Can Food Sensitivities Affect Behavior?

Children who eat a healthy diet are more equipped to regulate their emotions, have high self-esteem and perform well in school, according to the American Psychological Association. However, a healthy diet for one child may not be ideal for another. Some parents and medical authorities speculate that children can exhibit poor behavior if they have sensitivities to certain foods or food ingredients.

Dr. Feingold

Back in the early 1970s, an allergist named Benjamin Feingold postulated that a significant number of his young patients were better behaved when he cut out certain additives from their diets, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In the time that has passed since the 1970s, numerous studies have examined whether children with behavioral problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder had improved symptoms after eating restricted diets. Some research has focused on cutting out additives such as preservatives and food dyes, while other studies have studied children’s behavior after cutting out common allergens such as wheat and milk.

Labels

No evidence shows that food additives cause attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but some indicates that children’s hyperactive behavior may worsen with food additives such as sodium benzoate and colorings such as FD&C Yellow No. 6 and FD&C Red No. 40, according to MayoClinic.com. Still, more research is needed to confirm that limiting a child’s diet improves behavior. If you are interested in checking food labels to restrict your child's intake of unwanted ingredients, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does require that FD&C Yellow No. 5 be clearly listed on food labels. The top eight common food allergens are also indicated on food labels in the United States. However, many food additives and colorings don’t need to be labeled, which makes removing them from your child’s diet more complicated.

Considerations

An article published in 2007 issue of “Pediatric Nursing” notes that parents – desperately wishing to help improve their children’s behavior – often look for quick fixes and magic bullet interventions rather than utilizing a combination of treatment strategies. If you have read that removing a certain additive or allergen will improve your child’s behavior, you may be persuaded to believe that restricting your child’s diet is working even if it isn’t. In reality, you may need to seek behavioral therapy, medications and other means of treatment if your child consistently exhibits problematic behavior.

Tips

Consult a doctor and a dietitian about adjusting your child’s diet before you make any sudden changes. Eliminating too many foods from your child’s diet increases your child’s chances of having nutritional deficiencies. This, too, could result in behavioral problems in addition to other health issues. Your health care provider can give you the most recent, credible medical literature on the topic and help you evaluate some of the pros and cons of altering your child’s diet. Ultimately, unless your child has a food allergy, your best bet is to stick to a diet that is low in sugar and processed foods and abundant in fresh fruits and vegetables, unsaturated fats and whole grains.