Cancer. DNA damage. Tumors. These are all very scary things to think about. Not only can they be genetic, but it seems like just about anything can give it to you. If you look at the ingredient label of your favorite junk food, I’m sure you can find a toxic dye, nitrate or nitrite which is linked to dangers like the ones previously mentioned. This is not exclusive to food; lotions, perfumes and hair products contain these chemicals as well, making them all the more present in our daily lives. As our awareness grows regarding the effects of these chemicals, we are increasingly faced with the decision to try to avoid every single carcinogen or to live our lives.
Carefully reading every ingredient label or chemical warning may seem like a proactive step. One may think that because a food claims to be free of artificial dyes, it will decrease the chance of developing illness. Subsequently, they choose this “healthier” alternative on the basis of being chemical-free alone. I believe this preventive step should be skipped more often.
I am not one to say to completely neglect your health. You can make informed decisions about what you put into and on your body by educating yourself on what is healthy and what is not. However, there is a fine line to walk between monitoring this and obsessively avoiding anything that can cause cancer. Some of the most widely known foods and products have unnatural colorants.
Red dye 40 is probably one of the more well-known examples of this. From Jello to cereal to Gatorade, Red 40 and its seven other names can be found. In the early 1990s, Red 3 was the chemical everyone heard about. Parents told their kids to stay away from it, and it was feared so much that it was ultimately banned. Red 40 then appeared as a healthier alternative but ultimately poses the same threats. Eating enough of these dyed junk foods causes heart disease and obesity. The real thing worth investigating is how much of this can actually kill you.
We have all heard that everything is “okay in moderation.” Red 40 has an acceptable daily intake of three milligrams per pound of body weight. To put that into perspective, one pack of Skittles has 33 mg of Red 40. This means it would take eating around 14 packs of Skittles before you need to start worrying about your health. But Red 40 is only one of multiple concerning dyes and carcinogens.
A study done in late February of this year tested 10 of the most popular brands of synthetic braiding hair commonly used by black women. Carcinogens were found in 100% of the hair they tested, and lead was found in 9/10 of the samples. Not only were these chemicals present, they also exceeded the allowed dosage by 600%. Two of the most popular brands, Sensationnel and Magic Fingers, contain benzene, which is known to cause leukemia according to the American Cancer Society.
This was not the first study done on products marketed toward black women, as the Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested more than 4,000 of these products to find that most of them were moderately to highly hazardous to human health.
Companies have been known to show a lack of care in the ingredients used to create predominantly black hair care products. As a black woman, it is extremely frustrating to try and find a brand that is compatible with our different hair textures, only to realize later on, after finding the perfect one, that it is known to cause cancer. I used to pay extremely close attention to the brands that are known to have these types of carcinogens in them. But this meant having to find a new favorite brand every month after a new study came out.
In other cases, it meant paying up to $40 more for non-toxic products that may be better for you but are overall not worth it. The brand “Yum Earth” creates non-toxic and naturally colored alternatives to popular candies. But this brand is up to three times the cost of normal candy and may make you regret not buying the name brand in the first place.
Most brands may not even have alternatives that work as well. In the case of braiding hair, there are already few brands to choose from. Does the fact that all of the most popular ones tested positive for carcinogens mean braids are a thing of the past? Not for me they aren’t. Finding joy in things as simple as candy should not be taken away because of the threat of Red 40, and living life in fear of ingredients and chemicals is no way to enjoy life. I’d rather have my Skittles.
Of course you’re not against it, you’re not one of the 8% of children neurologically affected by it.
Have you read the scientific literature that states the symptoms they have?
Brain buzzing, irritation, agitation, restlessness, aggressiveness, emotional instability.
I’ve seen it first hand in my daughter, she went from slightly affected by it to severely affected by it overnight. It was scary how violent she became. For 3 months I tried to figure out the cause, and when I did, we stopped eating dye and it all went away. It was quite literally unbelievable.
So use your platform to attack MAHA moms and make them all seem like crazy anti-vaxxers, but know that there are normal parents like me who are also against these ingredients, because it’s a scary chemical. I’ve seen it for myself.
To Dye For, the documentary is made by a parent like me, and the same thing happened with her child. I recommend it, but I doubt you’ll watch it, as you’ve already made up your mind.