(NaturalHealth365)  Did you know that 15 million pounds of food color additives are sold annually in the United States?  This is both unnecessary and harmful to human health.  So, why are so many dyes used, and why are they dangerous?

Simply put, these dyes are used to make food look ‘prettier’ to consumers.  In other words, it’s purely a cosmetic thing to increase sales and slowly kill people – at the same time.  Feeding into this problem is that people like their food to look “fresh and attractive.”  But, in truth, food doesn’t have to be synthetically colored to be considered healthy and nutritious.  Unfortunately, this visually deceptive practice – by big food companies – is proving to be very harmful to human health.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, commonly used food dyes, such as Yellow 5 and Red 40, are made from petroleum and pose a “rainbow of risks.”  The health risks associated with artificial colors in food include hyperactivity in children, allergic reactions, and an increased risk of cancer.

In 2008, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the use of these dyes.  Worldwide, we see countries taking action, like the British government and European Union, virtually ending the use of dyes throughout Europe.

A closer look at the health problems connected to food dyes

Some food dyes have already been banned because of the health dangers associated with them.  However, others are still permitted by the FDA.  Some of these dyes, like Red No. 3, have been found to cause damage to the DNA in human liver cells and disrupt the function of the thyroid.

Parents need to know: Children who consume food with this dye in them are setting themselves up for a lifetime of health problems, and it’s children’s foods that have the most dyes in them.

Michael F. Jacobson, CSPI executive director, says, “these synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve the nutritional quality or safety of foods but trigger behavior problems in children and, possibly, cancer in anybody.”

No surprise: The FDA has taken little action to protect the public

The FDA has not done much to eliminate the dangerous red dye from our food supply.  It recognized its potential to cause cancer in 1985 and banned it from any products that go on the skin.  Yet, as crazy as this appears, this toxic substance is still allowed in food – which is far more dangerous to human health.  Let’s be honest, can we really trust the FDA anymore?

To make matters worse, these “colorful” poisons are found in a variety of medications.  Something is terribly wrong when taxpayer-funded government health agencies refuse to do their job and stop this insanity of poisoning the food supply.

Scientific proof of harm doesn’t seem to matter anymore

The International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reported, in September 2012, that Red Dye No. 3 causes cancer in animals – which means it probably does in humans, too.  There was also a strong suggestion in the study that a lot of other dyes that we consume are similarly carcinogenic.  It is pressure from the food additive industry that keeps the FDA from banning these dyes altogether as they should.

The journal Food and Chemical Toxicology reported certain consumable dyes are toxic to the pituitary gland and sperm in humans.  This means everything from our mental and physical health to our reproductive abilities can be affected by these dyes.

We need greater public awareness and petition the FDA, using the available evidence, to insist that they remove red dye and other toxic consumable dyes from our food and medications.  Take action and call local politicians, tell your neighbors to stop buying these products, and do anything else you can think of to wake up the masses.

These dangerous dyes are in far too many products that both children and adults consume, and most people don’t even think anything of it.  To protect our health, we have to be wise about what foods we buy and demand more action from our politicians.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov
Nutritionfacts.org
NIH.gov
NIH.gov