Gatorade is a sports drink and one of the best in the market, they have various varieties with different delicious flavors. They are great for restoring electrolytes and great for hydration, for those involved in high levels of physical activities like athletes.
But some of these Gatorade delicious flavors contain red dye 40, and health officials have raised concerns about this.
What Gatorade Flavor has Red Dye 40?
The following fruity flavors have it; Fierce Berry, Fierce Grape, Frost Riptide Rush, Passion Fruit Flavors, and Fruit Punch. That being said, it is also present in many fruit-flavored drinks just like it is present in Gatorade.
This information is helpful to those who intend to cut it off from their diet, or those who want to limit it. If you know the particular flavored drink that contain it you would be able to avoid them. Read on to find out more.
What Is Red Dye 40 And Which Flavors Of Gatorade has it?
It is a synthetic coloring. It is made from petroleum. Adding food coloring to beverages is not new to the industry.
According to reports food colorings were used in beverages and food in the US in the 1900s. Although some of these food colorings were not approved including red dye 40 until 1971.
The purpose of these types of coloring is to add more colors to the food, in this case, making it red. This is why it is used mostly in fruity beverages like Fierce Grape, Frost Riptide Rush, Fierce Berry, Fruit Punch, and Passon Fruit.
As raw fruits alone cannot produce the red color needed hence Artificial Colourings are added.
To find out which drink contains this color you can check the label on the bottle of Gatorade. This is one sure way of finding out, especially for new flavors that may not be listed here.
Is Red Dye 40 Safe?
People have raised concerns as regards how safe it is for human consumption. Although it is approved as a food additive by the FDA in the US, further studies have shown that it can cause serious health concerns in the long run.
And hence some experts consider the FDA’s dye testing procedures for food and drinks inadequate. Although this isn’t known, more research has shown that a lot of food coloring could pose future health issues to the consumer.
A lot of people today have become more health conscious and are avoiding food and beverages that are known to contain coloring. It is recommended that it should be replaced with safe alternatives as It is found to contain small amounts of carcinogens that cause hypersensitivity in humans.
Which Gatorade Doesn’t Have Red Dye?
Lovers of Gatorade may be saddened by the fact that their favorite beverage can pose health challenges to them, and may not want to give it up entirely. If you fall into this category then you are in luck because there are some Gatorade that don’t contain it.
First of all, one way to know which drink doesn’t have it is by checking the color, if it is not red or purple then there is no red dye in it. Because if it were present, it would do to the drink what it knows how to do best, which is to make it red.
So if it isn’t red or purple you are safe. Another obvious way to find out is by checking the label of your bottle of Gatorade if you are concerned about food coloring.
If you want to avoid it, but still want to take this beverage you can choose from any of these flavors.
Gatorade Without Red Dye
Frost, Blue Cherry, Lime Cucumber, Glacier Cherry, Green Apple, Cool Blues, and The Lemon Lime flavors are free of it.
Although they may have other dyes but certainly not this one and they are safer. You can always find out the content by checking the label on the bottle.
The Lemon Lime, Frost, Blue Cherry, Lime Cucumber, Green Apple, Glacier Cherry, and Cool Blue flavors are all free of this food coloring. It’s important to keep in mind that these flavors will have other food dyes, which might be safer.
What Drinks Have Red 40?
Apart from Gatorade, there are a lot more food and drinks that have the presence of this coloring. It cuts across different category of food and drinks, it can be found in the following;
Energy drinks, sodas, soft drinks, strawberry milk, cereals, fruit bars, etc.
A lot of beverage companies use this dye on their products even those that claim to produce healthy beverages, for example, Ensure Plus Strawberry has it. One would think that given its status it won’t add food colorings to its products but that is not the case.
Coca-cola is also another big name in the industry that still uses this in some of its beverages. Its Minutes Maid Orange Soda, Boppin’ Berry, Hi-C, and Fruit Punch contain it.
Dr. Pepper’s Grape Ginger Ale, Diet Raspberry Ginger Ale, Diet Grape Ginger Ale, and Sunkist Orange Soda flavors all contain this.
Summary
This food dye is harmful to humans. This is because it contains carcinogens that cause hypersensitivity, and hence a lot of people are cutting off drinks and food that contain it.
To avoid this dye check labels, usually the red and purple ones contain this food coloring but not in all cases. To be sure you should check the label before you drink it.
Although some Gatorade contains it, some others don’t. If you are a lover of this drink you can opt for the ones without the dye and enjoy a healthy drink.
Most fruit beverages use this coloring. If you want to avoid it, then you’ll want to check the labels of your beverages carefully before drinking. And opt for those that would not cause damage to your health. That way you would be able to properly enjoy your drink.
