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Home Articles REAL Food Toss It Out Artificial Colors, Flavors and Additives
Artificial Colors, Flavors and Additives Print E-mail
Artificial Colors!The word artificial clues us into the fact that the food or drink is not REAL. If a company is using artificial ingredients they are not committed to making high quality food products that support your child’s health. Basic research on artificial colors and flavors have shown just that.[1]


Artificial Colors are everywhere - popsicles, jello, fruit punch, vitamins and cold medicines. While it may make food esthetically more pleasing (though some would beg to differ), it can negatively impact your child's health. Yellow 5, Red 40, and six other widely used artificial colorings are linked to hyperactivity and behavior problems in children. Whenever you see these and other artificial colors listed in the ingredients label, leave the product on the shelf! Choose an alternative without the harmful food dyes. See Petition to Ban the Use of Yellow 5 and Other Food Dyes to see references for the numerous scientific studies that show Yellow 5 and other food dyes can adversely affect the behavior of some children.[2]
 
"Yellow 5 has been shown to damage the ability of nerve cells to send and receive signals. In order for our brains to work properly - to think, remember, reason and learn - the nerve cells must be able to communicate with each other. In a shocking toxicology study in 2006, Lau showed that a combination of yellow #5 plus aspartame in amounts likely to be found in a single snack, was toxic to developing neurites at a level far beyond that expected from the toxicity of each alone."[3]

Artificial Flavors are in many foods and products (toothpaste and vitamins) marketed to children. A single artificial flavoring can be a combination of hundreds of individual chemicals, many of which are derived from petroleum. As an example of a (short) formula, here is a synthetic raspberry flavoring: Vanillin, Ethylvanillin, Alphaionone, Maltol, 1-(p-hydroxy-phenyl)-3-Butanone, Dimethyl Sulphide, 2,5-Dimethyl-N-(2-pyrazinyl) Pyrrole. Where’s the raspberry? Unlike the many studies on food colorings, there are very few on the 5000+ flavorings on the market today, because the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has accepted the de minimis concept which acknowledges humans can tolerate a certain amount of chemicals without risk to their health.[4] If you want your child to be an adventurous eater, work on training her taste buds to enjoy REAL food flavors!
 
Artificial Food Additives are chemicals added to preserve flavor, or improve taste and appearance. In 2007, the British medical journal the Lancet published a study that found artificial colors and the preservative sodium benzoate increased hyperactivity among normal children. The results of this study prompted the British Food Standards Agency to advise the food industry to remove those artificial colors in the study by the end of 2009.[5] Artificial food additives have been linked with allergies, and other neurological conditions besides ADHD.[6,7] The list of food additives and the research associated with their adverse health effects is extensive. Here is a short list of some artificial food additives to avoid: artificial sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, acesulfame-K), monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium nitrite and nitrate, benzoates (BHA, BHT, TBHQ), and potassium bromate.
 
Easy rule of thumb: "artificial" is not REAL. Support your child's health and leave products with artificial colors, flavors and additives on the store shelf!

Sources:

1. Basic Research on Food Dyes & Flavorings. (2011, September). Feingold Association of the United States. Retrieved on January 7, 2012 from http://www.feingold.org/Research/dye.html#Kroes2000
2. Jacobson, M. (2008, June). Petition to Ban the Use of Yellow 5 and Other Food Dyes. See complete .pdf here http://www.nourishmd.com/images/pdf/food%20dyes%20and%20behavior.pdf
3. How can a simple diet help so many different problems? (2010, February) Feingold Association of the United States. Retrieved on January 7, 2012 from http://www.feingold.org/yellow5.php
4. Threshold of toxicological concern for chemical substances present in the diet: a practical tool for assessing the need for toxicity testing. Kroes R, Galli C, Munro I, Schilter B, Tran L, Walker R, Wurtzen G, Food Chem Toxicol 2000 Feb-Mar;38(2-3):255-312
5. McCann, D. et al. Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet. 2007, Nov; Volume 370, Issue 9598, Pages 1560 - 1567
6. Polonio, ML. Food additive intake and health effects: public health challenges in Brazil. Cad Saude Publica. 2009 Aug;25(8):1653-66.
7. Boris, M. and Mandel, FS. Foods and additives are common causes of the attention deficit hyperactive disorder in children.
Ann Allergy.1994 May;72(5):462-8.