The Feingold Diet is a diet that eliminates certain foods and additives in addition to certain chemicals and perfumes that are believed to trigger ADHD symptoms, among many other symptoms. One benefit of this diet is room for experimentation. Foods and additives are slowly re-introduced to the diet, helping you determine which areas are problems for your child specifically.
The Feingold Diet---or Feingold Program---tests your diet to determine if certain foods or food additives are triggering symptoms of ADHD---attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The basic idea behind the diet is following a way of eating that is similar to the way people ate before ADHD, asthma and chronic ear infections became household terms. Though food additives are not new, they are much more common now than they used to be.
Dr. Feingold
The program is named after Dr. Benjamin Feingold, who was the chief of allergy at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco. He noticed throughout his work that many patients were sensitive to aspirin, certain foods and food additives. The diet was first developed in the late 1960s, and the Feingold Association of the United States indicates that the diet was determined to be able to help approximately half of the children who were diagnosed with hyperactivity.
Food Additives
The food additives eliminated in the Feingold Diet include artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, aspartame and the artificial preservatives BHA, BHT and TBHQ. Stage One of the diet eliminates aspirin and certain foods containing salicylate. Salicylate is a group of chemicals that are similar to aspirin. Examples of food dyes listed on ingredient labels include "Yellow No. 5" and "Blue #1." Artificial flavors are composed of chemicals that are not restricted by anyone. The Feingold Association of the United States indicates that a source for imitation vanilla flavoring called vanillin is actually a waste product from paper mills. BHA, BHT and TBHQ are three preservatives made from petroleum oils that prevent fats in foods from spoiling.
Stages
The first step in the Feingold Diet is to eliminate only foods containing artificial coloring. If little or no benefit is demonstrated, the next step eliminates corn syrup and sugar, MSG and HVP---monosodium glutamate and hydrolyzed vegetable protein---sodium nitrite and calcium propionate. After a few weeks of no improvement, a more extensive elimination is then called for. Wheat, eggs, dairy, chocolate, soybeans, tofu and corn products are eliminated in addition to food additives. When the child's behavior improves, every few days one food or ingredient may be added back at a time.
Studies
The Feingold Association of the United States indicates that the success rate for families following the diet properly is over 80 percent. A 1989 Kaplan study tested part of the diet with a success rate of 68 percent. A 1994 Boris study indicated that 73 percent of the children responded favorably. Another 1994 study called the Rowe study found that some of the children in the control group behaved badly after given yellow dye and 75 percent improved on the "Stage-Two Feingold-type" diet.
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