Chapter 2.2: Dangerous Pesticides Lurking in Your Favorite Foods

So how do we deal with the proliferation of pesticides in our food? The first and obvious answer is to go organic as far as possible. Organic farmers strive to produce food using only natural methods of pest control meaning that no pesticides are allowed. The food that they produce will perhaps not look as ‘perfect’ as mass produced equivalents but it will certainly do its bit to protect you from the widespread chemical contamination in our society.

I realize that organic foods may not always be available or affordable. You should therefore also put a strategy in place to protect yourself from the worst side effects of commercially produced foods. Here are some suggestions for doing so:

1) Vary your diet. Spreading your food consumption over a variety of different foods can protect you against the increased risk of contamination associated with the excessive consumption of just one type of food.

2) Wash and peel fruit and vegetables as often as possible. Peeling will be more beneficial than washing but might also mean that you will give up some of the most nutritious parts of the fruit or vegetable. If it is a high risk food (see below) this might be a trade-off worth making.

3) Select carefully: Select produce that is free of dirt, cuts, insect holes or other signs of spoilage;

4) Know the risks. Not all fruits and vegetables pose an equal risk when it comes to chemical exposure. This is because many foods are grown locally or in places were strong POP bans are in place and vice versa. The following table lists some of the most and least risky types of foods. If you are dealing with a high risk food it is strongly recommended that you buy organic or, at the very least, take special care with washing and peeling:

• High Risk: Peaches, Apples, Sweet Bell Peppers, Celery, Nectarines, Strawberries, Cherries, Carrots, Peas
• Medium-High Risk: Spinach, grapes, lettuce, potatoes, green beans, cucumbers, mushrooms, cantaloupe, oranges
• Medium-Low Risk: Raspberries, plums, grapefruit, tangerine, honeydew melon, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon, cauliflower
• Low Risk: Broccoli, blueberries, papaya, cabbage, bananas, kiwi fruit, sweet peas, asparagus, mango, pineapple, sweet corn, avocado

All of the above may seem like a lot of hassle but it is a small price to pay when you consider the havoc that the residue of the chemicals used in pesticides can wreak on the ADD/ADHD brain!

More chemicals to be aware of: Additives
There is a class of chemicals that is perhaps not as obviously harmful as pesticides but that can still have a significant negative impact on human health. I am, of course, referring to additives.

Additives are, as the name suggests, chemicals that are added to food to fulfill certain functions. The vast majority of additives in use today are non-natural in the sense that they are artificially created in laboratories and then sold in industrial quantities to food companies. Additives come in three general categories.

They are:

• Preservatives: Used to stall or halt natural degenerative processes in food.
• Colorants: Used to make food appear more visually appealing
• Flavorants: Used to enhance the taste of food

The use of all three classes of additives has skyrocketed over the past few decades. If you don’t believe me you are welcome to turn over just about any piece of food packaging in your house to take a look at the ingredients. You are almost certain to find a bunch of complex sounding chemical descriptions or combinations of letters and numbers between the more innocuous ingredients.

This industrial scale ‘chemicalization’ of our food supply represents one of the most profound nutritional changes in human history yet it occurred almost by stealth, driven by food companies whose soothing ad campaigns ensured us that they have our best interests at heart. It is easy to see why these companies are so excited about additives. Better tasting, longer lasting and visually appealing foods are sure to increase the ‘bottom line’. We should, however, be very wary of simply accepting the safety claims of these global conglomerates at face value.

It would be rather naïve to think that you can alter the chemical composition of our food supply in dramatic ways and that there would be no negative effect whatsoever. Yet this is what we are constantly being asked to do. Fortunately the consensus that have been so carefully built up by ‘Big Food’ is starting to break down, with more and more scientists pointing out the ways in which additives are influencing everything from digestion, through sleeping patterns, to even human behavior. One of the most disturbing claims that are being made, and one that is of particular relevance to those dealing with the effects of ADD/ADHD, is that some additives (especially some colorants) significantly contribute to the incidence of hyperactivity in children.

Brightly colored candy has long been suspected of causing hyperactivity in children, but food companies have easily dismissed such claims as anecdotal. However, a landmark study by the UK Food Standards Agency has found evidence to support these claims. They found that the application of tartrazine (E102), ponceau (E124), sunset yellow (E110) carmoisine (E122), quinoline yellow (E104), allura red (E129) and the preservative sodium benzoate (E211) positively correlated with decreased attention and to a lesser extent with temper tantrums and rowdy behavior. This research makes it much harder for food companies to deny the potential harm of these additives.

Some people would take research data like that presented above and generalize from this that additives are actually the cause of ADD/ADHD. This is obviously a very bold claim to make and perhaps also one that underestimates the complex nature of ADD/ADHD. What is incontestable however is the fact that we should do everything in our power to avoid things that have the potential to worsen the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. I would certainly include chemicals proven to increase the incidence of hyperactivity in children in this category! My advice would therefore be that you should be very careful to research the use of additives, especially colorants, in our children’s favorite foods.