The Side Effects of Tartrazine

Certain food additives are dangerous to our children, but who would have thought that the dyes used would be dangerous? I grew up using food coloring in frosting, decorating cookies and cakes…I don’t even know what else my mother used it on. So the fact that artificial coloring is so dangerous to our health was a surprise.

Of course, the food coloring that we all grew up using isn’t the same thing as the artificial colors used in processed foods. Tartrazine, also known as FD&C Yellow #5 or E102, is one of these artificial coloring additives. This is one we don’t want to give to our kids, so avoid it like it’s the plague!

Tartrazine doesn’t even sound appetizing when you learn what it’s made from! As with most artificial colors, it is manufactured from coal tar; hmmm, yummy! BLECH!

I keep mentioning the fact that ADHD is not a disease, it’s merely caused by a poor diet loaded with all kinds of nasty, dangerous additives. I’ve told you how pesticides, MSG, BHA & BHT and refined sugar are all contributing to the fact that our children are hyperactive. Well, guess what? Now there’s another additive causing hyperactivity in our children: Tartrazine.

Sadly, this isn’t the only side effect that FD&C Yellow #5 has…it has also been linked to asthma, migraines, thyroid cancer, anxiety, clinical depression, blurred vision, purple spots on your skin and unexplainable itchy skin.

Do I really have to tell you WHY it’s used when the food industries are aware of its side effects? OK, I will, Tartrazine is still used because it’s cheap. Beta Carotene could be used to achieve the same color results as Tartrazine, but it’s more expensive. Bottom line: as with all other harmful food additives, the food industry continues to use this harmful artificial coloring because it is CHEAP.

Tartrazine is found in a LOT of products, cereals, desserts, snack foods, shampoos and even cosmetics can all contain this harmful colorant. All you have to do is check the labels before you buy!

While checking the labels of everything at the grocery store may seem like a pain in the ass, think about how much of a pain in the ass it would be if your child were to end up sick and in the hospital or, if you have a child that has “diagnosed” with ADHD, think about how nice it would be to have a less hyperactive child.

75 Comments

  1. rob on July 23, 2017 at 2:23 pm

    It depresses me to see this hyperbolic rant ranking higher in search results than the actual scientific studies that this author clearly failed to read.



  2. L on July 26, 2017 at 10:24 am

    So what is the purpose of using the dye in foods anyway.. like popcorn.. it’s not necessary is it



  3. Pudget on July 28, 2017 at 7:25 am

    Great info, I will definitely cross-reference my post on tartrazine with yours if that’s ok. I recently bought some vitamins that are dyed with tartrazine, for a week I was feeling numb arms and trembling hands. It drove me crazy as I thought my Sjogren’s was getting worse out of the blue. Too fast even for a chronic disease. So when I stopped the vitamins and read the excipients list I realised tartrazine was there, which is really bad. I ceased taking those tablets two days ago and I have been feeling much better now. Numbness of the arms is gone and the trembling is just very occasional twice in 48 hours . I submitted an adverse event report to the pharmaceutical company so they know.



  4. Pudget on July 28, 2017 at 7:27 am

    However, on the ADHD part of your post, I must disagree. Even though ADHD is overdiagnosed it is still a disorder one can be born with. So I’ definitely correct that statement for the sake of not spreading poor information.



  5. Tamara Downey on July 29, 2017 at 12:54 am

    People live on Kraft Dinner, and Kraft Dinner has Tartrazine in it. I don’t know that I’m buying this hook line and sinker. I would need to see medical research from a reputable source that states it is as dangerous as suggested here.

    A specific red dye that Smarties used many moons ago was band in the US/Canada. That’s why the company created the “do you eat the red ones last” commercials. They changed the dye, but drew attention to the red ones at the same time to put people at ease after the red dye food scare.



  6. Daniel on August 21, 2017 at 3:38 am

    I thought of Looking at the meaning of Tartrazine on in product in Nigeria, ((Viju milk drink); Just surprise at what am seeing and comments from others. It just best for us to eat fresh and non-processed foods.



  7. Nathalie on August 21, 2017 at 12:56 pm

    Anything in moderation; key word “moderation”



  8. Allen Puckett on September 2, 2017 at 11:09 am

    I see some people doubt the effects of FDC Yellow #5 . well you will find it in everything from yellow cake to pickles. I have to carry an epie pen and inhaler. If I ingest yellow #5 I have antiphalactic seizure . it should be banned!
    Thank you for the great info.



  9. Richard Royal on September 2, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    Makayla, Marc, and other GOVT. MOLES: You need to stop fighting the truth-tellers!!! There will come a day for those who hate all mankind, and a very old book says: “…men will seek death and not find it…” (That’s you haters of all truth-tellers & haters/deniers of Yeshua).



  10. Emma on September 28, 2017 at 12:57 pm

    I think that ADHD is definitely over ‘diagnosed’. I believe that in reality a lot of the behaviour displayed by some children is as a result of the additives in foods given to them. They are then medicated (generating profit for pharmaceutical companies) to counteract or ‘correct’ this behaviour.

    Artificial colours are cheaper than natural ones, pharma gains financially through medication sales, so I can’t see either situation changing any time soon.

    The biggest kick in the teeth, is the presence of artificial colours and other additives in some unavoidable childrens medicines such as paracetamol or antibiotics. They are permitted excipients in the UK. There has been no alternative antibiotic available, without lurid colouring, for my child when I have requested it. Calpol, a heavily promoted and leading brand of paracetamol suspension in the UK, has a list of additives too. It is nigh on impossible to find either medicine without additives. No wonder they seem to ‘work wonders’ and the kids are up and bouncing about after having these medications…. I dread my kids getting ill. Their behaviour is altered and it’s not their fault. I feel like it’s a double edged sword, administering these drugs to them. The drug element helps them, but the additives do them such a disservice.



  11. E on October 2, 2017 at 8:38 pm

    What is wrong with you people? What you put in your body does not cause ADHD and I most certainly didn’t give my son ADHD because of the food I consumed either. Please do your research before you post information. It is hereditary, it isn’t caused by food dyes and toxins. Both my son and I eat very well, yeah sometimes we eat things with food dye but who doesn’t? And I can tell you now I know tons of people who pump their bodies full of toxins and junk and they are fine and so are their children. Eating junk isn’t good for anyone and too much food dye and toxins are obviously not good for you but it most certainly doesn’t cause ADHD. There is no real research that can back up claims that your diet is linked to ADHD. Yeah too many toxins or dyes or sugars may make children hyperactive but that doesn’t mean they have ADHD. It’s passed down through genes. You are all very naïve.



  12. kikiTee on October 10, 2017 at 4:25 am

    I have to avoid tartrazine like the plague. It causes me migraine. After returning to the UK from a holiday in north America, I can stop checking the majority of labels. It felt like EVERYTHING in NA has tartrazine in it, even supposedly ‘natural’ lemonade. Surely the fact it hurts people should be enough to remove it from the food chain regardless of the price.



  13. Sophie on October 10, 2017 at 1:55 pm

    Is there a place that I can find your sources for this article??



  14. Robin Cook. on January 17, 2018 at 4:53 pm

    I can say that I am 65 and I have suffered from Migraine all my life they come in many forms some I can say are caused by stress, others are caused by food and drinks ,when i got married in the 1980 my wife was very careful about my food and migraines disapered ,
    we noticed that when our Children had food out of our control they sometimes became Hyperactive and with made cow disease so we became very careful about our diets ,we were the nutty people but I dont think we were .
    People seem to be ill with things we never herd of 30 years ago .
    Just think about the people you know and make your own mind up.



  15. Kelee on February 17, 2018 at 11:08 am

    I was severely allergic to Tartrazine as a child, caused migraines, vomiting, stomach cramps, hives etc…every food had to be checked. For me it’s something that should never be used if anything.



  16. Nicole on February 24, 2018 at 4:09 am

    I have a child clinically diagnosed ADHD along with a few other disorders. Yes I did a lot of research with food and ingredients and we tried it first but his brain is wired different from others like everyone else in the world ?he was completely compulsive and getting into trouble at school in kindergarten and then he was so upset with himself after. When your 6 year old looks you in the eyes saying I don’t want to be bad anymore, Mom intuition knows that it’s not the breakfast so yes he is able to control and learn in school yet I was still testing out the dyes in food. I’m completely convinced that with my child the red dye will increase his hyperactive tendencies so I don’t have anything to do with it, he is 13 now and it’s still a process. My point being that until you have a child with anything you think is just “parenting “ or food please don’t judge others for the choice because as a parent it’s a 24/7 worry about the choices we have to make especially when it comes to the brain. Rant over ???? Btw my son is a twin and she would eat the same thing and she is not hyper and never was. I have 2 older boys, none of them were hyperactive, so how would someone explain that to me if it’s just the food ???



  17. Nance Welsh on April 2, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    Thank you for this information! I thru the Jello powder out as it has this nasty tartrazine in it!
    I’m glad I read labels now & avoid chemicals as best I can! Best to just eat healthy Veggies, fruit & protein!



  18. Mark on April 20, 2018 at 2:48 am

    I’ve suffered for years with migraines and the doctors are pretty useless, just giving me pill after pill. To cut it short, after doing my own investigations I found that the worst triggers were anything artificial. This included sweetners, colours etc. Also, we discovered that anything that made me have a migraine also made our sons ADHD worse. From further studies I find I’m not alone. Why are food companies allowed to add the chemicals to our food and drinks? By watching our diets, life is much easier, I also found that a 15mg Zinc suppliment a day helps my migraines.



  19. Dee on May 2, 2018 at 11:54 am

    I must say thank you for this valuable information, I was at clinic few weeks ago, the nurse told me that the spots on my kid face, white spots so I believe this information .



  20. Corey Yates on May 13, 2018 at 12:40 pm

    You seem like you have it all figured out. Sure, I don’t disagree with the hyperactivity of kids coming from the foods they consume. However, to downplay ADHD like you did in your article is laughable. You have no clue what someone with ADHD goes through. It’s not brought on by foods. It’s a chemical imbalance in your brain. It’s not a disease. It’s an imbalance. A disease is something that riddles your body it breaks down your body composite.



  21. Kerry on May 30, 2018 at 11:51 am

    I have found that our daughter presents with asthma like symptoms and may be told she has a “cold” but it ONLY happens when she ingests a food with tartrazine. We completely removed it frothier diet and she NEVER has a “cold” or breathing issues no matter what time of year it is. As soon as she mistakenly has something with Tartrazine in it, she coughs and gets a runny nose.

    These artificial food dyes are extremely harmful and I bet many children that are in a constant “cold” cycle can directly relate it back to the food they ingest! If parents took time to food journal and match it to symptoms, they could eliminate a lot of “sickness”



  22. Myron on June 18, 2018 at 9:10 am

    I am now throwing out an unopened bottle of Régale brand mustard. Manufactured in the USA it is marketed in Canada by Dollarama.



  23. dkaj on June 23, 2018 at 1:56 am

    There is information on pubmed about the effects of tatrazine and how it affects people specifically who has allergies and asthma and effects of hyperactivity in children. This is a listing of various studies for those of you who are wanting more specific study info for proof. https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@rn+1934-21-0.



  24. Peter on September 15, 2018 at 10:44 am

    How something sounds doesn’t tell you anything about potential interactions within the body, neither does “what it is made from”. Vitamin C from an orange is chemically identical to vitamin C from tablets, regardless of what the raw materials are in its manufacture. There is no distinction between synthetic and natural in that sense because nature does not circumvent its own laws: nature also has to synthesize its substances and they do not appear out of nothingness.

    The point is that man can not properly examine what the interaction is in the body between all those substances that one ingests through food, supplements, etc. Then there is also the fact that no one substance does exactly the same all the time in everybody’s body.

    Conclusion: it is not possible to state – in absolute terms – that this or that substance is always either beneficial or harmful, because it all depends on factors such as concentration, duration of exposure, route of exposure, etc., etc.



  25. Favoured on September 16, 2018 at 7:30 am

    I thank almighty God. I used to suffer from cramps, sore joints and some strange electric like shaking on either legs or hands especially when I went to sleep. I used to drink a diluted cool drink called Mazoe which has tartrazine. when i stopped, all those side effects disappeared



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