Benefits of the Feingold Diet
Improved Behavior, Healthier Eating and New Food Availability
When a child has consistent behavioral issues, the parents should look at diet as a likely cause. The Feingold Association is a good starting point.
The October, 2007 issue of Pure Facts, the newsletter of the Feingold Association of the United States, reports that the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the British version of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has conducted a study that has found food additives, specifically food dyes and sodium benzoate, cause hyperactivity in children. The children involved in the study were regular children, not children who had been previously diagnosed with ADHD.
This study is enlightening and proves what many parents have already discovered, either on their own or through the help and guidance of the Feingold Association. Food additives lead to behavioral problems in children.
The Feingold Association is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1976 and has done extensive research on food additives and natural salicylates. With the help of Feingold’s detailed shopping list, parents can learn which foods contain no artificial additives and which natural salicylates to avoid. Keeping a food journal will help families pinpoint exactly which foods lead to behavioral problems for their children.
Once on the diet, a family usually notices a few benefits.
Improved Behavior
The first and most noticeable benefit of the Feingold diet is improved behavior. Children who had previously been prone to tantrums, making inappropriately loud noises or aggressive behavior will see a decrease in symptoms. Sometimes the improvement in behavior is immediate. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to surface.
Often, the improved diet will have an overall calming effect on the whole family. It is possible that the parents in a Feingold family will also feel calmer. If the child reacts to certain food additives, then a parent may find that she has a similar reaction.
Healthier Eating
Once the family knows the truth behind the artificial food additives, it is pretty hard to eat them without feeling at least a little revulsion. If these additives can cause behavioral problems in children, some of which are extreme, what else are they doing to human bodies? Eating more natural foods is unarguably healthier than eating mostly processed foods. The more you read about the artificial food additives, the easier it is to avoid them.
Food Availability
This is a great time to start the Feingold diet. More and more companies understand the value of healthy foods. More importantly, they understand that many parents want to feed their children the best possible foods that will enable their bodies to grow and thrive. These parents don’t want to feed their children foods that will wreck havoc on their developing minds and bodies. This means that many grocery stores are stocked with foods from these new companies that fit the Feingold requirements.
The Feingold program can help families that have struggled with children’s behavioral problems. Avoiding artificial food additives can lead to better behavior and a healthier diet. It is getting easier to follow the Feingold diet since more companies are making healthier foods available to consumers. Contact the Feingold Association for more information.
Source:
"New British Study Shows Additives Trigger Hyperactivity", Pure Facts: The Newsletter of the Feingold Association of the United States. October 2007, Vol. 31, No. 8.
Feingold Association of the United States (FAUS), 554 East Main Street, Riverhead, NY 11901, or phone (631) 369-9340
