1. Food colors are added to many different products including yogurts, breakfast cereals, children’s drinks (including chocolate milk), canned peas and even raw meats. In fact artificial colors are added to a surprising amount of products you buy everyday and may not even know. Check the labels and see for yourself the amount of chemicals you consume on a regular basis.
2. The most common food colorings used in the United States include:
FD&C Blue No. 1 – Brilliant Blue FCF, E133 (Blue shade), a synthetic dye derived from coal tar which often found in ice cream, tinned processed peas, dairy products, sweets, and drinks, soaps, shampoos and other personal hygiene and cosmetic products.
FD&C Red No. 40 – Allura Red AC, E129 (Red shade) is a red azo dye that goes by several names including: Allura Red, Food Red 17, C.I. 16035, FD&C Red 40, 2- naphthalenesulfonic acid, 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-, disodium salt, and disodium 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-2-naphthalene-sulfonate, or E129.
In Europe, Allura Red AC is not recommended for consumption by children. And is banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Austria.
FD&C Yellow No. 5 – Tartrazine, E102 (Yellow shade) or FD&C Yellow 5 or C.I. 19140) is a synthetic lemon yellow azo dye often mixed with FD&C Blue No. 1 to produce a green color. Products including tartrazine include candies, cotton candy, soft drinks, instant puddings, flavored chips such as Doritos, cereals suchas corn flakes and muesli, cake mixes, pastries, custard powder, soups, sauces, and even some rices and pastas, Kool-Aid, Gatorade, ice creams, marzipan, jam, jelly, gelatins, marmalade, mustard, horseradish, yogurt, pickles, and even in some honey products! .
3. In the past many studies have been carried out which suggest that artificial food colors are safe and adverse reactions occur in less than 1 in 10,000 people, which is about 33,000 people in the United States.
4. Some stidues in the past few years have found that artificial food colors may impact a much larger segment of the population. The medical journal Lancet published the work of University of Southampton (U.K.) researchers who studied the effects of drinks containing artificial colors and additives on 3-year-old and 8 to 9-year-old British kids and found that the additives made them hyperactive which is an effect that has long been debated. This study tested a range of kids and not just those diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Some US experts say that scientific evidence overall does not point to a definitive link between additives and hyperactivity and that further study is needed. IT WAS ALSO SAID BY MANY EXPERTS THAT THERE WAS NO CLEAR LINK BETWEEN SMOKING CIGARETTES AND CANCER FOR MANY YEARS AS WELL!
5. In my opinion as a scientist the research done at Southhampton is valid as a large group was studied ( 153 3-year-olds and 144 8- and 9-year-olds) and 267 of the 297 children completed the study and the scientific methods were good. The children were given two types of beverages to drink with food additives commonly found in sweets, beverages, and other foods, and then a placebo drink with no additives. One mix had artificial colorings, including sunset yellow (also called E110), carmoisine (E122), tartrazine (E102), ponceau 4R (E124), and the preservative sodium benzoate. Another beverage mix included the current average daily consumption of food additives by the two age ranges of children and included quinoline yellow (E104), allura red (E129) , sunset yellow, carmoisine, and sodium benzoate. Both teachers and parents evaluated behaviors after the children drank each type of beverage, and the older children also were tested on their attention spans. The older children’s behavior was adversely affected by both of the mixtures with additives, compared with placebo, Stevenson’s group found. The younger kids had more hyperactivity with the first mixture compared with placebo, but their responses to the second beverage varied greatly. This research has shown the adverse effect for a specific set of food colors plus sodium benzoate, a preservative. It does not prove all artificial food colors are bad.
7. Another Study by KS Rowe on Synthetic food colourings and hyperactivity: A. double-blind crossover study was published in the Australian Paediatric Journal 24:143147, 1988. This research, done at the Department of Paediatrics, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia studied 220 children referred for suspected ‘hyperactivity’. 55 were subjected to a 6 week trial of the Feingold diet to elimiate all food colors from their diet. Forty (72.7%) demonstrated improved behavior and 26 (47.3%) remained improved following liberalization of the diet over a period of 3-6 months. The parents of 14 children claimed that a particular cluster of behaviors was associated with the ingestion of foods containing synthetic colorings. A double-blind crossover study, employing a single-subject repeated measures design was conducted, using eight of these children which is a small sample size. Subjects were maintained on a diet free from synthetic additives and were challenged daily for 18 weeks with either placebo (during lead-in and washout periods) or 50 mg of either tartrazine or carmoisine, each for 2 separate weeks. Two significant reactors were identified whose behavioral pattern featured extreme irritability, restlessness and sleep disturbance. One of the reactors did not have inattention as a feature. The findings raise the issue of whether the strict criteria for inclusion in studies concerned with ‘hyperactivity’ based on ‘attention deficit disorder’ may miss children who indicate behavioral changes associated with the ingestion of food colorings.
8. Boris M, Mandel FS. Foods and additives are common causes of the attention deficit hyperactive disorder in children. Annals of Allergy 72:462468, 1994. North Shore Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Manhasset, New York. A study was carried out which evaluated 26 kids who meet the criteria for ADHD. Treatment with a multiple item elimination diet showed 19 children (73%) responded favorably, P < .001. On open challenge, all 19 children reacted to many foods, dyes, and/or preservatives. A double-blind placebo controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) was completed in 16 children. There was a significant improvement on placebo days compared with challenge days (P = .003). Atopic children with ADHD had a significantly higher response rate than the nonatopic group. This study demonstrates a beneficial effect of eliminating reactive foods and artificial colors in children with ADHD. Dietary factors may play a significant role in the etiology of the majority of children with AD
9. I have found many other scientific studies linking artificial colorants to behavioral disorders and other diseases. The link between food additives and hyperactivity in children has been debated for decades, I believe that reducing my family's exposure to artificial colors is becoming a priority. I am looking into cereals, drinks, and other foods free of artificial food colors and I will provide you with information and links if you subscribe to a Healthy Choice Products newsletter and read some of our other blogs and upcoming blogs:
Quick Reality Check – Vitamin C – Miracle Vitamin?
- Quick Reality Check – The scary stuff in shampoo
- Over 14,000 health products contain at least 1 carcinogen
- Body Wash dries skin and expensive moisturizer is the antidote!
- You are what you “wash with”
- Sunscreen Choices – Simple Health Aid or Toxic Soup
- How to Prevent Skin Cancer
Wayne Conrad
