A new study on additives and hyperactivity….

I have typically been quite skeptical about the role of food additives and other dietary variables (with the exception of caffeine) in producing hyperactive behavior in children. The much-maligned Feingold diet attempted to address AD/HD by eliminating many additives, yet received little, if any, scientific support.

The additive issue has been reopened by Jim Stevenson of Southampton University, who reported in Lancet that a well-controlled double-blind placebo study demonstrated that 3 and 8-9 year olds reacted adversely to a drink containing several standard food additives [1].

The additives Stevenson et al used include:

Sunset yellow (E110)–Coloring found in squashes

Carmoisine (E122)– Red coloring in jellies

Tartrazine (E102)– New coloring in lollipops, fizzy drinks

Ponceau 4R (E124)– Red coloring

Sodium benzoate (E211)– Preservative

Quinoline yellow (E104)– Food coloring

Allura red AC (E129)– Orange/red food dye

I’m uncertain why the researchers selected these, and not other, additives, but I am sure that they explain in their paper (I’m working on getting a copy right now). If you’re wondering what the “E” numbers are all about, they represent a European system for identifying additives.

In an interview with the BBC, Stevenson offers a cautionary note, “Parents should not think that simply taking these additives out of food will prevent hyperactive disorders.”   

It’s interesting to note that the Stevenson study used “children from the community” as opposed to children already identified as having AD/HD. I hope somebody replicates the study using both populations. 

Until we know more about the causes of AD/HD (which are probably quite diverse, as the results of fetal exposure to alcohol and other drugs can cause similar behaviors), the implications of Stevenson’s work will be hotly debated. If one of my children, however, had AD/HD, what harm could it cause to avoid these substances as much as possible? I have always believed that if people “shopped the outside edges” of a supermarket (i.e. avoid the aisles of prepared and packaged foods), we would all be healthier. 

1. McCann, D., Barrett, A., Cooper, A., Crumpler, D., Dalen, L., Grimshaw, K., Kitchin, E., Lok, K., Porteous, L., Prince, E., Sonuga-Barke, E., Warner, J.O., & Stevenson, J. (2007). Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year0old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: A randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet, Sept 6, epub ahead of print.