Everything you need to know about food coloring

Hello everybody! Here we are again but this week we will discuss food coloring and everything under the sun that is related to it.

To start off with the there are a total of nine food coloring additives that are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration which is also known as FDA. We will be covering

six of the nine food coloring.

These six are known as Red 40, Red 3, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, and Blue 2.

The most popular of these colors are Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 and they make up 90% of all food coloring seen in food products today. Overall, all six good colorings are used in foods to this day which has caused the consumption of food dye to increase 500% in the last 50 years.

Why are food colorings used? And what are they used in?

Food colorings are used to enhance the look of an item so that it is more appealing to the consumer (so basically corporations believe that we want to eat the brightest blue out there). Neverthless, the addition of food coloring is completely unneeded and provide no benefit at all.

Different colors are used in different products but 90% of the coloring can be found in the products below.

Red 40: found in sports drinks, candy, condiments, and cereal

Yellow 5: found in candy, soft drinks, chips, popcorn, and cereal

Yellow 6: found in candy, sauces, baked goods, and preserved fruits

The other three are

Blue 1: found in ice cream, canned peas, baked goods, mouthwash, and candy

Blue 2: found in candy, ice cream, cereal, and snacks

Red 3: found in sausage casing, candy, popsicles, cherries, and canned fruits

All these food colorings have a little secret to tell

To begin with Red 40, is linked to allergies, migraines, aswell as mental disorders in children although it has bn reported to be mild. Not only this but the dye is made of petroleum and the estimated amount you are suppose to have is 3.2 mg per pound of body weight.

The three most widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are contaminated with known carcinogens, says CSPI. Another dye, Red 3, has been acknowledged for years by the Food and Drug Administration to be a carcinogen, yet is still in the food supply. It's important to note that the definition of carcinogen is any substance that is directly related to cancer.

Not only that but when it comes to Red 3 it also shows a link to causing cancer in animals throghout several studies while blue 1, red 40, yellow 5, and yellow 6 cause hypersensitivity. Several european countries such as Finland, France, and Norway have taken the step blue 1 and blue 2 due to a linnk to brain cancer while Norway and Austria has banned Yellow 5. Overall, they choose to ban Yellow 5 for multiple reasons but mainly because it showed to cause genotoxicity.

Lastly, there is yellow 6 which has shown to cause tumors in the adrenal glands and kidneys of laboratory rats.

Located below is a image showing what each food coloring is known to be in and what side effects it is known to cause.

Overall, synthetic food colors are thought to cause behavioral symptoms in children because they may cause chemical changes in the brain, inflammation from an allergic response, and the depletion of minerals, such as zinc, that are involved in growth and development.

Not only that, but a study of chilren with ADHD proved that restricting food dyes led to improvements in symptoms. Although, these imporvements were found in children with food sensitives / intolerances.

On the otherhand a study by the British Food Standards Agency found most children to be unaffected by removing additives. But a small percentage seemed to get better.

The FDA can only conclude that there is not enough science to decide whether food dyes cause hyperactivity.

With that being said there is evidence that has been concluded from different researchers that food coloring does have an impact on hyperactivity in children and can cause many other problems in adults. So the big question is;

Should you ingest food dyes or should you avoid them like a plaque?

I can’t answer this for you but with the information provided you have the choice to do what is best for you.

I personally try to stay away from any type of food dyes just because they have tested on animals in the past and I also recommend keeping children away too much food dye because there is a strong correlation between children and an increase in hyperactivity

but like anything you want to make sure you consume in moderation and not eat tons of it every day.

I hope you guys learned something new today and have a great day!

P.S. if you want to watch the youtube video along with this then click here: