Here at The Food Werewolf, we spend a lot of time talking about looking at what you eat and drink to help you find calm and balance. In short, if you or your family have unwanted behaviour or physical issues, it’s always a good starting point to eliminate food additives – especially artificial colouring and preservatives – as there are strong links between food additives and unwanted moods. You can find a great many blog posts here on The Food Werewolf website to help you understand more about additives and how to avoid them. There are even a number mini ebooks to help you out! You can click here to find these ebooks on additives and simply type ‘additives’ into the search bar at the top right of this page to find more blogs on this topic.
But sometimes avoiding additives isn’t enough and you may need to look at foods that are generally considered healthy, because unfortunately some people can be sensitive to natural whole foods too. Which leads to the question… Are you sensitive to salicylates? Let’s start with the basics…
Are you really additive free?
If you have tried eliminating additives and stuck with it for some time, you may find there are still some issues you would like to fix. First and foremost, please remember sneaky additives can be lurking in many places so be sure to click here and check out this blog to make sure it’s not simply a case of hidden additives causing the lingering problems.
What to do if going additive free is still not working…
Eliminating additives will help decrease a lot of common behavioural and physical problems such as hyperactivity, lack of concentration, asthma, eczema, tummy problems and loads more. For a full list of additive symptoms check out this mini ebook by clicking here. But sometimes it’s not enough and you may need to take a closer look at what you are eating. Enter the world of salicylates…
What are salicylates?
Salicylates are found in many foods and act as natural pesticides to protect plants against insects and disease. They are also very prominently found in medicines, perfumed products, industrial chemicals and plastics.
What are the symptoms of salicylate sensitivity?
The symptoms associated with salicylate sensitivity include skin issues, asthma, adhd-type behaviours and headaches. There has been research indicating 75% of children with behavioural difficulties have a sensitivity to salicylates. Essentially, salicylates send kids ‘silly’. Which means, if you have an adhd diagnosis or if you are particularly prone to skin issues and asthma, it’s worth checking out how you react to salicylates as it could be the solution to your problems!
Despite the strong statistics supporting these links, I often recommend clients start with eliminating food additives before looking at salicylates, as avoiding salicylates is often seen as a much harder change to enact. Why? A large number of fruits contain salicylates. This means you are no longer just looking at avoiding processed packaged foods with nasty additives, but moving into the realm of natural whole foods that once seemed so good for you!
Enter the mental hurdles… For example, to avoid fruit one must overcome the long entrusted belief that fruit is good for you, should be eaten regularly and it can be eaten in excess with no problems. For those with salicylate sensitivity, this is not the case, and undoing this long ingrained habit and belief can be a difficult change for some. However if you’ve been embarking on an additive-free way of living, making a further change to include eliminating salicylates is not such a big step.
How to eliminate salicylates…
Of course ultimately, success in avoiding salicylates comes down to how you manage the change. Change is hard, but change is good – especially when it means you can stop feeling sick and start feeling happy and healthy! For more information on how to change what you eat and overcome the hurdles along the way, check out the many blogs on The Food Werewolf website dedicated to making change easier. Simply type ‘change’ into the search bar at the top right of this page and you’ll find a heap of blog posts to help you get started and stay focussed.
Remember it’s not really about being an expert on food… mastering the process of change is key.
You will need some information on salicylates to get you started though, so for a full list of symptoms and information on salicylates, I have written a mini ebook containing all the information you need to start you on the path to feeling good, including a comprehensive list of foods containing salicylates. You can click here to learn more about this ebook.
Sensitivity to salicylates are commonly undiagnosed or unrecognised, but armed with a little knowledge, simply changing in the way you eat and avoiding salicylates can make a massive difference in your well being.
So are you sensitive to salicylates? Help others through the process of change and share your experiences with salicylates on The Food Werewolf Facebook page here. We are all in this time called life together, so let’s work together and share the lovin’ to make it easier, healthier and happier!
Loren x
