The basic concepts of allergies: artificial colorsArtificial colors have received a great deal of attention in recent years. Some of them have been removed from the marketplace by the Food and Drug Administration. Most recently, Red Dye No. 2 was removed after tests showed that it caused cancer in experimental animals.2 Long before this, however, starting in the late 1940s, clinical ecologists such as Dr. Stephen D. Lockey warned that artificial colors in drugs were one of the major sources of health problems in adults and children.3 To prove this, I once asked three chemically susceptible patients to take part in an experiment. They were blindfolded and given a glass of spring water to drink. Into each glass had been added the same amount of Red Dye No. 2 that would be found in a large serving of a well-known gelatin dessert. (This was before the link between the dye and cancer had been established.) Two of the three developed severe reactions to this colored water, although they had no reaction to pure spring water. The practice of coloring fresh foods can also be a source of problems. Oranges, in particular, are frequently dyed, on the theory that consumers will not purchase naturally colored oranges, which are occasionally specked with green. It is difficult to detect a reaction to this dye, because fresh citrus fruits are often packed in crates which have been liberally treated with fungicides, and thus it is difficult to tell if the reaction is to the dye or to the fungicide. Sweet potatoes are also commonly dyed. But dyed sweet potatoes can usually be eaten if they are carefully peeled. As a practical note, you can generally spot a dyed sweet potato by noting the presence of the dye on the broken ends of the tubers. Increasingly, in recent years, food wholesalers have begun dyeing white potatoes red. *17\110\2* Allergies «Canada Online Pharmacy» |
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