Health News-Food Dyes- March 30,2011
Today the Food and Drug Advisory committee is beginning their research on the behavioral affects that food dyes have on kids. This investigation came as a result of the mounting evidence that food coloring has negative affects on children’s behavior and attention span.
Could it be that we have solely blamed sugary processed foods for making kids hyperactive, when in reality, it is the combination of white sugar and artificial food dyes that makes kids bounce off the walls?
According to an article in the Washington Post, The Rainbow of Food Dyes in Our Grocery Aisles Has a Dark Side, since 2008 the European Parliament has required that any foods with food dyes including Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Red 40 have a label on the product stating that…..“this product may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.”
Here in the United States, there is no such warning on any processed foods that have food dye in them like cheese, yogurt, fruit wraps, cheese flavored foods, cherries, soft drink, sports drinks, salad dressing, chips, snack foods, frostings, pizza, mixes, ice creams, crackers, and candy like M & Ms which apparently have five different food dyes in them.
An FDA staff report released last week that significant scientific evidence is showing up that food coloring found in foods are causing behavioral problems in kids, and disrupting children’s attention span at school and at home.
In addition to the concerns about the affects of food dyes on children’s behavior, it is staggering that even though the FDA and Canadian Scientists discovered that the three most widely used food dyes including Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 were contaminated with likely human carcinogens, testing STILL has not been done to look at these combinations in the United States.
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What is your opinion on putting food coloring in foods?
- Why can’t we use natural colors to enhance the look of food like they do in many countries across the world?
- Why don’t we stop using any extra coloring whatsoever? If the processed food looks that bad maybe this will prompt people to want to eat healthier, whole foods that don’t require coloring.
- Do we really need to eat green taco chips, bright red frosting, and/or bright orange colored cheese puffs?
- Most of the foods that have food dyes in them also have little nutritional value in the first place. Lets use the ingredient listing as a tool to know what foods are NOT healthy to eat and have little nutritional value.
Regardless of what the ruling is from the FDA, it just makes logical sense that artificial chemicals can not be healthy for kids and/or for anyone to eat. It is amazing how many foods have food coloring in them that you don’t even think of having a food dye.
Everyone knows that Valentine cookies with bright red frosting have food dye. But do you think about cheese and yogurt as having dye in them?
If you start looking at the ingredients of all the foods you buy, you will be shocked to see how many processed foods utilize food dyes. If moms across the country ban together and STOP buying any foods that include food dyes in them. Then industry will have to take notice which will help our kids to be healthy and safe from chemicals that still have unknown affects on the health of their little bodies.
