The bright colors of grocery store foods are often the result of artificial food dyes, which are now being applied not just to candies and snack foods, but also to products such as pickles, salad dressing and even oranges.
But according to scientific studies, these dyes are causing behavioral problems and disrupting children’s attention. Some have even been found to pose cancer risks. The FDA has made an about-face on their previous denials that dyes can influence children’s behavior, and has stated that synthetic food colorings do affect some children.
According to the Washington Post:
“Beyond the behavioral problems and cancer risks, the greatest hazard that dyes pose for children may also be the most obvious: They draw kids away from nutritious foods and toward brightly colored processed products that are high in calories but low in nutrients, such as fruit-flavored drinks and snack foods. Those types of foods are a major force in America’s obesity epidemic.”
