Diet and hyperactivity: is there a relationship

In 1973 Dr Ben Feingold, a California alergist, proposed that salicylates, artificial flavors, and artificial food colors are a cause of hyperactivity. Dr Feingold recommended a diet free of these substances as both treatment and prevention of the condition. He has published two popular books on the subject, Why Your Child Is Hyperactive (1974) and The Feingold Cookbook for Hyperactive Children (1979). Many parents have adopted the diet for their hyperactive children, and some have reported a noticeable improvement in their child's behavior when the diet was followed. In recent years a number of experiments have been carried out to evaluate the relationship between hyperactivity, salicylates, artificial flavors. The data indicate that the symptoms of the vast majority of cases of children labeled "hyperactive" are not related to additives in their diet.

Diet and hyperkinesis: a review of the controversy

Controlled scientific evaluation of the efficacy of the Kaiser-Permanente diet has just begun and no studies have proved or disproved its usefulness in controlling the hyperkinetic syndrome. Further studies with good controls are needed. The best studies done so far tend to support the thesis that control of diet may influence the disorder. It has not been shown that diet is the most important variable; nor have the effective substances been identified. The Kaiser-Permanente diet appears to be basically sound and perhaps superior to a normal diet, with the exception of its low Vitamin C content. Careful monitoring of the child on this diet by a professional would be advisable. The hyperkinetic syndrome may represent more than one disease entity and may, therefore, require different forms of therapy. A careful evaluation of the individual case should be made, considering diet; behavioral, psychological, and physical problems; and learning disabilities, before the diagnosis of hyperkinetic syndrome is established. Cooperation of the physician, educator, and psychologist is required. The best form of treatment (dietetic, psychiatric, behavioral, or pharmaceutic) should be predicated upon the assessment by these professionals.

Diet and hyperactivity

Before the role of diet is considered a number of questions about the nature of hyperactivity are confronted. How common is the condition? What are the problems of diagnosis? How successful is drug treatment? The effectiveness of the Feingold diet in combatting hyperactivity and the importance of adverse reaction by children to items in the diet is emphasised.

Effect of Feingold's K-P diet on a residential mentally handicapped population

Independent investigations of Feingold's K-P diet have not produced consistent results. Even the most carefully designed experiments by Connors et al. resulted in an internal inconsistency; namely, the results differed, depending on the order in which the control and K-P diets were used. This study involved a double-blind, crossover design with random assignment to treatment and control groups. Subjects were drawn from a residential mentally handicapped population. There was no significant difference between Feingold's K-P diet and the control diet regarding the specific dependent variables of general activity, attention span, and excitability.

[Hyperkinetic syndrome and diet--a therapeutic alliance? (author's transl)]

The international literature on dietary treatment of the hyperkinetic syndrome is reported and analyzed critically. So far there is no sufficient scientific evidence in favour of this therapeutic intervention with hyperkinetic children.

Pills or skills for hyperactive children

The controversial nature of drug treatment of hyperactivity, the incidence and sequelae of hyperactivity, and problems of differential diagnosis of hyperactivity versus aggression were discussed. The effects of psychostimulant medication and behavior therapy on hyperactive children were reviewed with regard to effects on their social and academic behavior. Both treatments have resulted in clear short-term changes in social behavior but neither long-term academic nor long-term social effects have been shown with either treatment. Short-term effects on academic behavior have resulted from behavioral interventions but not from psychostimulants. However, the interventions have been too brief to allow one to draw unequivocal conclusions about the clinical efficacy of behavioral treatments. Although there have been long-term evaluations of psychostimulant therapy, there have not been any evaluations of long-term behavioral treatment programs for hyperactive children. Given the salutary short-term effects of behavior therapy with hyperactive children, extended clinical trials of behavior therapy need to be conducted. Finally, specific directions are suggested for future research.

Effects of the Feingold diet on seizures and hyperactivity: a single-subject analysis

The effects of a dietary manipulation on seizure frequency and activity level of a 3 1/2-year-old male with tuberous sclerosis, mental retardation, and uncontrolled seizures were assessed. Using a reversal design, the Feingold (K-P) diet was presented and withdrawn three times, while the medication regimen remained unaltered. Every application of the K-P diet resulted in substantial reductions in seizure frequency. During a 21-week follow-up, seizure frequency remained low despite the phasing out of one drug, and seizures were reportedly eliminated 1 year later. Brief objective measures of hyperactivity failed to show any effect due to the diet changes.

[Remarks concerning the treatment of hyperkinetic children with the so-called "diet poor in phosphate (author's transl)]

Compared with normal diets, the so-called "diet poor in phosphate" is really not poor in phosphate. Phosphate intake amounts only to 3% when ingested as food stuffs with phosphate additions permitted by law. The so-called "diet poor in phosphate" is poor in carbohydrates, dietary fiber and ascorbic acid. Animal proteins and fats, however, are high in this diet there by increasing the cholesterol intake. We cannot recommend this so-called "diet poor in phosphate" for children.