If you’ve dealt with a hyperactive child, you know what a challenge it can be. A hyperactive child seems to have an endless supply of energy and a short attention span for any kind of focused endeavor. Unfortunately, when you seek help for your hyperactive child, the medical establishment attempts to solve the problem with drugs which have significant side effects. When you’re considering the reasons why your child is hyperactive, you may want to take a closer look at his diet. Hyperactivity and food are often closely interrelated.
Before looking for dietary solutions to your hyperactivity in your child, it’s important for him to have a full physical to rule out other causes of his unchanneled energy. Some disorders such as mild vision or hearing impairment, stress, anxiety, poor sleep habits, and an overactive thyroid can lead to symptoms of hyperactivity. Once you’ve ruled out these problems, it would be wise to consider the role of hyperactivity and food consumption in your child, particularly the problem of food additives.
A study conducted in the United Kingdom and published in the medical journal Lancet in November of 2007 addressed the issue of hyperactivity and food additives. A group of 297 children between the ages of three and nine were given either fruit drinks containing sodium benzoate, a preservative and varying amounts of food coloring, or a placebo that contained no additives for a period of one week. Hyperactivity levels were measured based on assessment ratings and a computerized test measuring attention span. The results? The children given the drinks containing the preservative and food coloring had more negative behavior assessments than the children given the placebo.
When you consider that many children’s drinks and candies are filled with food additives including preservatives and food colorings, it’s not surprising that hyperactivity among children is so prevalent in this country. Although this single study doesn’t confirm an association between hyperactivity and food additives, this isn’t the first time the role of these additives has been scrutinized. As early as 1979, New York schools eliminated foods containing two food coloring agents and those high in sugar and found that test scores on a standardized test went up. In this case, it would be hard to say whether elimination of the sugar or the food coloring agents played the biggest role since high intake of sugar can also be associated with hyperactivity.
More testing would be necessary to confirm and association between hyperactivity and food additives. If you’re concerned about your hyperactive child, it would be prudent to limit food and drinks that have artificial food colorings and preservatives such as sodium benzoate along with providing your child with a balanced diet that’s low in sugar. This would involve eliminating many of the processed foods that tempt children on a daily basis and providing him with more natural foods such as organic fresh fruits and vegetables.
If you’ve been perplexed as to why your child is hyperactive, a few simple dietary changes may be worth implementing to see if they make a difference in your child’s level of activity. It’s a simple, drug-free solution to a common problem.
Reference:
- Lancet 2007 November 3; 370:1560
