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.
Books
1973: Introduction to Clinical Allergy, Charles C Thomas, Publisher – January 1, 1973
1975: Why Your Child Is Hyperactive. Random House, Hardcover – October 1975
1979: The Feingold Cookbook for Hyperactive Children, with Helene S, Feingold, Random House, Hardcover – March 12, 1979
1985: Why Your Child Is Hyperactive. Random House, Paperback – February 12, 1985
The bestselling book on how ADHD is caused by artificial food flavors and colors
Papers and Speeches
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.
1973: Food additives and child development. Hospital Practice
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-
1977: Food Additives in Dentistry. Journal of the American Society of Preventive Dentistry, Jan-Feb 1977
1977: A Critique of “Controversial Medical Treatments of Learning Disabilities”. Academic Therapy
1977: Behavioral disturbances linked to the ingestion of food additives. Delaware Medical Journal, 49(2):89-94.
1977: Food Additives and Hyperkinesis: Dr Feingold Replies. Journal of Learning Disabilities
1977: Food additives in dentistry. The Journal of the American Society for Preventive Dentistry, 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.
1978: Commitment to Every Child. – Speech to the California School Food Association, Sacramento, CA, March 20, 1978
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.
1980: Feingold Diet. Australian Family Physician, 1980, Jan 9
1981: Refutes criticism of diet. [reply to the Nutrition Foundation report]* Clinical Psychiatry News, 1981
* The Nutrition Foundation was an industry lobby.1981: Dietary management of behavior and learning disabilities. Nutrition and Behavior 1981
1981: New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Childcare, Hearings: Violence in Youth: Causes and Prevention. New York City, May 14, 1981
1982: The role of diet in behaviour. Ecology of Disease, 1(2-3):153-65. (Published posthumously; see Obituary at end.)