Food Additives Linked To Hyperactivity: Study
http://cbc.ca/storyview/CBC/2002/10/25/Consumers/additives_021025
Additives in a lot of snacks can cause hyperactivity and even tantrums in young children, according to a British study. The Asthma & Allergy Research Centre on the Isle of Wight analyzed the effects of different additives on 277 three-year-olds. The additives are found in potato chips, candy and pop
The additives were: tartrazine (E102) food coloring sunset yellow (E110) carmoisine (E122) coloring ponceau 4R (E124) coloring sodium benzoate (E211) preservative The additives were given to the children in a single drink. Doses were similar to ones found in common foods.
For two weeks, the children drank fruit juice dosed with 20 mg in total of artificial colorings and 45 mg of the preservative. For the other two weeks, children drank fruit juice identical in appearance but without the additives. Parents then filled reports assessing behavior such as “fiddling with objects,” “disturbing others,” “difficulty settling down to sleep,” “concentration” and “temper tantrums.” Researchers said “significant changes in children’s hyperactive behavior could be produced by the removal of colorings and additives from their diet.”
The Food Commission, an independent watchdog, says hundreds of children’s foods and drinks contain at least one of the additives used in the study. “Colorings are used to make products look especially appealing to children,” said Annie Seeley, a nutritionist with the commission. “Nearly 40 per cent of children’s foods and drinks contain additives.” The commission is demanding the additives tested be removed from children’s foods and drinks.
Other experts in nutrition say the findings are sketchy. The British Nutrition Foundation says “it is difficult to define hyperactivity in children.” It also stated: “All additives go through rigorous testing in terms of safety.”
Re: Food Additives Linked To Hyperactivity: Study
Would be nice to get more stuff without additives.
I remember when studies came out that said “sugar doesn’t make kids hyper.” Sorta made me roll my eyes. Maybe not statistically significant numbers of kids were statistically significantly mroe hyper… but boy, could I tell when the wrong kid had gotten hold of the wrong stuff!
Re: Food Additives Linked To Hyperactivity: Study
Personal experience: I have a lot of allergies. In my childhood I was the lucky one of the family, with only a couple; after some very bad medical treatment in early adulthood the allergies flared up and I’m on an extremely restricted diet. When I eat the wrong things, I get digestive upsets, headaches, chills and fever, fatigue, nervousness, jitters, and many other delightful symptoms. For quite some time I and everyone around me thought that I had a terribly bad temper; it turns out I was just dreadfully sick all the time and felt so bad that I would fly off the handle with a little added stress, the last straw effect. Now that I’m getting a handle on all the rest of the problems, people are complimenting me on how patient I am much of the time.
I often think that many hyperactive and LD kids may be suffering from similar problems. Certainly going on a natural diet and trying elimination of common problem foods for a week at a time (lactose, gluten, additives, sulfates and sulfites, chemicals in water) is one of those can’t hurt and may help approaches. But BE CAREFUL please! Get real nutrition info from the college library, not the salesclerk at the store. And real all the fine print on everything, including medicine (I have to disolve my thyroid medicine with Lactaid because they put lactose in the pills; and there’s lots of lactose, often unlisted, in many vitamins).
Additives can be a problem — for me it’s sulfates and sulfites — but they are only the tip of the iceberg in many cases.
You know I don’t buy candy. We were away this weekend and my son had access to candy as the hotel had them in the lobby and he kept digging in.
I said to my husband that I thought he was being annoying because of the candy. He agreed. I had thought it was the sugar but it probably was the additives.
Thank you.