ASDA, Wal-Mart's UK supermarket chain, bans artificial colors, trans fats, MSG
and aspartame, Marguerite Kelly, The Washington Post: Murray 2007.08.03
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1458


" Studies show that foods that contain synthetic dyes, such as red dye 40 and
yellow dyes 5 or 6, or a preservative, such as BHT, BHA or TBHQ, can disrupt the
attention span or hurt the disposition of some children for hours or even days.

Although these chemicals are still used in food in this country, studies in
England have led Asda, Wal-Mart's supermarket chain in that country, to begin
removing artificial colors, trans fats, MSG and aspartame from any foods that
carry its name.

Three other big chains are doing much the same, and the British school system is
making major changes, too.

The government no longer lets schools serve meals with high amounts of salt and
fat; it has banned chocolate, sodas and low-quality meats and will no longer
allow the schools to sell sweetened drinks or cakes or snacks with added sugar,
salt or fat. "

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202274.html


Family Almanac
Too Many School Treats?

By Marguerite Kelly advice@...
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, August 3, 2007; Page C07


Q. When I was in school, birthdays were recognized in the classroom but
celebrated outside school and we only had cookies at Christmas, Valentine's Day
and at the end of the year.

When my child went to kindergarten last year, however, he received sweet treats
on Christmas and Valentine's Day as well as one or two cupcakes -- or brownies
or doughnuts -- a week to celebrate the birthdays and often the half-birthdays
of his classmates, a slice of cake when his teacher or the aide had a birthday
and sometimes candy for good work in art, music or P.E.

Since the cupcakes are often big enough for an adult, I worry about the message
my son is receiving about portion control and moderation. And since these
cupcakes are often laden with frosting and candy decorations, I worry about the
amount of sugar, trans fats, food additives and dyes he's getting , too.

I have nothing against treats now and then if I can control the ingredients and
the size, but I wonder if I should stop serving the occasional dessert at home
since my son gets so many sweets at school.

I also don't know how much dessert a young schoolchild should get. Nutritional
guides tell us how many fruits and vegetables children should eat each day, but
they don't tell us how much unhealthy food they can tolerate.

The opinions of other kindergarten parents varied widely last year , and they
probably will vary next year, too, but shouldn't I have some say about the food
my child eats at school? Or am I just being a Grinch?


Answer: No, you're not being a Grinch, but you probably will be seen as an
oddball if you start a cupcake war.

Birthday cupcakes at school are part of the culture today. Even though parents
have to fix breakfast, pack lunches and get their children to school, most of
them willingly bake and frost -- or guiltily buy -- cupcakes for the class
because they know it makes their birthday child feel terrific and it gives him
the chance to celebrate with his friends. This is especially important to the
child whose parents are too busy or too broke to give him a party at home.

There's not even a good reason to deny your son these treats. A healthy child
should be able to tolerate a few sweets a week at school and an occasional
dessert at home. He will learn moderation in time, but let him learn it by your
good example, rather than your words. Too many warnings about the danger of
sweets will make your child start eating them on the sly.

Your son can even have cupcakes if he's allergic or sensitive to certain foods.
Most schools encourage the parents of an allergic child to leave homemade
cupcakes in the school freezer for him, so the teacher can give one to him
whenever a parent brings cupcakes for the class.

Although you won't get anywhere with a cupcake war, you should ask the principal
or the PTA to ban candy rewards at school, because it's a poor way to teach and
it encourages a sweet tooth.

You also should check out the school cafeteria, to see if the food is healthful
enough for the children.

Studies show that foods that contain synthetic dyes, such as red dye 40 and
yellow dyes 5 or 6, or a preservative, such as BHT, BHA or TBHQ, can disrupt the
attention span or hurt the disposition of some children for hours or even days.

Although these chemicals are still used in food in this country, studies in
England have led Asda, Wal-Mart's supermarket chain in that country, to begin
removing artificial colors, trans fats, MSG and aspartame from any foods that
carry its name.

Three other big chains are doing much the same, and the British school system is
making major changes, too.

The government no longer lets schools serve meals with high amounts of salt and
fat; it has banned chocolate, sodas and low-quality meats and will no longer
allow the schools to sell sweetened drinks or cakes or snacks with added sugar,
salt or fat.

You and other parents may be able to make similar changes at your school if you
leave petitions in libraries, clinics and health-food stores and then take these
petitions to the school board when you have collected a few thousand names.

If the board agrees, these changes will be much more important than a ban on
cupcakes.

Questions? Send them to advice@... or to Box 15310,
Washington, D.C. 20003.


www.margueritekelly.com

Marguerite Kelly Online

Marguerite Kelly, columnist and author, has given thoughtful, practical
parenting advice for 26 years, but as a parent, not an expert.

Little girl in rain by Katy Kelly

Marguerite Kelly published her first parenting advice in 1975, when she
co-authored The Mother's Almanac, still billed by Doubleday as "the most
complete book ever written about loving and living with small children."

Since then this much-imitated 'bible' for parents, revised by Marguerite in
1992, has sold more than 800,000 copies, been quoted on everything from
Hollywood Squares to Sleepyime Tea, been a Book of the Month selection and the
recipient of the prestigious Parents' Choice award.

In 1989, Marguerite published The Mother's Almanac II about children from 6 to
12, which Doubleday now calls The Mother's Almanac Goes to School. Illustrated
by her daughter, Katy Kelly, it is at least as comprehensive as its predecessor,
was also a Book of the Month selection and a Parents' Choice winner and has
92,000 copies in print.

Her third book, Marguerite Kelly's Family Almanac, also illustrated by Katy
Kelly, is a 608-page compilation of columns, essays and mother's wisdom, which
was published by Simon and Schuster in 1994 and called "a classic in its own
right" by the Library Journal.

Marguerite is now writing Where Do We Go From Here? for Tarcher/Putnam, to help
parents identify the physical or psychological causes of their child's behavior
problems and the best ways to correct them.

Click here to learn more about Marguerite's books and how to purchase them
on-line.

Marguerite has also written her nationally syndicated column "The Family
Almanac" in The Washington Post since 1979. To see those columns, click here.

In addition, Marguerite has written two columns for Family Life magazine,
contributed to an advice column in Woman's Day and written for the New York
Times Magazine, Family Circle, Parents, Harper's Bazaar, Ladies Home Journal,
Traditional Home, the Weekly Standard and other publications.

Click here to see two examples of her award-winning column and "A Mother's
Prayer" as it appeared in The Mother's Almanac Goes to School

She has also appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows, including Good
Morning America, CBS Morning, CNN, NPR, and Lifetime,
has promoted parenting concepts (but not products) for Minute Maid, MCI and
Disney Babies,
and lectures extensively.

In addition, Marguerite served on the boards of a settlement house and of the
D.C. Public Library for many years, founded the Literary Friends of the D.C.
Public Library and is a member of the American Society of Journalists and
Authors and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

She and her husband, author and journalist Tom Kelly, live on Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C., on the block where he was born and their four children grew
up. All are married now and have children of their own.

Katy, the mother of two daughters, is a senior editor of US News and World
Report and the author of Lucy Rose: Here's the Thing About Me;

Meg, the mother of a daughter and a son, lives in Suffern, N.Y. and is an
two-time Emmy-winning writer;

and Nell, who also has two young sons, lives in Darien, Conn., and teaches
kindergarten at a charter school in Norwalk.

Their son Michael, a father of two small boys -- an author, a syndicated
columnist for the Washington Post, editorial advisor of the National Journal and
editor-at-large of the Atlantic Monthly -- was an embedded reporter in Iraq,
when he was killed while trying to escape enemy fire.

Michael's first book was Martyrs' Day: Chronicle of a Small War.

His second book, published posthumously is called Things Worth Fighting For, a
collection of some of his best writing.

To contact Marguerite Kelly with your questions and comments, please send her an
e-mail at:
advice@...


aspartame bans, tis more an avalanche than a trend...: Rich Murray 2007.08.03
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1457

So far, USA print and broadcast media are deaf, blind, and dumb,
regarding recent major bans of aspartame and MSG in the UK and EU.

The EU Parliament voted July 12 to ban artificial sweeteners in newly
born and infant foods.

On May 15 four huge UK supermarket chains announced bans of aspartame
and MSG, food dyes, and many additives to protect kids from ADHD --
Sainsbury, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, and ASDA, a unit of WalMart.

May 31: Coca-Cola and the much larger Cargill Inc., after years of
secret development, with 24 patents, will soon sell rebiana (stevia) in
drinks and food in the many nations where it is approved as a sweetener
-- for decades a major sweetener in Japan, China , Korea, Taiwan ,
Thailand, Malasia, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay,
and Israel, and an approved supplement in USA, Australia, and Canada,
according to Wikipedia.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1454
recent research and news re aspartame and stevia: Murray 2007.08.03

“Of course, everyone chooses, as a natural priority,
to actively find, quickly share, and positively act upon
the facts about healthy and safe food, drink, and environment.”

Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@...
505-501-2298 1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages
group with 80 members, 1,458 posts in a public, searchable archive
http://RMForAll.blogspot.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1395
Aspartame Controversy, in Wikipedia democratic
encyclopedia, 72 references (including AspartameNM # 864
and 1173 by Murray), brief fair summary of much more
research: Murray 2007.01.01

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1453
Souring on fake sugar (aspartame), Jennifer Couzin, Science
2007.07.06: 4 page letter to FDA from 12 eminent USA toxicologists re
two Ramazzini Foundation cancer studies 2007.06.25: Murray 2007.07.18

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNMmessage/1451
Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose) and coloring agents will
be banned from use in newly-born and baby foods, the European
Parliament decided: Latvia ban in schools 2006: Murray 2007.07.12

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNMmessage/1437
stevia to be approved and cyclamates limited by Food Standards Australia New
Zealand: JMC Geuns critiques of two recent stevia
studies by Nunes: Murray 2007.05.29

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1427
more from The Independent, UK, Martin Hickman, re ASDA
(unit of Wal-Mart Stores) and Marks & Spencer ban
of aspartame, MSG, artificial chemical additives and dyes
to prevent ADHD in kids: Murray 2007.05.16
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2548747.ece

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1426
ASDA (unit of Wal-Mart Stores WMT.N) and Marks & Spencer
will join Tesco and also Sainsbury to ban and limit aspartame,
MSG, artificial flavors dyes preservatives additives, trans fats,
salt “nasties” to protect kids from ADHD: leading UK media:
Murray 2007.05.15

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1438
Coca-Cola and Cargill Inc., after years of development, with 24 patents, will
soon sell rebiana (stevia) in drinks and foods:
Murray 2007.05.31

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1277
50% UK baby food is now organic — aspartame or MSG
with food dyes harm nerve cells, CV Howard 3 year study
funded by Lizzy Vann, CEO, Organix Brands,
Children’s Food Advisory Service: Murray 2006.01.13

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1271
combining aspartame and quinoline yellow, or MSG and
brilliant blue, harms nerve cells, eminent C. Vyvyan
Howard et al, 2005 education.guardian.co.uk,
Felicity Lawrence: Murray 2005.12.21

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1417
formaldehyde as a potent unexamined cofactor in cancer research –
sources include methanol, dark wines and liquors, aspartame, wood and
tobacco smoke: IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks
to Humans implicate formaldehyde in #88 and alcohol drinks in #96:
some related abstracts: Murray 2007.05.15

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1286
methanol products (formaldehyde and formic acid) are main
cause of alcohol hangover symptoms [same as from similar
amounts of methanol, the 11% part of aspartame]:
YS Woo et al, 2005 Dec: Murray 2006.01.20

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1143
methanol (formaldehyde, formic acid) disposition:
Bouchard M et al, full plain text, 2001: substantial
sources are degradation of fruit pectins, liquors,
aspartame, smoke: Murray 2005.04.02

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNMmessage/1447
second study by expert Greek team of neurotoxicity in infant rats by
aspartame (or its parts, methanol, phenylalanine, aspartic acid),
KH Schulpis et al, Toxicology 2007.05.18: Murray 2007.07.04

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNMmessage/1444
expert Greek group finds aspartame (or its parts, methanol, phenylalanine,
aspartic acid) harm infant rat brain enzyme activity,
KH Schulpis et al, Pharmacol. Res. 2007.05.13: Murray 2007.06.23

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1414
effect of aspartame on oncogene and suppressor gene expressions in
mice, Katalin Gambos, Istvan Ember, et al, University of Pecs,
Hungary, In Vivo 2007 Jan; scores of their relevant past studies since
1977: Murray 2007.04.14

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1373
aspartame rat brain toxicity re cytochrome P450 enzymes,
especially CYP2E1, Vences-Mejia A, Espinosa-Aguirre JJ
et al, 2006 Aug, Hum Exp Toxicol: relevant abstracts re
formaldehyde from methanol in alcohol drinks: Murray 2006.09.29

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1340
aspartame groups and books: updated research review of
2004.07.16: Murray 2006.05.11

Dark wines and liquors, as well as aspartame, provide
similar levels of methanol, above 120 mg daily, for
long-term heavy users, 2 L daily, about 6 cans.

Within hours, methanol is inevitably largely turned into
formaldehyde, and thence largely into formic acid -- the
major causes of the dreaded symptoms of "next morning"
hangover.

Fully 11% of aspartame is methanol -- 1,120 mg aspartame
in 2 L diet soda, almost six 12-oz cans, gives 123 mg
methanol (wood alcohol). If 30% of the methanol is turned
into formaldehyde, the amount of formaldehyde, 37 mg,
is 18.5 times the USA EPA limit for daily formaldehyde in
drinking water, 2.0 mg in 2 L average daily drinking water.