It’s always fun to pic out the brightest lollipop or the most colorful cake for a party. But all of those pretty colored items contain food dyes, synthetic food dyes, that are quite toxic. Find out why you should never eat foods with food coloring.
Food coloring was created to help sell a product. Nature provides us with some extraordinary foods that are quite pretty. But nothing gets the attention of a 6 year old then a big pinwheel looking lollipop.
Problem is the food coloring, not to mention the tons of refined sugar. Food coloring is toxic material added to almost anything to make it more appealing.
The history and start of food coloring wasn’t horrible. Different cultures used different things, basically anything found in nature – plants, rocks, even insects.
Things like Saffron in Spain, used for a light orange color or Turmeric in India for yellow. Beets or elderberries make great pinkish-reds.
Natural colorings soon came out of fashion when industry took over along with the fact that natural dyes faded overtime.
So chemistry stepped in and petroleum byproducts took over. Many of the colorants for inedibles are toxic while “food grade” dyes are questionable. Coal tar derivatives, used for some colors, have been shown to cause asthma and other respiratory problems, while some other colors can cause behavioral problems, particularly in children.
Red 40 aka Allura Red- So this one is a petroleum byproduct. Coal tar is heated to a certain temperature to create this color. Red 40 lake is the same product mixed with Aluminum hydroxide to make it water soluble.
Several European countries have banned Red 40. Red 40 is used in pet food, sausage, frosting, chips, and soda pop. This dye is known to cause hyperactivity and some types of cancer. Other names are:
Red 40
Red No. 40
FD & C Red No. 40
FD and C Red No. 40
Allura Red
Allura Red AC
C. I. 16035
C.I. Food Red 17Red 3 aka Erythrosine – According to Dr. Michael Greger in an article he wrote called ..Red Dye 3 and Thyroid cancer…, “Red No. 3, used today in everything from sausage to maraschino cherries…. It was found to cause DNA damage in human liver cells in vitro, comparable to the damage caused by a chemotherapy drug whose whole purpose is to break down DNA, but Red No. 3 was also found to influence children’s behavior over 30 years ago and to interfere with thyroid function over 40 years ago. Why is it still legal?”
Good, flipping question! He also goes on to say that in 1985, the FDA postponed the suspension of Red 3, 26 times, even though the acting commissioner said it was one of the greatest threats to public health.
WHAT?!
And to add insult, Red 3 is banned for skin products because of the potential for skin cancer, but we can still use it in our food? Thats Bonkers!!
Yellow 5 aka Tartrazine – An Azo dye, it appears to be a neurotoxin (toxic to cells in the brain). One study looking at DNA repair found that tartrazine had no cytotoxic effects, but did have significant genotoxic effects at all concentrations studied. That means it can significantly alter DNA.
Probably not good to be consuming WHILE PREGNANT!
It's commonly used as a pharmaceutical colorant. Generally the tartrazine effects are found in the people who are intolerant to aspirin, fruits, berries and in general salicylates. Some cases of thyroid cancer have been known.
It is estimated that 360,000 Americans have bad reactions to ingesting Yellow 5. This is a common dye and is in candy, cereal, and many other processed foods. It has been banned in several European countries.
Yellow 6 aka Sunset yellow (or orange yellow) – Another petroleum based, azo dye. COntains BEnzene, just like the above colorants. Which means TADA – this will cause cancer or some ill effect to your body, DUH.
Fun Fact: Britain actually banned this particular color. We smart Americans still consume it. YAy! YEllow toxic candy tastes so good.
Green 3 – this one has a few names – Fast Green, Food Green 3, Green 1724, Solid Green FCF. This one is totally banned in the European Union. It is linked to testicular and bladder cancers and tumors in lab animals and causes irritation of the gastrointestinal tract.
Blue 1 – Brilliant blue” is derived from coal tar and is not digestable by the body, which can lead to green poop.
Funny, not funny.
Blue 1 has been linked to ADHD, allergies, and asthma. Several European countries have banned Blue 1.
Blue 2 – Indigotine” is the same dye used to make blue jeans blue. Blue 2 is a synthetic dye based off the chemical make-up of the natural dye indigo, which is an ancient, plant-based dye. Blue 2 has been linked to ADHD and food allergies.
The use of synthetic food dyes has increased by 500 percent in the past 50 some odd years, at the same that behavioral problems such as ADHD have been increasing. More and more studies are finding that dyes are linked the cancers, noteably colon, brain, and testicular cancer.
Why are you eating them if they offer ZERO nutritional value?
Oh, because they are in the foods you eat, you say.
Those AREN’T FOODS IF THEY NEED DYE TO COLOR THEM!!