Hidden toxins in our food can be blamed for the alarming recent increases in allergies, ADHD, cancer, and asthma in our children according to a new book by Robyn O’Brien.br /br /a href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CpmH6pmUk9A/SgsOzeg6zLI/AAAAAAAAADI/iZL3Lggfkj4/s1600-h/book-unhealthytruth.gif”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 124px; height: 303px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CpmH6pmUk9A/SgsOzeg6zLI/AAAAAAAAADI/iZL3Lggfkj4/s400/book-unhealthytruth.gif” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335374461077736626″ //aAfter her youngest child suffered a severe reaction to eggs, the mother of four and MBA launched a campaign to uncover what she believes are “hidden toxins” in our food supply. Among the worst offenders: the artificial sweetener aspartame, the growth hormone rBGH, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and various food colorings.br /br /”Since when did a PBJ and a carton of milk become such a loaded weapon on a lunchroom table?” she remarked to ABCNews.com. O’Brien maintains that the allergy epidemic is just the “tip of the iceberg.” Asthma, autism, cancers and behavioral problems can all trace their roots back to the food we eat, she says. “A lot of these ingredients have been added to the U.S. food supply in the last 10, 15 years [but] not in foods around the world. Why have developed countries around the world, removed, banned or labeled these ingredients? Because they’ve never been proven safe. We have different standards in the U.S.”br /br /Fluorescent orange macaroni and cheese, blue yogurt, and strawberry ice cream include artificial colorings and sodium benzoate that, she says, have been shown to make kids more hyperactive and less attentive. After eliminating these foods from her kids’ diets and substituting products without these additives and hormones, she said she’s seen a dramatic change in their behavior and health.br /br /Critics include Thomas Badger, director of the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center and professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, who maintains rBGH and genetically modified foods have been shown to be innocuous.br /br /strongDr. Grout’s Comment:/strongbr /br /I have not read this new book, but I find it interesting that yet again, parents are looking beyond the messages from the food producers and mainstream “experts.” They look around them and see that kids are getting sicker and wonder why. Increasingly, parents are taking it upon themselves to remove some new-fangled ingredients and – surprise – they find their children are healthier for it.br /br /a href=”http://www.arizonaadvancedmedicine.com/articles/aspartame_addiction.html”Aspartame/a is a classic example of confusing information – the vast majority of industry sponsored studies say it is safe; the vast majority of independent studies say it is absolutely not safe. The a href=”http://www.arizonaadvancedmedicine.com/articles/aspartame.html”history of aspartame’s approval/a paints a good picture of the political arena in which many decisions are made about food safety.br /br /a href=”http://www.arizonaadvancedmedicine.com/articles/kid_food.html#milk”rBGH/a is a genetically engineered growth hormone added to milk that the renowned a href=”http://www.arizonaadvancedmedicine.com/articles2/whats_in_your_milk.html”Dr. Sam Epstein/a maintains is absorbed through the human gut into the blood.br /br /Although critics of the arguments made in O’Brien’s book and elsewhere maintain additives are not problematic, the American Academy of Pediatrics a href=”http://www.arizonaadvancedmedicine.com/articles/kid_food.html#study”announced last year/a a stunning reversal of its long standing position that additives had no effect on children’s behavior, saying, “…even we skeptics, who have long doubted parental claims of the effects of various foods on the behavior of their children, admit we might have been wrong.”br /br /It is easy to feel powerless. However, each of us has tremendous power to change the marketplace by how we spend our money. Read labels. If you can’t pronounce what’s in it, then it is probably not what Nature intended to be put in your body. O’Brien is part of growing trend recognizing that new-fangled foods contain additives that adversely affect health.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4769404502414351890-3962588721408793242?l=arizonaadvancedmedicine.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div