Is your pretty food killing you?

Food Dye is in so many of our food products. Its sole purpose is to make food look pretty; it does not alter the taste of the food at all. The foods that contain the most dyes are marketed directly to kids. Children like most of us are drawn to bright colors and many consumers even think, incorrectly, that the brighter food tastes better.

We've all heard before that food dye can make some kids ADHD, but that is only some kids’ right? Food dyes don't affect us all badly, right? WRONG.
 
Many of the food dyes have devastating long term effects on our health. Safety tests were conducted by the same companies that profit from sale of dye laden foods. These studies were conducted only for 2 years and have not looked at the long term effects of dye consumption. To make matters worse the FDA’s guidelines for acceptable levels of dye in food were created for adults, not children. This is especially upsetting because the products that contain the most dye are marketed directly to the younger population, whose bodies and brains are still growing.

·         Red 40 – Common – causes cancer, ADHD, Rhinitis and asthma

·         Yellow 5 – Common – ADHD, blurred vision, anxiety, migraines, asthma, panic attacks and temper tantrums

·          Blue 1 – Common - causes cancer, ADHD, Rhinitis, and asthma

·         Yellow 6 – Adrenal gland & kidney tumors

·         Green 3 – bladder cancer & allergies

·         Orange 3 – allergies, ADHD, Kidney damage

·         Red 3 – Chromosomal damage & thyroid tumors

 

European countries have already put bans in place, forcing the food manufacturers to change the chemicals they put in the food. Unfortunately our FDA has been bought and paid for by the food industry, so we cannot rely on them to keep our food supply safe. It is up to us to make sure our children are given dye and preservative free food. The only way to change the food industry is to affect the profit margin. When more people choose not to buy their products, a change will be made.


To see just how dangerous food dyes are take standard food coloring and put it on any plant that is being eaten by bugs. You will see that those pretty colors work as a pesticide as well. Imagine what it is doing to our bodies on a daily basis.

Unsafe Levels of Arsenic in Apple Juice

The Dr. Oz show reported in September 2011 that many popular brands of apple juice contain unsafe levels of arsenic. Brands included Apple & Eve, Great Value, Mott's, Walgreens and Welch's. The FDA disputed Dr. Oz's claim citing that he included both organic (non-cancer causing) and non-organic arsenic levels, causing inflated numbers. Instead of doing their own testing to make sure that apple juice was safe for human consumption they decided to send Dr. Oz a letter condemning his research and essentially calling him an alarmist. Consumer Reports decided to do their own research and their findings were similar to Dr. Oz's.

Consumer Reports, however, did its own study and their findings back Dr. Oz’s claims up. Out of the 88 samples of apple and grape juice they tested, 10% had levels of arsenic over the 10 parts per billion that the FDA deems to be a safe amount, and 25% of the samples tested showed lead levels above the 5 parts per billion allowed for bottled drinking water. Consumer Report’s tests the arsenic that was found in these juices are inorganic…the dangerous kind.

 Read More:  http://z6mag.com/featured/apple-juice-arsenic-levels-raise-fda-questions-by-dr-oz-consumer-reports-163473.html

The FDA has limits in place for arsenic and lead levels in bottled water, as well as drinking water, but when it comes to juices, there are no set standards.

For parents these findings are scary and may mean that brands of juice need to be switched. While a cup of juice many not have enough arsenic to make our children sick, it does add more toxins to our already over loaded system. Arsenic is one toxin that does not readily leave the body and therefore bio accumulates. This means that with each cup of juice we are putting our children and ourselves further at risk for illness. With the rise of learning disabilities, autism, and behavioral problems environmental pollutant factors need to be seriously looked into. What is the purpose of having a Food and Drug Administration when they are not doing their job to protect us?

If you are concerned and outraged it's time to let the FDA know how you feel. You can write and call them to demand that they set a standard acceptable level of arsenic in all juices and hold all juice makers accountable.

Address:
Food & Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20993

Phone: (888) 463-6332

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