What's in your food?

Americans consume more than five times the amount of food dyes than we did in 1955. These food colorings have been linked to everything from cancer to hyperactivity. Although many countries around the world such as Finland, Norway and France have banned these unsafe substances the U.S. Food and Drug administration will not get on board. In fact the Center for Science in Public Interest insisted that Blue dye # 2 is not fit for human consumption because it can cause brain cancer but the Food and drug administration still did not ban the substance which is still widely used in our drinks and candies. Continuing to use blue #2 as a example; blue dye number 2 use to be extracted from plants and sea snail however nearly all of this dye is now synthetic. The ingredient list in this particular dye is now as follows, Sulfonic acid, Sulfoanthranilic acid, disodium salt, sodium salt, lead, arsenic and mercury. Not one of those ingredients is something I would willingly flavor my family's food with knowingly yet millions of people consume them unknowingly everyday. What are some other dangers of food colorings?

Color of dye Damaging Effects
Blue # 1  Chromosomal Damage
Blue #2  Brain Cancer , hyperactivity
Red #3 hyperactivity, thyroid tumors, chromosomal damage
Red #40  Chromosomal damage, lymphomas, hyperactivity, eczemas
Carmine (red dye from smashed bugs) Possible severe allergic reaction  sometimes resulting in death
Green #3 Bladder tumor
Yellow #5 Eczema/hives, chromosomal damage, hyperactivity, thyroid tumors, allergies, asthma, insomnia, aggressive behavior
Yellow #6 Eczema/hives, chromosomal damage, hyperactivity, thyroid tumors, allergies, asthma,

While these substances are mostly found in sugary drinks and candies; they can also be lurking in our soup, medications and even meat. Almost nothing is safe. The best protection we have is to read the food labels. "Natural coloring" on a food label can cover every thing from beets to carmine and anything else derived from the earth. It is not necessarily as healthy as it sounds. When in doubt choose organic when you can afford to and see my up coming blog about real food.