Common Red Food Dye linked to Bowel Problems (Nature)

[MedRxx]

Environmental factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)...Genetic susceptibility, dysregulated immune response toward perturbed gut microbiota and environmental factors have been shown to contribute to the etiopathogenesis of IBD...

...evidence that diet plays a pivotal role in the development of IBD...Western diet is characterized by high intakes of food additives, fats, red meats, and sugar, and low intake of fibers...Food additives, such as emulsifiers, stabilizers, and synthetic colorants are widely used to improve the texture, preservation, and aesthetics of processed food. Several studies have reported that high levels of these additives... alter the gut microbiome, increase intestinal permeability, decrease mucus barrier thickness, and promote colitis.

...synthetic colorants in dietary products has significantly increased over the past 50 years. These compounds are metabolized to generate free aromatic amines in the gut lumen, some of which are potentially carcinogenic and mutagenic. Among many azo dyes, Allura Red...is the most widely used colorant in many countries...AR is a non-genotoxic sulfonated mono-azo red dye that is metabolized by intestinal bacteria...[and] exerts pro-inflammatory properties by promoting oxidative stress through reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in the rat liver and kidney...Despite being highly prevalent in our diet, it is poorly understood how AR influences intestinal inflammation...

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35309-y

Nature is one of the two (the other being Science) most respected general scientific journals. I'm not asserting that studies published in either are inerrant, but that only rarely are they either industry or woo driven.

Nature is also one of the leaders in OpenAccess (free to read) publications. The above paper is both OpenAccess and worth a thoughtful read as Allura Red (interesting name?) is very common in candy, soda, breakfast cereals and indeed may—my speculation—specifically be used to catch the attention of children who find the color alluring.

This study was not designed to address possible links to other conditions—such as ADHD—found to Allura Red in other studies. That is a story for another day

For those who are curious, here is a link to a page which asserts to be a listing of all candy with AR (as of 2017)

Happy Solstice

[2naSalit]

1. Glad I stopped eating candy...

A long time ago. I spent a lot on my dental bills several years back so I made up a rule for myself that I can't have candy anymore.

[tanyev]

2. Interesting. Marking to read more later.