Label Literacy

Label Literacy. I'm learning something new & its from little letters written on the back of packets, every packet!

I was becoming very aware numerically before in Australia then in UK I had to get familiar with the names of additives. The resulting effects are my main concern & its helpful I've found a phone app (Additive Alert) that I can enter either number or chemical name into.  

In England I picked up a packet of Hula Hoops (crisps), an old childhood favourite (as you could wear them on your fingers before eating). However the last listed ingredient is Potassium Chloride (508)... which can cause a handful of ills, but most scarily says must not be given to children!!  These would be school lunchbox staples in the UK.

Once you become label literate - Beware: you will question everything in a packet.

When we were in the UK I couldn't be as bold to assume that our staple basic breakfast options would be sugar-free there just because they are here.  

Good job I wasn't - as standard Weetabix was 4.4g/100g whereas Shredded Wheat was 0.7g, a much better option - 100% Wheat (ok for kids at present).  Rice Bubbles here are 9g, their UK equivalent are 9.7g so marginally more.  This is more than 5g, my usual cut-off so I always opt for just puffed rice from the health food section instead.  Porridge Oats were just 1g.

Now we are home from our holidays we have started FAILSAFE Elimination diet in ernest.  This has necessitated me to be very label literate, I'm discovering new things all the time & limiting our food options as I do.  Following foodie forums has led to queries & therefore further interrogation by myself.   Being sugar-free one of the key alternative ingredients I use in baking is Dextrose (glucose in powderform).  One of the forums I follow posted a site which sells Dextrose, sulphate-free... I didn't know it wasn't... so is this an upsell on their behalf or is the Dextrose I use not sulphate-free?  For strict Failsafe it would need to be.  I contacted the manufacturers & they wrote back that their Certificate of Analysis for the Dextrose states that the Sulphur Dioxide Residual is less than 0.01 grams/kg. Therefore I would assume trace or negligible.  It is not listed as an ingredient, nor is its numeric equivalent 220. The only ingredient is 100% Dextrose Monohydrate.  Its not like we eat huge amounts of this stuff, I use less than a cupful in a whole batch of baked goods which are eaten over a few days, not daily treats.  But to question what we are ingesting is wise.

We have been recommended to follow FAILSAFE strictly, which means eating additive free & only items that are LOW in salicylates, amines & glutamates.  Even with a clear list from the dietician supplied from the RPAH Allergy Department, shopping is a minefield & so much more time consuming than being simply sugar-free.  I now need to read labels in detail to avoid a multitude of nasties & its not as easy as just shopping the supermarket perimeter & fresh foods, as at present pears are the only fruit we are allowed whilst on elimination, along with limited veg, plus most supermarket meats apparently can include preservatives  or are older (vac packed).   It necessitates daily visits to the Butcher for the freshest cuts & regular supermarket trips to keep full stock of the pantry staples to create meals with ingredients I have never used in these ways before.  I do not particularly enjoy shopping with preschoolers at the best of times, let alone more frequently or when I'm under pressure to buy specific foods without distraction.  The diet benefits have obviously not kicked in just yet as I really lost my cool yesterday as the irritations of the experience built up.  We're at day 8 today & the lightbulb moment has not yet happened.  I know it takes most people around 2 weeks before they see changes.  I also know I could be making some mistakes on the shopping given my distractions & I will endeavour to be more prepared before I hit the shops again.

The good news is the main meals I have created each day have been readily accepted by the 4yo, even with the vegetables he's never really tried before in. The 2yo, well she's 2 & eating is no longer her forte.  Thats said she's eaten better this week than I expected, given I've taken away some of her favourite "go to" foods.  

Itchy Bum Syndrome

Now not wanting to get crude here, but considering our dog has an itchy bum syndrome & is prescribed psyllium husk be added to her food, I'm a firm believer that the effects I can visually see from her would be benefiting us too from eating this fibre.  I often add it to baked goods in small amounts.

Now I have never been one to accept I have IBS or had it diagnosed, but do have recognised food intolerances... namely wheat by a lengthy diet elimination process (blood tests excluded coeliac), thus avoid like the plague.  My son is certainly aggravated by certain foods & has tummy aches among other symptoms so by pursuing a failsafe diet we hope to discover what.

I'm sure anyone with diagnosed IBS finds it debilitating & from my perspective I chose to get to the bottom of it, instead of bandaid with medicine like Immodium.  I know people that live on this medication.  I am never one to take something, without know what the cause is... I'm a problem solver first before a solution provider.

Coming back to visit UK & family I am seeing firsthand again those relatives that choose to medicate or live with symptoms as opposed to changing diet to avoid irritating foods. Gluten/Wheat-free is certainly not catered well for in England as it is in Australia - I feel lucky that I can easily find options in the supermarkets & cafe's back there, where as I am struggling here.  The flight was one of the worst places & I will certainly be providing some of my own snacks for the return 24 hour leg.

Just Lie Back & Think of England...

Mmmm Marmite, Mmmm Pubs, Mmmm Curry, Hmmm Coping with our Wheat-Fructose-Free way of eating in a holiday environment & company of well-meaning relatives.  I'm fearing to even think about the newly ventured additive awareness or possibility of the Failsafe Elimination diet.  Its so exciting to be heading back to the homeland & taking the little ones to meet friends & family but it does open us up to food choice "struggles" & criticism.

I've finished reading Fed Up... & am now perusing the Failsafe Cookbook, also by Sue Dengate.  I have booked a consultation with a recommended paediatric dietician & am open to what this may bring. I have no illusion that Failsafe will be an easy way of eating, but if we can use it to determine if there are food intolerances or causes behind certain behaviours then I'm willing to give it a shot.  Afterall if I can personally give up Wheat & Fructose & mostly manage the kids foods this way then I have a head-start.  The exceptions in the vision will be parties, I just have to be stronger on playdates, kinder & day trips when its become the norm that other kids get "party" food & "treats" are food-linked as opposed to the actual trip being the treat.  The trip to England will be a good test.  Though maybe harder with people that know me well, where I don't want to offend their life choices or my own upbringing, than with strangers or people that I'm not particularly phased if they think I'm being extremist.  At the end of the day though, my kids health & my wellbeing are paramount.

.....  So we had the dietician appointment today & she has recommended that my son follows the RPAH / Failsafe Elimination Diet STRICTLY as there are so many potential causes in his current diet that could point to certain behaviours he's exhibiting.  And that was said taking into account what we currently eat is pretty healthy, with the infrequent takeaway or occasional convenience meal.  This will mean eliminating even healthy foods (inc. fruit & veg) at first to determine whether he is affected by salicylates, amines, glutamates, preservatives, colours, flavours, gluten or dairy...

The dietician realised the difficulty of starting this immediately so we plan to do it the day we get back when I'm in full control of their intake.  The aim will be to do this as a whole family, not just my son.  I certainly glean to gain some insight from it for myself & am hoping that maybe it might pinpoint things to avoid for my daughter too.  It would be unfair to expect him to be limited so much & the rest of us still feast on his favourite foods.  Also its so full-on it will be wasted time if we don't do it right, to only have to repeat later if issues persist.

Meantime I will RELAX, "Read Labels" & pack!!!  With all this buzzing in my head it will be hard to switch off but necessary I think to deal with the flight, kids & emotions of seeing everyone we've missed for so long.

Its 4 years since I've been to England & I expect much has changed, it had the previous time.  I know I will be blown away by the choices in supermarkets & convenience options.  That said last time I found just GF hard to come by, I'm hoping they are more readily available now & that I will be able to find some sugar-free options too.  I just hope Mum is ready for me to make a mess of her kitchen as I expect I will need to be cooking & baking to limit a complete month of eating out & takeaways "just because we are on holiday".  To me a week, or two, is a holiday, a month is living, you can't sustain the gluttony for that long, without the sloth-like feeling kick-in.  I've undone good work at both Christmas & Easter & its taken me until now to get back to the pre-xmas weight.  Before when I've been back, there were sweets, crisps & chocolates bars I had craved & then indulged upon.  This time I will just fill my boots on marmite stocks (hmmmm maybe not for Failsafe homecoming) & proper English Indian Curries... if thats not a confusing concept to non-Poms.  One dish I'm salivating over is a Shaslik.... I have not been able to get one similar here in Australia.  Also some good Rogan Josh, Jalfrezi, Chat & poppadums the size of dinner plates.  I understand many English curries are uniquely created for Brits, they do not even exist in India or migrate to other parts of the world.  One restaurant visit per week should satiate that desire (who said you can't sustain gluttony when on holiday??!)

So before I head off to pack, here's a few good things I've discovered on my journey this week:
> Additive Alert - free app which is great for checking ingredients whilst at the shops
> Bakers Delight will happily print out ingredients of their bread... & even better do not contain nasty preservative 281/282.  The baker was very helpful & explained they don't add any sugar/oil either
> My son happily ate celery sticks I packed for kinder (an option for the Failsafe eating)

Fed Up & Fearing Forty

I'm having some OMG moments of late... firstly with increasingly hard to cope with behaviours from my 4yo, secondly discovering "Fed Up" books by Sue Dengate & potential correlation to former.... & lastly friends OMG fears of becoming 40... For me I have no fear but essentially aspirations - to be the fittest & healthiest I can, to be happy, looking onwards & upwards to the rest of my life & continued adventures with family in tow.

Prior to having kids I thought my health was generally ok, with the exception of effects of eating wheat which I discovered 6 years ago.  So with that avoided & the arrival of kids I was all set or so I thought, but boy do they take it out of you!  My energy levels often flagged but since going fructose free I'm on an even keel.  As I approach the big 40 I want to be as healthy as I can to keep up with them & give them the best I can.  Somewhere along the way in my food investigations (& behavioural strategies) I came across Fed Up & it triggered that there maybe some answers in there to help my little one & potentially me along the way.  I'm devouring the book right now, so will get back to some bigger blogs & recipe trials later.  The opening chapters are hitting home & I've made contact with recommended dieticians in hopes I'm barking up the right tree regards potential food intolerances.  To me it makes sense, the additives & chemicals in our post 1960's world must be having effects on all of us.  I feel there will be some correlation between the Failsafe Eliminations & Toxic Oil/Sweet Poison avoidances.  I hope so else this will be one hell of a change in eating habits!!

This will be hard, I have no illusions, however as I'm never one to resort to medicine before determining cause & prefer healthy alternatives where possible, I'd rather extremely change our food first.  In my recent discoveries I'm looking at food now as fuel whilst still trying to have fun with & enjoy it.  If its fuel then we want the right fuel in our tank to get optimum performance from it.  I liken wrong fuel to putting Petrol into a Diesel Engine where it causes internal damage & sluggish performance.

So although I've been a little 'fed up' of late I'm hoping that this is the beginning of an enlightening journey for us.  I'll take the steering wheel & try to pacify the backseat driver. 

PS. In case you are wondering I have 6 months to determine what ingredients will be in my birthday cake!



Fed Up: Understanding How Food Affects Your Child and What You Can Do About it

Ff...

F... My all time favourite letter.  I used to love writing it as a kid using calligraphy, now I have an affinity to it in many aspects of my life, especially in duplicate:
 - Fructose-Free
 - Full-Fat
 - Foo Fighters (favourite band)
 - F* F* (pet name for one of my family)
 - Furry Friend (what I often call my dog)
If I was a tattoo kind of person I guess this would be something I would consider tagging myself with but as I hate needles, its hardly a concern.  So maybe just some kind of logo for this page...

For now I leave you with the fabulous Foo Fighters :)  ...... Do you have Times Like These when  people don't get the Best of You???