Do food dyes affect all kids?

What the evidence says

No, food dyes do not seem to affect every child the same way. Most research finds that only some children react to artificial colours, especially kids who are already hyperactive or have ADHD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

A well-known pooled analysis of 15 double-blind trials, where neither families nor researchers knew who got dye or a fake pill, found a small but real average effect of dyes on hyperactivity scores. But the effect was much bigger in children chosen because they already reacted to dyes, and smaller in general groups of kids.

Health Canada has looked at the newer studies linking synthetic dyes to behaviour changes in children. Health Canada says the current evidence is not strong enough to prove that dyes cause these effects, so it has not banned them, though it keeps reviewing the science and can restrict a colour if new safety concerns arise.

A U.S. expert writing in a scientific journal argued the opposite: that recent data show a small but real effect on behaviour that is not limited to kids with diagnosed ADHD, meaning average children in the general population might also be nudged toward more hyperactivity, even if no single child looks obviously affected.

Bottom line: if your child seems to get wound up or cranky after brightly coloured foods or drinks, it is reasonable to try cutting back and see what happens, but there is no solid evidence that every child is affected, and Canadian regulators do not consider the current proof strong enough to require removing these dyes from foods.