By ,
Published January 13, 2015
Decades ago, the maker of M&M's took its red candies off the market after the dye was linked to cancer.
But red M&M's have been back for some time and scientists are now saying that some food dyes, including Blue No. 2 and Red No. 40, used by candy makers (including M&M), may actually fight cancer, OregonLive.com is reporting.
Scientists from Oregon State University looked at dyes because they are chemically similar to compounds that bind to cancer-causing chemicals, according to the report.
After feeding rainbow trout aflatoxin, a poison linked to liver cancer and made by mold that grows on tree nuts, peanuts and corn, researchers then fed the dyes to some of the trout. The dye-eating trout ended up with fewer liver tumors. Red No. 40 also seemed to fight a dibenzopyrene, a carcinogen in cigarette smoke, the report said.
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OSU professor Gayle Orner told OregonLive.com that the harmful effects of aflatoxin, though not a huge problem in the U.S., could be minimized by mixing the toxin-fighting dye with peanut butter. The dye could be added to corn chips too, the report said. The researchers are now studying the dyes on animals.
Click here for more on this story from OregonLive.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/new-weapon-in-cancer-fight-blue-red-peanut-butter