Archives of Disease in Childhood, November 1993, Vol. 69 (5), pp.564-8
59 of 78 children (75.6%) referred for “hyperactive behavior” improved on an open trial of an elimination diet. 19 of them were studied in a placebo-controlled double-blind challenge protocol.
QUOTE: “Clinicians should give weight to the accounts of parents and consider this treatment in selected children with a suggestive medical history.”
NOTE: Ritalin “works” for about 75% of children, who cannot be identified in advance, and is considered a first-line treatment in spite of its side effects and questionable long-term effectiveness. If an elimination diet which has no side effects beyond having to learn some new recipes also works for 75% of children, who cannot be identified in advance, why is it relegated to “selected children with a suggestive medical history?” The Feingold Association believes that an appropriate diet such as the Feingold Diet should be offered as a first-line treatment to all children or adults with ADHD symptoms. I agree.
NOTE: Who is the Feingold Diet for? As Jane Hersey, author of Why Can’t My Child Behave? said, it’s not for everybody — but only for people who eat.
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