Are You Being Lied To About Food Dyes?
Short answer? Yes and no.
Yes, what you hear and read in the media is true to a certain degree. Artificial food dyes are not good for your body. They’re considered foreign substances, and your body doesn’t process them the same way it does whole, naturally occurring foods.
One study published through the National Institutes of Health states:
“Here, we present data consistent with the hypothesis that Red 40 damages DNA in vitro and in vivo; and that a westernized diet combined with Red 40 causes dysbiosis, functional mutations, and low-grade inflammation in the distal colon and rectum.”
Let’s break that down in simple terms.
What Does That Actually Mean?
Dysbiosis: An imbalance in your gut microbiome . Fewer beneficial bacteria, more harmful ones, or less diversity overall. This can result from poor diet, antibiotics, or chronic stress.
Functional DNA mutations: Changes to DNA that alter how certain proteins function in the body, potentially increasing or decreasing their activity.
Low-grade inflammation in the distal colon and rectum: Mild but ongoing irritation in the lower part of the large intestine. Even though it’s “low-grade,” it still represents an active immune response and can lead to chronic symptoms like urgency, diarrhea, rectal discomfort, or mucus in the stool.
But notice an important part of that original statement:
“…a westernized diet combined with Red 40 causes…”
Not just Red 40 alone.
The Bigger Picture: The Westernized Diet
Food dyes are not the leading cause of these issues. The bigger driver is the Westernized diet itself.
The National Institutes of Health defines a Western diet as a modern dietary pattern characterized by:
High intakes of pre-packaged foods
Refined grains
Red and processed meats
High-sugar drinks, candy, sweets
Fried foods
High-fat dairy products
High-fructose products
Conventionally raised animal products
In another NIH review on Western dietary patterns, researchers emphasized that we must consider not only what humans historically consumed, but also what could not have been regularly consumed before agriculture and industrialization.
Remember earlier when we said food dyes are foreign to the body? That statement supports the idea that many ultra-processed ingredients, not just dyes, are evolutionarily unfamiliar to us.
Are We Being Lied To?
No, food dyes can have harmful effects. But the media often zooms in on a small piece of a much bigger issue. The overall problem with the Westernized diet isn’t just food dyes. It’s the heavy intake of ultra-processed foods, refined sugars, processed meats, fried foods, excess red meat, high-fat dairy, high-fructose products.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
“The average percentage of calories consumed from ultra-processed foods for ages 1 and older was 55% from 2021– 2023. Youth ages 1–18 years consumed a higher percentage (61.9%) than adults age 19 and older (53.0%).”
More than half of daily calories are coming from ultra-processed foods.
So when Americans are sicker than ever, it’s easier to blame food dyes, artificial sweeteners, or seed oils. But those ingredients are not the main driver when over 50% of intake is ultra-processed.
The issue isn’t one ingredient, it’s the pattern. Our entire American culture and way of life would be disrupted if our food system was changed. So instead, we as humans focus on small things that we can control — like cutting out food dyes, artificial sweeteners, and seed oils. But these small things do not fix the massive health concerns and food productions issues in the US.
Coach Bailey’s Thoughts
I think it’s great to be aware of what’s in your food. If you want to avoid food dyes, artificial sweeteners, or seed oils then go for it. They aren’t optimal for your body anyways.
But I don’t want you living in fear of specific ingredients. You will be okay if you eat something cooked in seed oils at Chipotle. You will be okay if you love a Diet Coke and have one occasionally. You will be okay if you have a cupcake with red 40 in the frosting.
What matters most is your overall intake! We need to stop fearing single ingredients that only become problematic in large, chronic amounts. Instead, shift your focus to:
Eating mostly whole foods
Limiting ultra-processed foods
Cooking more meals at home
Prioritizing protein, fiber, fruits, and vegetables
It’s okay to have processed foods sometimes. But we need to flip the statistic. Instead of 50–60% of our intake coming from ultra-processed foods, it should be the opposite.
Aim for:
80% whole, minimally processed foods
20% (or less) processed foods
That’s where real health change happens. Not in obsessing over Red 40, but in changing your daily habits.
-Coach Bailey
Sources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10502305/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10302286/
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db536.pdf