If you’re anything like me, you love to bake and do crafts with the kids.
Adding dyes to food such as cakes and cupcakes makes it magical. Coloring eggs with kids is also so much fun as they are in awe as the shell changes color.
However, did you know most food dyes on the market aren’t safe for consumption or use?
There are safer options you can use for your family.
Artificial Dyes Are Harmful
Never during my younger years did I think the color of my food could be harmful. Here are some shocking statistics that I’ve found:
- There are over 15 million pounds of artificial food dyes added to foods sold at stores per year – this is 5x greater than when we were children.
- Various types of cancers, digestive issues, and behavioral issues have been linked to artificial food dyes.
- The EU (European Union) requires foods to come with a warning label if they contain any artificial food dye and has banned many dyes. Many of these are still used in the United States without warnings or lables indicating this.
- Food dyes are so prevalent that most don’t know they are everywhere – in toothpaste, crackers, pickles, canned foods, yogurt, potato chips, pasta, candy, drinks, etc.
What To Look Out For
There are quite a few dyes to look out for but the most common dyes I avoid at all costs are Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6.
How do they make them you might ask? From petroleum out of the oil industry or even by burning coal tar. Sound scrumptious? Not in the slightest.
These dyes are added to make foods more appealing or even to appease children but they add nothing nutritional wise and have potentially been linked to causing issues in the body.
Banned in the EU
Want to know what warning labels in the European Union have to say about aritifical food dyes? Here is one:
“Consumption may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.”
The FDA in the United States has said that they have not found any evidence that food dyes cause behavior problems in children.
To me, this is an issue if multiple other countries have noticed it poses a problem to children and their health.
Make Your Own Colorants
- Pink: strawberries, raspberries, dragonfruit
- Red: beets
- Orange: paprika or heavy turmeric
- Yellow: light turmeric
- Green: matcha or powdered greens
- Blue: red cabbage + baking soda
- Purple: blueberries
- Brown: coffee, cocoa powder
- Black: activated charcoal powder
A majority of these you can purchase off of places like Thrive Market or Amazon.
Other Options To Avoid Dyes
Avoiding artifical dyes takes some effort and label reading. Here are some sure fire ways to avoid those pesky colors:
- Organic, Non-GMO – this reduces the chance that the food has an artificial dye in it. However, there is still a chance it is in there, so be avid and read the label.
- Eat Whole Foods – Real, whole food has only one ingredient. Whole foods such as broccoli, spinach, apples, bananas, etc. are your best bet to avoid anything fake.
- Check Your Products – your toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, face cream, etc. more than likely have some form of dye in it. While you aren’t eating these products, your skin is your largest organ and is absorbing these colors. The EWG has a wonderful database where you can enter in your product to see how harmful it is or what ingredients you should be leery of.
- Natural Dyes – If you can’t or don’t want to make your own dyes using powdered form of foods or even whole foods, there are some companies out there that have formulated safer artificial dyes, such as the brand Supernatural. They also make sprinkles!
What Do You Use?
Do you make your own food coloring or do you buy something natural? Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below!
While we’re on the topic of safer food items, head over to my post on Healthy Soda Alternatives to learn what I recommend to ditch the soda and switch to something better!
