How to Stay Away From Synthetic Food Coloring

Research links synthetic food additives with health troubles such as ADHD, asthma, cancer, and other ailments. Many foods contain synthetic additives in the form of colors, flavors or preservatives. Reduce the additives in your diet or eliminate them entirely.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Read labels when picking products in the grocery store. Put back any foods that contain ingredients listed as a color name followed by a number, such as Blue 1, Red 2, or Yellow 6.
2. Look for organic foods in the grocery store. Buying organic can also help you avoid potentially harmful byproducts like pesticides on your fruit or antibiotics in meat or milk.
3. Ask store mangers if unlabeled food, such as fruit, vegetables, and meats have been synthetically colored or dyed. You may be surprised to find out that many single-ingredient fresh foods such as oranges and salmon are dyed to look attractive.
4. Visit your local farmer's market. A farmer's market is designed to allow local small farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers. Many farmer's market sell fresh organic foods. Some farmer's markets run only during summer months, others markets operate year-round.

Tips & Warnings

• Some foods are colored with natural dyes, such as beet powder or caramelized sugar, often found in soda, can be considered an organic coloring product.
• Synthetic flavoring and preservatives can also be harmful. Dozens of additives can be found in food, but among the most common are Propyl Gallate, Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), Potassium Bromate, Monosodium glutamate (MSG), Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), Acesulfame-K, Olestra, and Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil.
• There's no single standard for what makes a food organic, typically they avoid using synthetic additives.