Aspartame, GMOs and Hazardous Chemicals in #1 Children’s Vitamin in the US

The #1 Children’s Vitamin Brand in the US contains ingredients that most parents would never intentionally expose their children to, so why aren’t more opting for healthier alternatives?

Kids vitamins are supposed to be healthy, right? Well then, what’s going on with Flintstones Vitamins, which proudly claims to be “Pediatricians’ #1 Choice”? Produced by the global pharmaceutical corporation Bayer, this wildly successful brand features a shocking list of unhealthy ingredients, including:

• Aspartame;
• Cupric Oxide;
• Coal tar artificial coloring agents (FD&C Blue #2, Red #40, Yellow #6);
• Zinc Oxide;
• Sorbitol;
• Ferrous Fumarate;
• Hydrogenated Oil (Soybean);
• GMO Corn starch;

On Bayer Health Science’s Flintstones product page designed for healthcare professionals they lead into the product description with the following tidbit of information:

“82% of kids aren’t eating all of their veggies*1. Without enough vegetables, kids may not be getting all of the nutrients they need.”

References: *1. Lorson BA, Melgar-Quinonez HR, Taylor CA. Correlates of fruit and vegetable intakes in US children. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109(3):474-478.

The implication? That Flintstones vitamins somehow fill this nutritional void. But let’s look a little closer at some of these presumably healthy ingredients…

ASPARTAME

Aspartame is a synthetic combination of the amino acids aspartic acid and l-phenylalanine, and is known to convert into highly toxic methanol and formaldehyde in the body. Aspartame has been linked to over 40 adverse health effects in the biomedical literature, and has been shown to exhibit both neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity. [1]

What business does a chemical like this have doing in a children’s vitamin, especially when non-toxic, non-synthetic non-nutritive sweeteners like stevia already exist?

CUPRIC OXIDE

Next, let’s look closer at Cupric Oxide, 2mg of which is included in each serving of Flinstone’s Complete chewable vitamins as a presumably  ‘nutritional’ source of ‘copper,’ supplying “100% of the Daily Value  (Ages 4+), according to Flintstones Vitamins Web site’s Nutritional Info. [2]

But what is Cupric Oxide? A nutrient or a chemical?

According to the European Union’s Dangerous Substance Directive, one of the main EU laws concerning chemical safety, Cupric Oxide is listed as a Hazardous substance, classified as both “Harmful (XN)” and “Dangerous for the environment” (N).

Consider that it has industrial applications as a pigment in ceramics, and as a chemical in the production of rayon fabric and dry cell batteries. In may be technically correct to call it a mineral, but should it be listed as a nutrient in a children’s vitamin? We think not.

COAL TAR ARTIFICIAL COLORING AGENTS

A well-known side effect of using synthetic dyes is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. For direct access to study abstracts on this topic view our Food Coloring research page.

There is also indication that the neurotoxicity of artificial food coloring agents increase when combined with aspartame, [3] making the combination of ingredients in Flintstones even more concerning.

Read the whole article at www.healthy-holistic-living.com
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Vitamin supplements have their place and can beneficial when made with the right ingredients. The above mentioned product however is far away from being healthy. Most supplements like the Flintstones Vitamins contain a bunch of filling material and ingredients that are not necessary, can cause allergies or can be easily replaced with a healthier ingredient.  Either way, you need to watch out and be aware that supplements are never a full and worthy replacement for real fresh organic fruits and vegetables and a balanced diet. The most important reason to prefer natural over artificial is “bio-availability”, basically the body’s ability to absorb the nutrients. Check out this video of Dr. Axe talking about why you should stay away from artifical vitamins and minerals and why natural food sources are the better option for you and your children.

For more information on Children’s & Teen Health, you can join the bi-annual Children’s & Teen Health Summit for FREE ONLINE again from September 14th – 20th or access the February 2015 Recordings