U.S. Residents || Last Update 05/015/2008
Frequently Asked Questions
This page is for people living outside the United States.
If you live in the United States or Canada, please go HERE

Some questions you may have:

  1. Who was Dr. Benjamin Feingold?

    • Starting his practice of medicine as a pediatrician, Dr. Feingold taught pediatrics at Northwestern University Medical School, and later became Chief of Pediatrics at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles. He specialized in child and adult allergy, and he retired at the age of 81 as Chief Emeritus of the Department of Allergy of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco, CA.

  2. Where did he get the idea of chemicals in food triggering symptoms of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)?

    • As in most discoveries, more than one person was involved, and the research on additives published during that time spanned several continents, and some can be seen here. As you may know, there can be several years between completion of a study and its publication, and the published article may represent many years of preparation. Long before a study is actually published, interested physicians and researchers will be familiar with it.

    • Dr. Stephen D. Lockey, Sr. of the Mayo Clinic was an early advocate of using a non-salicylate and no-tartrazine (Yellow No.5) diet to treat urticaria (hives). His dietary recommendations were provided to physicians for their patients as early as 1948.

    • He was aware of the cross-sensitivity between aspirin and tartrazine shown in the early German and other studies. He also was aware of the adverse physical and even behavioral effects of both BHA and BHT, in the most up-to-date studies of his day. See excerpts from Dr. Lockey's recommendations to physicians here.

    • Unfortunately, Dr. Lockey's recommendations were often ignored. One possible reason may be that his diet format is almost exclusively negative. It is a long listing of what should not be eaten, and it is quite formidable. Another possible reason may be that physicians had discovered Ritalin - a magic bullet - which is easier and quicker than a life-style change.

    • For years, Dr. Feingold used the Lockey diet, or developed one similar to it, for treating urticaria and asthma in his allergy practice. Like Lockey, he was aware that other symptoms could be involved, including vascular response (headache) and behavioral responses.

    • Although the first patient whose psychological recovery "brought this home" to him was an adult female, he became especially interested in helping the newly emerging epidemic of hyperactive children, mostly boys. Most of Dr. Feingold's early experience with using the diet for hyperactivity was clinical -- helping children who had not responded to any other treatment -- what he called "the failures of the medical community." A significant percentage of these children underwent dramatic improvement on the diet.

    • In his presentation to the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1973, Dr. Feingold called for researchers to do the basic research required to find out why this diet worked. He called for the government to be involved because he knew it would be expensive and take many years. He, himself, was a clinician -- he felt it was his job to get the patient well, not to find out why it worked.

    • In teaching the parents how to use the diet, then known as the "KP" or "Kaiser-Permanente" diet, Dr. Feingold saw the need for a list of what can be eaten. And he saw the need to explain this directly to the people who would be in charge of the diet -- the family. He did this both in his 1974 book, Why Your Child is Hyperactive, and by meeting with local groups of parents around the country until the end of his life.

    • Such meetings led to the development of Feingold support groups of parents, mostly moms since women worked outside the home less frequently back then. They helped each other find appropriate foods, sharing information about which products caused reactions, and calling the manufacturers to continue the product research Dr. Feingold and his staff had begun.

    • By 1978, in Texas, Vivian Mower and Dianne Nixon became the first volunteers to do product research nationally for all the Feingold groups. The information gathered by Dr. Feingold's staff and the volunteers helped fuel the writing of The Feingold Cookbook, by Dr. & Mrs. Feingold, published in 1979. Because of the publicity generated, the media began calling it the "Feingold" diet and the name has stuck.

  3. I have heard that many other symptoms also improve on the Feingold diet. Why is that?

    • Symptoms such as enuresis (bedwetting), asthma, frequent earaches, and sleep disorders go along with ADHD to such an extent that they are called "co-morbid" disorders. Some children only have one or two, while others seem to have many.

      • E.M. Ornitz in a study published in Biological Psychiatry in June 1999 said, "A common deficiency of inhibitory signal processing in the brain stem" seems to underlie both bedwetting and ADHD.

      • J. Egger in a study published in Journal of Pediatrics, in 1989, said, "Of 45 children with epilepsy and recurrent headaches, abdominal symptoms, or hyperkinetic [ADHD] behavior, 36 [80%] improved on an oligoantigenic [few foods] diet..." None of the children with epilepsy alone, however, improved.

      • Many studies show that there is a correlation between sleep disorders and ADHD. Although researchers do not agree if one causes the other, they do seem to agree that treatment of the ADHD with stimulant medication makes the sleep problems worse, not better. When the Feingold diet works, on the contrary, both problems are corrected or improved.

    • We do not know yet why some children have all these problems, and we do not know yet why the diet helps these "co-morbid" problems. However, we are glad to see that it often does. You can see the profile of symptoms here

  4. If I try the Feingold diet will I have to change my family's lifestyle and eating pattern?

    • Using the diet will change your shopping and cooking pattern. Since you will not have access to the Foodlists available in the United States, you may have to cook or bake many things you may be buying now. Using the information in the Diet Outline, you will have a better idea of how to determine which products are acceptable. We encourage you to use single-ingredient items and do your own cooking and baking. It does not have to be fancy. Jane Hersey's book, Why Can't My Child Behave? has helpful guidance especially for those outside the U.S.

    • A major change for some children is that they must bring their lunch to school. While many children enjoy doing so and even help in lunch preparation, others are horrified at the thought. This is not really a problem with the diet, but rather with the schools because they are generally unwilling or unable to provide acceptable foods. Nevertheless, if a parent works with the school cafeteria personnel, they can usually identify several acceptable foods and drinks that the child can purchase. It will also be necessary to make sure that the teacher has acceptable treats in school for parties. If the teacher gives the children candy for rewards (a really bad policy anyway), make sure that acceptable candy is available (plain sugar cubes are surprisingly good, and better for their teeth than hard candy).

  5. Why should my entire family participate in the diet program? Only my son has ADHD.

    • First, it is easier if you prepare the same foods for the whole family.

    • Second, it gives the child moral support because he is not alone. Rather, it is a family project to avoid the artificial additives and eat "real" food.

    • Third, there are fewer chances of error because everything in the refrigerator or on the shelf is acceptable on the diet. The child does not have to ask if it is his "special" food, but can just take a snack as usual.

    • Fourth, we are continually amazed at how many parents write to say that they themselves are feeling better -- migraines, sleep difficulty, hives, all clear up, and the parent often feels less moody and more calm. We don't know if this effect on the parent's mood is the effect of the diet -- or of having an easier child. It may be important to know that academically, or for research, but in every day life, does it matter?

  6. What about toothpaste, shampoo, mouthwash, cough drops and medicine?

    • You may have to find a new favorite shampoo and toothpaste, but we encourage you to consider this an adventure. Look for products without the ingredients to be avoided, and also without any perfume or fragrance. Even natural fragrance is sometimes a problem in the beginning for the very sensitive because it may contain salicylates. Some acceptable products may be bought by mail order or through the Internet.

    • When you or your child is ill, remember that medications, too, may contain the unwanted additives. Your physician and pharmacist can help you find a medication with the fewest problem additives, one that can be opened and transferred to an uncolored gelatin capsule, or one that can safely have the coating washed off. A compounding pharmacist can sometimes be a great help.

  7. OK -- what are these "guidelines?" What is avoided on this diet?

    1. Artificial food dye and flavors [petroleum-based additives]
    2. BHA, BHT, TBHQ [petroleum-based preservatives]
    3. Salicylate-containing foods and non-food products

  8. Why?

    • For 20 years, the answer was: "Because it works."

    • One area that newer research is looking at is the enzyme PST (Phenol SulfoTransferase).
      • PST is needed to process brain messenger chemicals (neurotransmitters).
      • PST is needed to process high-phenolic chemicals such as the petroleum-based additives. (Petroleum is related to gasoline. See a phenolic compound here.)
      • Children with autism or ADHD have been tested and found to be low in PST. See some of the research here.
      • Salicylates [aspirin-like chemicals] have been shown to suppress the production of PST by up to 50%. See some of the research here. and here.

    • Research is also looking at other causes, from brain imaging and brain function differences, to GI absorption problems (leaky gut), and to different metabolic reactions upon exposure to Tartrazine (Yellow No.5) (Ward 1997). Some of this research will not only point the way toward better treatments, but will also help develop physical diagnostic tests for ADHD itself. Such tests do not exist yet. See some of this research here.

  9. Why does it say in the Feingold Program materials to "carefully reintroduce" salicylates after seeing an improvement on the diet?

    • While eliminating all the major salicylate-containing sources at the beginning sort of "jump-starts" the diet, most children (and adults) do tolerate at least some of the salicylate foods and products. There is no way to know in advance which ones will be tolerated. It does not necessarily follow what is known about the levels of salicylate chemical in the foods, so there may be some as-yet-undiscovered factor at work.

    • We are not talking about a "challenge" of a large amount of any item, and we are not talking about a classical "allergy" situation. By trying small to medium amounts of salicylate-containing products, and introducing them slowly, and perhaps not eating them every day, most people can begin to include a variety of salicylate foods in their diet. This is nice because some of our favorite American foods -- like ketchup -- are salicylates.

    • Building on the little research that has been done on salicylates and PST, it is possible to hypothesize (or guess) that by avoiding the salicylates for a while, as well as avoiding the petroleum-based additives that use it up, the deficit of PST is relieved and perhaps some reserves can be acquired. Research on this is needed, of course.

  10. I heard there is a Feingold Cookbook. Where can I get it?

    • This book was written by Dr. & Mrs. Feingold in 1979, more than 20 years ago. It is out of print, although it may be found in some used book stores and libraries. It is not part of today's Program materials. It's still a pretty neat cookbook, however, if you can find it.

  11. Is it true that a good response to the diet depends on 100 percent compliance?

    • No, not usually. In the Rowe & Rowe Study in 1994, the researchers used a diet that eliminated only the synthetic food coloring, yet 75% of the 200 children in the study improved. These 200 children -- 1/4 of all the 800 children who were evaluated at the hospital clinic for ADHD during that time -- were thought by their parents to be sensitive to foods. By imagining that ALL the other children also tried the diet but without any success, you can still say that almost 19% of ALL the children seen for ADHD by the hospital clinic improved on this simplified diet.

    • When researchers like Egger want to maximize their result in the minimum time, they use what is called an "oligoantigenic" diet -- very few foods, of a type that most children are not allergic to. In the Egger studies, however, we suspect that he would have achieved an even higher level of response if he had used pears instead of apples, since apples are a salicylate. ( See some of the Egger studies: 1983, 1985, 1989, 1992)

    • As said above, using the diet as it has been developed increases the percentage of people who respond well to it -- after all, before starting you have no way of knowing just how sensitive your particular child is. For some children, even a small infraction (cheating or an error) on Monday and Thursday is enough to keep them symptomatic all week. For others, simply lowering the amount of food coloring they normally get results in a dramatic improvement.... and many see some improvement at that point, or on-and-off improvement, and then go on to use the Stage One diet and see more improvement.

    • In a phone survey of all people who had begun the diet in one state within a particular 6 months, those who felt they were 100% on the diet or 90% on the diet had the best responses. Those who felt that they were using the diet at the 50%-75% level did not do very well, and those who never opened the package did the most poorly, of course.

    • Just to make it interesting, it is often observed that once the child (or adult) is well established on the diet for a period of time, they can "cheat" a little and seem to have no effect -- they "get away with it." This has been used in some studies as a means to show that the diet "doesn't work" because the researchers used children who had been on the diet many months and gave them a small "challenge" of food dye -- and nothing happened. We call this a "washout" effect. It may be related to a buildup of stores of PST -- but we don't know that, and it is just a hypothesis at this time (that's a fancy way to say we are guessing). Some of our members report that their child is so happy at being able to "cheat" that they begin to do it frequently ...... and soon the original symptoms return. Over time, most children learn how much and how often they can "get away" with off-diet items. Also, each person learns what their own typical reaction is. Some can sleep off a reaction overnight, while others continue to have symptoms such as irritability for several days. Many have no desire to go off-diet, preferring the way they feel on the diet.

  12. What about the carefully designed experiments that we are told "fail to support the idea that additives are responsible for such symptoms in the vast majority of children?"

    • Well, first of all, the "vast majority" of children do not have symptoms to begin with and can eat whatever they want. Some only have "symptoms" when they really overdo, such as on Halloween. (Look at the ingredients on most candy. Most are not made from sugar, but from corn syrup, a highly processed product made from corn starch treated with sulfuric acid and other chemicals. Nevertheless, this may be the most "natural" part of the candy bar. And yes, there are candy bars that are acceptable on the Feingold diet -- including some that are sold in most American supermarkets.)

    • Some of these experiments were "carefully designed" to show no effect. Following are some examples:

      • Many studies used a "challenge" of only 26 mg or less of mixed food dyes, even though many other chemicals are involved in the diet, and the average amount of food dyes used by people was known even back in the 70's to be more than 100 mg per day. See 1977 Survey of Amount of Certified FD&C Colorants Consumed. If you "challenge" children with a tiny, tiny amount of cocaine -- and nothing happens -- would that prove it safe enough to put into the children's lunch in unsupervised amounts? What about the Levy study in which each "challenge" biscuit contained only one mg (1 mg) of one dye? Even 1 mg of Ritalin doesn't do much, does it?

      • Other studies were set up to test children who were not ADHD in the first place, and averaged their responses in with those who were ADHD. In the study by Gross et al in 1987, for example, of the 39 children in the study, only 18 were ADHD. Of these 18, all but one were on stimulant medication (with coloring too) the entire time of the study -- so how would they know whether the diet effort made a difference? Moreover (just to make sure?), they only administered the diet for one week, knowing it takes a week just to begin to see an effect, and they also ignored additives in toiletries, medicines, etc. Are you surprised that this study "shows" that the diet doesn't work?

      • A really remarkable study is the Harley study, in which the abstract tells us his results "yielded no support for the Feingold hypothesis." And yet, when you read the text, you find that 100% -- all ten of his ten preschool subjects in a double-blind diet study -- did better on the Feingold diet weeks. It's pretty hard to discredit a 100% response in your own study, but he did it by saying that parents are not good observers, that the parent observation forms used were not "normed" on children this age, and that no teachers were involved. Why did he do this? His study was funded by an organization representing the food additive industry. Was this a factor?

  13. I have heard that the improvement on the diet is related to changes in family dynamics, such as paying more attention to the child. Didn't somebody prove that?

    • No. If research showed that change using the Feingold diet is related to how much attention the children get, then in the double-blind studies where all food was provided, and ALL the children thought that they were on a special diet and got special attention, then ALL the children would have improved. This did not happen. See some of the research here.

    • Indeed, children with ADHD seem to demand -- and get -- far more attention than their siblings. If you observe a family beginning the diet, the attention is generally focused on how to do the diet itself, how to shop, what to cook, where to find substitutes for favorite foods, etc. The child himself may get less attention rather than more. And certainly, once he begins to respond to the diet and his behavior improves, he gets much less attention than he used to get. If the amount of attention were the key, the diet could not work.

    • In the book Total Nutrition, edited by Victor Herbert of the National Council Against Health Fraud, Kenneth Davis, MD, says on Page 648,
      "The thrust of the evidence is that the claims of success are due to what psychiatrists call positive reinforcement; that is, telling the child, 'We love you so much we are going to extra special hardship to see that you get only selected foods.' In addition to the emphasis on meal preparation, increased parental attention to the hyperactive child and the idea that food -- not the child -- is to blame for the behavioral problems are likely to foster a positive response."

      Feingold families reading this paragraph are likely to "see red" for the following reasons:

      1. Thrust of what evidence? Unfortunately, the book does not include references. If Dr. Davis would tell us which studies he is talking about, we could discuss them. A letter has been sent on January 3, 2000 to ask him for this information. We are still waiting for his answer.

      2. In the double-blind studies using diet, such as the Harley study or the Kaplan study or the Carter study, the children got the same attention for both diets, but responded to the Feingold diet.

      3. Most of the "extra effort" that parents go through happens at the supermarket, not at home, and the child may not be involved at all. Making a peanut butter sandwich or a turkey dinner is the same no matter which brand of peanut butter or turkey is used.

      4. If Davis were correct, then why didn't it work when parents "told" their children, "We love you so much that we are taking you to this doctor and that doctor, and doing all these tests?" or "We love you so much that we are spending a lot of money on special schools and tutors?"

      5. My goodness -- if there is "proof" that a certain type of parental attention works, then why aren't they teaching that to parents as a new non-drug treatment for ADHD?

  14. I have heard that some foods containing salicylates are not excluded from the Feingold diet. Why?

    • There have been a few different studies of salicylates over the years, and they do not always agree. The amount of salicylate in apples, for example, not only depends on the variety of apple, but also on where it was grown. Experience has shown that while fresh pineapple contains salicylate, canned pineapple is well tolerated by most members. It is, therefore, allowed on Stage One. On the other hand, while cranberries do not contain salicylate, but rather benzoate (a related chemical), they are often not well tolerated, and so in recent years they have been excluded during Stage One.

    • Certainly, more research is needed to determine why the relative amounts of salicylate do not necessarily determine which foods are best tolerated by an individual. There may even be another important but unrecognized chemical that "travels with" salicylate or interacts with it. Or it may simply be that the different types of salicylate, like the different types of alcohols, have different properties. For example while ethyl alcohol in moderation is tolerated by most adults, the same amount of methyl alcohol is highly toxic.

    • Meanwhile, the list of foods eliminated on Stage One as salicylates follows the recommendations of the best currently available research and is usually adequate, per our members experience, while providing a plentiful and varied diet. For those who are exquisitely salicylate-sensitive, there are a set of charts listing the further breakdown of low-salicylate items per level, according to the research available, in our Program handbook.

  15. What more is needed to make the following a description of the "ideal experiment?"

    "Children whose behavior is claimed to have improved on the Feingold diet should be challenged periodically with suspected substances in double-blind fashion."
    1. Is the improvement of the children stable or are they having trouble using the diet? (The David study used children whose parents thought they saw a response to additives but needed help figuring out a diet. David simply challenged (using a salicylate drink for both challenge and placebo) children already not doing very well, and saw no difference. One child was in the midst of a many-days-long tantrum when they "challenged" her with Yellow #5 and they saw "no change." She could hardly have gotten worse; what were they expecting?)

    2. Is the amount of challenge material sufficiently high? One tablespoon of bright red frosting has over 150 mg of FD&C Red #40. With 2 tablespoons per cupcake, plus the dye (and flavoring) in the soda, the candy, the ice cream .... it is not hard to envision getting over 400 mg of dye alone at a party ... and back in 1977 the National Academy of Science estimated that the average dye consumption per person was 154.4 mg per day ... with the higher end of "average" at 327 mg per day. These were averages, not maximums, and they are surely higher today when Fruit Loops are brighter and toothpaste is fluorescent ....

    3. Are the types of challenge materials sufficiently varied, or is food dye the only material considered? In real life (such as orange soda or Jell-O) both food dye and artificial flavorings are combined.

    4. Do the evaluations include measures of sleep, health, and irritability -- or just "attention?" ADHD is not a "pure" disease, but a collection of symptoms.

    5. Are the testing sessions long enough (several days) to overcome the "washout effect?"

    6. Is evaluation repeated at intervals? Some children react quickly, but most take considerably longer. How long the reaction lasts also is variable and depends, of course, on how much and what type the "challenge" was. Evaluation should be done hourly over a period of several hours. In some studies, the (26 mg) challenge was given in the morning, and the evaluation in the evening. What happened in between? In the David study, the placebo and challenge were apparently given the same day. In the Levy study, they tested the children the day after the challenge period was finished.

  16. You frequently mention 26 mg of food dye. If it is too low, where did this figure come from? Why did they use it in the studies?

    • Since the manufacturers do not disclose how much dye they put into the foods, the total amount of food dye manufactured in a year was divided by the total population. This amount became the standard to use in these studies.

    • This probably explains why study results often showed that the smallest children responded to the challenges -- they received the largest "dose" per body weight.

  17. Why, then, in 1980, did the Nutrition Foundation conclude that "based on seven studies ... there have been no instances of consistent, dramatic deterioration in behavior ... with artificial food colorings..."?

  18. What about sugar? Does that cause hyperactivity? Is it eliminated on the Feingold diet?

    • Sugar is not eliminated on the Feingold diet. While not a healthy food, bad for teeth, related to diabetes, etc., it is not normally a cause of hyperactivity, or ADHD, and can be included in the diet in moderation, hopefully after a good meal.

    • Corn syrup, on the other hand, is more frequently a problem, but does not necessarily indicate a corn allergy. While it tastes like sugar, it is not the same, but is a highly processed product containing many chemical residues. Corn syrup enters the blood faster than any other sweetener, and has been shown to promote diabetes in cats. Corn syrup is widely used, probably because it is cheaper than "real" sugar. The Feingold Association recommends avoiding it at the very beginning of the diet, later testing it in the same way that the salicylates are tested for tolerance. Some people prefer not to avoid it unless they do not see any response to the basic diet.

    • Note -- the studies on "sugar" generally test sucrose or dextrose, not corn syrup.

  19. What about aspartame (NutraSweet)? Is it allowed on the Feingold diet?

    • Aspartame is quite a controversial food additive. You can see some of the research here.

    • The research implicates aspartame in some of the symptoms that frequently go along with ADHD, such as migraines, seizures, movement disorder... The Feingold Association has recently decided to add aspartame to the list of additives permanently eliminated on the diet, due to research showing it is harmful to developing neurons.

  20. What about MSG? Nitrites? Sulfites?

    • Again, some of the research implicates these additives in symptoms often traveling with ADHD, such as headache and asthma, although they have not been proven responsible for ADHD itself, at this time. Again, while avoiding these items is not part of the basic Feingold diet, they are marked in the American food list books. Avoiding them at the start maximizes response to the diet, and later testing them in the same way that salicylate is tested will indicate any problem with tolerance. It has been the experience of the Feingold Association that people with ADHD seem to be more vulnerable to various environmental toxins than the population at large. Helping them to discover what, if anything, they are sensitive to helps to improve their quality of life.

  21. What about EDTA? Polysorbate 80? Calcium Chloride? Other stuff?

    • These are not usually problematical, and are not restricted even at the start of the diet. However, the skills acquired through the Program materials will help a person discover an idiosyncratic sensitivity or allergy to a food or additive not usually excluded. One child, for example, actually got worse when he started the diet. By examining the diet diary and making adjustments, it was discovered that this child was allergic to chamomile tea, which is apparently related to ragweed. This tea is acceptable on the Stage One diet, but not for this child obviously.

  22. Dr. Feingold did not talk about all these other things. I have heard that the Feingold Association keeps making new claims. Why?

    • The Feingold Program is based upon Dr. Feingold's work. However, as more research is done and more information is available, the Program is modified to make it easier and more effective. Such research information also allows the Feingold Program to help more people. For example, by working with researchers over the past several years, we have been able to recommend modifications to the diet which helps people with Aspergers, PDD or autism as well. We do let people know about new information as it becomes available to us.

  23. How do the synthetic chemicals in the food or environment affect adults?

    • They affect adults the same way they affect children. Probably somewhat less, because adults are larger than children, so that there is a "dose" effect.

    • Even without intervention - dietary or medical - some people who were ADHD children learn to manage these symptoms more or less successfully over a period of years. When they are grown, they may find jobs where they are not required to sit and concentrate like they did in school. Symptoms such as frequent headaches or inability to sleep may continue and be their most uncomfortable symptom. Some are not at all successful and may lead unhappy lives, unable to hold a job or family, or they may even land in jail. One survey showed that three quarters of jail inmates were hyperactive children. (That does not mean that hyperactive people are necessarily more likely to be criminals -- but possibly that they are more likely to get caught.)

    • An interesting study of prison inmates shows what happened when their diet was changed.

  24. Is the Feingold Program related to chemical sensitivity?

    • Toxicologists and other researchers in this area know that people can be made ill by chemicals in their environment, sometimes even in amounts too small to measure. See some of the research and see some other websites.

    • Think for a moment about the science of pheromones -- it is known that the tiniest amount of certain chemicals can trigger major changes in the behavior and even the biology of the proper animal receiving them. For example, a female cat in heat will attract male cats from miles away. How? By pheromones.

    • Have you ever smelled the French fries and burgers while passing a fast food place in your car? Did it make your mouth water? The olfactory nerves are directly connected to the brain, and the tiniest amounts of certain chemicals can dramatically affect us.

    • Our ability to smell has often proved to be life-saving, alerting us to hidden dangers, spoiled food, etc. Unfortunately, in the modern age, we are exposed to hundreds of chemicals every day, and most have never actually been tested for safety, let alone neurological or cognitive effects. Pregnant women have been tested and found to harbor hundreds of chemicals in their blood - and the effect on their unborn children is unknown. We are part of a vast experiment in toxic exposures, and it is not surprising that some of us do not do very well.

  25. What about perfume? It has been used for thousands of years? How can it be harmful?

    • The perfumes used many years ago were made of natural ingredients. Some of them were salicylates, however, so they could bother a person who happened to be sensitive to or allergic to salicylate or the particular source of the perfume. Even the natural fragrance of new-mown hay can bother a person with hay fever.

    • Today, however, many perfumes and fragrances are combinations of multiple synthetic chemicals. Some of these chemicals are known to be neurotoxic, and others have not been researched for toxicity.

    • There are no regulations over the fragrance industry. There is no research on fragrances used in combinations. With all this lack of research, it is way too early to say that these chemicals cannot cause harm, and we must take claims of such harm in the experience of our members seriously.

    • Remember that an item that is harmful to a particular person, if eaten, is not much less harmful if it gets into the body through the nose or even through the skin. In fact, an even smaller amount may be a problem because it thereby gets into the blood without going first through the liver. Until more research is done, it pays for the individual to err on the side of caution. It pays, of course, for the chemical industry to err on the side of economics.

  26. But how could perfume make a child overactive or make him misbehave?

    • Again, we are lacking enough research. However, it is known that anything that suppresses (or is toxic to) the neurons that are supposed to stop motion will result in excessive motion. This is even well documented in fatal illnesses such as tetanus, where the muscle cannot stop contracting. Obviously, being able to stop doing something is just as important as being able to start.

    • There also could be an allergic component. If a person is allergic to any ingredient in the perfume, and it makes them feel sick or itchy, that alone would affect behavior, making it hard for the person to sit still and concentrate. The person may even become irritable.

    • Perfumes are a known trigger for migraine headache. A person with a migraine cannot concentrate and feels awful. They may be irritable too. Not all migraines are bad headaches. Ocular migraines affect the person's ability to see properly, but may not be painful. Nevertheless, it may affect the child's ability to work in school.

  27. What about paint or "new rug" smells?

    • These are known to be toxic. The EPA recommends ventilation. In unventilated spaces (like many classrooms and office buildings) these smells can linger for weeks and even months. No child should be exposed to them. Some seem to survive better than others, of course; that is part of the natural variation in human beings.

  28. Will this diet make my child think he is unhealthy or fragile?

    • Not likely. It is more likely to encourage your child to feel in control and to know that he is responsible for both his behavior and his reaction to infractions of the diet. A child who learns to "just say No" to FD&C Red #40 may have less trouble "just saying No" later to cocaine and crack and alcohol. And if he does not say No to them, he will at least have had some training in understanding about reactions and how things can affect him.

    • Teaching our children to make wise choices is never harmful. A child who believes that "anything that looks good or tastes good should be consumed" is a prime target for manufacturers of inferior products, drug pushers, and other scam artists.

    • If you wish to make a child feel "fragile," make him take medication every day "so he can behave."

  29. What about parties? And won't my child feel ostracized if he has to eat differently?

    • Most parents would not endanger a diabetic child by ignoring his diet in the face of a class party. Here, also, the Feingold Handbook discusses ways to deal with parties and family activities.

    • Furthermore, other children are more likely to ostracize your child if he cannot behave than because he is "allergic" to something. As one of our parents reports, "I worried about how to handle birthday parties -- until I realized that before the diet there were no parties to worry about, because nobody would invite my child!!" And, to quote one of our children, "I'd rather be different because of what I eat than because of how I act."

    • Some children have been the butt of bullies because of their ADHD difficulties. The bullies will not magically disappear because of the diet. In fact, it is well recognized by psychologists that in any relationship, when one person changes behavior, the other person tries to keep the status quo. In other words, the bully may even try harder to keep things as they were. Sometimes the problem can be resolved; in extreme cases, it might even be worthwhile to "start over" at a new school.

    • Of course, in other cases, it is the ADHD child who was the bully. Even though his behavior may improve on the diet, he may still be a bully. He has learned abusive behaviors that "pay off" for him. This child will need behavior modification or other intervention in addition to the diet. Luckily, he may respond better to it now that he is on the diet.

  30. I have heard that trying the diet will deprive my child of appropriate professional help.

    • If this diet works for your child, it is the appropriate professional help he needs. With no side effects, it should always be tried before medication if possible.

    • If your child has fallen behind his classmates academically, he may need other interventions besides the diet. The diet will not teach him math skills. He still may need tutoring or remediation to help him catch up. Once he is established on the diet, however, it will be easier to see where more help is needed, whether medical or academic or behavioral.

    • If this diet does not work for your child (even after trouble-shooting with the Feingold Help-Line), then you will have lost a few weeks but gained a few interesting recipes and a better awareness of your food supply. You will have avoided some additives suspected of causing cancer, which is not a bad idea by itself. Some parents find that by using the diet in combination with medication, they need less medication, therefore having fewer side effects.

    • Your child's ADHD did not happen suddenly. It is not an emergency situation. The sudden urgency to treat the symptoms is usually generated either by the teachers or the physicians, not by the child.

    • In fact, when the symptoms of ADHD do present in a sudden, severe, emergency fashion, then this is not ADHD at all, but some sort of toxic response, medication reaction, brain tumor, or other serious life-threatening condition. Any sudden dramatic change in behavior should be taken seriously. For example, the first sign that a dog is poisoned by chocolate, which can be fatal to dogs, is that the dog becomes hyperactive.

  31. How do I know in advance if the diet will help me?

    • You don't. A blood or urine test would be nice, but does not exist at this time. Such a test -- when available -- will be more expensive than the diet materials, but would be an advantage because convenient. At this time, however, the diet itself is the test by which you find out if it will help.

  32. How do I get these materials and start the diet?

    • The Feingold Association is a non-profit member-supported organization. The Program materials and ongoing updates are provided for people living in the United States or Canada. People in the U.S. or Canada may may join on-line.

    • Unfortunately, there is no Foodlist & Shopping Guide for people in other countries. If you live outside the U.S. or Canada, you may register as an International Member (free). In that section is a lot of free information to guide you in doing the Program without a Foodlist, including a Message Board specifically intended to help you find other people in your country. You may also order any Program materials that may be helpful. The book, Why Can't My Child Behave? is recommended. You may also subscribe to the Pure Facts newsletter as well as the free email newsletter.

    Why Can't My Child Behave? by Jane Hersey. Reference and reading - updated information on diet & behavior




















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What is a Pheromone?

Pronounced "FER-a-mone" from the Greek "pherein" to bear + (hor)mone

A pheromone is any one of many different substances secreted externally by certain animals, such as ants, moths, etc., which convey information to, and produce responses in, other individuals of the same species.

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National Academy of Science 1977 Survey of Amount of Certified FD&C Colorants Consumed
Colorant Avg. Daily Intake (mg)
FD&C Red No. 3 24.0
FD&C Blue No. 2 7.8
FD&C Yellow No. 5 43.0
FD&C Green No. 3 4.3
FD&C Blue No. 1 16.0
FD&C Red No. 40 100.0
Orange B 7.8
FD&C Yellow No. 6 37.0
FD&C Red No. 3 Lake 15.0
FD&C Blue No. 2 Lake 3.1
FD&C Yellow No. 5 Lake 22.0
FD&C Blue No. 1 Lake 6.6
FD&C Red No. 40 [Lake] 27.0
FD&C Yellow No. 6 Lake 14.0
TOTAL OF DAILY AVERAGES in mg per day 327.6