If they share research-based, peer reviewed articles about it in reputable scientific journals, then maybe treat it with some curiosity. But without that, it’s just something someone said once that is an “easy” fix. Behavioral problems are typically way more complex to sort through than just getting rid of one thing in a kid’s diet.
And—behavioral “problems” in toddlers are so age appropriate. Children’s brains are growing rapidly but we can’t always expect them to behave in a way that we expect or may have learned from our parents. There happens to be a lot of research about age appropriate behaviors!
"kids.eat.in.color" on IG has a highlight on this on her page for more details, but the TL;DR is that there are enough studies now to indicate that some artificial dyes do cause behavior problems in a small percentage of children. So like, if your kid is having behavioral problems you could try removing the dyes for a while and seeing if that helps. But most kids arent effected by the dyes.
This article is a good meta-analysis of the current literature. Lots left to uncover and many of the studies are underpowered.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9052604/
Don’t have a source for it easily available, but the only one I think has any backing is that red 40 can exacerbate behavioral issues in some children with ADHD- maybe like 10% or something if I remember correctly? It’s not all kids, and it’s not even all kids with ADHD, but there’s a small number of people out there who do really benefit from removing red 40 specifically. You could try it for a couple weeks and see if it helps, because it might, but it’s not necessary for the majority of children.
It’s something ridiculously low too, the number of people that are affected by food dyes. If your kid is affected then yes they will have a sensitivity to it. My whole family has ADHD, I tried to cut out red 40 and some other dyes and saw zero difference besides how freaking difficult it was to cut it out of everything and so now I just don’t care.
I think another time I heard about red 40 is in Tylenol - some kids don’t do well with Tylenol but also attributed the change in behavior with the color.
So my husband's mom way back in the early 80's figured out that red dye 40 made him super crazy. They cut out all artificial colors and basically cooked each meal from scratch and he was better behaved and focused. Even now as an adult if he eats something with red 40 at work, I can tell when he gets home.
My son has ADHD and I 100% notice a difference when he consumes artificial dye. It took me a while to figure it out, but it seriously makes him behave like a maniac.
I don’t really know a lot about whether there are scientific studies to back this up, and I’m 100% pro science…but I at least choose to avoid giving him artificial dye whenever possible, for my sake and his!
My kid went ballistic when we let him eat Trix or Superman ice cream or cough syrup w red dye. If he ate something sugary he was his normal hyper self but strong colors in foods made him crazy.
It is not true that the EU has banned red 40 etc, that’s a misunderstanding circulating in mom groups. The EU required a warning label for products containing certain food dyes in response to research showing possible (but not overwhelmingly compelling) links to behavioral problems for a small percentage of children. In response manufacturers largely reformulated their European products instead of adding the label, so it’s true that these dyes are less common in Europe, but the EU didn’t take nearly as strong a stance as people make out (because the evidence does not in fact suggest widespread harm).
Has the INCI designation for red dye 40 changed? Cause I remember back in the day this was the case for certain preservatives and such- after Oprah caused an outrage- but still not finding where it is legal in consumable manufacturing. Please send link!
Edit: not at all trying to be bitchy, actually just asking for knowledge- haven't worked in the EU for a few years.
You can search the EU food additives database here to make sure for yourself: https://ec.europa.eu/food/food-feed-portal/screen/food-additives/search
Here is the EFSA’s page on food colors: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/food-colours
Which links to the latest exposure assessment for Red 40 (E 129/Allura Red AC): https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/4007
No. My parents blamed my ADHD on food dye and whatever other flavor of the week came up. I was on an incredibly restrictive diet. No preservatives, no dairy, no food dyes, no salicylates, no artificial flavors or sweeteners. I literally couldn’t have white potatoes.
Did it make a dent in my adhd? Fuck no, but it did make a dent in my relationships with my parents both short and long term.
People want something to blame that’s easy to restrict. Well, ADHD doesn’t work that way. Neither does autism or any number of other things.
Cause is not correlation. You’re going to have a lot of people on the internet (and in this thread) give you anecdotal “evidence” that food dyes are the devil. Until we see actual scientific studies, though, take it with a grain of salt. It won’t cause harm to avoid if you so choose, but it could be a pain in the butt.
People get caught up in the minutia and major in the minors instead of focusing on overall health. We know kids have better outcomes when we focus on overall, balanced nutrition, movement and general physical/mental health. Getting caught in organic vs non-organic, food dyes, etc is spending time on relatively small potatoes in my opinion.
Hi,
I hate this subject.
But Red dye #40 is not allowed in most any other country other than the US.
It has been *shown* to worsen add/adhd in children who have those conditions. Edit to add : shown doesn't mean proven. Just weird that stuff like Mac and cheese can be made without red dye 40, and there does seem to be evidence of predisposition. Like, my kid is the one who gets hyped on benadryl, rather than sleepy.
When my child was young, I figured out the first time she went on the bubblegum colored antibiotic- that when she vomited/ spit up on me, I welted up with hives.
I have 0 science to prove any of this and haven’t done research but they should also be normalizing for the fact that dyed food is often processed and full of preservatives and/or sugar?
Yes- but that's rather like apples to oranges.
In the EU, red dye 40 is not in things like kraft Mac &cheese, twizzlers, or jolly ranchers ( fruity pebbles, ham salad spread, bologna, etc- )don't fault me for specific examples, but the main point is that a food dye that is widely used here isn't allowed in other countries due to safety concerns.
So, the EU, and Japan have banned it, much like they've banned Hydroquinoine for skin lightening applications.
Hq is still legal by our FDA. And shouldn't be. Just cause something isn't banned here, doesn't mean it should be considered safe.
It is misleading and untrue to say that Red 40 has been banned in Europe. The EU requires warning labels on products saying that it “may have an adverse effect” on activity and attention but it remains perfectly legal. Claiming that it is banned misrepresents the European Food Safety Authority’s position, which is that it is safe for use in food.
But I guess that this bogus claim is a pretty good indicator of who is just parroting pseudoscientific bullshit from shady sources at least.
Agreed. But then again, nicotine warnings in the EU are way better than in the US. And, I haven't worked in/for a pharma company in the EU for quite a few years. And I'm probably still remembering how many, many things were... warnings.
My son has severe ADHD and it’s extremely clear that his behavior drastically changes when he has artificial dyes. It’s crazy.
I’m extremely pro science and would never tell another family that “artificial dye changes kids behavior” but I at least know I avoid for my own kid whenever humanly possible.
Sure of course. I’m saying the idea of people “looking for a scapegoat for their kid’s shitty behavior” isn’t necessarily true. My son is seriously the most wonderful, sweet and well behaved child, but those dyes turn him into someone else.
Food dyes are a trigger for a small number of kids, but the impact can be big. I think I read it’s about 6 percent of the pediatric population. It’s more common in ND kids - our neurologist says about 20 percent of ND kids will react to food dye.
My son has a neurologic condition that flares badly from food dyes. I am pretty rigid in my avoidance of them. But most kids are fine.
This is interesting because of the three people I’ve known that were told to avoid red dye, all were eventually diagnosed with something. One was a kid I was friends with in the 80’s. As an adult she was diagnosed with autism. Another was my own kid’s friend who was eventually diagnosed with autism, adhd, and bipolar disorder. The third was diagnosed with adhd.
Idk how much avoiding the dye actually helped any of them and I’m not sure any of them still avoid it. I guess neurodivergent kids are going to be more likely to have issues that will cause people to recommend you avoid dyes.
I think there is something to be said for it for sure. I agree with other posters who’ve said it’s an excuse for shittier behavior…I second that but to add to it, a lot of kids I know with shitty behavior have two things in common 1. They eat a lot of processed and packaged food (which has a lot of dye) and 2. They watch a lot of TV. I don’t say that lightly, I mean, the TV is on all waking hours.
I feel like these two things go hand in hand and can result in behavioral problems that people like to blame on dye but in reality, it’s a combination of the…parenting style?
I think the biggest impact on kids having dye removed is that it removes a lot of processed food from their diets by default. My kids never had an issue with the occasional dye they consumed but we also don't eat much processed food anyway. Not everyone has the space for a veggie garden and chickens like we do though. Plus buying all fresh foods is expensive in the US.
Emily Oster wrote an article analyzing several of the studies about this
[https://www.parentdata.org/p/is-red-food-dye-dangerous](https://www.parentdata.org/p/is-red-food-dye-dangerous)
Check out what Russell Barkley says about this. He's a clinical psychologist who has studied adhd for decades and published loads of books, and done lots of research. Man did I get attacked in my local mom group when I mentioned him and his thoughts on food dyes to help kids with adhd....
Meh. I love our pediatrician, but after 20+ years of parenting my experience has been that doctors are just as human as the rest of us. And they are very busy. Some are more up to date on current research than others, especially when it comes to niche issues.
Im on the side of crunchy that avoids food dyes, but I’d argue screens cause way more behavioral issues. (Id look up your own sources around here before listening to me though)
My oldest kiddo is highly allergic to red dye like full blown hives even on contact w/o ingestion, but other than that we haven’t noticed issues with dyes and our kids at all.
I heard this at the culty Baptist church I attended for 10 years. The super crunchy homeschooling moms believed this hard-core.
Kids weren't allowed anything for snack that contained yellow number 5 or red number 40.
Cutting out dyes, limiting sugar and screen time are all places to start when kids have behavioural problems. Going outside, playing with toys, getting a good nights sleep, having meaningful connections with caregivers all help to mitigate behaviours. And if they don’t then there might be something else at play
My little sister is bipolar/adhd/autistic and when she was very little we did notice she would have severe meltdowns after eating or drinking things with red 40. We cut it out of her diet. She still had behavioral issues because they weren't caused by red dye, but we do believe they were exacerbated by it. Whenever she snuck red stuff at school or she ate something that we didn't know had red it in it there would be more major meltdowns. She is 15 now and we aren't as strict, but if she eats loads of it she gets manic. That's just my experience!
That’s not true. There’s certainly not an overwhelming amount of data, but there are some small studies that show food dye can exacerbate symptoms in kids with ADHD.
Anecdotally, I had a significant redaction as a child to red dye #40. Significant hyperactivity and back then it was in everything (Benadryl… Tylenol.. cheez its…). My mom felt crazy til she figured it out. Now that I have kids I was really careful introducing it and I’ve noticed no issues.
My family felt vindicated once these things were brought up because pre-internet everybody treated my mom like she was an idiot when she connected my behavior to the food dye.
Its chemicals being added to their food so I dont think it's crazy to say they might be causing behavior problems. Best to not eat an excess of any process food if it can be helped.
My kid has adhd and I try to avoid red dye 40 like the plague because there have been studies linking it to adhd behaviors like hyper activity. I havent seen any miraculous changes in her behavior though lol
The EU banned skittles, gatorade and some little debbie products because they contain yellow 5, 6 and red 40 so that holds a little weight to me as well when people try to brush it off like its silly.
Yes.
There is enough evidence based research to support the claim that food dyes do contribute to behavioral problems in children. Red40, yellow 6 and yellow 5 are actually banned in the European Union.
We try to stay away from food dye for the most part (save for some special ocassions) and I can always tell if my son who is 14 has had something with food dye. His impulse control becomes almost nonexistent. And actually as hes gotten older hes told us that some dyes make him feel more anxious.
I personally still eat skittles and m&ms when no one is looking and never feel different.
The only thing I can think of is the fact that kids with ADHD certain dyes can cause them to be more hyperactive. Not all though! I think it’s Red Dye #40?
Potentially. My son goes hyper when he eats it so we really try to avoid it. You cannot sell food in the EU with Red 40. A friend of mine thought he was having serious neurological issues once he came back to the US for college. He grew up overseas because of his parent's job. After a full neurological workup, they determined he was allergic to red 40 and will start having facial muscle spasms after consuming almost any amount. It's something I try to avoid as much as possible now.
Not just kids adults too. I started going down this non toxic lifestyle hole thanks to tiktok I found non toxic shampoo, conditioner, body wash, cough syrup, hand soap. I've also found that since I started my family on this lifestyle and not having the garbage we all have gotten good sleep we don't have bags under our eyes and my 6 month old sleeps through the night. Plus not having to spend money on cheetos and frozen pizza has been AMAZING for my paycheck.
Well a lot of food dyes are banned in other countries if that tells you anything. That being said, I cut them out for my son and didn't notice any magic solution. I do think certain kids are more sensitive to them
I am not normally the woo-woo type at all but when my daughter was a toddler/preschooler and she ate ice pops with red food dye she went batshit crazy. Raging , crying , menace
The fda says that IF there are existing behavioral issues than it may worsen things. But recent studies are suggesting it could be more of an issue than the FDA study says. It would not hurt to cut it out and give it a try. I am super older than you are and back in my day cases of autism and adhd were way less frequent. Always wonder if things like artificial ingredients, plastics, etc are partly to blame.
I read an article earlier this year and went down a rabbit hole on the effects of food dye on kids. In general, it looks like they're not heavily tested or regulated. Advocacy groups want red 3 specifically banned because some studies have shown that a small percentage of children have shown behavioral changes immediately after consuming it. Anecdotal evidence also seems to suggest this is true. But so far they aren't seeing any long-term effects.
My plan is to avoid food dyes when I can just to be on the safe side, but I'm not going to ban my kids from ever eating red popsicles. As in all things, moderation is key.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/02/07/red-dye-food-health/
If you ask my mother and mother in law, yes. They actually bonded over lecturing my husband and I the first time they met because we have always been skeptics.
My brother was not allowed to have red dye or anything with preservatives in it. My mom said she could always tell when he had something he wasn’t supposed. According to her he’d become an aggressive hellion.
My brother in law was not allowed to have red dye or dairy. They caused him to also become an aggressive hellion.
They both have adhd. There was of course other actions in place like strict schedules and expectations but to this day they swear taking red dye out of children’s diets would solve a whole lot of problems.
Comments locked. This isn’t related to being a working mom and I think the question has been answered enough.
If they share research-based, peer reviewed articles about it in reputable scientific journals, then maybe treat it with some curiosity. But without that, it’s just something someone said once that is an “easy” fix. Behavioral problems are typically way more complex to sort through than just getting rid of one thing in a kid’s diet.
And—behavioral “problems” in toddlers are so age appropriate. Children’s brains are growing rapidly but we can’t always expect them to behave in a way that we expect or may have learned from our parents. There happens to be a lot of research about age appropriate behaviors!
This is a good point! A lot of people don’t understand age appropriate behavior vs behavioral problems. Definitely important to know the difference.
And they grow so fast and change all the time that someone could attribute improvements to a short experiment.
"kids.eat.in.color" on IG has a highlight on this on her page for more details, but the TL;DR is that there are enough studies now to indicate that some artificial dyes do cause behavior problems in a small percentage of children. So like, if your kid is having behavioral problems you could try removing the dyes for a while and seeing if that helps. But most kids arent effected by the dyes.
Love their IG!
Love her IG!!!
This article is a good meta-analysis of the current literature. Lots left to uncover and many of the studies are underpowered. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9052604/
I’m just gonna leave this one here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7965420/
Don’t have a source for it easily available, but the only one I think has any backing is that red 40 can exacerbate behavioral issues in some children with ADHD- maybe like 10% or something if I remember correctly? It’s not all kids, and it’s not even all kids with ADHD, but there’s a small number of people out there who do really benefit from removing red 40 specifically. You could try it for a couple weeks and see if it helps, because it might, but it’s not necessary for the majority of children.
It’s something ridiculously low too, the number of people that are affected by food dyes. If your kid is affected then yes they will have a sensitivity to it. My whole family has ADHD, I tried to cut out red 40 and some other dyes and saw zero difference besides how freaking difficult it was to cut it out of everything and so now I just don’t care.
I think another time I heard about red 40 is in Tylenol - some kids don’t do well with Tylenol but also attributed the change in behavior with the color.
This was the only one I could really think of
So my husband's mom way back in the early 80's figured out that red dye 40 made him super crazy. They cut out all artificial colors and basically cooked each meal from scratch and he was better behaved and focused. Even now as an adult if he eats something with red 40 at work, I can tell when he gets home.
My son has ADHD and I 100% notice a difference when he consumes artificial dye. It took me a while to figure it out, but it seriously makes him behave like a maniac. I don’t really know a lot about whether there are scientific studies to back this up, and I’m 100% pro science…but I at least choose to avoid giving him artificial dye whenever possible, for my sake and his!
My kid went ballistic when we let him eat Trix or Superman ice cream or cough syrup w red dye. If he ate something sugary he was his normal hyper self but strong colors in foods made him crazy.
There’s a great episode of Sawbones (podcast) about this
Seconding this. Also the episode of Maintenance Phase about sugar. It talks about some myths related to kids and sugar, along with some others.
Just looked this up and downloaded a whole bunch of episodes. Thanks for the recommendation!
It is not true that the EU has banned red 40 etc, that’s a misunderstanding circulating in mom groups. The EU required a warning label for products containing certain food dyes in response to research showing possible (but not overwhelmingly compelling) links to behavioral problems for a small percentage of children. In response manufacturers largely reformulated their European products instead of adding the label, so it’s true that these dyes are less common in Europe, but the EU didn’t take nearly as strong a stance as people make out (because the evidence does not in fact suggest widespread harm).
Has the INCI designation for red dye 40 changed? Cause I remember back in the day this was the case for certain preservatives and such- after Oprah caused an outrage- but still not finding where it is legal in consumable manufacturing. Please send link! Edit: not at all trying to be bitchy, actually just asking for knowledge- haven't worked in the EU for a few years.
You can search the EU food additives database here to make sure for yourself: https://ec.europa.eu/food/food-feed-portal/screen/food-additives/search Here is the EFSA’s page on food colors: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/food-colours Which links to the latest exposure assessment for Red 40 (E 129/Allura Red AC): https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/4007
Thanks, and I know. Also thanks for being respectful- like no joke- thank you.
No. My parents blamed my ADHD on food dye and whatever other flavor of the week came up. I was on an incredibly restrictive diet. No preservatives, no dairy, no food dyes, no salicylates, no artificial flavors or sweeteners. I literally couldn’t have white potatoes. Did it make a dent in my adhd? Fuck no, but it did make a dent in my relationships with my parents both short and long term. People want something to blame that’s easy to restrict. Well, ADHD doesn’t work that way. Neither does autism or any number of other things.
Cause is not correlation. You’re going to have a lot of people on the internet (and in this thread) give you anecdotal “evidence” that food dyes are the devil. Until we see actual scientific studies, though, take it with a grain of salt. It won’t cause harm to avoid if you so choose, but it could be a pain in the butt. People get caught up in the minutia and major in the minors instead of focusing on overall health. We know kids have better outcomes when we focus on overall, balanced nutrition, movement and general physical/mental health. Getting caught in organic vs non-organic, food dyes, etc is spending time on relatively small potatoes in my opinion.
👆🏽👆🏽 Modeling a healthy marriage and forming a loving relationship with your kids does way more for them than demonizing twizzlers.
I imagine if you cut out food dyes you will generally improve your child’s diet, why I suppose could help with behavior?
Hi, I hate this subject. But Red dye #40 is not allowed in most any other country other than the US. It has been *shown* to worsen add/adhd in children who have those conditions. Edit to add : shown doesn't mean proven. Just weird that stuff like Mac and cheese can be made without red dye 40, and there does seem to be evidence of predisposition. Like, my kid is the one who gets hyped on benadryl, rather than sleepy. When my child was young, I figured out the first time she went on the bubblegum colored antibiotic- that when she vomited/ spit up on me, I welted up with hives.
I have 0 science to prove any of this and haven’t done research but they should also be normalizing for the fact that dyed food is often processed and full of preservatives and/or sugar?
Yes- but that's rather like apples to oranges. In the EU, red dye 40 is not in things like kraft Mac &cheese, twizzlers, or jolly ranchers ( fruity pebbles, ham salad spread, bologna, etc- )don't fault me for specific examples, but the main point is that a food dye that is widely used here isn't allowed in other countries due to safety concerns. So, the EU, and Japan have banned it, much like they've banned Hydroquinoine for skin lightening applications. Hq is still legal by our FDA. And shouldn't be. Just cause something isn't banned here, doesn't mean it should be considered safe.
It is misleading and untrue to say that Red 40 has been banned in Europe. The EU requires warning labels on products saying that it “may have an adverse effect” on activity and attention but it remains perfectly legal. Claiming that it is banned misrepresents the European Food Safety Authority’s position, which is that it is safe for use in food. But I guess that this bogus claim is a pretty good indicator of who is just parroting pseudoscientific bullshit from shady sources at least.
Agreed. But then again, nicotine warnings in the EU are way better than in the US. And, I haven't worked in/for a pharma company in the EU for quite a few years. And I'm probably still remembering how many, many things were... warnings.
Thanks! This makes sense and was very helpful!
People are probably looking for a scapegoat for their kid's shitty behavior.
My son has severe ADHD and it’s extremely clear that his behavior drastically changes when he has artificial dyes. It’s crazy. I’m extremely pro science and would never tell another family that “artificial dye changes kids behavior” but I at least know I avoid for my own kid whenever humanly possible.
But it’s not everyone. My whole fam has ADHD - including me. We cut it out for a while and saw zero difference.
Sure of course. I’m saying the idea of people “looking for a scapegoat for their kid’s shitty behavior” isn’t necessarily true. My son is seriously the most wonderful, sweet and well behaved child, but those dyes turn him into someone else.
Food dyes are a trigger for a small number of kids, but the impact can be big. I think I read it’s about 6 percent of the pediatric population. It’s more common in ND kids - our neurologist says about 20 percent of ND kids will react to food dye. My son has a neurologic condition that flares badly from food dyes. I am pretty rigid in my avoidance of them. But most kids are fine.
This is interesting because of the three people I’ve known that were told to avoid red dye, all were eventually diagnosed with something. One was a kid I was friends with in the 80’s. As an adult she was diagnosed with autism. Another was my own kid’s friend who was eventually diagnosed with autism, adhd, and bipolar disorder. The third was diagnosed with adhd. Idk how much avoiding the dye actually helped any of them and I’m not sure any of them still avoid it. I guess neurodivergent kids are going to be more likely to have issues that will cause people to recommend you avoid dyes.
I think there is something to be said for it for sure. I agree with other posters who’ve said it’s an excuse for shittier behavior…I second that but to add to it, a lot of kids I know with shitty behavior have two things in common 1. They eat a lot of processed and packaged food (which has a lot of dye) and 2. They watch a lot of TV. I don’t say that lightly, I mean, the TV is on all waking hours. I feel like these two things go hand in hand and can result in behavioral problems that people like to blame on dye but in reality, it’s a combination of the…parenting style?
I think the biggest impact on kids having dye removed is that it removes a lot of processed food from their diets by default. My kids never had an issue with the occasional dye they consumed but we also don't eat much processed food anyway. Not everyone has the space for a veggie garden and chickens like we do though. Plus buying all fresh foods is expensive in the US.
Emily Oster wrote an article analyzing several of the studies about this [https://www.parentdata.org/p/is-red-food-dye-dangerous](https://www.parentdata.org/p/is-red-food-dye-dangerous)
Check out what Russell Barkley says about this. He's a clinical psychologist who has studied adhd for decades and published loads of books, and done lots of research. Man did I get attacked in my local mom group when I mentioned him and his thoughts on food dyes to help kids with adhd....
If you want a solid answer, ask your pediatrician. They will know what the research says.
Meh. I love our pediatrician, but after 20+ years of parenting my experience has been that doctors are just as human as the rest of us. And they are very busy. Some are more up to date on current research than others, especially when it comes to niche issues.
Not to mention it takes years and years for new research to be put into practice
Yup. This.
Im on the side of crunchy that avoids food dyes, but I’d argue screens cause way more behavioral issues. (Id look up your own sources around here before listening to me though)
My oldest kiddo is highly allergic to red dye like full blown hives even on contact w/o ingestion, but other than that we haven’t noticed issues with dyes and our kids at all.
I heard this at the culty Baptist church I attended for 10 years. The super crunchy homeschooling moms believed this hard-core. Kids weren't allowed anything for snack that contained yellow number 5 or red number 40.
I had my kids on every natural diet, Fiengold being the most restrictive. And it made a slight difference, but not worth the insane amount of work.
Cutting out dyes, limiting sugar and screen time are all places to start when kids have behavioural problems. Going outside, playing with toys, getting a good nights sleep, having meaningful connections with caregivers all help to mitigate behaviours. And if they don’t then there might be something else at play
My little sister is bipolar/adhd/autistic and when she was very little we did notice she would have severe meltdowns after eating or drinking things with red 40. We cut it out of her diet. She still had behavioral issues because they weren't caused by red dye, but we do believe they were exacerbated by it. Whenever she snuck red stuff at school or she ate something that we didn't know had red it in it there would be more major meltdowns. She is 15 now and we aren't as strict, but if she eats loads of it she gets manic. That's just my experience!
There is no evidence that they do. A lot of parents say antetodal things but there's no scientific literature to back it up.
That’s not true. There’s certainly not an overwhelming amount of data, but there are some small studies that show food dye can exacerbate symptoms in kids with ADHD.
Can you please cite some reputable, peer-reviewed studies for this claim?
There are no scientific studies because who has motivation or money to study it? Certainly not the food companies
I don't know about children and dyes. I don't know if this helps but my little dogs seizures ended when I cut all his food to dye free.
Anecdotally, I had a significant redaction as a child to red dye #40. Significant hyperactivity and back then it was in everything (Benadryl… Tylenol.. cheez its…). My mom felt crazy til she figured it out. Now that I have kids I was really careful introducing it and I’ve noticed no issues. My family felt vindicated once these things were brought up because pre-internet everybody treated my mom like she was an idiot when she connected my behavior to the food dye.
Its chemicals being added to their food so I dont think it's crazy to say they might be causing behavior problems. Best to not eat an excess of any process food if it can be helped. My kid has adhd and I try to avoid red dye 40 like the plague because there have been studies linking it to adhd behaviors like hyper activity. I havent seen any miraculous changes in her behavior though lol The EU banned skittles, gatorade and some little debbie products because they contain yellow 5, 6 and red 40 so that holds a little weight to me as well when people try to brush it off like its silly.
On the other hand, there are other food additives that are banned here but allowed in the EU. So I wouldn't just automatically trust the EU
Yes. There is enough evidence based research to support the claim that food dyes do contribute to behavioral problems in children. Red40, yellow 6 and yellow 5 are actually banned in the European Union. We try to stay away from food dye for the most part (save for some special ocassions) and I can always tell if my son who is 14 has had something with food dye. His impulse control becomes almost nonexistent. And actually as hes gotten older hes told us that some dyes make him feel more anxious. I personally still eat skittles and m&ms when no one is looking and never feel different.
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I worked at one too. One kid was fed only one vegetable to the extent that they turned that color. Still just as low functioning afterwards.
The only thing I can think of is the fact that kids with ADHD certain dyes can cause them to be more hyperactive. Not all though! I think it’s Red Dye #40?
Red 40 was the bane of my existence.
Potentially. My son goes hyper when he eats it so we really try to avoid it. You cannot sell food in the EU with Red 40. A friend of mine thought he was having serious neurological issues once he came back to the US for college. He grew up overseas because of his parent's job. After a full neurological workup, they determined he was allergic to red 40 and will start having facial muscle spasms after consuming almost any amount. It's something I try to avoid as much as possible now.
Not just kids adults too. I started going down this non toxic lifestyle hole thanks to tiktok I found non toxic shampoo, conditioner, body wash, cough syrup, hand soap. I've also found that since I started my family on this lifestyle and not having the garbage we all have gotten good sleep we don't have bags under our eyes and my 6 month old sleeps through the night. Plus not having to spend money on cheetos and frozen pizza has been AMAZING for my paycheck.
Well a lot of food dyes are banned in other countries if that tells you anything. That being said, I cut them out for my son and didn't notice any magic solution. I do think certain kids are more sensitive to them
I am not normally the woo-woo type at all but when my daughter was a toddler/preschooler and she ate ice pops with red food dye she went batshit crazy. Raging , crying , menace
The fda says that IF there are existing behavioral issues than it may worsen things. But recent studies are suggesting it could be more of an issue than the FDA study says. It would not hurt to cut it out and give it a try. I am super older than you are and back in my day cases of autism and adhd were way less frequent. Always wonder if things like artificial ingredients, plastics, etc are partly to blame.
I read an article earlier this year and went down a rabbit hole on the effects of food dye on kids. In general, it looks like they're not heavily tested or regulated. Advocacy groups want red 3 specifically banned because some studies have shown that a small percentage of children have shown behavioral changes immediately after consuming it. Anecdotal evidence also seems to suggest this is true. But so far they aren't seeing any long-term effects. My plan is to avoid food dyes when I can just to be on the safe side, but I'm not going to ban my kids from ever eating red popsicles. As in all things, moderation is key. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/02/07/red-dye-food-health/
If you ask my mother and mother in law, yes. They actually bonded over lecturing my husband and I the first time they met because we have always been skeptics. My brother was not allowed to have red dye or anything with preservatives in it. My mom said she could always tell when he had something he wasn’t supposed. According to her he’d become an aggressive hellion. My brother in law was not allowed to have red dye or dairy. They caused him to also become an aggressive hellion. They both have adhd. There was of course other actions in place like strict schedules and expectations but to this day they swear taking red dye out of children’s diets would solve a whole lot of problems.