There is mounting evidence that artificial colors can exacerbate hyperactivity. A 6 week study conducted by reseachers at Southampton University and recently published in The Lancet showed the artificial food colors sunset yellow, carmoisine, tartrazine, and ponceau 4R mixed with sodium benzoate as commonly found in sweets adversely impacted the childrens behavior. The 297 sujects in the study were children ages 3, 8, and 9 years old. Authors concluded that children who were given a drink mix containing food coloring additives showed a higher percentage of hyperactivity than the subjects who drank a placebo mix.  

This is not to say that all ADHD is caused by food additives. There are many reasons children and adults have difficulty paying attention and in many cases genetics is the most influential factor. However, in using all available tools to control ADHD symptoms, parents and practitioners should consider removing food additives from a child’s diet.

Just say no to sunset yellow! http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gxkT4USWDK5tgUrClrwGN0UIh–A

Last 5 posts by Dr. Theresa Cerulli

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 11:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, Diet, Findings, Children and ADHD. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.