The Food Intolerance Network advised the Australian delegation of a serious emerging issue for consumers ahead of the international food regulatory meeting held in China in April 2024. Codex Alimentarius is an FAO/WHO organisation meant to protect health and promote trade. We told them yet again that the food industry was responding to regulation by hiding the additives. Industry increasingly hides them as INGREDIENTS under their Clean Label strategy, denying consumers choice and evadi...

Violence is increasing in children, adults and against women (1) At the same time, ultra processed food (UPF) consumption has been increasing. While UPFs have been linked to many adverse health effects including obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, early death from all causes, and depression, recently, Brazilian researchers have found a connection between UPFs and domestic violence (2).

50 years ago, most people had never heard of autism or ADHD in children, let alone dogs. Now, studies show that dogs can have symptoms resembling either of those conditions. Called CDB (Canine Dysfunctional Behaviour), the condition is considered to be idiopathic – that is, experts don’t know what causes it. Autism in rodents However, scientists have already shown that propionate preservatives can cause autistic type behaviours in laboratory rats (1), as you can see for yourself in the follo...

I asked readers if they felt medication had triggered their salicylate sensitivity – and here is an interesting answer from story [1671]  I had a heart attack last July and was put on prasugrel (blood thinner) and daily low dose aspirin. By the end of September, I was having stomach issues which continued to worsen. By end of October, I started questioning the aspirin, as I knew it could be hard on the stomach, but my cardiologist said I had to have it. By November, I had a CT scan that...

  The world’s largest scientific review, involving nearly 10 million people, found that UPFs (ultra-processed foods) are associated with higher risks of multiple health problems (1).

The WA Department of Health has changed how it classifies school food and drink, leading to ham being largely removed. Their focus was on the high salt content because of high blood pressure and increased the risk of heart disease and strokes but also said “some processed hams may contain additives, preservatives and flavour-enhancers we should limit”. The additives detailed were phosphorus-containing which might pose a risk for chronic kidney disease. They also mentioned saturated fat as ...

Some food intolerant people have difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) and often blame the texture of foods. People also report oesophageal spasm which hospitals may blame on “vagus nerve issues” and treat with antispasmodic drugs. But a more serious allergic condition is a diagnosis of “asthma of the oesophagus” or eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE). Dysphagia may respond to diet: "For several years I had trouble swallowing food. Nothing is anatomically wrong, so my doctors all assumed it was ...

  Today in the ABC there were two separate news releases in sequence. The first (1) talked about research that described inadequate nutrition in pre-school, both in terms of quantity and quality. As usual the quality focus was on current obsessions, “high carbs, not a lot of protein, high saturated fat”, with no mention of the known effects of food additives which can produce exactly the behaviours that were the main problem observed. The second (2) reported that one third of children ...

  Evidence continues to emerge of the unsafe effects of preservatives on our gut microbiomes. The latest, from the University of Chicago in 2024 (1), points to points to a group of food preservatives that are actually antibiotics - called lantibiotics – which kill off pathogens but also kill the commensal bacteria which keep us healthy. Commensals provide important benefits to the body by breaking down nutrients, producing metabolites, and - importantly - protecting against pathogens. “...

As a Dietitian who works in the field of food chemical sensitivities and now having a 5-year-old, navigating the world of preservatives and natural chemicals has been another challenge indeed. I wanted to share my experience to help others. First, I would like to mention that myself and my child are not, or do not seem, overly food sensitive, especially compared to the families I see. It is likely because I control the food side of things reasonably well, I personally am a little particula...