The Feingold Diet

Ask any parent or teacher in charge of managing young children what happens when a kid eats sugar, and they will all tell you the same thing, “They turn into devils! Hyper monsters with agility, recklessness, and tenacity unmatched by any other creature in the animal kingdom!” Perhaps in different words, but that is largely the consensus amongst child rearers. Most claim to have observed this directly, and others simply go along with the majority opinion without giving it much thought; after all, it seems obvious enough, doesn’t it? Sugars are a form of carbohydrate, one of the major categories of macromolecules from which the magnificent human body automatically extracts energy and nutritional value, so the idea that sugar makes kids “hyper”

In the 1970’s, Dr. Benjamin Feingold created a diet called “The Feingold Diet”. Feingold claimed that his diet, which restricted the intake of various food additives, including processed sugars and food coloring. Later scientific analysis found Feingold’s research to be biased and not necessarily accurate; even Feingold himself was unable to duplicate his initial experimental results through more controlled experimental research. Even so, his diet plan was widely popular and accepted as true by many parents, despite the prevalent scientific opinion showing that the diet was not proven to be effective as a result of weak internal controls during his research. Other clinical observations during this era were similarly discredited due to unacceptable research

It is very likely that when a child consumes sugar, the expectations of parents and teachers change dramatically; it is apparent that whenever a child eats a sugary treat, parents and teachers become hyperaware of changes in behavior as they expect it to happen as a result of social conditioning. Any increase in hyperactivity is generally immediately attributed to the sugar because that is what the most “obvious” causation is. It is hypothesized that hyperactivity is more likely to be caused by a child struggling to adapt to his surroundings or other new changes. Despite the fact that children are naturally inclined to consume sweet tasting food, which may not exactly be the healthiest snacks around, it appears that moderate consumption of sugar alongside regular nutritious meals does not cause behavioral disorders in