The Red Dye Free Store has Easter Stuffers without Red Dye 40!

    I just updated the Red Dye Free Store so that it would be easier to find Easter Basket stuffers without all of the harmful artificial dyes.  If you click on the Red Dye Free Store link  http://astore.amazon.com/re05f-20, it will take you directly to the store.  I included items like candy, stuffed toys, Webkinz Easter stuffed animals, fun and inexpensive toys, and many other fun items to explore! 

 Photo of Webkinz for sale in Red Dye Free Store! 

    Your child can have everything and more without the harmful artificial dyes that are being consumed so abundantly today.  Do the ingredients in your Easter candy look something like this?  “Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel Oil and/or Palm Oil), Whey, Cocoa, Lactose, Skim Milk, Soy Lecithin, Vanillin, Artificial Colors (Blue #1, Blue #2, Red #40, Yellow #5, Yellow #6 & Red #3). May contain Peanuts/Nuts.”   Look at all of the artificial colors in just one Palmer Bunny!  Artificial colors such as these are derived from petroleum- a coal tar.  Some children are very sensitive to these dyes.  Some children may experience hives, migraines, stomach aches, and hyper-activity (to name a few).  Some children are very sensitive to red dye 40 and it effects their behavior drastically and they become defiant and even belligerent.  It is important that parents are aware because staying away from these dyes can change their relationship with their child who is sensitive to the dyes and they can enjoy who they really are.
    I wish everyone a very Happy Easter and may it be very Happy!  :)

Red Dye 40 in Energy Drinks - Are your children drinking these?

     Currently there are no restrictions on children consuming energy drinks.  Children can buy drinks, such as Red Bull, without parental permission and down as many as they can afford or tolerate.  The other day I saw a group of boys outside of Publix chugging down their Red Bull drinks.  Not only are they getting a large dose of caffeine but those nasty artificial dyes derived from petroleum (Red Dye 40).  Children will become use to the feeling of high energy and might try to get that feeling again - and that is how these products may become addictive.  Caffeine, in itself, can be very addicting.  Now our society may have children who become edgy and irritable when their bodies crave the caffine that they have become used to.  Also, there are the children who have a sensitivity to the red dye in the drink and act in an overly aggressive manner, become hyper, or depressed - not to mention the harmful effects of the dyes for any person consuming it.  Are we being responisble when we allow this to continue?       

Foods would be boring without Artificial Dyes! That's False

Some people think that without artificial food dyes, foods would be colorless, boring, or less appealing to look at, but that is just not true. Synthetic artificial dyes like red dye 40 do not need to be used. It is just cheaper to use them and so profit is the motivating factor. It is more expensive to use natural food colorings, such as the coloring from India Tree, but for my family it is a healthier alternative. Eventually, natural food colors will become more of the norm in the marketplace as more health conscious consumers demand to have the synthetic food dyes, such as red dye 40 derived from coal tar, eliminated from their diets. The food industry is beginning to shift to healthier options as people are choosing organic foods that are free from artificial food dyes. Publix Greenwise markets now sell candies such as Surf Sweets, Organic Lolipops, and other such candies without artificial food dyes. Starbucks has gotten rid of all artificial food dyes from their products. The change is happening and the first ones to adopt this change will be the first to profit. This marketing strategy makes perfect sense. This is exactly what consumers want and expect. Consumers want healthier food options. Consumers realize that today the overuse of synthetic artificial food dyes is absurd and our children are being marketed to with commercial ads of brightly colored synthetically engineered crap - not real food. How much nutrition does one actually get from a Poptart as opposed to an organic version? Is there any fruit in a Poptart? Mostly, if not all, it is filled with colors that simulate what it might look like if there were actual fruit inside. A child who is sensitive to these synthetic dyes would then have the dye-induced behavior that is typical when ingesting synthetic artificial food dyes. This dye-induced behavior, which occurs soon after ingestion, can be described as causing hyperactivity. I could also describe this behavior as a certain look - an almost depressed and angry face, followed by outbursts of uncontrollable rage when the littlest thing goes wrong. I, for one, am looking forward to the new food, drink, and medicinal products with colors from natural sources. Just imagine - real food with real nutritional value! What a concept!