So you think fresh fruit and vegetables are great for your health? Perhaps not. There are many food additives that are actually harmful and can lead to insomnia, restlessness, anxiety and many other problems. And some of them are used on fresh fruit and vegetables. But that's not all. There are a range of food additives that have been isolated that can cause insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, depression, wakefulness, irritability etc.

Australians Sue Dengate and Dr Howard Dengate have researched food additives and food technology for many years. The following information and statistics come from their DVD "Fed Up With Children's Behavior."

Firstly let's look at Sue Dengate's term "Food Intolerance" because it is not the same as a food allergy. Some of the symptoms are the same as allergic reactions, but can include other symptoms such as irritable bowel symptoms etc. Many food intolerance's have a delayed reaction time (2 – 3 days), some are cumulative, and many are very difficult to isolate and identify. Most people have no idea of ​​their food intolerance's!

There are no scientifically proven tests for food intolerance. Reactions can sometimes take weeks to get over. That is why we need some expert help on this subject.

In the 1950s 20% of our food items were controlled by the supermarkets, now the figure is about 80%. It is increasingly important to know what you are eating and how it is affecting your health, mood, sleep, skin, behavior, headaches, bowel movements etc.

Migraine sufferers have tripled since the 1970s with over 20% of households now containing at least 1 migraine sufferer.

The precedent of eczema has increased 2-3 fold since the 1970s. About 1 Australian in 3 is affected at some stage in their lives.

Irritable bowel syndrome is now thought to affect about 20% of people living in developed countries compared with almost zero in countries with traditional eating habits.

Asthma has risen from about 10% in the 1970s to about 30% today. Asthma is the leading cause of school absence. Most sufferers react to one of two food additives. 20% of sufferers are affected by salicylates. The majority can be helped by avoiding food additives. Even the asthma medications themselves contain additives that adversely affect sufferers!

Since the 1990s there has been a dramatic increase in the use of anti-depressant medications, including for young children, and including 3000 prescriptions to babies under 12 months of age in the USA alone! There has been a 10 fold increase in major depression since 1945.

Since the 1970s rates of autism are thought to have increased 10 fold in the USA.

Just because a food additive is called 'natural' does not mean its safe!

So here are some examples of nasty food additives to avoid if you're having difficulties sleeping, waking in the middle of the night, waking too early, feeling anxious, overly tired, depressed, stressed, etc:

(282) 's symptoms (from eating quantities of bread) can include difficulty getting to sleep, night walking, night terrors, unexplained tiredness, depression, irritability, growing pains, bed wetting, nasal congestion and restlessness;

o Wakefulness, depression, restlessness, irritability (320 BHA Buyylated Hydroxyanisole antioxidant – banned in Japan and may be unlisted in products containing less than 5% vegetable oils);

o Salicylates. There's a factsheet on salicylates that includes information relevant to tinnitus, reversible hearing loss, vertigo, symptoms of Meniere's Disease, insomnia, changes in children's behavior. Of particular interest here is the information on how 'good old fruit and vegetables' are not always good at all. Find out about low salicylate fruit and vegetables vs. high salicylate fruit and vegetables, and how to control your intake;

o Wakefulness in young children (102 Tartrazine coloring and 110 Sunset Yellow coloring);

o 621 Monosodium Glutamate flavor enhancer MSG. Restlessness, wakefulness and irritability; and

o 951 Aspartame artificial sweetener – built for US air pilots. Mood alteration (anxiety, agitation, irritability, depression), insomnia, fatigue.

It's also very unfortunate that some nasty food additives do not have to be declared on the product labels – so you will need to investigate further to find out exactly which bread is the one that that does not have the food additive that in associated with depression, etc. There's also information on hair spray and air fresheners, it's a must-read.

Sue has developed the Failsafe Diet to help people eliminate the nasty food substances from their system.

So if you find this article alarming, we've presented something valuable. Your responsibility is to research further to ensure that you, your children and loved ones are not diminishing their vitality by shopping carelessly. If you're not already doing it, start reading the labels. And what's more, if you do have a sleep disorder (or any other medical problem), you need to look further – because maybe there's an additive in your food that does not even have to be declared by law to be included on the label .