Food Dyes In Our Child’s Diet
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Are you a parent trying to avoid food dyes in your child’s diet? Or, maybe you’ve been wondering about artificial food coloring in general: is it worth avoiding? Today’s post is for you.
After re-evaluating some of the medical literature on food dyes as well as the foods on grocery store shelves, I’ve worked out an approach with my own family. It’s not complicated, but I still want to share it today.
As with everything I share on this website, I’m not saying this is what anyone else should do. As usual, I just want to give some information and one perspective in case it’s a helpful way to think through what works for your own family.
Spoiler alert: I am not 100% strict about avoiding every food dye in every situation.
What We Do know About Food Dye in our Food
First, let me share one thing about writing this article. Initially, I wanted to go deep into all the research and share exactly what we do and don’t know about each food dye, which ones might be safer and which ones to prioritize avoiding. For example, we know that some are carcinogenic. It’s also becoming more clear that some food dyes probably affect some children’s behavior.
For what it’s worth, the research on children and food dye isn’t spectacular.
However.
I decided that detailing each artificial color was going too far into the weeds (and besides, the Environmental Protection Agency has a nice table on that already).
Also, I think that kind of thinking, for most of us (more on that in a minute), isn’t too useful. In my own experience, it sort of fosters anxiety, overthinking, and undue parental stress. Not great for our kids’ health! Especially when there is a simpler approach.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll break it down by speaking about food dyes in general, aware that of course there are some differences between them.
First this: We don’t need artificial coloring in our foods.
In my opinion, humans know enough about food dyes to know they don’t need to be in our food. The bright colors do not improve the nutrition whatsoever. That’s the first thing to acknowledge.
And, there are other options for making food beautiful and colorful and fun.
Some people probably should avoid artificial food coloring.
A tiny percentage of people may be allergic to a food dye. Of course, they should avoid that dye in the strictest and safest way they can.
Different from an allergic reaction, some research shows that a small percentage of kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may have their symptoms affected by artificial food coloring. If a child has this diagnosis and is in the small subset of kids clearly affected by food dyes, it makes sense to avoid those artificial colors in food.
This research also carefully concludes that there seems to be some connection between artificial food coloring and ADHD, but we really do need more studies to make formal recommendations.
My personal takeaway is that this tells us that food dyes may affect a child’s behavior or thinking. Just because a study was done on kids with ADHD does not mean there is no affect in any other child.
The limited research on kids’ behavior and food dyes is enough to make me avoid them when practical. Someone else may reasonably come to the opposite conclusion. (There’s no great data that everyone should avoid artificial food coloring all the time).
We can consider the quantities of artificial coloring.
That being said, as with many things that people consume, the amount or frequency can influence any impact they have. One example is air pollution or cigarette smoke. There is a huge difference between an incidental breath or two compared to chronic intentional exposure.
I would put food dyes into a similar category for most people, just based on the research we do have. In other words, an occasional exposure is less likely to do harm than regular daily consumption. (This is my own thought process. I haven’t found great studies on different levels of exposure to artificial coloring in kids).
For what it’s worth, the artificial colorants listed by the EPA do note “recommended limits of exposure.” The amount in an infrequent treat is likely to be under that limit.
With all this in mind, here is my approach when it comes to artificial food coloring:
(My kids are not in the aforementioned percentage of children who have a specific diagnosis and are affected by artificial food coloring. No one in our family has a food colorant allergy).
I try to avoid food dyes when I can. This means usually not buying food products that have artificial coloring, especially for my kids. In my own baking and cooking, I try to avoid artificial coloring whenever possible.
Avoiding food dye with a few exceptions . . .
That being said, I’ve definitely used artificial food coloring here and there. I do not examine each color on a particular food label and try to cross reference if each one is one of the worse ones or one of the maybe-okay ones.
And, if there is an occasional treat that contains food dye, I’m usually fine with my kids eating it. If there’s a park gathering on a hot day and someone offers artificially-colored popsicles, it’s okay! Or, if we are at a birthday gathering and there’s bright blue frosting on the cake, I’m not going to ask about the color source. We’re going to enjoy the moment. And the cake.
(How to communicate all these choices with children and families is an entirely separate topic. DIfferent families will have different needs and methods that work for them. I do think it’s important to mention that there’s not really any place for judging another family’s food choices).
So, my approach here is similar to my approach with artificial sweeteners, plastic dishes, and thinking about heavy metals in baby food. It’s also how some people might think about “added sugar.“
- I avoid when it’s possible and practical.
- I don’t overthink incidental or infrequent exposure. This is a privilege as my family isn’t allergic or more sensitive than average. And, I have the time and financial resources to be a little choosy when it comes to food selections.
- I support and advocate for policies and politicians who strive to make our food system safer and more transparent. This is so that parents who can’t be choosy still have safe options. In other words, I vote. As L Eugene Arnold said in his paper about food coloring and children’s behavior said, “Artificial food colors appear to be more of a public health problem than an ADHD problem.”
Summary on Artificial Food Dye in Our Kids’ Diets
In summary, we don’t need artificial coloring in our food. To me, it is worth avoiding if possible. We don’t have great research on all its effects, but it’s possible that artificial food coloring affects behavior, especially in children with an ADHD diagnosis. For most people, I don’t think occasional avoidance will have as big an impact on our health as say, exercise or eating more plants. Many of us might be better off focusing on the well-researched steps to better health, while still advocating for a safer food supply overall.
I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with artificial food coloring. Please share!
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Maya M. Mahmood, D.O., FAAP is a board-certified pediatrician and mom. She is passionate about parents having evidence-based information to help their families be healthier.
