Artificial Food Colors - Can They Be Good For You?

My oldest daughter was diagnosed with what was called "hyperactivity" in 1979. Today, the diagnosis might have been "ADHD" (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or "ADD" (attention deficit disorder). In an effort to help my daughter by natural and alternative methods, I started researching hyperactivity. Keep in mind, we didn't have the internet back in the '70's. We had libraries. And bookstores. (What I wouldn't have given for the internet back then!) After months of research and reading thousands of pages of information, and almost as many pages of notes, I chose to eliminate refined sugars, bleached flours, artificial flavors and artificial colors from her diet. The results were amazing - and successful!

The majority of food colors are made from petroleum. They are a derivative of Petrochemicals and Coal tar. These chemicals are in no way made to be ingested by humans or any other animal. In fact, food dye is pulled off of the market regularly because of health concerns. Yellow #2 food dye has been shown to cause ADHD, multiple types of cancer, male sterility, and many other issues. Yellow 5, Red 40, and six other widely used artificial colorings have been linked to hyperactivity and behavior problems in children and should be prohibited from use in foods, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. Artificial colors can also cause gastrointestinal problems, hives, headaches and other symptoms. You don't see people digging up petroleum and drinking it with a straw, do you? That's not the kind of "fuel" we're designed to run on. So why would we eat food that has had its color enhanced by petroleum products???

The seven main chemically derived food colors that are still approved by the US Food & Drug administration are:

FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Blue No. 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Red No. 3. FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6

These are known as "primary colors" and are mixed together to produce other shades and colors. Artificial colors are labeled "dyes" or "lake pigments" (commonly known as "lakes"). The difference is, dyes dissolve in water, but are not soluble in oil. Dyes are manufactured as powders, granules or liquids. Lakes are made by combining dyes with salts to make compounds. Lakes tint by dispersion (the concentration of the color in a product). Lakes are more stable than dyes and are used for coloring products that contain fats and oils.

Artificial food colors contain plenty of chemicals and are derived from highly toxic sources. The can cause, or accelerate many different diseases, disorders and mutations in humans. The amount of artificial food color in a single piece of candy doesn't seem like it would have much effect. But add that amount to the food color in breads, juices, soda pop, snack foods, meats - just about everything on the shelf in a grocery store - and we're ingesting an enormous amount of chemicals on a daily basis.

A study conducted by the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine showed that food colors have a negative effect on the immune system. Caramel color was shown to diminish immune system function. This could alter our body's ability to fight off infection or cancers. How many auto-immune conditions (such as Celiac disease, Chron's disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, etc.) are affected by our use of artificial food colors.

In 2005 Americans ate (food dyes), swallowed (pill coatings or medicinal syrups) or rubbed on (cosmetics) more than 17.8 million pounds of artificial colors! Artificial food colors were originally made from coal tar, but today are generally made from petroleum distillates (petroleum is what the gas for our cars is made from). Of the 24 food dyes that were originally approved for use in foods in America, 17 are now banned, delisted or no longer produced. Norway banned all products containing coal tar and coal tar derivatives in 1978. It is now 32 years later and the FDA still tells us artificial colors aren't bad for us. Hmmmm.......

Just a note on a "natural" food color:

You may be familiar with or have seen a red color ingredient called carmine; it can be found in strawberry yogurt and a variety of other red products. Carmine is sourced from a mash made by grinding up beetles grown in Peru and the Canary Islands. The mash is strained out to obtain a red liquid. That liquid, made from insects, is then shipped to the United States to food companies, where it is dumped into the yogurt to make it look like there are strawberries in there. People, it's not real strawberry. It's insect juice. That's what's in your yogurt.

Carmine is also used in red juice, cosmetics & lipstick. Some people have a dangerous allergic reaction to this ingredient. They can go into anaphylactic shock, which puts them in a coma (or worse!). As this demonstrates, some of these color additives can be extremely dangerous, but you'll notice companies don't put this information on their labels. "Insect juice" is never listed on your yogurt. They merely list "carmine," and they leave it up to you to figure out what that means.