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Food intolerance and hyperactivity

Department of Psychology Royal Ottawa Hospital Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Helen Tryphonas, MS

Health Protection Branch Health and Welfare Canada Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Hyperactivity in children is etiologically complex. Hyperactivity may be caused by a variety of factors, such as prenatal or perinatal trauma, heredity, or environmental pollutants such as lead. Intolerance to specific foods such as milk or wheat is thought to cause such behavioral disturbances as hyperactivity in some children. Although these claims have been made for many years, they have usually been based on single case studies or on observations of small clinic populations, with no attempt to objectively assess improvement in behavior in children on a controlled diet. An objective testing method (Radioallergosorbent Allergy Test) showed that specific food intolerance was common, not only in hyperactive children but also in those with learning disabilities and those with emotional adjustment problems. The severity of food intolerance was correlated with neuropsychological test evidence of brain dysfunction. A double-blind placebo and treatment diet (eliminating foods to which the child was intolerant) investigation did not yield significant diet effects primarily because almost all children showed significant improvement in behavior irrespective of the diet they were on. Further studies, particularly in preschool-aged children, are needed.

Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, Vol. 3, No. 2, 49-54 (1983)
DOI: 10.1177/027112148300300209


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