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People associate certain colors with certain flavors, and the color of food can influence the perceived flavor in anything from candy to wine. For this reason, food manufacturers add these dyes to their products. Sometimes the aim is to simulate a color that is perceived by the consumer as natural, such as adding red coloring to glacé cherries (which would otherwise be beige).

While most consumers are aware that food with bright or unnatural colors (children's cereals such as Froot Loops) likely contain food coloring, far fewer people know that seemingly "natural" foods such as oranges and salmon are sometimes also dyed to mask natural variations in color. Color variation in foods throughout the seasons and the effects of processing and storage often make color addition commercially advantageous to maintain the color expected or preferred by the consumer.

New studies now point to synthetic preservatives and artificial coloring agents as aggravating ADD and ADHD symptoms, both in those affected by these disorders and in the general population. Several major studies show academic performance increased and disciplinary problems decreased in large non-ADD student populations when artificial ingredients, including artificial colors, were eliminated from school food programs. But we must wonder what other negative effects are being caused by these pretty colors.

The food colors are known by E numbers that begin with a 1, such as E100 (turmeric) or E161b (lutein). The most common synthetic dyes used in food include:

• FD&C Blue No. 1 – Brilliant Blue FCF, E133 (blue shade)
• FD&C Blue No. 2 – Indigotine, E132 (indigo shade)
• FD&C Green No. 3 – Fast Green FCF, E143 (turquoise shade)
• FD&C Red No. 40 – Allura Red AC, E129 (red shade)
• FD&C Red No. 3 – Erythrosine, E127 (pink shade, commonly used in glacé cherries)
• FD&C Yellow No. 5 – Tartrazine, E102 (yellow shade)
• FD&C Yellow No. 6 – Sunset Yellow FCF, E110 (orange shade)

The following dyes are only allowed by the FDA for specific limited applications (most people don't eat orange peels, but how many people eat hot dogs and sausage?):

• Orange B (red shade) - allowed only for use in hot dog and sausage casings.
• Citrus Red 2 (orange shade) - allowed only for use to color orange peels.

Because of the concern of health risks related to chemical dyes, more natural dyes have been developed as seen below. Unfortunately, these are not quite as natural as the paints extracted by simple berries in the times of old. The extraction process has proven many of these ""natural" dyes to induce reactions from hives, to allergies to anaphylactic shock!

• Caramel coloring (E150), made from caramelized sugar, used in cola products and also in cosmetics
• Annatto (E160b), a reddish-orange dye made from the seed of the achiote.
• A green dye made from chlorella algae (chlorophyll, E140)
• Cochineal (E120), a red dye derived from the cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus
• Betanin (E162) extracted from beets
• Turmeric (curcuminoids, E100)
• Saffron (carotenoids, E160a)
• Paprika (E160c)
• Elderberry juice
• Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius), a green food coloring
• Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea), a blue food dye

Because food dyes are generally safer to use than normal artists' dyes and pigments, some artists have used food coloring as a means of making pictures, especially in forms such as body-painting. Food colorings can be used to dye fabric, but are usually not wash-fast when used on cotton, hemp and other plant fibers. Some food dyes can be fixed on Nylon and animal fibers. Red food dye is often used as theatrical blood. Synthetic dyes may have excellent application in these areas, but they do not belong in the human body. Check the labels for the mentioned dyes, both natural and synthetic and do your best to avoid them.

Fluoride in drinking water was originally added in the 1940s to prevent tooth decay, or that was the cover story. The hard truth is that fluoride can do little to nothing to prevent decay. Studies have now shown that fluoride causes dental fluorosis (decreasing density) in 10% of the population! (see photo)

Even more disturbing than the cosmetic impact that fluoride can have on teeth, research is also linking fluoride to cancer (particularly bone cancer), gene mutations, reproductive problems, and neurotoxicity. In fact, in 1999, the EPA's Headquarters Union of Scientists took a stand opposing fluoridation of drinking water supplies. So why is Fluoride still in our city water, toothpaste and so many items? Fluorides have been used to modify behavior and moods of human beings. It is a known fact that fluoride compounds were added to the drinking water of prisoners to keep them docile and inhibit questioning of authority, both in Nazi prison camps in World War II and in the Soviet gulags in Siberia.

FACTS OF FLORIDE:

• Fluoride exposure disrupts the synthesis of collagen and leads to the breakdown of collagen in bone, tendon, muscle, skin, cartilage, lungs, kidney and trachea.
• Fluoride stimulates granule formation and oxygen consumption in white blood cells, but inhibits these processes when the white blood cell is challenged by a foreign agent in the blood.
• As little as 0.2 ppm fluoride stimulates superoxide production in resting white blood cells, virtually abolishing phagocytosis. Fluoride depletes the energy reserves and the ability of white blood cells to properly destroy foreign agents by the process of phagocytosis. Even micro-molar amounts of fluoride, below 1 ppm, may seriously depress the ability of white blood cells to destroy pathogenic agents.
• Fluoride confuses the immune system and causes it to attack the body's own tissues, and increases the tumor growth rate in cancer prone individuals.
• Fluoride inhibits antibody formation in the blood.
• Fluoride depresses thyroid activity.
• Fluorides have a disruptive effect on various tissues in the body.
• Fluoride promotes development of bone cancer.
• Fluorides cause premature aging of the human body.
• Fluoride ingestion from mouth rinses and dentifrices in children is extremely hazardous to biological development, life span and general health.

No matter what your dentist or anyone else has been taught, the facts are more than clear. Fluoride is a dangerous poison that does not belong in the human body. Stop drinking commercial water, stop using toothpaste with fluoride and don't let the dentist use fluoride on your teeth!

Primary Exposure Sources Include: Toothpaste, Tap Water, Infant Formula, Processed Cereals, Soda, Tea, Wine, Beer, Juices, Mechanically de-boned chicken, Fish/Seafood, Teflon on cooking pans, Fluoridated salt, Anesthetics and Cigarettes.

Alternatives

Look for natural toothpaste, however, be careful to read the label and know what you're buying. For instance, beware of sodium monofluorophosphate and sodium lauryl sulfate which are oral care agents linked to neurotoxicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and possibly cancer. Many people think their non-fluoride toothpaste is healthy. However, it is much more difficult to find toothpaste that doesn't contain Sodium Laurel Sulfate (originally created as an engine degreaser). The bottom line is that personal care products are not regulated, and those that claim to be natural can be far from it. Look for a simple natural, non-fluoride toothpaste with only familiar ingredients, and skip all of the bells and whistles like "whitening," "enamel strengthening," and "multi-action."

And of course, stop drinking commercial water! Drink steam distilled water or get a whole house reverse osmosis system. Remember you absorb more fluoride in a shower than you do drinking the nasty stuff!

Dioxins are a class of chemical contaminants that are formed during combustion processes such as waste incineration, forest fires, and backyard trash burning. They are also used during some industrial processes like paper pulp bleaching and herbicide manufacturing. The highest environmental concentrations of dioxin are usually found in soil and sediment, with much lower levels found in air and water. Humans are primarily exposed to dioxins by eating food contaminated by these chemicals. Dioxin accumulates in the fatty tissues of the body.

Dioxin made headlines several years ago at places such as Love Canal, where hundreds of families needed to abandon their homes due to dioxin contamination, and Times Beach, Missouri, a town that was abandoned as a result of dioxin.

Dioxin, like DDT, does not break down easily in the environment. Instead, it bio-accumulates. This means that the body accumulates any dioxin to which you are exposed. Over time, continual low level exposures will "build up" until subtle adverse health effects begin to occur.

According to EPA, 90% of human exposure occurs through diet, with foods from animals being the predominant pathway. Animals are exposed primarily from dioxin emissions that settle onto soil, water and plant surfaces. Soil deposits enter the food chain via ingestion by grazing animals. People then ingest dioxin through the meat, dairy products, fish and eggs they consume.

Who is likely to have the highest dioxin levels in their bodies? People who live near a dioxin source or eat food produced near a dioxin source. People who eat a lot of meat, dairy products, or fish. Dioxin is so pervasive that limiting further exposure of the American people cannot be accomplished through lifestyle or dietary changes. The way to reduce the dioxin threat is to stop burning trash and to stop producing PVC and other chlorinated chemicals. The only sensible way to limit further exposure is to shut down the sources of dioxin contamination. Of course, until that day, we have the Dioxin Detox Remedy.

Short-term exposure of humans to high levels of dioxins may result in skin lesions, such as chloracne and patchy darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions. Chronic exposure of animals to dioxins has resulted in several types of cancer.

The developing fetus is most sensitive to dioxin exposure. The newborn, with rapidly developing organ systems, may also be more vulnerable to certain effects. Some individuals or groups of individuals may be exposed to higher levels of dioxins because of their diets (e.g., high consumers of fish in certain parts of the world) or their occupations (e.g., workers in the pulp and paper industry, in incineration plants and at hazardous waste sites, to name just a few).

Ask your supermarket and office supply stores to sell Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) products as these do not create Dioxin to produce them. The photo is of Viktor Yushchenko before and after Dioxin poisoning.

N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, abbreviated DEET, is the most common active ingredient in insect repellents. It is intended to be applied to the skin or to clothing, and provides protection against tick bites, mosquito bites, chiggers, and other insects that can transmit disease. It has a faint odor and does not dissolve easily in water. DEET has been used in a number of insect repellent products including liquid sprays, lotions, and sticks. It has been estimated that about 30% of the U.S. population uses one or more products that contain DEET every year.

There are four ways that people can be exposed to chemicals: contact to their skin, contact to their eyes, breathing them in, or eating them. DEET is often used directly on skin. DEET may also be inhaled when sprays are used around the body and in indoor spaces where the vapors can remain for some time. It may also be possible to swallow DEET if your hands are not washed after using DEET on skin. People have had adverse reactions to DEET when they applied it to parts of their body that contacted other skin surfaces, and when they applied it to skin that was under clothing.

When products containing DEET get into the eyes, they can cause irritation, pain and watery eyes. People that have left DEET products on their skin for extended periods of time have experienced irritation, redness, a rash, and swelling. People that have swallowed products containing DEET have experienced stomach upset, vomiting, and nausea. In rare cases, exposure to DEET has been associated with seizures in people. Most of these reactions have happened after drinking products with DEET in them or using the products in ways that do not follow label directions. If you insist on using it, try to spray it on your clothes rather than directly on the skin and avoid breathing the fumes while spray it on.

Alternatives:

Buy Greener Mosquito Repellents -- Health food stores now carry a wide variety of herbal bug repellents. Look for these effective herbal ingredients that repel mosquitoes: basil, eucalyptus, cloves, geranium, peppermint, rosemary, lemon balm (citronella), onions, garlic, and feverfew.

Or make your own Mosquito Repellent Oil using 10 drops of one of these essential oils, or a mixture: basil, eucalyptus, cloves, geranium, peppermint, rosemary, lemon balm (citronella), onions, garlic, and feverfew. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Combine the ingredients in a glass jar; stir to blend. Dab a few drops on your skin or clothing. If you don't want to smell like dinner, do not add the onions and garlic, and eat plenty of them instead.

Try these easy tips:

• Up your intake of vitamin B-1. Fisherman and other outdoorsy folks swear by it: one B-1 tablet a day during mosquito season will prevent mosquito bites.
• Grilling? Toss a bit of rosemary or sage on the coals. The pests detest the smell, but humans find it delightful.
• Mosquitoes are attracted to dark-colored clothing; go light.
• Lactic acid produced after eating high-potassium foods (like bananas, for instance) will attract mosquitoes. Hold off on that banana split until you plan to be indoors.
• Fruity or floral fragrances are mosquito-attractants.
• Tansy, rosemary, and basil plants repel mosquitoes. Keep pots of these herbs growing near your outdoor sitting areas.

ITCH RELIEF - Apply a drop of osha root tincture to mosquito bites and the itch will magically disappear. If you can't find the tincture, try making a paste of water and baking soda and dab that on the bite instead.

A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco for smoking, enclosed in a wrapper of thin paper. The main ingredient in cigarettes is tobacco, although the tobacco is not the most toxic part of the cigarette. Farmers use many chemicals to grow tobacco. They use fertilizers to make the soil rich and insecticides to kill the insects that eat the tobacco plant. After the tobacco plants are picked, they are dried, and machines break up the leaves into small pieces.

Artificial flavorings and other chemicals are added. There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes. 51 of them are known to be carcinogenic. Three of the most widely known chemicals are nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide. Nicotine is a strong poisonous drug. It is the main ingredient in insecticides or bug sprays. In its pure form, just one drop on a person's tongue would kill him/her.

Most people know that smoking causes lung cancer and heart attacks. What they may not know is that smoking causes many other diseases and illnesses such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, cataracts, gum disease, ulcers, colds, tuberculosis, leukoplakia and tooth decay. It is also the single most preventable cause of death in the U.S. Mentholated cigarettes are particularly dangerous because the smoke is pulled deeper into the lungs.

Recipe for a cigarette

• Nicotine: a powerful and fast-acting addictive drug
• Carbon monoxide: poisonous gas given off by car exhausts
• Tar: black, sticky liquid like that used in road surfacing
• Ammonia: found in toilet cleaners
• Cadmium: a highly poisonous metal used in batteries
• Vinyl chloride: used to make PVC
• Cyanide: deadly poison used in the gas chambers
• Formaldehyde: used for preserving dead bodies
• Arsenic: found in rat poison
• Ethanol: used in anti-freeze
• Plus, sprinklings of 3985 other chemicals

Tobacco causes about 435,000 deaths or 1 out of 6 deaths in the U.S. each year. 20,000 flu and pneumonia deaths are tied to smoking. Every year 174,000 smokers will die from heart disease. Smoking increases the risk of dying of a heart attack by 60%. Every year 143,000 smokers will die from different cancers, 83,000 from lung cancer alone, and 26,000 from strokes. According to the Surgeon General Report of 1985, "Smoking has killed more people in the U.S. alone than the number of Americans killed in battle or who died of war related diseases in all wars ever fought by this nation." The total number of U.S. deaths in the Vietnam War was 58,151.

The best option is to identify why you smoke at all! Just because you have been doing it a long time? You need it to curb hunger, keeps your stress levels down … then get some help for the addiction and live without being a slave to the cancer stick. If you insist on smoking, use our remedies and detox options, but also look for organic cigarettes or herbal cigarettes. Herbal cigarettes, while nicotine free, ultimately every time you inhale, they also contain toxins. But if you must smoke, herbal cigarettes may be a safer alternative.

One smoke-free herbal alternative to cigarettes are herbal supplements which claim to help you quit. Two of the most popular are Avena sativa and Lobelia. Avena sativa has been used in India to cure certain drug addictions and is reported to help with the anxiety and nervousness that accompany withdrawal. Lobelia is reported to have nicotine-like effects and when taken in small doses, may help ease withdrawal. Warning: it should be used in very small doses and only under the care of an herbalist because it can be toxic.

Chloroform is a colorless liquid with a pleasant, nonirritating odor and a slightly sweet taste. Several million tons are produced annually as a precursor to Teflon and refrigerants. In the past, chloroform was used as an inhaled anesthetic during surgery, but it isn't used that way today. Today, chloroform is used to make other chemicals. Other names for chloroform are trichloromethane and methyl trichloride.

Chloroform is considered somewhat hazardous. It enters the environment from chemical companies, paper mills, contaminated water from sewage treatment plants, and drinking water that contains chlorine. Chloroform can enter the air directly from factories that make or use it, and by evaporating from water and soil that contain it. It can enter water and soil when treated water containing chlorine or from spills and leaks from storage and waste sites. In addition to its industrial production and use, small amounts of chloroform are formed as an unwanted product during the process of adding chlorine to water. Chlorine is added to most drinking water. There are many ways for chloroform to enter the environment, so small amounts of it are likely to be found almost everywhere.

In humans, chloroform affects the central nervous system (brain), liver, and kidneys after a person breaths air or drinks liquids that contain large amounts of chloroform. Breathing about 900 parts of chloroform in a million parts of air (900 ppm or 900,000 ppb) for a short time causes fatigue, dizziness, and headache. If you breathe air, eat food, or drink water that has small amounts of chloroform, over a long period of time the chloroform may damage your liver and kidneys. Large amounts of chloroform can cause sores when the chloroform touches your skin.

Miscarriages occurred in rats and mice that breathed smaller amounts of chloroform during pregnancy and in rats that ate chloroform during pregnancy. Abnormal sperm were found in mice that breathed small amounts of chloroform for a few days. Offspring of rats and mice that breathed chloroform during pregnancy had birth defects.

Results of studies of people who drank chlorinated water showed a possible link between the chloroform in chlorinated water and the occurrence of cancer of the colon and urinary bladder. Cancer of the liver and kidneys developed in rats and mice that ate food or drank water for a long time that had large amounts of chloroform in it.

This is a good reason to consider drinking water that does not have chlorine in it. Also be careful spending too much time in pools that are full of chlorine (salt water pools are not any healthier). Did you know that you absorb more chlorine when showering in chlorinated water than you do by drinking the same water?

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and the related compound butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are often added to foods to preserve fats. BHA and BHT are antioxidants. Oxygen reacts with BHA or BHT rather than oxidizing fats or oils, thereby protecting the foods from spoilage. While they are classified as antioxidants, there is nothing 'natural' about BHA or BHT. They are synthetic compounds produced in laboratories. The widespread use of BHA and BHT in foods, food packaging and non food products makes them exceedingly difficult to avoid.

In addition to preserving foods, BHA and BHT are also used to preserve fats and oils in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. They are used as a yeast de-foaming agent. BHA is found in butter, meats, cereals, chewing gum, baked goods, snack foods, dehydrated potatoes, and beer. It is also found in animal feed, food packaging, cosmetics, rubber products, and petroleum products.

Both BHA and BHT have undergone the additive application and review process required by the US Food and Drug Administration. Even though our FDA considers them safe for human consumption as food additives they do cause health problems. The same chemical properties which make BHA and BHT excellent preservatives may also be implicated in health effects. The oxidative characteristics and/or metabolites of BHA and BHT may contribute to carcinogenicity or tumorigenicity. There is evidence that certain persons may have difficulty metabolizing BHA and BHT, resulting in health and behavior changes. Conditions that have been linked with them include: ADHD, Allergies, Angioedema, Dermatitis, Excessive sweating, Headache, Joint Pain, Rhinitis, Sleepiness, Stomach problems, Urticaria and Weight Gain.

It would be wise to choose foods as close to the way nature creates them. When you buy already made, pre packaged items, you are definitely getting toxins and poisons your body does not need!

In addition to BHA and BHT antidotes, this remedy contains antidotes for other common chemicals found in cosmetics: Diethanolamine, Phthalates dibutyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, polyethylene glycol, Siloxane, methicone, Triclosan, Parabens and Triclosan.

Benzene is a natural constituent of crude oil and is one of the most basic petrochemicals. Benzene is a colorless and highly flammable liquid with a sweet smell. Most people are exposed to this chemical in some form or another every day. Benzene has been classified as a Class A carcinogenic by the Environmental Protection Agency. This is a chemical that also occurs naturally in the environment through gas emissions from volcanoes and forest fires. Benzene is also present in crude oil, gasoline and cigarette smoke. But the major threat from this chemical comes from Benzene that is used in a range of manmade products. Today, benzene is used mainly as an intermediate to make other chemicals. Its most widely-produced derivatives include styrene, which is used to make polymers and plastics, phenol for resins and adhesives (via cumene), and cyclohexane which is used in the manufacture of Nylon. Smaller amounts of benzene are used to make some types of rubbers, lubricants, dyes, detergents, drugs, explosives, napalm, and pesticides. Those working with petroleum based solvents are classed as high risk because they inhale the vapors released from the solvent products, as well as through the skin in the event that the solvent makes contact with the skin during work. Some of the high risk group occupations have been identified as chemical workers, refinery workers, rubber workers, printers, leather workers, press workers, painters, and gasoline distributors. The FDA has acknowledged that benzene, a carcinogen, has been found in U.S. soft drinks at four times the limit considered safe for drinking water. This contradicts earlier FDA statements that the levels of benzene were insignificant. Organizations such as the Environmental Working Group have accused the FDA of concealing information about benzene in soft drinks. The issue is not that it is added to drinks as much as that benzene is able to form in beverages that contain vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and the preservatives sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. Health Conditions Benzene is known to be responsible for a number of health disorders and is linked with various types of leukemia in addition to other illnesses. These include respiratory problems, skin problems, and blood disorders. The cancers that are linked to benzene exposure include acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), hairy cell leukemia (HCL), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

The foods currently lining U.S. supermarket shelves contain hundreds of additives designed to enhance color, texture, flavor, and shelf life. There are also dietary additives, such as vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and others. Dr. DeHaan is a purist, which means he believes that nature made it exactly the right way, with the right proportions, colors, textures, flavors, etc. If food items need additives, flavors, colors or to be fortified, they are not a good choice to eat.

How many additives does one need to put in an organic salad with multi colored vegetables? When additives are used, it is generally because a food has been processed and stripped of its original nutrients and they attempt to balance the item by "adding" or "fortifying." And yet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently has approved more than 3,000 food additives for use in the United States. While approved for human consumption, food additives still threaten our health. This is one of many reasons why it is better to purchase organic, whole foods, just the way nature makes them.

Health Conditions

Once approved by the FDA, food additives are considered fit for human consumption—but they may not be entirely safe. Some food and color additives have induced allergic reactions, while others have been linked to cancer, asthma, and birth defects. The FDA requires that all ingredients be listed on a food's label, but additives are often listed without specificity as "spices" or "flavorings," making it impossible for consumers to determine what, exactly, they are eating. The top 5 harmful and common additives include:

• Potassium Bromate which is a dough conditioner and bleaching agent found in most white bread. It is considered a category 2B carcinogen. It has been banned in many countries, but permitted in the United States and Japan.
• Sodium Nitrite which is found in most processed meats (sausages, hot dogs, bacon, lunch meat, and meats in canned soup products). It is also a known carcinogenic (cancer-causing chemical). USDA tried to ban sodium nitrite in the 1970s, but was preempted by the meat processing industry, which relies on the ingredient to make foods look more appealing.
• Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) which is used to prevent fats from going bad, can be found in butter, meats, chewing gum, dehydrated potatoes, and beer. It is also a known carcinogen.
• Olestra which is a fat substitute used in crackers and potato chips, is marketed under the brand name Olean. This synthetic fat is not absorbed by the body and can contribute to abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Furthermore, Olestra may inhibit the body's ability to absorb beneficial fat-soluble nutrients, including lycopene, lutein, and beta-carotene.
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG) which is a flavor enhancer in many packaged foods, including soups, salad dressings, sausages, hot dogs, canned tuna, and potato chips can cause serious health risks.

A study published in The Lancet in November of 2008 looked at the effects of fruit juice additives on children's behavior, finding that, "Artificial colors or sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population." In most cases, the increase was nearly 50 percent greater than that observed in children who consumed fruit juice without additives. Yellow No. 5 is believed to aggravate asthma.

NOTE: We have provided specific remedies for the more harmful food Additives and Preservatives, MSG, BHA, BHT, etc. If you are not sure which remedy you might need, this Additive Detox Remedy covers just about anything that might be a reaction or toxicity induced by items placed in food. If you need a "one fits all" remedy, use this one. The list of antidotes by this remedy can be seen here.

Alternatives

When shopping in your grocery store, check labels for additives. If you don't know what an item in the ingredient list is, or you can't pronounce it, it is probably bad or even dangerous for you. Buy more whole foods and fewer "convenience foods," such as ready-made meals. The time you spend preparing an additive-free meal will pay off in fresh flavor and increased food safety for you and your family.