{"id":34992,"date":"2013-06-13T09:25:53","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T09:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dherbs.com\/uncategorized\/feature-artificial-food-and-cosmetic-coloring-a-hidden-source-of-toxic-metals\/"},"modified":"2023-06-08T02:45:11","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T09:45:11","slug":"artificial-colors-in-food-and-cosmetic-products-a-hidden-source-of-metal-toxicity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dherbs.com\/articles\/diet-nutrition\/artificial-colors-in-food-and-cosmetic-products-a-hidden-source-of-metal-toxicity\/","title":{"rendered":"Artificial Colors In Food and Cosmetic Products – A Hidden Source of Metal Toxicity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
I never really thought twice about food coloring-and if I did, I thought how wonderful it was. Isn’t it great that you can make a green cake, decorate Easter eggs, customize treats for children, make play dough, etc.? It seemed as if every label I checked had some type of artificial colors in it, so that meant it was safe right? Unfortunately, the answer turned out to be a resounding NO!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why was it that some members of my family reacted after eating foods that contained coloring? Was it my imagination? Was it something else in the food? What about other children whose parents shared the same concern? Why did one child become hyperactive while another broke out in a rash?<\/strong> These questions haunted me, and I needed to find answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we approached our pediatrician, she mentioned that some parents believe there is a connection between artificial colors and behavior and illness, but there was absolutely no evidence to support that artificial food coloring was in any way responsible for either outcome. However, she also was not able to provide data supporting that it was not detrimental, so I decided to keep looking. Eventually I heard of Dr. Ben Feingold<\/strong>, purchased his books, and read about the link he had made between hyperactivity and artificial food coloring<\/strong>. A number of his patients improved or recovered by changing their diets, specifically eliminating salicylates and colorings. Dr. Feingold had quite a bit of data on salicylates, but what really intrigued me was the link between colors and hyperactivity<\/strong> – what exactly was in these artificial colors?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artificial food colorings were first introduced after World War II when the chemical industry met with the food industry regarding using chemical-based artificial colors<\/strong> since they were lower in cost than natural colors and had a longer shelf life. The safety of the colors was determined primarily from using LD-50 tests, and the amount was then extrapolated to humans. At the time of approval, behavioral toxicology testing was not required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and therefore was not done on the artificial food colors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The FDA’s website proved to be a valuable database for food coloring information. The site provides precise lists of color ingredients and is quite disturbing. I was personally horrified to learn that all artificial food colorings contain heavy metals such as lead and mercury as well as a myriad of chemicals.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One reason this was so disturbing was that one portion of the FDA had complete literature on the dangers of lead and the sources; however, food coloring was not listed as a potential source of exposure. Another reason this was disturbing was the consideration of all the possibilities for exposure to artificial food colorings in any given day. For example, is your child drinking a sports drink or a fruit juice with coloring? Does their antibiotic contain coloring? How about the macaroni and cheese you made for dinner last night? What are the cumulative effects of this exposure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most artificial food coloring contains lead, mercury, and arsenic.<\/strong> What amounts of these substances are considered safe? The Department of Health and Human Services reports minimal risk levels (Table 1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Table 1: Minimal Risk Levels for Mercury, Lead, and Arsenic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBackground<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Food and Drug Administration and Artificial Food Colorings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What Levels Are Safe?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mercury<\/h3>\n\n\n\n