Parents of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, may find that changing their children's diets can improve their symptoms. Allergist Dr. Benjamin Feingold developed the Feingold Diet for this purpose in the 1970s, and many parents of children with ADHD find it helpful.
History
Dr. Feingold noticed that some of his allergy patients had improved behavioral symptoms when they eliminated certain foods from their diet. This gave him the idea that eliminating these foods from the diets of those suffering from ADHD might help them better control their symptoms. Although these foods do not cause children to develop ADHD, they may increase their hyperactivity, according to the Mayo Clinic's website.
Features
The Feingold Program recommends eliminating foods and nonfood items that contain synthetic food colorings, preservatives and flavorings, as well as artificial sugars. Dr. Feingold also recommends avoiding foods that contain naturally occurring salicylates, which include apples, oranges, almonds, coffee, peppers, tea, tomatoes and grapes. Should this not help your child, try eliminating the most common food allergens, corn syrup, MSG, baked goods with calcium propionate and luncheon meats with sodium nitrite.
Implementation
The Feingold Program is usually implemented in stages, starting with the elimination of those foods most likely to increase symptoms. If symptoms improve, you can try adding back some of these foods and ingredients one at a time to see if symptoms return. If symptoms do not return, you can add those foods back to your child's diet. If returning a food causes symptoms, you know your child is sensitive to it and you should stop feeding it to your child.
Effects
When you put your child with ADHD on the Feingold Program, there may be a mild to significant improvement in their behavior, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The improvement may be significant enough that you can avoid putting your child on medication to control behavior.
Considerations
Not all children respond to dietary changes such as the Feingold Program. If you try the Feingold Program and don't notice any improvements in your child's condition, your child might not be affected by these ingredients. Check to see if he is getting foods with these ingredients from other sources, but if not, you can add them back to your child's diet.
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