The Feingold Diet

The Feingold diet, eliminating artificial colorings, artificial flavorings, and salicylates, has been claimed, based on anecdotal evidence, to improve the learning and behavior of hyperactive children. A review of all published, completed controlled studies, however, indicates that the Feingold diet is probably not effective, except perhaps in a very small percentage of children. The positive results in a few studies have been inconsistent between studies and greatly outnumbered by negative results. Even among children whose parents feel the diet has helped them greatly, the improvement seems more often a placebo effect, e.g., due to the increased attention the child is receiving, than a true effect of artificial colorings or flavorings.