Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Yellow 5

A yellow dye used in food, drugs, cosmetics, and other products: required by FDA regulations to be identified on food labels because of possible allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.

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Yellow 5 is banned in Austria and Norway, and other European countries.  Tartrazine can cause a variety of allergic reactions that vary from mild itching and skin rashes to serious allergy-like hypersensitivity.  People who are allergic to aspirin are more likely to experience adverse reactions to yellow 5. This can include asthma attacks and bronchoconstriction or difficulty breathing.  Yellow 5 seems to cause hyperactivity in some children.  Yellow 5 has been linked to a number of health problems, including blurred vision, migraines, fatigue and anxiety. Some dyes can be contaminated by chemical carcinogens as they go through the manufacturing process. Yellow 5 is one of these colorings.

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All the synthetic dyes are allowed to contain harmful contaminants like lead, mercury, arsenic, and benzidine (a carcinogen). Lead usually targets the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells first, eventually attacking your nervous system. The primary effects of mercury on infants and children is to damage neurological development. Arsenic can cause several kinds of cancer, as well as headaches and confusion. While it is true that colorings don't have large amounts of any of these contaminants, there is no good reason to consume them.

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