A food coloring found in dozens of family favorite snacks can trigger serious gut illnesses, scientists warn.
Red 40, also known as Allura Red, is found in several popular candies, sodas and chips – including Doritos, Skittles and Pepsi – as well as baked goods and cake mixes.
But researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canadafound that the additive can impede the ability of the intestine to absorb nutrients, water and electrolytes, increasing the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.
They say this wear and tear on the body’s defenses could make people more susceptible to ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Although the study was conducted on mice, the researchers say the findings apply to humans in Western countries, whose diets are typically high in food coloring.
Red 40, also known as Allura Red, is found in several popular candies, sodas and chips – including Doritos, Skittles and Pepsi – as well as baked goods and cake mixes.
Lead researcher Dr Waliul Khan said: “These findings have important implications for the prevention and management of gut inflammation.”
He added: “What we found is striking and alarming because this common synthetic food coloring is a possible food trigger for IBD.”
The results were published in the journal Nature Communication.
Inflammatory bowel diseases such as colitis and Crohn’s disease, a chronic disease that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, are estimated to affect approximately three million Americans.
The use of food coloring has increased over the past 100 years, but there has been little research into its effects on the gut.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits the amount of food coloring in foods and cosmetics. Yet the chemicals in dyes have been linked to a myriad of conditions.
As part of their study, McMaster scientists gave mouse models Allura Red dye in their meals for 12 weeks.
They found that the additive increased serotonin production in the colon and disrupted gut bacteria, causing cases of colitis, a chronic disease that causes ulcers and sores in the digestive tract.
Serotonin – sometimes dubbed the “happiness hormone” – is often talked about for its effects on the brain. Low levels of the hormone are usually a factor in people with depression.
But it is actually the gut that is responsible for producing 95% of the total serotonin in the body.
In the intestine, it is responsible for the absorption of nutrients, electrolytes and water.
The researchers searched for several common synthetic dyes in a model of human enterochromaffin (EC) cells.
It affects the colon and rectum and can cause a variety of inflammation-related issues, including abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, dehydration, and bloody stools.
Dr Khan said: “The literature suggests that the consumption of Allura Red also affects certain allergies, immune disorders and behavioral problems in children, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.”
Studies have suggested an association between food coloring consumption and hyperactivity in children.
An April 2021 analysis of studies commissioned by the State of California reported that of 25 total studies on the topic, 16 identified some association between food coloring and neurobehavioral problems, “specifically exacerbation attention problems, such as in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other behavioral findings”.
Red 40, as well as Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 contain benzidinea human and animal carcinogen permitted at low, presumably safe levels in dyes.
The FDA calculated in 1985 that the ingestion of free benzidine increases the risk of cancer just below the threshold of “concern”, or 1 cancer in 1 million people.
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