Dr. Feingold's Work

Ben F. Feingold, MD (1899 – 1982) was trained as a pediatrician and taught Pediatrics at Northwestern University School of Medicine.  He transitioned to treating allergy and studied under the Austrian doctor, Clemens von Pirquet, who coined the term “allergy.” 

Dr. Feingold created a state-of-the-art allergy clinic in Los Angeles and then developed similar clinics for the Kaiser-Permanente Medical System in Northern California and was Chief of Allergy at their facility in San Francisco.  He was considered a pioneer in the fields of allergy and immunology.

He was the first traditionally trained physician who observed the link between food and behavior, and he recognized that the rise in childhood behavior problems in the United States followed the same trajectory as the rise in the use of synthetic food additives.  He called his program the “K-P Diet,” but the media dubbed it the Feingold Diet.

Dr. Feingold worked tirelessly to reach as many troubled children as possible and traveled the globe sharing his remarkable information.  When grateful families established support groups, he gave his time and energy to us as well.  We named our organization the Feingold Association of the U.S. in gratitude to this remarkable man.