly. Dh and i checked out the numbers with my book that night and i tipped the remainder of the drink downt he sink.
Meals without additives don't have to be bland and boring. If you use herbs and spices etc things can be quite tasty I think we've been conditioned to be overpowered with favors so when we break from eating that kind of stuff it can be a bit of a shock, but it won't take long before you realize how bad they are if you break the diet.
I have become very bad with the diet these holidays due to moving house and we are noticing the kids are more irritable and I'm waking up very thirsty during the night due to too much MSG and 220 in stuff.
I think you're right Raven, we get so used to the overloaded flavours in processed food, that when we go back to 'real' food and natural ingredients it can taste a little boring. However, when I do cook (just a matter of finding/making time) I'm only using natural foods with no additives, and we have a good spice rack
Thanks for the info EJ & Babyluv - that app sounds great, but it looks like it may be Apple only, I didn't find it on Android. I did get one called What Additives, but I'm a little suss about it's accuracy - for 202 & 282 it says safe for kids, no known adverse effects (although it does say 282 may cause migraines). For 621 (MSG) it says glutamates are not permitted for children under 12 weeks, no known adverse effects but some concerns. I thought this was one of the big nasties? The app makes it seem alright. And the Sue Dengate website looks great - a lot of info to sort through, but some of the stories on there are amazing!
I think we'll do it kind of slowly. Start off by avoiding junk food - that should be easy enough and I think should make a big enough difference on it's own! From there when I go shopping on Friday I'll start buying better versions/alternatives to some of our foods, and stock up more on fruit & veg. Then I might research the E numbers I find on the food we do have, and see what I'd like to avoid.
Kaytee in the Chemical Maze it says 282 & 202 are prohibited in infant foods, cause migraines, developmental delay, irritability, sleep disturbances, inattention etc. Nasty stuff
I wanted to buy some wraps tonight for dinner. At my local Coles every one i picked up had 282 in them except the pita bread pockets Kind of difficult to make wraps out of but they did the job.
Also checked out the packet of sausage rolls i bought for the kids from Aldi, can't remember the preservitive it was off the top of my head but it had 2 sad faces in my book..... Just looked up the website and it's Aritficial Colours they have eliminated not preservatives.
Subscribing to this thread as I am just like you OP! really keen on changing things around here as we really need more sleep lol! I know eliminating preservatives, artificial flavours (which is tricky as they dont always have numbers on the ingredients list) and colours (apparently natural colour 160b is linked to more side effects & behaviour issues than artificial ones, so be wary!)
I'll be stalking this thread for some meal ideas and any safe brands and products from the supermarkets
You're right Danni, I've heard that too. 160b can cause sleeplessness, hyperactivity, dizziness etc.
It's hard work, I've found wraps to be a shocker for preservatives. Occasionally we still eat things with baddies in them, I just don't give them to dd. Those baddies are in everything we eat so if you have eliminated most of them and occasionally have something with one of those nasties in it then you're doing much better than before anyway. I guess it's about balance, doing the best you can without letting it become too much of a hassle. The first few weeks are the hardest, it gets easier once you know what brands are good.
Well, we're doing a lot better so far, I've cut out general obvious junk food. Some other things are harder though, and I can't believe this crap is found in so much of our food! If it's not safe for infants and is known to cause health problems, why the heck is it in everything???
Yesterday DH had an Iced Coffee. I usually have an Iced Chocolate, but didn't and then decided to check the ingredients on his carton. It had something in it, 417 I think, so I looked it up and it came up red with a list of concerns including that it's known to cause cancer?! Why on Earth is that in our flipping food??
So yeah, I am eating better, but now that I'm more aware it's more annoying and frustrating that seemingly 'good' foods have this crap in them.
So far it's not helping sleep though, lol. I had a headache the first couple of days (withdrawal I guess?) so I'm wondering if DD is suffering the same thing and it's disrupting her sleep for a bit.
Kaytee i think their can definatley be symptoms of withdrawl from these preservatives. It is really annoying when you look into it all, and in the book i have it lists possible uses for the particular preservative and it's a little off putting when you see what is in your food can be used in beauty products as well
It has taken me some time to get DH on board to to even consider these things as a negitive part of our every day lives but he's definately much more helpful these days. It helps a lot.
I think over time you will notice a change in the whole family. It has to be a change for the better!?
Hi there Mountain Bread is great for wraps definitely no numbers in there
It's not an instant fix when you start. I think it took about a week maybe 2 for me to start seeing results and I haven't looked back!
Meals don't have to be bland and boring, and you can still eat junk you just need to be selective about it. I've had to say goodbye to my favourite chocolate, favourite chips, and my favourite chicken meal (from a jar) but it's worth it to not be woken every 2 hours at night!!!!!!!
Pretty slack it's all so nasty but is still all through our food. I guess it's in such small amounts sometimes that if it was only in one thing you ate occasionally it wouldn't matter. The food companies don't care they just want to sell. We eat so much of it in so many things everyday that the build up is big.
Good luck everyone I've gotta go someone is asking for milk
My nutrition lecturer at uni basically said to me that if you have trouble pronouncing some of the ingredients and/or the package can be left in the fridge/freezer/cupboard for a long time (like basically a use by of the next year) then it probably isn't good for you.
If you can get it fresh and make it fresh then it is better for you. And home brand stuff isn't necessarily worse for you than branded stuff, you just need to read the ingredients.
I try to only have staples in my place. Only frozen foods I have are veges, berries, meat and a loaf of bread (we'll just totally ignore the vodka and the daiquiri mix ). I also have pre-made food in the freezer in terms of food I've made myself. One of my girlfriends used to supply me with home-made pasta sauce but since she no longer lives nearby it is a bit hard.
After reading this thread I went through some of the stuff in the cupboards & freezer, armed with a book my mum gave me (Additive Alert) and wow, I can't believe Vegemite both kids & adults has 508 in it which isn't recommended for children, fritz was another that had a nasty number and also the Coles brand vanilla ice-cream has a number not recommended for children.
I make alot of our stuff from scratch but I do have the pantry stashes for those lazy nights when I'm home by myself because my DH travels a fair bit for work. Will definately have to pay more attention to what I put in my trolley.
Eliminating preservatives etc for better sleep
Reply With Quote) and it's great, it's just a little over whelming though too. To take such a big step in changing our diet is a little scary.
. I tried to get DS2 to suck on a cold facewasher but he wouldn't so i thought next best thing... an icy pole. DS1 chose a pink one. Twice through the night he was up with nightmares. One of the times he was crying out really distrught which is really unlike him. Occasionly he'll come down to us saying he'd had a bad dream but he's never upset. I blame the icy pole %100.
you just need to be selective about it. I've had to say goodbye to my favourite chocolate, favourite chips, and my favourite chicken meal (from a jar) but it's worth it to not be woken every 2 hours at night!!!!!!! 
I've gotta go someone is asking for milk 
). I also have pre-made food in the freezer in terms of food I've made myself. One of my girlfriends used to supply me with home-made pasta sauce but since she no longer lives nearby it is a bit hard.
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