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Show (CdDimsMiiDnnmig Uimiteipesil Does Feingold Diet cure hyperactivity? by DENNIS HINKAMP consumer information writer Utah State University There are times when kids seem out of control. Their attention spans are reduced to nothing and they seem to ricochet from wall to wall around the room. There are many possible explanations explana-tions for- this sort of behavior, but one explanation you can eliminate is that it is caused by those nasty old food preservatives. It is a belief that dies hard. The idea of a food-hyperactivity connection connec-tion began in 1975 when the late Dr. Benjamin Feingold published the book Why is Your Kid Hyperactive?" Hyperac-tive?" , I- r Vl.. Feingold believed that eliminating foods with artificial colors and flavors from a hyperactive child's diet could solve the problem. It should be noted he also recommended recommend-ed eliminating 21 fruits and vegetables that contain "natural salicyclates," which he also believed contributed to hyperactivity. His treatment became widely known as the "Feingold diet."' : J Although this concept is supported by random observations of schoolteachers school-teachers who notice more hyperactive hyperac-tive behavior after candy-laden holidays such as Easter1 and Halloween, there is little scientific evidence to support the Feingold diet. , According to Dr. Georgia Laurit-, zen, Extension nutrition specialist at Utah State University, extensive studies have tried to verify the Feingold diet claims. She says some of the most extensive studies were set up in double-blind fashion. That is, the experiementers, the children, the parents and the teachers never knew if the children were eating a normal or Feingold diet when they were observing the children. No significant signifi-cant differences in behavior were found when the children switched diets. Lauritzen says another interesting development from these types of studies was that parents, teachers and experimenters could seldom agree on the degree of the child's hyperactivity. This seems to indicate it is hard to define exactly what hyperactivity is. It is difficult to say what is a discipline problem and what can clinically be called hyperactivity. It is fairly safe to say, though, that whatever hyperactivity is, the treatment is probably going to have to be more complex than just eliminating elim-inating certain foods from the diet. |