It’s been 7 days since we quit food dyes and I’ll bet everyone is wondering if it had the wondrous results I had read about online. Remember this list of behavioral problems from Die, Food Dye!?

1. Hyperactivity.
2. Lack of attention.
3. Sleep problems.
4. Mood swings.
5. Violence/Aggression.
6. Lack of impulse control.
7. The Ickies.
8. Bed-wetting.
9. Skin ailments.
10. Breathing problems.
11. Compulsiveness.
12. Not consistent.

I was mostly concerned with 3, 4, 5,6, 9, and 12 for Ben.

For 3 – Sleep problems, I will have to say this is the single biggest change I’ve noticed. Adam and I had a week of great sleep that I’m hoping is due to food dye and not a fluke. The twins, who often wake up crying at 5:30am slept until almost 7am every day. Even though the older boys still wake up to go potty, I did not once here Ben waking up with night terrors.

For 4 – Mood swings. Ben had a hissy fit because he said he never got his snack when I picked him up from the gym daycare. The staff assured me he did. He was wailing on the floor until I dragged him out of there kicking and screaming.

5 – Violence/Aggression. Ben was taken to the office one day for hitting a staff member at the gym.

6 – Lack of impulse control. And he didn’t manage to keep his hands to himself any more this week than another week.

9 – Skin ailments. He still has two weird red bumps on his legs that could be eczema. They haven’t faded or gotten smaller.

12. – Not consistent. Well, perhaps he had less tantrums but they didn’t stop by any stretch. All the kids still had them. I felt perhaps Sam seemed a bit more even keel this week but the twins are still at the age where they can’t express themselves or can’t always have their way and it makes them throw fits. I think that’s just normal behavior for that age. So I’m not too concerned about it.

I asked Adam if he saw any difference with Ben and he said no.

Then he told me that the toothpaste Jack and Ben use has 2 different kinds of food dyes in them. Which made me flip out. He was still getting exposed to it EVERY DAY?!

We agreed to try it one more week with new toothpaste, though I must say at this point I am not hopeful. Unfortunately I think Ben’s issues will only be solved with hard work and/or time. I doubt there are any quick fixes.