artificial colors

[dminton]

Does anyone out there react to artificial colors such as those found in candies and just about anything else that you don't buy in a health food store? My candy cane flare may have been from the red dye, not the peppermint aspect of it.

[yorkiegirl]

Yes, I've always reacted to the dye in candies. Jelly beans, jelly bellies, candy canes, just about every candy you can think of except carmel ones--they don't seem to bother me too much. Anway it may be the citrus in the fruit-flavored candy that bothers me rather than the dye, but I've always suspected it's the dye. Now I pretty much follow the IC diet--if it tastes good, spit it out!

[lalarainbow]

Hi = I had a flare after a Blue Gatorade.. I thought it was the citric acid but Dr said it was more likely the artificial flavor or colouring.. I have never tried it again...
~~Pam~~

[rnewman]

I was allergic to red dye WAYYY before IC. I was a big fan of crystal light in high school, and I would get hives all over my face every time I had the red varieties. I gave up on the red ones....and I gave up on artifical sweeteners long after that...when I was diagnosed with IC at 20.

I dont think that blue dyes bother my IC, but I know that red ones do. The first time I took regular advil, I think it increased my frequency....but the blue liquigels are OK for me. I find that those types of things for me are worse in quantity....if I eat a few red jelly beans, I might be ok. If I drink a cup of red gatoraide, or if I have red jelly beans every day for a week, I will probably flare.

I discovered when I was first diagnosed that a big trigger for me is any artificial additions to my food. Preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and colors all seem to bother me. I try to stick to natural things when I can. I think it makes a big difference in how I feel.

Hope this helps!!
Hugs,
Rachel

[dminton]

Thanks for the replies regarding dyes. I guess this is an opportunity to really clean up the ol' diet and not eat candy! Or lots of other things.

I am lucky to have a really old- fashioned pharmacy I go to; once they filled my Darvocet script with this horrible red-orange dyed supply of pills instead of the regular white ones. I knew intuitively that this was not good! I asked them to get the white ones back, and they called right away to the supplier, asking them to send the white ones because some of their patients have sensitivities. Pretty cool, huh?

[sunshine_77us]

I can not tolerate the dyes. I was taking some pills for headache and I had a terrible flare. I looked at ingredients and it had the yellow dye. The yellow really puts me in a flare.