Yellow 6 - The Color of Fat and Stupid
A water-soluble azo dye, Yellow 6 was the center of a recent study by the Japanese Department of Environmental Health and Toxicology in which Yellow 6 had adverse effects on lab mice.
Mice dosed with Yellow 6 were found to have increased body weight, troubles with direction, reproduction and even swimming. In other words, Yellow 6made the mice fat and dumb. The same troubles were found in the mice offspring as well. Still, due to the mega-doses given to the rats, the study concludes that there is no risk to humans because they would eat significantly less Yellow 6 than it takes to produce the study's results.
With Yellow 6 as an additive in everything from pies, ice cream and candies to yellow-colored medications and even teeth whitening products, one has to wonder if this reasoning is sound. Americans consumed an estimated 17.8million pounds of food colorings in 2005 giving you some food for thought.
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