Comments on: Do Food Dyes Affect Behavior?

By: Gabrielle

Gabrielle — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 03:17:32 +0000

In reply to Hannah. I am searching for the same answers, how to counteract when they have dye away from home or on accident. Your comment was from a year ago: have you found any answers?

By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 04:02:11 +0000

Thank you for this article!
A friend of mine suggested losing the dues after seeing him at a get-together a few months ago. Her own son has had great success when she quit the she’s. My own son is currently 3 1/2, was born at 25 weeks and is ODD, ADHD and has SPD…. I’ve been at a loss on how to help him. She told me about the dues and I can tell a difference since we started reading the labels and actually looking for them. Your list definitely will help moving forward bon the journey it seems we are taking on!
Thanks again!

By: Hannah

Hannah — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 01:04:09 +0000

I’m late on this post but came back to it because I’ve wondering if you’re heard of anything that can counteract the dyes when they are already consumed. It sounds like some children have the maturity and self-control not to eat foods with dye when available to them (when they are at school, church, etc), but I’m sure that is not always the case. It is so discouraging to go back to the same problems over and over (anger, depression, tantrums, etc), each time the dye is consumed and so frustrating that I can do nothing to prevent it when dd is away from home. I have tried for 8 years (ever since I found out that it was dye was causing these problems) and I’m just worn out. I need some hopeful news on this front. Parents can eliminate the dyes when the child is always with them, or when they have a very mature and compliant child, but otherwise we are left with chronic problems that are triggered over and over. This has really taken a toll in our family.

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 27 May 2019 17:14:44 +0000

In reply to Katie. I have the same issue. My mom realized early and kept artificial dye out of our house but in my 20's I have too much one day and had uncontrollable hyperactivity. You never grow out of it.

By: Corinne

Corinne — Mon, 06 May 2019 20:48:45 +0000

I grew u with all that as you mentioned but now that I have a daughter I pay more attention to what I feed her..I never really looked into it too much until somebody pointed it out to me and then I started to pay attention. I thought it was crazy but then I gave my daughter some Easter peeps and she went bonkers she wasn’t even herself and I was wondering what happened it must be the sugar…but she could sugar every now and then so I’m like no it’s got to be the peeps the food coloring in the peeps is what set her off! So now my husband and I are believers and we eliminate food dye every chance we get she gets close to none and we use natural resources to color if needed.

By: Amy Woodbury

Amy Woodbury — Sat, 13 Oct 2018 23:15:11 +0000

I am a nutritionist and was still chewing gum. It was a habit. I was getting more anxious daily. Therefore I chewed more…I finally realized the artificial sweeteners and colors were upsetting my stomach and my mental state. I quit cold turkey and feel myself again. I think adults need to be educated on the harms it does to them as well. Not just kids. All people who consume it are affected negatively. I am inspired to write a book about the subject matter because there is so little information available.

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 11:36:18 +0000

Would these dyes have names that do not include a color? In other words, does tricky wording ever make it hard to identify that something IS a dye?

By: Cheyenne

Cheyenne — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 17:29:33 +0000

Two of five children are behaviorally affected by dyes. Red dye was my first experience and I only put it together after both children had simultaneous reactions after eating Red Vines at a movie theatre. Their impulsive and aggressive behavior lasted for days. After about 6 days it subsided. The eldest recalled being embarrassed by her behavior. A month later they had Red Vines again—the same behavioral reaction occurred. Both kids have NUT allergies (anaphylactic)-I googled allergies and behavior and discovered the dye affect-link. I couldn’t believe behaviorally it could change my children as it did. They impulse-control, anger management, frustration and intolerance of others was almost Jekyl-Hyde. We can laugh about it now because we can avoid dyes—for the most part. But I feel for others who don’t put it together that what their children consume can affect their behavior. Had I not had two children experiencing it similtaneous after eating the same food I don’t think I would have figured it out. Kids with food sensitivity have different reactions. Nuts, coconut, bananas cause inflammation of their skin, mouth and respiratory tract. You have to assume that other parts of the body including the brain can be adversely affected by things we consume—and so long as the inflammation persists so can the reaction. Inflammation—a troublemaker.

By: Heather MacCoy

Heather MacCoy — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 12:52:57 +0000

My brother could not tolerate FD&C Yellow #5 (We’re now in our 40’s). When he was in 3rd grade (1982-1983 I think), my mother took him to the eye doctor because he would intermittently bug his eyes out. He had been having some attention issues. The optometrist recommended Dr. Feingold’s book to my mother. We all went completely natural for a while, then she gradually reintroduced more conventional foods. Yellow #5 was the worst, other colors had a lesser effect, he appeared to tolerate flavors and preservatives.
As an adult, my brother tries to forage for what he can, and avoids soy ingredients.

By: Hannah

Hannah — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 18:30:18 +0000

I am labelled as a controlling mom (not allowing her to eat what the usual American child eats) who should be medicating the child. My daughter is old enough (10) to say no to these foods, and sometimes she does, but other times she wants to eat what everyone else is eating, even though she knows what will happen. Her brain is affected for 3 days each time, so even if she eats dye twice a week, she spends most of the week with a poorly functioning brain. The saddest thing is knowing that sweet, caring child that she is when she’s not “under the influence”, and realizing that most other people don’t know that child and don’t believe that child exists. They may see that child for a day or two, but they believe that the real child is the angry, defiant one. It’s very sad to know that this is preventable, and so is the trouble she continues to get into at school. I’m at the point where I think I have to come to accept that this is her life as long as she chooses to eat these items, because I’m not with her all the time and i can’t prevent it. I will continue to get bad behavioral reports, and she will miss out on friendships, because of those nasty chemicals that are everywhere except in the homes of a few people like us. I’ve explored every avenue to get adult support in this but i have found none.

By: Hannah

Hannah — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 18:18:03 +0000

I became aware of my daughter’s reactions to food dye when she was 3 and in preschool. I noticed that every time one of the children brought in cupcakes for a birthday, my daughter would be angry, screaming, hyperactive, and uncontrollable. After some research and an elimination diet, i discovered that she not only to reacts to dyes in food (including annatto), but also to fragrances and dyes in lotions, flavorings in foods or toothpaste, and even to fragrances from candles or air freshener. We no longer have any fragrances in our home, other than essential oils.. For a while I was able to keep her stable – and even now, when we are on vacation she is much improved, but during the school year she inevitably eats dyes and flavorings at school, and sometimes at church or the gym (she is a competitive gymnast). The prevailing opinion (including that of the school nurse) is that this problem isn’t real, because her reaction isn’t anaphylactic, and I don’t have a doctor’s note (what doctor believes that children are affected by what they eat?) So, instead she is labelled as hyperactive, oppositional defiant, and having anger issues.

By: Bobbie

Bobbie — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 13:37:17 +0000

In reply to Aly Marcel. Have them read this blog also maybe? Usually a person has to go through something horrible to trigger them to change their eating habits unfortunately. Our horrible experience was having an nursing infant develop severe eczema from an undiagnosed thrush infection gone systemic! That led to leaky gut which led to horrible food allergies and artificial coloring sensitivities. A useless pediatrician and a la leche league leader couldnt figure it out!

By: Bobbie

Bobbie — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 13:28:05 +0000

In reply to Nancy Ceccon. Doritos contain coloring AND MSG. It's the worst! They had an organic version for a while, but no more.

By: Bobbie

Bobbie — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 13:08:21 +0000

In reply to Amanda. I had the same happen to my family. My oldest got very depressed. My second son would get hyper and couldn't think logically. One time he was flipping out about bugs flying around his head and i told him to simply go inside, the door was just a few feet away! My last child would cry every Friday evening over nothing. We figured it was the bag of candy that her bus driver was giving her every week. I removed artificial dye and they are all better :)

By: Aly Marcel

Aly Marcel — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 20:04:52 +0000

Hello, Wellness Mama community! 🙂
I’m 15 and *love* this blog so much. I read it all the time, over and over again. I’ve always been interested in eating healthily and I try to (I avoid candy, especially those with dyes, and eat organic whenever I can or have the opportunity.) However, because I don’t have a job and I’m not supporting myself it’s hard to go gluten free, grain free, paleo, all-organic, etc. And, though I have a tiny garden on our 1/4 acre, we’re moving soon so I can’t plant any vegetables as I’ll be gone. By the time they’ve grown I’ll be somewhere else. Does anyone have suggestions on how I can eat healthily (and persuade my family too)? Thanks!

By: Deonne

Deonne — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 14:08:21 +0000

In reply to Nancy Ceccon.

Something besides the dye could be MSG which is definitely in Doritos and very likely in clam broth and some restaurant meals. Adverse reactions can include loss of balance, slurred speech, mental confusion, etc. This site has a list of ingredients that indicate the presence of MSG in a product: https://truthinlabeling.org/

By: Natalie

Natalie — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 22:23:34 +0000

In reply to Deanna. my husband was the same! He thought I was cooky! He has now seen the light and is on board but it was a tough sell!

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 22 May 2016 13:14:07 +0000

Thank you for posting this article. Its crazy how many people dont realize what theyre eating. I am allergic to food dyes, and red 40 is the worst. I always have so much paranoia when i go out to eat because you would be amazed by how many restaurants use food coloring in their foods. I have no memory of this, but when i was little, if i ate anything with red dye, in addition to getting anaphylactic, i would have horrible mood swings and throw major temper tantrums. As long as i dont eat anything red or yellow, im fine. Also some of the natural foods listed (tomato, almond, etc.) i also had/have allergies to. My reaction to tomatoes used to be like the red dye reaction, but now as long as its organic im fine. I cant have any almonds or other trea nuts. Anyway, im really glad that there is someone out there who understands the food coloring problem and is putting it out there for everyone to see. Thank you so much for posting this article.

By: Lori

Lori — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 19:24:12 +0000

In reply to Lori Powell. I understand putting frankincense on your thumb and pressing it on the roof of your mouth for a few seconds helps. You want to make sure it's a good quality organic oil though. My daughter has suffered from migraines and so I just bought some for her to use in case she has another attack. Thankfully it has been a while since she has pretty much cut out gluten except we use sprouted grain bread now and that doesn't seem to bother her. She's also cut out a lot of refined sugar and no soda. She makes sure to get more protein and lots of fruits and vegetables. Our chiropractor also recommended that she take Co q-10 and make sure to get magnesium, I believe, in her multivitamin.

By: Nancy Ceccon

Nancy Ceccon — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 00:31:21 +0000

My special needs daughter has had two alarming episodes which I am linking to red 40. First one, we were picking up trash on the beach with another scout troop, and when we stopped to rest, the other leader offered my girls Welches fruit snacks. Fruit juice, right? My lil piggy ate about 6 packs, and 5 minutes later, when we were up and walking again, she suddenly began whining, balking, and then screaming. She fell forward and “swam” in the sand, screamed incoherently, cried, and stuffed handfuls of sand in her mouth for more than 5 minutes. When she calmed and “woke up”, she had very little memory of what had happened. That summer, at vacation bible school, they were decorating cookies with M&Ms, frosting, and red shoestring licorice. She ate a lot of the candy. Suddenly, she began whining, grabbing at other kids cookies, and when I walked her outside to calm down, she had no balance or coordination. She sobbed and screamed incoherently for about 5 minutes, and when she finally calmed, again, she had very little memory of what had happened. She also will be giggling, babbling incoherently, and staggering around after some restaurant meals, after eating homemade linguini and clam sauce (canned clams and clam broth), and after a bag of Doritos. Something besides the dye is also affecting her. A preservative?