Give me your opinion on "artificial"

[goldenrun358]

Alright Mommas...I am having a debate with myself and need some other opinions.

Do you feed your children and yourselves artificial ingredients such as sweeteners, colors, flavors, etc?

Since having my first daughter 1 yr ago I am really rethinking my definition of health food. I once thought fake sugar and butter were better than real due to lack of calories/fats etc. Now, I wander if we would all just be better off eating those things in moderation. But, it seems the more I think about this the more I notice how many artificial ingredients are in out food (especially foods marketed to kids).

As I think about getting ready to have a second child, I really become more and more concerned about the quality of the food I eat. My DD was born with a cleft palate and we don't know what caused it...MD's said combo of genetic, environmental, and unknown factors (this did not run in either my or my husbands family). Anyway, I really deeply ponder the impact of our food choices.

So what do you all think? Stop obsessing over every artificial ingredient? Everything in moderation? Or go all natural?

What's a mom to do?

Jen

 

[Peaceful Rainbow]

DH and I have two boys 9 and 12 and we've chosen to make food our priority when it comes to spending money. Sad, but true, that with the exception of fresh produce (which we do buy a lot of) when it comes to everything else you have a choice of main stream brands which contain artificial colors and flavorings, with ingredients you can't pronounce and at the other end products which container ingredients closer to their natural state and natural flavors and colorings. They generally come with a price tag. We're vegan and I buy as much organic as I can. It's very rare for something artificial to find it's way into the house. It is, at least for me, more time intensive as I shop three places every week. Regular store, health food store and a co-op and I generally know what is cheaper there and rely heavily on sales.

OTOH the boys are old enough now that with their own money and places like the baseball field concession stand other things definitely find their way into their diet. So, I control what I can.

 

[jdawnc]

We try to keep everything pretty basic but sometimes it's hard.

One major thing that we did was switch from Parkay to butter. My husband heard a report regarding margarine and totally flipped out at the potential cancer causes. We have been eating butter ever since and it's ohhhh sooo gooooood.

Since getting pregnant I've switched from diet soda to regular soda if I want it. I figure the sugar would be better than the aspertaine.

 

[goldenrun358]

DH and I have two boys 9 and 12 and we've chosen to make food our priority when it comes to spending money. Sad, but true, that with the exception of fresh produce (which we do buy a lot of) when it comes to everything else you have a choice of main stream brands which contain artificial colors and flavorings, with ingredients you can't pronounce and at the other end products which container ingredients closer to their natural state and natural flavors and colorings. They generally come with a price tag. We're vegan and I buy as much organic as I can. It's very rare for something artificial to find it's way into the house. It is, at least for me, more time intensive as I shop three places every week. Regular store, health food store and a co-op and I generally know what is cheaper there and rely heavily on sales.

OTOH the boys are old enough now that with their own money and places like the baseball field concession stand other things definitely find their way into their diet. So, I control what I can.

I admire your commitment and know that it takes a lot of energy to maintain a healthier lifestyle. At this point I have been controlling what I can and letting go of things I can't. It's great you and your hubby are on the same page. I give my DD organic milk, fruits, and snacks and then DH gets home and lets her eat some of ice cream sandwich, gummy bears or whatever. I just hope what I do is enough. I have read so many reports linking pesticides to ADHD, obesity, cancer, etc. It is really scary. You think you're doing something good for your child giving them lots of produce only to find out it may have adverse affects!!

 

[Peaceful Rainbow]

Goldenrun you do the best you can based on your circumstances and don't sweat the rest of it. I control what I can, but that only gets me so far these days and the kids grow up and then have to make their own decisions. It does help that DH and I are on the same page. We were vegan when we met, so it was natural that the boys would be, too. Though the older one does tend to have some issues with that and I expect he'll stray somewhere down the line. And it is a continuing journey for us. When DH and I met in '94 our diets were much different than they are now because we ate a lot more convenience foods and hardly any organics. All that has changed as we had the boys and started making little changes here and there and now the last couple years with less money to go around (no raises) we've actually gone backwards and had to start buying some things non-organic. All any of us can do is make the best choice that we can, in the moment, and move on from there.

 

[jaypea]

Hi! About 2 years ago, when my older son was so hyper (with bizarre behavior), my DH and I knew we had to do something. Our son was 3 at the time. My DH and I are both teachers, and we knew we did not just want to put our son on medicine for ADHD. We are not doctors, but we pretty much know the symptoms (after teaching many years). Anyway, my mom told me about the Feingold Diet. I was interested, and I did some research and ended up joining for a year. I received the book (with the diet plan), and I found it to be very interesting and informative. Dr. Feingold was an allergist who, by accident, found that eliminating certain food additives, his patients showed an improvement in behavior. We did not go full-force into the diet, but we cut out all the extra crap (no artificial colors, preservatives or flavors). The whole family stopped eating food with chemicals in it, and we all felt better. Our son started calming down, and my DH and I stopped craving foods with chemicals in them. It just makes sense!

There is a great video on youtube about the Feingold Diet. It doesn't force the diet down your throat, but it gives an eye-opening lesson about all the chemicals in foods (and where they come from). I recommend viewing it.
It also points out the fact that many well-known food companies offer two varieties of the SAME food (ex: Cheetos, cake mixes). One version has all the additives in it, while the other does not! Talk about CRAZY!!! I could go on and on.

I'd say, cut them (additives) out as much as possible.The Feingold Diet info taught me about lots of sneaky ways they are added into food without the consumer realizing it. Read those labels very carefully!

There are many stories out there about when kids finally can use their own money to make their own food/snack choices, they go a little crazy. But, they will usually realize that they don't feel as well as they do when they don't eat food with additives.