Why do children get so hyper after ingesting food that contains red dyes?
Just from doing a couple searches here on google, it does appear that Red 40 dye is implicated in a lot of behavioral problems, despite sugar content in food. In an article about Red 3, which is very similar to Red 40, it said (which actually answers your question as to WHY this happens, not IF it happens) ” . . .the nerve cell’s neurotransmitters (the chemicals that convey messages from one nerve cell to another thus regulating the activity of the nervous system) are definitely interrupted when Red Dye #3 is introduced to the brains of laboratory rats. They have discovered that at least three classes of neurotransmitters are affected by the dye and that the activity of the enzyme Na-KATPase, which is responsible for transporting and regulating sodium and potassium through the body, is greatly inhibited.
