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.
1949: Tonsillectomy in the allergic child. California medicine, 71(5):341-4
1950: Infection in the allergic child. Annals of Allergy, 8(6):718-33.
1951: Treatment of allergic disease of the bronchi. Journal of the American Medical Association, 146(4):319-23.
1952: Allergic diseases of the lung. Permanente Foundation Medical Bulletin. 10(1-4):249-56.
1960: Allergy to flea bites. I. Experimental induction of flea-bite sensitivity in guinea pigs. Experimental Parasitology, 9:18-24.
1960: Allergy to flea bites. 2. Investigations of flea bite sensitivity in humans. Experimental Parasitology, 9:264-70.
1961: Allergy to flea bites. Clinical and experimental observations. Annals of Allergy, 19:1275-89.
1961: Skin reactivity in guinea pigs sensitized to flea bites: the sequence of reactions. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, 108:700-2.
1962: Psychological studies of allergic women. The relation between skin reactivity and personality. Psychosomatic Medicine, 24:195-202.
1963: Allergy to flea bites. IV. In vitro collection and antigenic properties of the oral secretion of the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis felis (Bouche). Experimental Parasitology, 13:143-54.
1963: The physiological and biochemical role of the host’s skin in the induction of flea-bite hypersensitivity. I. Preliminary studies with guinea pig skin following exposure to bites of cat fleas. Experimental Parasitology, 14:75-80.
1963: Antigenic activity of tryptic peptides of tobacco mosaic virus protein. Nature. 199:831-2.
1964: Induction of delayed and immediate types of skin reactivity in guinea pigs by variation in dosages of antigens. Annals of Allergy, 22:279-91.
1964: Psychological variables in allergic disorders: A Review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 26:543-75.
1964: Histologic studies of guinea pig skin: Different stages of allergic reactivity to flea bites. Experimental Parasitology, 15:491-502.
1965: The role of collagen in the induction of flea bite hypersensitivity. Journal of Immunology, 95:162-70.
1966: Psychological variables in allergic disease: a critical appraisal of methodology. Journal of Allergy, 38(3):143-55.
1966: In vitro studies on the role of collagen in the induction of hypersensitivity to flea bites. Journal of Immunology, 97(3):402-6.
1967: Personality variables and allergic skin reactivity. A cross-validation study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 29(4):312-22.
1968: Recognition of food additives as a cause of symptoms of allergy. Annals of Allergy, 26(6):309-13.
1974: Letter: Biting insects survey: a statistical report. Annals of Allergy, 33(2):128-9.
1975: Food additives in clinical medicine. International Journal of Dermatology, 14(2):112-4.
1975: Hyperkinesis and learning disabilities linked to artificial food flavors and colors. The American Journal of Nursing, 75(5):797-803.
1976: Hyperkinesis and Learning Disabilities Linked to the Ingestion of Artificial Food Colors and Flavors. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 9(9) pp.19-27
1977: Behavioral disturbances linked to the ingestion of food additives. Delaware Medical Journal, 49(2):89-94.
1977: Food additives in dentistry. The Journal of the American Society for Preventive Dentis
etry, 7(1):13-5.
1977: Hyperkinesis and Learning Disabilities Linked to the Ingestion of Artificial Food Colors and Flavors – Speech to American Academy of Pediatrics, New York Hilton Hotel, November 8, 1977.
1977: A View From the Other Side – Speech to Newspaper Food Editors and Writers Association, Milwaukee, WI, June 8, 1977.
1979: Dietary management of nystagmus. Journal of Neural Transmission, 45(2):107-15.
1979: Dietary Management of Juvenile Delinquency, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Vol 23(1) 1979.
1982: The role of diet in behaviour. Ecology of Disease, 1(2-3):153-65. (Published posthumously; see Obituary at end.)