Campus Star: Red Dye #40 and the effects it has on kids

Have you heard of red dye #40? Well my brother is allergic to red dye and it has impacted my family tremendously, which is why I want to ban red dye #40 forever.

When my brother was very young he would hit his head on the walls in uncontrollable behavior. My parents didn't understand what was going on with him and they went to a lot of doctors to try to find out how to help him.

One doctor asked my mom to write down all the foods that he was eating. In the process, they found a lot of the foods he was eating included red dye #40. The change that occurred in our home was we got rid of a lot of the prepackaged foods.

The kinds of foods we have in our house have to be things my brother can eat and we have all been made aware of what foods contain Red Dye.

Here are some examples of drinks that kids drink on regular basis that contain red dye #40: Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, Seven Up, Gatorade, Hawaiian Punch, and Pepsi.

Most types of snacks children eat can also contain red dye #40 such as: chewy granola bars, Doritos (chips), Twinkies, chocolate cake mix, vanilla frosting, croissants, packs of Jello, Pop Tarts, Fruit Roll Ups, and Gogurts. It is even in non-organic red apples and medications.

Kid's impulse control, attention span, and the ability to focus are the negative effects that red dye has on kids.

Here is an example of a child's reaction to red dye. A young boy would scream and freak out every day. The poor mom didn't know what to do. So she went to doctors and found out it was from red dye #40 in packaged foods. From then on the woman always watched what her son ate.

Learning, thinking, and energy level can cause kids to have a hard time in school and with other activities they are involved in. My brother had a hard time in preschool. He would bite other children and bang his head on the wall. He would throw things at other kids and almost got kicked out. My brother couldn't control his actions.

Lastly, I want to make parents, kids, and others aware of the affects red dye #40 has on kids so that parents stop buying these food items.

Let's work together and make red dye #40 die forever.