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I stumbled across a site called IBS No More. http://www.ibsnomore.com/. I thought it was a sales site but it's not. Marlene Stein created it to get the word out about how annatto gives some people - including her - unrelenting diarrhea. It can also cause rashes and breathing problems.
At first I thought annatto was a fancy drink but it's not; it's a "natural food coloring" that makes foods more yellow or orange. It's in a boatload of foods - from yellow cheeses, to ice cream, to crackers, to farmed salmon, to condiments and even to gluten-free products. (Marlene provides a long list of products that have it.) It might be worth a look. Oh, and it can even be in supplements or the gel caps.
There is more info about annatto on the web so I won't provide any more links. Wouldn't it be a kicker if annatto is causing some of us major problems ?!
Well, I'm going to check some labels now. FWIW, I skipped the shredded cheddar cheese on my eggs this morning. Sure enough, it's got annatto it in.
Annatto is only one of many food additives that cause digestive system problems. That's why we always recommend doing your own cooking, from scratch, (IOW, no precessed foods), for anyone who is serious about controlling their symptoms, and especially anyone who has been on the diet for a while, without success. As a rule of thumb, any processed food with more than 5 ingredients should be passed up, as a matter of routine, because the more ingredients a product contains, the higher the odds that we will react to one or more of them. Virtually any food that contains annatto will have far more than 5 ingredients.
You're right, though - annatto is a suspicious item, and it's effects have been discussed here before, such as in this thread, from over 5 years ago:
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I believe that annatto is in many, if not all, margarines. When I stopped using ghee, I tried a soy-free margarine, but reacted to it. Reading this thread makes me think that the annatto was probably the problem.
Does anyone remember the days when we used to have to stir a yellow coloring packet into the margarine to turn it pale yellow? I live in Illinois, so it may have been unique to my area because margarine was a threat to the sale of butter from Wisconsin. Having to blend the dye made the margarine very inconvenient. Of course, we could have let the margarine remain white, but it wasn't as appetizing.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
I saw that thread,Tex, and realized it was an older thread and that maybe many folks like me hadn't seen it or realized it was there. So, I figured why not mention it again?
There are so many foods that have less than 5 ingredients that also have "natural flavors" in them. This is a great reminder to read every label on store-bought food items and to find out what the "natural flavors" are before ingesting the product.
I'm glad you brought it up, because we tend to forget that there are a lot of food additives that can cause problems for anyone, not just those of us with MC. After we've been sick for a while, we tend to blame every digestive glitch that comes along on MC, and we forget that we're still vulnerable to all those things that can sometimes cause other people to have problems, also. We have to remind ourselves from time to time, to look out for such things.
Thanks,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Gloria, I grew up in CT and we too added the yellow coloring to the margarine - wow, that was a few decades ago! No wonder people seemed to have fewer digestive problems decades ago - before the yellow coloring era! - when everyone ate home grown food, dairy, and meats.
I just checked out my vitamin Ds and they have red dye #40 in them. Hmmm.
Gloria, I remember as a kid driving from MN to Iowa so we could get margarine there. Apparently it wasn't allowed in MN. I don't remember if it was already colored or not. I do remember wondering why they bothered. I didn't like it then and still don't....always a butter girl!
I've eaten lots of annato in my life. In Latin American cooking we call it "achiote." My mom had a jar of the paste in the fridge. She thought using it fresh was healthier than the more common Sazon Goya - the red powder used to make yellow rice - it's full of MSG. Maybe the paste is less allergenic that the chemical extracts used in processed foods? I'm 95% certain I don't react to annato, but I suppose I should be more vigilant when I eat it. My daughter was allergic to Tartrazine, Yellow#5, as a baby. I consider annatto a healthier alternative, but I do see it can cause hypersensitivity in some people. I'm guessing there is very little annato in butter and margarines - a little goes a long way.
Hmmmmmmm. I didn't realize it was as big a problem as it appears to be. From that Wikipedia article:
Annatto has been linked to cases of food-related allergies,[21] and "is the only natural colour that has so far as been found to cause as many adverse intolerance reactions as artificial colours and to affect more consumers that artificial colours. It has also been associated with rare allergic reactions."[22] Because it is a natural colorant, companies using annatto may label their products "all natural" or "no artificial colors" on the principal display panel (PDP). "Natural" does not, of course, mean safe or non-toxic.[23]
While it is well known that synthetic food colors can provoke hypersensitivity reactions such as hives, angioedema, and asthma,[24] natural food colors such as annatto extract have been less investigated with respect to potential allergic properties. In one 1978 study among 61 consecutive patients suffering from chronic hives and/or angioedema, 56 patients were orally provoked by annatto extract during an elimination diet. A challenge was performed with a dose equivalent to the amount used in 25 grams (0.88 oz) of butter. Twenty six per cent of the patients reacted to this color four hours (SD: 2.6) after intake, worse than amaranth 9% or synthetic dyes such as tartrazine 11%, Sunset Yellow FCF 17%, Food Red 17 16%, Ponceau 4R 15%, erythrosine 12% and Brilliant Blue FCF 14%.[25]
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I sent the study to my MIL, who is sensitive to Tartrazine, and who suffers from chronic hives and angioedema every few years. She said she once was taken off a "yellow" pill due to her hives, and never knew which colorant it had. She's GF now, so hopefully her hives won't come back.
It was "61 consecutive patients suffering from chronic hives and/or angioedema".
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Just looked at my soy free Earth Balance...........I will not use it for a while and see if I feel better. I will be so very to have to give that up, if I do. I've really enjoyed it ever since my health food store got it after Dee told us about it. Now it's even better because Wally World carries it.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV.
OMG Joan - thanks for checking that!!! I'm totally addicted to soy free EB - one of my very few indulgences. Like you, I'll eliminate it from my diet for a while to see if my BM's improve.
Love,
Kari
"My mouth waters whenever I pass a bakery shop and sniff the aroma of fresh bread, but I am also grateful simply to be alive and sniffing." Dr. Bernstein
Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
to have to give that up, if I do. I've really enjoyed it ever since my health food store got it after Dee told us about it. Now it's even better because Wally World carries it.