Counselor Notes 11 November 15, 2013 Food Additives, Dyes, and ADHD Recently in the news that Kraft is removing food coloring from some of its macaroni and cheese: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/01/health/kraft-macaroni-cheese-dyes/. It seems that some members of the United States took exception to Kraft putting items in food for children here when those very items are banned in Europe. Do food dyes (and
additives) contribute to ADHD? Perhaps. The Center for Science in the Public Interest http://www.cspinet.org/fooddyes/ says: Commonly used food dyes, such as Yellow 5, Red 40, and six others, are made from petroleum and pose a “rainbow of risks.” Those risks include hyperactivity in children, cancer (in animal studies), and allergic reactions. In 2008, because of the problem of hyperactivity, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of these dyes. The British government and European Union have taken actions that are virtually ending the use of dyes throughout Europe. On
September 24, 2007, Time Magazine (p. 68) looked at a British study on food dyes
and additives and reported that: “A carefully designed study published in the British journal the Lancet shows that a variety of common food dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate--an ingredient in many soft drinks, fruit juices and salad dressings--do cause some kids to become measurably more hyperactive and distractable."
“Stevenson [Professor at England’s University of Southampton] found that children in both groups were significantly more hyperactive when drinking the beverage with the higher level of additives.”
“Some kids got revved up after consuming the amount of food dye contained in two 2-oz. (57 g) bags of candy – hardly a mega-dose.”
It isn’t
like children are only getting a tiny amount of additives either: The Food & Drug Administration has estimated that the average child consumes between 150 mg and 300 mg of additives per day in processes food, beverages, and candy. This level is three to four times the amount used in some clinical trials that had caused hyperactive behavior to worsen in children.” (p. 92) From The A.D.D. Nutrition Solution by Marcia Zimmerman ISBN# 0-8050-6128-2
Still, we can’t say food dyes/additives will be the culprit in all cases of ADHD. As the British study noted “… some children responded strongly and others not at all.” (Time Magazine, 10-24-07, p. 68) This leaves parents to play the detective and see what they find may impact their child. I would encourage parents to consult with a nutritionist before doing anything extreme. Nashville has several: http://nutritionists.healthprofs.com/cam/state/Tennessee.html Parents looking at food dyes and additives being a contributor to ADHD may also wish to look into: The 8 foods that are banned in Europe but companies legally package to be fed to children in the United States. http://blog.aarp.org/2013/06/25/8-foods-we-eat-that-other-countries-ban/ lists them as:
10 American foods that are banned in other countries: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/10/banned-foods.aspx WebMD weighing in on food dyes and ADHD: http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/food-dye-adhd Here is a good site on what foods are likely to contain additives the may impact ADHD: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20439038,00.html Doug Muha
Ed.S P.S. The prevalence of ADHD in children in Europe is under 5% according to: http://www.adhd-institute.com/burden-of-adhd/epidemiology/ Our own CDC http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.htmlThe notes that in the U.S. in 2007 “Parents report that approximately 9.5% of children 4-17 years of age (5.4 million) have been diagnosed with ADHD.” I do not expect the rate has been going down in the last few years either. |