Food Dyes And Hyperactivity: FDA Examines Possible Link

WASHINGTON -- The FDA is examining the link between dyes found in everyday foods and hyperactivity in children.

At a two-day meeting starting Wednesday, an FDA advisory committee will decide whether available data links the dyes and the disorder. The panel will recommend whether the agency should further study the issue or require better labeling.

The FDA has so far said there is no proven relationship between food dyes and hyperactivity in most children. But the agency said that for "certain susceptible children," hyperactivity and other behavioral problems may be exacerbated by food dyes and other substances in food.

The meeting is in response to a 2008 petition filed by the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest to ban Yellow 5, Red 40 and six other dyes.

Comments

[Dmacc502]

01:14 PM on 03/31/2011

My daughter is 30, I stopped food dyes in the 1980. Popsicles, jello, kool aide, they all had her bouncing off the walls. Hell yes there is a link!

[Mom of 5]

10:47 AM on 03/31/2011

My youngest daughter suffered severe cramps, diarrhea, and eczema over most of her body. When she was 15 months we made the connection between dyes and stomach problems. After banning dyes we saw such quick recovery we were shocked. Her eczema faded and eventually went away too. At age 5 we reintroduced (trial suggested by doctor) EVERYTHING came back.
We have returned to dye free for everyone in the house.
Try finding dye free foods and products. Even medications have dyes!!! It's not easy and it's expensive to find alternatives.
Why if there is less dyes and processing does it cost more? I would love to see them banned!

[Toonguy]

11:14 AM on 03/31/2011

Sounds a bit like Celiac to me. It has similar symptoms and there's gluten in everything.

[Mom of 5]

11:56 AM on 03/31/2011

That had been mentioned to us by others. However once we returned to dye free she hasn't experienced any further problems. I should also include she can't use dyes on her skin either. Playdough, crayons, paints and markers are all handled with care or not at all. Soaps, shampoos, lotions(including sunblock) toothpastes all have to be checked and rechecked since "new and improved" can also mean 'Brighter color" found that one out the hard way(for her).
I wonder often how many others experience rashes, headaches etc. and never make a connection. Then again once you do it's and lot of work and there no MAGIC pill or powder to make it all go away.

[owiseone]

10:31 AM on 03/31/2011

Gee whiz. We're told that the "Mediterranean Diet" is the most healthful one.

Does that include the use of factory made ingredients? It would seem that this diet is healthful because it eliminates the poisons industry puts into "food".

[owiseone]

09:58 AM on 03/31/2011

As one who can only safely use certain lip balms, certain toothpastes, lotions, I can vouch for this problem in topical products as well as in "food".

[owiseone]

09:57 AM on 03/31/2011

Does anybody else remember Dr. Feingold and his books on hyperactivity and diet from the 70s?

He should have become the authority on this, and should been able to set a standard with the FDA, but his recommendations and research evidently went largely ignored.

The subsequent growth of all the boxed, doctored up, ridiculously lacking in nutrition "food" on grocery shelves is absolutely shocking in its capacity for harm.

[Dr Jbox]

08:02 AM on 03/31/2011

Ridiculous. (You, too, OverseasVet.) We've proven this decades ago. Read one of Dr. Doris Rapp's books or search her on youtube or her site. Talk to any AAEM (Environmental Medicine) doctor or patient. Some people, many people, react to these dyes (and many other chemicals). What gets me is the blindness by which some people follow "science," especially a single study. It is impossible to DISPROVE causation. Period. If you had a study of 2000 kids, fed them peanuts, and none went into anaphylaxis, what have you proven? Nothing. If you give ONE child that dye, observe hyperactivity, withdraw from the diet, see improvement, reintroduce the dye, observe hyperactivity, and repeat the cycle again and again, what have you proven? That the dye causes hyperactivity. The science worshipers can claim it's not a scientific study; therefore it's invalid. But in the REAL world, this is how we use our logic. And in MY profession (veterinary medicine), that is exactly how I was taught to diagnose a food allergy. Common sense and logic is good enough for a medical diagnosis from me; it's good enough for an official admission in regards to the dyes an hyperactivity. And unfortunately, that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what chemical sensitivities can cause.

[ddanimal]

02:16 AM on 04/01/2011

Thats exactly right. Some medical people see the world only through double blinded placebo controlled studies and they miss an awful lot. Even so, placebo controlled studies have shown that dyes and benzoates cause these reactions. These studies were pubvlished years ago. The fact that the FDA is taking such a skeptical view after so much time has passed just goes to show how worthless they are for protecting public health and informing people.

[Welshish]

08:25 PM on 04/06/2011

Exactly. It's a good use of the scientific method.
Through that method I determined, decades ago, that I have an 'allergic type' response to products (skin care products) that contain petrolium.
I told this to a dermatologist and she said "you can't do that" and asked for no more info re how I determined that over many years of noticing, etc.

[ddanimal]

02:47 AM on 03/31/2011

continued:

This result persisted when analysis was restricted to 3-year-old children who consumed more than 85% of juice and had no missing data (0.32 [0.05-0.60], p=0.02). 8/9-year-old children showed a significantly adverse effect when given mix A (0.12 [0.02-0.23], p=0.023) or mix B (0.17 [0.07-0.28], p=0.001) when analysis was restricted to those children consuming at least 85% of drinks with no missing data.

INTERPRETATION: Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population.

[ddanimal]

02:47 AM on 03/31/2011

This is the study:
Lancet. 2007 Nov 3;370(9598):1560-7.
Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.

University of Southampton

BACKGROUND: We undertook a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial to test whether intake of artificial food colour and additives (AFCA) affected childhood behaviour.

METHODS: 153 3-year-old and 144 8/9-year-old children were included in the study. The challenge drink contained sodium benzoate and one of two AFCA mixes (A or B) or a placebo mix. The main outcome measure was a global hyperactivity aggregate (GHA), based on aggregated z-scores of observed behaviours and ratings by teachers and parents, plus, for 8/9-year-old children, a computerised test of attention. This clinical trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials (registration number ISRCTN74481308). Analysis was per protocol.

FINDINGS: 16 3-year-old children and 14 8/9-year-old children did not complete the study, for reasons unrelated to childhood behaviour. Mix A had a significantly adverse effect compared with placebo in GHA for all 3-year-old children (effect size 0.20 [95% CI 0.01-0.39], p=0.044) but not mix B versus placebo.

[ddanimal]

02:43 AM on 03/31/2011

The FDA has a clear choice to make here: for the food corporations who cannot be bothered to reformulate their toxic products, or for public health and childrens well-being. The choice is clear.

Given that the FDA has dragged its feet on this issue for so many years, I am expecting the FDA will once again find a way to protect their corporate beneficiaries-their true clients.

[owiseone]

09:46 AM on 03/31/2011

I totally agree, as one who cured my own children, and those of anybody who would listen, of chronic ear infections, tonsillitis, chronic diarrhea, tantrums, etc....by taking artificial dyes, preservatives, excessive salt and sugar, artificial sweeteners out of their diets.
Even most toothpastes, vitamins, have very unhealthful ingredients in them.
Why have parents not been alerted to these risks? The answer is it would cut into the bottom line of big companies who sell us packaged and "enhanced foods".
It took vigilance and cooking from "scratch" but was very telling in what we have allowed in the name of industry's profits and crimes against our own children's health.

[eva07]

11:58 PM on 03/30/2011

Why do we need dyes in food?

[OverseasVet]

02:32 AM on 03/31/2011

It makes our Jello red and our Twinkies yellow.

[eva07]

02:44 AM on 03/31/2011

And why would it be a problem if they were not red or yellow? Red 40 is a coal tar derivative, why would anybody want to ingest it?

[ddanimal]

02:53 AM on 03/31/2011

So that unaware consumers will be enticed to purchase the disease-causing garbage manufactured by the junk food industry.

[OverseasVet]

11:19 PM on 03/30/2011

This is a good example of lawyers using junk science to frighten the public into accepting their social agenda. The FDA has already completed a similar study including evaluating the inconclusive 2007 study cited by the loons at Center for Science in the Public Interest and the FDA has correctly found no scientific evidence for a link. The CSPI is a left wing fringe group which wants to ban popcorn from movie theaters. They are the PETA of food terrorism.

[eva07]

11:51 PM on 03/30/2011

Not using yellow dye, won't harm anyone....if there is even a tiny chance that it would harm people we shouldn't use it.. the chemical dyes in food are absolutely unnecessary...btw. if you want to color anything yellow use turmeric..

[OverseasVet]

02:30 AM on 03/31/2011

Why would anyone assume a plant derived coloring is any healthier than a man made product?

[ddanimal]

02:40 AM on 03/31/2011

Nonsense. You are completely wrong. There was a very good, well funded, double-blind study done in the UK that proves a link. The link between food dyes and brain function disturbances has been observed by naturopathic doctors for decades, and for decades, the FDA and medical establishment generally has refused to investigate it. The proof is now in and food dyes are guilty as charged.

The only wacko partisan here is you. You dont understand, or care for, the science. Science is what matters here, not your wing-nut political ideology.

[Frank Barnhill MD]

09:11 PM on 03/30/2011

Question...
If a child's ADHD behavior is cured or goes away when he or she is placed on a food dye elimination diet, doesn't that really mean the child was not ADHD?

I suspect that children whose behavior got better when food coloring was removed from their diet actually were sensitive to those chemicals and were never ADHD in the first place.

We should use this "rediscovery" and new media attention to educate everyone about ADHD misdiagnosis and the harm a child suffers from mislabeling.

If current ADHD diagnosis numbers continue, as of the end of 2011, 10.4 million US kids will be diagnosed as ADHD and probably 4 million of those will have been misdiagnosed.
Frank Barnhill, MD
Author: "Mistaken for ADHD"
www.mistakenforadhd.com

[OverseasVet]

11:47 PM on 03/30/2011

"Based on our review of the data from published literature, FDA concludes that a causal relationship between exposure to color additives and hyperactivity in children in the general population has not been established. For certain susceptible children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and other problem behaviors, however, the data suggest that their condition may be exacerbated by exposure to a number of substances in food, including, but not limited to, synthetic color additives. Findings from relevant clinical trials indicate that the effects on their behavior appear to be due to a unique intolerance to these substances and not to any inherent neurotoxic properties." FDA conclusions from (PDF) http://themoderatevoice.com/wordpress-engine/files/2011/03/FAC-BackgroundDocument.pdf

[ddanimal]

02:57 AM on 03/31/2011

In defending the ridiculous FDA, you simply parrot the FDA. laughable.

Moreover, the statement you quoted contradicts itself. Its says that a causal relationship ahs not been established, but that the condition can be "exacerbated" by the additives. its classic doublespeak from a corrupt government agency spinning the science to protect its corporate criminal friends.

Here's a suggestion: go look at the science.

explain these results from the Southampton study:
This result persisted when analysis was restricted to 3-year-old children who consumed more than 85% of juice and had no missing data (0.32 [0.05-0.60­], p=0.02). 8/9-year-o­ld children showed a significan­tly adverse effect when given mix A (0.12 [0.02-0.23­], p=0.023) or mix B (0.17 [0.07-0.28­], p=0.001) when analysis was restricted to those children consuming at least 85% of drinks with no missing data.

INTERPRETA­TION: Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservati­ve (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactiv­ity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-o­ld children in the general population­.

[owiseone]

09:53 AM on 03/31/2011

Not only would ending the use of these coloring agents cut greatly into the Food Industry's profits, it would also cut into the drug industry's profits...which brings to mind another study of young children who have been on these drugs going on to an increased use of and dependance upon addictive, legal and illegal drugs in adulthood.

[Terri Lorz]

05:59 PM on 03/30/2011

Well - I will wait to see what conclusions are reached - if ever - Terri Jo Lorz

[ddanimal]

02:59 AM on 03/31/2011

Why wait for the corrupt criminal FDA? They will be the LAST people in the world to acknowledge that their food industry criminal friends are poisoning children.

[Toni Bark]

04:34 PM on 03/30/2011

Way to go Dana
I agree that industries or regulating bodies that make these absolute statements are being defensive. After 26 yrs as an MD, I have learned that anything is possible.
this is disturbing in light of the new supreme court ruling that tha vaccine industry can not be liable for defective vaccines as they are defective by nature by being categorized as "unavoidably unsafe" in their legal standing. you can chose to take your chances with food dyes but vaccines are mandated without any due process of the law. get on that Dana, we need you to write about it.

[OverseasVet]

11:26 PM on 03/30/2011

This kind of statement demeans the degree of Medical Doctor. Industry is held liable for not only vaccine injury but also perceived vaccine injury. Those without a solid case can settle with the vaccine court with little proof of harm. For those who do not settle they can still bring suit in federal court although their burden of proof is greater. An MD calling vaccines defective is a sorry statement on the state of our health care system.

[owiseone]

10:09 AM on 03/31/2011

You are off base with this criticism.

An MD who speaks truth is courageous. No need to insult.

[ddanimal]

02:51 AM on 03/31/2011

See the study I posted above.
See this study:

Lancet. 2007 Nov 3;370(9598­):1560-7.
Food additives and hyperactiv­e behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-o­ld children in the community: a randomised­, double-bli­nded, placebo-co­ntrolled trial.

University of Southampto­n

BACKGROUND­: We undertook a randomised­, double-bli­nded, placebo-co­ntrolled, crossover trial to test whether intake of artificial food colour and additives (AFCA) affected childhood behaviour.

This result persisted when analysis was restricted to 3-year-old children who consumed more than 85% of juice and had no missing data (0.32 [0.05-0.60­], p=0.02). 8/9-year-o­ld children showed a significan­tly adverse effect when given mix A (0.12 [0.02-0.23­], p=0.023) or mix B (0.17 [0.07-0.28­], p=0.001) when analysis was restricted to those children consuming at least 85% of drinks with no missing data.

INTERPRETA­TION: Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservati­ve (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactiv­ity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-o­ld children in the general population­.

[Cynth]

04:32 PM on 03/30/2011

"The meeting is in response to a 2008 petition..."

It's 2011. Very responsive of the FDA....

These dyes have been banned in my household for a couple of years. I'm not waiting for the FDA to get around to considering whether there is a link, then weigh it against industry interests before making their determination.

[ddanimal]

02:50 AM on 03/31/2011

The evidence has been building for many years. The FDA does nothing but protect their criminal friends selling toxic food additives. Its disgusting.