Natural Salicylates Research Articles

Salicylic acid: a link between aspirin, diet and the prevention of colorectal cancer.

Aspirin was introduced into clinical practice more than 100 years ago. This unique drug belongs to a family of compounds called the salicylates, the simplest of which is salicylic acid, the principal metabolite of aspirin. Salicylic acid is responsible for the anti-inflammatory action of aspirin, and may cause the reduced risk of colorectal cancer observed in those who take aspirin. Yet salicylic acid and other salicylates occur naturally in fruits and plants, while diets rich in these are believed to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Serum salicylic acid concentrations are greater in vegetarians than non-vegetarians, and there is overlap between concentrations in vegetarians and those taking low-dose aspirin. We propose that the cancer-preventive action of aspirin is due to its principal metabolite, salicylic acid, and that dietary salicylates can have the same effect. It is also possible that natural salicylates contribute to the other recognized benefits of a healthy diet.

408 Frequency of reactions to foods containing natural salicylates in aspirin sensitive patients

408 Frequency of reactions to foods containing natural salicylates in aspirin sensitive patients

Hyperactivity: is candy causal?

Adverse behavioral responses to ingestion of any kind of candy have been reported repeatedly in the lay press. Parents and teachers alike attribute excessive motor activity and other disruptive behaviors to candy consumption. However, anecdotal observations of this kind need to be tested scientifically before conclusions can be drawn, and criteria for interpreting diet behavior studies must be rigorous. Ingredients in nonchocolate candy (sugar, artificial food colors), components in chocolate candy (sugar, artificial food colors in coatings, caffeine), and chocolate itself have been investigated for any adverse effects on behavior. Feingold theorized that food additives (artificial colors and flavors) and natural salicylates caused hyperactivity in children and elimination of these components would result in dramatic improvement in behavior. Numerous double-blind studies of the Feingold hypothesis have led to the rejection of the idea that this elimination diet has any benefit beyond the normal placebo effect. Although sugar is widely believed by the public to cause hyperactive behavior, this has not been scientifically substantiated. Twelve double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of sugar challenges failed to provide any evidence that sugar ingestion leads to untoward behavior in children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or in normal children. Likewise, none of the studies testing candy or chocolate found any negative effect of these foods on behavior. For children with behavioral problems, diet-oriented treatment does not appear to be appropriate. Rather, clinicians treating these children recommend a multidisciplinary approach. The goal of diet treatment is to ensure a balanced diet with adequate energy and nutrients for optimal growth.

Urticaria and angio-oedema.

Urticaria and angio-oedema are a symptom complex covering a wide range of clinical disorders. Specific types are now well described, and it appears that many cases of idiopathic chronic urticaria which make up the vast majority of patients referred for assessment are due to intolerance to natural salicylates, preservatives and colouring agents. There is, therefore, an urgent need for legislation to enforce the clear identification of these chemicals in processed food and drugs.

Role of Acetyl Salicylic Acid and Sodium Metabisulfite in Chronic Childhood Asthma

The role of a commonly ingested food additive, the preservative sodium metabisulfite (MBS), and aspirin (ASA), in chronic asthma has been studied in 29 children. After 1 week on a strict elimination diet, all 29 children were challenged, in a single-blind fashion, in the pulmonary function laboratory on three consecutive days with placebo, MBS (capsule form and solution), and ASA. Children with a positive response to MBS were prescribed a diet that excluded foods containing MBS. Patients with a positive response to ASA were prescribed a diet excluding medications containing aspirin and natural salicylates. After 3 months on these restricted diets, the children were reassessed to determine whether there had been any therapeutic response. There was a 66% (19/29) incidence of positive challenge (greater than 20% decrease in forced expiratory volume in one second) with MBS and a 21% (6/29) incidence of positive challenge with ASA. None of the children reacted to MBS in capsule form (maximum dose = 100 mg), but 19/29 reacted to MBS in solution with 30 mL of 0.5% citric acid. After 3 months on the restricted diet, four of 19 children on the MBS-free diet and one of six on the salicylate-free diet had objective signs of improvement, namely, reduction in asthma medications and/or improvement in lung function. Unfortunately, compliance with the restrictive diet during this 3-month period was poor, particularly with the ASA-sensitive children.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Food dyes: behavioural and neurochemical actions

For over 100 years, synthetic chemicals have been added IO foods solely to enhance theii physical appearance. Only recently have rational rixk-benefit assessments been coGdered for foad additives. In the mid-1970s Feingold, a clinical allergist, contended that almost one-half of children diagnosed as having chiklhond hype&k&s and leaming disorder (mini. mal brain dysfunction, attention-deficit disorder) showed improvement when placed on adiet that eliminated all artificial colas and tlavors. some anifcial pieserva tives, iztd ail foods ~~n~g a ‘natural salicylate’ mdicaP. Feingold’s original elimination diet was based on clinical case descriptions of i&It patients who experienced allergi4ike symptoms in response to aspirin, When the subjects’ co~ions faifed to impmve after the elimination of exposure’to aspirin-like compounds, they were placed on a salicylatefre~ diet that prohibited the ingestion of ail saiicylates. ~~l~i~ tboe thought to OcEur naturally in fcrads. The artif&l fbod color tar5zzine (FIMC Yellow No. 5) was alsoeliminated from the diet because it produced the same &z&c-like symptoms as salieylates in ~~~sidve patients. Subsequently. the diit was expanded to exclude ail food additives, including those chemically unrelated to aspirin. Anecdotal rem* sumted that this diet not only ivies ~~e~~like ~tivi~ to aspirin in susceptible patients. but also impmved the behavioural symptoms of psychologi. caIiy distutbed patients. Feingold then began using the diet to treat children with bebavioural disturbances, st~~e~g that somfi causal relationship miust exist be. hueen the increasing amount5 of artificial additives u5ed in foods over the last several decades and the imzasiig number of ciinlcal reports of chifdhrnxl hyperkinesis 81x1 learning disorder over ti same time poiod. The original Feingold hypothesis and diet have undergoM sub5eqlIGrt revisions. The mod&d d&t now exchtdes just anifici colors and flavors. although mos$ Peingold diets studied in clinical tests omit the prohibition of flavors owing to difficulties with disguising the flavor3 in placebo diets and cha&nges, and with i~l~ing the suspected offending compound from the tiusands of flavoring constituents in use. The major questions to be re.solved. -fore. aze whether f& sddiives do cause obvious changee:_=_I whether any efiect of such additives can be demonstrated on r~urocnrhemical systems. Feingold claims that many cases of childhood hyperkinesis and learning disorder can be explained as ~ios~tic, not allergic. reactions IO food colors which manifest themselves as behavioural responses in genetically susceptible chiidrcn. Similar sensitivities to f& have been known to occur. T?K symptotns of f&d ~nsiti~~ ate often vague and variable, including aches and pains, fatigue and behavlour&l disturbances. Childhood hyperkinesis and leaming dis~rc~~~st~~~~aci~t~of symptoms. Children diagnosed as hyperkinetic usually show elevated levels of motor activity, poor control ot impulsive behaviour, restlessness, a shwt attention span, a low tolerance for fanatic, irritability. excitability and aggressiveness. These symptoms are not, however, exhii bited uniformly and it is difficult to determine whether chilw hyperkinesis is a discrete illness or a synch with several biochemical or physiological bases. Treat-

Dietary management of nystagmus.

Two case reports illustrate the therapeutic response of congenital nystagmus to a diet eliminating synthetic food colors, synthetic food flavors, the antioxidant preservatives butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), and a small group of foods thought to contain a natural salicylate radical. A brief discussion of the hyperkinetic syndrome is offered with the proposal that a variety of neurologic and neuromuscular disturbances (grand mal, petit mal, psychomotor seizures; La Tourette syndrome; autism; retardation; the behevioral component of Down's syndrome; and oculomotor disturbances) may be induced by identical chemicals, depending upon the individual's genetic profile and the interaction with other environmental factors. It is perhaps the failure to integrate all the signs presented by the various clinical patterns with hyperkinesis or Minimal Brain Dysfunction (MBD) under a single heading that eye muscle involvement manifested as either nystagmus or strabismus has not been emphasized as part of the hyperkinetic syndrome.

Food additives and hyperkinesis: Are there nuts among the berries?

In this issue of Pediatrics, two studies focus on the subject of food additives and hyperkinesis. They represent a scientific approach to a current pediatric dilemma: Do food additives cause children to be hyperactive? Unfortunately, concerns about additives and hyperkinesis developed as a result of feelings, beliefs, fads, and emotions and had little to do with science. At the annual meeting of the American Medical Association in June 1973, Dr. Benjamin F. Feingold presented a paper correlating children's hyperactivity with their consumption of food additives such as artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives, as well as natural salicylates. He claimed that 30% to 50% of children that he treated with special additive-free diets had striking behavioral improvement.