Food colors

By Laura Aldama

Valentine’s Day is a day when chocolates and other candies are typically given to friends, family, or significant other. This is also a day when we can eat copious amounts of candy without judgement or guilt. However, a lot of these candies contain artificial food colors (AFCs) that create the pink and red colors associated with Valentine’s Day.

Research of AFCs and ADHD

Among parents, there has been a controversy around AFCs and its potential to cause ADHD in children. This controversy can be traced back to the 1970s when a pediatric allergist named Dr. Benjamin Feingold proposed that AFCs contribute to hyperactivity in the children he observed at his clinic. He claimed that symptoms improve when the children are given a diet free of AFCs and other food additives. His book titled, Why Your Child is Hyperactive, gained media attention that would influence parents to omit AFCs from their children’s diets in hopes of improving symptoms of ADHD. Years later, the issue of AFCs was brought to the public attention once again because of a landmark study called the Southampton studies. Researchers from the University of Southampton, UK conducted a randomized, double-blind, crossover study on 153 3-year-old and 144 8/9-year-old children. The results showed that the children had a significant response to the AFCs. However, it should be noted that the Southampton studies looked at changes in behavior among the general population of children, not specifically children with ADHD. These studies prompted the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to urge the FDA to review the current literature on AFCs and hyperactivity. The FDA determined that there is inconclusive evidence to ban the use of AFCs in food.

Other colorful choices...

Based on the current literature, there seems to be a connection between AFCs, but more research is needed for the FDA to ban the use of AFCs. Considering that the Southampton Studies were conducted on children of the general population who do not have ADHD, AFCs may be a public health issue, rather than merely an ADHD issue. Regardless of whether AFCs cause hyperactivity in children, processed foods with AFCs should not be given to children because they do not provide adequate nutrients that children need to grow optimally. Parents might consider checking ingredients for natural food dyes, choosing organic if possible, and swapping junk foods with colorful whole foods. For example, instead of soda, a good substitute would be fruit infused waters. Healthy eating can still be colorful even without AFCs, and it is important to introduce a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables to children at a young age.