|
| Thread: Red Dye 40...a new threat? | |
|
Setitetart
Known Hero
Reality check....
|
posted July 22, 2007 05:32 AM |
bonus applied. |
|
Red Dye 40...a new threat?
Red dye #40…a new threat?
I have been going over anything I could read on Red dye #40, thanks to a friend.
This friend is a man that I always learn something from, and this last time was not any different…
My daughter had informed me that we had to go see him, and I figured well, I had to get gas anyway. LOL
So we went to his store, I got my gas, and we went in to pay.
My daughter immediately went to the shelves, and wanted a snack, which I bent to, and allowed. we picked out a drink, put all of our stuff on the counter, paid and I pulled the car around so that my friend and I could catch up and chat for a second before I had to be off paying bills.
We are standing there talking, and he is relaying to me some things he'd read about Red dye #40, and invited me to do a little research.
The more I have read, the more mortified I have become.
Concerned.
I have ALWAYS eaten and drank as I pleased with little, or no, concern to what was IN the product.
I have rarely, if ever, worried about fat or salt, preservatives, or additives.
Because I am of the opinion that if I gave 2 craps about it, then I wouldn't eat anything, since everything at one point another, is "BAD". And it won't be long until that "BAD" food is no longer "bad", and then back to being "bad" again.
**eggs (The incredible edible egg, NO don't eat the egg…it's high in FAT)
**milk (Drink your 3 glasses a day, but remember that humans are the only ones who drink milk past birth…and make that SKIM)
**bread (CARBS! CARBS! CARBS!)
**bananas (Possibly the world's most perfect food, but remember too much potassium is dangerous…)
**cheese (An easy way to get your dairy, but loaded with FAT!)
Eat the eggs, don't eat the eggs, eat the eggs.
Good god.
I mean seriously, it gets ridiculous reading the packages, and then trying to synch up with all of the "latest" finding from the FDA…I just decided a long time ago that I am going to eat what I want because I would starve to death waiting for certain agencies to pull their collective heads out of their behinds.
Likewise that same blasé attitude, I have more or less passed on to both of my children.
Allura Red AC is a red azo dye that goes by several names including: Allura Red, Food Red 17, C.I. 16035, FD&C Red 40, 2-naphthalenesulfonic acid, 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-, disodium salt, and disodium 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-2-naphthalene-sulfonate. It is used as a food dye and has the E number E129. Allura Red AC was originally introduced in the United States as a replacement for the use of E123 as a food coloring.
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) checks to see if red dye #40 causes cancer; it is substitute for #2, which FDA (Food and Drug Administration) banned. In manufacturer, Allied Chemical, tests, mice developed cancer.
It is banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, and Norway.
UK food guide
Now keep in mind that the candy industry uses this product heavily.
My kids love candy, my husband LOVES candy, and I eat it on occasion.
It is found in a variety of foods and drinks.
But is also approved for cosmetics.
Chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, BBQ sauce, cough syrup, candy corn, Cherry soda, Valentine's day candies, acetaminophen, cold pills, fruit punch, red licorice, sport's drinks, strawberry yogurt, M&M's…Doritos.
Breakfast cereals (Kix Berry Berry, Lucky Charms, Trix, honey Bunches of Oats with Strawberries), Geletins (JELL-O Strawberry, Cherry), puddings (JELL-O Chocolate), Dairy products (Strawberry milk), confections think of ANY bright red candy, Beverages (bug juice, Kool-aid), Condiments (ketchup, steak sauces & BBQ), Pie fillings, pastries, cake mixes.
(Amazingly, my beloved cherry Coca-cola does NOT have red 40 in it)
Anyway, just to name a few things.
For a more complete list:
More complete list of products cntaining Red Dye #40
Everything from gummi bears, to soda, and foods or desserts we prepare in the kitchen.
It is used because it is the most vibrant of the dyes…attractive.
Red is a very appealing food color; many fruits are colored red to indicate ripeness. As animals, we respond to those visual cues in our food and the food industry recognizes that fact.
The look of the product, whether it's a cake or a new soft drink, color is an important feature because it must appeal to the consumer.
No appeal = no sales.
You DO like those bright red gummi bears don't you?
I know I do.
According to the FDA, here are the dyes, including Red Dye #40, and why they are used:
FDA fact sheet on the Dyes used and approved.
FDA Fact sheet
Q. Do food color additives cause hyperactivity?
A. Although this theory was popularized in the 1970's, well-controlled studies conducted since then have produced no evidence that food color additives cause hyperactivity or learning disabilities in children. A Consensus Development Panel of the National Institutes of Health concluded in 1982 that there was no scientific evidence to support the claim that colorings or other food additives cause hyperactivity. The panel said that elimination diets should not be used universally to treat childhood hyperactivity, since there is no scientific evidence to predict which children may benefit.
Now, that article and the following Q&A seem pretty harmless doesn't it?
Then I start reading the testimonials from the parents, and I internally freaked.
Could it really be that simple?
That hoards of kids who have been misdiagnosed with ADHA or ADD, when all of the red dye 40 was removed from their diets all of a sudden became angel children?
Some excerpts from a few of the forums and sites I visited:
"Several weeks ago, my four-year-old grandson began acting strangely -- irritable, having tantrums, belligerent with playmates -- quite unlike his usual playful, happy self. There were no environmental precipitants that we could identify. His parents are together; his mother stays home to care for the children; he had suffered no traumas, such as illness, injury or death in the family. Nothing had changed, or so we thought. Then one afternoon, shortly after eating a fruit roll-up, he developed hives and facial swelling. Clearly, he was allergic to something in this snack food, so we discussed possibilities with the doctor. The doctor had read about isolated cases of allergies to food additives and dyes, so we checked labels on other foods he had been eating recently and discovered a common ingredient: Red-40, a food dye present in many foods, drinks and even some children's vitamins. Ever since my grandson's parents eliminated all foods containing Red-40 from his diet, he has been totally fine. No more tantrums, belligerence or irritability at the levels we had been seeing before (every four-year-old gets ornery once in awhile). No more allergic reactions so far either."
"My 12 year old son, Jason, has TS with obsessive compulsive traits, with no history of TS in our family. Jason is on 1 mg/day haldol, which helps him in school somewhat. He has allergies to everything almost, including Sulfa drugs. Red Dye 40 severely affects him 15 min. after he eats something with large quantities of the dye in it. He screams and throws temper tantrums, which he gave up years ago as a toddler. I am also wondering how many TS patients have a CNS reaction to red dye 40. It seems to me that his brain cells became susceptible to red dye 40, and possible autoimmune antibody formation to neurons from either immunizations or strep infections, by being jaundiced at birth."
"On another parent board I was posting on many of the kids recating to red dye 40 each in a slightly different way. My son will get hyper and if he has too much he will get down right mean and nasty and can have full blow rages...meaning he gets very violent. I did a search on red dye 40 and its made from dead bugs. The place that was testing it to see if it was safe on mice or rats...I don't remember which..burnt down before the testing was completely and they didn't want to start over or they went ahead and said it was safe.
Red dye 40 is only for making food, juices, candies, vitamins, children's meds, ect...look and taste better...though I don't know if it really adds to the taste. When Nate has to take any meds that are pink I just dread it cause I know each day he will act even worse...they even put this in liquid antibotics for children. I can't even find a fever or pain reliever for him that doesn't have dyes in it.
I did finally find a tylenol take off...meaning the same but cheaper...lol..that had red dye 33 in it and he seemed to handle that ok.
I was giving him juice everyday thinking it was good for him...until I read the label..red dye 40 in it and stopped that and any juice that has red dye 40 in it. They even put it in grape juice which is so stupid since it is already purple...I mean how purple do they want it to be?
So yes please whenever your child takes in anything, orange, pink, purple or red watch him for any changes in behavior. It does not cause ADD or ADHD but a child constantly getting it in their system will act out of control and hyper if they are sentive to it."
"My husband has been having pains in his side for over a year now. He went to the ER one time and they said it wasn't his appendix and sent him home. He's been seen a few times. He notices when ever he eats anything with red dye 40 is when it acts up. What I read about that dye doesn't say a reaction like that can happen. He first noticed it with Swedish fish, today for instance, Chocolate Lucky Charms! Things like that - he has been reading labels now trying to stay away from it"
"Red dye 40 is in many things these days--even things that may seem healthy to parents (like Nutrigrain bars). Some kids wake up in the morning and eat red dye in their cereal, drink it in their juice, eat more in their fruit snacks, drink more in their Gatorade, etc...You get the picture. Some kids are sensitive to this petroleum based artificial color. If my child gets a little red dye, he's almost unrecognizable for a week. He goes BONKERS. When we keep him on a diet free of yucky additives, he's a DREAM to be around. I first learned about red dye 40 and how it affects some kids behavior back when I was a teacher...Diet is something that is overlooked by many parents, so I always mention it. A food diary is pretty easy to keep to watch how his moods are affected."
"My girls have multiple life threatening food allergies, food can do strange things to some people. We eat mostly foods from scratch out of necessity, but let my oldest girl have one Twizzler, or any other candy with food coloring (which they are not allergic to) and LOOK OUT! Seriously, it makes my oldest a lunatic (that's why my youngest avoids all food color as well)."
I think my readers can make up their own minds, do their own research and come to their own conclusions.
I can tell you that in the future, I will be looking more closely at the labels of the things I buy…
And if I can help it, I won't be buying anything that has Red 40 in it.
Which sucks because I LIKE a LOT of those things listed.
So what do you think about all of this?
Is Red dye 40 the next to be banned?
____________
"Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart, just in case?"
~ Peter Lorre to Vincent Price at Bela Lugosi's funeral
|
|
Corribus
Hero of Order
The Abyss Staring Back at You
|
|
posted July 22, 2007 05:08 PM |
|
|
|
My advice would be to be wary of any scientific and/or nutritional information you find on the web.
|
|
setitetart
Known Hero
Reality check....
|
|
posted July 24, 2007 05:59 AM |
|
|
Quote:
My advice would be to be wary of any scientific and/or nutritional information you find on the web.
I think I went to a LOT of reputable sites. Plus I started taking good CLOSE looks at the lables.
What makes me wary is the idea that the US government hasn't followed other countries in the banning of this dye.
Obviously there ARE other, just as good, alternatives...but as usual money seems to be a factor.
Think about how MANY companies manufacture red dye 40 and also how many companies USE red dye 40.
____________
"Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart, just in case?"
~ Peter Lorre to Vincent Price at Bela Lugosi's funeral
|
|
Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
|
|
posted July 24, 2007 07:35 AM |
|
|
I thought this debate ended more than 30 years ago. Red dye and saccharin were two of the first food additives to get widespread publicity back in the 70s.
Personally I avoid red dyes, or any other dyes. But avoiding for me means I avoid eating/drinking things with large amounts of it, if it's convenient to do so. Something I always avoid is that fake red juice like Hi-C and stuff like that.
The thing is that you could find testimonials from people about almost anything we eat or drink. No matter what the substance is, somebody will have some kind of reaction to it.
My opinion is that a person is much better off looking at their overall diet rather than worrying about some specific substance.
Setite, you admitted to not paying much attention to what's in the foods you eat. What do you think would be better for your health, eliminating red dye #40, or eating a better all around diet? Most people can eat a lot better with simple common sense changes. We already know what we should eat more of and what we should eat less of.
Quote:
I can tell you that in the future, I will be looking more closely at the labels of the things I buy…
And if I can help it, I won't be buying anything that has Red 40 in it.
Which sucks because I LIKE a LOT of those things listed.
How about instead of so much effort you just eat 2-3 more apples each week. In all likelihood that will improve your health more than eliminating red dyes. If you happen to know for sure that you have a reaction to red dye then you can go ahead and eliminate it.
I don't really concern myself with this stuff. Why? Because there are thousands of things that could potentially do me harm and I'll never figure it out. And worrying about things I don't truly understand is not good for the health either.
____________
|
|
setitetart
Known Hero
Reality check....
|
|
posted July 24, 2007 07:59 AM |
|
|
Quote:
I thought this debate ended more than 30 years ago. Red dye and saccharin were two of the first food additives to get widespread publicity back in the 70s.
Nah still going steong and both products still used despite world wide banning of it. Not entirely sure that ANYone has outright banned saccharin...but they should just because it tastes like butt. LOL 
Quote:
Personally I avoid red dyes, or any other dyes. But avoiding for me means I avoid eating/drinking things with large amounts of it, if it's convenient to do so. Something I always avoid is that fake red juice like Hi-C and stuff like that.
but that is what really bothered me was tat it is in things that arent even close to being RED in color. The sheer amount of products that use it just floored me...like rolls. LOL WTH does a croissant NEED red dye IN it for? LOL
Quote:
The thing is that you could find testimonials from people about almost anything we eat or drink. No matter what the substance is, somebody will have some kind of reaction to it.
True that regardless of the product someone will undoubtedly have a reaction to it...but the statistics for children and adults as well having severe reactions to it are overwhelmingly high.
Quote:
Setite, you admitted to not paying much attention to what's in the foods you eat. What do you think would be better for your health, eliminating red dye #40, or eating a better all around diet? Most people can eat a lot better with simple common sense changes. We already know what we should eat more of and what we should eat less of.
No I didn't focus on what exactly was in the foods. Sure everyone here knows that there is going to be some amount of preservatives and additives in their food unless they are growing and processing it themselves....the problem was not my diet at all as I am not overweight nor do I have health issues in the dietary department. I was just concerned overall because my son was misdiagnosed with ADHD and it had never come up that that could have been a reason for him to act strangely. LOL Not that he doesnt act strangely anyways...he is a teenager after all.
But overall, I have always made meals here that are what I would call overall healthy.
Quote:
I don't really concern myself with this stuff. Why? Because there are thousands of things that could potentially do me harm and I'll never figure it out. And worrying about things I don't truly understand is not good for the health either.
Hmmmm. 
____________
"Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart, just in case?"
~ Peter Lorre to Vincent Price at Bela Lugosi's funeral
|
|
Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
|
|
posted July 24, 2007 08:59 AM |
|
|
Quote:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't really concern myself with this stuff. Why? Because there are thousands of things that could potentially do me harm and I'll never figure it out. And worrying about things I don't truly understand is not good for the health either.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hmmmm
No, it's not a cop out. I was pretty big into health foods at one time and I've done tons of studying and taken a class at college in nutrition. This is one of those subjects that the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know.
But it's also a subject that if you are paying attention and not getting too much "into it" as a hobby (i.e. can't see the forest for the trees), it ends up going full circle. By that I mean that as you learn more and more of the detail, the more you realize that everything is pointing you back to the simplistic. Everything points to the simple idea that we should just eat right, that the proper way to eat is very close to what we knew all along....eat lots of veggies and fruits and eat a variety of foods. There are other things besides fruits and veggies, but very few people in the modern world have a problem getting carbs, proteins and lipids (fat).
____________
|
|
setitetart
Known Hero
Reality check....
|
|
posted July 24, 2007 09:06 AM |
|
|
Quote:
Quote:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't really concern myself with this stuff. Why? Because there are thousands of things that could potentially do me harm and I'll never figure it out. And worrying about things I don't truly understand is not good for the health either.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hmmmm
No, it's not a cop out. I was pretty big into health foods at one time and I've done tons of studying and taken a class at college in nutrition. This is one of those subjects that the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know.
But it's also a subject that if you are paying attention and not getting too much "into it" as a hobby (i.e. can't see the forest for the trees), it ends up going full circle. By that I mean that as you learn more and more of the detail, the more you realize that everything is pointing you back to the simplistic. Everything points to the simple idea that we should just eat right, that the proper way to eat is very close to what we knew all along....eat lots of veggies and fruits and eat a variety of foods. There are other things besides fruits and veggies, but very few people in the modern world have a problem getting carbs, proteins and lipids (fat).
Ahhhhhh.  Thank you for clarifying that.
Makes sense now.
____________
"Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart, just in case?"
~ Peter Lorre to Vincent Price at Bela Lugosi's funeral
|
|
Corribus
Hero of Order
The Abyss Staring Back at You
|
|
posted July 24, 2007 04:12 PM |
|
Edited by Corribus at 16:18, 24 Jul 2007.
|
Setitetart wrote:
Quote:
True that regardless of the product someone will undoubtedly have a reaction to it...but the statistics for children and adults as well having severe reactions to it are overwhelmingly high.
Personal testimonials don't really count as statistics because they aren't controlled studies. Actually the FDA is pretty good about constantly testing food additives for potential health risk. That doesn't mean that if it isn't banned, it's not bad for you. But there are thousands of additives and preservatives added to our foods and any one of them could be bad for you. There are also thousands of NATURAL chemicals in food and any one of THEM could be bad for you. AND every person's personal chemistry is different, so what may be bad for one person may be perfectly fine for another. *AND* it's extremely different to actually determine what is bad and what is not, because of the sheer number of possibilities involved.
Long answer short: Binabik is right - the best answer is to base your diet on moderation, and eat as many natural foods as possible, while not stressing over every little chemical that may or may not be bad for you. Remember, you could just as easily be run over by a bus tomorrow, and all that worrying about food dye # 51234 will be for naught. And as I said, watch out for what you read on the internet. It's not hard to disguise bad information as good information, particularly if you're not really sure what you're looking at. Plenty of sites *look* reputable, but bad information doesn't necessarily have to be spread maliciously, even though it often is. If you want to make good lifestyle choices, talk a doctor or someone who is an expert in the field (and even then, there are a lot of quacks out there who don't know what they're talking about). You're best off getting multiple opinions.
|
|
Setitetart
Known Hero
Reality check....
|
|
posted February 01, 2008 05:15 AM |
|
|
Quote:
Plenty of sites *look* reputable, but bad information doesn't necessarily have to be spread maliciously, even though it often is. If you want to make good lifestyle choices, talk a doctor or someone who is an expert in the field (and even then, there are a lot of quacks out there who don't know what they're talking about). You're best off getting multiple opinions.
Well spoken and very true.
____________
"Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart, just in case?"
~ Peter Lorre to Vincent Price at Bela Lugosi's funeral
|
| |
|
|
