anyone know of a way to get around using artifical coloring without changing the taste of the icing? am looking for a way to still color icing without using artificial colors, as they can be a trigger in kids with ADHD as well as an allergy for others
The only thing I could think of is by adding berry juices to the icing. Have you tried going to and all natOural food place to see if they have anything you could use? Other than that I don't know what else you could use. Oh, and thanks for the tip on the ADHD thing... have one of those that's border line.
I have no idea but your post taught me something new. What is it about the artificial color that impacts ADHD? How does it impact it? And what kind of allergies are triggered by it? Sorry to bombard you with questions but this is a new concept for me.
wish I could answer those questions, but as I am so new to the whole ADHD world, I don't have any answers as of yet. A friend of mine has two girls that are highly allergic to yellow and has to watch what she gives them as yellow is in a lot of foods. also blue - did you know that marshmellows have blue in them?
i have run in to alot of people with allergies to colors. As far as the marshmellows, they are very easy to make from scratch, you might want to check that out.
I really like to stay away from cakes for allergies, as i don't know enough about food allergies to make me comfortable to do them. I recently did one though and did browns and whites using white icing and different shades of coca powders, so if chocolate isn't a problem that maybe an option for you.
I have a Grandson who is ADHD - and the color we have to watch is red. (I am allergic to the red too, so I am not sure if it just an ADHD reaction for him or if it is something he got from my genes)
I had a neighbor who's son has ADHD and they also had to watch red. he couldn't have ketchup, red kool aid, etc.
Dancing Deer sells natural food coloring. They are pretty good but a little pricey. I use them all the time as I limit artificial food colorings in my cake frostings. I believe their website is dancingdeer.com but you can do a google search. They sell cookies and brownies etc.
Kierra
My nephew has adhd and we have never had a problem with the colors in foods. I don't think it affects all kids.
I a really shocked reading this post,i never knew about the red color or colors etc.. that could trigger kids with adhd.my son has adhd and have been taking care of this for a few years now but NEVER heard of this red thing...koolaid and ketchup etc... he is limited on sugar intake but once in a while is bouncing off walls,can not calm down for the life of him even though he's had his meds...so I will keep an eye out when this happens again and see if It has been because of what he ate,but I have never been warned about this such thing from our dr. or online and I have researched on adhd.i guess this ones up in the air,but thanks for the info 
I am an Educational Therapist and I specialize in Learning Disabilities and ADHD. Here is some information based on the research that I have read... (forgive the typos!)
Some individuals, children and adults, are more sensitive to additives, colorings, and chemicals, etc. than other people are - regardles of whether or not they have ADHD.
The idea that diet affects behavior, particularly in individuals with ADHD was publicized by Dr. Fiengold, in the 1970's. He proposed that eliminating many foods, including ones with artificial food colorings (AFCs), naturally occurring salicylates (salicylates are chemicals that occur naturally in many fruits and vegetables), artificial flavors, and particular preservatives could decrease the symptoms/severity of ADHD in children. That notion has been a point of controversy among the medical and educaitonal community over the past 30 yers.
Many additonal studies have been done, to either prove or disprove Feingold's theory, with mixed results. As with many other things related to AHDD, patient, parent, and teacher reports are often the diagnostic tools used. So, the research/results are not completely objective (as they would be with say, a definitve blood test, which is NOT how ADHD is diagnosed). And, it seems that in cases in which a person is affected by an AFC or other checmical, there seems to be an affect regardless of whether or not ADHD is co-occurring.
Based on recent studies, the mechanism by which AFCs may adversely affect children's behavior is not known, and suggest that it may occur because of allergic reactions, or because of actual pharmacological effects that AFCs induce.
Current guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry both recommend medication treatment and/or behavior therapy as the current treatments of choice for ADHD - not changes in diet (which is not to say that diet does or does not have an effect).
Bonnie
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