By Dr. Josh Redd, Chiropractic Physician, RedRiver Health and Wellness Center
Just because something is normalized in our culture doesn’t mean it’s healthy!
The amount of food dyes in our foods has gone up 500% in the last 50 years. They’re also associated with more risks than any other category of food additives.
For instance, Yellow 5 has been associated with:
- Increased inflammation.
- Increased potential cancer risk.
- Hypersensitivity and behavioral issues in children.
- Immune reactivity. Yellow 5 may cause allergic reactions, asthma, and food reactions.
- We see dyes trigger food sensitivities and even autoimmune flare-ups in some people. That’s because the dye binds with proteins in foods. This makes it harder for your body to break down food proteins.
As a result, they look like a foreign invader to the immune system, so it mounts an inflammatory response.
In fact, if you are sensitive to a food and then eat that food combined with a food dye, it can worsen your reaction because of the increased immune response.
Dyes can also bond to human tissue, triggering an inflammatory reaction. This can worsen autoimmune, inflammatory, or neurobehavioral issues.
Yellow 5 has also been linked to migraines, fatigue, blurred vision, and anxiety. Research even suggests it can cause chromosomal damage, although this needs further study.
Removing Yellow 5 and other artificial food dyes from children’s diets may help reduce attention-related and other behavioral issues.
Also, when something has artificial dyes, it’s usually processed, full of sugar, and made with industrial oils and other chemical additives — stuff you don’t want to feed your kids anyway.
There are plenty of natural alternatives with natural dyes out there. Shop additive-free and organic alternatives as much as possible to reduce the overall burden on your children’s bodies.
Check the labels and swap out foods with Yellow 5 and other dyes with a natural alternative.
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