My Doubts:
that ADD ADHD is one thing
that food coloring has much effect on very many people
that “natural” substances are better than medicines
that stimulants are helpful to people who don’t have ADD ADHD
that medicines prevent kids from being themselves
that everything we read on the net is accurate
that people who don’t believe in ADD ADHD have any idea what they’re talking about
Ram’s good information on a food coloring study:
The Panel concludes that the McCann et al. study provides limited evidence that the two different mixtures of synthetic colours and sodium benzoate tested had a small and statistically significant effect on activity and attention in some children selected from the general population, although the effects were not observed for all children in all age groups and were not consistent for the two mixtures. The findings may thus be relevant for specific individuals within the population, showing sensitivity to food additives in general or to food colours in particular.
(” the target colours are more frequently used in sweets but also occur commonly in soft drinks and benzoate is frequently present in soft drinks.” – don’t soft drinks also often contain caffeine?)
Ram’s follow up on the study:
This study was very criticized for not being very scientific and not proving consistent results, but the comitee of the EU still passed a law in 2010, that these food coloring must have such a warning on the label.
Note: I may have finished the various treatments for ADD ADHD. Would love your suggestions about what I left out or comments on what I put in.
doug
We are creative!
ADDadultstrategies 
You know Doug– your response is highly pertinent.
ADHD is a syndrome and the causal mechanisms differ for every single patient.
Even if food intolerances contribute to ADHD symptoms in only 1% of ADHD patients, we do all ADHD patients a disservice if we assume that because large scale studies have failed to show a general effect that food allergy is irrelevant to ADHD.
I can postulate a number of biochemical and physiological mechanisms by which food allergy may trigger ADHD symptoms- simply by relying on the basic sciences I learned in the pre-clinical years in Medical School.
Food allergy may be irrelevant to 95% + of ADHD patients– but will that knowledge be any comfort to the patient who finds that we should have been checking for that pattern in every ADHD patient?
I think not, and I am sure my medical defence provider would agree.
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mind- you’re right. I’ve been reacting against people preaching that food coloring is The Cause of ADD ADHD. If cutting it out helps the symptoms of one person then that’s important, and I don’t want to just dismiss the whole idea entirely. I’m a big fan of looking at the outliers in the big studies, not just averages.
Thank you for commenting.
Doug
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I’m about to go read that full report on food coloring. I don’t know what it says yet, but I can tell you this – my husband and my daughter both have very particular and, in my daughter’s case, very strong reactions to food dye. Over a period of many months and with much experimentation, trial and error, we narrowed down some specific behavioral occurrences to her consumption of food dyes and/or HFCS. Regardless of what that report or any other literature says, I’ve got a firsthand view of what happens to my kid. So that’s my two center.
Thanks for providing the link – I’m off to read.
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lisa- everyone is unique. I have no doubt that your daughter and husband react strongly to certain food dyes (they certainly share some of the same genes). but the studies are done on larger populations and look at averages, and to me suggest that for most people, the effect is small or none. in almost any study of anything, there are “outliers”, those who get a very small effect and those who get a very large effect,at the extremes of either side of the majority who get the average effect. I too am trying to look at the data and consider that I very well might be wrong. In the meantime, if it makes a big difference in your family, go for it! as always, thank you for commenting. Doug
Your Life Can Be Better, using strategies for adult ADD/ADHD clik. Living Daily With Adult ADD or ADHD: 365 Tips o the Day clik blog: ADD ADHD Tip o the Day clik websites: for Your Life Can Be Better clik for Living Daily clik books at : amazon.com clik clik smashwords.com (e books) clik clik
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2015 14:19:45 +0000 To: mkpdp@live.com
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