Food-Dye Allergies: How I Discovered My Daughter's Allergy by Chance
A good-old Google search on food dye allergies kept me busy for the next few days. I was surprised at all the information I found. This is a very real problem for a lot of kids and their parents. Even more surprising is what these dyes are made of, things like beetles and coal tar!
There are many food dyes that after years of use were found to be dangerous and banned. It is truly frightening. I wondered if an allergy to food dye could be contributing to my daughter's behavior problems. Turns out dyes were not contributing, they were causing them!
I took my daughter to our pediatrician for a full psychical. They checked everything, even doing a full blood work up. Everything was normal; she was considered a perfectly healthy four year old. I explained the behavioral issues we had been having; they referred us to a behavioral health clinic.
I asked the doctor about the possibility of food dyes causing allergies. She said everyone has something they are over sensitive to, and if removing food dyes from her diet helps her, then it's real for us. We decided to try it.
We saw results very quickly. A week after we removed all food dyes from her diet, tantrums started becoming shorter and less frequent. She was less angry, more cooperative and in general just more pleasant to be around. She was also sleeping better. I was amazed! The longer she's off the dyes the better it gets.
The dye Red #40 really seems to affect her. If she has something red, she is out of control for two or three days. Yellow dyes make it hard for her to sleep. Yellow #5 has also been shown to cause hives and itching in some people.
I expected food dye to be in a lot of things, juice, candy, flavored yogurts, that kind of stuff, but some things really surprised me. We're still finding it in things that we use every day, and having to look for other alternatives. Toothpaste, cheese, crackers, are some things that I didn't associate with having dye in them, but they do.
Food dye is even put into some meat and produce to achieve a more desirable color. Medication's like Tylenol, Motrin and cold medicine contain dyes. Why can't something be flavored without being colored? We have been trained to expect things to look appealing and attractive, the food industry's answer is to use artificial colors instead of making better products.
It infuriated me that there are no warnings on these products. Food dyes causing behavioral problems in children is really more common than the FDA would like us to believe. If dyes have the potential to do this to kids, should anyone really be putting this stuff in food? I believe that these dyes are poisoning people. I hope that more people start demanding dye free foods, causing the food industry to rethink their decision to poison people, wishful thinking.
Published by Haley
I am a stay at home mom and a permanent student, mostly because I can't decide what I want to be when I grow up. View profile
- Food Dye Yellow-5 What Yellow-5 does, why it exists, and how it effects me and you.
- Food Allergy? - it Doesn't Have to Be a CrisisThe day I found out my child had a severe food allergy to milk, I had my own personal breakdown.This was something she had been given since birth.
- Avoid These Harmful Chemicals in Your FoodThe U.S. is the world's largest processed food nation and people simply love to eat these fake foods. Before you take another big bite, know what's in your food and why you should think twice eating what's in your ha...
Food Safety for Your PetConcerned about the health of your pet after the recall of canned food manufactured by Menu Foods of Canada? Even high priced brands of pet food contain fillers and dyes. The...- Why Food Companies Use Dyes to Make Their Food Look More AppealingArtificial dyes are used more often in the food you see in your grocery store than many imagine. While artificial dyes are controversial, natural dyes are starting to be used overseas in many foods and should (though...
- Using Food Coloring
- Is the Red 40 Food Dye Additive Having a Negative Impact on Your Child?
- Food Dye in Your Food: Do You Know What You're Eating?
- Easy Activities for Preschoolers Using Food Coloring
- Food Source Dye for Easter Eggs
- Should Artificial Food Coloring Be Banned?
- Food Color Additives: Natural or Certifiable?
12 Comments
Post a CommentWell, apparently I am sensitive to dyes--most notably Red # 40--but other dyes probably bother me too. I'm a 48 year-old mom, and it took one cherry sno-cone for me to discover this, but I can assure you it is real!
My son got a sno-cone machine for christmas, and several flavored syrups were included. I've had some dental work over the years, so at first, I thought it was just sensitive teeth responding to the cold ice... but after I ate a second sno-cone the next day... and my tongue started burning, my throat then my digestive tract... I figured something was going on with the syrups.
I waited two days--felt fine during that time--and then I ate a sno-cone with cherry syrup (various sugars and Red # 40) and before I could finish the 'treat' my body started reacting violently. My eyes and nose running, and itching, my tongue and throat on fire, and I spent the next 24 hours with sharp abdominal pains until it passed through my system.
I had nothing to eat a
Thank you for this article. It's very helpful. I'm on a mission to educate people about the effects gluten has on child behavior. Thanks for getting the word out about yet another food additive that is causing problems. Knowledge is power.
I am looking at my 6 year old son, who has hives all over his body and is itching terribly due to consuming Gatorade with Blue 2 in it. At least that's the only thing I can link this reaction to. (He has reacted identically to red and yellow dyes and is allergic to penicillin.) I'd like to point out that there is a difference between sensitivity and a true allergy. I worry that his allergies will progress to anaphylaxis, and because so many people say their kids are "allergic", NO ONE will realize that some kids have true allergies and are at risk of having more than behavioral problems.
Our son goes bonkers when he eats yellow dye; it lasts for over 24 hours. Other dyes also make him jittery and act out. We read labels religiously and try not to give him anything with any dyes. If we do, we all know what we're up against for the next 1-2 days.
Extra note - preservatives (there are a load of them, but BHA/BHT and TBHQ are a few) may also cause unwanted behaviours.
have custody of 4 yr. old grandson has been showing signs of alergy to red#40. after talking to other members of my church have decided to take it away from him and see what results are.will update
Our 2 year old has a severe allergy to red 40 she had a small bite of pink cotton candy it gaver her blisters on her lips mouth, hives on her face and watery eyes instantly she refused to eat it cause it hurt her! She cannot even hold a red crayon! I took photos of her face and hands after that watery eyes red swollen between the fingers where she held it, hives on her face. Crayola has failed to respond to my quesetion of which crayons are safe for her to use! We cut out all red dyes and now going to cut our all syntehtic dyes. Blue slime she played with last night threw her into a fit of rage today. yummy earth on amazon has dye free lolly pops so gratefully she has a good treat like other kids. We are just going to stop buying anything with red or other dyes in it now. Many johnsons baby washes, bar soaps, lotions have red dye even if they dont appear red! Twinkies have red dye they are not red, the list goes on and on. it will be better for us all just to not buy anything with dye
Over the last year I noticed a definite link to food coloring and aggressiveness in my daughter and also some issue with hives occasionaly when she had it. i decided to do a 2 week test and remove it completly and she was a new child. Unfortunatly the allergic reaction has gotten much worse to the point of...one half of starbusrt found after halloween caused her to break out in hives and just last week one drink of a red juice caused a severe 5 day hive episode. Steriods was little help and she was covered. Now red dye is complely removed from the house and she is aware not to eat anything red. The thing is why are these chemicals in our childrens food?
wow,Thanks,this has confirmed my suspicions that my daughter is also highly allergic to yellow dye #5. After one year of nausa,vomitting,head ache,outburst of anger,she was dianogsed with bi-polar. but the sickness the could not explain,after a short stay in the hospital,i noticed that with no mt.dew.she was not sick or acting out,so when we got home i keep her away from yellow dye and i have a totaly different child.NO sickness, no outburst,no misbehaving at school.i really truly have a different child.
Thanks for the article. I have been on the crusade against Yellow #5 for some time now because of the asthmatic reactions my daughter has. We also eliminated red dyes because my sweet little girl turned into a monster for days after having it. Now we all eat natural foods and avoid the dyes at all cost. Maybe one day the food companies will notice and actually listen.
Red 40 food dye makes me itch very bad,around the ankles,legs and arms.They even use this posion in cough drops cough medicine,and some ice cream and manny fruit drinks,the FDA should not permit the use of red 40 dye in food,the only purpose is to make the food and the fruit drinks more eye appelling to sell. Money hungry,more sales