Artificial colours linked to ADHD

By WC Douglass, MD

It's one of the most ridiculous debates in town, and that's saying a lot when the town in question is Washington: Are food dyes bad for children?

On one side, you've got the feds and the food industry claiming dyes have been tested and proven safe... mostly.

On the other, you've got parents blaming those dyes for hyperactive kids.

Who's right? Who cares! Any food that needs a dye to look appetizing isn't fit for you or your children -- period.

But parents are pointing to studies that show dyes may cause or at least worsen ADHD-like symptoms in some kids, and they want warnings put on food labels... or to have artificial dyes banned altogether.

C'mon, parents, do you REALLY think you'd be doing your kid a favor by giving him Froot Loops made without dye?

A Froot Loop is a piece of crap with a hole in the middle -- no matter what color it is.

The dye in it isn't even the worst part.

For all we know, it could be the best part... because while those dyes MIGHT be harmful, the sugars and refined grains ARE positively deadly -- and can leave kids and adults alike physically and mentally deficient.

And you can say the same about any food that's been dyed.

But that doesn't mean those coloring agents are off the hook either: They're made of everything from petroleum to insect parts (no kidding) -- and I'd eat dull, gray food all day before I'd put any of that in my mouth.

One food dye, Red No. 3, was actually banned from cosmetics when it was found to cause cancer in lab rats... but is still perfectly acceptable in foods.

And as I recently told you, caramel color -- not technically a dye, but still a coloring agent -- is made by cooking ammonia with sugar, a process the creates chemicals known to cause cancer in lab animals. (Read more here.)

Of course, the food industry isn't waiting to see how this shakes out. If you've got money, they've got product... and they're perfectly happy to sell you dye-free junk if that's what you're looking for.

There's even something called "Kool-Aid Invisible."

But if you really want a healthy home, do your family a favor and make all of that sugar-packed garbage truly invisible -- by not purchasing it in the first place.