When my son was little I had no idea what Red Dye #40 could do. When I started potty training him I had what I thought was a brilliant idea. I would use maraschino cherries as bribery instead of candy. Fruit is healthy right!? I was clueless. I had no idea they were full of sugar like candy, and on top of that they were loaded with something even worse…red dye #40.
As I began giving these “cherries” to my son, I soon had a child who was completely out of control. I had never seen my son like this. It was like he was a completely different person. I was baffled at the sudden change. Then something popped into the back of my head. I remembered seeing an article talking about red dye and behavior changes. I ran to the fridge to check the jar of cherries. Sure enough I found red dye on the label. I headed for the computer and typed in “red dye behavior issues” only to find 100’s of articles on the subject. There it was in black and white. Many studies have linked artificial food dyes, especially red dye #40, to behavioral issues including ADD/ADHD type behaviors as well as cancers.
For example a study in PubMed called “Toxicology of food dyes” found the following.
- Red 3 causes cancer in animals, and there is evidence that several other dyes also are carcinogenic.
- Three dyes (Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6) have been found to be contaminated with benzidine or other carcinogens.
- At least four dyes (Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6) cause hypersensitivity reactions.
- Numerous microbiological and rodent studies of Yellow 5 were positive for genotoxicity.
After some research we decided red dye #40 was going to be on the “naughty list” for our family. We knew this was going to be a bit challenging, but we had no idea how challenging until we began really reading labels. We quickly found out that it is in a majority of products, especially those targeted towards kids.
On thing that was important to me in making this change is that I didn’t want my kids to feel like they were missing out. This became especially difficult at school when treats with red dye were handed out at least once a month for birthdays and holidays. To make things easier, I began searching for alternatives that they would like just as well. Then, at the beginning of each school year, I started taking in a large bag with my kid’s name on it filled with these dye free treats. On days when the class had a special treat, my kids could have something too. We also began utilizing these dye free treats for special events, holidays and birthdays at home as well.
We found a few brands we love, so I thought it would be helpful if I put together a short list of a few of our favorites for those of you trying to make the same switch:
- Breyers Vanilla/Chocolate/Strawberry Ice Cream – It is hard to find Strawberry ice cream without dye. This one uses real strawberries.
- Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops – We love all of the flavors of these. We have found them at Natural Grocers before too.
- India Tree Nature’s Colors Carnival Sprinkles – Dye free sprinkles can be really hard to find. We bought these online because of their great reviews and were really happy with them.
- Black Forest Gummy Bears – We love anything Black Forest brand, but the gummy bears are my favorite. I think they are better than any traditional gummy bears that I’ve had. I’ve found their products locally at Albertsons and Walgreens.
- Hi-Chew – My son loves these. We originally found them at a gas station on a road trip, and we were so excited to find something dye free that he could have.
- Unreal Milk Chocolate Gems – Did you know that even the chocolate inside M&Ms has red dye in it? This means my son can’t just pick the non red ones. We tried Unreal brand, and while they aren’t quite as good, they are not bad if you need a dye free substitute.
So I’d love to know if you have already made the switch away from artificial food dyes or are planning on making the change. If you have found some dye free kid friendly foods, desserts or candies that your kids love please share them so we can try them out!