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Gina, Feed Our Families:

Growing up, my mom always managed to get a homemade meal on the dinner table while working full-time outside of the house. Now that I'm in that position, I can really appreciate her hard work and efforts because I know that it's hard.

When my kids were younger, and we didn't have the variety of food issues that we face today, we often relied on the convenience of processed foods. You know, the foods we find in the middle of the grocery store - boxes, cans, frozen meals to basically warm up. They helped us get something resembling a dinner on the table at a decent time after work.

Until we started to notice things that didn't seem right. The kids were frequently sick (more than friends their age). They would often get out-of-control hyper after certain foods - like the bright orange mac n' cheese stuff. There were other, less noticeable things too.

But then one day I watched (in horror) my son spinning, flapping, jumping & almost convulsing right in front of me. When we repeatedly asked him to stop, he kept telling us that he couldn't. Over and over.

Until, with tears running down his cheek, he asked for my help. As I held him tightly in my arms to answer his plea, I knew something was very wrong.

Later we learned that he had, what appeared to be a healthy sports drink earlier that day. It was a clear drink but still contained artificial food coloring, along with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and other artificial additives. While he had negative experiences before with HFCS, nothing was this extreme.

His various doctors aren't sure what triggered the reaction but they all told us that many children respond negatively to artificial additives and overly processed foods. Most children consume these ingredients so frequently, that parents just don't recognize the signs any more.

But they are there.

The thing about high fructose corn syrup is that, like most things, in small quantities isn't horrible, but can be concerning in larger doses, especially for young children. And since HFCS is everywhere (juice, bread, snacks, sodas, etc.) it makes it hard to avoid in our daily diet. And the more we consume, the more long-term impact it has on our health.

How do we avoid it? Let me tell you that it is not easy, but possible (and totally worth every effort!). In our home, we simply don't buy food with high fructose corn syrup. Since we eat mostly fresh foods and do a lot of scratch-cooking, meals at home are the easiest. Given my son's dairy sensitivity, we make lunches for him and our daughter to take to school so I know what's in their lunches as well.

But outside of the meals we make at home, it's frustratingly difficult. Restaurants serve condiments with HFCS and I really don't know what else on their menu uses the sweetener. At school or events, there's always the temptation of a fruit roll-up, yogurt or other tasty treat most likely containing high fructose corn syrup.In these situations, we do our best to be prepared with snacks of our own.

My son is old enough to remember his reactions and doesn't want to feel that way again so he knows to politely decline or read labels. If there's any ingredient he doesn't recognize, or one that he knows is forbidden, he won't eat it.Yes, he's only 6 years old. That's how memorable and horrible the reaction was.

I know he's consumed HFCS since "the event" which makes me want to know what happened that day - what triggered the response? Was it HFCS in addition to artificial color? Was there another artificial additive we didn't know about? Since it's not a true allergy, we'll never know. Even if it happens again.

Although I know that avoiding high fructose corn syrup and other artificial food additives is the very best for my children, there are trade offs. The disappointment of a child who can't enjoy cotton candy at the fair, a hot dog at the ball park, the same snack as his baseball team or a popsicle at a friend's house. I often reflect on these memories from my own childhood and how different his memories will be. I hope that our berry picking adventures, homemade ice cream, cookouts with friends, and visits to the farmer's market will be the cherished food memories of his childhood that he looks back on fondly someday.

Find Out More:

• Fast, Healthy Recipes to Cook with Your Kids
• How Real People on Real Budgets Can Afford Organic
• Neurotoxins and ADHD: Connecting the Dots

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