Questions about food dyes: red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6 and Blue 1

[timeuser84]

Hi, are all these preservatives? are they dangerous for the human body even though it can't kill you instantly but might slowly over time? are they ok to consume OR ok to consume in certain doses/small doses to where my life span won't be shortened? Is yellow 5 bad for the human penis or causes sexual dysfunction that is permanent?(sorry I don't mean to be inappropriate but i don't know any other way to have that sound appropriate as I am concerned about that and its important to me) I just bought gummy worms this week or last Friday and consumed the whole box in 2 days with a total of 27 grams of sugar.

 

[jim mcnamara]

They are food dyes. They make canned foods and drinks and prepared desserts, candy -- all look better.

Rather than me talking about issues here is a link.

This discusses carcinogens in 3 members of your hit list above. -
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23026007/

If you are worried about it, PF is not the answer. The answer is your grocery list. If it is not a fresh food or a simple frozen food or drink (Ex: simple frozen broccoli - ingredients list shows only 'broccoli, water'), do not eat it. Period.

Nutritionists I've worked with tend to be little more lax and say something like:
'only eat prepared foods with 5 or less ingredients'.

This let's out most frozen pizzas, many deli meats, cheeses. Prepared foods that last forever in storage are almost guaranteed to fail the test. Get the habit of reading labels.

Ingredients for cooking count as well.
US Example: Crisco (shortening) lists 6 ingredients, so if you make biscuits you might not want to add it to your biscuit dough.

PF is not meant to provide dietary information. If you need more information consult a nutrition specialist.
We cannot provide that kind of support.