Hyperactivity and Artificial Food Coloring in Children

Let me start with a disclaimer that I am not against all medications, and some children absolutely need the appropriate medicines to maintain and improve their health.  I am an advocate of limiting meds to those necessary though.   Though I don't usually blog about issues related to children's health - and am no expert certainly - I read an article this weekend that got me thinking about my own children's health - one in particular. 

The article was in the Highlander Magazine for this month (www.HighlanderMo.com) and it was discussing artificial food colorings in regards to children in particular.  When my son was small, he was particularly susceptible to artificial food dyes.  Sugar really didn't affect him adversely, but artificial dyes did.  I had suspected it for quite some time.  We were very careful about his food, so he didn't have things very often that had artificial dyes in them.  It would be at a large family gathering, or a party, or camping or the like, so I wasn't absolutely sure if it was too much activity, too much sugar, or the dyes or some other factor, but I did suspect the dyes.  One camping weekend, we had a major rainstorm and ended up in the tent all afternoon.  We were reading books and playing games, he was probably 4 at the time.  We had our "camping food" (which means some junk food - including Cheetos) and he wanted some.  I was trying to stall, thinking how miserable it would be crammed in a tent with a hyperactive child if food coloring was indeed the root of his issue.  My husband joined his side, so I gave in and decided to use this as the "test" once and for all to deduce the root of the issue.

My sweet little child, who had been moments before (and the hour before that) playing contentedly went from a calm little boy, to a totally hyperactive one, bouncing off the walls of the tent, literally unable to control himself.  WOW!  I, of course, became much more vigilant about eliminating any artificial dyes from his diet and we had no further problems.

I should mention, that my second child has not had the same issues with artificial dyes, and I am thankful that my older finally outgrew this extreme sensitivity.  But, back to this article - it states that the "Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) found compelling evidence that ingestion of artificial dyes can contribute to hyperactivity, restlessness and attention problems in some children - particularly those with ADHD.  What's more, the studies suggested that removing dyes from those children's diet was a quarter to half as effective in reducing those symptoms as giving kids Ritalin or other stimulants."  According to Nancy Cordes, CBS News' Consumer Safety Correspondent.  "In other words, certain kids with ADHD might not need drugs if the artificial dyes were removed from their diets."  WOW!

I've had several friends (particularly in large school districts) who have felt bullied into giving their kids Ritalin by the school district.  I'm not saying that artificial dyes being removed from those kids diets would have solved the entire problem, but wouldn't it be worth finding out?  Even a small impact in the overall health and behavior of the child by the removal of artificial dyes could be profound, and with no adverse side effects!

Again, I'm in no way trying to preach to anyone, just sharing a provocative article I read this weekend and my own personal story.  Food for thought.....and health