Tartrazine and tics

[Caryn]

I read Kim's post on Soy.

Wow, Wow, Wow!

Kim, you have really researched the topic well. I felt compelled to post the info on my blog for my friends and family, as everybody these days knows someone who has a baby that my be contemplating soy formula.

 

My four-year old son's tic disorder began last December and didn't wane finally until just this week. We ran the gamut on natural treatments, and are currently doing an elimination diet based on the Alcat test results we got four weeks ago. His preschool teacher is amazed at his progress, and said he is a different kid now. He used to be fairly aggressive and had trouble making friends at school prior to treatment, but now he is much calmer, happier, and social.

His test results showed a high intolerance for tartrazine (commonly known as yellow #5 or E102 if you're from the UK) in addition to wheat, corn, and egg yolk.

We eliminated all processed foods and have him on an organic (as much as possible) homemade diet. It has taken a very long time to get to this point, but he is finally thriving, able to sleep at night, no ticking, happy. We have even begun to lessen his vitamin doses.

 

Does anyone have any knowledge of tartrazine and TS? I read that is is linked to OCD, and that it is an ingredient in some stimulant drugs for ADHD or ADD (for example: Dexedrine) http://www.healthyplace.com/medications/de...amphetamine.htm and the side affects of this drug can be the development of tics.

 

This has got me thinking.... As I'm sure all of us do when we are armed with a small bit of information-- Could the prolonged ingestion of tartrazine have triggered my son's tic disorder? After all, food coloring is in so many foods, especially foods marketed for toddlers and preschoolers-- rainbow goldfish, fruit snacks, juice drinks, I even found it in canned peas!!! It is also in INFANT antibiotics (this being the red dye #40).

 

I plan to continue researching this on my own but would love to hear all of your thoughts.

[Chemar]

welcome Caryn

 

yes, Kim truly is amazing at the information she finds, isnt she

 

My son reacts very dramatically with tartrazine/yellow5 and also with red40.....his tics escalate and his OCD rises too

[kim]

Caryn and Chemar,

 

Thanks for nice remarks and your feed back Caryn. I'm so glad that someone finds some of this as potentially important as I do!

 

I never know how effective I get info across. I'm not good at finding a stopping point.

 

Caryn, I hope you don't mind if I use part of your question to sound off again. When you asked this

 

Does anyone have any knowledge of tartrazine and TS? I read that is is linked to OCD, and that it is an ingredient in some stimulant drugs for ADHD or ADD (for example: Dexedrine) http://www.healthyplace.com/medications/de...amphetamine.htm and the side affects of this drug can be the development of tics.

I thought it might be important to some people here to understand why these substances can have negative effects, especially if you are dealing with tics AND Add or Adhd.

 

First here are a couple of things on tartrazine;

 

http://www.foresight-preconception.org.uk/...odadditives.htm

 

SOME FOOD ADDITIVES AND THEIR SIDE-EFFECTS:

Cosmetics; Dyes/Colourants:

Tartrazine (E102), which is primarily used by the soft drink industry, is one of the colours most frequently implicated in food intolerance studies (2,5,16,31,33,48,94-102). Adverse reactions to tartrazine seem to occur most commonly in subjects who are also sensitive to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a finding which was also observed by Feingold and his team. Depending on the test protocol followed, it has been found that between 10-40% of aspirin-sensitive patients are usually also affected by tartrazine (101), the reactions including asthma (2,95,101-104), urticaria (2,99,101105), rhinitis (102-104) and, as previously mentioned, childhood hyperactivity (9-13).

 

This may come about because the chemical structure of the tartrazine molecule has similar features to those of benzoates, other azo compounds, pyrazole compounds and the hydroxyaromatic acids, which also include salicylates (2). Furthermore, it has been established that the azo compounds can be reduced in the intestine and in the liver (106,107), indicating that as one of the several routes through which these molecules, too small to be antigenic in themselves, may act as a hapten, thus conjugating a larger molecule to form an antigenic compound (2,108,109).

This article touches on this too. This is a problem that I suspect for my youngest son. I hope one of these articles has the epsom salt bath info in it. Epsom salts provide sulfur also, which I suspect may be as important as the magnesium in some cases. You may want to do some reading on the Feingold diet sites too.

 

http://www.newtreatments.org/fromweb/sulfur.html

Adequate sulfoxidation requires adequate supplies of B-vitamins, especially vitamin B6. The PST

enzymes are inhibited or overloaded by chocolate, bananas, orange

juice, vanillin, and food colorants such as tartrazine. Removal of

these from the diet and supplementation of sulfates may well relieve

all these symptoms. The lack of sulfation could well be due to the

largely carbohydrate diet of most of these children.

 

Now back to the "stimulant drug" part of the question. If you are familiar with the neurotransmitters, this will make more sense (and believe me, I have to go back and reread some things 1000 times!) But if you understand a little of this, it's not hard to see why these drugs increase tics. I think this is so important, for anyone who has a child that is dealing with ADHD or ADD in addition to tics.

 

Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) is an amphetamine, belonging to the group of medicines called central nervous system (CNS) stimulants.

 

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/amp.html

 

Amphetamines are drugs such as dextroamphetamine, benzedrine, and Ritalin

 

Amphetamine Effects on the Nervous System

Amphetamines are stimulants of the central nervous system and sympathetic division of the peripheral nervous system. It appears that the main action of amphetamines is to increase the synaptic activity of the dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmitter systems. Amphetamines can:

 

block dopamine reuptake.

inhibit the storage of dopamine in vesicles.

inhibit the destruction of dopamine by enzymes.

All of these actions result in more dopamine in the synaptic cleft where it can act on receptors.

[kim]

Studies on Dyes

Last update: February 9, 2005

 

RED

FD&C Red No. 40 - Allura Red

FD&C Red No. 3 - Erythrosine

 

1. DNA damage induced by red food dyes orally administered to

pregnant and male mice. Tsuda S, et al, Toxicol Sci 2001, May;61(1):92- 9

 

"We determined the genotoxicity of synthetic red tar dyes

(amaranth - Red 2, allura red - Red 40, acid red - #106, new coccine -

No. 18) currently used as food color additives in many countries,

including Japan. …The assay was positive in the colon 3 hours after

the administration of ama-ranth and allura red and weakly positive in

the lung 6 hours after the administration of amaranth. Acid red did

not induce DNA damage in any sample at any sampling time. …The 3 dyes

induced DNA damage in the colon starting at 10 mg/kg. …6.5 mg/10 ml of

new coccine induced DNA damage in colon, glandular stomach, and

bladder….the 3 azo additives we examined induced colon DNA damage at

very low doses.

 

2. Reproductive and neurobehavioral toxicity study of erythrosine

(Red 3) administered to mice in the diet. Tanaka T, Food Chem Toxicol

2001 May;39(5):447- 54

 

"Erythrosine was given in the diet to provide levels of 0

(control), 0.005, 0.015 and 0.045% from 5 weeks of age of the F(0)

generation to 9 weeks of age of the F(1) generation in mice, and

selected reproductive and neurobehavioral parameters were measured. .

.In movement activities of exploratory behaviour, several parameters

were significantly changed in the high dose group, and those effects

were dose-related in adult females in the F(0) and F(1) generations

and in male offspring in the F(1) generation."

 

3. Estrogenic and DNA-damaging activity of Red No. 3 in human

breast cancer cells. Dees C, et al, Environ Health Perspect 1997

Apr;105 Suppl 3:625-32

 

"Exposure to pesticides, dyes, and pollutants that mimic the

growth promoting effects of estrogen may cause breast cancer. …Red No.

3 increased binding of the ER from MCF-7 cells to the estrogen

responsive element. Consumption of Red No. 3, which has estrogenlike

growth stimulatory properties and may be genotoxic, could be a

significant risk factor in human breast carcinogenesis. "

 

4. A study on the reproductive toxicity of erythrosine (Red No. 3)

in male mice. Abdel Aziz AH, et al, Pharmacol Res 1997 May:35(5):457- 62

 

"The potential adverse effects of erythrosine (ER FD&C Red No.

3) on the spermatogenesis process were investigated in adult mice. . .

sperm count as well as the percentage of motile sperms were

significantly inhibited by about 50% and 57% respectively. Moreover. .

.it increased the incidence of sperms with abnormal head by about 57%

and 65% respectively. The induced increase in sperm abnormalities

could enhance the spermatogenetic dysfunction and germ cell

mutagenicity. These findings indicate that ER with used doses has a

potential toxic effect on spermatogenesis in mice and in turn, it may

affect its testicular function and reproductive performance. "

 

5. Developmental toxicity and psychotoxicity of FD and C red dye No

40 (allura red AC) in rats. Vorhees, CV, et al, Toxicology

1983;28(3):207- 17

 

"Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing FD and C

red dye No. 40 for 2 weeks and were then bred. The diets were

continued for the females throughout gestation and lactation and were

provided continuously to the offspring thereafter. Red 40

significantly reduced reproductive success, parental and offspring

weight, brain weight, survival, and female vaginal patency

development. Behaviorally, Red 40 produced substantially decreased

running wheel activity, and slightly increased post-weaning open-field

rearing activity. Overall, R40 produced evidence of both physical and

behavioral toxicity in developing rats at doses up to 10% of the diet."

 

6. Neurotransmitter Release from a Vertebrate Neuromuscular Synapse

Affected by a Food Dye. Augustine G, Levitan H, Science Magazine,

March 28, 1980, Vol. 207, pp. 1489-90

 

". . .FD&C No. 3 . . .produced an irreversible, dose-dependent

increase in neurotransmitter release. . . These results suggest that

erythrosine might provide a useful pharmacological tool for studying

the process of transmitter release, but that its use as a food

additive should be re-examined. "

 

7. Erythrosine B inhibits dopamine transport in rat caudate

synaptosomes. Lafferman JA, Silbergeld EK, Science 1979 205:410-412

Erythrosin B is a member of a class of fluorescein dyes that are

suggested to elicit hyperkinesis when ingested by susceptible

children. We found that erythrosin B inhibits dopamine uptake . . .

Erythrosin B also decreased nonsaturable binding of dopamine to the

synaptosome membrane. The inhibitory action of erythrosin B on

dopamine uptake is consistent with the hypothesis that erythrosin B

can act as a central excitatory agent able to induce hyperkinetic

behavior.

 

YELLOW

FD&C Yellow No. 5 - Tartrazine

FD&C Yellow No. 6 - Sunset Yellow

 

8. Immumological aspects of the common food colorants, amaranth and

tartrazine. Koutsogeorgopoulou L, et al, Vet Hum Toxicol 1998

Feb;40(1):1- 4

 

"We described . . . the cytotoxic and immunosuppressive effects

of food colorants such as amaranth and tartrazine. . . The results

showed clear immunosuppressive effects from the 2 substances tested,

although the concentrations chosen for this study provide to be

non-cytotoxic. "

 

9. Reproductive and neurobehavioral effects of Sunset Yellow FCF

administered to mice in their diet. Tanka T, Toxicol Ind Health 1996

Jan-Feb;12(1) :69-79

 

10. Synthetic Food Coloring and Behavior: A Dose Response Effect in

a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Repeated-Measures Study, Rowe KS,

Rowe KJ, Journal of Pediatrics November 1994 Vol. 135, pp.691-8

 

"This study demonstrated a functional relation between the

ingestion of a synthetic food color (tartrazine) and behavioral

changes in 24 atopic children, aged 2 to 14 years, with marked

reactions being observed at all six dosage levels of dye challenge."

 

11. Intolerance to Dietary Chemicals May Underlie Recurrent

Headaches, Cornwell N, et al, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney

Austrialia.

 

"In a study of dietary chemical sensitivities in 26 patients

subject to recurrent idiopathic headaches, all but four of the

patients experienced a marked reduction in the frequency and severity

of headaches by adhering to a diet devoid of monosodium glutamate,

amines, tartrazine (Yellow No. 5) preservatives, yeasts,

nitrites/nitrates and salicylate."

 

12. Controlled Trial of Oligoantigenic Treatment in the Hyperkinetic

Syndrome, Egger J, Graham PJ, Carter CM, Gumley D, Soothill JF, The

Lancet March 9, 1985

 

"76 selected overactive children were treated with an

oligoantigenic diet. 62 improved, and a normal range of behaviour was

achieved in 21 of these. Other symptoms such as headaches, abdominal

pain, and fits, also often improved…. Artificial colorants (Yellow No.

5) and preservatives were the commonest provoking substances, but no

child was sensitive to these alone."

 

13. Danger! Additives at Work. London Food Commission. London 1985.

 

FD&C Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow) was found to be a carcinogen

when fed to animals.

 

14. The influence of the chemical additive tartrazine on the zinc

status of hyperactive children: A double-blind placebo-controlled

study. Ward NI; Soulsbury KA; Zettel VH; Colquhoun ID; Bunday S;

Barnes B; J Nutr Med;1(1). 1990 51-58

 

ALL FOOD DYES

 

15. Food Additives are Common Causes of the Attention Deficit

Hyperactive Disorder in Children. Boris M, Mandel F, Annals of

Allergy, May 1994.

 

". . .this double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge study

supports the role of dietary factors in ADHD (including dyes). Through

a simple elimination diet symptoms can be controlled."

 

16. Behavioral responses to artificial food colors, Weiss B, et al.,

Science, March 28, 1980 207:1487-1488

 

17. Food Dyes Impair Performance of Hyperactive Children on a

Laboratory Learning Test, Swanson J, Kinsbourne M, Science, March 238,

1980, Vol. 207. pp. 1485-7.

 

"The performance of the hyperactive children on paired-associate

learning tests on the day they received the dye blend was impaired

relative to their performance after they received the placebo, but the

performance of the non-hyperactive group was not affected by the

challenges. . ."

 

info here too

http://www.diet-studies.com/color.html