The authors studied 39 children with hyperkinetic and learning disorders in a summer camp setting. The behaviour was monitored by videotape for 4-minute intervals at mealtimes. The Feingold diet was administered for 1 week followed by a diet containing additives and preservatives for 1 week. Three observers who were blind to the respective diet periods rated the behaviour for motor restlessness, disorganised behaviour, and misbehaviour. No significant differences were found in behaviour during weeks 1 and 2. The authors conclude that the Feingold Diet has no beneficial effect on most children with learning and hyperkinetic diisorders. [1]

COMMENT: This study adds one more negative report regardingthe Feingold Diet theory. The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Panel on “Defined Diets in Childhood Hyperactivity“ (1982) concluded that the Feingold diet may be helpful for a small number of children with hyperkinesis but these decreases in hyperactivity were not observed consistently.

The interest in the Feingold hypothesis, although waning in the US, is flourishing in England where consciousness about ecology and pure foods is growing.