Red 40 in Designer Waters and Other Dangers

I find this article extremely important and very alarming. It's rather long but very informative.


By now you have probably seen the ads for MiO Liquid Water Enhancer, Kraft Foods' new gimmick aimed at young consumers seeking "cool" new ways to stand out among their peers. Leave it to the food and beverage industry to find a way to turn your perfectly healthful water into a mixture of toxic chemicals. This latest craze has you squeezing brightly colored flavor drops into your water from a cute little purse-sized bottle, and watching the mesmerizing nebula of color diffuse slowly into the clear water.

Very clever… a science experiment you can drink.

The market has been flooded with "functional waters," fortified (supposedly) with everything from vitamins and minerals to electrolytes, oxygen, fiber, and even protein. Supermarket beverage aisles can entice you along a virtual sea of beverage choices—energy drinks, vitamin waters, fitness waters, and sports/electrolyte concoctions in every imaginable color and flavor.

You can even buy a bottle of water infused with positive affirmations, said to "raise the consciousness of humanity" (Aquamantra). Or how about this one—bottled water fortified for your dog, called FortiFido?

But if you take a closer look at the labels, you'll discover they're spiking your punch with a lot of unsavory ingredients, many capable of wreaking havoc on your metabolism, hormones, and other physiological processes—and some of which are outright carcinogenic.


If you aren't already a label reader, it's time you became one, lest you fall prey to these clever marketing ploys.


Flashy labels, pretty colors, and seductive scents are not always harmless to your health—but they are incredibly alluring, especially to kids. Your child will be drawn in like an Emu to dangly earrings. So what's in this cute little bottle of liquid "water enhancer" with the equally cute name?


Mama MIO! More Like Factory Runoff than a Beverage
Here is the ingredient list for the Mango Peach variety of MiO:


Water, Malic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Citric Acid, "natural flavor," Sucralose, Acesulfame potassium, Potassium citrate, Polysorbate 60, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Potassium Sorbate (preservative).


Basically, this is a scary mixture of TWO artificial sweeteners, THREE dyes, one preservative, and propylene glycol (PG)—a solvent that can potentially result in cell mutations and skin, liver, and kidney damage, if ingested in high enough amounts. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) rates propylene glycol as a moderate hazard.


Artificial sweeteners are bad news for your health (they can lead to impaired kidney function, depression, headaches, infertility, brain tumors, and a long list of other serious health problems) and are unnecessary food additives—because there are SAFE natural sweetener alternatives.


All artificial sweeteners are risky, and MiO contains TWO of them!

Let's look at the rap sheets for some of MiO's flavor "enhancements":


•Sucralose (an artificial sweetener otherwise known as Splenda) is associated with respiratory difficulties, migraines, seizures, gastrointestinal problems, heart palpitations, and weight gain, and the list of reported problems is growing by the day.
•Acesulfame potassium (or Acesulfame-K) is another artificial sweetener that has been linked to kidney tumors.
•Food dyes have been connected to a variety of health problems, including allergic reactions, hyperactivity, decreased IQ in children, and numerous forms of cancer—and MiO has THREE of them.
•Polysorbate 60 is an emulsifying agent that, like PG, is rated as a moderate health concern by EWG and can be contaminated with ethylene oxide and 1,4 dioxane, two carcinogenic industrial pollutants.
Now, why go to the trouble of purifying your water, only to dump right back into it what you have just filtered out—a bunch of toxic chemicals?


This makes NO sense at all.


But MiO is just one example of a much larger problem. Enhanced waters have become an enormously lucrative business as people have begun to abandon soda pop for what they believe are better alternatives. Beverage battles (and now, water wars) have left manufacturers clamoring to come up with products that outdo all the rest. Are these beverages really better for you than soda? Not by a long shot.


Dysfunctional Beverages… Think Before You Drink
I don't want you to think I've singled out MiO as the big villain—it's just the most recent new recruit.

USA Today February 22, 2011


Guardian March 31, 2011


Fooducate April 11, 2011


Men’s Journal October 23, 2009

Salicylates and Phenols / Feingold Diet

Feingold Diet / Phenols
The Feingold Diet removes phenols and salicylates. Artificial ingredients such as artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, aspartame (Nutrasweet), and artificial preservatives such as BHA, BHT, TBHQ are made from a petroleum base and are strong phenols. Salicylates are naturally occurring phenols in plants – particularly in many fruits such as apples and grapes.

For some children, their bodies have difficulty processing phenols. Build up of phenols in the system can affect behavior and the body's physical condition. This was first discovered by Dr. Ben Feingold, when he noticed that these phenols created hyperactivity in some children. Phenols can have negative effect on the brain when our chemistry can't processes these phenols and they build up in the body. Although phenols and salicylates do occur naturally in healthy foods, children who are sensitive to these chemicals can have significant reactions.

Many children with autism, ADHD and other neurological and immune system disorders commonly have faulty sulfation systems and cannot process phenols and salicylates well.  Common physical signs of phenol sensitivity in children include dark circles under eyes, red cheeks/ears, ear infections, asthma, sinus problems, diarrhea, hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggression, headache, head banging/self-injury, impatience, short attention span, difficulty falling asleep, night walking for several hours, inappropriate laughter, hives, stomach aches, bed wetting and day wetting, dyslexia, sensitivity to noise/lights/touch, speech difficulties, tics and some forms of seizures.

When implementing the Feingold Diet, people avoid phenols and salicylates that are not tolerated – typically determined through food trial/testing. These substances and foods may include: FD & C colors, artificial flavors, preservatives, vanillin, aspirin, almonds, peanuts, oranges, apples, apricots, all berries, cherries, chili powder, cider and cider vinegar, cocoa, cloves, coffee, cucumbers, pickles, currants, red grapes, raisins, plums, prunes tangerines, tea, tomatoes, wine and wine vinegar and oil of wintergreen.

Feingold Association of the United States reports that 70 out of 100 people using this diet can expect good results, although their studies used only approximations of the diet. Member of their surveys have indicated that the diet success rate is just above 90%. A qualified nutritionist can help a parent implement this diet and suggest supplements and substances that add sulfate to aid sulfation and enzymes to help break down remaining phenols.  Some children may need to keep phenols very low, while others may only need to reduce phenols by avoiding the high phenol foods such as apples and grapes.

We avoid strawberries but will re-introduce them this summer with berries from our strawberry patch.  We eat plenty of other fruits including pineapple, mango, bananas, watermelon, kiwi, and golden delicious apples and they are all well tolerated.I just read this from http://www.nourishinghope.com/. We deal with many of the issues listed but I wasn't aware of speech problems.   Now that I think about it, it all makes sense.