This may seem like a silly post to anyone who knows me because I’m not even a person who drinks beer. You could probably even catch me at a brewery trying to order a martini.

Regardless,  St. Patrick’s day is all about the GREEN BEER, which looks like such a novelty for the holiday. I feel an obligation to protect all beer drinkers, because we must realize what it is that makes the beer green:

FOOD DYE aka NASTY chemicals.

If you check the ingredients for green dye specifically, you’re going to see a list that goes something like this:

Water, Propylene Glycol, Fd&C Yellow 5, Fd&C Blue 1, and Propylparaben (Preservative) (Source)

Food dyes are known to cause a variety of scary health issues. Specifically in this particular green dye:

• Yellow #5: causes hypersensitivity reactions and might cause hyperactivity and other behavioral effects in children. It can also cause nerve damage, asthma, hives, and tissue swelling. Read this article for more information. It’s very interesting!
• Blue #1: Kidney cancers were found in mice tested in laboratories. (Most research on food coloring is limited to animal studies, so we are not sure exactly how humans would fare, but I’m not willing to take that risk). It’s also linked to ADHD, allergies, and asthma (because it may inhibit cell respiration).
• Propylparaben: Link noted between the use of parabens and breast cancer.

It’s true we don’t celebrate St. Patty’s day that often, nor do we typically have green beer, so you may feel that it’s okay to indulge. I just believe that given the option of having green beer or not, I’m going to choose NOT.

 

 It’s also a reminder that we encounter food dyes through a variety of products, so be careful when selecting items you’re going to ingest.

Don’t get me wrong, I fully intend to shake some shamrocks this week/weekend. I’m just going to celebrate with a green outfit, and maybe some limes in a cocktail, rather than a green food dye beverage.