I did a little health lesson with my kids on additives & food colorings found in foods that most of us consume each day, as well as our children. They not only effect our bodies, but our minds also.
Here is the worst of it…
Red No. 3
Known as: Erythrosine
What it is: A food coloring found in only a few types of products.
Where you can find it: Some Candy, cake icing, and chewing gum
Red No. 40-this is a very big one!
Known as: Allura red
What it is: A food coloring that is the most widely used food dye in the United States.
Where you can find it: Frito-Lay products; Yoplait products; JELL-O Gelatin desserts; Quaker Instant Oatmeal; Trix; Froot-Loops; Apple Jacks; some Pop-Tart products; Kid Cuisine Kung Fu Panda products; Oscar Mayer Lunchables products; Hostess Twinkies; Pillsbury rolls and frostings; Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines frostings; Edy’s ice creams and candies; Popsicle Sugar-Free Life Savers; M&M’s and Skittles candies; Nestle’s Butterfinger; Twizzlers Strawberry Candy; Sunkist Orange Soda; Dr. Pepper sodas; Propel Invigorating Water, Berry Citrus; Gatorade Orange Thirst Quencher; and Fanta Orange
Blue No. 1
Known as: Brilliant blue
What it is: A food coloring
Where you can find it: Frito-Lay Sun Chips French Onion and other Frito-Lay products;Yoplait products; JELL-O dessert products; Fruity Cheerios; Trix; Froot-Loops; Apple Jacks; Quaker Cap’N Crunch’s Crunch Berries; some Pop-Tarts products;Oscar Mayer Lunchables; Duncan Hines Whipped Frosting Chocolate; Edy’s ice cream products; Skittles candies; Jolly Ranchers Screaming Sours Soft; Chew Candy; Eclipse gum; Fanta Grape
Blue No. 2
Known as: Indigotine
What it is: A food coloring
Where you can find it: Froot-Loops; Post Fruity Pebbles; Pop-Tarts products; Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Strawberry Supreme Premium Cake Mix; Betty Crocker Frosting Rich; Creamy Cherry; M&M’s Milk Chocolate Candies; M&M’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Candies; Wonka Nerds Grape/Strawberry; pet foods
Yellow No. 5
Known as: Tartrazine
What it is: Yellow No. 5 is the only food dye that has been tested alone and not simply as part of a mix. Studies link it to hyperactivity. It is the second most commonly used dye in the U.S.***THINK ADHD***
Where you can find it: Nabisco Cheese Nips Four Cheese; Frito-Lay Sun Chips Harvest Cheddar and other Frito-Lay products; Hunt’s Snack Pack Pudding products; Lucky Charms; Eggo waffles and other waffle products; Pop-Tarts products; Kraft macaroni and cheese products; Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Oscar Mayer Lunchables products; Hot Pockets Ham & Cheese; Hostess cup cakes; Betty Crocker frostings; M&M’s and Skittles products; Gatorade products
Yellow No. 6
Known as: Sunset yellow
What it is: The third most widely used food dye in the U.S.
Where you can find it: Frito-Lay Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Crunchy and other Frito-Lay products; Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-ups; some JELL-O gelatin desserts and instant puddings; Fruity Cheerios; Trix; some Eggo waffle products; some Kid Cuisine Kung Fu Panda products;Kraft macaroni and cheese dinners; Betty Crocker frostings; some M&M’s and Skittles candies; Sunkist Orange Soda; Fanta Orange
It is also worthy to note that in Europe, they place warning labels on foods that have these food additives in them. Not that it probably does much good, just look at the warning labels that we, here in the U.S, place of Cigarettes & Alcohol. I still think it would be a great idea though. Give kids a chance to know for themselves what they are eating each day. Most kids that I have talked with, and asked them about food coloring and food additives, are really clueless…It boils down to us, as parents, to keep our children healthy and not abuse them with all this unhealthy stuff that is harming their bodies at such a young age..
Sodium benzoate
What it is: A food preservative
Where you can find it: Fruit juice, carbonated beverages, and pickles. You’ll find it in abundance in acidic foods.
MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate)
What it does: takes the flavors of any food and enhances them to the maximum. When Lays says… “Betcha can’t eat just one”… They are not’t kidding, they mean it! With the amount of MSG in their chips, they know you will sit down and eat the whole bag. Same goes for Doritos,Cheetos and Fritos.. who the heck sits down, and eats just the serving size?
Side Effects: Migraines & Headaches, ADHD, Autism, Alzheimer’s,Obesity, and being addicted to the product!
“Other” names that are FDA approved… to allow companies to market MSG are:
Sodium glutamate
Autolyzed yeast
Calcium caseinate
Gelatin
Glutamate
Glutamic acid
Hydrolyzed corn gluten
Hydrolyzed protein (any protein that is hydrolyzed)
Monopotassium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate
Natrium glutamate
Sodium caseinate
Textured protein
Yeast food
Yeast extract
Yeast nutrient
In a nutshell…
It’s better to try to only eat things that actually grow. Minis(-) Mold of course! lol
If your a meat eater, then stick with dehydrated meats to snack on. Fruits and Veggies can be super sweet, and I have found really hits the spot on most days. They can also be dehydrated and snacked on. I also buy the kids chips, but only organic ones which are really only a couple dollars more anyways.
Same goes for candy. I buy organic candy that is sweetened with pure fruit juice, and has no dyes in them. A couple times a year when we take them to parades, they do eat some regular candy.. and are totally jumping off the walls after-wards. Hence that these additives effect the brain!
Soda, they make soda with real unprossed sugar in it, and once again, it really is not that more expensive. You can also make your own which is really simple to do.
More on MSG- More foods that have MSG in them.
