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March 30th, 2011
01:54 PM ET
Evidence of food dye-ADHD link weak, FDA toldA Food and Drug Administration advisory committee began weighing evidence Wednesday on whether dye additives in food affects behavior in children. The panel listened to testimony from doctors and scientists who contend that studies, although small in many cases, do show that some kids begin to show signs of hyperactivity once they are exposed to certain dye mixtures. The question is, should the FDA committee urge the agency to strengthen its regulation of these ingredients? According to the experts who testified, European companies already are dropping dyes including Blue #1, Yellow #5, Green #3 and others and substituting natural dyes for them. But the United States still allows artificial dyes, mostly for aesthetic reasons, not for taste. “Why are these dyes in these foods anyway?” asked Michael Jacobsen, executive director of the Center for Science and the Public Interest, a watchdog group on nutrition and food safety. “I would push for having them taken out completely. But if that can’t be done, why not warn the public and parents that these dyes could have some effects?” The idea that dyes in food causes ADHD was first noted in Why Your Child is Hyperactive, a book written by Dr. Benjamin Feingold in 1975. The eating style described in the book became known as the Feingold Diet. He found if you eliminated artificial food dyes and additives in American diets, cases of hyperactivity in children, later defined as ADHD, would decline. But reviews of the data found that the correlation between dyes and hyperactivity were inconsistent. Although numerous data have been collected on food dyes and hyperactivity in kids over the past decade, critics say the design of the studies has been weak. They note many of the studies were performed on small groups– many involved no more than 25 children. They also noted that much of the observation data (how the child acted) was reported by parents and not by clinicians. And they pointed out that most of the dyes tested were combined into a dye mixture and not tested individually. The most recent studies to bring food dyes and ADHD back to the public eye was a 2007 project conducted by researchers at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. It showed that artificial food dyes along with sodium benzoate (a white crystalline salt used as a food preservative) increased ADHD symptoms in both hyperactive and non-hyperactive children. That study was followed up by another paper in 2010 by the same researchers who looked at the connection between food dyes, ADHD and histamine, a chemical that’s produced in the brain when the body is having an allergic reaction. “We found mixtures of certain artificial colors together with sodium benzoate preservative in the diet increased the average level of hyperactivity in 3 and 8/9 year old children in the general population,” Dr. Jim Stevenson, a professor at the School of Psychology at the University of Southampton, and lead author of the study, testified Wednesday. “We found mixtures of certain artificial colors together with sodium benzoate preservative in the diet increased the average level of hyperactivity in 3 and 8/9 year old children in the general population.” Yet, it was noted that when the Southampton data were unveiled to the European Food Standards Authority, a European version of the FDA, the EFSA found the evidence weak. But some groups in the United States say the findings are another reason that dyes should go. A recent report issued by CSPI looked at data from a number of studies related to artificial food dyes. Jacobsen argued to the board Wednesday that artificial food dyes are not safe for humans and can be connected to numerous health problems, including ADHD allergies, even cancer “The average child consumes approximately 121 milligrams of artificial dyes a day," Jacobsen asserted. “That’s a lot. And dye in food is used twice as much as it was in the 1970s. These are noted scientific effects. There are other factors that could affect child behavior, but if we can take out food dyes as a factor, why not?” No action was taken Wednesday. Public and industry testimony will take place on Thursday. The advisory committee is expected to make its recommendation Thursday afternoon. Although the committee only makes recommendations to the FDA, the agency usually follows those recommendations.
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So, the studies were flawed because they were too small and lacked objective measurement. "But opponents of food dyes say that doesn’t matter."
Sounds just like the anti-vaccination crowd, doesn't it?
Oh, and they call themselves "the Center for Science and the Public Interest" when they make statements like:
'“The average child consumes approximately 121 milligrams of artificial dyes a day," Jacobsen asserted. “That’s a lot. And dye in food is used twice as much as it was in the 1970s. These are noted scientific effects. ,there are other factors that could affect child behavior, but if we can take out food dyes as a factor, why not?”'
That's a pretty poor way of supporting for your hypothesis.
Exactly!! Until there is REAL scientific evidence, I call BS! Look at what the vaccination theory caused, there has been a measles outbreak here in MN! NOT OK!
Exactly. There will always be a crowd of alarmists led by brain-dead celebutards like Jenny McCarthy to promote panic. The result is Darwinian when stupid people's children die. They do not then pass on stupid genes.
Since when did adding dyes to food provide any health benefit? Removing dyes from food is not the same as not vaccinating.
I agree with the other poster- the harm in removing dyes is no where near the harm in ending vaccination.
We need well designed, double blind studies of these artificial dyes and hyperactivity. It shouldn't be to difficult- put a moderately sized group of kids with ADHD on a dye free diet, give one group of kids a placebo, dose the other kids with a certain dye (about equal to the amount you'd get from food in a normal diet), and see what happens.
But I do agree, some aspects of the anti-dye crowd remind me of the anti vaccine crowd. It's just that the risk of harm is much less with the anti dye crowd.
You a troll for the dye industry?
my younger brother has ADD, and after my mother heard about Red #40 being a possible link to hyperactivity, we took him off of it. The improvement was astounding, though we still ended up placing him on medication later on. I myself tried cutting back on Red #40, and noticed a change in my concentration at school as well. I'd say it works well, for both ADD and ADHD children as well as people without the attention deficit disorders.
By all means, studies should be done. I'd rather eat something that has been rigorously studied and proven to be safe rather than something where results are inconclusive.
I was a hyperactive child and my doctor immediately suggested that food dyes might be the cause. My parents cut red and yellow food dyes out of my diet, and voila! Success. This was almost 30 years ago. I wouldn't trust a government funded organization, because we all know the government is in large part controlled by corporations. I would trust independent doctors who have seen the evidence for themselves. I am living proof that food dyes CAN cause hyperactivity in children.
"But reviews of the data found that the correlation between dyes and hyperactivity were inconsistent."
All bodies are not created equal. Some may indeed be affected and other not. There is no need for these dyes. Until dna studies are made it will be impossible to detect who may or may not be affected.
so the studies were flawed since its already obvious and shown that ADHD is hereditary.................
ALTHOUGH.... I do remember my mom teaching us to bake and how I would watch that lil droplette of dye drip into the cupcake batter and being over joyed how it would spread throughout the batter and change its color.... never thinking... OH MY GOD THIS IS CAUSING ME TO BE HYPER ACTIVE...... those death drops of dye were causing it!
As a parent of a child with Asperger's Syndrome along with ADHD I can tell you that I am not an alarmist. I am a concerned parent who is willing to try anything to help my child. The Feingold diet restricting food dyes has shown a remarkable improvement in my daughter's focus and behavior. So you can bash and call me an alarmist all you want, but I've seen the proof with my own eyes that the food dyes cause a negative impact on my child. Do you think I am going to feed her junk with this dye in it knowing what it does to her simply because some higher authority deems the evidence weak?!? Of course not. But then again the people who refuse to consider the possibility that something might be harmful are just as ridiculous as those who think everything is harmful. You go ahead and keep feeding that mess to your kids if you want to, but I've seen enough EVIDENCE in my own household of the effects; my kids do not eat or drink this any longer. Instead of bashing, why don't you take just one week and avoid everything with artificial dyes in it and see for yourself what the impact is? Are you afraid you might be wrong?
It seems like our modern diet is more like a chemical slurry than actual food.
If it's not needed for anything (unlike a vaccine) why put it in there? If your 'food product' looks like a grey lump after all the processing maybe it isn't really fit for consumption – no need to disguise it with petroleum based colors, just dump it.
Poor analogy, bacos. Not taking vaccines can lead to death. Not eating food with artificial dyes is either harmless, or helpfull. Eating such dyes could cause problems.
You don't need dyes, but you do need vaccines.
Miranda, you may be allergic to Red 40, but not to other dyes. You can either further investigate that possibility, or simply avoid all food dyes by eating organic.
I have had first hand experience with dyes effecting my grandson. Luckily my daughter in law researched her sons behvior problem & as soon as she took him off the dyes he improved. You could actually see the change in him 10 to 15 min after consumng something with dye added. Lucky she didn't just take him to a Dr. & get behavior drugs! He is in kindergarden now and just got selected for student of the month! Grampa Don
You are a liar or an idiot. Does the boy eat cake or any frosting any time of year? Do you color eggs on Easter? Eat ANY candy? Use shampoo or conditioner? Any soap at all? Seriously, you have internet access, do some reading.
"...soon as she took him off the dyes he improved."
You make it sound like she was intentionally dosing the kid or something. Out of curiosity, what products were removed and what were they replaced with?
One thing to keep in mind is that the colored products are usually the ones with higher sugar content. Did she replace soda and juice with real fruit or something? That would make far more sense than the dyes as far as behavior.
No, I totally agree with Donald Ainsworth! For years I would not feed my kids ANYTHING with food dye in it, and the one time I did...BAM! Zombies!
Donald! I 100% agree with your observations. I have fraternal twins. The boy appears to have more sensitivity to the RED and YELLOW. Some BLUEs will get him to. Cheap red jello seems to do the worsk. Red Pop and cheap red kool-aid knock-offs launched him His sister not so much. And here is what we did.
The juice pouches, we give him the ones with more red, goes ADHD. To those saying ITS THE SUGAR, nope, we buy THE SAME BRAND that sells no-color versions, and no launching. Same sugar content. Their diets are pretty stable and can be normalized out of the observations.
Correlation may not mean causation, but observation and change in outcomes are all that matters when you have a 5 year old loosing his mind.
Charles..you're an idiot.
Charles–
Was the immediate nastiness really necessary?
There are lots of ways around food dyes–in terms of your statements: you can make your own birthday cakes and homemade icings (from scratch–imagine that) don't have any artificial coloring, and you can use homemade food dyes (made from vegetables). Candy is an easy one to avoid (Just say no). And one more thing-there are are plenty of hypo-allergenic shampoos with no dyes.
Go ahead. Ask me how I know.
First, nobility in using a real name. I agree Mr. Ainsworth. My daughter was born with red dye sensitivity. Anything that touched her skin red turned it inflammed, fiery red and her behavior changed. My 9 yr old son was 5x more oppositional and very impulsive and unable to concentrate with high doses of dyes. When children have ADD, for those educated parents have concluded and done their own trial and errors determined the child should have LITTLE dyes and add OMEGA 3's and other healthy nutrients. I have studied mercury (ethyl vs. methyl, respectively in shots vs. fish) and it mirrors lead period. My daughter convulses and my neice and nephew both "got" Autism after their 18 mos shots – period. America has 9 banned ingredients in skin care (i.e., shampoos, baby wash and lotions) vs. European's 1300+ and on the FDA's list in America....Lead and Asbestos are on that list. Aw, but that's not bad says the nematodes that travel in many of the internet blogs and reveal nothing. IGNORE PARASITES and don't feed into their arguements....let'em starve!
You guys ever think that something with dyes added to it probably also has added sugar? I'd think that would be the more likely suspect for the change in your kids behaviour, not this dye BS
I have a daughter with the same sensitivity. While all dyes seem to affect her behavior to varying degrees, I refer to the whole phenomenon as a "Red40 High." I don't get the opposition to warning labels: parents who are concerned can avoid the foods with dyes and parents who don't care can ignore them. The problem is that the dyes are everywhere, which I discovered when I tried to take a baking shortcut and buy frosting – white frosting has yellow dye in it! Please...give me labels.
I have been dealing with various problems from artificial coloring and flavoring for several years. All four of my kids have some form of intolerance as well. One of them has moderate to severe intolerances even after reaching the age of 20. For those of us who have lived through the struggles of finding food that our kids can tolerate while being surrounded with foods that have lists of ingredients that are a mile long and so many names to learn that contain the artificial ingredients they cannot tolerate, it is not a matter of determining if this is the cause, it is a matter of wanting a better alternative for those who suffer through this. The food industry has increased the amount of natural products so much in the last five years. I pray that it continues. I am just sad for those families who haven't figured out what is causing the ill effects in their kids. Not all ADHD and other behavior conditions can be improved by this. However, it is certain that MANY kids would be helped by the government taking action and improving the supply of food and especially antibiotics without artificial dyes and flavorings. Also, doctors need to get on board with this and educate families about how to do elimination diets to rule out food intolerances before the kids are on so many antibiotics because of adverse affects of food intolerances. Our doctors were great and supportive. I have heard of many that are not.
@ Suzanne: Sorry, I don't take the word of a dumbbell who can't spell simple words like "argument" or "niece". Show me your degree in biology, or your medical license, dear. Otherwise, you're just another dolt on the internet.
I totally agree with you. My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 4. I never gave him sodas nor did I give him sweets. This was easy as he never really liked these types of foods. Before any of you tell me that all he needed was good parenting. His school and day care where having such a hard time with him , that they where both about to expell him. I could not stand the thought of him being on drugs. So, I excluded all sugars from his diet, he never got any caffeine and of course there was no change. Then one day he was being very passive ( I thought he was coming down with something) he asked for some cheezi its. We gave it to him and within 15 minutes he was like a caged animal. I took note and started keeping trackof his behavior changes and it all seemed to come from anything that had yellow or red dye. The problem is, it is in everything. It is in pedialite, toothpaste and waffles. It is nearly impossible to avoid. As for Charles who claims you are a liar and an idiot! Only someone with the same callibur of the name he is calling would start calling names over an issue such a s this.
Charles Gilman: How dare you call him a liar?!? Your audacity is amazing. We've seen results within just 2 days of our daughter not consuming any food or drink with artificial dyes in it. Do you think that all of us parents who have tried this with our children and have success are liars? Fine. But realize that to keep the blinkers on your eyes while calling others idiots is just small minded to the extreme.
It's sad and disgusting that food makers ever started to dye food in the first place, marketing at it's worst.
it's more sad and disgusting that people say ignorant things without facts on anything and spread FEAR into other ignorant people....
eventually they end up drowning people to see if they are a witch or not... etc etc etc....
FACT: Eliminating artificial dyes from our family's diet has improved focus for our entire family, aside from improving our daughter's focus and behavior. I don't really care one flip if you believe me or not. But I am not so narrow minded as to not try things for myself before calling others liars. Why don't YOU try it for yourself? I guess it is just too easy to be armchair quarterback and spout off nonsense instead of being disciplined and taking action to see for yourself.
Just ignore these comments supporting food dye – nobody in their right mind who wasn't benefiting financially from their use would argue in favor of them. No doubt he's been paid to post these comments.
Actually, Ironhouse, food dyes are great marketing strategies. Wouldn't you prefer the most red tomato? Doesn't multicolored candy look enticing?
Food dyes may not be healthy, but they are great marketing strategies.
So why would you feed a kid awful fake colored food (or should I say awful colored fake food) in the first place? These usually have no nutritional value anyway. Less of the dyed colored crap and probably less obesity, too. Parents are the ones buying this stuff and feeding it to their kids. If it didn't sell, I doubt that "food" would be colored bright orange or other colors. Do you really need the FDA to tell you lots of dyes in food are probably not a good idea and probably not indicative of a good food product? There's lots of crap on the shelves in food stores-doesn't mean you have to spend your money on it and shove it in your face or feed it to your kid.
a lot of it is cost. you can buy nutritionally void foods on the cheap. highly processed foods with some nutrional value come next. If you have a very low income it hard to go to whole foods and spend $5/lb on tomatoes when that same $5 will get you cheap romas, ramen, and cheap kool-aide at the dollar stores.
That's a speicous arguement. for $5.00 you can get a lot of potatoes, you don't have to buy tomatoes. You can also get a ton of pasta for that price, add onions or a few other cheaper vegetables and have a simple prima vera. Price per ounce for processed and colored foods is usually higher than the basics due to all the processing and coloring! Of course there are expensive cuts of meats and expensive veggies, but you don't have to buy them, buty the cheapaer ones. When we were kids (ca. 1960s), my mom made a vat of soup (cheap chicken parts, celery, carrots, onions, either potatoes or pasta), and we lived on that for a week. Had no choice-no money. We did that all through the winter. Healthiest, cheapest stuff. You say kids today won't eat it? They are not hungry enough!!
Food coloring causing ADHD?! That is Absurd! I have been consuming products with food coloring for over 30 years and I...OH!!! A BUTTERFLY!!!!............................
So does everyone who smokes get lung cancer? If one person can tolerate unlimited amounts of artificial coloring then it shouldn't affect anyone adversely? Not the most logical statement.
@Jodi – ADHD isn't cancer. It isn't a physical ailment that you can just come down w/ one day. It is a neurological condition that you are either born with or not. In fact, most people who are diagnosed have to have shown symptoms before the age of 8 to officially be diagnosed with having ADHD. Even adults often have to back-track their lists of symptoms to legitimately be diagnosed. It's ignorant articles like this that feed the mass opinion that ADHD is a simple ailment you can get by eating the wrong things. Yes, the symptoms of ADHD may be exacerbated by artificial foods, but I'm pretty sure symptoms of many other conditions can be effected just the same. Hyperactivity is also a symptom of Bi-Polar disorder... does that mean that artificial color also causes Bi-Polar?
@Jodi, you must have no sense of humor if you didn't get the joke.
exactly...
ADHD is hereditary....... that is a known fact for YEARS.... now it suddenly is lil drops of dye....
ignorant people have nothing else to do from sheer ignorance
Ever heard of "nutrigenomics"?
ADHD isn't caused by food dyes but it definitely without a doubt is FACT that the artificial food dyes exacerbates hyperactivity and lack of focus in SOME people. We've tested this with our own family and have proven this to be the case. To all of the naysayers, try it yourself because discounting it. I really don't see why so many people are too lazy to try things for themselves. Seriously. How hard is it to avoid artificial dyes for just one week? Maybe if you feed your kids a ton of crap to begin with, then sure. But put down the kool aid and fruit loops and eat real food for a week. I promise you have nothing to lose and will be amazed by the results. But if you just don't care about your health or your kid's health, then go ahead and keep on stuffing yourself full of it.
ok< this is simple so im going to type it slowly... most foods heavily colored with artificial dyes are high in sugar or high fructose corn syrup content. the dyes arent making your child hyperactive, the sugar is. rather than nagging an industry that ISN'T responsible for your child's health, why don't you, the parent, feed your child less crap?
Okay, I'm back! I agree with you on the except for th fact that Food coloring is responsible for ADHD in the first place! Seriously, when I OH MY GOD THE BUTTERFLY IS BACK..........
I have first hand experience with colors effecting behavior, and trying to eat a "coloring" free diet. They are putting colors in canned vegetables, soups, frozen foods, bread, and lots of other foods that make up a healthy diet. Yes, many of the "bad foods" have colors too, but colors are abundent in what should be healthy foods too.
nope, while that is a factor it would not explain why when we did experiments with using the colored juice box vs the same brand and sugar load but no coloring agents.
The outcome of the switch was consistent, no-color caused calmer kids.
Why is it that I have to buy special brands of chicken broth or make my own because of the artificial flavoring and additives that bother my kids? It isn't all about sweets. It is in juices, meats, macaroni and cheese, etc... And fyi.... Red 40 is the number two cause of aggression behind sugar. It may not be number one, but number two is certainly bad enough.
We do not feed our child crap. But at times when he is at school, day care or a birthday party. If you are not there to monitor eveyrthing that is put into their mouth it is going to happen. At school the teacher had a Halloween party and of course gave out candy corn. The day care who gave him caramel covered popcorn only to find out, oh yeah there is yellow dye in the caramel. You tell them not to give him anything that is processed and they just look at you like you are being over dramatic. So i am teaching my son who is now old enough and aware of his problem that if it is not natural do not eat it! This is working but sometimes something slips past the radar. Like the time he ate waffles at grandma's. You can believe grandma wont feed him frozen waffles anymore!
Would you call a dinner of salmon and rice crap??? Well, guess what? Unless you are buying plain old bagged rice, (not seasoned rice mixes) there is a very high chance of it containing dyes. And unless you are buying wild caught salmon, your nice pink farmed salmon has dyes in it. Farmed salmon isn't naturally pink like the wild salmon. So your argument of HFCS and sugar causing all of the focus and behavior problems instead of the dyes just doesn't fly. Instead of spouting off on a topic that you have not tested for yourself, why don't you actually be productive and TRY IT for yourself? Your comments will actually have something to back it up with then. I've tried it so my statements carry the FACTS that have been proven in our household. Your statements are just opinions based upon....well, nothing.
please someone look up brominated vegetable oil it is in orange drinks, gatorade, stc, it has been outlawed in 100 other countries, we are allowing them to kill us with all the junk that is in our food, I have to read lables due to all the things that can trigger allergies, even in medicines
Gatorade shouldn't be consumed anyway. it is better for you to drink water when you are dehydrated. most people get enough salts in their body from the food they eat. there is no real reason to drink Gatorade even if you play a sport. Plus if you think about it you are drinking flavored sweat which is kind of gross to begin with.
Yep, good old Bromide ...it's in more than just Gatorade. A separate issue, but still. Maybe FDA should start looking into that?
It is well know that if a person is allergic to asprin and the NSAID's , they are usually allergic to yellow dye #5, which is in so much food that isn't even yellow. I am allergic and have reactions that include hives, and lip swelling and trouble breathing within minutes of consuming yellow #5 – I have to read all the labels – I can't even find pickles due to the dye! It should be removed from the market place, I only know about yellow Dye #5, but can assume that many of the dyes can cause problems.
"The prevalence of tartrazine intolerance is estimated at roughly 360,000 Americans affected, about 0.12% of the general population. According to the FDA, tartrazine causes hives in fewer than 1 in 10,000 people, or 0.01%."
Should something really be banned because of 0.12% of the population? It is already required to be listed as an ingredient so you may avoid it.
Working solely with this population, I can say that this is totally true...some kids are more sensitive to dyes than others...some have an outright allergy...other kids it doesn't seem to bother them. More testing needs to be done, but Europe is always ahead of us on this type of stuff. Our school has to have allergen free holiday parties...that includes dyes. Unfortunately, we've all learned the hard way what happens when these rules are broken and it usually results in a wasted school day. Food dyes don't CAUSE ADHD, it just seems to exacerbate the symptoms.
I agree that it doesn't cause ADHD. Just like a person gets hives when their body reacts to something, others are not allergic, but intolerant. The reactions may not be directly life-threatening, but indirectly very dangerous. Intolerant affects can be life-altering. Students can go through school with altercation after altercation of trouble just because they don't realize what they are eating is affecting their thought processes and behavior. It certainly isn't the cause for all behavior problems, but if you have seen someone with a reaction firsthand, like I have, it seems so helpless to think that society wouldn't want to put food out there that is without ARTIFICIAL stuff in it ( REAL FOOD) and at the same time help these kids who don't have parents who will ever notice what is causing the cycle of bad behavior, etc.... It is not always easy to make the connection of the food with the problem.
Totally agree that this can't cause ADHD! Stories like this (and the ignorance therein) are why so many legitimate ADHD cases used to go undiagnosed, while other diagnoses were handed out like artificially-colored candy simple b/c a child had too much energy. It's also stories like this that fuel the ignorant idea that ADHD isn't "real" and that it's just simple hyperactive tendencies. After having dealt with it myself for over 2 decades, I know it's a lot more than food-related and hyperactivity.
I can tell u without doubt, dye causes behavior problems in SOME individuals. I find it offensive you assume I feed my child "crap". A lot of products, like yogurt for example, has dye added. Its not a necessary ingredient and should be ommited ASAP. Read about dyes and related cancers and you will start looking for dye-free foods. I perfer my Thyroid CA free,thank you!
AMEN!
I would prefer that artificial coloring be used sparingly in foods and only when natural food-based coloring agents can not be used. I was happy that Ben and Jerry's used natural food-based coloring for it's red velvet cake flavored ice cream. I know people who are allergic to some of these artificial dyes. Don't we have enough chemicals in our foods and environment already? Who knows how they all interact?
whether or not there is currently any evidence of harm in food dyes - if you could practically paint a house with the colors in some foods, why would you want that in your body?
It baffles me that people are so against the restriction of these type of things in food! If there is even a slight chance that these could be harmful to our children why would any of us be ok with it being in our food. Stop being a guinea pig and allowing this poison in our food. If the food would only look different and taste the same whats the big deal with removing it. We are exposed to so many chemicals every day when is there going to be tighter restrictions. Start reading the ingredients in the products that we use and eat. WE ARE ALLOWING OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN TO BE POISONED.
Why should I trust what they say? The same people who are marketing the foods with the chemical dyes in them are in charge of the research done.
You would have to blind old the children to know if the excitabilty is being caused by ingesting the dye or just reaction to seeing it. Bright colors cause excitement thatms why they paint playgrounds brightly. they need to do the study on blind children. saying that you can't find food without dyes is assanine and leads me to believe that you have never gone grocery shopping. organic brands have none and most suprmarkets have in-house organic brands priced the same as the regular brands. i read labels- all of them and i don't think i have ever seen dye in pickles. if you could not create it on a farm don't eat it. cardboard is not food. food coloring is not food. -
–don't eat things that aren't food-
that's bumper sticker for ya
Swedish Fish are the root of all evil. No joke!
if my son eats any thing with red dye he turns into an absolute nightmare. 1 swedish fish will spin him out of
control for 3 days, its horrible. however, my daughter can have all red dye she wants and it does not affect her at
all. Its amazing.
There is a direct correlation between dyes and hyperactivity in children and adults. My daughter began as a young tot having adverse reaction to red dye especially. Hyper, angry, impulsive, out of control. NO DYE – NO BAD BEHAVIOUR. period. end of sentence. If you don't believe, you are going to continue to have problems with your ciildren. In most cases they don't need the ADD and ADHD meds at all. It is SIMPLE. Use your brains and common sense people!
@Cari I agree 100%. Specifically why I mentioned the fish. Very bad sruff.
I have being saying this for years and it aint just colours its preservative to I grew up with many a adhd kid and in every case there parents would just feed them absolute junk food and I came to this conclusion over ten years ago and I aint no scientist and I am only 27 years of age and have 3 gorgeous kids that behave them selves so what im saying is you dont need to be a rocket scientist to work it out!
Oddly enough, England has long recognized that food coloring additives can trigger behavior problems in young children. Twenty-odd years ago my nephew was diagnosed with allergies to a number of such additives. Once those were removed from his diet (and they were in every soft drink targeted at children) his behavior calmed down tremendously. The difference was amazing.
That it should be open to question in the US is puzzling – usually the US spots problems before the rest of the world does.
I guess it's another example of corporations weilding their considerable influence on American life... Sow seeds of doubt, throw in a few posts casting aspersions about the studies, suggest links to the silliness over vaccines and thiomersal, and you can delay for decades any useful action to combat the crap people are fed here. Can you say excess sodium? Trans fats? High fructose corn syrup?
I think you have summed it up pretty well.
I agree with you 100%. And sadly enough, it works. Too many people think that those of us who have seen firsthand what the dyes do to our children are liars or alarmists. You'd think that they would at least try it for themselves instead of believing everything they read? I didn't immediately believe the Feingold propaganda without doing more research, talking with our pediatrician and then eventually we tried it for ourselves. I think so many people are just used to being led around instead of actually taking action to help themselves.
Why take the chance. Just avoid the artificial colors. You def don't need them.
It isn't so simple. THe foods with the colors are generally cheaper than those without, since the dye free foods are usually organic.
Shop at Whole Foods, then shop at Safeway, if you need to see the difference.
I know for a fact, with close observation from my child's teacher and doctor, that artificial food additives, including the dyes affect my childrens health... for us hyperactivity wasn't the pressing issue, my child loses attention and concentration which greatly affected his success at school, I had to eliminate everything chemical, dyes, art flavors, art preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, msg, hidden msg, etc... why is it so hard for some people to believe there is a real connection between what we put into our bodies and how our mind/body reacts? Since when does consuming food made partially of petroleum-derived ingredients seem so benign? It is a sin that companies are allowed to put anything other then real food ingredients into our food, period. As far as the studies go, I think the biggest experiment currently going on is with all of our children. Someday will we all look back and finally see how we were living was hurting our health and well being? I am thankful everyday that we were able to realize that such a fundamental basic need was the underlying cause for our childrens behaviors, they simply needed to eat real pure food. Ever since my kids became chemical-free, all concentration problems disappeared within a week, and our asthma and allergy issues became nonexistent. My advice to people is do not wait for the FDA to tell you its dangerous, alot of these decisions come down to money with the wrong people making the decisions. We can all choose to stop buying chemical food and advocate for our own families. What a gift we can give our kids by providing them a basic essential need for a healthy life.
How you spend your money dictates what will be made. I don't buy anything with artificial colors and flavors. So I am not supporting it. If you worry about your health you can do the same thing too. If enough people stop buying it the manufacturers will stop making it. Don't rely on the FDA. It's your health so take the time to make your own decision and act accordingly.
That's great for you, and I would love to be an organic household for lots of reasons. The issue is, we are a fixed income family, and live in a very small town. Organic can be found, but it definately isn't the same price as "cheap food". In larger cities you have different brands of organic to choose from, and the stores buy it in bulk, therefore it keeps the prices down and more affordable. I wish people would understand when you are feeding an entire family on a budget it isn't all that easy to make the switch.
Red dye #40 gives me a bad, bad headache and makes my son noticeably cranky. Even if a small number of kids are sensitive to any one food dye, so many candies and cereals come in "rainbow" colors that you're bound to end up with a sizeable number of cranky kids who eat the stuff.
How did these artificial dyes creep into our food supply ? We have food that are naturally colorful such as the bright pink beetroot, the yellow turmeric, the purple blueberry, etc. Why not utilize them and give the farmers who grow them more market opportunities.
Wow, I can't believe the nastiness and negativity.
I have a 5 year old with ADHD, ODD and Dyspraxia. I have two older children without any of these issues.
I do NOT believe that ARTIFICIAL food coloring causes ADHD however, in our experience it does cause extreme behavioral problems FOR OUR CHILD, not every child. Consuming artificial food coloring causes a THREE DAY REACTION in our son during which he cannot control his emotions, temper or concentration. It is horrible for us as a family as well as for him. I could give you many examples but won't bore you with that.
I do not buy junk food. I do not buy fruit snacks. I do not buy cereals marketed to children. SUGAR IS NOT THE ISSUE! My children eat a ton of fruit and healthy food with of course the occasional treat. These behavioral problems occur as a result of ingesting food coloring.
What I do not understand is why is food coloring necessary anyway? I cannot by Martin's potato/wheat bread because it contains yellow dye. Why does bread need yellow dye? Does it make the bread look more "potatoey"? I cannot buy (or make on my own) any pudding besides Kozy Shack due to the presence of food coloring. Why does chocolate pudding need red food dye? Why do marshmallows need blue food dye? It just doesn't seem necessary to me.
I also don't understand why anyone would argue that food coloring SHOULD be allowed in our food. Why do we need it? To convince ourselves that Hawaiian punch really is a fruit drink?
I completely agree with you. Since when did white food need food coloring? The very definition of white is the ABSENCE of reflected color! As for the potato bread... when i think of potatoes again i think white. Just makes no sense to me.
This is one of the most idiotic stories ever. Just because something may or may not cause a child to act out or be hyperactive, it does NOT mean that it has caused ADHD. ADHD can't be picked up like salmonella. It's something that, despite what you eat, you either have or don't. I get so sick of hearing that just because a kid acts hyper they have ADHD. I was diagnosed 20 years ago. I'm not really hyper (nor was I as a kid, most of the time), but everyday is still a struggle in an ADHD-ignorant world. ADHD is SO much more than just a kid acting hyper. I swear, the lack of knowledge on this disorder is so frustrating. No wonder most people seem to think it's not even a real disorder...
ADHD is basically a mis-wiring of the brain. Yes, hyperactivity is a symptom, but it's one of MANY symptoms. In fact, I think most of the undiagnosed cases go undiagnosed for years because people assume that simply ADHD = hyper (and vice versa), but never consider that it's a lot more complicated than that.
Yes, food additives do have an impact on children's health and well-being. And yes, maybe continued exposure could cause long term issues. However, these effects can be reversed by simply not feeding your children artificial junk. Legitimate ADHD cannot be reversed by changing your kid's diet.
If coffee gives me energy and keeps me awake, does that mean I suffer from a serious form of insomnia? No, it means that my body is reacting to a substance... simple as that.
My daughter had severe cramping, diarrhea and eczema. Eventaully found removing dyes from food AND personal products to clear it up. At 5 years old we tried dyes again. Everything reappeared.
Dyes are in your medications, personal care products and WAY more foods than most of you posters realize. Yes many foods without high sugar can have multiple dyes(even "clear" isn't always clear it's Blue #1)
It's expensive, time consuming (baking from scratch), and frustrating but I have a healthly girl and it's worth it.
I ask all those who support artificial dyes to really ask themselves why they do. They are not necessary and potentially harmful. Removing them truly hurts no consumers. Why must you insult and attack those who question for the sake of safety. Even for the safety of you and yours.
It's one thing to avoid feeding your child food with artificial colors, but as you say, even the medicine has Red 40 and others and artificial sweeteners ...what is the alternative to medicines like Children's Tylenol and Pediacare???
Back in the day, the immediately effective cure of choice for hyperactivity and acting out was a couple of swats on the backside with a paddle. Gotta be cheaper to administer than the pharmacy that American kids are offered these days.
Do you realize how ignorant that statement is?
I suspect that you have never dealt with a child who will NOT respond to appropriate discipline. Not every case of out of control children is due to bad parenting. My son had a major issue with dye (especially red, but also blue). In our case, no disciple was effective until we removed the CAUSE – food additives using the Feingold Program mentioned in the article. We don't say that people who are high or drunk simply need more "discipline" to behave better. When someone is sensitive to additives they are literally not in control of themselves.
I don't think that food coloring should be a matter of choice. These are substances for which there are reasonable, risk free alternatives and they have NO benefit to the public. Even if only one out of twenty kids could be helped by banning these additives, think how much money our already stretched thin public schools could be saving on discipline and learning issue management!
About the vaccine thing: This is in no way comparable (my kids have all been vaccinated). There is NO risk to public safety from banning dyes in our food. The only downside if for manufacturers who would have to use an alternative or (gasp!) nothing at all.
If you want red dye in your food, cut yourself and drip it in. Yellow and brown can be done similarly.
Lol ^^
Im sure there are individuals that have sensitivity to dyes just like there are people that are senitivity to a vast collection of other materials. It is a trend to go all natural so what it the correct answer. Easy. if you dont want to have dyes in your product dont buy them. It really is not necessary for a dye. I would rather have natural dyes in products but its still my choice to buy or not to buy in most cases. Im sure someday we will all go back to those crazy days of products that have natural stuff in them say like "Real sugar" in my coke. Imagine that.
Dyes are put in foods, especially kids food, for no other reason but for economic gain of the producer.
Hintofgray > Really, excuse the spelling errors and lack of proofreading at that late hour, however you missed the point and focused on a ridiculous thing to pick at. I hate those that pretend to be intellectual snobs and spew "WHERE did you get your degree (Mr. Einstein)?", so for the sake of argument – dyes and syrups are unnecessarily added and there is usually a natural alternative to producing a similar result. Therefore, I would pay (as I do at Whole Foods and the like) more money to buy or make from scratch foods that are a catalyst for problematic behaviors.
Ancient Brit and several others above bulls eyed the point – SOME react, as others do not. We all carry cancer cells and even though not all of us get it (and may be exposed similarly) because of our DNA makeup. Why I am explaining this, because there are some folks just unfolding some of the onion peel and not gone through all that many of us had. It's okay to have a difference of opinion, but don't condemn those that put forth theirs...rather, give factual reasoning to those that are able to hypothesize.
Oh, my degree....doubled as a Mother of 2, Life! Harvard, Radcliff, Yale, Oxford....just pick one Hintofgray – LOL!
Wow!!
Are we talking about the "sipernant? or silicon dioxide? hat about the magnesium stearate? or the binder-mcc? what about pvp?
Did you all test this on the HPLC for purity, please consult your USP for an HPLC method, then CHILL THE F% out!
So you sure its the dye-causing ADHD-whats the mechanism of action-like synehphrine hydrochloride, hitting up your sinodial artery-how are the lake dyes doing this?
Aren't they called excipients because they are not actives-thanks-idiots!
Why do we need all the artificial junk (colors, etc) in our food anyway? I don't need pretty blues, or reds for my food to make it pretty......I just healthy good tasting food.
My mother in law reminded me of this.
Uncle gives my daughter "natural" dried strawberry. Surprise ingredient Red #40. Reaction in daughter ensues.
Quick get the antihistamine... "Nooooooo .. not that one it has Red #40 in it". Grab the one from my purse.
I repeat myself I know but the dyes are in more places than many realize.
Clear isn't always clear sometimes it's Blue #1
what about the BENZENE you SMELL and HUFF at the gas station????
No its RED 40, and there is not 121 mg of it, it more like 5mg/serving...Get your priorities straight and take a science course or get your Pharm D before you even post.
These dyes are not new. Why did they supposedly start having an effect just recently?
because everyone read WIKIPEDIA...WHY CONSULT THE USP on CHEMICALS? OR even the MERCK INDEX? LD 50?
WHat the LD for RED 40? ANYONE–I FEEL BAD FOR EVERYONE's KIDS, hopefully they will take a bunch of LSD or LSA from infected rye bread (like ALL YOUR ANCESTORS DID-before Food Processing was invented) and you will see, your kids are fine.
I won't believe anything until a study is published in a reputable medical journal stating these facts.
I doubt you would read the study Sonia...you don't read medical journals-I can tell...You don't get PERMANENT SYMPTOMS, or ADHD from eating Cheetos? Ok...Your kidneys flush out the drugs and they are in your urine...
You must have gotten your PharmD from Community College...Drugs are given in dose forms, mg/serving, or the serving sixe you see on the back of your label...drugs are only work for a certain period of time...if Red 40 is an API, that causes ADHD, maybe a MEDICINAL CHEMIST can develop a new drug based on your pathetic information...Much like Snake Venom gave us Hypertension Medicine-eat NON CHEMIST!!
Go to Pharmacology school (not Pharmacy) take a coated red pill, and call me in the morning.
Just a thought, but when arguing for the removal of dyes when evidence is already weak, wouldn't it be beneficial to spell-check and reread a post before actually posting it? The grammatical error legitimately made some parts of this blog hard to read, not to mention it is relatively discrediting on an already uncertain subject. Just sayin'.
Not that I'm arguing for the dyes; I'm not. I just think credibility, validity, and reliability are already a little iffy, why make people doubt even more?
its a blog post not a F*&& THESIS! GET OVER IT!
I'm a CHEMIST–SPECIFICALLY A DRUG MAKER-THE DYES STAY and I will MIS/spell all I want in the postmodern society.
Why do the dyes stay? They are necessary because...?
There are some companies interested in keeping kids healthy. WooHoo Foods is one of them. They have an all natural snack called Gudernoobs that come in 4 varieties – perfect for kids lunchboxes. Plus they have omega-3s!
I called BS the first time I read that someone thought dye was causing ADHD. ADHD is something you are born with.
From the day my daughter was born, I could see the ADHD in her. The way she acts now at 7 is exactly how she acted from the day she was born.
My son never showed any signs of ADHD and still doesn't at 6. They can sit and eat artifical dyes all day long and there is no change in either of their behaviors.
Just because YOUR kids don't have the dye sensitivity doesn't mean it is BS. My daughter does have the sensitivity and we've seen the results firsthand after removing the dyes from her diet. Who said that ALL kids with ADHA experience this reaction anyway? I recall reading that SOME kids have the reaction. If yours don't, then good for them. I'm glad they can keep swigging their uber healthy red Kool Aid with no ill effects. But to say that because your kids don't react that way means that it is impossible for other kids to react that way is really the BS in your statement.
It's also nice to know that your children have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that ALL children in the entire world have ADHD symptoms because they were born with it and the fact that they wig out after eating certain dyes is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Thank you very much, wizard behind the curtain. I will give my kids junk food again and just say tough it out, you were born with it.
Personally I have been typing balancing a sleeping child on and off today. I have never followed comments before and I'm surprised by the negative personal attacks. Especially when it's important to discuss should we be adding color to things just because we can?
I am in my 30s. When I was young I always had migraines. I am so grateful that my mother figured out that they were being caused by RED 40. No RED 40. No migraines. Direct correlation.
Removing food dyes would not create a disaster as did the reduction in vaccination rates from alarmist groups. In fact, removing food dyes would make food less attractive and may help solve the obesity crisis! Why not go back to natural? I've found food dyes actually make food taste worse, dampening the natural flavors-but they also, in myself, trigger lupus flares and crohn's attacks and that's not okay! Children are not the only ones suffering from the proliferation of chemicals in the food chain. The situation is entirely man-made and would only improve the lot of humans if it were stopped. There are other, more normal, ways to live than to pump up the volume in foods. But it all boils down to what companies are allowed to market and what people will buy the most of. Then we blame the consumer for his health problems. Put candy in the cage of a lab rat and see if he has enough "will power" to stop eating it. This is going to no good place, but how do you stop it? Only the FDA has the power to rein it in, and I say it's high time they took that responsibility seriously.
I can feed my child anything that is neon blue colored, and watch him go off like a rocket within 5 minutes. His teachers tried to force us to feed him poison (ritalin), but we refused and finally found the blue issue. Don't discard this as a joke. Our children deserve better. The vaccinations are also detrimental, but an almost necessary evil.
Artificial Food coloring DOES cause ADD symptoms to go haywire! I repeat, artificial Food coloring DOES cause ADD symptoms to go haywire! Not all food colorings though, in particular with my findings, FD&C Yellow #5 and FD&C Yellow #6. My source you might ask? Myself since I have an obnoxiously protruding case of ADD, and yes I have been diagnosed with it. I was diagnosed at the age of 8 if I can remember correctly, I am now 19 where my symptoms are less hyperactive and deal more with attention. I have been realizing that every time I eat something processed, like potato chips or mountain dew, my symptoms become unmanageable! At first I thought it was a sugar high but that wasn’t the case since I would even have these symptoms from seasoned salt, which only contained salt, MSG, seasoning, and Yellow #5 dye! My medication, Adderall, isn't even strong enough when my symptoms become this hectic. However, when I, for example, drink or eat foods without the dyes Yellow #5 & Yellow #6, there is no problem at all! Then I began a controlled experiment on myself and a friend who also has ADD to see if I wasn't the only one. Four glasses of water, two each for us, two cups with 5 ml of Yellow food dye, from the grocery store, and the other two with 5 ml of Blue food dye. We drank our cups with the Blue food dye, and had no side effects. Then later, we drank the cups with the yellow food dye, and oh my god, we felt like we were mentally insane, we could not focus on anything, we couldn’t even talk to each other since it dealt with concentrating! Please, if someone has ADD or ADHD and is reading this, could you relate to the severity of these symptoms? (This took me a few hours to type due to the coincidental fact that I was drinking a red bull, which I unknowingly knew had yellow dye at the time, and I was forced to come back when the side effects wore off to finish it.)
I just had a recent experience that leaves me to believe there is a connection. Last month my adhd was so bad that all I could do was stare out into space all day, I even had an increase in my meds and it wasn't helping. I thought to myself what changed in my routine and only think logical is I started drinking a new soda... I eventually researched and came to the conclusion it was the artificial coloring blue 1. Since cutting it out I feel loads better and even my depression is improving.
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