"Why Is My Poop Blue?!"

http://www.stonyfield.com/blog/food-dyes-linked-to-hyperactivity-in-children/

My Facebook feed has been blowing up with updates from 100 Days of Real Food and with Food Babe's updates on their campaign to get Kraft to stop using food dyes in their U.S. products. It's all over the news too--MSN, Huffington Post, and a slew of local news stations are reporting.

I lazily try to avoid food dye, but not very seriously. Luckily since we avoid lots of processed foods already, not many of them have dye. But we do treat our children to M&Ms, Jolly Ranchers, and the weekly free suckers from church. But because of Food Babe, I started doing some reading.

From Dr. Oz's site: "These synthetic ingredients have been proven to have their own slew of problems. Some claim that these dyes are toxic – possibly toxic enough to cause cancer. While some dyes have been banned from use in the United States, seven dyes remain on the FDA’s approved list for use in the United States. These food dyes include Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6."

Just like with BPA, it seems the U.S. is reluctant to ban things that are difficult to eradicate. A paper explaining the FDA's decision is here. It basically says that some kids do react to synthetic colors, but that it's just because that particular kid and that particular food don't mix.

Stonyfield's site (the yogurt people!) says that after Europe saw many studies pointing to food dyes adversely affecting children, they banned them. So "many American-based companies make two different versions of their products so they can be sold in Europe as well as the United States: one with chemical food dyes sold in the U.S. and one without sold in the U.K. For example, McDonalds makes its strawberry shakes in the U.S. with Red 40; in the U.K. they use actual strawberries! Mars’ Starburst and Skittles candies sold in the U.K. are colored by natural coloring. Nestle has discontinued all food colorings in its candy line, changing the recipe for 79 products sold in Europe. But none of those companies are making the same dye-free options available in the U.S. The FDA is unconvinced that there are any problems with food dyes. Last March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected a petition filed by consumer advocates calling on the agency to label foods containing food dyes, as was done in Europe. The FDA panel found no proof that food dyes cause hyperactivity in children."

http://foodbabe.com/

The original post from Food Babe about their petition to Kraft lists some of the harmful effects of the Yellow 5 & 6 food dye:

• Are man-made in a lab with chemicals derived from petroleum (a crude oil product, which also happens to be used in gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt, and tar).
• Require a warning label in other countries outside the US.
• Have been banned in countries like Norway and Austria (and are being phased out in the UK).
• Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 specifically are contaminated with known carcinogens (a.k.a. an agent directly involved in causing cancer).
• Cause an increase in hyperactivity in children.
• Have a negative impact on children’s ability to learn.
• Have been linked to long-term health problems such as asthma, skin rashes, and migraines.
• Add absolutely no nutritional value to the foods we are eating and are used solely for aesthetic purposes.

 Being a curious person, I decided to look for some hardcore studies myself.

A study that came out in January points to the dye Brilliant Blue can enter the blood stream, which I guess was previously though impossible: "The finding is troubling because several studies show that these dyes might inhibit cell respiration, Hojerová says. “If the process of creating energy and respiration does not take place properly, there are many failures,” she notes. Both dyes, for instance, have been linked to ADHD, allergies, and asthma...when Brilliant Blue was used as a dye in feeding tubes, the FDA issued a public health advisory because of side effects like blue-tinged skin, urine, and feces, as well as hypotension and death...They recommend that the dyes be banned in hard candies and certain cosmetic products to reduce consumer risk."

Another article points to the potential of food dyes to cause things like ADHD: "New research suggests some food dyes trigger the release of histamines, which are part of the body's immune system. An experiment reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggest differences in genes that control histamines might explain why some children are affected and others are not."


From the study Effects of maternally exposed coloring food additives on receptor expressions related to learning and memory in rats: "Exposure to artificial food colors and additives (AFCAs) has been implicated in the induction and severity of some childhood behavioral and learning disabilities...Our results indicate that exposure to AFCAs during the fetal period may lead to alterations in expressions of NMDARs and nAChRs in adulthood."


From the study Effect of food azo dye tartrazine on learning and memory functions in mice and rats, and the possible mechanisms involved: "The present study was conducted to evaluate the toxic effect of tartrazine on the learning and memory functions in mice and rats. The results indicated that tartrazine extract significantly enhanced active behavioral response to the open field, increased the escape latency in Morris water maze test and decreased the retention latency in step-through tests. The decline in the activities of catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) as well as a rise in the level of malonaldehyde (MDA) were observed in the brain of tartrazine-treated rats, and these changes were associated with the brain from oxidative damage."

From the study Prolonged use of the food dye tartrazine (FD&C yellow no 5) and its effects on the gastric mucosa of Wistar rats: "Tartrazine is one of the most widely used artificial foods, drugs and cosmetic dyes. It is a nitrous derivative and is known to cause allergic reactions such as asthma and urticaria, as well as having been the focus of studies on mutagenesis and carcinogenesis due to its transformation into aromatic amine sulfanilic acid after being metabolized by the gastrointestinal microflora."
 
Dietary sensitivities and ADHD symptoms: thirty-five years of research : "Artificial food colors (AFCs) have not been established as the main cause of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but accumulated evidence suggests that a subgroup shows significant symptom improvement when consuming an AFC-free diet and reacts with ADHD-type symptoms on challenge with AFCs."

In Risk Assessment for the Combinational Effects of Food Color Additives: Neural Progenitor Cells and Hippocampal Neurogenesis, the study states: "In the current study, the potencies of single and combination use of R40, Y4, Y5, R2, and B1 were examined on neural progenitor cell (NPC) toxicity, a biomarker for developmental stage, and neurogenesis, indicative of adult central nervous system (CNS) functions. R40 and R2 reduced NPC proliferation and viability in mouse multipotent NPC, in the developing CNS model. Data indicated that combinations of tar colors may adversely affect both developmental and adult hippocampal neurogenesis; thus, further extensive studies are required to assess the safety of these additive combinations." (I'm thinking that the word 'tar' is a word that didn't translate.)

A lot of these studies and articles report that the FDA just simply says they 'need more research' in order to make a decision to ban food dyes. I understand that in some situations it's best to wait. This sort of thing boggles my mind though.

http://www.inhabitots.com/diy-organic-rainbow-cake-without-toxic-chemical-food-colors/

 There are plenty of alternative food dyes out there (they're all over our 'organic' fruit ropes and snacks) that would work fine. So why wait? Turmeric, beets, berries, paprika, pumpkin, carrot, etc. offer great alternatives.