Food coloring can cause hyperactivity in kids

(Photo: Getty Images)

Think it's the sugar in the cupcake your child just ate that's causing hyperactive behavior? The real culprit may be the synthetic chemicals used to make that cupcake a festive color.

"My assumption has always been that sugar makes kids hyperactive," says Dara O'Rourke, a professor of environmental and labor policy at UC Berkeley and founder of Good Guide. "The thing that was surprising to me is that hyperactivity is more heavily correlated with artificial colorings than with natural sugars." It's the food coloring in frostings, sprinkles, drinks, cake mixes, and other packaged foods that's making kids hyperactive, according to O'Rourke.

A British study (PDF) published in the Lancet in 2007, which included more than 300 kids in the general public, found a connection between artificial colorings and hyperactivity. Follow-up studies have confirmed results, according to O'Rourke, although more research is needed to provide conclusive evidence.

The United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued a request in 2008 for food manufacturers to voluntarily ban six artificial food colorings. For now, foods containing these ingredients have a warning on the label about the potential impact of food coloring on attention and activity of kids.

In the United States, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration to ban eight food dyes.

This is yet another reason why it's better (for our health and the planet's) to eat mostly real foods (fruit, veggies, grains, legumes, eggs, etc.) instead of packaged food. Of course, it's nearly impossible to avoid packaged food completely.

So here are some tips for avoiding food coloring while more studies are conducted...

Read packages and look for questionable food dyes
Here are the specific dyes called out by the FSA and/or CSPI:

• Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40 (both groups)
• Yellow 10, Carmoisine, Red 4 (FSA)
• Blue 1, Blue 2 Green 3, Orange B, Red 3 (CSPI)

Search online for healthiest food options
If reading labels is too confusing, make your grocery list in advance from foods that have been checked out by a reliable third party, like those in the Good Guide's extensive database.

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

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