So you’ve read Sorry, My Kids Can’t Have Food Dyes or other artificial color related articles. You’re convinced that you should cut out, or at least cut back on, food dyes. Now what?
I think the transition process looks different for everyone. I’m very decisive. Once a decision has been made, it’s as good as done. I’m all in. I cut out dyes in a day and never looked back. Other people’s transitions are probably going to be a bit slower than mine. That’s probably healthier from a psychological standpoint anyway. I tend to be a little OCD; a blessing and a curse. But onward and upward… 🙂
First, know what you’re trying to avoid when you look at the ingredients list on your food. The following is a list of the terms you’re looking for and some common household foods that have them (for detailed research information on these please read Food Dyes: Rainbow of Risks).
- Blue 1 – “brilliant blue”
- Blue 2 – “indigotine”
- Citrus Red 2 – only allowed for use to color orange peels
- Green 3 – “fast green”
- Orange B – only allowed for use in coloring hot dog and sausage casings
- Red 3 – “erythrosine”
- Red 40 – “allura red”
- Yellow 5 – “tartrazine”
- Yellow 6 – “sunset yellow”
- Caramel Coloring
- Annatto
Caramel coloring and annatto can sometimes be found on products claiming to be “all natural” or free of artificial colors. They are derived from plants, so technically they are natural. However, they have been linked to some pretty bad stuff like cancer and severe allergic reactions.
Two scary facts: 1) The FDA does not regulate these at all because they are “natural”, 2) Caramel coloring is the most commonly used food dye in the world (probably because it’s in things like cola, vanilla ice cream, and candy bars). Consumer Reports has a really good report on the dangers of caramel coloring; it’s short and very enlightening.
As for annatto, it’s been shown to effect blood sugar levels, is not recommended while pregnant or breastfeeding, causes allergic reactions, and can cause the same behavioral problems as the artificial food dyes. Annatto is used to make things orange – I see it a lot in cheddar cheese, crackers, and fruit snacks. This one tricked us for a while, because it’s the only one on the labels that doesn’t look like a color name. Watch out for it.
Sometimes labels won’t even tell you which colors are in the food. They just say “colors added”. Buyer beware.
Now that you know exactly what to look for, go through your fridge and cupboards. You may be surprised about some of the places you’ll find colors. Marshmallows, soy sauce, maraschino cherries, and pickles always stick out as some of the weirder ones to me. You can do this all at once or as you have time.
Keep a running list of all the items you find with colors in them. These are the things you’ll want to replace with a dye-free alternative. Sometimes it’s as easy as switching to a different brand or flavor of that item. Occasionally there isn’t a great alternative in the store. With these items you have four choices: 1) do nothing, 2) reduce your intake of that item, 3) live without it, or 4) learn how to make it from scratch yourself.
Take your list to the store. Depending on how much time you have and how many items you are looking to replace, you may want to split your list up and make more than one trip. It takes time to read labels, and you’ve usually got at least five different brands to look at with each product. So be realistic and don’t stress out trying to find everything all at once. I’m working on another post about our favorite dye-free store-bought foods. Until then, here are a few brands that are generally safe and should be easy for everyone to find (but always double check the ingredient list): Target’s Simply Balanced line, Pillsbury’s Simply line, Aldi’s Clancy’s and Belmont lines, Kashi
If you have any specific items you’re worried about finding an alternative for, please leave a comment. I’d love to try to help! Good luck as you begin your journey into dye-free living! 🙂
Becoming Hippies 