Understanding Food Sensitivities to Dyes

Natural and artificial food dyes are ubiquitous, but some people try to avoid consuming food or beverages of a certain color for different reasons. James Tarbox, M.D., Texas Tech Physicians allergist, explains that food dyes are added to food for aesthetic purposes and are generally safe. They can cause rare allergic reactions such as hives, swelling, shortness of breath and low blood pressure. To avoid allergic reactions, Dr. Tarbox recommends consuming fresh, unprocessed foods, reading labels carefully and making meals at home.

Transcript

Melissa Whitfield  0:09 
Hello and welcome back to Texas Tech Health Check from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. I'm your host, Melissa Whitfield. We want you to get healthy and stay healthy with help from evidence based advice from our physicians, health care providers and researchers. If you're like me, you enjoy colorful foods on your plate or look forward to a refreshing cherry lemonade when it's hot outside. But did you know that many of the things we eat and drink are colored with food dye? Here to tell us more about food dyes and possible allergic reactions is Dr James Tarbox, Texas Tech Physicians allergist. Dr Tarbox was on this podcast before to talk to us about food allergies, and in this episode, he answers our questions about food dyes. How common are they? What happens when someone has an allergic reaction? What should we do if someone does have an allergic reaction? And how to avoid any possible allergic reactions? Dr Tarbox, welcome back to our podcast.

Dr. James Tarbox  1:12 
Thanks, Melissa.

Melissa Whitfield  1:12 
How are you doing?

Dr. James Tarbox  1:13 
Pretty good, yourself?

Melissa Whitfield  1:14 
I'm doing well. Thank you, and thanks for coming back on our podcast, and this time you're going to talk to us about food dyes. First of all, can you just remind our listeners a little bit about yourself and what you do here at the Health Sciences Center?

Dr. James Tarbox  1:26 
So I'm an allergist and immunologist. I've been here now for a little over a decade, and I see a wide variety of allergy and immunology disorders.

Melissa Whitfield  1:36 
Well, again, as I said, welcome back, and so let's just dive into food dyes. What are food dyes, and how common are they, and can they cause allergic reactions?

Dr. James Tarbox  1:47 
Yeah, so food dyes are substances that are added to food, and they're pretty much only added so that the food will catch your attention and then you'll eat it. That's monetary. And as far as allergic reactions that can happen with them, these are pretty rare, which you can get hives and swelling, and in rare cases, you can get maybe shortness of breath and drops in blood pressure.

Melissa Whitfield  2:10 
So what are some other symptoms of allergic reactions to dyes, and how do you treat it? And does someone need to go to the emergency room if they have an allergic reaction?

Dr. James Tarbox  2:20 
I would say, for someone who has hives, you could probably get away with just treating it with over the counter antihistamines. If the hives or swelling continue to worsen, they might have to go seek urgent care. Obviously, if you have shortness of breath that's not responding to albuterol, or there's concerns about drop in blood pressure or other findings that can be associated with severe allergic reactions, then you have to go to the emergency room.

Melissa Whitfield  2:49 
How can people stay safe when they eat or drink things?

Dr. James Tarbox  2:54 
I think what a lot of people could try to do is just try to eat, you know, food that's more fresh. I know that's not probably the easiest thing with people's pocketbooks, but so much food now is is processed and has a lot of filler and other chemicals and substances added to them. That's one of the things you can do to try to, you know, make sure what you eat and drink is better. Another thing is, you just need to be more vigilant about looking at labels and see what's actually in what you're consuming. The other thing is, if you have the time, it's always helpful to try to make meals at home, because then you know exactly what's in it.

Melissa Whitfield  3:39 
Is this something that people can be tested for before they have an allergic reaction, or if they had had a slight allergic reaction?

Dr. James Tarbox  3:44 
Yeah, I would say, for anyone who's concerned about a potential food allergy, you can be tested at an allergist clinic. Usually requires probably a couple of visits to figure out what's going on, and being monitored for a few hours. Beyond that, I would say, if you've never had a reaction, it's probably not worthwhile, because it is pretty rare. We're talking, you know, one in 50,000 or less. Now, if you have a family history, maybe it would be worthwhile.

Melissa Whitfield  4:17 
Can certain medications interact with food dyes and cause a reaction?

Dr. James Tarbox  4:21 
I would say for most of the common food dyes that are used, it's unlikely. Activated charcoal is used in some situations, especially in black icing or black food dye coloring, and that product itself can interact with a lot of medicines and reduce efficacy.

Melissa Whitfield  4:42 
Are there any non allergic alternatives to dying food?

Dr. James Tarbox  4:45 
I mean, there's a lot of products that end up getting used, like turmeric and beet extract are fairly common, which you have to be careful with is some of these more natural products, like Annatto or Carmine. They themselves can actually cause reactions, even though it's pretty rare. So so that's something to think about as well.

Melissa Whitfield  5:07 
Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Dr. James Tarbox  5:10 
Yeah, I would say that if something is being introduced into our food supply, and there's really no benefit and potentially the possibility of harm, it should be considered to be taken out. But another thing that has to be strongly considered is just because you're placing an artificial product with a natural one doesn't necessarily mean it's always that much safer.

Melissa Whitfield  5:31 
Well, thank you for coming on our podcast and talking to us about food dyes, especially with Easter coming up and just want to make sure that what we eat is safe. Thank you.

Dr. James Tarbox  5:40 
Thank you.

Melissa Whitfield  5:41 
Thank you for listening to Texas Tech Health Check. Make sure to subscribe or follow wherever you listen to podcasts. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek immediate medical advice from your physician or your health care provider for questions regarding your health or medical condition. Texas Tech Health Check is brought to you by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and produced by TR Castillo, Suzanna Cisneros, Mark Hendricks, Kay Williams and me, Melissa Whitfield.