Dr Feingold and his common sense brilliance......!

Did you know that the brand of ice cream, cookie, and potato chip you select could have a direct effect on the behavior, health, and ability to learn for you or your children?

Numerous studies show that certain synthetic food additives can have serious learning, behavior, and/or health effects for sensitive people.
The Feingold Program (also known as the Feingold Diet) is a test to determine if certain foods or food additives are triggering particular symptoms. It is basically the way people used to eat before "hyperactivity" and "ADHD" became household words, and before asthma and chronic ear infections became so very common.

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is the term currently used to describe a cluster of symptoms typical of the child (or adult) who has excessive activity or difficulty focusing. Some of the names that have been used in the past include: Minimal Brain Damage, Minimal Brain Dysfunction (MBD), Hyperkinesis, Learning Disability, H-LD (Hyperkinesis/Learning Disability), Hyperactivity, Attention Deficit Disorder, ADD With or Without Hyperactivity.

In addition to ADHD, many children and adults also exhibit one or more other problems which may include: OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), Bi-polar Disorder, Depression, Tourette Syndrome (TS), and Developmental Delays. These people often have food or environmental allergies. Many have a history of one or more of these physical problems: ear infections, asthma, sinus problems, bedwetting, bowel disorders, headaches/migraines, stomachaches, skin disorders, sensory deficits (extreme sensitivity to noise, lights, touch), vision deficits (the left and right eyes do not work well together, sometimes nystagmus).

While all the above symptoms might be helped by the Feingold Program, generally the characteristic that responds most readily is behavior. Although the symptoms differ from one person to another, the one characteristic that seems to apply to all chemically-sensitive people is that they get upset too easily. Whether the person is 3-years-old or 33, they have a short fuse.

Dr. Feingold began his work on linking diet with behavior back in the 1960's. He soon saw that the conventional wisdom about this condition was not accurate. At that time most doctors believed that children outgrew hyperactivity, that only one child in a family would be hyperactive, and that girls were seldom affected. Parents using the Feingold Diet also saw that these beliefs were not accurate. Years later, the medical community revised their beliefs, as well.

Another change in the medical community has been the increased use of medicine to address ADHD. In the 1960's and 1970's medicine was used with restraint, generally discontinued after a few years, and never prescribed to very young children. If there was a history of tics or other neurological disorders in a family member, a child would not be give stimulant drugs. The Feingold Association does not oppose the use of medicine, but believes that practitioners should first look for the cause(s) of the problems, rather than only address the symptoms. For example, ADHD can be the result of exposure to lead or other heavy metals; in such a case, the logical treatment would be to remove the lead, arsenic, etc.

The Feingold Association believes that patients have a right to be given complete, accurate information on all of the options available in the treatment of ADHD as well as other conditions. Sometimes, the best results come from a combination of treatments. This might include using the Feingold Diet plus allergy treatments, or plus nutritional supplements, or plus a gluten-free/casein-free diet, or even Feingold + ADHD medicine. We believe that it's useful to start with the Feingold Diet since it is fairly easy to use, not expensive, and because removing certain synthetic additives is a good idea for anyone.

Used originally as a diet for allergies, improvement in behavior and attention was first noticed as a "side effect." It is a reasonable first step to take before (or with if already begun) drug treatment for any of the symptoms listed on the Symptoms page.

The Feingold Program eliminates these additives:

Artificial (synthetic) coloring
Artificial (synthetic) flavoring
Aspartame (Nutrasweet, an artificial sweetener)
Artificial (synthetic) preservatives BHA, BHT, TBHQ
In the beginning (Stage One) of the Feingold Program, aspirin and some foods containing salicylate (Suh-LIH-Suh-Late) are eliminated. Salicylate is a group of chemicals related to aspirin. There are several kinds of salicylate, which plants make as a natural pesticide to protect themselves. Those that are eliminated are listed in the salicylate list which is included also in the Program Handbook. Most people can eventually tolerate at least some of these salicylates.
You will notice this dietary program is often referred to as a program because fragrances and non-food items which contain the chemicals listed above are also eliminated.

Where do food dyes come from?


Those pretty colors that make the "fruit punch" red, the gelatin green and the oatmeal blue are made from petroleum (crude oil) which is also the source for gasoline.
You will find them on the ingredient labels, listed as "Yellow No. 5," "Red 40," "Blue #1," etc. The label may say "FD&C" before the number. That means "Food, Drug & Cosmetics." When you see a number listed as "D&C" in a product, such as "D&C Red #33" it means that this coloring is considered safe for medicine (drugs) and cosmetics, but not for food. See more about colorings.

What are artificial flavorings?


They are combinations of many chemicals, both natural and synthetic. An artificial flavoring may be composed of hundreds of separate chemicals, and there is no restriction on what a company can use to flavor food.
One source for imitation vanilla flavoring (called "vanillin") is the waste product of paper mills. Some companies built factories next to the pulp mills to turn the undesirable by-product into imitation flavoring, widely used in many cookies, candies and other foods. See more about food dyes and flavorings.

What are BHA, BHT and TBHQ?


Those initials stand for three major preservatives found in many foods, especially in the United States. Like the dyes, they are made from petroleum (crude oil). Often, they are not listed in the ingredients.
These chemicals may be listed as "anti-oxidants" because they prevent the fats in foods from "oxidizing" or becoming rancid (spoiling). There are many natural, beneficial anti-oxidants, but they are much more expensive than the synthetic versions.

There are other undesirable food additives (MSG, sodium benzoate, nitrites, sulfites, to name a few) but most of the additives used in foods have not been found to be as big a problem as those listed above. See more about these preservatives.

Food additives are not new.


Artificial colors have been around for more than 100 years. (Originally they were made from coal tar oil.) And children have been eating artificially colored and flavored products for decades.
But then . . . most children ate these additives infrequently. They got an occasional lollipop from the bank or barber shop. Cotton candy was found at the circus. Jelly beans were given at Easter, orange cupcakes at Halloween and candy canes at Christmas.

Today . . . the typical child growing up in the United States is exposed to these powerful chemicals all day, every day.


What the child growing up in the U.S. in the 1940's got:-vs- What the child growing up in the U.S. today gets:

White toothpaste -- Multi-colored toothpaste, perhaps with sparkles
Oatmeal -- Sea Treasures Instant Oatmeal (turns milk blue)
Corn flakes -- Fruity Pebbles
Homemade Toast & grass fed butter, w/real fruit jam -- Pop Tarts
Cocoa made with natural ingredients -- Cocoa made with artificial flavoring, & some with dyes.
Whipped whole fat cream -- Syntheic Cool Whip with hydrogenated oils and HFCS
No vitamins (or perhaps cod liver oil) -- Flintstone vitamins with coloring & flavoring
White powder or bad-tasting liquid medicine-- Bright pink, bubble-gum flavored chewable or liquid medicine

Sample school lunch:
Meat loaf, freshly made mashed potatoes, vegetable. Milk, cupcake made from scratch.

Sample school lunch:
Highly processed foods loaded with synthetic additives, no vegetable. Chocolate milk with artificial flavor.

Sample school beverage:
Water from the drinking fountain

Sample school beverage:
Soft drink with artificial color, flavor, caffeine, aspartame, etc.

Combined with the weekly birthday celebration of a classmate--where food dyed cookies and cupcakes are served generously as a treat!!!

Here is another article that was written during my research on food additives for a previous workshop: It gives a few more definitions

Food additives, used by mankind for centuries, are chemicals applied to foods at home or by the food industry to improve the taste, color, texture, and longevity of food. Salt, sugar, and vinegar were among the first food additives discovered and were used both to enhance taste and to preserve foods. Although salt, smoke, spices, and sugars have been used moderately for millennia, in the past 30 years, with the advent of processed foods, there has been a massive explosion in the chemical adulteration of foods with additives. Food additive technology through research and development has become big business.We have created a market full of "Franken-Foods"! Considerable controversy has been associated with the potential threats and possible benefits of food additives. Commercial food additives are regulated in this country by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and food additives tend to receive the most detailed scientific attention because of regulatory scrutiny. There are literally thousands of chemical additives used in our food today, and scores of those are considered to be harmful elements. A brief discussion of the more popular additives will serve to illustrate potential health problems, and hopefully will help you begin thinking about avoiding these harmful substances:

Sulfites (Sulphites) are used as bleaching, antioxidant, and preserving additives in food. They've been implicated as allergens due to the fact that a typical sulfite reaction involves flushing, dizziness, shortness of breath or wheezing. Asthmatic attacks can be provoked by sulfites and a few deaths have been attributed to their consumption as well. Unfortunately sulfite sprays have been widely used on fresh produce in stores and restaurants to prevent browning due to air exposure. The huge American favorite, french-fried potatoes, are also treated in this way. As preservatives, sulfites were at one time found in processed food, alcoholic beverages (wines and beer), and drugs. Even aerosols used to treat asthmatics contained sulfites as preservatives in the past! The increased notoriety of sulfites in 1985 led to new regulations limiting their use, and the FDA has banned the use of six sulfite preservatives in fresh fruit and vegetables. However the ban still permits manufacturers of processed foods, dried fruits, wines and beer to use sulfites, although if these manufacturers are prudent on behalf of their customers, they will voluntarily restrain or curtail sulfite use.

Nitrates and Nitrites Several chemicals used as food preservatives
are also found naturally in many foods. Nitrates and nitrites are ever-present in plants. They form part of the essential chemistry of soils and plants, and as every gardener knows nitrogen is essential for plant growth, thus nitrogen fertilizers containing nitrates are the most abundant agricultural chemicals. Surprisingly, some very beneficial foods such as, beets, radishes, spinach, and lettuce contain the highest levels of nitrates. We know that daily nitrate consumption is estimated to be in the range of 100 mg per day.

Although nitrites do occur in nature they are less common in the food supply, but are produced in the mouth and intestine by bacterial action on protein and nitrates. Their intake is in the range of 2-3 mg per day. Nitrites, usually as sodium salts, have been used widely as preservatives, especially in bacon and other processed meats. Saltpeter is the best known nitrite with its undeserved reputation as the sex-drive inhibitor. The chief concern is the ability of nitrites to combine with amino acids in the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) to form nitrosamines, potentially carcinogenic molecules. Vitamin C inhibits nitrosamine formation and is thought to protect against GIT cancer. Vitamin C as an antioxidant preservative, can replace less desirable preservatives in some foods. Tobacco smoke is the major source of human exposure to nitrosamines.

Salicylates are common in vegetables and fruit. Medicinal salicylates (aspirin) came from plant sources such as willow-bark methylsalicylate. As oil of wintergreen, methylsalicylate has been rubbed on many cold-stricken chests and inhaled by coughing children for years. Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), or aspirin, is one of the most popular and useful drugs of all times. ASA is an effective drug with diverse benefits, but it routinely causes GIT irritation and bleeding. It's a major allergen and causes many rashes and hives and can occasionally trigger asthma. Dr. Feingold postulated that salicylates and food dyes produced hyperactivity and behavior issues in children, popularizing low salicylate diets. Feingold recommended avoiding foods that contained natural salicylates or chemically similar substances. His lists excluded such foods as peaches and cucumber, for example, which are low in our list of symptom-producing foods.
Food Colors and preservatives have been suspected of producing allergic reactions, and behavioral disturbance for many years, and their exclusion is part of Dr. Feingold's program for treating hyperactive children.

Food colors are used liberally in all commercial food manufacture and are very popular in home use as well. We know that the yellow dye tartrazinea, and the preservative benzoate, can cause hives (urticaria). In the study of hyperactive children by Egger et al, tartrazine and benzoate were the most common substances to provoke abnormal behavior in children, although they were never the only cause of behavioral problems. Tartrazine is a yellow food color commonly found in a wide variety of manufactured foods. It produces an assortment of symptoms, typically within 90 minutes of ingestion, including asthma, hives, generalized swelling, headache, and behavior change (usually hyperactivity). Colors derived from natural plant and animal sources are usually exempt from FDA control in the US and are generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Beet pigment, beta-carotene, grape skin extract, paprika, saffron, turmeric, and vegetable juices are examples of GRAS colors. While these substances are not known to be toxic or carcinogenic, there is no assurance that they're not allergenic or otherwise troublesome to some people. Certified colors are approved by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic act and bear the certification name FD&C Red No. 2 and so on, tartrazine being FD&C Yellow No. 15. Of the nine colors currently certified, seven may be used in amounts consistent with good manufacturing practice.

Monosodium Glutamate, well-known as MSG, is perhaps the most vilified of additives. MSG is blamed for almost everything that goes wrong in Chinese restaurants, and many people scan food product labels, rejecting any displaying MSG. Glutamate is a respectable, normal amino acid however, that is continuously present in all our cells and always available in the blood. One possibility for MSG to act in a negative fashion in the body would occur with the sudden absorption of a large amount. In this case, an individual may experience a rapid rise in blood glutamate, activating receptors which ring alarms, causing the headache and shooting pains that are associated with MSG. A variety of other symptoms are commonly reported, including flushing, numbness and tingling, chest pains, fast heart action, abdominal pains, and behavior changes such as irritability, hyperactivity, and angry outbursts.


Aspartame, a well known popular artificial sweetener, contains two normal amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid and is well tolerated in reasonable doses. The fact that combining them produced a sweet taste was a surprise (and lucrative) discovery. Problems with ingesting large amounts might occur in people with known phenylalanine intolerance. In addition, excess phenylalanine could affect brain function adversely by increasing excitability of brain cells and, in the worse case, promoting seizures. Occasional reports of "allergic" reactions to aspartame are surprising since this molecule should not act as an allergen.

As we all become informed and educated about how chemical additives in our foods affect our bodies, we will be able to make better informed choices to insure our health and well being. It is my sincere hope that more and more Americans will make healthy, organic, unprocessed foods a larger part of their daily diets, especially our children!