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Title: The Feingold Program
Author: Anthony Kane, MD
Website: http://addadhdadvances.com
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The Feingold Program
by Anthony Kane, MD
Before We Proceed
We are about to discuss what is officially labeled as an
alternative medicine treatment for ADHD.
You should understand that a synonym for “alternative” is
controversial. The officially orthodox medical community does
not sanction what we will be discussing. If this gives you
goose bumps you had better stop reading now.
If not we can proceed.
Feingold and Food Dyes
Historically, Dr. Benjamin Feingold, was the first person to
promote the idea that dietary items might be responsible for
causing ADHD. Feingold focused on food additives, which are
essentially anything that nature did not put in your food.
Each American consumes 8 to 10 pounds of food additives every
year. Feingold also implicated some natural chemicals, such as
naturally occurring salicylates.
Feingold maintained that salicylates, artificial colors, and
artificial flavorings were responsible for 40 to 50 percent of
the hyperactivity found in children. He claimed that the most
effective form of treatment for hyperactivity was to prepare and
serve children foods that were free of these substances. His
ideas received tremendous media attention and Feingold
Associations, comprised primarily of parents, developed in
almost every state.
The Anti Feingold Position
Initially, the medical community took Feingold very seriously.
His idea was so popular, that it was impossible to ignore.
However, after some investigation the final verdict was that
Feingold was wrong.
The most vocal opposition of Feingold came from the Nutrition
Foundation.
In 1980, an expert review team assembled by the Nutrition
Foundation concluded:
“Based on seven studies involving approximately
190 children, there have been no instances of
consistent, dramatic deterioration in behavior
in hyperactive children challenged, under
double-blind conditions, with artificial food
colorings. . . . There are three . . .
exceptions to these generally negative
conclusions; but, in all three cases, the
deterioration is reported by the mother with
no other objective, confirming evidence
available. . . . Without the confirming evidence
of objective tests and/or outside observers, even
these exceptions cannot be considered as definite
evidence that there may be an occasional,
genetically determined, sensitivity to food
colorings. Though one cannot prove that no such
children will be found, sufficient numbers of
highly selected children have been studied to
feel confident that such specific sensitivity,
if found,will be rare."
These negative findings stand in sharp contrast to the 32-60
percent of children reported by Dr. Feingold and others to
improve dramatically when additives were eliminated from their
diets.
Nevertheless, in 1980 the Nutrition Foundation, a well-respected
group of scientists dedicated to the furthering of better health
through proper nutrition, strongly rejected Feingold’s
hypothesis and concluded that the additives used by the food
industry are perfectly safe. Just so you should know, the
Nutrition Foundation was established and funded by Coca Cola,
the Life Saver Company, and a number of other food industry
giants.
The Pro-Feingold Position
The information supporting Feingold is actually much easier to
find. You can view most of it yourself by going to the Feingold
Association web site.
I am not going into all the studies presented by the Feingold
Association to prove that Feingold was right. Nor will I
discuss here how they explain away the studies showing that
Feingold was wrong. I deal with that in the program,
How to Help the Child You Love
(http://addadhdadvances.com/childyoulove.html).
However, the message of all of their studies quoted by the
Feingold Association web site is that food additives really do
affect behavior in certain children. In other words what the
Feingold Association is saying is “See, we really do have a
reason to exist.” Surprise.
Conclusion
What is the bottom line? Feingold’s hypothesis is still very
controversial. However, based on the current evidence, a good
argument can be made that food additives may cause health and
behavior problems in certain children. Does this mean that food
additives are a cause of ADHD? More importantly, does avoiding
these additives correct ADHD?
Feingold attributed 50% the cases of ADHD to food additives.
Probably the number is closer to 5%. That means the Feingold
diet will help only one out of 20 children. That may not sound
like much, but if my child were that one, it would be good
enough for me.
So what should do about all of this? For what I am about to
say I will probably be permanently banded from the Feingold
Association. I have already been reprimanded for suggesting
that other things besides food dyes also may cause ADHD.
My final opinion on the Feingold program is that it is the
right direction, but it has certain flaws.
As I discuss in How to Help the Child You Love, there are
numerous things that can cause food sensitivities. However,
each child probably has no more than four or five things that
cause him serious problems. To recommend that every ADHD
child permanently eliminate all of the dozens of foods and
additives that have been shown to cause problems in some
children seems to me to be a bit of an overkill. It is
analogous to saying that since there are children who are
allergic to cats, no child should ever own any pet.
If there is one common theme that goes through everything that
I write, it is this:
ADHD children are individuals. No two children are alike.
Therefore, each child has to have his own personal treatment
program.
When it comes to treating ADHD, general protocols do not apply.
That is why I started the program, How to Help the Child You Love
(http://addadhdadvances.com/childyoulove.html). I wanted to give
you as a parent a way to choose from all the available treatment
options to find which particular treatments will help your child.
I also wanted to do this in such a way that you would have easy
access to me no matter where in the world you live, so that you
could ask your questions. That is why I published it online.
The bottom line is that the principals of the Feingold should be
incorporated into a more comprehensive food elimination diet.
Which elimination diet? There are dozens of them out there.
It doesn’t really matter which one you choose. I prefer the
three that I outline in How to Help the Child You Love, for a
number of reasons.
First, I feel these diets are the quickest way to pinpoint which
particular foods are causing problems for your child. Why should
you struggle and restrict your child’s diet to only a few “safe”
foods when only three or four things cause him problems.
The other advantage of the diets I describe is that they will
quickly pinpoint foods that could be causing problems in your
other children, your spouse, or even yourself. When we used
these diets in our own home, not only did it get my son off
Ritalin in less than a week, but also it identified food
sensitivities in our other children. These other children are
normal. We never suspected that many of their outbursts were
food related. This elimination diet literally changed our
whole household in less than a week. You can read the full story
at About Us (http://addadhdadvances.com/aboutus.html).
I truly feel that you should try some food elimination diet for
your child. If you wish to test the items that Feingold
targeted, you can easily modify most of these diets to include
them. However, if your child has ADHD and you want to give him
the best chance to have a normal life, then some diet is a must
try.
Anthony Kane, MD
ADD ADHD Advances
http://addadhdadvances.com
================================================================
Anthony Kane, MD is a physician, an international lecturer, and
director of special education. He is the author of a book,
numerous articles, and a number of online programs dealing with
ADHD treatment (http://addadhdadvances.com/childyoulove.html),
parenting issues (http://addadhdadvances.com/betterbehavior.html),
ODD, and education.
You may visit his website at http://addadhdadvances.com.
To sign up for the free ADD ADHD Advances online journal send
an email to: subscribe@addadhdadvances.com?subject=subscribeart
.
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