Hello and welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

Now I know I've made a name for myself and explaining how not to do certain things.

Just look at my books. How not to die in my upcoming book, How Not to Diet.

But what I want to share with you is actually quite positive.

What's the best way to live a healthy life? Here are some answers.

Today we focus on that butterfly shaped gland found low in the front of our neck, the thyroid.

The thyroid gland is part of the endocrine system, which is made up of glands that produce

stored release hormones into the bloodstream. So it's the best way to keep your thyroid healthy.

We begin with the use of an artificial food coloring, red dye number three.

It has yet to be banned despite its purported role in causing thousands of cases of thyroid cancer.

15 million pounds of food dyes are sold every year in the US. Why?

Foods are artificially colored to make unattractive mixtures of basic ingredients and food

additives acceptable to consumers. See, food colorings are added to countless process food

products to conceal the absence of fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients and make the food

appear better or of greater value than it actually is. Otherwise, cherry popsicles might actually

look like they have no cherries in them. I've talked about the role of food dyes and causing

ADHD symptoms in kids, but what about their role in cancer? Due to cancer concerns, red dye number

one was banned in 1961. Red number two was banned in 1976, and then red number four was banned.

What about red number three used today and everything from sausage to maraschino cherries?

It was recently found to cause DNA damage and human liver cells and vitro comparable to the

damage caused by a chemotherapy drug whose whole purpose is to break down DNA. But your red number

three was found influence children's behavior more than 30 years ago, and if you're with thyroid

...