The Feingold diet is an elimination diet designed to help children with ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities by avoiding certain foods and additives believed to exacerbate symptoms. Proponents suggest that removing artificial food coloring, sweeteners, preservatives, and certain naturally occurring compounds (salicylates) from a child's diet can improve focus and behavior.
Understanding the Feingold Diet
The Feingold Diet is an elimination diet that helps determine if specific foods or artificial additives trigger the problems you are seeing. The diet involves eliminating certain foods or ingredients, even if they're in medicine or toothpaste.
Core Principles
The Feingold diet operates on the principle that certain artificial and naturally occurring compounds can negatively impact behavior and learning. This diet works in two phases:
- Phase 1 (Elimination): In this initial phase, all foods and products containing restricted ingredients are eliminated from the diet. Some parents report seeing a difference within days. During the early weeks of the program, families were limited to a narrow selection of foods. While some fruits and a few vegetables are eliminated in the first weeks of the Program, they are replaced by others.
- Phase 2 (Reintroduction): After a period of elimination, foods are reintroduced one at a time to identify specific triggers. This allows parents to pinpoint which substances may be causing adverse reactions in their child. The child can begin to try these same foods one at a time to see if symptoms come back. That way you learn what may be causing a reaction in your child.
Restricted Substances
The diet involves avoiding certain foods that some people think make symptoms worse. The list of off-limit foods and ingredients includes:
- Artificial (synthetic) food dyes
- Artificial (synthetic) flavorings & fragrances
- BHA, BHT, and TBHQ
- Artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin
- Temporarily Removed at The Start of The Diet: Foods and non-foods containing salicylates
- Aspirin and medicine containing aspirin
- Products containing several other additives are marked in our Foodlist & Shopping Guide because many families need to or want to avoid them.
Sugar is not removed; most tolerate sugar in moderation, although corn syrup is a problem for some.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Salicylates
Salicylates are aspirin-like chemical (biochemically known as phenols) naturally occurring in certain plants. For some children (and adults too), their bodies have difficulty processing these salicylates (aka phenols). Build up of phenols in the system can have negative effects on the brain and body causing behavioral and physical symptoms. High salicylate foods include:
- Almonds
- Apples
- Apricots
- Berries
- Cherries
- Coffee
- Cucumbers and pickles
- Grapes and raisins
- Nectarines and oranges
- Peaches
- Peppers
- Plums
- Tea
- Tomatoes
Historical Context
The diet was developed in the 1970s by Benjamin Feingold, MD, a pediatrician and allergist from San Francisco. Dr. Feingold initially designed the diet for a woman with hives, removing artificial colors, artificial flavors, aspirin, and salicylates. He observed that her behavior improved alongside her physical symptoms. He was amazed to learn that not only did the hives clear up, but her behavior changed from angry to normal. As long as she didn’t eat the above things she did not fight with her family and co-workers. As he began using the diet with children he saw many cases where their behavior quickly improved. Parents also reported major changes in a child’s schoolwork and in many other areas. Over the years Dr. Feingold found that many other problems improved when people stopped eating things like food dyes. The Feingold Association continues to collect feedback from families who have reported a wide range of improvements.
Scientific Evaluation
Research about the diet is mixed. Some experts say it may help some kids but not all. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates food colors and additives to make sure they’re safe, but it’s possible that some people may have reactions to them.
Studies and Reports
In 2010, an FDA panel released a report based on many studies of the Feingold diet. The report found that artificial food colors, flavors, or preservatives likely only affect kids who can’t tolerate them, probably because of their genes. And a 2013 review published in the American Journal of Psychiatry showed that kids who happen to be sensitive to certain foods may show improved ADHD symptoms if they avoid them.
Alternative Perspectives
However, some doctors think cutting out artificial food additives or flavors may ease mood problems in kids with autism. They also think processed foods and sweets can raise the risk of depression in kids and teens.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
In one study, scientists found a link between ADHD rates and kids who grow up eating diets high in processed foods, salt, and sugar and low in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and folates. They found lower rates of ADHD in kids who eat diets rich in fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. So serving your kids a healthy diet of natural foods might be a good idea. Swapping out candy or processed snack foods, which often contain artificial colors or flavors, for healthy foods may also help your child’s symptoms for other reasons. Whole, natural foods may help your child’s blood sugar levels stay even, which can help ease ADHD symptoms.
In another small study of both adults and children with ADHD, 15% of them were found to also have celiac disease. This is a condition that makes it hard to digest foods that have gluten. It’s found in wheat, barley, and rye.
Practical Implementation
Navigating the Diet
If you see positive results once you have gotten rid of those chemicals then you simply continue to eat the foods you enjoy that are free of them. Happily, there is a huge selection of brand name foods of all kinds, including snacks, desserts, drinks, convenience foods and mixes that are acceptable.
Finding Acceptable Products
Your local supermarket should carry most of the things you will want. Today there are a growing number of stores that offer natural products; and hard-to-find specialty items can be ordered online.
This is not a “health food diet.” Kid-friendly foods are part of the Feingold Diet.
Read also: Weight Loss with Low-FODMAP
The Feingold Association
The Feingold Association researches brand name foods to create lists of products free of the unwanted additives. We collect this information and publish our Foodlist & Shopping Guide - a collection of more than 13,000 brand name products we have researched and are acceptable for you to use.
Foodlist & Shopping Guide
The PDF Foodlist & Shopping Guide is included in the materials that are provided on the Feingold Diet. It can be purchased separately as a PDF or printed book.
Eating Out
While it’s best to stick with foods at home for the first few weeks, we recognize that families are very busy, and can’t always be at home to cook. As more and more people are dealing with allergies and sensitivities, restaurants, resorts and amusement parks (including Disney parks) are responding to this need.
Fast Food Guide
Our Fast Food and Restaurant Guide will help you find the best options at many of the major chains. (It covers only restaurants in the United States.) This Guide is available in PDF form or paper form.
Additional Resources
The Feingold Handbook is your guide to using the Feingold Diet - to show you how to have success as quickly and easily as possible. It contains the best ideas and solutions that have been found by parents like yourself since the Association was formed in 1976.
Some of the topics covered in the Handbook are:
- Using the Diet for different ages
- Gaining your child’s cooperation
- Meal suggestions
- How to keep a Diet Diary
- Better foods at bargain prices
- How to substitute ingredients
- Tips and time-savers
- Holiday ideas
- Working with your child’s teacher
- How to handle parties, soccer games, etc.
- Getting help from the relatives
- Doctors, dentists & counselors - how to get their help
- How to deal with a reaction
- Other additives to consider
- What about gluten and casein?
Recipes
We have collected many delicious Feingold-friendly recipes and compiled them into our cookbooks. Whether you are new to the Feingold Diet or have been eating additive-free for a while, these recipes will quickly become some of your go-to meals. We have included recipes for beverages, breakfast foods, snacks, main dishes, breads, soups, sides, desserts and shortcut recipes like multiple-use and money-savings mixes that are ready to go when you need them.
Considerations
Medication
Many families use the diet while their child is taking medication and find that they can achieve the same results with a smaller dose. It isn’t an ideal way to test out the diet, but you have to eat anyway, so you might as well provide your family with healthy choices. This is one of the topics we cover in the Feingold Handbook.
Not Just for ADHD
No, not at all. The diet was actually designed for a woman who had a terrible case of hives.
Why Are These Additives a Problem?
Most food dyes, artificial flavorings and fragrances, as well as the three preservatives we eliminate are made from petroleum! What’s more, they are legally permitted to be contaminated with toxins like lead, mercury and arsenic. Most humans don’t do well when they eat petrochemicals!
Food dyes have been around for more than 100 years. So why are we only seeing problems with them in recent years? In years past most children only consumed them occasionally - usually at holidays and parties. But today they are being added to more and more foods and nonfood products, and in much larger quantities. Synthetic dyes and flavorings are more like drugs than like foods, and in both cases, the dose determines the outcome. Between the 1950s and today, the use of food dyes in the United States has increased 500%!
At one time (in the days before “rainbow cake”), cereal was beige, orange juice was made from fruit, a soda drink was an occasional treat, and if your mother made you take vitamins, they didn’t taste good.
Possible Causes
There could be many reasons why a person experiences behavior, learning or health problems. Here are some.
- Synthetic food additives
- Natural salicylates, aspirin
- Family stress
- Loss of a pet or loved one
- Vision deficits
- Sensory integration deficits
- Excess of heavy metals
- Deficiency of “good fats”
- Poor gut flora
- Child too young for grade
- Food/environmental allergies
- Thyroid dysfunction
- Lack of sleep
- Celiac disease
- Fluoride sensitivity
- Environmental chemicals
- Manganese & zinc deficiency from soy infant formula
- Wood burning stoves, kerosene heaters
- Gas or oil heat with inadequate filters
- Fragrances-plug-ins, cologne, scented laundry products, scented candles, etc
Possible Effects
“Food additives can affect any system of the body.” Ben F Feingold, M.D.
- Attention and focus
- Behavior
- Headaches, migraines
- Tics, seizures
- Handwriting, dyslexia
- Hives, Eczema
- Asthma & other respiratory problems
- Eye-muscle disorder
- Depression, mood swings
- Obsessive compulsions
- Bedwetting
- Sleep disorders, including sleep apnea and narcolepsy
- Speech dysfunction
- Ear infections
- Bipolar disorder
- Extreme sensitivity to noise, light
Considerations and Cautions
You shouldn’t use the diet in place of your child’s ADHD medications or therapy.
Consulting Professionals
Parents must first consult a doctor before considering such a diet for their children with ADHD.
FDA Regulations
Some food preservatives are allowed by the FDA, and these have not been linked to the shape of ADHD. If the parent has seen any benefits from such a diet, it can be followed and provided under the care of a health professional. This becomes essential when the child is under medications for health problems. Experiencing such a strenuous diet regimen cannot replace medical treatment.