Nat. Parks. Do You Want Food Dye With That? Food Dye and ADHD. Vietnam Hero.

For “Foodie Friday”:

But first this Public Service Announcement:

Make Plans for Public Lands This Saturday–and Enjoy a Fee-Free Park Day

“All national parks will waive their entrance fees this Saturday, September 29, for National Public Lands Day, the largest one-day volunteer effort for public lands in America. According to the National Environmental Education Foundation, the nonprofit organization that promotes this annual day of “Helping Hands for America’s Lands,” a whopping 170,000 volunteers are expected to spend time removing invasive species, planting trees, picking up litter, maintaining trails, and performing countless other tasks this weekend that will help restore and beautify our public places.

NPCA is proud to be supporting five different events for National Public Lands Day. Please consider joining us! Just click the links below for descriptions and RSVP information:

• Repair park trails, clean up campgrounds and picnic areas, and plant native vegetation at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state.
• Take down barbed-wire fencing that can harm pronghorn antelope at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming (generously sponsored by Nature Valley).
• Remove invasive buffelgrass that threatens native plants near Saguaro National Park in Arizona.
• Remove cut lotus flowers from the ponds and perform other maintenance tasks at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC.
• Restore trails and playgrounds, chop and stack wood, and maintain common areas at Greenbelt Park in Maryland.

Can’t make it to any of these events? Choose from hundreds of other volunteer opportunities around the country on the National Public Lands Day website.

As an added incentive, volunteers who participate in National Public Lands Day at a National Park Service site (as well as a number of other public sites) are eligible to receive a coupon to enter for free on another day of their choice within the next year. So, you not only get to enjoy the park and help out without paying any entrance fees, you also get to go back for another full day for free on any public lands site! Get more details on the National Public Lands Day website.

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Dangers associated with food dyes

“Synthetic food dyes are used in many processed foods, such as colored breakfast cereals, candy, and “fruit-flavored” beverages and snacks. A total of 15 million pounds of dyes are added to the U.S. food supply each year. Our consumption of food dyes has increased 5-fold since 1955 as our nation has consumed more and more packaged foods.

These synthetic dyes have been linked to a wide variety of health concerns including behavioral problems, hyperactivity, allergic reactions, and even cancers. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), an organization that advocates for nutrition and food safety, is calling for a ban on these synthetic dyes. Food-based dyes such as beet juice and turmeric are readily available, but are more expensive and often less bright, making synthetic dyes more attractive to food manufacturers.

Food dyes and allergic reactions:

Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 have been reported to cause allergic reactions in some people.

Food dyes and hyperactivity:

Food dyes are of particular concern for children, since many colored foods are marketed to children, and their smaller body size makes them more susceptible to potential toxins. Hyperactivity in children following ingestion of food dyes is well-documented in placebo-controlled studies. Furthermore, a 2004 meta-analysis of 16 studies in children who were already hyperactive showed that their hyperactive behavior increased in response to food colorings. In a study published in Lancet in 2007, researchers tested two different mixtures of food dyes vs. placebo in children of two age groups – one mixture increased hyperactivity in 3 year old children, and both mixtures increased hyperactivity in the 8-9 year-olds. This study sparked a reaction by the British government. They instructed food manufacturers to eliminate all of these synthetic dyes by the end of 2009. In fact, starting later this month, a warning notice will be required on dyed foods in Europe stating that these foods “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.”  As a result, several international food companies now produce products with food-based dyes or no dyes in the U.K., but continue to include synthetic dyes in their U.S. products.

Food dyes and cancer:

There are eight commonly used synthetic dyes in the U.S., and all have undergone toxicity and tumorigenicity testing in animals. CSPI summarized the results of cancer-related studies in a recent report:

Red 3 was acknowledged by the FDA to be a carcinogen in 1985 and was banned in cosmetics and externally applied drugs.  However Red 3 is still used in ingested drugs and foods.

The three most widely used dyes (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6) which account for 90% of dyes in the U.S. are contaminated with low levels of chemical carcinogens, as byproducts of the manufacturing process. Although the FDA places limits on the concentrations of these contaminants in the final dye products, they still may pose risks.

Citrus Red 2 added to the diet resulted in bladder tumors.

Red 3 resulted in thyroid tumors and caused DNA damage.

The simplest and most effective way to avoid the potential harmful effects of synthetic dyes is to avoid processed foods.   Unrefined plant foods contain health promoting phytochemicals, not empty calories and synthetic additives of questionable safety. When buying the occasional packaged food, check the ingredient list to avoid synthetic dyes.” From: http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/food-safety-dangers-associated-with-food-dyes.html

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Are You or Your Family Eating Toxic Food Dyes?

“Food dyes are one of the most widely used and dangerous additives. While the European Union has recently placed regulations on labeling food dyes to inform consumers of the health risks, the United States has no such requirement.

Here are some of the most common food dyes used today, according to the Food Freedom Network:

Blue #1 (Brilliant Blue)   An unpublished study suggested the possibility that Blue 1 caused kidney tumors in mice. What it's in: Baked goods, beverages, desert powders, candies, cereal, drugs, and other products.

Blue #2 (Indigo Carmine)  Causes a statistically significant incidence of tumors, particularly brain gliomas, in male rats. What it's in: Colored beverages, candies, pet food, & other food and drugs.

Citrus Red #2  It's toxic to rodents at modest levels and caused tumors of the urinary bladder and possibly other organs. What it's in: Skins of Florida oranges.

Green #3 (Fast Green) Caused significant increases in bladder and testes tumors in male rats. What it's in: Drugs, personal care products, cosmetic products except in eye area, candies, beverages, ice cream, sorbet; ingested drugs, lipsticks, and externally applied cosmetics.

Red #3 (Erythrosine)  Recognized in 1990 by the FDA as a thyroid carcinogen in animals and is banned in cosmetics and externally applied drugs. What it's in: Sausage casings, oral medication, maraschino cherries, baked goods, candies.

Red #40 (Allura Red)  This is the most-widely used and consumed dye. It may accelerate the appearance of immune-system tumors in mice. It also causes hypersensitivity (allergy-like) reactions in some consumers and might trigger hyperactivity in children. What it's in: Beverages, bakery goods, dessert powders, candies, cereals, foods, drugs, and cosmetics.

Yellow #5 (Tartrazine)  Yellow 5 causes sometimes-severe hypersensitivity reactions and might trigger hyperactivity and other behavioral effects in children. What it's in: Pet foods, numerous bakery goods, beverages, dessert powders, candies, cereals, gelatin desserts, and many other foods, as well as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Yellow #6 (Sunset Yellow)  Caused adrenal tumors in animals and occasionally causes severe hypersensitivity reactions. What it's in: Color bakery goods, cereals, beverages, dessert powders, candies, gelatin deserts, sausage, cosmetics and drugs.”

From: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/24/are-you-or-your-family-eating-toxic-food-dyes.aspx

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Food Dye and ADHD

“For more than 30 years, scientists have examined the relationship between food coloring and hyperactive behavior in children, but with mixed results. To date, no conclusive evidence has been found to show that food coloring causes ADHD. Some studies, though, have suggested an association between the two. Most likely, ADHD is caused by the combination of changes in brain structure, environmental factors, and heredity.

Can food dye cause hyperactivity?

A study by the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency in 2007 showed that the consumption of foods containing dyes could increase hyperactive behavior in children. In the study of 3-, 8- and 9-year-olds, children were given three different types of beverages to drink. Then their behavior was evaluated by teachers and parents.

One of the drink mixtures contained artificial food colorings, including:

• Sunset yellow (E110)
• Carmoisine (E122)
• Tartrazine (E102)
• Ponceau 4R (E124)

It also contained the preservative sodium benzoate. The second drink mixture included:

• Quinoline yellow (E104)
• Allura red (E129)
• Sunset yellow
• Carmoisine

It also had sodium benzoate. The third drink mixture was a placebo and contained no additives.

The researchers found that hyperactive behavior by the 8- and 9-year-olds increased with both the mixtures containing artificial coloring additives. The hyperactive behavior of 3-year-olds increased with the first beverage but not necessarily with the second. They concluded that the results show an adverse effect on behavior after consumption of the food dyes.”  More at: http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/food-dye-adhd

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On This Day:

President Johnson honors American soldier, Sep 28, 1967:

“On this day in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was coming under increasing criticism for sending American men to fight and die in Vietnam, bestows the Congressional Medal of Honor on Sgt. David Dolby, a member of the Army's 1^st Cavalry.

On May 21, 1966, the 21-year-old Dolby acted to save many of his fellow soldiers' lives during an intense firefight against North Vietnamese troops. He had previously been awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. While praising Dolby and American troops, Johnson expressed "sorrow" that war was still necessary in the 20th century. He also took the opportunity to respond to criticism of his policy of increasing troop strength in Vietnam since 1964. "No one hates war and killing more than I do," said the president. He continued, "no sane American can greet the news from Vietnam with enthusiasm" but "we recognize...the hard reality that only military power can bar aggression and can make a political solution possible" in Southeast Asia.

Johnson also pointed out that the U.S. had offered repeatedly to negotiate with the North Vietnamese but had been rebuffed. So until peace talks could be initiated, Johnson believed, the U.S. had no choice but to sustain a military presence in South Vietnam to prevent a communist takeover of the entire nation. Johnson continued to send American troops to Vietnam in an ever more costly and controversial war until 1968, when he announced that he would not run for a second term.

The war dragged on until January 1973, when President Richard Nixon halted the U.S. military offensive in North Vietnam. The last American troops left the country on March 29, 1973, ending the longest war in America's history.”

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Yesterday:

Jay’s mother went to pick him up at the hospital at 1.45 AM, they didn’t want him there any more.  Then she had to get ready to go to the dentist, so she was really tired.  Jay doesn’t realize the stress he puts her through, especially as she is a liver transplant recipient.

Ray’s back was feeling OK, so he wanted to get the coax cable re-routed. We had temporarily strung it through the window and across his bedroom into his living room.  I was all for that, let’s get ‘ur done. 

We spent all morning running up and down the stairs in my attic, and his attic, and up and down the extension ladder, but we couldn’t make his TV work.  We tried different splitters, and tested the cable again. Ray locked  up his “Cat from Hell” in his bathroom, so that I could go in his living room to see if his TV worked at each different combination.  I called up to him in the attic and asked him “Did you put the connection back on your TV securely?”, and he said “Yes, but you can check it”, so I did, and it was tight.  But then I reached down to the cable outlet on the wall.  He had taken out the screws to check inside there, and when I touched it, the TV came on!  There must have been a loose connection in there all along.

So we wasted a lot of time when the problem was inside his house.  We still have to staple the cable up in his attic, so that we don’t run into it, but we had had enough for the day.