Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
-Proverbs 31:8
They’re present in the medications and the sports drinks and go by various names. It’s present in majority of the foodstuffs ingested.
Wheat, dairy and synthetic dyes. The story begins with 30 days and an elimination diet. What began with daycare reports and daycare phone calls, complaints of emotional breakdowns, consulting doctors and therapists put mom Whitney Cawood to a halt. She took it upon herself to figure out the root cause. Reading labels and slowly starting to include wheat; no effect, dairy; no effects and then synthetic dyes; there’s the meltdowns! Her baby’s only source of synthetic dyes would’ve been the allergic medication and his occasional over-the-counter medication. Genotoxic is defined as substances that causes damage to DNA, thereby causing mutations which may or may not lead to cancer or inheritable damage.
He’s a dream boy to her and she’s his world as much as he is to her. People believed her wild experience and they would share that they too had similar experiences. Their situation or a friend’s or their cousin’s! She was angry and hurt that there are individuals like her son and possibly adults who suffered with the same issues! This is what put her and her husband in the documentary business, and to roam globally on a plane relying on maps and contacts to guide them. Their journey took them to have conversation-like interviews with researchers, and impacted families.
Brain buzzing and red 40. There are thousands of additives added to food that hardly have any data. “There are 27 clinical trials in children for food dyes. They don’t fully commit to evaluating the synthetic dyes and its effect on behaviour even though they’re authorised to do so.” explains Dr Lisa Y Lefferts, MSPH, an environmental health consultant. In 1990, the red no 3 was banned from food cosmetics and externally applied drugs. In 1993, the FDA concluded that red dye no 3 causes cancer in animals but allowed it in foods. The Delaney Clause “forbids the addition of any food additives shown to be carcinogenic in any species of animal or in humans.” Colour additives fell on the temporary approval list in 1960. In 1969, red dye no 3 was permanently approved for use in food and ingested drugs. The State of California has passed a bill to ban red dye no 3 that were linked to cancer, reproductive problems and developmental issues in children. California is the 5th largest economy in the world.
Bipolar disorder, ADHD, migraines, these are some of the threats to life in children. They miss the crucial milestones and have an uncontrollable rage that’s unreasonable.
The three most used dyes in the US are red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6. Those are azo dyes and the British government sponsored a study on these azo dyes. In the Europe, European food regulations made it mandatory to place warnings on certain foodstuffs and food companies decided to remove the synthetic chemicals and to reformulate the foods and their ingredient listings. Dr Jim Stevenson is a leading researcher and a development psychologist, who helped shape policies revolving around synthetic dyes. In the UK, the British government were pressured by the concerned parents to investigate the effects of the food additives on the general population. The study with a paediatrician conducted on the Isle of Wight to look at the effect of the dyes on children’s behaviour which was positive. He was later commissioned by the government to perform a study called as “The Southampton Study” that took a look at the effect of the dyes on the child’s hyperactivity. There are three aspects of behaviour: one, the activity level-how much they move around, two, the impulsivity-responding immediately without thinking and three, inattention-whether they can remain on a task. In the Isle of Wight, it was 350 participants and in Southampton it was 150 participants. They were put on a dietary diet for a week that either did or didn’t have the dyes in. Their behaviour were observed on different settings; at school and at home. The older children were given a computer task that would measure their attention levels. The dyes had a much higher level on the graph than the placebo. The European government made it a requirement to label the dyes but the companies decided to take the dyes out of the products instead.
Companies who promised to replace these chemicals took a U-turn on removing these harmful chemicals in the US. 27 human clinical trials, animal evidence and in-vitro evidence that took a multi year process includes public input, expert panels and peer review in a 2021 report concluding that synthetic food dyes can cause or exacerbate neuro-behavioural problems in such children. Caroline Licwinko, a child advocate and a lawyer was shocked while studying on the quality of food provided at schools nationally by the National School Lunch Program. She found out that the foods served for breakfast and lunch had high proportions of food dyes and this was on students who relied on these subsidies as they came from poor income countries.
Most companies won’t bother changing. Consumer pressure and policymakers can radicalise that move! What we can do as consumers are read labels, keep oneself informed, raise awareness. By removing the food dyes and watching the child for 2 weeks you’ll know whether it’s the dyes! Educate the school boards! The sooner the better!
Credit: To Dye For: The Documentary (2025)
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