Red dye 40 food coloring… tumors and lymphoma?

[tennytive]

This food dye is made from petroleum and used in Gatorade, Powerade, and many other food products.

Obviously it's not a *natural* food, but has been approved by the US FDA.

I've been drinking Powerade when I play tennis for almost a year. I usually dilute it with water, but now I wonder if I'm doing any damage to my liver or kidneys. Here's a site with possible side effects listed, and they don't look pretty. http://www.feingold.org/effects.html

Can't they just make clear uncolored sports drinks? Anyone know whether or not these dyes are indeed dangerous? The yellow 5 is also named as well as blue 1.

WTF??

 

[ollinger]

Red colorings are a real medical curiosity. Hair colorings are known to me absorbed to at least some extent and the carcinogencity concerns have long focused mostly on red hair dyes. FDA approval is of only limited value because dyes can degrade into OTHER substances (NOT assessed by FDA) when exposed to light, so a non-carcinogen might become a carcinogen when exposed to light. Keep that Gatorade in your bag.

 

[LuckyR]

I agree with you that for sports drinks especially, colors are totally unimportant. But I am sure that there is lots of marketing data that shows that a drab colored drink will sell more poorly, so there you have it. Personally I make my own sports drinks so not an issue around here.

 

[tennytive]

I asked an Oncologist about this issue and she said the testing is done on mice using 500 times the amount that would be considered normal intake.

So I guess not to worry.

 

[ollinger]

.....except that the develpment of a malignancy usually goes on for years, perhaps even a decade or more, until it's detectable. Mice typically live a year or two.

 

[LuckyR]

... and that you are using 20 mice to simulate tens if not hundreds of millions of people's exposure.

 

[sixftlion]

I don't think that there is any good reason to eat any added colorings (red, blue, yellow or whatever), or artificial flavors or anything that is somehow chemically created.